Application of Combined Model of SWOT and Fuzzy AHP in Strategic Planning at Higher Education, Case of the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences

In recent management literature, organizations without strategy are known as ships without rudders that are unable to navigate properly in turbulent competitive environments. In the last few decades, educational institutions throughout the world have experienced increasing competitions from existing as well as new institutions. The emerging situation has forced them to think ahead of future by recognizing their internal situation, external position, and developing strategic plans.This study investigates internal and external factors of the faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad using a combined model of SWOT and Fuzzy approach.Following identification of IF/EF factors with the help of a decision team that was organized from faculty’s top management, fuzzy analytical hierarchy was used to rank factors in terms of their importance to the achiement of the faculty’s goals using QSB software. This article highlights some of the research findings including: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the faculty, and introduces typical strategies and their respective appropriate actions plans needed to achieve goals by executing proposed strategies.