Abstract
Universities are complex social organizations with distinctive cultures. On the one hand, academic freedom and autonomy are inviolable values and, on the other hand, changing environmental conditions exert strong influence on the primary functions of universities. This paper analyzes the ability of university cultures to adapt to these changes and describes management approaches that mirror the specific culture of a university. Various methods for assessing culture are described, a typology for interpreting university culture is introduced, and management approaches are analyzed. For administrators as well as researchers this work helps to explain the implications of university culture for management processes. This integration steers university leadership in a new direction combining strategic and symbolic management actions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnold, R.A., and Capella, L.M. (1985). ‘Corporate culture and the marketing concept: A diagnostic instrument for utilities’, Public Utilities Fortnightly 116(8), 32–38.
Baldridge, J.V., Curtis, D.V., Ecker, G.P. and Riley, G.L. (1977). ‘Alternative models of governance in higher education’, in Riley, G.L., Baldridge, J.V. (eds), Governing Academic Organizations. Berkeley: McCutchen Publishing Corporation, pp. 2–25.
Baldridge, J.V. (1971). Power and Conflict in the University. New York: John Wiley.
Becher, T. (1981). ‘Towards a definition of disciplinary cultures’, Studies in Higher Education 6, 109–122.
Birnbaum, R. (1988). How Colleges Work: The Cybernetics of Academic Organization and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bleicher, K. (1988). ‘Zum Verhältnis von Kulturen und Strategien der Unternehmung (About the relationship between culture and strategy of corporations)’, in Dülfer, E. (ed.), Organisationskultur (Organizational culture). Stuttgart: C.E. Poeschl, pp. 98–120.
Cameron, K. (1978). ‘Measuring organizational effectiveness in institutions of higher education’, Administrative Science Quarterly 23(4), 423–443.
Cameron, K. (1984). ‘Organizational adaptation and higher education’, Journal of Higher Education 55, 122–144.
Cameron, K., Mets, L., Peterson, M., Jones and Ettington, D. (1986). The Organizational Context for Teaching and Learning: A Review of the Research Literature. Ann Arbor: National Center for Research to Improve Postsecondary Teaching and Learning, University of Michigan.
Cameron, K.S. and Freeman S.J. (1991). ‘Cultural congruence, strength, and type: relationships to effectiveness’, Research in Organizational Change and Development 5, 23–58.
Chaffee, E.E. and Tierney, W.G. (1988). Collegiate Culture and Leadership Strategies. New York: Macmillan.
Clark, B. (1960). The Open Door College: A Case Study. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Clark, B. (1970). The Distinctive College: Antioch, Reed and Swarthmore. Chicago: Aldine.
Clark, B. (1972). ‘The organizational saga in higher education’, Administrative Science Quarterly 17, 178–183.
Clark, B. (1983). The Higher Education System: Academic Organization in Cross-National Perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Clark, B. (1995). ‘Complexity and differentiation: The deepening problem of university integration’, in Dill, D. and Sporn, B. (eds), Emerging Patterns of Social Demand and University Reform: Through a Glass Darkly. Oxford: Pergamon, pp. 159–169.
Cohen, M.D. and March, J.G. (1974). Leadership and Ambiguity. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Deal, E. and Kennedy, A. (1982). Corporate Culture: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Reading: Addison-Wesley.
Denison, D. (1990). Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness. New York: Wiley.
Dichtl, E. and Schobert, R. (1979). Mehrdimensionale Skalierung (Multidimensional Scaling). München: Vahlen.
Dill, D.D. (1982). ‘The management of academic culture: Notes on the management of meaning and social integration’, Higher Education 11, 303–320.
Dill, D.D. and Sporn, B. (1995). Emerging Patterns of Social Demand and University Reform: Through a Glass Darkly. Oxford: Pergamon.
Dill, D.D. and Sporn, B. (1995a). ‘The implications of a postindustrial environment for the university: An introduction’, in Dill, D.D. and Sporn, B. (eds), Emerging Patterns of Social Demand and University Reform: Through a Glass Darkly. Oxford: Pergamon, pp. 1–19.
Dill, D.D. and Sporn, B. (1995b). University 2001: What will the university of the twenty-first century look like?, in Dill, D.D. and Sporn, B. (eds), Emerging Patterns of Social Demand and University Reform: Through a Glass Darkly. Oxford: Pergamon, pp. 212–236.
Drumm, H.J. (1988). ‘Probleme der Erfassung und Messung von Unternehmenskultur (Problems of assessing and measuring organizational culture)’, in Dülfer, E. (ed.), Organisationskultur (Organizational culture). Stuttgart: C.E. Poeschl, pp. 130–148.
Keller, G. (1983). Academic Strategy: The Management Revolution in American Higher Education. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Kotter, J. and Heskett, J. (1992). Corporate Culture and Performance. New York: The Free Press.
Lawrance, P.R. and Lorsch, J.W. (1986). Organization and Environment. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Maassen, P. (1995). The Concept of Culture and Higher Education. Zurich: Paper presented at the 17th Annual EAIR Forum.
Masland, A.T. (1985). ‘Organizational culture in the study of higher education’, Review of Higher Education 8(2), 157–168.
Millett, J. (1962). The Academic Community. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mintzberg, H. (1982). ‘Organisationsstruktur: modisch oder passend (Organizational structure)’, Harvard Manager 2, 12–13.
Ouchi, W.G. and Wilkins, A.L. (1985). ‘Organizational culture’, Annual Review of Sociology 11, 457–83.
Peters, T.J. and Waterman, R.H. (1982). In Search of Excellence. New York: Harper & Row.
Peterson, M. and Spencer, M. (1991). ‘Understanding organizational culture and climate’, in Tierney, W.G. (ed.), Assessing Academic Climates and Cultures. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 3–18.
Reisman, D., Gusfield, J. and Gamson, Z. (1970). Academic Values and Mass Education: The Early Years of Oakland and Monteith. Garden City: Doubleday & Campany, Inc.
Schall, M.S. (1983). ‘A communication-rules approach to organizational culture’, Administrative Science Quarterly 28, 559–570.
Schein, E. (1985). Organizational Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schwarz, G. (1989). Unternehmenskultur als Element des strategischen Managements (Organizational culture as part of strategic management). Berlin: Dunker & Humblot.
Sporn, B. (1992). Universitätskultur-Ausgangspunkt für eine strategische Marketing-Planung an Universitäten (University culture and its implications on strategic marketing planning). Heidelberg: Physica.
Stroup, H. (1966). Bureaucracy in Higher Education. New York: Free Press.
Tierney, W.G. (1988). ‘Organizational culture in higher education: Defining the essentials’, Journal of Higher Education 59(1), 2–21.
Ulrich, P. (1984). ‘Systemsteuerung und Kulturentwicklung (System management and culture development)’, Die Unternehmung 38(4), 316–322.
Weick, K. (1976). ‘Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems’, Administrative Science Quarterly 21, 1–19.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sporn, B. Managing university culture: an analysis of the relationship between institutional culture and management approaches. High Educ 32, 41–61 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00139217
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00139217