scholarly journals German Universities as Actors in Organizational Design – A Qualitative Study

Author(s):  
Ilse Hagerer ◽  
Uwe Hoppe

After the latest reforms in higher education according to the NPM (New Public Management), the autonomy of universities and the organizational perspective have been strengthened. According to predominantly used neo-institutional research in higher education, organizations adapt their structure by the pressure of legitimacy from outside. So the research question arises, if universities are actors and if so, what are the influencing factors on organizational structure. The goal is to point out the reasons for organizational design and if they act on their own or only adapt changes by pressure from outside. For this, interviews with 16 experts in faculty management are conducted and interpreted using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring and Grounded Theory. The results show that it is possible for faculties to change and design their organizational structures. There is staff responsible for this task. They work in the faculty between management and administration. Reasons to change the organizational structure are not caused by legitimacy. Much more, the new tasks cause a real need for new positions. This argumentation is not in line with neo-institutionalism. So the results strengthen the thesis that neo-institutionalism is not sufficient anymore to explain the organizational change of universities.

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Margaret Hodgins ◽  
Patricia Mannix McNamara

New managerialism and the pervasive neoliberalisation of universities is by now a well-established phenomenon. Commentaries explore the political and economic drivers and effects of neoliberal ideology, and critique the impact on higher education and academic work. The impact on the health and well-being of academic staff has had less attention, and it is to that we turn in this paper. Much academic interest in neoliberalism stems from the UK, Australia and the United States. We draw particularly on studies of public Irish universities, where neoliberalism, now well entrenched, but something of a late-comer to the new public management party, is making its presence felt. This conceptual paper explores the concept of neoliberalism in higher education, arguing that the policies and practices of new public management as exercised in universities are a form of bullying; what we term institutional bullying. The authors are researchers of workplace culture, workplace bullying and incivility. Irish universities are increasingly challenged in delivering the International Labour Organisation (ILO) principles of decent work, i.e., dignity, equity, fair income and safe working conditions. They have become exposed in terms of gender imbalance in senior positions, precariat workforce, excessive workload and diminishing levels of control. Irish universities are suffering in terms of both the health and well-being of staff and organisational vibrancy. The authors conclude by cautioning against potential neoliberal intensification as universities grapple with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper reviews neoliberalism in higher education and concludes with insight as to how the current pandemic could act as a necessary catalyst to stem the tide and ‘call out’ bullying at the institutional level.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-66
Author(s):  
Joost Beuving ◽  
Geert de Vries

This article discusses how the teaching of qualitative research in higher education is threatened by the effects of new public management, by academic culture wars and by a growing belief in big data. The controversy over Alice Goffman’s book On the Run presents one recent example of this. In an effort to counterbalance these developments, this article stresses the importance in social science curricula of ‘naturalistic inquiry’ – the artisanal core of qualitative research. Explicitly acknowledging emic viewpoints, naturalistic inquiry upholds the emancipatory ideal of making society transparent to its members. Teaching naturalistic inquiry as a craft may be the best way to assure ‘qualitative literacy’ among graduates in their various careers as socially responsible professionals.


2020 ◽  
pp. 147490412096757
Author(s):  
Mariana Gaio Alves ◽  
Michael Tomlinson

This article examines how the value of higher education (HE) is currently being (re)framed in two European countries: England and Portugal. HE has been central to a global discourse on the future of knowledge economy, whilst also being subject to the policy framework of New Public Management. Being so, the changing value of HE is related to the ways in which its missions are understood and must be considered within the context of massification, as well as of a growing importance of employability. Drawing on published research and also considering national policy documents and statistical data produced by international organizations, the analysis demonstrates how HE in these two countries is currently being (re)framed, recognizing differences and similarities that express national specificities, as well as exploring how these have evolved within the wider national and pan-national policy context. Overall, the examination demanded going beyond the marketization approach by complementing it with the idea of public good and leads us to stress the importance of the tension between these two approaches as an analytical framework to better understand the changes occurring in different national contexts, within a transnational framework in which the knowledge economy and the central role of HE seems to be indisputably accepted.


Upravlenie ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-67
Author(s):  
Ломовицкая ◽  
V. Lomovitskaya ◽  
Хватова ◽  
T. Khvatova ◽  
Душина ◽  
...  

New public management practices in prestigious universities are researched in this paper. Based on the field study — higher-education teaching personnel (HETP) interrogation — problem areas related to university managerialism policy have been revealed. It has been shown, that the administrative machine and control department extension, as well as low level of professorship involvement in decision-making destroy the academic autonomy and create a latent conflict between managers and HETP.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Hinke Dobrochinski Candido

This article investigates changes in the interference of the private sector in Brazilian public education, following the military dictatorship through today, focusing on evaluation policies that introduce data for education governance and results-based management. This research identifies changes related to educational policies and practices influenced by managerial models, showing the progressive disconnection of the public character from educational institutions. The political–educational context of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina and its capital, Florianópolis, serves as the empirical case. Qualitative content analysis explores how ideas from the private sector have been integrated into Brazilian public education and how evaluation and the use of data according to the logic of that sector contribute to incorporating managerial practices into public education governance. Interviews with key actors in the field of education in Santa Catarina and Florianópolis reveal how the private sector influenced political developments in education. The analysis indicates that education governance in that context follows the principles of New Public Management, associated with public–private interactions, providing a specific type of rationality to the field of education.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document