Page 264 - Crisis in Higher Education

Reforming Administration and Management • 235

developed and developing countries must educate an ever-larger portion
of their populations to compete in the knowledge economy, so universities
must recognize that cost can no longer be a secondary or tertiary consid-
eration. The productivity of university administrators and faculty must
become a critical concern. In addition, universities must accept that they
can no longer select books and learning materials without regard to their
costs. Tuition should cover all routine learning expenses, including books,
allowing universities to use their collective purchasing power to reduce
the cost and improve the quality of these learning tools.
With respect to organizational structure, universities should realize that
they must move away from command and control, which emphasizes top-
down management and centralizes decision making. Universities must
think of themselves as PSOs that use faculty experts to engage in service
dominant logic to meet the needs of their customers. This means that the
attitudes of administrators and faculty must change from combative to
cooperative. Administrators and faculty must be willing to share leadership
responsibilities, while engaging in activities that enhance their productivity.
Last but certainly not least, universities must get over the notion that
declines in state funding have created their problems. They must take
responsibility for their actions and lower their cost.

11.5 CHANGING MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
The attitudes and values listed in Table 11.1 are associated with impor-
tant managerial changes involving customers, decision making, faculty
involvement, funding, and cost. The following list identifies and describes
the management changes that support this new culture.

1. Working with a trifurcated customer: Universities must establish pro-
cesses to work closely with potential employers, master’s and doctoral
degree programs that accept their graduates, and agencies that offer
certification and licensure. These ideas are discussed in Chapter 8.
Nearly all universities receive revenue from government with public
universities receiving more. As discussed in Chapter 9, these institu-
tions must build a close and cooperative working relationship with
governments to improve quality and reduce costs simultaneously.
These discussions about customers are not repeated here.