Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Intellectual ...

Rajendra Chetty
The mechanism <strong>of</strong> monitoring-control is applicable to <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> academe given <strong>the</strong> emphasis
on certification, evaluations, assessments, budgets, reviews, design, structures, etc. The focus on
how primary activities add value to <strong>the</strong> customer concomitant with <strong>the</strong>ir capacity to remain viable is
relevant to <strong>the</strong> concern as well.
3. The pr<strong>of</strong>essional bureaucracy: University management
The gap in university management is <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> dynamic strategic management skills and <strong>the</strong>
escalating number <strong>of</strong> South African universities that are experiencing management crises is evidence
<strong>of</strong> this. Du Plessis (2005:14) accurately notes that most senior university administrators have
impressive academic track records, but few have ei<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> talent or <strong>the</strong> credentials for dynamic
strategic management <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> institutions <strong>the</strong>y lead. There is <strong>the</strong>refore <strong>the</strong> tension between managing
<strong>the</strong> university as an egalitarian institution for academics and intellectuals (old paradigm) and ensuring
that <strong>the</strong> institution is sustainable within <strong>the</strong> transforming international Higher Education scenario and a
competing global economic market (new paradigm).
Henry Mintzberg (1979) identified five types <strong>of</strong> organisations (i.e. <strong>the</strong> machine bureaucracy, <strong>the</strong>
divisionalised form, <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essional bureaucracy, <strong>the</strong> simple structure, and <strong>the</strong> adhocracy). The
pr<strong>of</strong>essional bureaucracy modifies <strong>the</strong> principles <strong>of</strong> centralised control to allow greater autonomy to
staff and is appropriate for dealing with relatively stable conditions where tasks are relatively
complicated. This has proved an appropriate structure for universities and o<strong>the</strong>r pr<strong>of</strong>essional
organisations where people with key skills and abilities need a large measure <strong>of</strong> autonomy and
discretion to be effective in <strong>the</strong>ir work. Morgan (1998: 51) notes that since <strong>the</strong> 1980s, <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essional
bureaucracy’s effectiveness has been severely challenged by <strong>the</strong> changing environments with which
<strong>the</strong>se kinds <strong>of</strong> organisations have had to deal. The structure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essional bureaucracy tends to
be fairly flat with tall hierarchies being replaced by a decentralized system <strong>of</strong> authority.
Standardisation and integration are achieved through pr<strong>of</strong>essional training and <strong>the</strong> acceptance <strong>of</strong> key
operating norms ra<strong>the</strong>r than through more direct forms <strong>of</strong> control.
Fritzche’s (1991:842) decision making model maintains that <strong>the</strong> human values within an individual are
<strong>the</strong> linchpin <strong>of</strong> ethical decision making. The Weiland model (2001:73) extends it to <strong>the</strong> wider
management and feels that <strong>the</strong> incorporation <strong>of</strong> moral conditions and requirements in <strong>the</strong>
management, governance and control structures <strong>of</strong> a firm are essential for effective normative
management. I find <strong>the</strong> Kenyon model (1998) relevant to <strong>the</strong> university as it questions <strong>the</strong> following
assumptions:
The organisation can be equated with <strong>the</strong> person/s who manage it;
The organisation is <strong>the</strong>refore a moral agent;
Management teams which run organisations have a collective set <strong>of</strong> values and commitments
which can be distinct from <strong>the</strong> value systems <strong>of</strong> its individual members; and
The organisation forms a community as it can rely on its accountability in future for its actions.
The ethical attitude <strong>of</strong> top management determines <strong>the</strong> corporate, ethical and social responsibilities <strong>of</strong>
any organisation. The moral integrity at top levels impacts on <strong>the</strong> lower echelons through <strong>the</strong>
corporate hierarchy (Agrawal & Bajaj 2004:141).
4. Methodology
A grounded <strong>the</strong>ory research approach was used to explore <strong>the</strong> social processes that present within
human interactions in <strong>the</strong> case study. Grounded <strong>the</strong>ory is inductively derived from <strong>the</strong> study <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
phenomenon it represents. That is, it is discovered, developed, and provisionally verified through
systematic data collection and analysis. There is also a reciprocal relationship between <strong>the</strong>ory, data
collection and analysis. One does not begin with a <strong>the</strong>ory. Ra<strong>the</strong>r, one begins with an area <strong>of</strong> study
and what is relevant to that area is allowed to emerge.
Primary data was collected via semi-structured interviews with 3 key representatives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
stakeholders (25 students, 10 academics and 5 management members) selected through purposeful
sampling <strong>of</strong> quality rich cases as well as a focus group interview (25 masters degree candidates
volunteered to be part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> sample).
The interviews ensured a dialogue between <strong>the</strong> ‘systems rationality’ <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> planner (researcher)
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