eair 2014 harboe&kallenberg

Shifting boundaries: The academic middle manager negotiating the landscape

between policy and practice

Paper Presentation EAIR 2014Higher Education Diversity and Excellence for Society

Duisburg-Essen, Germany, August 28-30, 2014.

Ton KallenbergLeiden University - The Netherlands

Thomas HarboeKopenhagen University - Denmark

1. Introduction2. Position academic middle manager3. Changing landscape Higher Education4. Management concepts5. Discussion: a critical juncture?

introductionposition middle

managerchanging

landscape HEmanagement

concepts

Discussion: a critical juncture?

We are “administrators” working on the cross field between the domains of professionals (researchers/teachers) and administrators (management, administration).We fulfilled our PhD-research in 2013.Now we’re going on with our research on academic middle management in shifting national and institutional boundaries.

Harboe (2013): 11 semi-structured qualitative interviews with Danish heads of study from 5 out of 8 HE-institutions in Denmark, combined with studies of the literature and relevant documents. Kallenberg (2013): a written survey among academic middle managers working at 14 Dutch universities and 44 universities of applied sciences in The Netherlands. The analysis included 246 subjects (33,37 %) and adequately represents each HE-institution in The Netherlands.

Different methods – but the same conclusions!

Who we are and what we do


managerchanging


concepts


Academic middle manager (Hellawell & Hancock, 2001; Kallenberg, 2005) = umbrella term for the middle manager who:...is integrally responsible for program curricula, from strategy - including participation in decisions on institutional strategy and responsibility for School/faculty strategy - through to educational management - including control of education and research programs and student relations within the governing board’s parameters.

academic manager (Mercer, 2009)mid-level academic manager (Inman, 2007; Whitchurch, 2008; Larsen et al, 2009)manager academics (Deem & Brehony, 2005)

Subject: The (academic) middle manager


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concepts


Academic middle managers are functioning on different levels in the HE-organization:

• academic dean (Wolverton et al 2001, Vieira da Motta & Bolan, 2008)

• head of department (Smith R., 2003)

• head of study (Kallenberg 2013, Harboe 2013)

• programme directors, course coordinators (Ladyshewsky et al., 2007)

Subject: The (academic) middle manager


managerchanging


concepts


“You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.”

“You’re in the line of fire whether you want it or not”

(interviews, Kallenberg, 2013)

The position of the academic middle manager

“It's really a strange title, Head of Study, because you're virtually not leading anyone. You do not have any formal leadership responsibilities. On the contrary, it is a very informal leadership position. A kind of political leadership, if you will. I think Head of Study is a very misleading title. Maybe I'm more a kind of a Study Developer.”

(Interview, Harboe, 2013)


managerchanging


concepts


possibilities:• unique ‘(tacit) knowledge’ basis (he

knows what’s happening in the organization)

• integrates strategic information with operational information (and vice versa)

• is in position to speak and negotiate with stakeholders in the organization on strategic, organizational and operational level.

• relatively large freedom with regard to his acting and behavior: his role fulfillment

constraints:• encapsulated in processes• imbalance in role

expectations and freedom of action

• accountable, but no authorization

• leadership is expected, but account with reference to managerial targets, etc.

The academic middle manager holds an paradoxical in-between position


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concepts







constraints:• encapsulated in

processes• imbalance in role






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The prism effect

the prism effect of the academic middle manager is that he select, interprets and synthesizes information and uses this information in a custom way elsewhere in the organization.

(Kallenberg, 2013)


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constraints:• encapsulated in processes• imbalance in role






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The traditional collegial culture

“The role I really often get, is what some call a broker. A kind of dealer. One to get the pieces to fall into place, after prior consultation with the Head of Department, of course, but also with the staff. So, it is very rare that I order people to take care of certain tasks. More often I have, what you can call, friendly conversation and queries. If people disagree with me, they are welcome to meet with the Head of Department. Because I have no formal powers to put too much trump behind my words.”

(interview, Harboe, 2013)


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Guard - creating an atmosphere of order and alignment within the studyGuide - introducing and maintaining cohesion and development of the employeesConstructor - focussing on achieving goalsDiplomat - searching in a creative manner for opportunities and means to realize his vision.

Role fulfillment of academic middle managers

(Kallenberg, 2013)


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it’s not stableit gets other characteristicsthe policy room is changing: shifting boundaries

Changing landscape in Higher Education


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Netherlands: Recently new attention for quality of teaching; quality of education; increasing criticism on (the amount of) managers in education

Denmark: high level of political attention, local reforms changing focus from the local professional basis organization to the multidisciplinary levels, leadership programmes aimed specific at Heads of Study


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Macro level: Reforms and political attentions

Changing landscape Higher Education

Traditional Forms New Public Management

Decision making

Garbage can models Rationalist approach

Interconnection Loosely coupled systems

collegiality

Tight and controlled

competitive

Inflow initial students increasing diversity

Quality assurance

emerging peer-review necessity to prove quality

Focus on Learning of students

Academic values

Efficiency of students

Efficiency / effectivity

Output Quality driven Quantity driven (“publish or perish”)

Governance Democratic Hierarchicintroduction

position middle manager

changing landscape HE

management concepts



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Our struggle and questioning

“Today I would guess that you can not start a new program without the department head and the dean to not just say it's a good plan, but to be wholeheartedly for it. I did once, actually, started a program from scratch without the support and I sourced support along the way. Today it is not to be this bottom-up process. Today you will evaluate how needs are different places and develop a strategy: "Develop this program". And this is in my opinion very demotivating.”

(interview, Harboe, 2013)


managerchanging


concepts


The strategic levels are more dominant today

1. tension of focus: centralization versus decentralization (central staff vs faculties)

2. tension of functions: administrators (managerial efficiency) versus professionals (content quality)

3. tension of initiative: top-down versus bottom-up (and vice-versa)

4. tension of interest: education versus research 5. tension of control: hierarchy versus collegiality

Tensions that mark the position of the academic middle manager


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Dominant perspective on middle management from literature:

60’s - control agent (Chandler, Cyert & March)

70’s - “Jack of all trades” (Mintzberg, Adizes, Quinn & Rohrbauch)

80’s - Desillusion 90’s - Strategist (Floyd & Wooldridge, Bartlett & Ghoshal, Nonaka & Takeuchi)

00’s - Knowledge broker (Huy, Druskat & Wheeler, Larsen)

10’s - ???

Management concepts


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From To

Character Professionalism Managerialism

Focus Intern oriented and control Management of external relations

Ambition Leaders with own academic career

Leaders with managerial driving forces

Appointment Temporarily part time position Permanent full time position

Focus on Learning of studentsAcademic values

Professional autonomy

Efficiency of studentsEfficiency / effectivity

Common output

Control Democratic governance model Hierarchic professional model / integral management

Trends in the management concepts


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1. pendulum movement towards a new kind of professionalism?

2. the academic middle manager is still in the same position with the same constraints and possibilities

3. the academic middle manager is still seeking for a delicate balance, a hybrid spot between professionalism and managerialism.


managerchanging


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Again … the question !

Characteristics of the “third way” new academic middle manager:Subtle leadership, but in a new and more persistent form

• Collegial leadership• Prism effect • Strategic - global awareness, sustainability• Focus on professionalism - content driven, dialogue with the

researchers• Focus on efficiency and effectivity• Skills: framing (what’s expected of me?); holistic view; negotiator;

broker; networker; focus (not 100 but 6 projects); servant leadership;


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You are invited to download the presentation on:www.slidesharenet.com/tonkallenbergThe paper will be available on:https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/TonKallenberg

Thomas [email protected]

Kopenhagen University - Denmark

Ton [email protected]

Leiden University - The Netherlands

http://www.slidesharenet.com/tonkallenberg

https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/TonKallenberg

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

eair 2014 harboe&kallenberg

Education

academic middle management

critical juncture

academic middle managerholds

academic middle manager

academic middlemanager

academic manager mercer

head of study kallenberg

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