ERIC Number: EJ687706
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jan
Pages: 20
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-4681
EISSN: N/A
The Danger of Deference: A Case of Polite Governance
Minor, James T.; Tierney, William G.
Teachers College Record, v107 n1 p137-156 Jan 2005
Over the past decade numerous arguments have been put forth that campus governance needs to be reformed to meet new challenges. Rethinking admission standards, implementing distance learning, increasing fund-raising, diversifying the faculty, and creating external partnerships are just a few issues that demand timely and informed decisions. For some individuals, these topics create decision-making contexts that stand in contradiction to the tradition of shared governance. To others, shared governance becomes an obstacle to effective decision-making rather than its vehicle. This study explores a campus where the perception is that governance works. The university enjoys a stable organizational history, climate, and administration that are circumscribed by what we will define as a culture of deference. The institution, however, does not appear to struggle over questions of quality such as how they might improve and what actions might create these improvements. The authors question whether a decision-making culture of deference promotes effective campus governance. The text begins with a discussion of what the authors mean by effective governance within an organization's culture and they then present data from an intensive case study of one campus. The authors conclude that cooperation and trust are foundational but insufficient indicators of good governance.
Descriptors: Cooperation, Trust (Psychology), Governance, Higher Education, Decision Making, Organizational Culture, Case Studies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A