Ethos at stake: Performance management and academic work in universities

Abstract

Higher education has been subject to substantial reforms as new forms of performance management are implemented in universities across the world. Extant research suggests that in many cases performance management systems have disrupted academic life. We complement this literature with an extensive mixed methods study of how the performance management system is understood by academics across universities and departments in Finland at a time when new management principles and practices are being forcefully introduced. While our survey results enabled us to map the generally critical and negative view that Finnish scholars have of performance management, the qualitative inquiry allowed us to disentangle how and why our respondents resent the ways and means of measuring their work, the assumptions that underlie the measurement, and the university ideal on which the performance management system is rooted. Most significantly, we highlight how the proliferation of performance management can be seen as a catalyst for changing the very ethos of what it is to be an academic and to do academic work.

Governance and Well‐being in Academia: Negative Consequences of Applying an Agency Theory Logic in Higher Education

“…In universities, low‐structured roles that include faculty research and teaching positions make up a large portion of the employment population and likewise help to fulfil an overarching social, economic, environmental and cultural mission. Evidence from this study adds to the growing chorus of scholars who assert that universities are mismanaging private‐sector‐inspired reforms (Briner, ; Burrows, ; Kallio et al ., ; McNay, ; Prichard and Willmott, ; Toma, ; Willmott, ). Specifically, considering the importance of well‐being for individual and institutional results, our data suggest that the current transition towards enhanced control governance with increasing reliance on hard performance measures and targets for academics, (e.g.…”

Datification and the Pursuit of Meaningfulness in Work

“…In our settings, faculty expressed two traditional university‐related values when discussing the rationale of their work: ‘ intellectual freedom ’ and the ‘ mission to educate students ’. However, they also expressed a more contemporary value of being ‘ productive’ and ‘efficient ’ (see Kallio et al, ). This is suggestive of an institutional context where contrasting institutional logics co‐exist (Lounsbury, ), a phenomenon that is now recognized as fairly common, especially in contexts undergoing significant change (Smets et al, ).…”

“…Conversely, meaningful experiences among academics are particularly related to ‘the degree to which environmental demands are seen as challenges that are worthy of commitment and involvement’ (Kinman, , p. 824). Respect, academic freedom, flexibility, professional growth, and collegiality have also been identified as key characteristics of meaningful academic work (Alvesson and Spicer, ; Chandler et al, ; Gappa et al, ; Kallio et al, ). These findings reinforce the idea that meaning is not a property of a job.…”

University Culture: An Analysis at the Level of Research and Educational units (using the Competing Values Framework)

“…Thus, the university needs to be at the same time flexible (to initiate and adopt changes needed to its organization form) and oriented toward stability and control (to manage rapidly in an efficient and effective manner a high rate of external and internal changes, the consistency of the change in different parts of the university is facilitated by delineating clear roles and procedures that are formally defined by rules and regulations). Simultaneously, as a result of the existing increased competition to attract more high-quality applicants, severe research funds cuts and strong globalization of education, university adopts a market orientation (Folch & Ion, 2009;Ressler & Abratt, 2009;Kallio, Kallio, Tienari, & Hyvönen, 2015). The university competes with other international and local organizations from various industries to attract highly talented job applicants and to keep them as committed, motivated, and satisfied employees.…”

“…They shape individuals and society (Heap, 2016). At the same time, in its course of action, as a result of the existing increased competition to attract more high-quality applicants, severe research funding cuts, and strong globalization of education, the university adopts a market orientation and manages its reputation (Folch & Ion, 2009;Ressler & Abratt, 2009;Kallio, Kallio, Tienari, & Hyvönen, 2015). This is the case also for one of the largest university in Romania, Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca (UBB).…”