The purpose of this paper is to identify the diverse challenges that are confronted by Jacksonville University (JU). Based on the external scanning processes, the environmental threats and opportunities, which will exert an impact on JU's survival and performance, will be identified. Furthermore, how JU should deal with these environmental conditions or take advantage of the opportunities will also be considered by addressing its internal conditions.
In the remainder of this paper, the current societal trends that will affect JU's survival and performance will first be highlighted. Then the implications of these trends on JU's existence will be discussed. Specific ways of how JU will need to adapt its structural and operational components to deal with these trends will be proposed and analyzed.
One of the most significant trends that have occurred in contemporary society is the advent of the information revolution. With society's entry into the knowledge era, information and computing technologies (ICTs) have become a pervasive part of the everyday life including the home, schools and the workplace. Because of the increasing digitization of the workplace and the continuous evolution of ICTs, professionals in many work settings will need to acquire the knowledge and skills required to utilize ICTs within the work settings effectively. The developments in ICTs have also generated a heightened demand for specialized professionals in the fields of information technology, science and engineering (Cetron & Davies, 2003a).
Moreover, because the half-life of knowledge has decrease significantly due to the constant developments in ICTs, they will need to update their knowledge and skills on a continuous basis (Flew, 2002). Working professionals who are in constant need of training to update their knowledge are contributing to the changing demographics of the student population. Many of these working adults pursue formal educ...