write a response with recently peer reviewed articles to this discussion post: Strategic planning concepts reshaped how I developed the Background of the Problem by helping me shift from a general topic to a focused, researchable issue. I applied the concept of environmental scanning to identify patterns in organizational challenges related to employee morale and turnover. This allowed me to clearly state that education leaders, particularly those in college settings, struggle with implementing effective morale-building strategies (Kahn et al., 2019). Recognizing the financial and operational consequences of high turnover gave my problem statement greater urgency and strategic relevance within the broader context of institutional effectiveness.

Connecting the Problem to Broader Research Literature

I found that connecting employee morale to turnover, leadership effectiveness, and institutional performance helped familiarize the reader with the problem. Nguyen and Springer (2023) demonstrated how administrative shortcomings contribute to high attrition rates in the education sector, highlighting systemic issues that impact retention. Speicher et al. (2022) showed that burnout and lack of support contribute to employee dissatisfaction and turnover, particularly among those working with vulnerable populations. These sources allowed me to frame the issue not just as an HR problem but as a strategic leadership challenge, increasing its importance and relevance for stakeholders in higher education.

Applying Course Learning to Avoid Checklist Creep

This course helped me incorporate key learning outcomes into the Background of the Problem by emphasizing strategic alignment, scope control, and research-based justification. I now recognize the value of linking leadership practices and morale improvement strategies to long-term retention outcomes. This course reinforced the importance of maintaining focus to avoid Checklist Creep, a risk that occurs when unrelated or loosely connected ideas expand the scope of the study. By concentrating on the relationship between morale and turnover within educational institutions, I refined the problem to ensure it supports a manageable and purposeful research direction aligned with my research goals.