Upload
cusnir-alexandru
View
222
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
1/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 1
1 University Professor, Ph.D. in Engineeering Sciences, Machine Manufacturing Department, Engineering School, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania2 University lecturer, Ph.D. in Management, Department for the Training of Teaching Personnel, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
ACADEMIC STAFF DEVELOPMENT THROUGHORGANISATIONAL CULTURE OF ENGINEERING SCHOOL
Dan-Maniu DUE1 Carmen Sonia DUE2
Universitatea "Lucian Blaga" din Sibiu, Romnia
Culture is not inherited but is learned. It does not appear from the genes,
but from the individuals interaction with the environment. Culture differs
from the human nature and from the individuals personality
(Geert Hofstede)
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
2/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 2
Engineering School
y Development policies
y Curriculum
y Human resources management
y Community relationships
Institutional characteristics
Classical university
Academic staff development !
y Symbols and slogans y Behavioural models
ySlangy
Myths and heroes
yRituals and ceremonies
- for passing
- for strengthening
- for integration
- for renewal
yNormsyValues
yMeanings
yBeliefsyRepresentations
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
3/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 3
Main objective: identifying the specific traits of the Engineering Schools
culture
y How does the organisational culture support the reform measures in higher education ?
y Which of these values, representations, beliefs can allow the change in education ?
y Which of the organisations values, representations, norms, beliefs etc. can be the base for thesociety of knowledge ?
y Which elements of the facultys organisational culture are contrary to those dominant in the
other national educational organisations ?
y How can we change the organisational culture in order to facilitate both the development of
the society of knowledge and the alignment to the current European educational demands ?
Maintenance of the faculties and their cultures on anachronical coordinates:
limits the educational offer
blocks the changing, development and growth of the organisation
generates negative consequences in the development of the students and of the faculty!
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
4/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 4
(i) The research made use of case studying
y Direct observation of the university environment and of the educational partners
behaviour;
y Questionnaire - two types of questionnaires were applied, to those within and to those
outside the school;
yAnalysis of documents related to the education process and regarding the schools
current activity.
(ii) The research tried to comprise:
y the current cultural dimensions
y the factors that can influence the maintaining and changing on various time horizons
y the organisational cultures influence on the academic staff development
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
5/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 5
The distance from power:
shows the measure to which academics expect and accept that power is distributed inequally. A
great distance from power betrays the predominance and preference for authoritarian
management styles, the managers opinions being listened to in a noncritical manner, by virtue
of the formal authority with which these are invested.
A tendency towards distancing from power resulted, with following interpretations:
(1) the organisations members have the feeling that the usage of power can triumph over
justice: anyone wielding the power is just and good!
(2) the questioned employees consider that the management style used is one with emphasis on
authority. Specific to this is the delegation of tasks, rather than that of competences and
responsibilities.
(3) in the communication process formal aspects are predominant, informal discussions
between managers and subordinates being quite rare.
A possible explanation for this is the small distance from the totalitarian communist society which
Romania left behind in 1989
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
6/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 6
Individualism-collectivism:
refers to the predominance of individual interests over the group ones, or to that of group
interests over the individual ones
The score emphasises the orientation towards individualism having following possible
explanations:
1) bonds between faculty members are relatively weak in intensity and occur in small groups, in
the informal sphere.
2) the activitys participative dimension is relatively small, considering that administrative
decisions are of the managers competence, subordinates must execute them, they being
involved in analyses and debates only if their direct leaders consider such intervention is
necessary.
3) in most cases the managers request information and take decisions on their own
4) communication within the collective is reduced to social conversation, even communicationwith students tending towards a minimum.
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
7/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 7
Masculinity-femininity:
dimension that refers to the higher social value granted to arrogance within masculine cultures,
or, to the contrary, to sensibility and modesty within feminine cultures.
The score emphasises a tendency towards masculinity with following confirmed value
judgements:
the engineering profession belongs predominantly to men.
professors evaluation criteria differ in feminine and masculine cultures; in a masculine
culture, the professors brightness and academic reputation are dominant factors. (e.g.
Engineering School, Medicine School)
Dominant values in society, for masculine culture are material success and prosperity, money
and things, order and rigor!
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
8/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 8
Avoidance of uncertainty
indicates the way in which members of a culture are threatened by uncertain/unknown situations.
In the Engineering Schools culture, the avoidance of uncertainty is present, the need for rules is
high, is emotional!
The university Rector was a philologist:
The management manner employed was always under doubt and criticised, because it didnot satisfy the avoidance of uncertainty impetuously demanded by the engineers.
This need for observing rules (which is part of every technocrates logic), was often
unheeded, due to the principle that rules are made by people so they have to be changed
in accordance with the people.
Paradoxically, for the engineering collective there were many advantages, even if the
engineers formal logics seemed to infirm them:
early promotions (exceptional cases)
comprising in national and international programmes
greater openness towards using engineering experience at other schools of the university
The top management reflected, more than it was expected, significantly, the classical university,
with its socio-humane parts.
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
9/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 9
Set of fundamental values
(i) Order Avoidance of uncertainty and great distance from power are factors that
demand a great need for order;
the engineering training is one that imposes an algorithmisation and a logical
succesion of unfolded activities; the type of society in which current faculty members were trained (responsibilities
assumed by the state, no visible social problems, the image of a beneficial order)
(ii) Learning
(iii) Personal success
The Engineering Schools organisational culture is characterised by:- large distance from power;
- mostly individualistic culture;
- tendency towards masculinity;
- high degree of incertitude avoidance.
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
10/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 10
Faculty development policy
(1) Is at the disposal of elected leaders! (training and election of leaders with managerial education).
The Engineering Schools development policy tends to be a personal one, different from the
universitys, (the leaders personality, heterogenity of faculties, specific for a classical university)
(2) Need for strict rules in the educational activity, accompanied by correct answers and slogans such
as professors must have answers to any question (symptoms of the culture of routine )
(3) Insufficient attitude and involvement in the building of the students career, in guiding the
youngster towards professionalisation, (effect: abandon and delay in finalising the studies);
(4) lack of communication (resulted from the cultures individualistic dimension) in a world of
integration and globalisation (handicap for the policy and strategies of curricular changes).
(5) the collectivism of a classical university brings into difficulty the communication and relationing
with a faculty characterised by individualism, such as is currently the Engineering School.
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
11/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 11
Curriculum (design/development/evaluation)
(1) Influence factors: CNEAA criteria and standards (80%), interest group within the Faculty
Council, university influences;
(2) Syllabusses, true curricular genes , become undying, eternal in the absence of a dynamic
and participative management. They get renewed only very uneasily, especially since this is
specific to a collectivistic culture, contrary to the one currently existing in the faculty.
(3) Need for refreshing the pedagogical and methodical knowledge, because the teaching
process success is to a great extent conditioned by the manner of transmitting knowledge and
by the alternance of teaching methods employed.
Finland is on first places at the competences-based evaluation realised at Pisa
(4) The evaluation of students knowledge within the Engineering School is, to a great extent,standardised, based, in most cases, on reproducing and less on combining, applying: written
exams, test bateries, lack of evaluating professional training.
Modern society demands creative, imaginative professionals, with abilities for communication and
team work, traditional evaluation digs at the foundations of real performance
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
12/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 12
Community relationships
The local community supports the faculty, assuring support for contacts with various
transnational companies, which can create a market of workforce demand
(1) The Engineering School contributes decisively to bringing transnational companies toSibiu (licentiates nursery, curriculum, posibilities of specialising according to needs)
(2) The faculty develops educational laboratories in companies
(3) There still exists an unconvincing, frail, relationship with high schools from Sibiu, which
are not yet convinced and show disinterest for the revigoration of the technical education;
(4) There exists a weak relationship with the Local Development Council, materialised in a
weak promotion of the idea of technical speciality training in secondary education.
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
13/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 13
Human resources management
Promotion of human resources is under the sign of masculinity and of certainty
1) A high degree of occupation of the academic staff positions, even an inflation which leads also
to cultural-organisational distorsions, through the canceling and dismissing heroes through
early pensionnings.
2) Positive but individual attitude towards contractual competition (contracts, grants etc.),
bringer of wins, of professional recognition, of outstanding results.
3) Applying of the systems for evaluating individual professional performances. However, often
they analysed the evaluation when the quantitative aspects of evaluation have been
predominant.
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
14/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 14
Conclusions:
(i) The Engineering School has a temple-type culture, characterised by:
- large organisational dimensions, over 150 members;
- comprises several (eight) departments that form the temples columns and within
which own subcultures appear;
- the values and perspectives (the temples roof) are clear and accessible;
- discipline, respect for procedures, the inner order regulation are the guidelines;
- the individuals perspective is restrained and related to the fulfilment of a specific role;
- the cultures atmosphere is unsatisfactory for ambitious persons who will aspire to
power or will leave the organisation
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
15/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 15
(ii) By the accepted risk level, the schools organisational culture is a process-type one,
characterised by slow reactions and reduced risk, having as base the algorithmisation
based on strict rules and procedures;
(iii) The Engineering School combines the elements of a bureaucratic culture with those of a
hierarchical culture:
- conservative, cautious leaders
- the employees agreement is obtained by control
- the dominant values are order and formalism
(iv) The Engineering School cultures influence on the academic staff development can refer
to following aspect:
employees will assimilate the practices indicated by the organisation, but will keep
the values of the culture from which they come and which characterises them
8/3/2019 Prezentare sefi2006
16/16
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania 16
(v) Expected evolutions of the Engineering Schools organisational culture:
a reduction of the distance towards power, translated in the plane of changes by
means of the transition from an autocratic leadership to a predominantly
consultative one, with an increase in the confidence in subordinates;
the deviation of the orientation towards the process towards the orientation
towards people, with an increase in the individuals motivation for the organisation
they belong to;
decrease of the uncertainty avoidance degree, by assuming responsibilities and
stimulating individual initiatives, encouraging the decision-making and the risk-
taking;
slow decrease of the masculinity (in countries with a feminine national culture,
tendencies towards masculinity diminish in time).