Abstract
Data on 115 colleges and universities are used to examine the effect of the qualifications of the faculty and decentralization of authority on faculty influence over general educational policy and faculty appointments. The findings suggest that university administrators respond to the presence of highly qualified faculties by allowing them to have more influence which is exercised largely through the formally constituted decision-making bodies of the faculty.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Association of University Professors (1969). “Report of the Survey Subcommittee of Committee T.” AAUP Bulletin 55 (Summer): 180–185.
American Council on Education (1968). American Universities and Colleges. Washington: American Council on Education.
Blau, P. M. (1973). “The Organization of Academic Work” New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Blau, P. M. (1968). The Hierarchy of Authority in Organizations. Am. J. Sociol. 73: 453–467.
Blau, P. M., Heydebrand, W. V., and Stauffer, R. E. (1966). The Structure of Small Bureaucracies. Am. Sociol. Rev. 31: 179–191.
Blau, P. M., and Schoenherr, R. A. (1971). “The Structure of Organizations” New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Boland, W. R. (1973). Size, External Relations, and the Distribution of Power: A Study of Colleges and Universities. In (Heydebrand, W. V., ed.) “Comparative Organizations” Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Brown, P. (1954). “Bureaucracy in a Government Laboratory” Social Forces 32: 259–268.
Child, J. (1973). Predicting and Understanding Organization Structure. Admin. Sci. Q. 19: 168–185.
Clark, B. R. (1970). “The Distinctive College: Antioch, Reed and Swarthmore” Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company.
Demerath, N. J., Stephens, R. W., and Taylor, R. R. (1967). “Power, Presidents and Professors” New York: Basic Books, Inc.
Flexner, A. (1968). “Universities: American, English, German” New York: Oxford University Press.
Kerr, C. (1964). “The Uses of the University” New York: Harper and Row, Inc.
Lazarsfeld, P. F., and Menzel, H. (1961). On the Relation Between Individual and Collective Properties. In (Etzioni, A., ed.) “Complex Organizations” New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Miller, G. A. (1967). Professionals in Bureaucracy: Alienation Among Industrial Scientists and Engineers. Am. Sociol. Rev. 32: 755–768.
Parsons, T., and Platt, G. M. (1968). Decision-Making in the Academic System: Influence and Power Exchange. In (Kruytbosch, C. E., and Messinger, S. L., ed.) “The State of the University: Authority and Change” Beverly Hills, California: Sage Publications.
Plez, D., and Andrews, F. M. (1962). Organizational Atmosphere, Motivation, and Research Contribution. The American Behavioral Scientist 6: 43–47.
Ross, R. D. (in press). Decentralization Of Authority in Colleges and Univesities. Research in Higher Education 6.
Ross, R. D. (1972). Hierarchical Position and Perceptions of the Distribution of Organizational Influence. Unpublished paper.
Selznick, P. (1966). “TVA and the Grass Roots” New York: Harper & Row, Inc.
Veysey, L. R. (1965). “The Emergence of the American University” Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Weber, M. (1964). “The Theory of Social and Economic Organization” (Henderson, A. M. and Parsons, T. transl.) Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press.
Wilensky, H. L. (1956). “Intellectuals in Labor Unions: Orrganizational Pressures on Professional Roles” Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ross, R.D. Faculty qualifications and collegiality: The role of influence in university decision-making. Res High Educ 6, 201–214 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991286
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991286