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Managing Change in Pluralistic Organizations: The Role of Normative Accountability Assumptions
Journal of Change Management
Abstract
Pluralistic organizations face the challenge of managing the co-existence of multiple sets of assumptions associated with each institutional logic. This multiplicity of assumptions problematizes the findings from the change management literature that for successful change management, the normative assumptions of the change initiative should be congruent with the organizational normative assumptions. One of the organizational mechanisms in which the normative assumptions are encoded and enacted is the system of accountability, hence in pluralistic organizations, there is a need to understand the role of the interplay of the normative accountability assumptions of the change initiative with the multiple sets of accountability assumptions representing individual logics within the organization. This study examines the case of a project to renew a strategic framework of a Canadian public university. The project diverged from the existing governance practices and their associated accountability assumptions that represented the institutional logic of managerialism. We found that this project was widely accepted, despite deviating from the institutional logic that supported existing practices, because its accountability assumptions were congruent with co-existing and deeply-rooted, democratic logic within the organization. Our findings contribute to the change management literature by highlighting the role of normative accountability assumptions in change management within pluralistic organizations.
... In organizational literature, accountability or accountability is conceptualized as a mechanism and a virtue (Bovens, 2010). They further suggest that in order to understand organizational accountability, it is necessary to investigate the underlying assumptions of accountability such as the origins of organizational understanding of what behavior is appropriate, the effect of changing shared expectations, the role of internal and external audiences, and the existence of organizational social and normative pressures (Mir, 2020). ...
... In the organizational literature, accountability or being accountable, is conceptualized both as a mechanism and as a virtue. They further suggest that to understand organizational accountability, it is necessary to investigate the assumptions underlying accountability such as the origin of the organizational understanding regarding what is appropriate behaviour, the effect of a change of mutual expectations, the role of internal and external audiences, and the presence of organizational social and normative pressures (Mir, 2020). Accountability, which is used in a wide variety of fields, contexts and disciplines as fulfilling a formal obligation to a person in authority (Çayak, 2023). ...
... It is necessary to investigate the assumptions underlying accountability such as the origin of the organizational understanding regarding what is appropriate behavior, the effect of a change of mutual expectations, the role of internal and external audiences, and the presence of organizational social and normative pressures (Mir, 2020). In the organizational literature, accountability suggest that to understand organizational accountability. ...
Organizational performance in public services by government agencies, requires excellent service quality. Without quality, the organization will lose its best performance. However, there was a possibility that the function will not be as expected, causing dysfunction in the quality of work. The role of the organization was very important in supporting organizational performance. In this case, there are internal and external factors in the organization. This research raises accountability as an intervening variable that bridges how these factors influence the performance of public organizations, where accountability provides transparency resulting in healthy performance. The research was conducted on two hundred employees of public organizations in government agencies in West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta Special Region and East Java. The data collection research period was August 2023. The analysis was carried out using a structural equation model. The research results show that work quality dysfunction has no effect on organizational performance either directly or indirectly. Meanwhile, the role of organizations supports organizational performance both directly and indirectly through accountability. Accountability gives a better role to external organizational factors which have an indirect positive influence on organizational performance compared to their direct influence. The research uses a model with the intervening variable accountability policy. where this model will reveal the more dominant organizational factors that can be applied to produce good performance.
... Many universities can be characterised as public organisations with distinctive institutional structures and cultures (Kuipers et al., 2014;Mir et al., 2020). Public organisations tend to hold strong public values and are increasingly pluralistic, working with multiple stakeholders from diverse backgrounds in political, juridical, academic, economic, and administrative discourses. ...
... The interviewees disclose how the diversity of beliefs, assumptions, language and structures affect their work. As Mir et al. (2020) explain, organisations have become increasingly pluralistic, which demands the acknowledgement of the co-existence of normative assumptions and discourses, and the development of new organisational mechanisms for strategic alignment. ...
... it should also be noted that accountability is a vital component in public organizations for effective change management, promoting transparency, public involvement, and communication (Mir et al., 2020;thi tran et al., 2022). it justifies change needs, addresses public concerns, and fosters a culture that embraces change, drives performance, and achieves strategic objectives (Romzek & Dubnick, 2018). in essence, the seamless integration of these elements-change management, strategic leadership, knowledge management, and cultural alignment-forms the bedrock for successful organizational change in public settings. ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of strategic leadership on change management within public organizations, mediated by organizational culture, knowledge management, and accountability. The study applied an explanatory design and a quantitative approach through a structured questionnaire survey (n = 366) with randomly sampled respondents in public organizations in Central Gondar, Ethiopia. The reliability and validity of scale items were tested. The data were analyzed using SEM-PLS version 4. The results revealed that strategic leadership, organizational culture, knowledge management, and accountability had a direct effect on change management. Additionally, the study demonstrated a partial mediation of organizational culture, knowledge management, and accountability, shaping the relationship between strategic leadership and change management. This study fills a gap in the literature on how strategic leadership determines leading and managing change in public organizations. Moreover, it reveals valuable insights into multifaceted dynamics and multiple mediating factors. The study’s unique interdisciplinary approach and multiple mediation explorations within public organizations are deemed original, laying the groundwork for future research on challenges in public service contexts. Finally, it is recommended that government officials and policymakers prioritize local context, adaptive leadership, accountability mechanisms, cultural integration, and contextualized knowledge for change in public organizations.
... Public organizations are inherently dynamic and face unique challenges due to their intricate organizational culture, bureaucratic systems and accountability (Bayraktar & Jiménez, 2020;leisink et al., 2021). implementing change in public organizations in developing countries is often challenging because practical reality of the practice of change management detached from theoretical frameworks (Mir et al., 2020). increased role of leadership and the use of specific customized models were considered vital for successful change management in the public organizations (ahmed, 2017;Mamo gebretsadik, 2022). ...
Change initiatives that have been introduced in Oromia public organizations have not met the desired outcomes. Although literature demonstrates the role of organizational culture and leadership for successful organizational change, the impact of existing culture and leadership on change has largely been neglected during the implementation of change initiatives in the Oromia public sector. Therefore, this study examines the effect of organizational culture on change management through leadership styles. The study was conducted on a sample of 301 individuals, determined out of the total population of 3035 people working across 16 public sectors. Survey questionnaires were distributed and collected from a proportional sample drawn using stratified simple random sampling. The results of the structural equation modeling analysis revealed leadership style and organizational culture have a significant positive direct effect on change management, explaining 64% of the variance. Moreover, organizational culture has a significant indirect effect on change management. Leadership style partially mediates the relationship. The study highlighted the importance of a constructive culture and transformational leadership for the successful management of change. Public organizations, therefore, need to develop norms of constructive culture which are collaborative, achievement-oriented, innovative and open to support the change efforts with relevant culture. Moreover, organizations need to have transformational leaders to manage the change process effectively. This study helps public organizations in the development of successful change management strategies by identifying cultural norms and leadership style needed for change success in the context of developing county.
... Over the years, organizations, particularly those in the health sector, have become informationintensive organizations and/or pluralistic organizations (Asad Mir, Rezania & Baker, 2020). They centralize their IST as it is difficult, if not impossible, for hospitals to provide health care services to people without accessing their medical records, to develop new knowledge without capturing the history logs of different patients or to prescribe new treatments without analyzing previously Notwithstanding the differing change approach being adopted, managers must attend to the specificity of the requirement of change. ...
Organizations function in complex, dynamic and unpredictable environments. Implementing changes must therefore be well planned, managed, and evaluated as such ongoing efforts link organizational performance to peer competitiveness and sustainability. In an era challenged with technological innovations, it is crucial to understand how new changes can leverage traditional methodologies and services supported by information and technology systems. As information-intensive organizations such as hospitals are highly dependent on changing information and technological systems, this understanding is key to evolve next generation hospitals. Specifically, this study analyzes how hospital managers in Portugal relate change to information systems’ management based on Information Technology Infrastructure Library methodology. The relationship between change and information technologies services is not sufficiently clarified and constitutes an excellent opportunity to increase knowledge in the field of information systems.
... Fluid forms of leadership, embedded in a system rather than embodied in a person (Uhl-Bien et al., 2007), constitute an important topic for research, as more organizations become less hierarchical. Such organizations try not only to increase their capacity to respond to changing environments but also to change these environments to provide better answers to pressing problems affecting a plurality of stakeholders (Mir et al., 2020). Yet even distributed systems need some form of coordination. ...
Patients with rare diseases, as well as their caregivers, sometimes develop new solutions to deal with their health conditions but only a small fraction share the solution with their doctor or other health professionals. When the value of patient-developed solutions is considered, the evidence is that these solutions consistently help improve the overall quality of life. Patient-developed innovations are very heterogeneous in nature, level of quality, sophistication, and cost; nonetheless, the majority are frugal in cost and design. In this paper, we explore the organizational lessons of the patient innovation platform and community, and its leadership expressions, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Multi-sided online platforms for collecting, curating, and distributing those innovations can help in the fight against the pandemic by centralizing decentralization and we consider this theme in terms of our understanding of when leadership is distributed and when it is not. Distributed leadership can be considered as a paradox, a process in which leadership is retained and dispersed.
In Indonesia one of the big challenges of agricultural development is how the economic growth achieved can increase the income of farmers, most of whom own land of less than half a hectare. The Ministry of Agriculture is tasked with improving the welfare of farmers by increasing food security and agricultural competitiveness. The Ministry of Agriculture provides public services to the community, especially farmers in each district. The performance of public organizations is closely related to service quality. There are a number of variables that will affect how well public service providers function. Through the use of accountability policy, the impact of organizational elements on the performance of public service providers will be investigated in this study. Policies relating to accountability have a critical role. Maintaining quality is an important part of being able to give the greatest performance. Two hundred state public servants employed by the Ministry of Agriculture in the Indonesian participated in the study. The goal of this research is to investigate, both directly and indirectly, the elements that is management commitment and government policies influence public service performance through the use of flexible accountability policies. A quantitative approach using the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model is employed. The results of this study show that the inclusion of a mediating variable accountability policy has a direct and indirect impact on performance due to both internal and external organizational variables.
The institutional logics approach is a powerful lens with which to examine and understand contexts in which norms and conceptions are multiple, unclear or in flux. While logics at the societal level have been well elaborated and are, in the most part, widely understood and accepted, at the field level logics are not necessarily so clear. Field frames distort, merge and confuse the societal logic as field actors negotiate, rebalance, bridge and interpret logics in a recursively constitutive process. We review research in two institutionally complex fields—higher education and healthcare ‐ that employs an institutional logics lens. We identify and categorize institutional logics arising in these two fields and ask how these field‐level logics relate to each other and to societal‐level ideal‐type logics. We ask what roles ideologies play in mediating relations between the field‐level logics and what are the mechanisms by which this happens. We find that, at the field level, societal logics can appear as field‐level instantiations or merge to form hybrids. New field‐level logics can also emerge, but often these are confused with ideologies, thus limiting the theory‐building potential of the institutional logics approach. We identify and begin to resolve confusion between logics and ideologies, highlighting the role of ideologies in mediating the relationships between logics at the field level. We advocate for, and pave the way towards, a new research agenda enabled by a flatter ontology of institutional logics that sees a horizontal relationship between logics as well as a vertical relationship between logics and actors.
Araştırmada, “Olimpiyat oyunları gibi bir mega spor olayını düzenlemeye değer
mi?” sorusuna ekonometrik analiz ile cevap aranmış olup elde edilen veriler
sonucunda, mega spor olayları arasında yer alan olimpiyat oyunları ile kişi başına GSYİH arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi, bu kapsamda olimpiyat oyunlarına ev
sahipliği yapmış ülkelerde kişi başına GSYİH içindeki uluslararası turizm gelirlerinin
etkisinin saptanması amaçlanmıştır.
Çalışmanın uygulamasında, 1998-2015 yılları arasında yaz ve kış olimpiyat
oyunlarına ev sahipliği yapmış 9 ülke ile aynı yıllar arasında herhangi bir olimpiyat
oyununa ev sahipliği yapmamış toplam 86 ülke için panel veri analiz yöntemi
kullanılarak kişi başına GSYİH ile uluslararası turizm gelirleri arasındaki ilişki
tespit edilmiştir.
Çalışmada elde edilen bulgulara göre, olimpiyat oyunlarına ev sahipliği yapmış
ülkelerde kişi başı GSYİH’nın uluslararası turizm gelirleri ile pozitif ve istatistiki
olarak anlamlı ilişkisinin olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Buna göre, FMOLS
testine göre uzun dönemde uluslararası turizm gelirlerindeki %1 oranındaki artış,
kişi başı GSYİH’da yaklaşık %0,3710 oranında artışa neden olmakta iken DOLS
testine göre uzun dönemde uluslararası turizm gelirlerinin %1 artması durumunda
kişi başına GSYİH’nın %0,3589 artması beklenmektedir.
Benzer şekilde olimpiyat oyunlarına 1998-2015 yılları arasında ev sahipliği
yapmamış ülkelere ait değişkenlere yönelik FMOLS ve DOLS testi uygulanmış
olup uzun dönemde uluslararası turizm gelirlerindeki %1 oranındaki artış, kişi
başı GSYİH’da FMOLS testine göre %0,2634 DOLS testine göre %0,2368 oranında
artışa neden olduğu saptanmıştır. Dolayısıyla beklendiği üzere, elde edilen
eşbütünleşme katsayısı olimpiyat oyunlarına ev sahipliği yapmış ülkelere ait sonuçlara
nazaran daha düşük olarak gerçekleşmiştir.
Sonuç olarak, bazı turistlerin düşük maliyetli barınmanın ortadan kalkması,
konaklama ve ulaşım araçlarının yetersiz olması, vandalizm, trafik sıkışıklığı nedeniyle
mega spor olaylarına ev sahipliği yapan ülkelerden kaçındığı gerçeğine
rağmen, olimpiyat oyunlarına ev sahipliği yapmış ülkelerde kişi başına GSYİH
içindeki uluslararası turizm gelirlerinin etkisinin/payının kayda değer şekilde
daha fazla olduğu ortaya konulmuştur. Dolayısıyla mega spor olayları arasında
yer alan olimpiyat oyunlarına ev sahipliği yapılmasının kişi başına GSYİH üzerinde
olumlu etkisi olduğu tespit edilmiştir.
The aim of this paper is to trace the development of the literature in an objective manner by applying the Systematic Literature Network Analysis (SLNA). It contributes to the literature by building a solid map for future research avenues in the stream of institutional logic and change. Our findings illustrate the time-based introduction in the literature of change mechanisms, such as theorization, rhetoric, representation, and a recent focus on professional role identity, especially in the healthcare context. Recent trends emerge: (i) contributions on emerging global trends, with the application of hybrid organization in sustainable transitions and social enterprises; (ii) increasing body of research applying Institutional Logics and Institutional work in the analysis of organizational change; (iii) increasing interest from scholars of different disciplines in applying the institutional logics perspective; and (iv) the need to further develop the underlying theoretical assumptions of Institutional Logics. Finally, some limitations: (i) selected time frame of analysis; (ii) only author keywords were considered; (iii) overlooking other valuable scientific contributions due to “Matthew effect”.KeywordsSystematic literature network analysisInstitutional logicsInstitutional change
The objective of this review is to examine how the interactive use of project‐level management control systems (PMCS) impacts information technology (IT) project performance. To answer this research question, we focus on the mechanisms of team learning behavior, expertise integration, and the notion of the project manager’s stakeholder analysis efficacy to develop a conceptual framework that explains the relationship between the interactive use of PMCS and IT project performance. The contextual influence of an organizations’ emphasis on process accountability is also considered. The conceptual framework is based on the theoretical underpinnings of organizational information processing theory, organizational learning theory, and the knowledge‐based view of the firm.
Purpose: There is mounting fear that the present-day Local Government managers do not appropriately respond to pro-poor service delivery. Yet, the number of people lacking access to quality services is swelling. This fault has placed a growing burden on Local Governments to enhance local councilors' political accountability by ensuring that the basic services are made delivered to citizens with accountability. Given the different challenges and observed shortage of political accountability in Uganda, this study examined the contribution of political accountability towards achieving pro-poor service delivery in a Ugandan Municipality. Research methodology: Using five Focus group discussions, perspectives on accountability are debated as a foundation for improving service delivery. Limitation: The study covers only Uganda and may not easily be generalised to other countries. Results: Results indicate that political accountability is key to implementing a municipal development plan. Contribution: The study contributes to knowledge so that hands-on accountability holds potential and requires more consideration as a means to assimilate learning-based methods and role-players network to back up the delivery of pro-poor services. It is proposed that local councilors become more responsive to meet the growing need for pro-poor service delivery in a Municipal council. Keywords: Accountability, Pro-poor service delivery, Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal
In recent years, public reform policies related to higher education have undergone significant change in Western Europe. This analysis discusses three theoretical perspectives on the tasks and organizational structure of modern universities and looks at how those viewpoints form the basis of different organizational ideals. The author examines how those ideals affect the function of universities, their relationship to public authorities, and the extent to which they are defined as government agencies, cultural institutions, or corporate enterprises. This discussion is followed by a brief look at the development of university policy in Norway, the state's role in relationship to the universities, and the government reforms that actually comprise university policy in that country.
Governing IT while incorporating stakeholders with diverse institutional backgrounds remains a challenge. Stakeholder groups are typically socialized differently and may have different perspectives on IT governance dilemmas. Yet, extant literature offers only limited insight on socialized views on IT governance. This study uses an institutional logics lens to examine how competing institutional logics get connected in IT governance practices through dominant stakeholders’ enactment patterns and how these enactment patterns may affect the organization’s IT performance. We find that logics were coupled to the three dominant stakeholder groups, but only loosely so. Congruence between the three logics they enacted depended on the IT governance dilemma at hand. Our findings demonstrate how within a triad of competing logics, switching rivalry among hybrid logics may develop. Here, the enactments led to two hybrid logics, none of which became dominant. Remarkably, the IT professionalism logic accommodated polarization between medical professionalism and the managerial logic, causing unstable IT governance. We propose that IT professionalism offers room for agency and is crucial in determining the resulting enactment patterns: polarizing, compromising or even synthesizing. This study may raise managers’ awareness of the competing logics underlying IT governance practices and clarify the pivotal role of IT professionalism in IT governance debates.
In this article we argue that the university cannot fully contribute to democratic life without being both an institution whose governance is collegial and based on principles of equality, equity, inclusion, transparency, and accountability, and a vector of critical thinking closely linked to academic freedom. Based on this understanding of the 'democratic university,' we seek to highlight some of the key tensions between the 'managerial university' and the democratic university, as reflected in institutional structures, regulations, legal frameworks, and principles. In order to achieve this objective, we identify two sites of political struggles from which it is possible to examine the interaction between a managerial and a democratic conception and practice of the university. The first of these sites is the bicameral governing structure, membership, rules, and regulations of the University of Ottawa. The second site is academic freedom in Canada, which we will discuss by comparing the Canadian Association of University Teachers' (CAUT) Statement on Academic Freedom (CAUT, 2011) with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada's (AUCC) Statement on Academic Freedom (AUCC, 2011). By stressing the necessary link and positive relationship between democratic governance and academic freedom, the article offers a normative evaluation of the impact the managerial reengineering of Canadian universities has had on the possibility and practice of a more democratic university.
The institutional logics perspective holds the promise of delivering where neo-institutionalist theory has disappointed – the ability to address key societal problems such as inequality, social discrimination, and economic insecurity – a promise that, as of yet, has been unrealized. In this review, I provide an overview of the body of work within the institutional logics perspective that addresses the co-existence of multiple institutional logics influencing identities, values, cognitive frameworks, and practices – institutional pluralism. I demonstrate how pluralism diverges from conventional neo-institutionalist theory in its view of institutional fields as heterogeneous spaces. I then review the implications for organizations and social actors responding to multiple logics in the institutional environment. In the discussion section, I argue that the study of pluralism, in acknowledging human agency, politics, and collective mobilization, opens the door for creative resolutions to societal problems hitherto overlooked in neo-institutional theory. Despite the promise, I address key research areas that remain unresolved or under-addressed in the institutional pluralism perspective.
Choosing a president in an organization is an important political decision that reflects who controls the organization and the bases for that control. In this paper, a model of power based on resources in the organization and the environment is specified in order to understand how power shifted between intraorganizational units in the 100 largest U.S. firms between 1919 and 1979. Early in the century, large firms were controlled by entrepreneurs or personnel who came up through manufacturing. In the middle decades, sales and marketing personnel controlled large firms. In the past 25 years, finance personnel have become increasingly dominant. These shifts resulted from changes in the strategy and structure of the organizations, changes in antitrust laws that promoted an increase in product-related and unrelated mergers in the postwar era, and the mimicking of firms in similar environments.
This paper challenges the prevalent notion that American managerial discourse has moved progressively from coercive to rational and, ultimately, to normative rhetorics of control. Historical data suggest that since the 1870s American managerial discourse has been elaborated in waves that have alternated between normative and rational rhetorics. We sketch out the surges and contractions in the rhetorics of industrial betterment, scientific management, welfare capitalism/human relations, systems rationalism, and organizational culture/quality. Standard theories of ideological change are shown to be inadequate for explaining either the general pattern or the timing of the surges. We propose and find preliminary support for a theory that combines cultural constraints and material forces. Specifically, the tendency for innovative surges of managerial theorizing to alternate between rational and normative rhetorics of control appears to be rooted in cultural antinomies fundamental to all Western industrial societies: the opposition between mechanistic and organic solidarity and between communalism and individualism. The timing of each new wave is shown to parallel broad cycles of economic expansion and contraction.
We propose a novel approach to theorizing hybridity in public and nonprofit organizations. The concept of hybridity is widely used to describe organizational responses to changes in governance, but the literature seldom explains how hybrids arise or what forms they take. Transaction cost and organizational design literatures offer some solutions, but lack a theory of agency. We use the institutional logics approach to theorize hybrids as entities that face a plurality of normative frames. Logics provide symbolic and material elements that structure organizational legitimacy and actor identities. Contradictions between institutional logics offer space for them to be elaborated and creatively reconstructed by situated agents. We propose five types of organizational hybridity – segmented, segregated, assimilated, blended, and blocked. Each type is theoretically derived from empirically observed variations in organizational responses to institutional plurality. We develop propositions to show how our approach to hybridity adds value to academic and policy-maker audiences.
Understanding the processes by which practices become routinely embedded in everyday life is a long-standing concern of sociology and the other social sciences. It has important applied relevance in understanding and evaluating the implementation of material practices across a range of settings.This article sets out a theory of normalization processes that proposes a working model of implementation, embedding and integration in conditions marked by complexity and emergence. The theory focuses on the work of embedding and of sustaining practices within interaction chains, and helps in understanding why some processes seem to lead to a practice becoming normalized while others do not.
There has been a long-standing debate over who controls the large American corporation. The results presented here indicate that existing power relations within the firm, the conception of control that dominates the firm's actions, and the actions of competitors account for the economic actions undertaken by large firms, while the differences in manager or owner or bank control and the presence of bank interlocks do not. A sociology of markets is therefore more likely to account for the courses of actions of large firms by considering these relations, rather than focusing on the construction of interests by bankers, owners, or board interlocks.
In this article, the authors analyze whether and to what extent an “old” administrative orientation is being replaced by a new managerial logic in the Austrian public sector. They illustrate that shifts in institutional logics can be analyzed by the extent to which actors draw on the social identities derived from the competing logics and show that the vocabularies and accounts the actors employ to communicate their identity claims reflect the local translation of global logics.
Purpose
– To consider the extent to which regimes of performance measurement in the public sector are fit for purpose, and the likely outcomes for public services and public sector workers of such performance measurement systems.
Design/methodology/approach
– The article considers four key issues: the context and content of performance measurement in the public sector, the specific examples of health care and higher education, the limitations of performance measurement systems, and the likely outcomes of performance measurement systems.
Findings
– Current systems of performance measurement in the public sector are unlikely to have a significant influence on improving services. The most likely outcomes of these systems is further commodification of services and deprofessionalisation of public sector workers.
Originality/value
– The article builds on established literature and offers a systematic metaphor‐driven critique of performance management in the public sector, and discusses the implications of this.
It can be argued that the successful management of change is crucial to any organisation in order to survive and succeed in the present highly competitive and continuously evolving business environment. However, theories and approaches to change management currently available to academics and practitioners are often contradictory, mostly lacking empirical evidence and supported by unchallenged hypotheses concerning the nature of contemporary organisational change management. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to provide a critical review of some of the main theories and approaches to organisational change management as an important first step towards constructing a new framework for managing change. The article concludes with recommendations for further research.
Building on her seminal contribution to social theory in Culture and Agency, in this 1995 book Margaret Archer develops her morphogenetic approach, applying it to the problem of structure and agency. Since structure and agency constitute different levels of stratified social reality, each possesses distinctive emergent properties which are real and causally efficacious but irreducible to one another. The problem, therefore, is shown to be how to link the two rather than conflate them, as has been common theoretical practice. Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach not only rejects methodological individualism and holism, but argues that the debate between them has been replaced by a new one, between elisionary theorising and emergentist theories based on a realist ontology of the social world. The morphogenetic approach is the sociological complement of transcendental realism, and together they provide a basis for non-conflationary theorizing which is also of direct utility to the practising social analyst.
This study describes the strategic change efforts of a university in the United Kingdom which changed its form and resource deployments to focus on the production of interdisciplinary research. A problem-oriented case study method was used to chronicle and analyse the leadership strategies and tactics employed and their consequences. We found that the reliance on a vertical leadership (controlling) strategy led to external legitimization but not internal legitimacy. We also found instances these strategies created unintended consequences which inhibited the strategic change initiative. In particular, horizontal leadership (enabling) strategies that spoke to the academic heartland were muted. We concluded that in universities undertaking major strategic change efforts controlling influence actions may be necessary but they are insufficient to levers of strategic change. The study is particularly important because it contributes to an understanding of strategic change in universities at a time when most such efforts fail to meet their objectives and there is a limited empirical literature to draw upon.
Organizational change is a system-wide process that begins at the individual level. Individuals who act as catalysts for change are often referred to as “change agents” and are lower level employees rather than designated leaders. In the current study Conservation of Resources Theory (COR) is utilized to construct a conditional process model of key resources and change agent influence. Specifically, this model tests the direct effects of General Cognitive Ability (GCA), Five Factor Model (FFM) personality facets, and Psychological Capital (PsyCap) – as well as the mediating role of PsyCap – on simulated change agent performance. Results suggest PsyCap positively correlates with performance, and, mediates the relationship between GCA and performance. Related narrow FFM facets moderate both stages of the mediation. These findings provide theoretical implication for COR as well as practical implications for human resource development interventions geared towards identification and development of change agents.
The restructuring of state education systems in many OECD countries during the last two decades has involved a significant shift away from an emphasis on administration and policy to an emphasis on management. The "new managerialism" has drawn theoretically, on the one hand, on the model of corporate managerialism and private sector management styles, and, on public choice theory and new institutional economics (NIE), most notably, agency theory and transaction cost analysis, on the other. A specific constellation of these theories is sometimes called "New Public Management," which has been very influential in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. These theories and models have been used both as the legitimation for policies that redesigning state educational bureaucracies, educational institutions and even the public policy process. Most importantly, there has been a decentralization of management control away from the center to the individual institution through a "new contractualism" - often referred to as the "doctrine of self-management" - coupled with new accountability and competitive funding regimes. This shift has often been accompanied by a disaggregation of large state bureaucracies into autonomous agencies, a clarification of organizational objectives, and a separation between policy advice and policy implementation functions, together with a privatization of service and support functions through "contracting out". The "new managerialism" has also involved a shift from input controls to quantifiable output measures and performance targets, along with an emphasis on short-term performance contracts, especially for CEOs and senior managers. In the interests of so-called "productive efficiency," the provision of educational serviceshas been made contestable; and, in the interests of so-called allocative efficiency state education has been progressively marketized and privatized. In this paper I analyze the main underlying elements of this theoretical development that led to the establishment of the neoliberal university in the 1980s and 1990s before entertaining and reviewing claims that new public management is dead. At the end of the paper I focus on proposals for new forms of "the public" in higher education as a means of promoting "radical openness" consonant with the development of Web 2.0 technologies and new research infrastructures in the global knowledge economy.
‘Education policy is now a global matter and all the more complex for that. Mark Olssen, John Codd and Ann-Marie O’Neill do us an invaluable service in producing a carefully theorised guide to current issues and key concerns - this is an important, erudite and very practical book’ - Stephen J Ball, Education Policy Research Unit, University of London ‘Given the global reach of neoliberal policies, we need cogent books that enable us to better understand the major effects such tendencies have. Education Policy is such a book. It is insightful and well written--and should be read by all of us who care deeply about what is happening in education in international contexts’ - Michael W Apple, Author of ‘Educating the "Right" Way and John Bascom Professor of Education University of Wisconsin, Madison ‘I really am taken with the book, the range and depth of analysis are truly impressive. This book is a magnum opus and everyone in the area should read it’- Hugh Lauder, University of Bath ‘In their insightful and comprehensive book on education policy Mark Olssen, John Codd and Anne-Marie O’Neill wrestle with the big questions of citizenship and democracy in an age of globalization. They argue that ducation policy in the 21st century is the key to security, sustainability and survival. The book, anchored in the poststructuralist perspective of Michel Foucault, traverses the whole territory of education policy not only methods and approaches of policy analysis and the dominant political perspectives that influence policy-classical liberalism, social democracy and neo-liberalism--but also those policy areas that require the closest scrutiny: markets, trust, professionalism, choice, diversity, and finally, community, citizenship and democracy. This is the new policy bible for educationalists - it is at once systematic, provocative and instructive’ - Michael A Peters, Research Professor, University of Glasgow This book provides an international perspective on education policy, and of the role and function of education in the global economy. The authors present a Foucauldian perspective on the politics of liberal education, within a theoretical framework necessary for the critical analysis of education policy. The authors set out the analyses necessary for understanding the restructuring in education and social policy that has occurred in many countries affected by the resurgence of neo-liberal political theory. They examine education policy in relation to globalization, citizenship and democracy. The authors argue that globalization is an extension of neoliberalism and is destructive of the nation state, community and democracy. They show the importance of education in building strong democratic nation states and global communities based on cultural identity and inter-cultural awareness. This book is essential reading for students of education policy studies and social policy analysis.
This study seeks to identify the characteristics causing tensions in the move towards a corporate culture in Australian public universities. The findings reveal ongoing structural, competency and behavioral issues contributing to the tensions. Two theoretical propositions have emerged regarding the status of the change process. First, the change to a corporate culture is slow but continuing. Second, universities have accepted that public sector, collegial and corporate cultures have to co-exist, thus adopting an adapted version of new public management (NPM). These findings provide avenues for further research to confirm both the characteristics and theoretical propositions.
This paper attempts to breathe a little life into one of the most moribund corners of the methodological literature, namely the 'debate' on interview strategy and the supposed opposition between 'structured' and 'unstructured' approaches. From the very beginning, we tend to learn about interviewing as an issue concerning the pros and cons of each respective strategy. The choice of interviewing style is thus presented as a matter of inclination towards standardization versus sensitivity, enumeration versus emancipation, anonymity versus ardour, and so forth. All such distinctions are essentially method-driven and have resulted in extensive technical literatures on how to achieve the chosen ends. Forgotten, therefore, in most of the literature is the very purpose of the interview - namely to advance data in order to inspire/validate/falsify/modify sociological explanation. This paper proposes a theory-driven approach to the construction of the interview. It takes on board two contemporary approaches to sociological understanding, namely a realist theory of explanation and a structurationist theory of social being, and attempts to incorporate their principles into the basic structure of the interview. The paper is illustrated with examples from the author's research with prisoners, and so hopes to inspire a dons and cons approach to the interview.
This study identifies organizational enablers (OEs) for governance and governmentality in the realm of projects in project-based organizations (PBOs). We use a multiple case study design with six firms in Sweden and China to identify OEs. Institutional theory serves as theoretical perspective. Results show that OEs are interwoven, albeit with different strength, with the three pillars of institutional theory (regulative, normative and cultural–cognitive). OEs for project governance and governance of projects fall predominantly into the category of regulative and normative pillars, whereas OEs for governmentality belong mainly to the cultural–cognitive pillar. Collectively these OEs provide for an ambidexterity of flexibility and stability, which allows organizations to align their internal characteristics with their organizational context. Managerial and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.
This paper is concerned with building a descriptive model of the relationship between First Nations bands and the Federal Government of Canada that has emerged as a result of programme devolution. By unpacking and reconstructing the components of the accountability relationship we identify incompatibilities between notions of the relationship espoused by both parties (and others). The model depicts a relationship that contrasts First Nations views of what the accountability relationship should be and the views of the Canadian Government regarding what programme devolution actually is. This model will be useful for understanding the complexity of accountability between the Government of Canada and First Nations and can inform efforts to improve the relationship between them.
In response to increasing fiscal pressure, Canadian universities have turned towards managerialism, that is, applying managerial tools of business with the objectives of improving operating efficiency, raising the institution's marketability, and generating commercial revenue. In addition to employing the services of professional administrators to enhance the institution's economic performance, universities appear to be switching from a collegial model of shared governance to a corporate model of governance. An objective of this exploratory study is to examine the current state of board governance in Canadian universities. Results of a survey from 133 board members of 28 universities indicate, by and large, that board members seem to have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The boards are involved in setting strategic directions, goals, and objectives, and are making operating and capital resource allocation decisions. They are also monitoring the performance of the university and the president, and are involved in recruiting, succession planning, and determining the president's compensation package. The respondents report that the board committee structure and the support provided to board members allow them to discharge their responsibilities as board members properly. There is, however, room for improvement, especially in the board's participation in defining and reviewing the institution's strategic directions, plans, goals, and objectives, as well as monitoring the performance of the university and senior administrators. Other areas for possible improvement include continuing education on matters within the board's purview as well as providing better information for decision making to board members.
Organization development has been, and arguably still is, the major approach to organizational change across the Western world, and increasingly globally. Despite this, there appears to be a great deal of confusion as to its origins, nature, purpose and durability. This article reviews the ‘long’ history of organization development from its origins in the work of Kurt Lewin in the late 1930s to its current state and future prospects. It chronicles and analyses the major stages, disjunctures and controversies in its history and allows these to be seen in a wider context. The article closes by arguing that, although organization development remains the dominant approach to organizational change, there are significant issues that it must address if it is to achieve the ambitious and progressive social and organizational aims of its founders.
Professional institutions are increasingly confronted by fiscal constraints and political pressures to improve and increase their accountability in a competitive consumer-driven market. Accordingly, the need to ensure efficiency and accountability is of strategic importance. This article reports on a qualitative study of medical professionals that assessed the utility of financial incentives and external control methods derived from agency theory to ensure accountability of professionals. The authors argue that approaches derived from stewardship and institutional theories can extend the principal–agent perspective to sustain greater social and ethical accountability.
The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of how a mandatory external (mostly) non-financial reporting process, labelled Knowledge Balance Sheets (KBS), is interpreted and used by different stakeholders in the Austrian university system. We are also interested in how the content and structure of the report transforms over time, how the possible link to the internal management control agenda is made, and how it reshapes organizational routines. The paper applies a critical approach where mostly non-financial, intellectual capital-related measurement, management, and reporting processes and structures are being questioned and discussed from different perspectives.
Argues that the formal structure of many organizations in post-industrial society dramatically reflect the myths of their institutional environment instead of the demands of their work activities. The authors review prevailing theories of the origins of formal structures and the main problem which those theories confront -- namely, that their assumption that successful coordination and control of activity are responsible for the rise of modern formal organization is not substantiated by empirical evidence. Rather, there is a great gap between the formal structure and the informal practices that govern actual work activities. The authors present an alternative source for formal structures by suggesting that myths embedded in the institutional environment help to explain the adoption of formal structures. Earlier sources understood bureaucratization as emanating from the rationalization of the workplace. Nevertheless, the observation that some formal practices are not followed in favor of other unofficial ones indicates that not all formal structures advance efficiency as a rationalized system would require. Therefore another source of legitimacy is required. This is found in conforming the organization's structure to that of the powerful myths that institutionalized products, services, techniques, policies, and programs become. (CAR)
This paper focuses on assessing possible levers in the hands of a university's top management team for inducing or managing change when faced with environmental drives. The topic is discussed after analysing change in a university over a 20‐year period. The case study underlines the opportunities and difficulties of linking external environmental drives and change processes, highlighting the lack of a universal path and proposing elements that are worthy of attention. The paper underlines the need for top management teams in universities to pay particular attention to the systemic and balanced aspects of the factors determining change.
In this paper we review the major historical developments in the evolution of Canadian university governance arrangements
and synthesise data from two important national studies in order to provide an overview of university governance in Canadian
higher education. We provide an analysis of university governance structures and arrangements, and conclude by reviewing a
number of important contemporary issues.
This paper analyses aspects of the management of academics and managerialism in the United Kingdom and Canada in the 1990s. It is primarily based on interviews with senior academic managers in ten Canadian universities in 1996 and makes comparisons with United Kingdom and Canada in the early 1990s. Managerialism is located in the context of the United Kingdom and Canadian governmental pressures. The relationship between management and market discourse is explored, as is the variation of soft and hard managerialism, accountability and entrepreneurship. There is discussion of the effect of differences in institutional culture on management and of the impact of managerialism on the work of academics
This paper distinguishes between two main concepts of accountability: accountability as a virtue and accountability as a mechanism. In the former case, accountability is used primarily as a normative concept, as a set of standards for the evaluation of the behaviour of public actors. Accountability or, more precisely, being accountable, is seen as a positive quality in organisations or officials. Hence, accountability studies often focus on normative issues, on the assessment of the actual and active behaviour of public agents. In the latter case, accountability is used in a narrower, descriptive sense. It is seen as an institutional relation or arrangement in which an actor can be held to account by a forum. Here, the locus of accountability studies is not the behaviour of public agents, but the way in which these institutional arrangements operate. The present paper argues that distinguishing more clearly between these two concepts of accountability can solve at least some of the current conceptual confusion and may provide some foundation for comparative and cumulative analysis.
In this paper we develop a theoretical model that helps to understand change in mature organizational fields by emphasizing the role of competing institutional logics as part of a radical change process. Our investigation into a large-scale, government-led health reform initiative in Alberta, Canada, is based upon a qualitative case study approach to understanding the process of field recomposition. This study focuses on the later portions of change in an organizational field - that is, rather than explaining the sources of change, we investigate how a field becomes re-established after the implementation of a radical structural change.
Five footnotes to change in organizations are suggested. They emphasize the relation between change and adaptive behavior more generally, the prosaic nature of change, the way in which ordinary processes combine with a confusing world to produce some surprises, and the implicit altruism of organizational foolishness.
One of the most remarkable aspects of organizational change efforts is their low success rate. There is substantial evidence that some 70% of all change initiatives fail. This article explores the argument that a potentially significant reason for this is a lack of alignment between the value system of the change intervention and of those members of an organization undergoing the change. In order to test this assertion, the article begins by reviewing the change literature with regard to the impact of values on success and failure. It then examines Graves' Emergent Cyclical Levels of Existence Theory and uses this as the basis of a method for identifying and aligning value systems. The article then presents the results from case studies of two change initiatives in different organizations. These support both the method and the assertion that value system alignment may be an important factor in the success of organizational change initiatives. The article concludes with recommendations for further research.
The article focuses on the effects of management-by-results from the perspective of the work motivation of university employees. The study is based on extensive survey data among employees at Finnish universities. According to the results, performance measurement is based on quantitative rather than qualitative measures, and the current management-by-results system has a negative effect on work motivation among experts. The motivation to engage in creative, knowledge-intensive work, such as the work carried out at universities, is typically intrinsic. In the light of the empirical findings of the study it seems that management-by-results is in conflict with intrinsic motivation and the very essence of the expert work undertaken in universities.
This article examines the historical contingency of executive power and succession in the higher education publishing industry. We combine interview data with historical analysis to identify how institutional logics changed from an editorial to a market focus. Event history models are used to test for differences in the effects of these two institutional logics on the positional, relational, and economic determinants of executive succession. The quantitative findings indicate that a shift in logics led to different determinants of executive succession. Under an editorial logic, executive attention is directed to author‐editor relationships and internal growth, and executive succession is determined by organization size and structure. Under a market logic, executive attention is directed to issues of resource competition and acquisition growth, and executive succession is determined by the product market and the market for corporate control.
Elaborates a model of accountability as a relationship of three
parties: principal, steward and the codes on which stewardship is
established, executed and adjudicated. Describes how the enhancement of
accountable management in the public sector, through the Financial
Management Initiative, the Next Steps Agencies and, most recently,
market testing, has brought changes to these codes and thus to
accountability itself.
The degree to which administrative approaches and techniques used in business have been adopted in Australian higher education, and in public agencies governing higher education, is examined. It is concluded that the assumption that corporate management techniques are the only form of efficient management is both erroneous and incompatible with the collegial nature of the university. (MSE)
The corporate management approach often promoted for college administration is criticized, and four major aspects of the approach considered antithetical to the collaborative ways of thinking and acting in educational organizations are examined: product orientation, instrumentalism, rationalization, and active intervention. Collegiality is compared with the participatory model of management. (MSE)
Agency theory is an important, yet controversial, theory. This paper reviews agency theory, its contributions to organization theory, and the extant empirical work and develops testable propositions. The conclusions are that agency theory (a) offers unique insight into in- formation systems, outcome uncertainty, incentives, and risk and (b) is an empirically valid perspective, particularly when coupled with complementary perspectives. The principal recommendation is to in- corporate an agency perspective in studies of the many problems having a cooperative structure. One day Deng Xiaoping decided to take his grandson to visit Mao. "Call me granduncle," Mao offered warmly. "Oh, I certainly couldn't do that, Chairman Mao," the awe-struck child replied. "Why don't you give him an apple?" suggested Deng. No sooner had Mao done so than the boy happily chirped, "Oh thank you, Granduncle." "You see," said Deng, "what in- centives can achieve." ("Capitalism," 1984, p. 62)
This paper examines the relationship between language and power in education policy. It takes the example of accountability as the specific focus for an analysis of discursive power in the shaping of education in the 1990s. In doing so, it examines the ways in which language contributes to the construction and maintenance of norms and consensual positions in education. Drawing on work in critical linguistics and cultural theory, the paper considers how recent changes in education might be analysed in a way which relates specific examples of social and linguistic practice to larger scale theoretical concerns. The examples which provide the specific focus for discussion in this paper relate to the concept of accountability and are drawn from an empirical study of the enactment of the statutory curriculum for English in secondary schools in 1992‐93.