Managing constraints in teaching and learning in higher education in Oman: understanding market orientation and quality service delivery

Abstract

The main thrust of this research is to contribute to theory building in the Theory of Constraints (TOC) in logistics management and its applicability in Oman Higher Education Institutions (referred to as HEI right through), with focus on colleges and universities. One of the two major theories of higher education said a blend of theory and practice was the only way to get quality graduates in HEI. The research will explore gaps in knowledge regarding these theories as a contribution to knowledge. Logistics will be looked at in this research as a support function for marketing strategy. Market orientation is a company philosophy focused on discovering and meeting the needs and desires of company or organizational customers through its products mix, and in this instance HEI will be expected to meet foremost the needs of industry and government as employers of graduated students, then the needs of students and society. Axtell quoting Lombardi argued that the quality of university research drove the quality, breadth, and depth of the undergraduate curriculum and that teaching delivered the state of current knowledge while research pursued knowledge at the boundaries of our current understanding, (Axtell, 2016:3510). Field research would shed light on research-teaching nexus in Oman compared to the GCC and the world at large. This will be an intensive in-depth single case study, with Oman being the case. This research paper focused the management of constraints in higher education teaching and learning in Oman and understanding market orientation and quality service delivery.  This paper is constructed from the researcher’s PhD thesis as a way of disseminating critical new knowledge on higher education in Oman and globally, for the betterment and benefit of academia and society.