ERIC ED354825: The University--Some Differences from Other Organizations.

14 Pages·1992·0.35 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 354 825
HE 026 245
AUTHOR
Smith, Roger S.
TITLE
The University--Some Differences from Other
Organizations.
INSTITUTION
Canadian Society for the Study of Higher
Education.
PUB DATE
92
NOTE
14p.
AVAILABLE FROM
Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education,
151 Slater St., Ottawa, Ontario KIP 5N1 Canada ($3
Canadian).
PUB TYPE
Reports
Descriptive (141)
Collected Works
Serials (022)
JOURNAL CIT
CSSHE Professional File; n12 Fall 1992
EDRS PRICE
MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage.
DESCRIPTORS
*Accountability; Business; College Faculty;
Comparative Analysis; Foreign Countries; *Governance;
Higher Education; *Leadership Qualities;
Organizational Climate; Organizational Effectiveness;
*Organizational Objectives; *Policy Formation;
Postsecondary Education; Tenure; *Universities
IDENTIFIERS
*Canada
ABSTRACT
This report discusses the differences between
universities and business institutions and why they are different in
handling their affairs. The premise of the report is that public
universities must become more transparent if they are to receive
adequate support from interested parties. Five main areas are
discussed in a comparative assessment between these types of
organizations. The first asks why universities rarely set specific
goals toward which progress can be measured. The second concerns the
problems and limited progress universities have made in measuring
output and enhancing efficiency in teaching and research. Third is
the role of competition in improving research and graduate teaching
compared with the relatively weak competitive forces leading to
improved undergraduate programs. The fourth area examines the reasons
for complex committee structures, widely dispersed authority, and
requirements for effective leadership. Finally, the paper examines
some of the much-criticized features of academic appointments such as
tenure, sabbaticals, irregular hours, and perceived high level of
freedom. Contains 12 references. (GLR)
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*
*
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
*
from the original document.
*
***********************************************************************
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Number 12 Whiter 1992
CSSHE Professional File
THE UNIVERSITY - SOME
DIFFERENCES FROM
OTHER ORG
ZATIONS
Roger S. Smith, Ph.D.
Professor of Business and
Associate VicePresident (Academic)
University of Alberta
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Canadian Society for
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Number 12 Winter 1992
CSSHE Professional File
THE UNIVERSITY - SOME
The purpose of the Professional File is to present one or more possible
solutions to a current problem in post-secondary education.
The
DIFFERENCES FROM
solutions that are described have been found to be effective on at least
Topics and authors are approved by the Publications
OTHER ORG
ZATIONS
one campus.
Committee and the Executive Council of CSSHE. The Professional File
is published up to four tunes per year by CSSHE and is distributed free
In these times of accountability and
of charge to CSSHE members
Roger S. Smith, Ph.D.
it is important to improve our ability to communicate
rationalization,
with people not directly involved in the day-to-day affairs of the
Professor of Business and
In this File, Dr. Smith addresses some of the differences
university.
Associate VicePresident (Academic)
between universities and other organizations A version of this paper
University of Alberta
was presented to the Senate (similar to a Board of Governors) of the
It was very well received by
University of Alberta in November 1991
We hope that it will help others from the university
this group
community to communicate better with those having a different
The author has been at the University of Alberta since
background.
1969 and served as Dean of the Faculty of Business from 1978 to 1988.
Your comments and suggestions regarding this series are always
welcome.
Norman Uhl and Gilles Jasmin, Co-editors
Abstract
is primarily addressed
What is the difference between universities and business institutions and why? In answering this question, the paper
who wish to better understand how universities are organized
board members, alumni, community leaders, politicians
to "outsiders"
adequate support from interested
and managed. The premise is that public universities must become more transparent if they are to receive
which "outsiders" may find
parties. Secondarily, the paper should help academics better understand some of the features of a university
puzzling or unacceptable.
which progress can be measured. Second, are
Five main areas are discussed. The first is why universities rarely set specific goals toward
efficiency" in teaching and research. Third,
the problems and limited progress universities have made in "measuring output" and "enhancing
relatively weak competitive forces leading to
is the role of competition in improving research and graduate teaching compared with the
widely dispersed authority,
improved undergraduate programs. Fourth, the paper examines the reasons for complex committee structures,
of academic appointments - tenure,
and requirements for effective leadership. Finally, the paper examines some much-criticized features
The objective of the paper is to ensure that future change occurs with a better
sabbaticals, irregular hours, and great "freedom".
understanding of strengths as well as weaknesses in the current management and structure of universities.
Sommaire
differences existent-elles? La reponse qui est faire
En quoi les universites sont-elles differences des entreprises d'affaires et pourquoi ces
politiciens et representants de communautes locales
a cette question s'adresse aux non-inities - membres des conseils universitaires, anciens,
L'auteur adopte pour premisse que la gestion des
les universites sont organisees et gere,es.
- qui veulent mieux comprendre comment
interesses un soutien adequat. Cet article pout
universites publiques doit devenir plus transparence si elles esperent obtenir des groupes
qui, dans l'institution universitaire, pout paraitre
egalement aider ceux qui oeuvrent a l'interieur des etablissements a mieux comprendre ce
obscur ou inacceptable a ceux qui se trouvent a l'exterieur de ses murs.
les universites se fixent rarement des objectifs
Le texte est divise en cinq grandes parties. La premibre traite des raisons pour Iesquelles
r.
CSSHE PROFESSIONAL FILE, Number 12
2
leur progres. La seconde porte sur les
precis meme si cela les privent d'un moyen qui, en apparence, leur permettrait de mieux evaluer
leur «production» et pour
problemes que les universites recontrent et le peu de progres qu'elles font dans leurs efforts pour mesurer
de la concurrence sur l'amelioration
ameliorer leur «productivite» en matiere d'enseignement et de recherche. La troisieme analyse l'effet
beaucoup mobs forte.
de renseignement et de la recherche aux cycles superieurs, comparativement au premier cycle ou la concurrence est
a la dispersion de rautorite et aux
La quatrieme partie a trait aux facteurs qui expliquent l'existence de structures consultatives complexes,
les plus controverses des conditions
conditions necessaires a l'exercice du leadership. Enftn, rauteur se penche sur quelques uns des aspects
liberte de
la permanence, les conges sabbatiques, les horaires de travail kreguliers et la tits grand
d'emploi du personnel enseignant
de gestion et d'organisation des universites seront
parole et d'actbn. L'auteur croit que les changements qui pourraient etre adopt& au mode
d'autant plus beneflques qu'on comprendra mieux la situation actuelle.
measure progress toward those goals?
Many individuals need to bridge the gap
Why is the concept of "efficiency" difficult
between the university and other communities. This
to apply?
paper is intended to enable interested
individuals,
Why are there so many committees, and
whether university personnel or others, to better
why are they so large?
explain some of the unique features of a university.
When does compe:;.tion move universities
Only by communicating with the public much more
toward better performance, and when does it not?
effectively than at present will universities obtain the
What unique qualities are required of a
understanding and support that will enable them to
university leader?
Universities need willing listeners,
be effective.
What about those posh work conditions?
listeners who can then help to link universities with
the diverse communities they serve. As Yale's late
The Goals of a University
if
a
Bart Giamatti
observed,
(1988)
president
university fails to "redefine and reassert itself, to be
accountable or even appear to be accountable
It is important to start with the question of
either because of smugness or of a failure of nerve
goals. Many organizations clearly state their goals.
the result is a vacuum of definition and public
People expect the same of universities, particularly
....
A
since universities are home to the articulate.
education about the nature of higher education" (p.
26). No university can thrive in such a vacuum.
lecture on "The Goals of the University" is likely to
be filled with platitudes and not much more. Many
universities have struggled for years to state clear
This paper addresses the following question:
difference between academic and
What is
and concise goals. But clear goals attract conflict in
the
Thus
constituents.
business institutions and why?
an institution with such diverse
when goals are stated they tend to be vague and not
The paper must be appropriately modest in
easy to measure.'
not written by a
is
that
in
it
its objectives
professional student of organizations, a practicing
Universities are among those organizations
organizational
or
which have been referred to as organized anarchies
sociologist,
scientist,
political
but requires
analyst, all of whom might attempt to explain how
a term which need not be pejorative,
organizations work, and how one type differs from
In writing about the typical American
explanation.
It is written by an exdean of business who
university, Michael Cohen and James March (1974)
another.
for over a decade had an opportunity to assess how
wrote that this institution:
does not know what it is doing.
outsiders react to the university, what they find easy
...
are either vague or in
Subsequent
Its goals
to understand, and what more difficult.
paper focus on the
of this
technology is familiar
following
Its
dispute.
sections
questions, and attempt to highlight some of the
but not understood.... These factors
do not make a university a bad
other
and
universities
between
differences
organization or a disorganized one;
organizations:
it difficult to set goals, and to
but they do make it a problem to
Why is
CSSHE PROFESSIONAL FILE, Number 12
3
First, although the main task of any
describe, understand, and lead.(p.3)
foregoing.
is the same, emphasis will differ and
university
The challenge is to understand why a university must
specified goals are likely to be somewhat ambiguous.
be so characterized and when this should and should
Second, in contrast to many organizations, progress
not be of concern to members of the public.
toward goals pertaining to the quality of teaching and
research is difficult, if not impossible to accurately
Goals and measurement. The general task of a
The informed qualitative judgement of
measure.
university, and that against which its performance
best we can do.
peers may be the
this,
In
should be measured, is succinctly stated by Edward
universities differ in substance from many private
Shils (1984) as "the methodical discovery and the
sector activities where growth and profitability over
teaching of truths about serious and important things"
a protracted period are generally viewed as measures
(p. 3). This statement must always be in the minds
of success.
of those who think seriously about universities, and
the reader must keep it in mind as various issues are
Focus on
A colleague
efficiency.
dni
addressed in this paper.
accomplished scholar on organization structures has
observed that "the more inefficient the University is
Progress towards goals normally requires
Interested members of the public may
If it
is hard to measure progress,
the better".
measurement.
having specific goals may be of limited value.
find this difficult to understand. But there is wisdom
First is the concern that in being efficient
Objectives in private firms include market share,
behind it.
production
aftertax
focus too
much
on
a
we
profits,
growth
return
equity,
in
on
technology/process about which we know very little.
penetration of new markets, stock prices, or other
How can we be efficient if we do not know what to
rndily measured goals. Measurement is a problem
measure? It is too likely we will measure the wrong
in academia. We claim to measure research output,
We dare make no such claim
but do so poorly.
thing.
The technology of
about teaching effectiveness.
toward increased
pressures
is poorly
Outside
a university
teaching and learning
in
productivity measurement may have a detrimental
The merits of different methods of
understood.
We will measure what we
effect on universities.
teaching, and of organizing the educational process,
can, and research output is more easily measured
is a source of constant debate.
performance
Annual
output.
teaching
than
papers
published,
papers
look
The Maclean's (1991) article which ranked
to
assessments
supervised,
None of the
theses
papers
refereed,
presented,
universities highlights the problem.
students taught, research grants received, and other
measures used by Maclean's reflect the quality of
Focus on
measures of annual
"productivity".
All are input measures. Yet, "value added"
output.
productivity, numbers to be quoted to governments,
is what is important, and Maclean's (and all other)
boards of governors, and the concerned public, draws
ranking completely ignores this fact. We accept this
attention away from that which is of fundamental
only because it is the best we have been able to do.2
the unmeasureables which relate to the
importance
As Derek Bok (1986), Harvard's president at the
quality of the work and its longterm impact. One
nor
other
students
"Neither
observed:
time,
result has been the proliferation of low quality
interested audiences can tell how effective their
publications which threaten our forests and make it
education is or how its quality compares with that of
more difficult to keep on top of the literature in a
No universities
attempt
to
universities....
other
given field.
measure how much their students learn" (pp. 177-
78).
Harvard's former Dean of Arts and Science
noted an interesting (if facetious) idea for dealing
Two conclusions
from
the
drawn
are
5
CSSHE PROFESSIONAL FILE, Number 12
4
Decision Processes and Governance
He suggested that "all
with excessive publication.
academic appointments would be made to the rank of
full professor. Every book published after the initial
There is a hierarchical structure of authority
appointment would bring an automatic cut in rank.
in business organizations which is not found in
Obviously people would only publish if they truly
In universities, as in other professional
universities.
believed that they had to say something of enormous
organizations, much power rests with the professional
importance" (Rosovsky, 1990, p. 89).
staff, in this case the faculty. Teaching and research
are at the heart of a university, and professors control
Second, Rosovsky (1990) also noted that "in
teaching, research, and the development of academic
protecting the right to fail, the university provides a
programs. The status of top professors is as great or
Professors, particularly
valuable service to society".
greater than that of a top university administrator on
in their
risk failure
those in science, constantly
Thus, there is a dual
issues of academic policy.
search for answers. The answers are often not found.
authority structure within the university. There exists
Maintaining institutions which support the search for
a hierarchy of chairs, deans, vicepresidents, and the
answers, and stimulate minds to continue the search,
This hierarchy confronts the academic
president.
How do we attach a
is of immeasurable value.
authority system where professors dominate.
The usual
measure of efficiency to this search?
concept of efficiency is not useful in some instances.
There is a story which, whether told by a
university dean or president, says much about the
however,
responsibility,
enormous
An
It is simple:
culture of a university.
accompanies this "freedom to tail". Professors must,
with obvious commitment, pursue their research and
Question: When there has been a hitand
Those who do not, do not
Most do.
teaching.
run accident on the highway how do you tell if a
belong in a university.' Fortunately, little distinction
dean/president or snake has been hit.
between work and pleasure exists in the minds of
There are skid marks before the
Answer:
committed academics. Alexander Gerschenkron, my
impact if it was a snake.
economics history professor at Harvard in 1965,
worked in a shipyard when he first landed in the
Within the university culture this joke makes an
He found that such "work doesn't
United States.
It reflects the division between the
important point.
Is scholarship
follow you at night into your dreams.
hierarchy of administrators and the professorial ranks
pleasure or pain? If someone cuts your leg off, you
a division which has not always existed
at
know it's pain, but with scholarship you never know"
Canadian universities, but one which has become
(Rosovsky, 1990, p. 213).
more common as universities have become large and
have chosen leaders for their "management" abilities.
speed.
focuses
on
efficiency
Third,
In telling the story, the teller acknowledges the
Universities should not attempt to respond to the
within
the
authority
teller's
the
on
limitations
tastes will have changed by the
tastes of the day
Without such understanding,
the
organization.
time we respond. The relationship between what is
individual cannot succeed.
truly important and current trends in academia and
Surely it
elsewhere is often tenuous or nonexistent.
The reality of dispersed and shared authority
is important for universities to identify major trends
in a large and complex organization means that
Such processes take longer.
and needs in society.
Each area
academic policymaking is fragmented.
This appears unresponsive and inefficient, but it may
is not easy for top
has its own expertise, and it
be effective. In sum, efficiency is a difficult concept
take
president,
to
including
a
administrators,
to apply to the major task of universities. However,
in academic policy.
The
initiatives
significant
this does not mean it can be ignored.
dispersion of authority to many individuals and the
CSSHE PROFESSIONAL FILE, Number 12
5
difficulty of providing direction from the top mean
Standing committees which meet on a
(2)
regular basis may actually speed the decision
that a consultative and lengthy consensus building
process is needed for new initiatives.
This lengthy
materials
prepared
process
making are
as
in
anticipation of the regularly scheduled meetings.
consultative process distinguishes the university from
The committee
many private businesses, but not from some large
structure
ensures
(3)
representation of key constituencies at each stage in
and complex organizations.
the decision process. This is essential if the decision
The multiple
work smoothly.
Because of the authority and power of each
process
to
is
faculty, and
committees within
academic, the structure of decisionmaking differs in
department,
the
general faculty councils ensure that the faculty have
a university from that in most business organizations.
In the university it is essential that communication
participate
opportunity
full
decisions.
in
to
a
Although a small minority of faculty may generally
between the academic staff and management remain
wide open. The collegial decision process requires
avail themselves of this opportunity, nearly all would
Faculty members insist on participating in
insist on the right to participate.
Faculty members
this.
are often as much or more concerned with the
academic programs
relating
and
decisions
to
who attempt
process by which decisions are reached as with the
Administrators
be
priorities.
to
quality of the decision.5 This speaks to the need of
as inappropriately
exercising
are seen
directive
power. At the same time, if they are not directive,
an academic to be confident that important decisions
have been reached in a collegial fashion.
then they are seen as ineffective leaders.
It also
Every
speaks to the lack of confidence in "managers" to
university administrator walks this tightrope.
The
make appropriate "academic"
decisions.
result is a comprehensive consultative process as the
These
realities are part of the nature of a university, and
university moves toward decisions, and n situation
where the leadership of the university is seen as
part of the challenge to its leaders.
inadequately directive from outside, and excessively
If a university president
The high level of democracy that is evident
directive from inside.
appears as the strong leader that outsiders feel is
systems
committee voting
within
and
the
;.;
needed, the person is all too likely to have few
universities is also found to a significant degree in
other professional organizations. Problems faced by
followers in his or her organization.
of
large professional
managing partners
the
accounting offices may be similar to those faced by
The consultative process means committees
deans. In both organizations there is an emphasis on
many more committees than other organizations,
collegiality, and in a "formal voting system (which)
more permanent committees that meet regularly, and
underpins the equality of authority" (Greenwood et
many
that the
ensure
committees
larger
to
No doubt the hierarchical
constituencies are represented.4 Those who come to
734).
1990,
al.,
p.
structure of decisions in accounting firms is sharper,
a university from business are struck by the number
but there is a dualism here as with universities.
of committees, their size, and the interminable length
direction from the chair.
of meetings with little
It is important to recognize that given the
While it is undoubtedly true that some committees
and very
may be
nature of a university, efficiency is effectively served
inefficient,
the
unnecessary
by a complex committee structure. As one study
following observations are important.
concluded, "there is no support for the presumption
(1) Committees do not necessarily delay a
decisionmaking
public
final decision. A U.K. study found that although
professional
that
in
is typically a stultified maelstrom"
organizations
decisions within universities passed through twice the
This does not and
(Hickson et al., 1986, p. 219).
number of committees, it took no longer to reach
cannot deny the need to periodically consider the
final decisions within the university than in other
streamlining of any system loaded with committees,
organizations.
7
CSSHE PROFESSIONAL FILE, Number 12
6
research grants builds institutional image and attracts
but it does deny the possibility of eliminating a
and supports graduate students and research faculty.8
complex committee system within a university.6
The measurement of success in terms of
Accountability and Consumers
received and papers published
reinforces
grants
research, as opposed to teaching, as the focus of the
The public sees educational institutions as
As long as clear
competition between universities.
This is related to the
insufficiently accountable.
measures of teaching quality and substantial grants
If we do not
problem of measuring
output.
for teaching improvement do not exist, calls for
understand the technology of how to generate and
improved teaching will receive little attention. Until
transfer knowledge, it is difficult to account for our
universities know much more about the technology
Even over the
achievements in the shorter run.
of education, this situation is unlikely to change very
longer run, living standards in parts of Canada may
rapidly. These institutions should attempt to develop
more closely reflect movements in commodity prices
In
measures of teaching output and effectiveness.
than the effective development of human capital and
the meantime, universities are in a very difficult
However, as the recent
research at the university.
Stuart Smith (1991) is able to conclude
situation.
(1991)
indicates,
Porter
Michael
by
report
that there is no evidence that years of financial
may become more
education
inadequacies
in
restraint have caused serious decline in the quality of
apparent in the future as natural resources become
university education, and the evidence does not
less important.
permit confidence concerning beneficial effects from
increased resources.
Within the private sector, shareholders and
Consumer
accountable.
firms
hold
consumers
In sum, problems of measurement limit the
go hand
hand.
in
profitability
and
satisfaction
Acceptable output
accountability of universities.
Dissatisfied consumers can and do shift to other
students,
measures, in terms of the "value added" to
products. While it is possible for students to select
do not exist. The result is inevitably, too much of a
alternative programs, this possibility is likely to have
focus on research. Even here, researchers must have
little impact on undergraduate programs in major
incremental
make
to
or
fail,
to
right
the
Canadian universities, particularly on those programs
not
are
which
of
benefits
the
contributions,
This may be reinforced by
heavily oversubscribed.
recognized for years or decades.
There
an
is
the tendency of employers to seek students for
inevitable tension between adequate accountability in
intellectual talent and personal characteristics rather
the public's eyes and the "methodical discovery and
than for particular courses taken or skills acquired in
the teaching" of important truths.
In contrast to the situation for
the university.'
are highly
universities
education,
undergraduate
Leadership and Work Conditions
competitive within the spheres of graduate education
Pressures and rewards for success in
and research.
Leaders and managers.
Successful academics
research are great. Academic administrators have all
begin their career due to a love of teaching and/or
attract the most talented
to
competed intensely
those
research. They do not want to be managers
They can speak of their failures and
researchers.
classic shufflers of paper. The public perception, as
students, for
successes. This spills over to graduate
often heard from the business community, is that
the better ones are attracted to the leading lights in
those who cannot do, teach. Academics may extend
Competition for research grants is also
their field.
those who cannot teach or do
this one step further:
These grants are a significant part of the
intense.
Any academic administrator is
research, manage.
marginal resources available to universities. Whereas
So, it is important that they be in the job
suspect.
the university may not be able to influence provincial
only reluctantly, for their first love must be teaching
for
grants linked to formulas, successful competition
CSSHE PROFESSIONAL FILE, Number 12
7
not, then the ability
By hard work,
forces at play in the university.9
and research.
If
is
to
it
system with some
overloading
understand fellow academics is in question. Leaders
the
persistence,
initiatives which can be sacrificed, and guiding the
in other private sector organizations may be seen
forces of inertia in the university,
the academic
differently. The second difference is that academic
administrator may achieve a great
administrators often come to their positions with
deal.
Only
Most return to
through the subtle use of existing forces is success
limited management experience.
Heavy handed leaders will make little
Few climb the hierarchy, or
teaching or research.
likely.
Rosovsky (1990) of Harvard concluded
progress.
remain in management positions.
that "the quality of a school is negatively correlated
with the unrestrained power of administrators" (p.
Leadership involves setting directions for an
Outsiders may have trouble seeing this, but in
the notion of strategic planning.
It is,
13).
organization
a large university effective leadership must be largely
however, important to understand the likely limits of
unobtrusive, causing academics, whether knowingly
planning,
strategic
within
leadership,
and
a
or unknowingly, to end up where the leader wishes
First, presidents, vicepresidents, and
university.
deans are in their positions for relatively
them to go.'°
short
periods, periods often too short to include much of
Budgeting and fund raising processes also
the period a plan may cover, particularly when the
time to formulate the plan is included.
provide academic administrators with an opportunity
Second,
Through annual operating budgets, deans,
is difficult to develop
to lead.
where goals lack clarity,
it
vicepresidents, and presidents can set directions, but
clear plans; and where measurement is difficult, a
these directions are constrained by past allocations
Third, the
high degree of specificity is suspect.
and expectations they have generated.
Greater
diversity of individual interests in the university,
freedom exists when new funds can be claimed to
where faculty members' primary concern relates to
flow from special initiatives of the leaders.
their own teaching and research, means that the
New
funds permit the leader to more clearly identify his
interest in, and support for, comprehensive planning
or her priorities.
will be limited. Given the importance of interactive
support between the faculty and administrators in the
Tenure.
this means that planning will
The comfortable, secure, unproductive,
academic setting,
tenured university professor is an image which has
This is something
receive a relatively low priority.
This person is seen as an
those outside the university may find difficult to
harmed universities.
inherent in the
accept and understand, but
few
formal
great
freedom,
with
individual
is
it
obligations, no regular required work hours, and no
institution.
required place of work except for a few hours of
As Rosovsky (1990) has
There are, nevertheless, opportunities to lead,
teaching.
classroom
even if such opportunities in a university are more
observed, this is "a perfect prescription for laziness
in more hierarchical
and
unless work and pleasure are highly correlated
than
circumscribed
highly
organizations. As one friend has put it, the ability to
they are" (p. 187).
lead in a university depends on the ability "to sound
causes
a melodic phrase". The leader must be heard to say
some
tenure
that
true
is
It
It has
management problems for academic leaders.
the right things, in the right spirit, creating the right
It creates
been abused by a few faculty in the past.
image. In this regard universities differ little from
rigidities in bringing about change in the institution
some organizations, other than that fragmentation of
and it is a feature of the university which the public,
power and prevalence of individualists within a large
whose support we need, does not find acceptable.
university reduce the likelihood of a university leader
is important for the long term health of
sounding such a phrase. Undoubtedly, the "melodic
But
it
phrase" must arise from sensitivity to the diverse
individual universities, and for society.
CSSHE PROFESSIONAL FILE, Number 12
8
The freedom is there to be abused, but
a fact.
One reality is that to remain competitive with
Sabbaticals have become increasingly
seldom is.
other institutions universities have to offer attractive
essential with the rapid expansion of the knowledge
When attracting accomplished
work conditions.
President Bok (1986) noted
base in all disciplines.
tenured professors from other institutions, tenure is
that while it took Harvard 275 years to collect its
This must be considered in light of the
an issue.
first 1 million books, it took only five years to add
intensely competitive environment for top faculty.
To stay on top of the
the most recent 1 million.
knowledge base, to add to it, and to transmit it in a
But other issues are more important than that
structured manner to students, requires blocks of
One relates to the
of institutional competitiveness.
this may require
In some
disciplines,
time.
"right to fail". Freedom for an accomplished scholar
temporary relocations to benefit from resources and
to pursue, with security, that which the individual
personnel at other institutions.
considers to be important is essential for our society.
In doing so the individual scholar may fail to attract
It must also be noted that many individuals
pools of research money and may receive limited
choose not to take this form of "paid holiday". This
annual recognition, but starvation for the scholar's
is most often because lab or other facilities permit
family is not being risked.
individuals to be most productive if they do not
disrupt ongoing research programs. The concept of
Another is that tenure enables the university
sabbaticals might be wellserved if it were known
a home for
seekers and
as
role
fulfil
its
to
how many eligible individuals do not take them, and
communicators of the truth, however unpopular or
how many others, at considerable personal expense
unattractive that truth may appear. Some people in
make this further investment in their teaching and
powerful positions will always wish to limit debate
rare within
still
Although
capability.
research
on certain issues. And within universities it is not
business, sabbaticals have become more common
unusual for scholars pursuing certain lines of inquiry,
The basic question
is
of universities.
outside
which strengthen or weaken conclusions reached by
whether the public receives value for money, and this
Society benefits from the
others, to be unpopular.
gets back to our problem of measurement.
protection of truth telling that is the responsibility of
cost
some
social
That
is
there
universities.
is to be
this benefit
associated with providing
Other personnel matters.
Peer pressure and
expected. What is essential is that tenur-d professors
regular peer assessments of research and teaching
of
are active in the pursuit and communication
professor's
that
ensure
a
knowledge, and that thereby the benefits of tenure
accomplishments
Feedback is
performance is under regular scrutiny.
outweigh any costs. This is not a given. In the case
For tenure and promotion, experts from
of tenure, universities have to ensure the quality of
frequent.
indicate whether the
outside are called upon to
Tenure decisions must be of
decisions.
their
individual has made a significant contribution in her
They must be better than
consistent high quality.
Failure to gain tenure or
or his particular area.
they were at many universities during the period of
promotion is a public event, evident to colleagues
rapid growth from the 1960s to the 1980s.
referees, usually
within the organization and to
Talent and hard
leaders in the field, from outside.
work are generally required to succeed, but even
Sabbaticals are also viewed as a
Sabbaticals.
these attributes provide no guarantee.
a year of paid vacation from a
luxury by outsiders
job which at the worst of times is limited to a few
public
the
to
for
important
also
is
It
hours in front of a classroom of compliant students
understand the components of work environment that
That professors
for little more than half the year.
enable the university to attract the professors that it
have tremendous freedom in the use of their time is