The Academic Work Environment in Australian Universities: A motivating place to work?

This paper identifies positive (motivating) and negative (demotivating) sources of academic work motivation in Australian universities. In 1998, the Academic Work Environment Survey (Winter, Taylor, & Sarros, 2000) was administered to a stratified sample (five positions, five disciplines) of 2,609 academics in four types of university (research, metropolitan, regional, university of technology). A total of 1,041 usable surveys were returned (response rate of 40 per cent). Across the sample, academics reported moderate levels of work motivation. Work motivation was found to be relatively strong at professorial levels but weak at lecturer levels. Quantitative and qualitative findings indicated the work environment in academe is motivating when roles are clear, job tasks are challenging, and supervisors exhibit a supportive leadership style. The work environment is demotivating where there is role overload, low job feedback, low participation, and poor recognition and rewards practices. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of study findings for university leadership.     

A comparison of department chair tasks in Australia and the United States

Virtually every managerial book written lists and expounds upon the tasks, duties, roles and responsibilities of administrators. This paper reports a portion of the findings of the third phase of a study of Australian and U.S. academic department chairs in colleges and universities. In it, we seek to clarify how chairs in the two countries define the tasks that exemplify their role as chair. The driving question behind this inquiry is: Do academic department chairs, independent of country, define their tasks in the same way? And, if so, how might universities in both countries benefit from this knowledge?     

The Role of Department Head in Australian Universities: Tasks and Stresses

This study of the academic department head in Australian universities continues the discussion explored in the article entitled, “The Role of Department Head in Australian Universities: Changes and Challenges” published in the April edition of HERD, 16(1), 1997. The current article examines the role in terms of the departmental‐specific stress factors of administrative relationships, role ambiguity, administrative tasks, academic roles, and perceived expectations. Four discrete roles of the department head are also examined, namely: leader; manager; scholar; and academic staff developer. Findings indicate a job where the major chair stressors include administrative demands, as well as balancing the needs of scholarship with the everyday responsibilities of chairing a university department. An examination of the tasks chairs perform indicates that the leadership and academic staff development roles take precedence, followed by scholarship and management imperatives. Implications of the findings for the present and future role of the academic department chair are discussed.     

The Academic Dean: a Position in Need of a Compass and Clock

This study examines the changing and multifaceted roles and responsibilities of academic deans in Australian universities. A total of 195 deans from the population of 287 in Australia responded to the survey. Most were male, around 50 years old, married, with fewer than 5 years' experience as dean. One quarter of the sample had more than 5 years' experience as dean. About one third indicated a desire to move on to a higher academic position at the end of their contract with another third interested in returning to their previous academic duties. Deans indicated they are moderately satisfied with the clarity of their role, but more dissatisfied with the pace of work and their workload. The level of stress experienced by deans was moderate, although around 60% of stress in a dean's life arose from the job. Generally, experiences of role‐conflict and role‐ambiguity were consistent across the sample. The varied role of dean is examined in terms of its daily tasks, sources of stress, and leadership attributes and behaviours. The article also includes an analysis of comments provided by deans regarding their major work challenges, perceived effectiveness in dealing with these challenges, and observations on other issues of importance to their role.     

THE ACADEMIC DEAN: An Imperiled Species Searching for Balance

The academic deanship is the least studied andmost misunderstood position in the academy. The work ofadministration and the pursuit of scholarly endeavors donot make good bedfellows since deans' academic interests turn them firmly toward theirdepartments, but their leadership of the colleges andschools depends largely on directions from the provostand university. The resulting paradoxical situationcauses many academic leaders to burn out from thestrain of trying to be effective administrators, on theone hand, and attempting to protect the academicautonomy and independence of faculty on the other(Gmelch and Miskin, 1993, 1995). Many academic leaders,such as deans, end their administrative careers fatiguedand suffering from excessive levels of stress (Gmelchand Burns, 1994). The first phase of this study explores the sources of stress experienced bydeans in both Australia and the United States.     

Undergraduate Student Stress and Coping Strategies

This study of stress among 107 undergraduate students enrolled in various degree strands in a Victorian Institute of Technology reveals that major stressors are both academic and personal in nature. Students generally are more likely to use direct‐action strategies in their attempts to cope with college stress, while male students rely. more on palliative techniques compared with female students. The findings are consistent with related research in the USA and Israel, and suggest that the experience of stress for undergraduate students is not necessarily culturally specific. Further examination of the nature and extent of student stress on a longitudinal basis is recommended. Some areas that need attention are identified in the paper.     

The Role of Department Head in Australian Universities: changes and challenges

The role of the academic departmental head in Australian universities has been little explored. This article reports a study of the role by comparing key demographic data with a similar American‐based study, and examining the role in terms of personal, professional, and organisational variables, and their relationships with the generic measures of role‐conflict and role‐ambiguity. Results indicate differences in the role classified by gender, type of initial appointment, age and willingness to serve (among other variables), and on such dimensions as job satisfaction, work stress, role‐conflict and ambiguity, and publications record. Findings indicate a job where stress appears manageable, satisfaction is in short supply and maintaining an appropriate publications record is an ongoing pressure.