Running Head: AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 1

American University in Dubai

[Name of the writer]
[Name of the institution]
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 2

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................3
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................4
2. Analysis of Past Performance and Issues....................................................................................4
2.1 American University in Dubai and Industry Performance.....................................................4
2.2 External Analysis...................................................................................................................6
2.2.1 Macroeconomic- PESTLE Analysis...............................................................................6
2.2.2 Microeconomic- Porter Five (Plus Two) Forces Model...............................................10
2.2.3 Microeconomic- Strategic Group Mapping..................................................................13
2.3 Internal Analysis..................................................................................................................14
2.3.1 VRIO Framework..........................................................................................................14
2.3.2 TOWS Matrix................................................................................................................18
2.4 Critical Assessment of Strategy...........................................................................................20
2.4.1 Supportive and Qualified Staff Members......................................................................20
2.4.2 Best Level of Education................................................................................................20
2.4.3 Participation of Government.........................................................................................20
2.4.4 Promotional Activities...................................................................................................20
2.5 Key Lessons Learnt from Past.............................................................................................21
3. Analyze Current Competitive Environment and Issues.............................................................22
3.1 Current Strategic Issues and Problem Statement.................................................................22
Cultural Conflicts...................................................................................................................23
High Competition...................................................................................................................23
Global Expansion...................................................................................................................23
3.2 Analysis of Information from Competitive Environment....................................................24
Current Information................................................................................................................24
3.3 Alternative Solutions............................................................................................................25
4. Implementation and Evaluation of Strategies............................................................................26
4.1 Creation of Strategies...........................................................................................................26
4.1.1 Business Level Strategies..............................................................................................26
4.1.2 Corporate-Level Strategies............................................................................................29
Green Strategy........................................................................................................................31
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 3

4.2 Evaluation of Strategies.......................................................................................................31

5. Align Recommended Strategies with Balanced Scorecard Dimensions...................................32
5.1 Key Performance Indicators.................................................................................................33
5.2 Balanced Scorecard..............................................................................................................34
6. Conclusion and Managerial Implications..................................................................................36
References......................................................................................................................................38
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 4

Executive Summary
Education industry in the UAE is competitive and there are several large universities in the
country which provide best education services to the students. The paper provides information
about the American University in Dubai that is the largest university in the UAE and provides
quality education. Education industry in the UAE is highly competitive and it also gains the
attention of more students. Education and petroleum industry in the UAE are the main
contributors of growth of economy. The performance of education industry has increased with
time and more students entered in the industry. The government of UAE is deeply involved to
promote the education therefore it provides different opportunities to the universities that they
can easily enter in the industry. The American University in Dubai offers the education to the
students having the American standards. Several staff members of the university are qualified
from the United States therefore they provides quality education services to the students.
The unemployment rate in the UAE is very low due to which individuals spend their amount of
money on educational services because they want to get the higher quality education. The
economy of the country also promotes the education in UAE and does not impose restrictions on
international students. The university has faced a tough competition in the education industry of
UAE because there are several competitive universities which provide best education services to
the students. Some of the universities also offer different online courses and students do not need
to go to universities. The online courses and certificates are the short cut of degrees and it has an
impact on the education of university.
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 5

1. Introduction
The university was established in the year 1995, and it is the top university in higher learning in
UAE. It offers American style education to international and national students. During the years
between 2012-2013, a total of 3000 students enrolled in the university. The enrollment of
students in the year between 2016-2017 was 5000 which indicated that the admission of students
had increased each year. The education of the university helps students in thinking and learning
so that they can enhance their skills and capabilities to become successful in their lives. Students
of the underlying university can easily adopt changing social and economic environment. The
employment market is highly competitive in UAE due to which new candidates face difficulties
in getting a job. The university develops skills in students to easily get new jobs in the market.
The paper has discussed detailed information about the performance of American University in
Dubai and also analyzes the competitive environment in which the university provides its
educational services.

2. Analysis of Past Performance and Issues

2.1 American University in Dubai and Industry Performance

The university offers the best educational services to the students. It provides graduates and
undergraduates certifications and degrees. The university also delivers English courses so that
students can improve their English language skills. It supports extra circular programs according
to the standards of United States. American University in Dubai is the highest learning university
in Dubai that uses American education standards. Textbooks and courses of the university are
similar to those, which are used in United States. Several American trained faculty members
provide educational services to the students in the underlying university. Along with education,
the university arranges extra circular activities to enhance the social skills of students. Teaching
methods of faculty members are unique which creates strong skills in students. Consistent and
clear policies of the university create high academic standards. The American level education
system of American University in Dubai helps in the development of students and also provides
in-depth knowledge to the students related to more professional fields (Eduniversal-ranking.com,
2019).
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 6

The performance of American University in Dubai is best and it offers best education services to
the students. Among all of the universities in the whole world, the underlying university has got
a ranking of 4027. The performance of the university is similar or exceed from the universities of
the United States. The teachers provide extraordinary performance because they are highly
educated from top universities. It provides a tough competition to all of the existing universities
in the UAE. It helps students to get best jobs in industries because it offers the best education and
develop skills in students. It has a highest ranking in the UAE and it has got a rank of 23 rd in the
Arab region. The high ranking of the university reveals that it provides best education to the
students and it also has a team of skilled teachers. The fresh graduates and masters students from
the university can easily get the best jobs in the UAE due to the higher ranking of the university.
Comparison with Other Industries
The education industry in UAE is highly competitive because there are several top universities in
UAE which provide the best educational services to the students. The universities adopt
advanced skills and technologies to provide better future to the candidates therefore they help to
enhance the ranking of the education industry as compared to the other industries. UAE
education industry has performed well and over expectations. The government of the UAE also
provides full support to the education sector. In the year 2018, the government of UAE has
assigned $2.83 billion for the growth of education sector. The education industry also provides a
deep focus on several strategic plans to provide quality educational services to the students. Due
to the rising demand for best quality educational institutes, several private universities have
opened in UAE. The long term strategic initiatives of government and government spending on
education in Dubai have increased, and it will also improve in future (D'Mello, 2018).
The number of students has increased in universities due to which the industry has expanded.
The education industry in UAE provides more success to the economy of the underlying country
and it offers more amount to the economy. Major portion of the economy in the UAE is covered
from the petroleum and education industry.
Competitors of American University in Dubai
There are several competitive universities in the UAE, which provide tough competition to the
American University in Dubai. Some of the most famous competitor universities are Abu Dhabi
University, British University in Dubai, Gulf Medical University, Jumeira University, University
of Sharjah, Zayed University etc. American University in Dubai provides best services in the
 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 7

education industry and also provides tough competition to all of its competitors. The underlying
university performs well in UAE because the main vision of the university is to offer the best
educational experience to the students. The education market in UAE has expanded due to which
more universities entered the industry; therefore, the American University in Dubai has increased
its performance to overcome the competition. The university also creates strategy to bring
qualitative improvements in its education system. It also offers smart learning programs and
qualified teachers to provide best education to the students (Export.gov, 2019).
The American University in Dubai performs better than the industry average because it has a 23 rd
rank among the best universities in UAE, and it provides the best quality educational services to
the students. The American University in Dubai has achieved the top rating due to its
experienced staff members and best educational services. The university strives to improve its
educational methods to attract larger number of students. The university also conducts different
education events and describes the benefits of education to all of the students. The main goal of
the underlying university is to provide experience and knowledge to the students so that they can
get better jobs in their future. The American University in Dubai performs better education
services as compared to its competitors because it has followed the American educational system
and offers advanced knowledge to the students (Highereducation.ae, 2019).

2.2 External Analysis

The university uses PESTLE analysis for the evaluation of external factors. PESTLE analysis
can easily determine the challenges faced by the education industry in the UAE. The external
factors directly affect the education industry and create difficulties for universities to enter and
perform their services. The nature of rivalry in the education sector in Dubai is highly
competitive because there are several strong competitive universities in Dubai that perform best
services and provide quality education to the students. The external factors which create issues
and challenges for the educational industry are divided into Macroeconomic and Microeconomic
sectors which are as follows:

2.2.1 Macroeconomic- PESTLE Analysis

Factors Analysis Opportunity / Threat
Political Factors P1: educational restrictions for universities. P1+T1: Educational restrictions control the chances of
P2: Stable political course in UAE. opening new foreign universities in UAE.
P3: Political relations with certain P2+O1: Stable political environment of UAE creates good
 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 8

countries are not stable. opportunities for education business.

P3+T2: unstable political relations with certain countries
effect the attraction of international students.
E1+E2+O2: Diverse economy can support many products
and services offered in the educational business because of
E1: Excellent infrastructure. excellent infrastructure promote business through efficient
Economic Factors E2: diverse economy transport, communication, and facilities.
E3: very low Unemployment Rate E3+O3: the low unemployment rate in the country
promotes people to complete higher education.

SC1: Changes in Lifestyle. SC1+SC2+SC3+T3: Students of different attitude, culture

SC2: Different Attitude. and lifestyle create difficulties for a university and it is
SC3: Different Cultures living in UAE unable to provide educational services according to the
Social Factors (multinational). needs of customers.
SC1+O4: Students from different countries will find it
easy to cope with UAE society as multinational people
living in UAE.
TC1: wealthy country TC1+TC2+TC3+O4: university can easily implement
TC2: government support investing in technology. new technologies in this country and provides best quality
TC3: Availability of digital technologies. education to the students so that the students will get best
Technological
position in the market.
Factors
TC2+O5: universities have the chance to implement latest
technology, as the government is working towards
advancing in the technological industry.
EV2+T4: Dry and hot climate are a threat which reduces
Environmental EV1: Hot climates have an impact on universities. the students performance.
Factors

L1: Laws and regulations related to qualified L1+O6: the law ensures students receiving quality
faculties education
Legal Factors L2: Arabic is the only language used in courts in L2+T5: Most of the expats cannot speak Arabic, which is
UAE a setback to their pursuits of justice.

Political Factors
P1+T1: Political factors determine the government policies which create restrictions in the
educational services industry in UAE. The education industry must follow the policies of the
government to provide the educational services successfully. The government creates restrictions
in the education industry that it must have flexible management and experienced teachers.
Political factors have an inevitable impact on the system of education. These factors provide
more focus on the type of administration so that the university can provide better services.
P2+O1: The political environment in UAE is stable due to which new universities can enter in
the industry and perform their services effectively. It is the duty of state to provide more focus on
the education of people so that it can provide educational opportunities to more individuals. The
government of UAE has full control over the educational system, and it can eliminate the
services of any university at any time (ALICE, 2017).
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 9

P3+T2: The American University in Dubai provides educational services to the international
students also but due to the unstable political relationship with some countries, it is unable to get
the attention of international students. Due to bad political relationship, the individuals of
different countries face a difficulty to take education services in UAE.
Economic Factors
E1+E2+O2: Due to the best economic conditions in UAE, people spend more amount of money,
which has a positive impact on the profitability of the university. Economic factors have a direct
impact on the economy of the UAE, which positively affects the education system and its
profitability. The education-related decisions of the underlying university are influenced by
economic factors. The increase in an economy provides several opportunities for the people, and
they invest a huge amount of money on education. The best conditions of the economy create a
positive impact on the American University in Dubai and also promote transport communication
facilities to the people (NAP.edu, 2019).
E3+O3: The government of UAE provides more focus on education and realizes that education
is the strong economic future of the country. The government also spends the amount of money
for the establishment of new universities. Due to lower unemployment rates, people spend more
amount of money on their education and also get higher education from different universities.
Social Factors
SC1+SC2+SC3+T3: The needs and demands of students change with time; therefore, the
university creates difficulties in fulfilling their desires. Students demand the best quality
educational system having a lower cost of investment. The social factors which create
restrictions for the American University in Dubai are the cultural trends, lifestyle changes,
changes in attitude, education levels and changes in family demographics. Students want the
education system according to their culture because they face difficulty to get education in the
other cultural university.
L2+T5:
SC1+O4: In UAE, students of different countries spend their lives therefore they find it easy to
spend their lives according to the culture of UAE and they can easily absorb the environment of
universities so that they can get the higher education without facing nay difficulty (Haider,
2019).
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 10

Technological Factors
TC1+TC2+TC3+O4: These factors provide more focus on new technology development and
innovation that can impact directly on the educational industry. Technological factors include
research and development in the education sector. Different universities used new methods of
technology to provide a tough competition to the American University in Dubai. They provide a
facility of the electronic library to the students so that they can easily get lectures at their home.
Innovative technology development provides several opportunities to the universities in UAE;
therefore, The American University in Dubai needs to use advanced technology to provide a
tough competition to all of its competitors (Nagel, 2013).
TC2+O5: The government of the UAE provides more focus on the advancement of new
technology therefore it is the best opportunity for the American University in Dubai that it can
use the technology to become competitive in the market.
Environmental Factors
EV2+T4: Dry and hot weather in UAE creates restrictions for the international students because
they need to spend their time in a hot weather country. In several countries, weather is pleasant
in each month therefore they cannot spend their lives in a hot weather. Climate has an impact on
the performance of universities (Hudson, 2001).
MEA-L1+T6: Legal factors create restrictions for the university to perform its services, and it
cannot provide educational services to the students. New legislative can create difficulties for the
American University in Dubai, and it can also create different administrative burdens. The
student protection legislation in university is common, and it is the responsibility of the
university to provide protection to the student.
Legal Factors
L1+O6: The educational laws in the UAE are very strict therefore all of the students can easily
get the best quality information. Law imposes restrictions to the universities that they must hire
quality and well qualified teachers so that they can improve the knowledge and awareness of the
students. The legal environment of the UAE promotes the education and also improves the living
standards of people.
L2+T5: Different people of other countries do not aware about Arabic language due to which
they have faced a difficulty to attend lectures in Arabic. They need to take classes of the
language to improve their language.
 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 11

2.2.2 Microeconomic- Porter Five (Plus Two) Forces Model

Porter's Five (Plus Two) Forces model helps to determine the rivalry situation in the
environment. The model for the American University in Dubai is as follows:

Threat
Factors Description Opportunity / Threat
Level
N1: the education growth opportunity is N1+T7: the growth will attract more competitors to join
on an increasing scale the education industry
Threats of New N2: New universities have increased in N2+T8: Intense competition between universities can
High
Entry UAE. lead to price war

S1: the availability of certification

S1+S2+T9: The availability of certification institutes and
institutes in the country
Threats of online education courses can be a threat to the
Moderate S2: online Education centers
Substitution universities since students can choose different routes
S3: Entry level jobs requirements

B1: Increase in the number of best

universities has given buyers significant B1+T9: Increased demands due to the need of customers.
Bargaining
High bargaining power. B2+O8: Students can switch towards the other
Power of Buyers
B2: Students can easily switch towards universities to get better education.
the other universities.
SP1: The products of Suppliers can
influence customers’ behaviors.
Bargaining SP2: Suppliers goods and services have a
SP1+SP2+SP3+T10: The suppliers can affect the
Power of High direct impact on the tuition fees of
university significantly.
Suppliers universities.
SP3: Most universities demand best
quality of suppliers goods and services.
C1: Increase in the number of universities C1+T11: High competition between universities to
in UAE. attract students.
Competitive
High C2: Programs differentiation C2+C3+O9: The rivals provide online education services
Rivalry
C3: Utilization of technology in the to the students, alternate programs with similar
education business. objectives.
R1: Students. R1+R2+R3+O10: Stakeholders support the education
Relative Power
Low R2: Teachers. centers both internally and externally which is beneficial
of Stakeholders
R3: Government. for the university and its business.
P1: the use of high quality tools supports P1+P2+O11: The universities benefit from the
Power of online students services and applications. complementary services such as blackboard which adds
High
Complementors P2: the ease of access to the materials value the education experience.
through e-books

The Threat of New Entrants

N1+T7: The threat of new entrants in the education industry in Dubai is very high because the
government of Dubai provides more focus on the educational sector, and it has reduced the
barriers in education so that the new entrants can easily enter in the industry and provides
education services to the students. The American University in Dubai has faced a high barrier of
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 12

new entrants, and it needs to improve the educational services to provide a tough competition to
all of its competitors. The strong competitor universities are British University in Dubai,
Canadian University Dubai and Gulf Medical University.

N2+T8: The threat of new entrant is high in the education sector because the profitability of new
competitors does not require the economies of scale, the services are similar to each other, there
is no switching cost to the students from one university to the other and location is not a big
issue. The intense competition between universities creates a price war and they reduce the price
of education to attract a larger number of students (King, 2018).

Threat of Substitutes
S1+S2+T9: The substitute performs the same services as the original services of the education
universities. Due to the moderate threat of substitute in industry, the profitability of the industry
has reduced. The threat of substitutes in the education industry in UAE is low because the
universities do not find out the threat of substitutes, but students want the best educational
services from universities. Different institutions provide online tuition to the students, and they
do not need to come to the university. Different certifications also create a problem for the
universities because it is the short way for the students to get the education.

Bargaining Power of Buyers

B1+T9: The bargaining power of buyers in the educational industry is high because there are
several candidates who want to take the services of the university, and they also want to pay
small fees for education services. If the American University in Dubai will charge higher fees,
the students can easily switch to the other universities because there is no switching cost. The
buyers can reduce the prices of the services, and it is the best option for competitors to play with
each other. Other universities can gain the attention of new candidates by offering the lower
prices of education services and can provide a tough competition to the American University in
Dubai. The bargaining power of buyers is high because there are alternative universities, and
students will face zero switching costs (Ahmad, 2019).

B2+O8: Students have an opportunity that they can switch towards the other universities to get
the higher education services. There are several universities in the UAE which provide the best
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 13

educational services to the students such as Ajman University, British university in Dubai and
Jumeira University. Students can easily shift their focus from one university to the other.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

SP1+SP2+SP3+T10: The bargaining power of suppliers in the education industry in UAE is
very high because there are several universities in UAE which provide the best quality education
services to the students such as new York University, Abu Dhabi, university of Dubai University
of Sharjah etc. Students can easily switch from one university to the other. All of the universities
also provide similar educational services to the students. The substitute of the university is easily
available, and other universities also have educated staff members who provide the best quality
educational services at the lowest cost. The services of the American University in Dubai have
no importance because it has faced strong competition (Aydın, 2017).

Current Rivalry
C1+T11: The existing rivalry in the education industry in Dubai is intense because there are
several top-class universities that provide the best educational services to the students. Some
universities also charge a lower amount of fees for their education services to gain the attention
of more students. The American University in Dubai needs to provide the best quality
educational services to the students and also charge the lower amount of fees from the students
because they can easily switch their focus towards the other universities due to the lower
switching cost.

C2+C3+O9: Universities in Dubai provide a tough competition to each other by offering the
best quality education services. The rivals in the education industry provide online education
services to the students so that they do not need to go for university. Students can easily get
education in their homes. It is crucial for the underlying university to provide help from the
experienced staff members and gain the attention of more new students to become competitive in
the market. More new students also help to increase the success rate of the university (Pringle,
2011).

Relative Power of Other Stakeholders

R1+R2+R3+O10: The power has low in the UAE education industry. The stakeholders of the
university such as the government, students, and faculty members have the power to influence
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 14

the industry. The stakeholders provide direct support to the educational centers so that they can
easily provide the best services to the students and also improve their level of education. The
American University in Dubai needs to provide more focus on all of its stakeholders because
they are more powerful and they can impact the performance of the underlying university. The
university is dependent upon all of the actions of the government, students and faculty members.

Power of Complementors
P1+P2+O11: Complementors are the products that are responsible for the progress of the other
products, such as the transport industry is dependent upon fuel and when the rate of fuel
increases, the industry has faced a loss. The power of complementors in education industry is
high, and all of the students are the complementors of university. The complementary services in
the education provide several benefits to the students and they can get the best education from
the university. If all of the students involved in strikes, the universities cannot operate and unable
to provide teaching to the people.

2.2.3 Microeconomic- Strategic Group Mapping

The strategic group mapping helps to determine where the competitors of the American
University in Dubai stand. It is crucial for the underlying university to understand the efforts of
rivals that how they compete in business. The American University in Dubai provides the best
education to the students, but it needs to provide focus on the capabilities of its competitors to
provide tough competition. American University in the Emirates is the rapid growing university
that provides the best learning experience to the students. The university has famous reputation
in the education industry in Dubai due to highly educated teachers who help to promote
education and intercultural understanding in the university. The teaching staff of American
University in Dubai is also qualified but the university needs to acquire more qualified staff
members to provide a tough competition to the American University in the Emirates
(Edarabia.com, 2019).
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 15

The American University in Sharjah has performed its services from the last 20 years. The
university offers education services to thousands of students, and all of the students are loyal to
it. The management wants to offer the best education; therefore, it has improved the education of
teachers and also hired professional instructors. The management of university implements an
innovative culture and hired professional team of instructors. The university also has 5000
students from 94 different countries, and it has faculty members from different countries. The
university also arranges international study tours for staff members so that they can enhance their
experiences and share the experience with the students. The American University in Dubai needs
to arrange international tours for the staff members so that they can enhance their skills and
capabilities to provide the best quality services in education, and students can get best jobs in the
market (Timeshighereducation.com, 2019).

2.3 Internal Analysis

2.3.1 VRIO Framework

The university used VRIO analysis to analyze its internal environment. VRIO stands for value,
rareness, imitability, and organization. It helps to conduct a perfect evaluation of every company
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 16

or university. VRIO is an effective tool to analyze the internal capabilities and resources of a
company. It helps a company to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. The educational
industry provides more focus on the VRIO model, and the industry must have VRIO model.
VRIO analysis of the educational industry is as follows:
Valuable
The first most important tool of the VRIO model helps to analyze that the services of the
university provides value in the education sector or not. It also helps a university to find out
different opportunities and also defend against the threats. The American University in Dubai
provides the best education services to the customers so that it is valuable. All of the educational
services and staff members of the university are also valuable, which helps to gain the attention
of more customers. The university can decrease the price of its educational services or can
improve the quality of education to attract more new students, and it will also provide a
competitive position to the underlying university (Martin, 2019).
Rare
The resources in a company which is available in only one specific company are rare. The
American University in Dubai provides educational services according to the standards of the
United States, and it has also followed the books and educational materials similar to the United
States; therefore, the educational services of the university are the best. The rare educational
services of the university help to provide a competitive advantage against all of its competitors.
When some universities provide education services, in the same way, there must be competitive
parity between them. Different universities use the same resources but The American University
in Dubai uses diverse resources to develop rare methods in the industry and offer the best
educational services.
Costly to Imitate
Different universities try to copy the techniques of The American University in Dubai to attract
students, however, they need to increase the investment because they need to hire highly
qualified teachers and change the courses similar to the universities offered in the United States.
The competitors can imitate the services in two different ways such as it can directly copy its
services, or provide comparable services. The American University in Dubai has valuable, rare
and costly to imitate resources so that it can provide a tough competition to all of its competitors
and also hold strong position in the market (Mirkovic, 2018).
 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 17

Organize to Capture Value

There are several universities in Dubai that provide the best quality educational services to the
students at lower tuition fees. The American University in Dubai uses different strategies to
capture the market value and provide strong competition to all of its competitors. The university
needs to properly organize its processes, management structure, organizational structure, and
policies so that it can gain the attention of more students. It also helps the university to adopt the
culture according to the requirements of students. The university can easily get a competitive
advantage by following the industry guidelines (Jurevicius, 2013).
VRIO framework helps the American University in Dubai to gain a competitive advantage in the
education industry. The VRIO framework is given below:
Costly to Imitate

Organization
Exploited by

Implications

Implications
Competitive

Economic
valuable

Resources /
Rare

Strength / Weakness
Capabilities

R1+S1: The university has well qualified staff

R1: Variety of Sustained Above
Yes Yes Yes Yes members who help students to deliver the best
staff Advantage Normal
education.
R2+S3: The location of the university is best to
R2: Location Yes No Parity Normal
gain the attention of more students.
R3:
Additional
R3+S2: The University also provides different
Facilities (IT, Sustained Above
Yes Yes Yes Yes facilities to the students including library,
Library, Advantage Normal
sport, events etc.
Sports,
Events…etc.)
R4+S3: The university provides best education
R4: Superior
Yes No Parity Normal services to the students to enhance their skills
Education
and experience.
C1+S5: The University has a capability for the
C1: Student Sustained Above retention of students because it offers the best
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Retention Advantage Normal education services and students are also
satisfied with the university and staff members
C2+S2: The university provides best facilities
C2: Overseas
Sustained Above to the overseas students so that they can
Students Yes Yes Yes Yes
Advantage Normal enhance their capabilities and become loyal
Facilities
with the university.
C3:
C3+S7: the university has strict policies
Managerial Yes No Parity Normal
related to the education.
Skills
 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 18

C4: Global
C4+S5: The university is popular in the whole
Market
Sustained Above world and students from different countries
Reputation Yes Yes Yes Yes
Advantage Normal also take an admission in the university.
and
Popularity
C5:
C5+S6: The university acts as a leader in the
Leadership in Yes No Parity Normal
education industry in UAE.
the university

VRIO framework includes some important resources which provide detailed information. The
resources are as follows:
R1: Variety of Staff
The American University in Dubai has high qualified staff members who help the university to
gain the attention of more students and also provide the best education services to the students.
Qualified staff members are the main strength of the university.
R2: Location
The American University in Dubai is located in the highly population area that is the best
location and students can easily approach to the university. The location of the university is best
for every student and they can reach to the university without facing any restriction.
R3: Additional Facilities
The university is not limited to the education facility but it also provides several additional
facilities to the students such as arranging picnic and site visits for the students etc.
R4: Superior Education
The university provides the best quality education to the students, and several staff members of
the university come from the United States, therefore, they can provide education according to
the standards of United States.
C1: Students retention Capabilities
Students at American University in Dubai have a capability that they complete their graduation
or master program because they are aware of the fact that the education of the university has
some value in the market, and they will get the best and competitive jobs.
 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 19

C2: Overseas Students Facilities

The university provides the best facilities to the overseas student and also fulfills their education
and residential needs. It offers the best quality education so that students shift their focus towards
the university.
C3: Managerial skills
The management of the university provides focus on the skills and capabilities of faculty
members and helps to improve their performance so that they can perform better results in the
university and offer the best quality education to them.
C4: Global Market Popularity and Reputation
The American University in Dubai is famous in the whole world, therefore, several students from
other countries get admission to the underlying university with the hope that it will provide the
best education to them. All of the students and faculty members are loyal to the university, and
they also refer to the others.
C5: Leadership in the University
Internal
The university provides
Factors a leadership role in Dubai because there are several universities that
provide educational services to the students. American University in Dubai is a leader and offers
the best quality education.

2.3.2 TOWS Matrix

Strengths (S) Weaknesses (W)
S1: Best position in UAE. W1: Tough competition from all of the
S2: Most famous university in the whole competitors.
External
world. W2: Improper culture and lack of
Factors S3: Great management and highly skilled hiring the new staff members.
multinational staff members. W3: High competition, and lower
S4: Use of advanced technology to become number of shares in the industry.
competitive.
S5: Famous brand image in UAE.
S6: Get the best education certificate
award.
S7: Best policies and provides equal
payment to all of the staff members.

Opportunities (O) O2+O5+O6+O7+O8+S1: O5+W1:

O1: Stable political situation in a country Increase in development opportunities with Focus on expansion to increase the
help the university to easily promotes its the help of expansion in its structure. The number of students in the education
activities. strong culture of the university improves industry.
O2: The structure of the university communication between staff members and O10+W2:
promotes the infrastructure and improves students. Increase in the awareness of faculty
the communication between faculty O3+S7: members to provide the educational
 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 20

members and students. The educational policies of UAE are very services according to the expectations
O3: The university can hire women teachers strict, and it is crucial for American of students.
and also creates a diverse culture. University in Dubai to follow all of the
O4: The university can easily adopt policies. The university can easily get the
advanced technology to become competitive attention of new students due to its best
in the market. quality of education.
O5: The university has several development O4+O9+S4:
opportunities. Use of high technology and Cost-Efficient
O6: The university has expanded its Technologies to attract more students.
structure to provide more educational
services to the students.
O7: Market sustainability helps in the
expansion of the university.
O8: The university can start its services in
other destinations for an increase in the
number of students.
O9: The university can take help form Cost-
Efficient technologies.
O10: Stakeholders helps the university in
internal and external business.
O11: The university can increase its growth
by hiring the top talented faculty members.
Threats (T) T4+T5+S3: T3+W2:
T1: International competition between Attract international staff members and also Training and development plans to the
universities creates a conflict between the provides translator assistance to the staff members to improve their
universities. students for the retention of new and performance.
T2: Dry and Hot climate also have a existing students. T2+T6+T8+W3:
negative impact on the efficiency of T10+S3+S7: The expansion in the departments of
workforce. Analyze the preferences of students and university to gain the attention of more
T3: Court proceedings can delay the uses highly skilled staff members to new students.
development of a business. provide a tough competition to all of its T9+W3:
T4: International faculty members cannot competitors. Expansion in the number of shares to
speak Arabic. enhance its business.
T5: The government of the UAE attracts
more universities to create strong
competition.
T6: The best universities in UAE have
increased to provide quality education to the
students.
T7: Students demand has increased.
T8: The expectations of customers have
increased due to which the demand for new
universities has increased.
T9: There is high competition between
universities to attract students.

2.4 Critical Assessment of Strategy

The current strategy of the American University in Dubai is competitive, and it helps the
university to gain a competitive advantage in the industry. The university has created diverse
strategies to become competitive in the industry.
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 21

2.4.1 Supportive and Qualified Staff Members

The staff members of the underlying university are very supportive, and they communicate
positively with all of the students. Teachers provide support to the students when they require
and enhance their skills and capabilities. The students are satisfied with the staff members
because they offer the best education. The current teachers are well qualified, and they provide
the best quality education to the students so that they can easily get best jobs in their future.

2.4.2 Best Level of Education

The university provides the best level of education to the students, and it also follows the
educational standards of the United States. All of the courses of the university follow the
American standards and helps to improve the skills and capabilities of students. The best quality
education services enhance the awareness of students.

2.4.3 Participation of Government

The government in Dubai provides a positive contribution to the success of education, and it
helps people to get the best education by getting the admission to the top universities. The
government also eliminates the restrictions from universities and applies simple policies so that
the new universities can easily enter in the education industry. The government also invests a
huge amount on the development of universities so that the students can get admitted in the
universities. The American University in Dubai can easily get the attention of more students by
offering quality education, and due to the little restrictions of the government, it can provide the
competitive educational services (Massey, 2015).

2.4.4 Promotional Activities

Students in Dubai are unaware of different universities because some of the universities are not
involved in promotional activities. The American University in Dubai provides more focus on
promotional activities so that it can increase the awareness of new students and more students
would join the university. The university uses social media channels for its promotion because
several students in Dubai using social media channels and when they identify the promotional
activities of the university, they will switch their focus towards it. The university also uses its
website to gain the attention of more customers. The current promotional activities of the
underlying university are best to provide the services to more students. In each year, the number
of students in the university has increased due to its promotional activities.
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 22

All of the current strategies of the university provide competitive benefit, and it can attract more
students. The strategies of the university are sustainable, and the management provides more
focus to improve its future benefits. The university performs a good job, and it has a positive
control over its functions. All the students and staff members are loyal to the university.

2.5 Key Lessons Learnt from Past

It is a challenge for American University in Dubai to attract new students because there are
several universities in Dubai that also provides the best educational services. There are several
factors that can affect the performance of university and industry in future. Tough management,
cost-effectiveness, level of education is the main factors that have an influence on the university,
and American University in Dubai can get strong competition in its future. Some of the key
lessons learnt from the past are as follows:
 The university needs to improve the educational services to attract new students and also
improve the quality of education for the existing students. The increased satisfaction level
is necessary for the students because it helps to improve their loyalty with the university
and they also refer to the others.
 The competition between universities in Dubai is intense, and it is difficult for a new
university to enter the industry. The American University in Dubai can gain a competitive
advantage by providing the best educational services, and it can also hire qualified staff
members to improve the level of education. The university can implement the American
culture to improve its performance because it has used American education that is best
and different from the other universities.
 The university can implement an advanced educational structure to improve its
performance. Every Organization can improve its performance by creating a comparison
between current and past performance. The current staff members of the university are
bests but it can also hire highly educated staff members that will help the university to
increase its performance in industry and also improve its ranking in the education
industry by developing new effective strategies.
 The university can also improve the strength of management by taking new initiatives.
The American University in Dubai needs to improve its current policies so that it can
offer education similar to the international standards (Swan, 2015).
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 23

 There are several key sources of competitive advantage in the education industry; such as
it can hire best quality and educated staff members to provide higher education to the
students. It will help the American University in Dubai to become competitive in the
industry. The university can also improve the learning of students by modifying the
subjects and offer the courses similar to American standards. These actions can help the
university to become competitive in the industry.
 Continual improvement is crucial for the university because if a university does not
maintain the quality of education, the competitors will provide tough competition.
 The university can change the behavior of management that could help to create a
friendly environment so that all of the students can get better interaction and information
from the management.
 Students in Dubai also want the best educational services with a lower amount of
investment because there are several universities and there is a tough competition
between them. The high qualified teachers can offer the best education to the students so
that they can get better jobs.
 Education is necessary for all of the people to get jobs in Dubai and due to strong
competition; organization in future will require the best talented and educated employees.
Quality of education is the main future issue for the university (Rossi, 2017).

3. Analyze Current Competitive Environment and Issues

3.1 Current Strategic Issues and Problem Statement

UAE is the best market for the education sector, and different investors invest their money in the
market to benefit from the services provided. The government of UAE provides more focus on
education industry, and it is the top priority of the country. UAE also utilizes government funds
in the educational sector to develop a high-quality education system. The current performance of
American universities in Dubai is best to gain the attention of more students; but it has faced
several strategic issues. The issues create difficulties for the university to perform its services
effectively and it must resolve all of the issues to become competitive in the market. Some of the
most important strategic issues are:
 Cultural Conflicts
 High Competition
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 24

 Global Expansion
 Fee Structure

Cultural Conflicts
The American University in Dubai has faced an issue of cultural conflicts because the university
gains the attention of different people from around the whole world. The culture of UAE is
totally different from the culture of other countries such as the United States, the United
Kingdom, and Australia etc. The students in these countries find out different universities in the
UAE for their education but they have faced an issue of culture and they also face difficulty in
communication with the other students. When universities create different teams of students for a
project, they face difficulty in collaboration.

High Competition
The competition between universities in UAE is intense due to which all of the universities have
faced a tough challenge. The American University in Dubai has faced a high competition due to
which it cannot gain the attention of more students. There are several universities in different
countries that provide similar educational services, which increase the in-country value and
reduced the need for abroad education. It can also provide focus on advanced marketing
strategies to increase the awareness of international customers (Digitalmarketinginstitute.com,
2019). The global competition has an impact on the profitability of the university, and it is
unable to get a competitive advantage. The university can also analyze its competitors by
expanding in the global market.

Global Expansion
The American University in Dubai does not provide its focus towards global expansion, which
can be a downfall. The university is limited within the geographical boundaries of UAE;
therefore, it is difficult for the university to attract international students. The expansion process
requires investment; and the management of the university can reach out to other countries to
expand its business and offer better quality services to the students. The process of expansion
helps the university to increase student’s satisfaction and improves the morale of students.

Fee Structure
The American University in Dubai has a costly fee structure and every student cannot afford it.
There are several universities in the UAE which offers best educational services at the lower fee
structure. The university can easily increase its performance by hiring talented staff members and
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 25

reduce the cost of its tuition fees to become more competitive in the market. It can also offer
scholarship to the students who cannot afford fees.

3.2 Analysis of Information from Competitive Environment

Current Information
There are several top-ranking universities in UAE which provide the best educational services to
the students. The universities can easily provide a tough competition because they have offered
advanced courses and get help from the skilled staff members. The universities also invest more
amount of money in the educational sector to become competitive in the industry. The American
University in Dubai needs to hire talented staff members to provide a tough competition to the
other universities. The current position of the American University in Dubai along with all of the
famous universities is given below:
Offered
S.N University Locatio Progra Fee
o n ms Structure
(AED)

1 Abu Dhabi university Abu Dhabi 52 35000

2 Ajman university UAE 43 40000

3 Al Ain university of science & technology Al Ain 16 98,400

4 American university in Dubai Dubai 20 85,500

5 American university in the emirates Dubai 30 5,000 per hour

6 American university of Ras al Khaimah UAE 20 3,000 per hour

7 American university of Sharjah UAE 25 48,070

8 British university in Dubai Dubai 20 146,450

9 Canadian university Dubai Dubai 30 68,386

10 Fatima college of health sciences Abu Dhabi 10 2,500 per hour

11 Gulf medical university UAE 14 130,000

12 Hamdan bin mohammed smart university UAE 50 15,000

13 Higher colleges of technology UAE 20 20,000

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 26

14 Jumeira university Dubai 10 1,500 per hour

15 Khalifa university of science and technology Abu Dhabi 20 160 per hour

16 New York university, Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi 20 2,000 per hour

17 Paris Sorbonne university, Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi 19 58,000

18 United Arab Emirates university UAE 90 2,750 per hour

19 University of Dubai Dubai 30 3,000 per hour

20 University of Fujairah UAE 30 1,500 per hour

21 University of Sharjah UAE 50 39,000

22 University of Wollongong in Dubai Dubai 23 980,000

23 Zayed university UAE 33 96,000

Above details about different universities revealed that there is a tough competition between
universities and all of the universities also charge competitive fee for their education services.
There are several expensive universities but students also take admission in those universities
due to the best quality education. The American University in Dubai offers 20 different programs
and also charges the competitive fees from the students (Allaire, 2018).

3.3 Alternative Solutions

The American University in Dubai can benefit from different alternative solutions. Because
sometimes universities face difficulty to focus on the issues, therefore, it can use alternative
solutions which can overcome the current issues, could perform better results in the society, and
also could provide a tough competition to all of its competitors. The American University in
Dubai can use finance for the improvement of its educational services to provide better education
to the students. The university can hire skilled and experienced staff members from other
countries to deliver effective education so that more students can easily find better jobs in other
countries.
Students provide their main focus towards better education because they want to develop new
skills and capabilities so that they can perform better results in a company. The university can
also invest the money in different activities for students to enhance their morale. The university
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 27

can also offer different courses to the students free of cost along with their compulsory courses
so that the students can easily enhance their awareness.
The American University in Dubai can expand its business locally because it is the best
alternative for the organization. Local expansion can reduce the cost to the organization and it
also need to reduce the fee structure to gain the attention of more students. It can also promote
the culture of university and provide cultural training to the students so that all of the students
need to follow the same culture. Same culture helps students to easily communicate with each
other.

4. Implementation and Evaluation of Strategies

4.1 Creation of Strategies

Strategies creation is crucial for the American University in Dubai because it helps to provide a
competitive advantage to the university and also increase the number of its students. Strategy can
help the underlying university to set its goals and decide the essential actions which are
necessary for the achievement of those goals. The university can also identify the essential
resources with the help of strategies to achieve the goals. Due to structural changes,
improvements in strategic planning are necessary for the university because it will help to
expand its business and provide a competitive advantage to strong competitors. It is the
responsibility of the management to focus on the evaluation of current strategies and implement
the new strategies after making changes in the current strategies (Khalid, 2018).

4.1.1 Business Level Strategies

Cost Leadership Strategy
The American University in Dubai takes help from cost leadership strategy to gain competitive
advantage because it can easily reduce the cost of its services below the average of industry. The
strategy helps university to provide better educational services to the students at the lower cost to
become competitive in the education industry. There are several competitive universities in UAE
which provide more focus on best education, and they also charge minimum cost for the courses.
The underlying university uses cost leadership strategy because it is the best option for the
university to reduce its cost of services. The American University in Dubai can also maintain the
prices of courses that will help to increase its margins of profit. Global universities gain the
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 28

attention of students by offering education at the lowest fees; therefore, the underlying strategy
helps university to attract international students (Leonard, 2019).
When American University in Dubai sets the competitive fee, it will create difficulties for the
competitors to match those prices. The university can attract more students, become competitive
in the market, hire the best talented staff members, and offer the scholarships to the students by
taking help from the cost leadership strategy. If the university can achieve the cost leadership
strategy and also sustain it, it can improve the performance and become above-average
performer. Due to the lower fees for its services, the university can easily get a lower cost
position in the education industry and helps to get higher returns. In a cost leadership strategy, if
the students cannot find the acceptable fees for the courses the management of university can
also provide discounts on some courses.
Differentiation Strategy
American University in Dubai can easily gain a higher market share by providing more focus on
differentiation strategy. It offers the best quality education to the students at the lowest prices
because high-level education is valuable for the students. If the university does not want to
reduce the fees of its courses, it can make a difference between its quality of education and the
education of the other universities. Students analyze the worth of education because they can
also pay a huge amount of fees for the best education and services. Differentiation helps the
university to become unique in the education industry. It can also gain a unique position in the
industry to fulfill the needs and desires of students. It can become above-average performer by
achieving and sustaining differentiation (Moores, 2018).
The university needs to focus on the cost parity and charge the cost similar to its competitors
because it will help to gain a competitive advantage. Differentiation and uniqueness do not mean
that the university provides unique education services at higher prices. It can easily provide a
tough competition to the other universities if it will charge the same prices and improves the
quality of education. The university can become unique in some dimensions that can attract
students. Differentiation strategy helps the students to prefer the education services of the
university as compared to its other rivals. After the implementation of differentiation strategy,
the underlying university can increase its revenues and help in the economic performance of the
UAE.
Focus Cost Strategy
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 29

The American University in Dubai provides more focus on its cost and fee structure to offer the
best courses to the students at the lower possible fees. The cost advantage is the best option for
the university because it can easily attract more students. It is crucial for the university to find
out all of the possibilities of cost advantage, but it needs to maintain or further improve the
quality of education.
Focus Differentiation Strategy
In focus differentiation, it is necessary for the university to find out the differentiation in the
target segment. The focus differentiation helps the university to identify the special needs of the
students by providing the best services of education. When the other universities in the UAE
underperform their services and unable to meet the expectations of students, the American
University in Dubai can take advantage by using the focus differentiation. Competitors can also
over-perform their education services and fulfill the needs of the students. Outperformance
means the competitors bear the higher cost as compared to the actual cost. The focus
differentiation helps the university to meet the needs of the students in a particular segment. The
strategy helps the university to provide a competitive scope in the education industry (Lokare,
2019).
Hybrid Strategy
The strategy provides focus on cost leadership and differentiation strategy. When the American
University in Dubai follows Hybrid Strategy, it can reduce the cost of its services and also
provides best educational services to the students. The university can also provide admission to
international students and provide better education services to them. It can offer best educational
services to the students by hiring the international staff members because they have a wide
experience, and they can develop unique skills in students. The university can also improve the
quality of education by adding international courses and can offer the standards of international
universities.

4.1.2 Corporate-Level Strategies

Integration
The American University in Dubai needs to provide a focus on vertical integration. It includes
different stages in the services. The demand for education has increased each year, and more
individuals provide their focus towards universities because best education helps to get the best
job in an industry. The university develops Integration strategy to increase the connection
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 30

between students and teachers so that the teachers can provide better education and students can
also share their issues and problems with the teachers. Integration strategy in the university also
helps to increase the credibility of teachers, and they realize that they have more value in a
university so that they provide better services to the students. Students can easily connect with
the teachers in any difficult situation. Integration creates a positive environment for the students
so that they can easily share their learning activities with the teachers (Marie-Louise, 2007).
The university needs to provide a focus on cost and scope before the integration. The university
can easily integrate vertically when the cost of the education services are lower, and the
university gains profitability. It can also identify that the step to move towards new industries
will provide benefit to the university or not. The university improves the quality of education
services and provides effective services to the students with the help of integration strategy. The
strategy also helps to improve the coordination between teachers and students so that all of the
students can easily share their problems with the teachers. Teachers can provide best solutions to
the students for their problems because they have vast experience. The university can easily
increase its growth and stability by implementing the integration strategy. It can also expand its
services in geographic locations with the help of horizontal integration.
Diversification
The diversification strategy of the university helps to provide more focus on its educational
services and create the best strategy for the marketing of the education services of American
University in Dubai. The university can provide focus on two most important diversification
strategies, such as dominant business diversification strategy and single business strategy. The
single business strategy helps the university to create limitations in its education services, but it
will help to provide the best quality education to the students. The American University in Dubai
can use single business strategy to become the market leader, and it can easily attract a larger
number of students towards the university. By using the differentiation strategy, the university
can easily gain potential growth opportunities and become competitive in the market (Leonard,
2019).
American University in Dubai can expand its services and add new markets with the help of
diversification so that it can easily attract more new students and provide better education to
them. The main purpose of diversification is to provide different lines of operations to companies
that are different from the current operations. The university can offer different courses to the
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 31

students and also offer diplomas and certificates. Several students want to take diploma and
certificate because they do not have more time for the completion of their degree. Diversification
is the best growth strategy for every university. It also helps the university to fulfill the
performance objectives, and it can become competitive in the market. There are several
competitors of the underlying university which provide a tough competition to it. The university
can use diversification strategy to enhance its profitability.
Modes of Entry
The university has different modes of entry to easily enter the new market. It can merge with the
other famous universities to expand its business, or it can acquire the already existing university.
Merger and acquisition are the best options for the American University in Dubai to enter the
new market. The university can start its educational services in other countries by creating an
investment in the existing famous university and merge its business with the other famous
university. It is the best option for the university to enhance and expand its business and it can
also get the attention of more students. By acquiring the already existing university, the
American University in Dubai can easily increase the number of students because it will acquire
all of the students of the acquired university.
Merger and acquisition help to enhance the performance of the university because the process of
merger includes the talented staff members of the university. They can provide better services to
the students and also enhance communication and reduce the barriers of coordination. Merger
and acquisition improve the quality of education in a university and also increase the efficiency
of it. By using the process of acquisition, the university can acquire the existing university that
has the staff members and students so that the university does not need to provide focus to attract
customers. Mergers also help to expand the educational programs and also increase their
strength. The university can easily increase its access to higher education, and students can easily
find out the university to get best quality education. Mergers and acquisitions improve the
quality of education and also help to improve the skills and capabilities of students so that they
can perform better results in their organizations in future (Bolbanabad, 2017).
Green Strategy
The green strategy is the responsibility of every university because students of diverse cultures
study in the university. They have different cultures and norms, therefore, it is necessary for the
universities to provide protection to the environment. Every university has a goal to achieve
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 32

more profits, but it is the responsibility of university to protect the environment instead of
increasing just profits. Universities can take different measures and steps which are beneficial for
society. Every university must focus on ethical and honest practices so that it can easily provide
protection to the environment. The staff members need to illustrate the benefits of green strategy
to the students so that they will provide their focus towards it. Students can also implement a
green strategy in their future organizations (Louw, 2013).
Green strategy is beneficial for the American University in Dubai because it provides different
benefits such as increase the profitability, provide competitive advantage, increase the retention
of students etc. If the university wants to provide focus on green strategy, it has three strategic
options available including it can provide lean and green services to get the cost advantage, it can
go beyond the legal requirements and add value for the students to provide best educational
services to them, branding the services along with the environmental arguments in order to
enhance the value of the customers.

4.2 Evaluation of Strategies

Achievement of
Strategies Applicability Competitive Recommendations
Advantage
Business Level Strategy
Cost Leadership Applicable Yes The American University in Dubai
Strategy provides more focus on cost leadership
strategy to reduce the cost of educational
services and gain the attention of more
students.
Differentiation Applicable Yes The university also implements
Strategy differentiation strategy and use the courses
according to the standards of the United
States. It can also hire the US teachers
because they have more experience and
skills.
Focus Cost Not No Focus cost strategy is related to the
Leadership Applicable reduction of cost of courses for a target
Strategy segment. The university focuses on the
cost reduction for all of the students.
Focus Not No The university does not implement focus
Differentiation Applicable differentiation strategy because it offers
Strategy the different education services to all of
the students and not limited to the target
area.
Hybrid Strategy Applicable Yes The university uses hybrid strategy to
 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 33

focus on cost leadership and

differentiation strategy. The strategy helps
the university to offer the courses to the
students at the lowest cost and provide
best and different level of education to the
students.
Corporate Level Strategy
Vertical Applicable Yes The strategy helps the university to focus
Integration on its future because the demand of
Strategy education increases and students require
best educational services.
Horizontal Not No The university does not provide focus on
Integration Applicable the strategy because it needs university to
Strategy be limited in Dubai.
Diversification Applicable Yes The strategy helps the university to
Strategy provide diverse education services to the
students and also increase its competitive
position in the industry.

5. Align Recommended Strategies with Balanced Scorecard Dimensions

Strategy Map
Operational excellence & innovation Objective Measurement Targets
Finance
- To increase revenue & profitability. - Net Income 10% Y
- To reduce operational costs. - Yearly Expense 08% Y
Enrolment Capital
- Maintain stock price more than $50 - Stock Price > $50 D
Growth Funds per share.

Students and
Community
- Charge competitive prices. - Survey of Students >9D
Improves - identify the needs of students. - Survey of Satisfaction >9D
Student - Increase the loyalty and retention of - Number of Retain 90% Y
Satisfaction students. Customer

Internal Processes
- Offer a high standard of service. - Survey of Service >9D
Enhance - Deliver fast services. satisfaction < 2 min
Strengthen - Waiting time of >2Y
Student - The adoption of new technology.
BLA Program Students
Learning
- Purchase of new
 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 34

devices yearly

Learning &
Growth
- Deliver training to staff members. - Total Number of - >2 Y
Support - Offer high-quality training sessions. training courses - >9 Y
Strengthen IT - Focus on online platforms for delivered
Faculty -Student post-training
infrastructure student suggestions and innovation. ->3Y
Practice survey
- Number of suggestions
submitted per student

5.1 Key Performance Indicators

It helps to determine that how effectively the university can achieve its objectives. The university
used KPIs to reach its targets successfully. KPIs help the university to increase its performance
and become competitive in the industry.
Number Targeted
KPIs Metrics
s Time

Increase the enrolment growth to Increase in the enrolment of

Semi-
KPI-1 increase the number of students in students to get the benefits of more Annually
the university. students
Improvement in the information
Improves the Infrastructure of technology helps the faculty
KPI-2 Annually
Information Technology members to provide the best
education to the students.
Increase the satisfaction level of Provide the best quality education
Students to gain the attention of to the students to increase their Semi-
KPI-3
more new students satisfaction and retention in the Annually

university

The professional learning of

Support to the Professional faculty members helps to increase Semi-
KPI-4
Learning of Faculty Members the competitiveness of the Annually

university
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 35

Feedback of Students to improve The comments of the students help

KPI-5 Quarterly
the educational services to overcome the issues.

5.2 Balanced Scorecard

It is the best management tool that helps a company to enhance the performance of its internal
functions. The American University in Dubai used Balance Scorecard to identify its current
performance because it helps to provide response related to the services. The Balance scorecard
of the underlying university is given below:
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 36

Strategy Measure Target Frequency

Increase Increase the enrolment of 1) 15% increase in the Semi-
Enrolment students in morning and student’s enrolment in each Annually
Growth evening shifts and focus year in both morning and
on the online initiatives. evening shifts.
2) 20% increase in the online
initiatives to get the attention
of more students towards the
university.
Improves the The university provides 1) The university needs to hire Annually
Infrastructure of an improved and updated skilled and more educated IT
Information technology system to staff to provide the best IT
Technology support the staff, faculty services to the students and
and students. teachers.
2) Provide IT Help Desk
support for 24 hours a day and
7 days a week.
Increase Increase the student’s 1) 100% students report that Semi-
Satisfaction of satisfaction with their they are satisfied with the Annually
Students experience to the education services of the
university. university.
2) 100% students report that
university prepares them for
their future jobs.
Support to the Increase the funding of 1) 10% of faculty members in Semi-
Professional the university in the every sixth months will take an Annually
Learning of development of active part in the advanced
Faculty Members professional learning to research to boost their skills
the teachers. and capabilities.
2) The university provides
50% funding the faculty
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 37

members in their advanced

research.
Feedback of Promote the better 1) 100% students must be Quarterly
Students education in the entire satisfied with the educational
university by overcoming services of the university.
the issues. 2) Provide the satisfactory
educational services to the
students according to their
needs and demands.

6. Conclusion and Managerial Implications

It is concluded that the American University in Dubai needs to provide more focus on the quality
of its education services so that it can gain the attention of more students. The university can also
improve its education services by acquiring international staff members because they can provide
the best quality education to the students. It is necessary for the students that they must have
skills and capabilities to provide best services in the company. When students have vast
experience and awareness, they can easily get best jobs in a firm. The university can also
improve the standard of its education by introducing new and advanced courses in international
countries. The best education services help the skills of students, and they will also refer to the
other to get the best education from the underlying university. International staff members can
increase the cost of the university because they will charge most fees, but they will increase the
standard of education and university.
The American University in Dubai can increase its awareness by taking help from marketing. It
can take help from social media channels because millions of students in the whole world use
social media channels and they also find out different universities to get higher education. When
students find out the underlying university and identify its higher ranking, they will shift their
focus towards it. The students also provide their positive comments on social media channels,
which help to attract new students because when the existing students of the university provide
their comments about the benefits of their university, the other students will also take admission
to that university. The American University in Dubai can also take help from different strategies
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 38

to become competitive in the industry. It can provide more emphasis on cost leadership strategy
because when the university charges lower fees on its subjects, it can get more admissions of
students. It can also use differentiation strategy to offer unique and diverse courses to the
students to enhance their skills and expertise.
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN DUBAI 39

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