Organizational Theory in Higher Education

Kathleen Manning

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781317210696
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Didattica
• Subtopic: Istruzione superiore

The second edition of Organizational Theory in Higher Education is a comprehensive and accessible treatment of organizational theory and higher education administration. Noted scholar Kathleen Manning offers a fresh take on the models and lenses through which higher education can be viewed by presenting a full range of organizational theories, from traditional to current. Chapters discuss the disciplinary foundation, structure, metaphor, assumptions, characteristics, and other elements of each organizational theory and conclude with cases highlighting practical applications. Questions for discussion are provided at the end of each chapter and embedded in the cases to assist the reader in making connections to their practice. Manning's rich, interdisciplinary treatment enables readers to gain a full understanding of the perspectives that operate on a college campus and ways to adopt effective practice in the context of new and continuing tensions, contexts, and challenges.

New to this Edition:

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• revised chapters with updated material and new references that reflect current higher education issues including climate change;

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• a new chapter on Institutional Theory, an expanded Feminist and Gendered chapter, and an enhanced Spirituality chapter;

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• new cases throughout to address contemporary issues, and a broader range of institutional types including Historically Black and Hispanic-Serving institutions and 2-year institutions;

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• additional theoretical topics including critical race theory, queer theory, and contemplative practices;

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• updated and enhanced questions for discussion and recommended readings.

1
The Current State of U.S. Higher Education

Context over organizational forms for universities around the world … [is] not a recent development. (Pusser, 2015, p. 67)

U.S. higher education is a complex enterprise open to a range of understandings and interpretations. Complexity within this educational system is expressed in institutional type, environmental pressures, size, multiple and simultaneously occurring organizational structures, and the numerous professional identities of its members. Those working in higher education can only make sense of its complexity by understanding and using a combination of theoretical perspectives through which to understand their environment and view their practice. This book presents eight organizational theories and provides higher education administrators, faculty, staff, trustees, and students with a number of perspectives through which to understand their institution and their work within it.

U.S. Higher Education as a Mature Industry

The higher education “enterprise,” in business terms, is a mature industry (Altbach, 2011; Bills, 2016; Levine, 2001). Theorists postulate that organizations progress through a life cycle: birth and early development, institutionalization, and maturity (Baden-Fuller & Stopford, 1994; Beatty & Ulrich, 1991; Doeringer, 1987; Kimberly, 1980). Mature organizations are slow to change. Their structure is concrete; some would say fossilized, with less room for nimble modifications or novel innovations. The labor force (i.e., faculty, administrators, and staff ) is specialized by function with minimal flexibility within a set of self-perpetuating functions. Mature organizations are often complacent about their market niche. “Mature organizations have a choice to stay dynamic or pass into decline. Mature organizations, with their potentially fossilized structures, must actively work to remain dynamic. This entails astute environmental analysis and an adaptable belief system” (Manning, 1997, p. 6). Given the mature state of U.S. higher education organizations, a fresh look at potential organizational models can help colleges and universities rejuvenate and revitalize this important sector of U.S. education.

Traditional and Current Tensions within Higher Education

The U.S. higher education system contains several historical and current tensions (see Table 1.1). The rapidly changing and increasingly demanding contexts in which higher education currently exists exacerbate these tensions. Several of these tensions are discussed in greater depth below.

Specialization versus Integration

Table 1.1 Historical and Current Tensions in Higher Education

Specialization versus Integration (particularly as expressed in the curriculum)

Sustainability versus Immediacy (particularly as expressed with budgets)

Globalization versus Localization (particularly as expressed in the curriculum)

Corporatization versus Liberal Arts Values (particularly as expressed in faculty hiring patterns)

Professionalism versus Adaptability (particularly as expressed in faculty relations)

Individualism versus Community (particularly as expressed in student life)

Independence versus Interdependence (particularly as expressed in academic freedom)

Structure versus Flexibility (particularly as expressed in organizational forms)

Public versus Private Good (particularly as expressed in public financing)

Competitive versus Collaborative (particularly as expressed in administrative practice)

In terms of the curriculum, decades-long debates have raged about whether it is better to specialize in majors and minors or integrate knowledge through core curricula and general education requirements. The highly professional nature of faculty and the specialized approach of the academic department structure have limited the ability of faculty and administrators to quickly adapt to market-driven curriculum changes and student needs. Whether and how much to emphasize and the individual or the community and balance these is an argument that has long raged in higher education, particularly in residence halls, academic departments, and among members of boards of trustees. The effective mix of interdependence and independence, particularly among faculty, is an elusive goal exacerbated by the ease of communication now available through the internet and social media. Unique practices such as tenure and long-term employment across employee groups create tension between the values of a stable structure versus the adaptability of a flexible, responsive organizational architecture.

Public versus Private Good

Whether higher education is a public or a private good is a debate that has occupied many a student and practitioner of higher education (Kezar, Chambers, & Burkhardt, 2005). The arguments in favor of the private good side of the debate resulted in a shift to loans rather than grants—an assumption that students and their families are responsible for tuition and fees—and decreases in financial support from public sources.

Competition versus Cooperation

A final tension influencing higher education is the competitive versus cooperative tendencies of all organizations. Often voiced in gender-identified language, opinions abound about whether productivity is best achieved by pitting employees in healthy competition or engaging them in cooperative approaches.

The contexts and tensions outlined here describe a higher education condition requiring significant expertise and understanding to effectively manage in today’s environment. An understanding of how higher education organizations operate in circumstances of new and continuing tensions, contexts, and challenges is essential for effective leadership. This expertise extends to the varieties of organizational theories and models available for use within colleges and universities. Without an understanding of how colleges and universities work, administrators, faculty, and higher education stakeholders remain puzzled about why their institutions remain impervious to change, difficult to manage, and resistant to innovation. Without knowledge of organizational structure, faculty are hard pressed to make policy decisions regarding curriculum and other issues; trustees struggle to determine effective institutional purposes; and administrators fight to keep up with the rapid pace of change. This expansive knowledge and expertise about organizational structures is particularly important as old models of competition are replaced with newer models of collaboration.

Higher Education Trends

New computer technologies, innovative ways of communicating, borderless education, globalization, changed configurations of faculty hiring, and re-shaped pedagogies are among the developments that have profoundly altered and will continue to alter higher education.

This book presents organizational theories that can be considered against the backdrop of past, present, and future trends in U.S. higher education. Although several trends are summarized here, it is impossible to predict or foreshadow all or even most future developments. The dynamic, complex, and ever-changing nature of U.S. higher education (and global higher education in general) means that any discussion of trends will be incomplete. The recent and ongoing trends discussed in this chapter, however, bear mention accompanied with the caveat that new trends emerge continuously. These recent trends are presented with associated insights about the ways organizational theories can assist faculty, students, and administrators understand the environment in which they live and work. The multi-modal approach described below can enable all involved in higher education to gain the flexibility and creativity needed to work in complex, ever-changing higher education institutions.

Adapting to New Technologies

Perhaps no development has as much potential for change and both positive and negative disruption as computer technologies.

Technology is reshaping pedagogy and teaching, calling into question traditional beliefs about the role of the professor. It is also spurring the development of new institutional offices and requiring innovations concerning strategy, and resource allocation. (Green, Eckel, & Barblan, 2002, p. 1)

The communication, teaching, and knowledge dissemination currently available through computer technology is unparalleled. Online journals and databases have transformed libraries. One needs only a computer and internet connection, rather than a physical presence, to access a wealth of information. Teaching delivery systems have changed teacher–student communication patterns, created new ways (e.g., chats, videos) for students to be engaged, increased methods of providing student feedback, and eliminated the time and distance limitations of the physical classroom.

Globalization and Internationalization

Higher education has always been global. Since the earliest student and scholar exchanges, higher education has welcomed international visitors, borrowed practices from distant institutions, and generated research through international collaborations. In today’s environment of ubiquitous communication and virtually unlimited access to knowledge, the global reach of international higher education is greater than ever. For all its positive impact, globalization has also raised vexing issues including the overwhelming prevalence of English, the hegemony of capitalism, the dominance of developed over undeveloped and developing nations, and the diminishment of national identities and culture (Green et al., 2002, p. 1).

Dwindling Resources

The challenge of funding higher education is a national and international issue. Budget cuts, some draconian, have characterized many public institutions during the last 15 years. Nations, states, and various government structures have steadily decreased funding. Sentiment has shifted from higher education as a public good to a private one to be funded by the individual or family of the recipient. Budget cuts have been accompanied by historic tuition increases. Used to offset the revenue losses from public sources, these tuition increases have resulted in high student loan borrowing that threatens to burden future generations.

Shifts in Faculty Roles

The “graying” of the faculty is a phenomenon predicted b...