Gaining competitive advantage: The case of five selected instituions of higher learning in Zimbabwe

This paper used a business lens to analyse human resources and marketing strategies used by Zimbabwean Universities to gain competitive advantage. It recognised the intense competition among institutions of higher learning, collected data, arrived at plausible conclusions and finally arrived at recommendations. This paper concluded that there was business in non- profit making organisations like universities. It also found that the majority of Human Resources Strategies and Marketing Strategies traditionally associated with industry (i.e. manufacturing, processing, financial serves sector, retail) where the target is to make profit were relevant to institutions of Higher Learning. The drive to redress pre-independence inequalities and increase access to education saw the number of schools going up rapidly. Subsequently, the number of Universities had to follow suit, in order to cater for those who wanted to further their studies. As expected the universities found themselves competing. Strategic management had to be effectively utilized for attracting new students and minimizing attrition rates. Human resources strategies were found to be to attract, develop and retain suitably qualified employees too. Equally significant were the Marketing strategies. Several recommendations were arrived at, at the end of the study.