Keywords

Strategic Planning, Administrative, Academic and Operational.

Introduction

Higher educational institutions play a significant role in the development of societies. They invest in students. They provide students with skills that contribute to developing the students’ homeland. They are responsible for providing students with academic programs and vocational training. They are also responsible for conducting scientific research that contributes to promoting innovation.

Many developments have been reached in the field of knowledge. Thus, higher
educational institutions must respond to such developments. That must be order to keep up with the latest developments. It must be done to become capable of achieving excellence and ensuring survival due to the high severity of the competition on the regional and global levels.

The ones who make developmental plans in many countries provide much attention to the development of management systems in various sectors. That is because such development has a major impact on the development of society. Making such development requires making developments to administrative planning and raising the quality of the provided services. It requires making changes to the description of some jobs. It requires making changes to the organizational structure. It requires making changes to the technologies being used and the policies being adopted (Al-Rushaidy, 2015).

The quality of education affects the value of the human capital. It affects the economic development. It affects the expenses incurred in the educational sector in general and the higher educational sector in particular. To raise the quality of education, there is a need for increasing the amount of knowledge possessed by the ones working in higher educational institutions on strategic management. To raise the quality of education, there is a need for providing the ones working in higher educational institutions with strategic planning instruments. There has been an increasing attention provided to the compliance with the standards of quality. Due to such increasing attention, mechanisms for academic accreditation emerged in the higher educational institutions since the beginning of the 20^th century. Such standards involve implementing the concepts of strategic management in general and strategic planning in particular. To comply with the standards of quality by universes, leaders in universities started carrying out strategic planning processes. That is done in order to set standards and mechanisms for showing a high transparency level and engaging the public with the management and assessment processes. The goals of strategic planning involve achieving excellence through tracking the demands of the labour market and stakeholders (Slelati, 2018). The present study aimed to explore impact of strategic planning on the employee satisfaction at Kuwait University (Ibrahim, 2019).

The significance of this study arises from the significance of the higher educational sector and the significance of implementing modern management concepts by leaders in universities. Implementing modern management concepts shall enable universities to achieve excellence and ensure survival in the market. The (strategic planning) concept has major significance in higher educational institutions in general and universities in particular, because it enables them to meet their goals (Casarejos et al., 2017).

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to quantify the impact of strategic planning on employee satisfaction at Kuwait University. The management of Kuwait University possesses specialized knowledge on strategic planning. It develops strategies in a periodical manner.

Some studies shed light on the importance of strategic planning in higher educational institutions (Al-Shamri, 2017; Yahyawi et al. (2016). It is the researcher’s opinion that failing to carry out sound strategic planning processes correlates with resource misallocation and waste. Against this theoretical backdrop, we can articulate the problem examined in this study through the following question:

What is the impact of strategic planning on employee satisfaction at Kuwait University?

The Study’s Hypotheses

The Main Hypothesis

H0: Strategic planning does not have any significant impact –at the significance level of (a ≤ 0.05)- on employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

The following sub-hypotheses are derived from the main hypothesis:

H0.1: On the administrative level, strategic planning does not have any significant impact –at the significance level of (a ≤ 0.05) on employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

H0.2: On the academic level, strategic planning does not have any significant impact –at the significance level of (a ≤ 0.05)- on employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

H0.3: On the operational level, strategic planning does not have any significant impact –at the significance level of (a ≤ 0.05)- on employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

Theoretical Framework

Strategic planning is derived from two concepts, strategy and planning. The term planning refers to a core process among management processes. The term (strategic) describes the kind of planning being carried out. The term was originally used in military sciences, before gaining broader usage in studies of management from the middle of the last century and onwards.

Jradat (2006) adds that the most important management process is planning. He asserts that planning refers to the process of thinking about the future through determining potential outcomes and forming means for handling potential risks. He adds that planning involves identifying potential possibilities in a given situation and rests on the ability to make predictions. In effect, prediction serves as the primary method for issuing regulations systematically. Further, prediction serves as the most optimal method for setting future administrative actions to be taken in universities. It contributes to meeting the demands and requirements in the present and the future (Jradat, 2006).

Strategic planning is a process that aims to develop comprehensive plans and set goals over a specific timeframe. It also aims to develop sub-strategies related to specific functions (Kettunen Juha, 2008). It is a systematic process that aims to determine the methods for meeting organizational goals (Grunig et al., 2006).

Administrative planning has developed throughout previous decades. In the time period between the end of World War II and the 1960s, much attention was cast to quantitative planning. More recently, much attention was accorded to the quantitative aspects of planning (e.g. costs and production). In other words, internal factors were given precedence and external factors were overlooked. Thus, quantitative planning in educational institutions is limited to rates of enrollment, construction costs, teachers’ salaries and student flow.

Following the time period described above and stretching to the present day, attention to qualitative planning gained greater track. Qualitative planning gives greater consideration to external factors. It provides greater coverage of clients’ needs and desires. In this latter time period, the educational sector started incorporating such managerial and planning concepts in institutional administration. For example, educational institutions started developing curricula, training instructors and drove scientific research under the guidance of these nascent managerial developments. With time, higher educational institutions started developing the management structures they used. Strategic planning serves as the independent variable in this study.

Educational institutions started facing more complex challenges with the advent of globalization, rapid technological development, and the concomitant knowledge explosion. To handle such challenges, it was necessary for these institutions to navigate this changing environment by implementing modern management concepts (e.g. strategic planning) (Al-Zanfali, 2012).

According to Wheelen et al. (2008) universities are non-profit organizations. Non-profit organizations include: prisons, public hospitals, public bodies and charity organizations. Generally, universities rely heavily on the financial support provided by government and/or sponsors. Thus, they don’t face the same risks faced by for-profit organizations. The risks faced by for-profit organizations include: lack of liquidity, and survival-related risks. In turn, the decision-making methods employed by universities differ greatly from the methods used their for-profit counterparts (Wheelen et al., 2008).

The products and services delivered by non-profit organizations differ from the products and services provided by for-profit organizations. The strategies adopted by non-profitable organizations are usually conservative strategies. This is largely due to the fact that the products and services provided by non-profit organizations are based on pre-expected results, which contrasts with for-profit organizations who compete to provide better services and products (Johnson et al., 2017).

The levels of Strategic Planning

The growing attention accorded to strategic planning impelled specialists to identify the components and levels of strategic planning. Some scholars refer to those levels as strategy levels.

Johnson et al. (2017) adds that strategic planning levels include the corporate level. They add that companies must examine the sector (market) that they wish to operate in. They add that strategic planning levels also include the business unit level and the functional level. In order for a strategic plan to be effective, it must be fitted with appropriate decisions on each strategic planning level.

The strategic planning levels examined in this study on Kuwait University are as follows:

The Administrate Level

The administrative level refers to the general framework of the organization. This encompasses the organization’s vision, mission and goals. Each of these elements has its own definition. When the organization determines its vision, mission and goals in a clear and formalized manner, the organization effectively guides employees through the process of planning and implementing operations to be implemented across all organizational units. Ideally, the organization would also determine assessment programs to identify the degree to which operations and services meet institutional goals (www.nbaq.org.kw).

The task of determining the vision, mission and goals is assigned to the top management in the organizations. It is assigned to the president, vice president, deans, and managing director in universities. The latter are responsible for providing employees with information about the strategy (Sunder et al., 2018) Kottler et al. (1991) add that the planning carried out by the top management must involve guiding the organization’s employees, making future plans, and describing the course of action. They add that such planning must involve setting emergency plans, setting performance assessment standards, and methods for motivating employees to implement and develop the plan. They add that such planning must involve determining the required information to meet intended goals.

The Academic Level

Similar to any other type of organization, non-profit organizations (e.g. universities) have products or services that are delivered to their customers. They also need to develop plans for their business units (i.e. at the academic level).

The most important products/services provided by any university are teaching and scientific research (Mazhoodah, 2015). Teaching and scientific research play a significant role in developing societies, this because education contributes to promoting innovation. Innovation is one of the many potential outcomes of scientific research. Innovation and scientific research are interconnected, and there is a constant need for developing scientific research (Al-Shamri, 2017).

At this level, each faculty must develop its own strategy and is considered to be a mini-organizational unit in the university. Each unit would be responsible for specific academic programs and would have its own budget and facilities. This approach is consistent with what is recommended by (Temple & Paul, 2018). Temple & Paul (2018) adds that leaders in faculty must determine goals when setting strategic plans. That is because the leaders must determine whether they want to increase the number of enrolled students, or expand the faculty’s scope of work (Meshal, 2021).

The Operational Level

The last of the strategic levels is the operational level which involves implementing the operations that were determined in the academic level. This strategic level involves identifying the way in which operations will be implemented in a manner that reduces resource waste and increases productivity. This is termed as effectiveness and efficiency in the field of management. Those two concepts apply to both human and financial resources. Akonkwa et al. (2009) adds that educational institutions must regulate and manage all their operations. He adds that such institutions must turn educational needs and priorities into indexes and measurable results.

In terms of operations, the ISO 9000 suggests that outcomes be achieved efficiently and effectively when employees both understand the required activities and management processes that link them connected operations. In terms of decision-making, decisions made based on analysis and assessment of data often lead to desirable results. In case the decision-making process is related to complex operations, outcomes would be more reliable and objective if they are based on analysis and assessment (ISO 9000, 2015).

The operational level involves doing tasks and activities that support the activities of the university and its faculties. It must involve assisting the university in meeting its goals and achieving success for the short and long term. It must involve preserving liquidity level and ensuring that operations are carried out daily (Zerfass et al., 2018). There are various methods to assess the operational level of a university. Such methods involve identifying and quantifying the efficiency and effectiveness.

Employee Satisfaction

Human resources (HR) are considered to be vital in any organization. All organizations pay attention to maintaining their human resources, especially qualified human resources. Many studies confirm that organizational environment and HR management strategies affect employee satisfaction. All public and private organizations provide attention to ongoing development. This is done to benefit from the skills of employees and tap into their potential. Studies show that there is a causal positive relationship between HR practices and employee satisfaction in all sectors. Such practices involve recruitment, professional development, assessment. It follows that, an organization’s competitive success increases when organizations seek to retain their qualified employees for a longer period. Organizations seek to retain qualified employees in order to invest in them and maximize returns on their knowledge and expertise (Fahim et al., 2018).

Elrehail et al. (2019) adds that employee satisfaction is an emotional state that involves feeling happy when considering the functions carried out by one as being valuable. They add that employee satisfaction and commitment provide the organization with great value. They add that employee satisfaction level changes over time. Moreover, they assert that greater employee satisfaction bears a positive causal relationship with greater economic benefit for the organization. Micheal Porter adds that organizations become leading organizations when they ensure employees feel satisfied and happy. This in turn would contribute to raising the productivity levels of employees.

The Study’s Approach

The researcher adopted a descriptive analytical approach. She adopted this approach to examine the relationship between the independent and dependent variables (i.e. relationship between strategic planning and employee satisfaction at Kuwait University)

This study is an empirical study by nature. It is also an explanatory study in terms of goal, because it aims to explore the relationships between two variables, the cause and effect. In terms of planning, this study is a non-contrived study. That is because this study was conducted in organizational environments without the interference of the researcher. This study is also considered a cross-sectional study. It is an illustrative study, because it aims to explore the cause and effect operationalized in the study.

The Study’s Population

The population of this study consists of all employees working at Kuwait University. This population includes: the president of the university, vice president, secretary general, and employees working in university faculties. There are 16 faculties at Kuwait University. The population of this study totals at 5239 employees. This number is obtained from the statistical data provided by vice president for planning affairs. This statistical data pertains to the year 2019.

The Study’s Sample

To ensure that the sample is suitable for meeting the study’s goals, the researcher used the sampling rules that govern. The sample needed for representing a population consisting from 5500 individuals is represented in 395 individuals. The number of the population in this study is close to the number of the population in the latter rule (Sekaran & Uma, 2003). The researcher distributed the questionnaire forms electronically, using Google Forms. That was done to ensure that the distribution process was carried out efficiently and swiftly. It was done to record and analyze results in an efficient manner. The questionnaire forms were passed via email. They were filled by 362 individuals.

Data Collection Sources

The researcher used two data collection sources

Secondary Sources

They involve the relevant books, and studies published in respected periodicals

Primary Sources

They involve the questionnaire used in this study

Validity of the Instrument

The questionnaire was passed to 19 faculty members. Those faculty members were chosen from various universities. They were asked to assess the questionnaire in terms of relevancy, clarity and language.

Cronbach Alpha Coefficient Value

Cronbach alpha coefficient values are calculated to ensure that the questionnaire is valid. The questionnaires would be accepted as valid if they register a value greater than 0.70 (Hair et al., 2017). Based on the results, the Cronbach alpha coefficient values in this study are greater than 0.70. That means that the instrument has a high validity level. Cronbach alpha coefficient values are displayed in Table 1

Table 1 Cronbach Alpha Coefficient Values
Variable	Cronbach Alpha Coefficient Value
The administrative dimension	0.895
The academic dimension	0.875
The operational dimension	0.914
Strategic planning	0.949
Customer satisfaction	0.894

Description of the Study’s Sample

The first section of the questionnaire aims to obtain demographic data and job-related data. To be specific, it aims to collect data about the (gender, age, academic qualification, experience and sector) of the respondent. The data in this regard is presented below through presenting frequencies and percentages:

Distribution of the Study’s Sample According to Gender

Based on Table 2, 32.9% of the respondents are males. 67.1% of the respondents are females. That means that a majority of employees in Kuwait University are females. It may be attributed to the fact that the administrative jobs in the latter university attracts females due to having relatively fewer working hours. The same applies to all public universities in Kuwait.

Table 2 Frequencies and Percentages for the Distribution of the Study’s Sample According to Gender
Category	Frequency	Percentage
Male	119	32 . 9
Female	243	67 . 1
Overall	362	100

Distribution of the Study’s Sample According to Age

Based on Table 3, about half of the ages of the respondents are within the following range: (35 years-less than 45 years). They represent 41.2%. 39.5% of the ages of the respondents are within the following range: (40 years–less than 50 years). 2% of the ages of respondents are less than 25 years. That indicates that the greatest percentage of the academic and administrative staff in Kuwait University are people in their middle age. That is because employers at the university seek to recruit people with adequate experience. The university attracts employees who are middle aged. Less than one third of the ages of the sampled respondents are within the following range: (25 years–less than 35 years).

Table 3 Frequencies and Percentages for the Distribution of the Study’s Sample According to Age
Category	Frequency	Percentage
Less than 25 years	4	1.1
25 –less than 35 years	66	1 8 . 2
35 less than 45 years	14 9	41. 2
45 years or above	14 3	39.5
Overall	362	100

The Distribution of the Study’s Sample According to Academic Qualification

Based on Table 4, the greatest percentage of the respondents are BA holders. They represent 45% of the respondents. That indicates that Kuwait University prefers recruiting employees holding university degrees in administrative positions due to the nature of the academic climate in the university. 20.2% of the respondents are MA holders and 27% of the respondents are PhD degree holders. The least percentage of the respondents are diploma holders. Diploma holders hold technical and administrative jobs in the lowest level in the organizational structure. They represent 7.8% of the respondents. The percentages in this regard indicate that Kuwait University’s management prefer recruiting people who possess advanced academic qualifications due to the nature of work at the university.

Table 4 Frequencies and Percentages for the Distribution of the Study’s Sample According to Academic Qualification
Category	Frequency	Percentage
Diploma or less	28	7. 8
BA	163	45 .0
MA	73	20 . 2
PhD degree	98	27.0
Overall	362	100

The Distribution of the Study’s Sample According to Experience

Based on Table 5, half of the respondents have more than 15 years of experience. They represent 53.3%. 27.6% of the respondents hold experience that is within the following range (10 years – less than 15 years). The latter percentage represents the least percentage. 12.7% of the respondents hold experience that is within the following range: (5 years –less than 10 years). 6.4% of the respondents hold experience that is less than 5 years. The latter percentages indicate that the management of Kuwait University is keen on retaining employees who have much experience in their academic or administrative positions. Working in a public body is associated with much job security for employees who possess much experience. The percentages related to experience are consistent with the percentages related to age (in Table No. 2). That is because there is a positive relationship between age and experience.

Table 5 Frequencies and Percentages for The Distribution of the Study’s Sample According Experience
Category	Frequency	Percentage
5 years or less	23	6.4
5 years–less than 10 years	4 6	12 .7
10 years–less than 15 years	100	27.6
15 years or more	193	53. 3
Overall	362	100

The Distribution of the Study’s Sample According to Sector

Based on Table 6, one third of the respondents work in faculties, which constitutes 61.6% of the sampled population. 25.2% of the respondents work in the secretary general sector. 13.2% of the respondents work in the sector of university presidents and vice presidents. That is consistent with the nature of the distribution of employees in various sectors in Kuwait University. The faculties sector shows the greatest percentage, followed by the percentage of the secretary general sector. The university president sector shows the least percentage.

Table 6 Frequencies and Percentages for the Distribution of the Study’s According to Sector
Category	Frequency	Percentage
University president	12	3. 3
Vice president	3 6	9.9
Secretary general	91	25 . 2
Faculties	2 23	61. 6
Overall	362	100

Results Related to the Study’s Variables

Results to the items related to the independent variable (i.e. strategic planning) and its dimensions.

The researcher calculated means and standard deviations in order to describe the respondents’ answers. Criteria for classifying means are shown below:

Low: 2.33–1

Moderate: 3.66–2.33

High: 3.66–5.00

This part of the study presents a description of the study’s independent variable (i.e. strategic planning) and its levels. It presents this description to determine the extent to which strategic planning is practiced in Kuwait University. It presents an answer to the study’s first question (i.e. what is the relative significance of strategic planning in Kuwait University from the perspective of the respondents?). To answer this question, means and standard deviations are calculated for the items related to the levels of strategic planning. They are shown in (Table 6)

Table 7 presents all the means of the levels of strategic planning. They are within the range of 3.068–3.188. The mean of the academic level shows the highest mean. The standard deviation of this level is 1.124. The mean of the administrative level is ranked second. The mean of the operational level is ranked third. All the means are close to each other. The overall mean of strategic planning is 3.129. That indicates that the significance of strategic planning at Kuwait University is moderate. It indicates that the extent of practicing strategic planning at Kuwait University is moderate. If the management of Kuwait University wants to raise this, it must pass the details related to its strategic plan to the greatest number of employees.

Table 7 Means and Standard Deviations of the Dimensions of Strategic Planning
The Dimensions of Strategic Planning	Mean	Std.	Level
The administrative dimension	3.132	1.054	Moderate
The academic dimension	3.188	1.124	Moderate
The operational dimension	3.068	1.106	Moderate
Overall	3.129	1.095	Moderate

Based on Table 8, the relative significance of the items related to employee satisfaction is moderate. The overall mean is 2.930 which are moderate. The overall standard deviation is 1.191. The means of item No. 29 and item No. 27 are moderate. They are 3.06 and 3.05 respectively. Item No. 29 states the following (The management of the university is keen on creating a suitable work environment for employees). Item NO. 27 states the following: (The management of the university is keen on developing the capabilities of employees through facilitating the attendance of symposiums, conferences, and workshops). The standard deviations of those items are 1.127 and 1.218. They indicate that there are shortcomings in the organizational environment. They indicate that there is difficulty in securing opportunities for developing the employees’ capabilities, such as: attendance of symposiums, conferences, and workshops. The mean of item No. 28 is 2.86. The latter statement states the following: (The promotion and incentives system used by the management of the University for promoting academics and administrators and providing them with incentives is fair). The latter mean is moderate. That indicates that the level of the employee satisfaction with the latter system is moderate. Promotion of academics in this context refers to providing them with higher academic titles. Promotion of administrators in this context refers to providing them with higher supervision positions. The mean of item 26 is 2.84. The latter item states the following: (The management of the university measures the level of employee satisfaction with the services provided to them). The latter mean indicates that the attitudes of respondents towards the services provided to them are moderate. It indicates that the employee satisfaction with services isn’t adequate or doesn’t target all the services. The mean of item No. 30 is ranked last. The latter item states the following: (The management of the university takes into consideration the suggestions and complaints provided by employees). The latter mean indicates that Kuwait University doesn’t provide adequate attention to the complaints and suggestions provided by employees.

Table 8 Means and Standard Deviations Related to Employee Satisfaction at the University of Kuwait
Item	Mean	Std.	Rank	Level
The management of the university measures the level of employee satisfaction with the services provided to them	2.84	1.194	4	Moderate
The management of the university is keen on developing the capabilities of employees through facilitating the attendance of symposiums, conferences, and workshops	3.05	1.218	2	Moderate
The promotion and incentives system used by the management of the university for promoting academics and administrators and providing them with incentives is fair	2. 9 4	1.298	3	Moderate
The management of the university is keen on creating a suitable work environment for employees	3.0 6	1.127	1	Moderate
The management of the university takes into consideration the suggestions and complaints provided by employees	2.76	1.116	5	Moderate
Overall	2.930	1.191		Moderate

Test of the Hypotheses:

The main Hypothesis:

H0: Strategic planning doesn’t have any significant impact –at the significance level of (a ≤ 0.05)- on the employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

Multiple Regressions was used to test above hypothesis, following results were found:

Table 9 shows that F-value=178.353 is significant at 0.05 levels. That means that the hypothesis is accepted. It indicates that strategic planning has a significant impact –at the significance level of (a≤0.05) - on the employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

Table 9 Main Hypothesis Testing
MODEL SUMMARY
Model		R	R Square			Adjusted R Square			Std. Error of the Estimate
1		0.774	0.599			0.596			0.62148
ANOVA
Model					Sum of Squares			df		Mean Square		F		Sig.
1	Regression				206.660			3		68.887		178.353		0.000
	Residual				138.273			358		0.386
	Total				344.933			361
COEFFICIENTS
Model				Unstandardized Coefficients							Standardized Coefficients		t		Sig.
				B			Std. Error				Beta
1	(Constant)			0.012			0.131						0.088		0.930
	ind1			0.223			0.068				0.197		3.293		0.001
	ind2			0.279			0.065				0.257		4.314		0.000
	ind3			0.420			0.065				0.382		6.427		0.000

In addition, r value is 0.774. It reflects the existence of a strong correlation between the independent and dependent variables.

The researcher presented below the results of testing the hypotheses:

H0.1: The administrative dimension of strategic planning doesn’t have any significant impact –at the significance level of (a ≤ 0.05)-on the employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

Linear Regression analysis was carried out to test the latter hypothesis. The results of the latter analysis are shown below:

Table 10 shows that F-value=337.646 is significant at 0.05 level. That means that the latter hypothesis is accepted. It means that the administrative dimension of strategic planning as a significant impact at the significance level of (a≤0.05) - on the employee satisfaction at Kuwait University

Table 10 H01 Testing
MODEL SUMMARY
Model			R		R Square			Adjusted R Square		Std. Error of the Estimate
1			0.696		0.484			0.483		0.70315
ANOVA
Model				Sum of Squares			Df		Mean Square		F			Sig.
1	Regressio  n			166.940		1			166.940				337.646			0.000
	Residual			177.992		360			0.494
	Total			344.933		361
COEFFICIENTS
Model				Unstandardized Coefficients					Standardized Coefficients			t				Sig.
				B		Std. Error			Beta
1		(Constant)		0.432		0.141										0.002
		ind1		0.788		0.043			0.696				18.375		0.000

In addition, it was found that r value is 0.696. It reflects that a strong correlation exists between the independent and dependent variables.

H0.2: The academic dimension of strategic planning doesn’t have any significant impact at the significance level of (a ≤ 0.05)-on the employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

Linear regression analysis was carried out to test the latter hypothesis. The results of the latter analysis are shown below:

Table 11 shows that F-value=361.118 is significant at 0.05 levels. That means that the latter hypothesis is accepted. It means that the academic level of strategic planning as a significant impact –at the significance level of (a≤0.05) - on the employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

Table 11 H02 Testing
MODEL SUMMARY
Model	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	Std. Error of the Estimate
1	0.708a	0.501	0.499	0.69161
ANOVA
Model		Sum of Squares	df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
1	Regression	172.734	1	172.734	361.118	0.000
	Residual	172.199	360	0.478
	Total	344.933	361
Coefficients
Model		Unstandardized Coefficients		Standardized Coefficients	t	Sig.
		B	Std. Error	Beta
1	(Constant)	0.452	0.135		3.340	0.001
	ind2	0.770	0.041	0.708	19.003	0.000

In addition, it was found that r-value is 0.708. It indicates that a strong correlation exists between the independent and dependent variables.

H0.3: The operational dimension of strategic planning doesn’t have any significant impact –at the significance level of (a ≤ 0.05) - on the employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

Linear regression analysis was carried out to test the latter hypothesis. The results of the latter analysis is shown below:

Table 12 shows that the F- value is 423.392 which is statistically significant at 0.05 level. That means that the latter hypothesis is accepted. It means that the operational level of strategic planning as a significant impact at the significance level of (a ≤ 0.05)-on the employee satisfaction at Kuwait University.

Table 12 H03 Testing
MODEL SUMMARY
Model		R	R Square			Adjusted R Square			Std. Error of the Estimate
1		0.735	0.540			0.539			0.66356
ANOVA
Model					Sum of Squares			Df		Mean Square		F		Sig.
1	Regression				186.422			1		186.422		423.392		0.000
	Residual				158.510			360		0.440
	Total				344.933			361
COEFFICIENTS
Model				Unstandardized Coefficients							Standardized Coefficients		t		Sig.
				B			Std. Error				Beta
1	(Constant)			0.401			0.128						3.137		0.002
	ind3			0.809			0.039				0.735		20.576		0.000

In addition, the r value is 0.735. It indicates that a strong correlation exists between the independent and dependent variables.

Conclusion

The researcher reached the results presented below:

The relative significance of the items related to strategic planning is moderate. The academic levels show the highest mean, followed by the administrative and operational levels respectively.

This result may be attributed to having a moderate amount of knowledge among employees at Kuwait University about the strategic plan adopted by the university. However, there is a department that is responsible for strategic planning affairs, which is responsible for passing information about the university’s strategic plan to employees holding leadership and supervisory positions. These employees represent one third of all employees. They are responsible for meeting the goals outlined in the strategies set by strategic planning department. Showing the highest mean by the academic dimensions may be attributed to the nature of the goals of the organization (i.e. educational goals). This is in agreement with the conclusion reached. Mashal aimed to identify the levels of strategic planning in higher educational institutions, focusing on the administrative, academic, operational and social levels. He found that the elements of the strategy implemented by a higher educational institution must complement each other to achieve sustainability. The same was confirmed. Mahzoudah carried out a study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He similarly adds that elements of strategy must complement each other to meet the goals of the university. The results in this regard are consistent with the results. The latter researcher found that strategic planning has a major impact on employee satisfaction.

Based on the results, the researcher recommends:

Providing attention to achieving a just allocation of working hours to faculty members, as such a just allocation will allow faculty members to raise their research productivity.

The researcher also recommends providing faculty members with advanced facilities in order to support academic research.

Demonstrating transparency and sound governance when carrying out procedures related to promoting employees holding academic and administrative positions.

Measuring employee satisfaction levels in an on-going manner. The researcher recommends providing more attention to the employees’ suggestions and complaints

Conducting further studies about strategic planning. The researcher also recommends conducting studies about the impact of strategic planning on customer satisfaction in higher educational institutions.

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