Fabrications, Time-Consuming Bureaucracy and Moral Dilemmas — Finnish University Employees’ Experiences on the Governance of University Work

Using the balanced scorecard as a performance management tool in higher education

“…Notwithstanding, their stakeholders expect their increased accountability and quality assurance, in terms of their efficiency, economy and effectiveness (Camilleri and Camilleri, 2018; Smeenk et al, 2008; Witte and López-Torres, 2017). Hence, HEIs set norms, standards, benchmarks and quality controls to measure their performance, as they are increasingly market-led and customer-driven (Billing, 2004; Etzkowitz et al, 2000; Jauhiainen et al, 2015). Specifically, the universities’ performance is having a positive effect on the economic development of societies, through the provision of inclusive, democratized access to quality education and high-impact research (Arnesen and Lundahl, 2006; Camilleri, 2019a; 2019b).…”

“…As a result, many universities have adapted or are trying to adapt to the changing environment as they restructure their organization and put more emphasis on improving their organizational performance. These developments have inevitably led to the emergence of bureaucratic procedures and processes (Jauhiainen et al, 2015). HEIs have even started using the corporate language as they formulate plans, set objectives and use performance management criteria to control their resources (Ball, 2003; Smeenk et al, 2008).…”

“…HEIs have even started using the corporate language as they formulate plans, set objectives and use performance management criteria to control their resources (Ball, 2003; Smeenk et al, 2008). For instance, the Finnish universities have introduced new steering mechanisms, including the performance systems in budgeting, organizational reforms, management methods and salary systems (Jauhiainen et al, 2015). Previously, Welch (2007) noted that HEIs were adopting new modes of governance, organizational forms, management styles and values that were prevalent in the private business sector.…”

Troublesome Access: Non-Admission Experiences in the Competitive Finnish Higher Education

“…Policy reforms that render HEIs more entrepreneurial and market-oriented cover a wide range of features, such as emphasizing institutional status rankings, increased competition for funding, and responsiveness to the demands of external stakeholders (e.g., Ball 2012;Brown and Carasso 2013;Marginson 2013). Ongoing policy changes have affected how the respective public institutions in Finland are defined and run, how they justify their activities and practices, and how they form relations with various social actors, including students (Jauhiainen et al 2015;Rinne et al 2014;Hölttä et al 2010). Recently, the Finnish University Act (Finlex 2009) and the University of Applied Science Act (Finlex 2014) have increased the financial autonomy of Finnish institutions and strengthened the rationale for revenues in the governance of higher education.…”

Access and stratification in Nordic higher education. A review of cross-cutting research themes and issues*

“…More to the point, depletion of overall resources has not occurred evenly across disciplines and programmes. The employment conditions and salaries of institutions and faculties in a "non-elite" sector may have worsened more than in elite programmes, resulting in more obvious changes, such as larger class sizes, more mass lecturing, group advisement, peer advisement and less personal supervision (cf., Angervall et al, 2015;Jauhiainen, Jauhiainen, Laiho, & Lehto, 2015). For example, in Sweden, funding to the humanities and the social sciences and educational sciences has already shrunk and together these areas now gross less than half the research funds per annum from the State compared to medicine and less than 40% of the distribution of funds to science and technology (Beach, 2013).…”