Understanding governance at university: from management to leadership

Abstract

Purpose The higher education system must move closer to society and its requirements, and therefore, the process of transformation in the university context brings new challenges. The purpose of this paper is to present research on a case study that examines the perception of the middle managers’ role from their own perspective: how they describe it, the associated tasks, the skills perceived as necessary and what they think about the need to become academic leaders. Design/methodology/approach The authors have adopted a mixed-method approach. Data were collected through an in-depth interview and an adapted version of the Personal Construct Grid (Kelly, 1955). Two types of analyses have been carried out: statistical analysis and content analysis following a category system. The participants were academics performing a management position selected in accordance with certain criteria relevant for the study. Findings The research shows how their perception collides with the traditional characteristics of the university, which focus on the managerial and bureaucratic tasks of the middle managers. The study also reveals evidence of the poor visibility of these managers with no place for action due to their lack of power and decision-making opportunities. Originality/value The participants claim that it is necessary for people who hold the position to become agents of change by creating a shared identity through teamwork and collaboration. To this end, this paper presents a proposal for the development of a framework for action.

Faced With Obstacles and Uncertainty: a Thematic Review of Middle Managers in Higher Education

“…This study also demonstrates that the leadership style of middle managers is not significantly related to their time management skills (Rakhshan et al, 2019). This review found mixed support for relationships between middle managers and a number of relational leader outcomes, such as leaders support system (Floyd, 2016), leadership motivation (Chipunza & Matsumunyane, 2018;Preston & Price, 2012), leadership behaviour (Adamson & Brown, 2012;Bhana & Suknunan, 2021;Creaton & Heard-Lauréote, 2021;Frenkel, 2021;Gjerde & Alvesson, 2019;Kohtamäki, 2013;Martínez-García et al, 2019;Pepper & Giles, 2015;Preston & Price, 2012;Thomas-Gregory & Mercer, 2014;Vilkinas, 2014), leadership competency (Lin et al, 2013;Pham et al, 2019), leadership style (Chipunza & Matsumunyane, 2018;Rakhshan et al, 2019) and leadership development (Albashiry et al, 2015;Montejo, 2018;Nguyen, 2012Nguyen, , 2013Taşçı & Titrek, 2020). This study also indicates that the leadership style of middle managers is not significantly associated with instrumental motivation (Chipunza & Matsumunyane, 2018).…”

A Systematic Literature Review: University Strategic Management

“…A case study that investigates the role of middle managers at universities and how they see the necessity to become academic leaders. In 'Understanding Governance at University, a group led by Inmaculada [6] reported that The department head's viewpoint clashes with the university's typical features of power struggle, individual model, lack of control mechanisms, and lack of unity between components. The function of middle managers is portrayed as a management position in which there is frequently little room for action due to a lack of decision-making capacity.…”

Liderazgo en instituciones de educación superior: Un análisis a través de Bibliometrix R

“…Aquí los estudios empíricos tienen distintos focos, ya sea en centrarse en los rasgos propios de la persona que se enfrenta al cargo de líder como en las actitudes que estos tienen hacia los académicos, estudiantes, miembros de un equipo de trabajo o institución en general. Bajo esta perspectiva, se pueden nombrar investigaciones realizadas en países como Estados Unidos [83,84,85], Reino Unido [86], Australia [87], Canadá [88], China [89], India [90,91], Indonesia [92,93], Nigeria [2], España [94], Cuba [95] y México [96]. De igual manera se han realizado estudios con cooperación internacional (ejemplo [97]).…”