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WORKFORCE
McMaster. In a keynote address to the ATEM Faculty Managers forum last year, McMaster explained the divide between academic and professional staff lies fundamentally in the way of viewing the world.
“ In universities especially, there are two different secret societies at work, with different rules that neither tell each other about,” she says.“ Work is structured differently; professional roles are differentiated vertically in a classic hierarchy, whereas academic work is differentiated horizontally in a disciplinary specialisation. Academic work focuses on individual outcomes and loosely knit social frameworks, whereas administrative work focuses on collective outcomes and interdependence of roles. Decision-making for professionals is hierarchical, whereas for academics it is collegial.”
Most professional managers are understanding of the primacy of the academic in the system. This is intrinsic to the way the system works, reflected in those academics who lead institutions, and exceptional professionals in tertiary education management are well versed in this.
Despite frequently sitting on the wrong side of this great divide, however, many managers often maintain some professional loyalty. A recent study provides some insight into why.
In a report published recently in the Journal of Higher Education Management and Research, two University of Auckland researchers report that the tertiary space in New Zealand continues to have the academic / professional divide.
“ Today, not only do general staff hold a second-class citizen mentality when compared with their academic counterparts, but also they exist in a corporate university environment with uncertain roles and increased workloads,” the paper states.
Indeed, from this research it appears professionals have the worst of both worlds. One would infer, of course, that such workers are not happy and thus would show no loyalty to their organisations – but that is not quite the Australian experience.
According to Work & Careers in Australian Universities, a project led by Griffith University’ s Glenda Strachan that canvassed 10,683 general and professional staff, professional staff are a happy lot – up to a point, according to a recent article by Jill Rowbotham in The Australian.
“ In some ways, they are quite happy,” Strachan was quoted as saying.“ The majority want to stay( in universities) and see themselves as specialists in that industry. That’ s something we didn’ t know before. Most actually want to stay in the university they are in for the next five years.”
She also concludes that“ universities have striven to be employers of choice for women and have a large suite of policies that impact on being able to mix work and family”.
“ A lot want a career in a university, as opposed to a job in a university. They see this as their future and want to advance.”
Due deference should also be given to some of the work being done in our organisational development and HR departments. Staff retention has become very important and recognition of human capital is given serious consideration these days. That said, the key finding here, in terms of an appreciation of professional staff’ s loyalty to institutions, is the reference to seeing tertiary education management as a career.
PATHS VARY, LOYALTY REMAINS The lived experience of professional staff is that although the progression of the staff member stays inside a tertiary institution, it is not necessarily a direct path into your boss’ s job. Sideways movement to promotion is intrinsic. I would argue also that professionals understand the value of tertiary education to society and can see their self-image in terms of the good they are doing, so are happy to stay and move around their large institutions. There is great loyalty, for example, to a university such as UWS, where workers can see the benefits to their local populations by having a university in an economically disadvantaged part of Sydney.
On the other hand, careers for academics, McMaster says, are largely defined and they sit squarely with the discipline area. Quite rightly, academic allegiances and loyalties are to a discipline area and academics see tensions in administration preventing them from pursuing that discipline work. After all, often such research and teaching links to a direct and substantive benefit to society as a whole.
Talented university leaders are cognisant of how these career paths differ. The vast majority of the leadership of universities have a lived academic experience yet the best of them understand that universities need to take a professional approach.
They understand that professional staff always try to take a management approach to issues. The evidence shows that the bestrun administrative units are those that work in the space between the two models. The basic understanding that seems to work is that the academic leaders set the goals and directions, the administrative manager plans, implements policy, advises on implications and generally lets academics get on with it.
But as McMaster says above, often there is a fundamental misunderstanding of this approach. That is why many who come to work in management roles from outside the sector find it so difficult to adjust.
It is still clear, however, that tertiary education management is a distinct career to which professionals are loyal. Universities can be grateful for this loyalty and we can all be pleased that academics progress their careers by advancing research, regardless of their institutional affiliation. ■
Paul Abela is executive director of the Association for Tertiary Education Management.
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