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

Academic leadership
Rajendra Chetty
Too much emphasis on administration and functional management and limited inspired academic
leadership.
Management principles
Stuck in traditional moulds <strong>of</strong> bureaucracy and hierarchies.
Shared vision and mission
Individualistic notions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> education and teacher training are present with limited
shared understanding <strong>of</strong> a philosophy <strong>of</strong> teacher training among academics.
Heavy teaching loads and content/skills dichotomy
Ethics
Ethical dilemmas are not interrogated in an open manner and decisions are taken without
information sharing and rigorous debate <strong>of</strong> issues.
Policy and curriculum changes
Limited transparent discussions on new policies and changes in <strong>the</strong> curriculum led to destruction
<strong>of</strong> creativity and value adding activities among academics. The unquestioning allegiance to state
policy with regards to teacher training also militates against academic freedom in teacher training.
Organisational understanding and collegiality
A major concern was <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> collegiality among some academics and <strong>the</strong> urgent need for
harmonious workplace relationships among colleagues.
Relationships with schools/community and students
Limited consideration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> needs <strong>of</strong> key stakeholders in <strong>the</strong> system during strategic decision
making.
Lack <strong>of</strong> resources
Basic resources to ensure successful rendition <strong>of</strong> services to <strong>the</strong> students are sometimes not
available. The limited physical space is also detrimental to quality training.
From <strong>the</strong> Management perspective, <strong>the</strong> issue <strong>of</strong> quality teacher training is imperative to both <strong>the</strong>
vision and mission <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> institution. The interests <strong>of</strong> students, society and <strong>the</strong> state should enter <strong>the</strong>
management’s decision making agenda prior to strategic considerations, and <strong>the</strong>y should form a
moral foundation for <strong>the</strong> faculty’s existence. Management should not use stakeholders solely to
maximize pr<strong>of</strong>it, like is currently <strong>the</strong> case with large intakes, especially at postgraduate level since it
brings in more funding. The principle <strong>of</strong> selection should be quality both in input and output, not only
quality. They should establish fundamental moral principles with respect to how <strong>the</strong>y treat
stakeholders since decisions affect stakeholder outcomes, e.g. <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> graduates. If
management is underpinned by relationships <strong>of</strong> trustworthiness, honesty and respect, <strong>the</strong>y portray to
students that <strong>the</strong>y work from <strong>the</strong> premise that human values are fundamental and <strong>the</strong>y challenge <strong>the</strong>
student’s own disposition and tendencies in <strong>the</strong>ir future vocations.
6. Human values approach to management
The values, norms and beliefs <strong>of</strong> an individual are pivotal to successful management. The global
business world faces <strong>the</strong> challenge <strong>of</strong> reconnecting <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> wealth with <strong>the</strong> power <strong>of</strong>
conscience (Prozesky 2001:7). It is generally accepted that organisations cannot be successful if
<strong>the</strong>re are no sound moral values. A management style based on people directed goals and
orientations emphasise <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> emotional intelligence. Leaders need to display both
emotional clarity and conceptual clarity and <strong>the</strong>re should be an axiological underpinning for <strong>the</strong>ir
actions. When leaders lean heavily on emotional feelings, it has a negative impact on <strong>the</strong> rationality <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong>ir decisions, hence <strong>the</strong> need for emotional intelligence.
Four key human values for effective management, according to Bhatia (2004), are justice (fairness),
mutual respect (consideration), stewardship (trusteeship) and honesty (truthfulness). Bhatia (2004)
maintains that managers that use human values as drivers for performance ensure significant gains in
an organisation. He posits <strong>the</strong> following values for effective interaction among stakeholders: selfdevelopment;
good inter-personal relations; worker, customer and citizen satisfaction; and credible
reputation, goodwill and positive image <strong>of</strong> an organisation (Bhatia 2004:103).
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