Deconstructing divisions : cultural schismogeneses as sources of creativity in organizations

Drawing on Gregory Bateson’s theory of cultural schismogenesis, the authors analyse such processes within two organizations: the Birdwatching and Bird Study Association of Slovenia and VU University Amsterdam. Both cases illustrate internal cultural divisions typical for non-profit organizations whose goals go beyond optimizing financial profits and can thus be interpreted in various, sometimes conflicting, ways. The article demonstrates how organizational members, through continuous processes of creative deconstruction, transform organizations by simultaneously creating both schisms and coalitions. This shows that, although cultural divisions may at first glance seem destructive, they are at the same time sources of creativity that permit organizational renewal and growth

Identity construction among university department heads

In an increasingly managerial higher education environment, the position of university department heads (DHs) has become continuously more complex. To uncover the tense dynamics between individual DHs and their social milieus, this paper draws on an ethnographic analysis of DHs’ research management activities at an English university. Constructing their identities as managers, DHs are prompted to draw on a multiplicity of often contradictory discourses stemming from their personal biographies, various organizational units, and national directives. The findings uncover the numerous struggles pertaining to DHs’ identity construction processes as they respond to ongoing change while accounting to multiple, heterogeneous audiences

Studying higher education close-up: unexplored potentials of 'shadowing' in higher education research

Shadowing is a form of non-participant observation that entails following and observing research participants as they go about their everyday business. It offers a possibility to gain in-depth insights into individuals’ actions, roles, and personalities, as well as their social relations and environments. However, shadowing remains as do other observational and ethnographic methods largely unfamiliar within the field of higher education research. As a result, a methodological and, consequently, knowledge gap has formed: while document, policy, survey, and interview analyses offer insights into how things should be done or are said to be done, few studies offer an understanding of how things are actually done. Based on my experience of shadowing heads of departments at an English university, I discuss the strengths of the method and warn about the issues one has to carefully navigate when conducting shadowing, with a particular focus on carrying out such research in higher education environments. The chapter advocates for a wider use of shadowing among higher education researchers, concluding that our understanding of higher education dynamics can benefit most from this method when it is combined with other data collection techniques

The changing face of academic middle management : an ethnographic exploration of university heads of department’s identities

Academic middle managers, such as department heads and faculty deans, are a group of managers who sit between the top university management and the academic leaders below middle management. This position makes them crucial to the management of academic activities and the implementation of university directives. However, their responsibilities are rarely straightforward. With the advance of managerialism in higher education institutions, previously characterized mainly by collegial and professional academic values, the role of these managers has evolved from one largely defined by academic leadership to one in which they assume significant managerial responsibilities. As a result, their positions have become increasingly complex and often require addressing conflicting expectations. Based on an ethnographic study conducted in a faculty of an English university, this dissertation examines in depth the complex environments and lived experiences of three heads of department through the lens of their managerial identities construction. Focusing on the instances in which the department heads experienced tensions between their multiple managerial identities informed by different identity sources, the study offers detailed insights into the academic middle managers’ general conceptions of their managerial identities and their sense of managerial self in relation to their research management responsibilities

'Beyond the cookie factory': resisting new public management at VU University Amsterdam

The presentation depicts the complexities of collective forms of resistance to organisational change of a New Public Management (NPM) nature at VU University Amsterdam (the VU), and the response of its management to that resistance. It is the result of a 3-month qualitative research consisting of semi-structured interviewing and participant observation. Twenty-two in-depth interviews were conducted. Further, the researcher attended eight meetings and a public event organised by an informal resistance group. The data was analysed using an interpretivist approach, focusing on understanding the interpretations of the social as perceived by the research participants. Since the 1980’s, public institutions all over the world have been influenced by NPM reforms which have introduced business-like characteristics such as private-sector styles of management, a focus on output, and parsimony in use of resources (Hood, 1991). Dutch universities have been no exception (De Boer et al., 2007). However, at the VU, these changes have not gone unchallenged. An informal platform of opposing academic and support staff was formed, linking their activities to the work of the unions and the Works Council. In their manifesto, they argue that the VU is turning into an organisation where private-sector styles of management are taking over, and that for this reason an alternative management approach is needed. Spicer and Böhm’s (2007) model of resistance to ‘managerial hegemony’ is used to analyse the ways in which different informal and formal collective resistance agents at the VU have cooperated in order to achieve their (sometimes contradicting) goals. The commonalities and discrepancies between the different movements are shown. Furthermore, the presentation provides an analysis of the ways in which the management has responded to the resistance, and how this response has influenced its development (Courpasson et al., 2012). The author concludes that the complexities inherent in the resistance movement are a consequence of both the dissimilarities among the resistance agents, and the differing response of the management. In addition, a further complexity referring to an overlap of the resistant’s and the dominant’s aims is identified. Courpasson, D., Golsorkhi, D., & Sallaz, J. J. (2012). Rethinking Power in Organizations, Institutions, and Markets: Classical Perspectives, Current Research, and the Future Agenda. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 34(1), 1-20. De Boer, H. F., Enders, J., & Leisyte, L. (2007). Public Sector Reform in Dutch Higher Education: The Organizational Transformation of the University. Public Administration, 85(1), 27-46. Hood, C. (1991). A Public Management for All Seasons? Public Administration, 69(1), 3-19. Spicer, A., & Böhm, S. (2007). Moving Management: Theorizing Struggles against the Hegemony of Management. Organization Studies, 28(11), 1667-1698