Colleges and universities are currently undergoing the most significant
challenges they have faced since World War II. Rising costs, increased
competition from for-profit providers, the impact of technology, and the
changing desires and needs of consumers have combined to create a
dynamic tension for those who work in, and study, postsecondary
education. What worked yesterday is unlikely to work tomorrow. The
status quo or bromides such as "stay the course" are insufficient
responses in a market that demands creativity and innovation if an
organization does not simply wish to survive, but thrive.
Managerial responses or top-down linear decisions are antithetical to
academic organizations and most likely recipes for disaster. In today's
"flat world", decision-making for most organizations has become less
hierarchical and more decentralized. Understanding this trend is of
particular importance for organizations with traditions of shared
governance.
The message of this book is that understanding organizational culture is
critical for those who recognize that academe must change, but are
unsure how to make that change happen. Even the most seasoned college
and university administrators and professors often ask themselves, "What
holds this place together?" The author's answer is that an
organization's culture is the glue of academic life. Paradoxically, this
"glue" does not make things get stuck, but unstuck. An understanding of
culture enables an organization's participants to interpret the
institution to themselves and others, and in consequence, to propel the
institution forward.
An organization's culture is reflected in what is done, how it is done,
and who is involved in doing it. It concerns decisions, actions, and
communication on an instrumental and symbolic level. This book considers
various facets of academic culture, discusses how to study it, how to
analyze it, and how to improve it in order to move colleges and
universities aggressively into the future while maintaining core
academic values.
This book presents updated versions of eight key articles on
organizational culture in higher education by William G. Tierney. The
new introduction that sets them in the context of current and future
challenges will add further value to articles that are already in high
demand.
