Strategy selection in the universities via fuzzy AHP method: A case study

SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) Analysis, even though it enables analyzing the internal and external environment that is effective in the process of organizations and institutions to make strategic decision, is a method that has some deficiencies in terms of measurement and assessment. In order to eliminate the deficiencies of interests and make assessment through more exact data in the process of decision making, in literature, various methods under the title of quantitative SWOT Analysis has been used. One of these methods is to integrate SWOT analysis with Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method. In this study, the data of SWOT analysis were turned into a hierarchical structure and the model formed was solved by means of method of FAHP. The application of method was performed on the problem of strategy selection of a state university in Turkey. Surveys conducted among 1292 academic staff in the university were evaluated by SWOT analysis. For the 6 main strategies and 13 sub-strategies obtained as a result of the analyses, pairwise comparison surveys were conducted with 37 senior managers of the university. Questionnaires were analyzed by FAHP method and it was concluded that the most important strategy for the university is “to be in the country’s top 5 universities and in the world’s top 500 universities”.