The Management of Retrenchment at Public Universities
Kahr, Toby Yale
This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/71540
Description
Title
The Management of Retrenchment at Public Universities
Author(s)
Kahr, Toby Yale
Issue Date
1984
Department of Study
Labor and Industrial Relations
Discipline
Labor and Industrial Relations
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Sociology, Industrial and Labor Relations
Abstract
Public universities are facing a period of declining, or at best, steady state resource levels. Significant adaptive responses will be required in order for institutions to operate within funds that are expected to be available. There is a lack of knowledge in the area of retrenchment management which is especially critical in higher education where there is little experience or theoretical knowledge pertaining to management in periods of decline. The purpose of the research was to obtain a better understanding of university responses to fiscal reduction in order to develop an analytical framework to enable the formulation and evaluation of retrenchment processes.
The study examines the responses of operating units at four Big Ten universities undergoing serious retrenchment pressure. The decision making processes of four academic and four administrative units at each of the campuses were examined as they attempted to respond to various levels of budget reductions imposed by campus and institutional officers. A political framework was used to identify data pertaining to fiscal stringency, organizational structure, goal orientation and decision making process.
The results indicated that high levels of unit budget stringency led to political activity on the campuses but with variance according to the structure and goal orientation dimensions identified in the study design. Ideological orientations of decision makers were also seen to be important in preoccupations with issues of equity and justice which in turn were reflected in the need to justify political behaviors. Institutional environments played a critical role as the concerns with regard to job security and the influence of media and campus groups stimulated varying levels of competitive and sometimes adversarial behavior. Other important factors leading to political activity were perceptions of unit leaders, retrenchment time frameworks, unit characteristics and the power or influence of units involved in the process.
The preceding results suggest the need for academic leaders to have full understanding of political realities within and outside their institutions and to construct retrenchment programs with sensitivity to these political dynamics as they impact organizational processes.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
