Globalizing forces have both transformed the higher education sector and made it increasingly homogenous. Growing similarities among universities have been attributed to isomorphic pressures to ensure and/or enhance legitimacy by imitating higher education institutions that are perceived as successful internationally, particularly universities…

We present a three-part conceptual model that illuminates key dynamics promoting financial unsustainability within intercollegiate athletics. Revenue divergence comprises the first part as the influx of commercial athletic revenues primarily benefits a small set of universities housing prominent athletic programs. These schools then increase…

This article reviews literature on the potential for understanding higher education change processes through social network analysis (SNA). In this article, the main tenets of SNA are reviewed and, in conjunction with organizational theory, are applied to higher education change to develop a set of hypotheses that can be tested in future research.

Press reports and industry statistics both give incomplete pictures of the outcomes of the Great Recession for U.S. four-year colleges and universities. To address these gaps, we conducted a statistical analysis of all articles that appeared in Lexis-Nexis on a sample of more than 300 U.S. colleges and universities during the Recession years. We…

This qualitative study focuses on institutional efforts affecting the transfer student experience at a single research institution. Findings based on interviews with institutional representatives, both faculty and staff, using the rational, natural, and open system perspectives of organizational theory, provide insights into the institutional…

The study advances higher education leadership and change scholarship by examining a mostly unexplored area--the convergence between grassroots leadership with top-down leadership. The study is framed by two theories: tempered radicals framework and distributed leadership. Three common example of convergence are described as well as strategies for…

Over the past several decades, state officials and various interest groups and civic organizations have increased their level of direct involvement in the affairs of public higher education. The increase in external attention toward the academy would likely be accompanied by the development of oversight mechanisms to ensure that societal…

Studies have described and analyzed the problem of student cheating as well as institutional responses to the problem. However, organizational theory has been neglected. Viewing student cheating and institutional responses through the lens of organizational theory can inform strategy and instill fresh approaches to the management of the problem.

The new technologies are being forced within the old organizational structures in education, but those structures cannot accommodate the sophisticated systems needed to realize present goals. Substantial changes in organization are demanded which promote a stronger integrity in instructional systems and permit personnel growth by the accretion of…

Analysis of the relationship between performance data and changes in faculty size of 40 departments in a College of Arts and Sciences during a time of financial stress found that the rational choice model was applied to decision making. There was a systematic relationship between objective, evaluative data and policy decisions. (MLW)

A review of literature pertaining to feedback in the fields of education, psychology, and organizational behavior identified 32 practices that may be effective in helping postsecondary teachers improve teaching. Three additional practices were noted by the author, based on personal experience. A model feedback process is outlined. (MSE)

Two recent books that confront the questions and assumptions of traditional and new paradigms for studying education are discussed: "Organizational Theory and Inquiry: The Paradigm Revolution" (Yvonna Lincoln, editor) and "Naturalistic Inquiry" (Y. Lincoln and Egon Guba). (MSE)

The idea that universities can be viewed as a generic form of professional organization is critically examined. Through study of six Brazilian universities, a framework applicable to other countries is developed. The concept of configuration illustrates university forms differing from traditional professional bureaucracy and shows their…

This paper attempts to define the construct of "morale" empirically and examine it within a broader theory of how organizations affect individuals. It investigates the concept's construct validity by proposing and testing a multilevel structural model to measure the impact of morale on midlevel administrators' intentions to leave their positions.…

Faculty are the critical labor element in the pursuit of the economic goals of the community colleges, yet they are not central to institutional decision-making. Their views and values are not consistent with the goals and actions of their colleges. Instead, these goals and actions are aligned with business and industry, directed by government and…