Gender and prestige in Swedish academia: Exploring senior management in universities and university colleges

This article highlights the multifaceted character of the Swedish higher education sector and investigates senior academic management positions from a gender perspective using theories about an academic prestige economy and academic capitalism. The focus is on an aspect often overseen in research on Swedish academia: the distinction between universities and university colleges. The analysis draws on interviews with 22 women in senior management positions in Swedish higher education and a quantitative mapping of the Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor positions in universities and university colleges between 1990 and 2015. The results illustrate that the academic prestige economy is interwoven with both gender and academic capitalism and produce different working conditions and requirements for senior managers at universities and university colleges.     

The Gendered Shaping of University Leadership in Australia,South Africa and the United Kingdom

This article analyses career trajectories into university management in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom (UK), skills required to operate effectively and the power of vice‐chancellors (VCs) and their impact on the gendered shaping of university leadership. It is based on qualitative research with 56 male and female senior managers. The research found that the typical career path was modelled on male academic careers. Not surprisingly, in South Africa and the UK the perception of the top university leader was of a man but in Australia, where more women have been VCs, there was no such assumption. Characteristics valued in university leaders in Australia and South Africa were ‘soft’ leadership traits, but in the UK ‘hard’ aggressive and competitive leadership prevailed. VCs are enormously powerful and can shape the gender balance in management teams and thereby potentially broadening leadership styles beyond the predominant transactional model to include transformational leadership.     

Organisational barriers for women in senior management: a comparison of Turkish and New Zealand universities

This paper reports on the second phase of a multi‐country study examining cross‐cultural perspectives of gender and management in universities. The first phase of this research with eight countries found that the representation of women was consistently low, especially at Rector/Vice Chancellor level. In the second phase interviews were conducted with both male and female senior managers including current and former Rectors/Vice Chancellors. The focus of this paper is on the organisational barriers to women becoming and being managers in Turkish and New Zealand universities. Twenty‐four interviews were conducted in Turkey and 26 in New Zealand. Rectors/Vice Chancellors and other senior academic colleagues were found to be crucial in supporting academics into senior management. Barriers discussed include time management and role conflict between work and non‐work life.     

Executive power and scaled-up gender subtexts in Australian entrepreneurial universities

Deputy Vice Chancellor and Pro Vice Chancellor positions have proliferated in response to the global, corporatised university landscape [Scott, G., S. Bell, H. Coates, and L. Grebennikov. 2010. “Australian Higher Education Leaders in Times of Change: The Role of Pro Vice Chancellor and Deputy Vice Chancellor.” Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 32 (4): 401–418]. Senior leadership is the sphere where academic and management identities are negotiated and values around the role of the university are decided. This paper examines the changing and gendered nature of the senior leadership setting and its implications for diversity in and of university leadership. The analysis draws from a three-year empirical study funded by the Australian Research Council on leadership in Australian universities. It focuses on executive leaders in three universities – one which is research-intensive, the second, in a regional site, and the third, university of technology. The article argues that the university landscape and its management systems are being restructured in gendered ways. It utilises the notion of organisational gender subtexts to make explicit how gender works through structural and cultural reform.     

UK university leaders at the turn of the 21st century: changing patterns in their socio-demographic characteristics

While not the only title used by UK university leaders, the term Vice Chancellor will be used throughout this paper to include the other titles used (including Rector, Provost, Principal and President). According to data obtained pre-1997, UK Vice Chancellors (VCs) were predominantly scientists, largely former professors, Pro-VCs or deputy directors in universities, with only a few recruited from industry or the civil service. There have been changes in the fundamental demands being placed on UK universities in the recent past and the aim of our study was to explore if there had been changes in the socio-demographic characteristics of UK VCs since 1996. Our analysis of data available in the public domain on VCs appointed between 1997 and 2006 established that several changes had occurred. Most interestingly, we report an increase in the numbers of women and social scientists, and an increase in the age at which appointments are made. We also report an increase in appointments to universities established post-1992 of academics previously working in institutions established pre-1992.

Good jobs – but places for women?

This article is concerned with men and women's experience of elite positions and with the extent to which such positions are seen as places for women, so as to provide an insight into their commitment to continuing in them. Senior management in universities are elite positions in terms of income; those who occupy them are relatively powerful internally, although relatively powerless in relation to the state and the market. Drawing on a purposive study of those at the top three levels (i.e. presidential, vice-presidential, and dean) in public universities, it finds little difference between men and women's perceptions of the advantages/disadvantages of these positions. However, in a context where roughly four-fifths of those in university senior management are men [O'Connor, P. 2014. Management and Gender in Higher Education. Manchester: Manchester University Press.], at the level of organisational narratives and at the interactional level, gender differences persist. These differences are reflected in variation in commitment to continuing in senior management positions.     

Turning collegial governance on its head: symbolic violence,hegemony and the academic board

This article draws on Bourdieu’s theorisation of domination and Gramsci’s notions of hegemony within the context of a larger empirical study of Australian university academic governance, and of academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates) in particular. Reporting data that suggest a continued but radically altered form of collegial governance in which hegemony is exercised by management rather than by the professor, it theorises the domination of academic boards within western democratic universities. However, traditional collegial governance is also dependent upon a community of scholars, a role historically played by the academic board. In view of the suggested transition in collegial governance and the resultant convergence of academic work and management, the article concludes with questions about whether academic boards can continue to serve as communities of scholars in future.     

Against the corrosive language of Corpspeak in the contemporary university

Many universities today are businesses, embracing the priorities and values of any other consumerist enterprise. There is an argument that, insofar as the phenomenon of marketisation is a function of what (Michaels, F. [2011]. Monoculture: How one story is changing everything. Red Clover Press) terms a global economic ‘monoculture’, these developments are inevitable. Nevertheless, this article argues against such rhetoric that embraces the neoliberal principle of unrestrained growth and that has public universities adopting a business model, applying managerialist approaches, measuring and – most importantly in the context of this article – expressing worth and purpose in corporate terms, as these prioritise commerce over the cultivation of creative and critical thought essential to healthy social functioning. It argues for an educational environment that enables multiple ways of seeing, thinking and living to flourish. The particular focus is on the deleterious effects of corporatising language within universities. I reflect upon how this language is used to express notions of value and to shape identity. In (Fairclough, N. [2004]. Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London: Routledge) phrasing, texts ‘have causal effects upon, and contribute to changes in, people?…?actions, social relations, and the material world’; thus, I examine language-based conceptual inadequacies, misrepresentations, and what Bourdieu terms ‘unconscious inclusions’ – within many contemporary universities. I then consider what style of language, what other attitudes and approaches, actually support the university as a learning place with a specific cultural role, rather than presenting it as another ‘multi-output organisation’.     

The long road—how evolving institutional governance mechanisms are changing the face of quality in Portuguese higher education

While a lot has been written regarding the changing management and governance arrangements in higher education, less is known about how this progression relates to quality in higher education. The purpose of this article is to describe the context of governance in Portuguese higher education institutions and how institutional governance arrangements impact on quality and quality assurance mechanisms of higher education. The study is based on four institutional cases studies, comprising two universities and two polytechnic institutions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior managers, middle managers, academics and students from Arts and Engineering, and documentary analysis was undertaken. The main findings show that national and institutional features of governance and management may influence the implementation of quality policy and procedures, and indeed quality improvement. The different institutional actors seem to be aware of the dynamic nature of the equilibrium between positive and negative impacts and recognise the need for checks and balances in the governance and management structures of higher education institutions, especially between collegial and managerial facets.     

TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN THE NEW UNIVERSITIES: HOW TO APPROACH HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The view taken in this article is that Total Quality Management (TQM) in the new universities (the former Polytechnics) and the development of a so‐called managerialist ideology has led to the inevitable adoption of an approach to Human Resource Management (HRM) policy and practice that is functionalist. The criteria favoured by managerialism represented by TQM is not only inappropriate in higher education, but more importantly, it limits the productive activity of individuals. This limitation occurs to the extent that at the level of the individual academic in higher education organizations, quality control and assurance, that has traditionally been a localized process of self‐ and close‐peer review, has become formalized by externally imposed systems and procedures ‐ a necessary condition under the current funding arrangements for enabling internal quality assurance systems to meet the requirements of external agencies. However, the authors suggest that only a truly professionalizing, soft, individualistic, and user‐focussed collegial culture will provide a sufficient condition for total quality enhancement to become a reality.     

高校旅游管理专业“3＋1”教学模式探讨

长期以来,我国高校旅游管理专业本科教学大多实行的是传统的课堂教学模式,其特点是重理论轻实践,导致了学生实践动手能力差、毕业生业内就业率低等一系列问题。随着我国旅游业的快速发展,旅游企业对高素质的专业人才求贤若渴,旅游人才供需矛盾日益凸显。如何才能有效地培养业内需求的高级管理人才,使旅游管理本科毕业生能在业内充分就业,探讨国内旅游管理专业本科教学全面推行＂3＋1＂模式具有十分重要的现实意义。本文在分析高校旅游管理专业本科教学存在问题的基础上,探讨了旅游管理专业本科教学实行＂3＋1＂模式的必要性和可行性,重点提出了实施＂3＋1＂教学模式的相关建议。     

Mentoring and sponsorship in higher education institutions: men’s invisible advantage in STEM?

ABSTRACT

This article is concerned with the source of men’s invisible advantage in the male-dominated disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It is suggested that this advantage has been obscured by combining sponsorship and mentoring. The research asks: Are men or women most likely to be mentored? Is it possible to distinguish between mentoring and sponsorship? Is there gender variation in either or both of these depending on the source – whether from the academic supervisor, line manager or other senior academics? This qualitative study draws on interview data from 106 respondents (57 men and 48 women) at high, mid and early levels, in four universities: one each in Bulgaria, Denmark, Ireland, and Turkey. It shows that both men and women received mentoring from their PhD supervisor, albeit with slightly different reported nuances. Men were more likely than women to receive sponsorship in that relationship. Both men and women received sponsorship from the Head of Department, whose wider responsibilities may have reduced homophily. Men were more likely than women to receive sponsorship and mentoring from senior men, with most women indicating a lack of access to such senior academics. By distinguishing between mentoring and sponsorship, this article contributes to our understanding of the way male dominance in STEM is perpetuated and suggests the source of men’s invisible advantage in STEM.     

Towards a Gendered Skills Analysis of Senior Management Positions in UK and Australian Universities

Women remain outsiders in university leadership and management. The literature indicates that discipline base, career mobility, experience outside academia, selection processes, and gender stereotyping may impact on women becoming senior managers. This article reports on research with current and former Vice‐Chancellors, senior managers, and recruitment firms to identify skill requirements for effective leadership and management. Our research indicates gender is an issue in higher education leadership, in recruitment and selection, exclusion from male camaraderie, and preference for transformational leadership. This research will produce a skills benchmark to assess future leadership positions and hopefully cut across current gender bias.

     

Developing University Managers

This article reports the results of a study of the extent of management development programmes for managers of universities. The method used was a postal survey of all UK universities, which produced a response of over 60 per cent of universities. According to the responses received, about half of UK universities provide some organised management development for their managers with the other half doing nothing to develop their managers in any systematic way. On this basis, universities provide less management development for their managers than most other UK organisations. A few universities have achieved, and some are intending to seek, the Investors in People standard. Personnel managers within the universities are convinced of the need for management development for those who manage our universities. However, lack of resources and lack of commitment from vice-chancellors and other senior academics are the main barriers to the successful implementation of systematic management development.     

福建省新升本科院校学生身体形态、机能、耐力素质的动态分析--以武夷学院为例

采用文献资料法、数理统计法和逻辑分析法对武夷学院升本来学生体质健康测试数据进行统计分析比较。研究表明：男生身高、女生体重外,各项指标有不同程度下降,女生较为显著,BMI 指数趋于正常范围的后沿,耐力素质2013年有所提高。与福建省和全国比较显示：男女 BMI 指数与福建省差异不显著、身高与福建省和全国差距呈缩小趋势,男女耐力素质和男生肺活量、肺活量体重指数与福建省差距呈在扩大趋势,男女体重、耐力素质和男生 BMI 指数与全国差异不显著,女生 BMI 指数和男生肺活量、肺活量体重指数均高于全国,女生肺活量、肺活量体重指数与全国差距呈扩大趋势。建议：结合校园体育文化建设加大学生体育与健康的宣传,完善和调整学校转型后的大学体育体系建设,建立科学的体质健康评价体系等措施。     

When state centralism meets neo-liberalism: managing university governance change in Singapore and Malaysia

With strong intention to enhance the global competitiveness of their university systems, both the Singapore and Malaysia governments have introduced reforms along the lines of ideas and practices embedded in neo-liberalism. In the last decade or so, we have witnessed reforms being introduced to the higher education sectors in these Asian states, particularly when corporatization and incorporation strategies are adopted to transform national/public universities. With particular reference to how academics evaluate the impact of the reforms on their academic life, this article reports and analyses findings generated from campus visits and field interviews conducted in Singapore and Malaysia from 2007 to 2009. Although the senior management of corporatized/incorporated universities in these Asian states has been given more discretion to decide how to operate their universities, most of the front line academics that we interviewed have not experienced major differences in university governance after the reforms took place. Instead of feeling ‘emancipated’ and ‘empowered’, many academics feel more pressures and control from the university administration and government ministries. Despite the fact that both the Singapore and Malaysia governments have tried to embrace the ideas and practices of ‘neo-liberalism’ to transform university governance, academics still see the state’s reluctance in withdrawing from steering/controlling higher education development. Such observations clearly reflect the ‘clash’ of two major governance philosophies, namely, ‘state centralism’ and ‘neo-liberalism’. In short, this article critically examines how far the proposed university governance reforms by adopting the corporatization/incorporation strategies have actually transformed university management and academic life style in Singapore and Malaysia.     

University leaders and university performance in the United Kingdom: is it ‘who’ leads, or ‘where’ they lead that matters most?

With key performance indicators (KPIs) part of everyday life in the higher education (HE) sector, universities have become increasingly concerned with league tables and performance indicator-led strategy and planning. The choice an institution makes concerning the KPIs it wishes to be evaluated on depends on its mission and objectives, with a Head of Institution (VC) appointed to deliver against this. As such, this raises the question as to whether institutional performance can be related in any way to the characteristics of its leader. The purpose of this research, therefore, was to identify any empirical justification for the socio-demographic characteristics which those responsible for searching and appointing VCs appear to have favoured over the past 10 years. Also, whether these can be shown to be related to the performance of their institutions. Using data available in the public domain and for UK (excluding Scotland) VCs in service for, at least, some time during 1999–2004 inclusive, evidence for the importance of VC characteristics for institutional performance was limited. Indeed, our findings suggest that, whilst the performance of a university may be ‘moulded’ by the characteristics of its’ leader, most of the variability is explained by non-leadership factors. We also found highly significant correlations amongst the KPIs used in HE, which has very significant implications for those wishing to differentiate themselves from other institutions.