Administrative and Academic Careers

ATEM State Conference7 May 2004

Maddy McMasterUniversity of Melbourne

Careers

A Career is “… the sequence of individually perceived work-related experiences and attitudes that occur over the span of a person’s work life.”

D.T. Hall (1987) Career Development in Organizations

SF: Jossey-Bass p 1

Why Does it Matter?

• University as a ‘diarchy’: parallel hierarchies

• Different assumptions about work in academic and administrative moieties

• These also mean different assumptions about careers and career paths

Academic & Administrative Career

Differences

• Administrative roles are differentiated vertically:

classic hierarchical structure• Academic work is differentiated

horizontally: by disciplinary specialisation rather

than type of task

Different Drivers

• Administrative work focuses on collective outcomes and interdependence of roles

• Academic work focuses on individual outcomes and ‘loosely knit social frameworks’

Sources of Authority

• For administrative staff, relates to work role

• For academic staff, relates to intellectual achievement and academic credibility

Academic Promotion

• Judged by peers on scholarly success and experience

• Promotion recognises that the staff member is working at a higher level

Academic Promotion

• Stay in same department with few differences in allocated responsibilities

• Allegiance to discipline stronger than allegiance to a particular university

• Consistency in criteria between universities

Administrative Promotion

• Individuals move from one position to another

• Classification is based on work value

• Positions are classified, not individuals

Administrative Promotion

• Appointment to higher level position on potential to perform in the future

• Career may be in one university, but rarely same department

Deans and Faculty Managers

• Study of partnerships between academic and administrative managers

• Deans and faculty managers in seven universities in three states

• Different pathways to a senior management role

Career Paths of Deans

• All had a substantial academic career: lecturer-senior lecturer-associate professor and - for most - professor

• All but one had either a minimum of two years experience as head of department OR academic board/senate leadership role

Career Paths of Deans

• Many had associate dean experience

• One had started in a public service analyst role; one had been a CSIRO research scientist; two had substantial business experience

• All had been promoted within the single faculty (except where there had been a restructure)

Learning to be a Dean

“I was head of department and associate dean while the previous dean was in office. We worked so closely together that it was an easy transition to dean. I had worked with him for five years repairing relationships in the faculty, infiltrating committees and learning to promote and defend the discipline … I had the academic credibility, and I just did what I had seen him doing”

Dean, Science/Technology, Technological University

Orientation of Deans

• Academic leaders with administrative responsibilities

• Senior administrators

Future Roles for Deans

• Deputy Vice-Chancellor• Return to teaching and research

role (only if professors)• Retire• One “might go into business with

my husband”

Career Paths of Faculty Managers

• Average of three positions in three different departments before current role

• Typical shifts between roles and departments

• May have moved in and out of higher education and between universities in the same city

Examples of Career Paths

• Student admin casual job - continuing position - PA to senior academic -postgraduate co-ordinator in an academic department - department manager - faculty manager

• Accounts payable officer - HR officer - finance & resources role in a faculty - faculty manager

Three Groups of Administrative Staff

• Niche Finders Long term, enter by chance, enjoy

environment• Subject Specialists Highly qualified, limited opportunities

outside higher education• New Professionals Tertiary qualified, ambitious, may move

Learning to be a Faculty Manager

“I think every (faculty manager) has to have both an area of expertise - academic administration in my case - plus a breadth of knowledge about how universities work. I’ve worked in … eight different areas, in faculties and in central, and I’ve taught. I’ve done quite a lot of professional development and I had a wonderful person who was my mentor in central admin a few years back.”

Learning to be a Faculty Manager

“So I know a lot about how universities work, all the different strands, both administrative and academic. I think that’s why we have an easier time than deans - because it’s what we’ve grown up doing and because we can specialise in areas that interest us.”

Faculty Manager, Science/Technology, Go8 University

Future Roles for Faculty Managers

“There’s nowhere to go within the university after faculty manager. Some faculty managers never move from the job once they get there.”

Faculty Manager, Business, New University

Ideas about Career Development

•Structural Theories: Match individual traits with tasks

•Socioeconomic Theory: Path of least resistance Culture, family background,

social & economic conditions beyond an individual’s control

Ideas about Career Development

•Developmental Theories: Vocational self-concept•Social Learning Theory: Career decisions based on what

we have learned and imitating behaviour of others

Ideas about Career Development

•Decision-Making Theories: Critical decision-making points in

our lives•Cognitive Theories: Cognitive structures determine

how individuals process information Self-efficacy based on past

performance

Multiple Intelligences

• Howard Gardner (1983/1993) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

• IQ useful but not adequate to explain intelligence

• Eight intelligences: we use all to a varying degree

Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence

• Ability to use words and language• Skills include: listening, speaking,

teaching, using humour, convincing someone of their point of view

• Career interests: Writer, teacher, lawyer, historian

Logical/Mathematical Intelligence

• Ability to use reason, logic, numbers• Skills include: problem solving,

categorising information, handling long chains of reason, questioning and wondering, performing complex mathematical calculations

• Career interests: Scientist, engineer, researcher, accountant, mathematician, doctor

Visual/Spatial Intelligence

• Ability to perceive the world visually, creating accurate mental pictures

• Skills: reading, writing, sense of direction, creating visual metaphors and analogies, designing and interpreting

• Career interests: Inventor, architect, artist, pilot

Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence

• Ability to control body movements and handle objects skilfully

• Skills: Keyboarding, dance, sports, physical co-ordination, acting, crafts

• Career interests: Data entry, artisans, physical education teachers, actors

Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence

• Ability to produce and appreciate music

• Skills: Singing, recognising tonal patterns, composing music

• Career interests: Musician, composer, music therapist

Interpersonal Intelligence

• Ability to relate to and understand others

• Seeing things from other perspectives, co-operating with groups, sensing people’s motivation, building trust, conflict resolution, communicating

• Career interests: Counsellor, marketing, business, student services

Intrapersonal Intelligence

• Ability to self-reflect and be aware of one’s inner state of being

• Skills: Recognising own strengths and weaknesses, reflecting and analysing themselves, reasoning with themselves

• Career Interests: Researcher, consultant, philosopher

Naturalist/Environmental

Intelligence• Ability to understand, classify and

explain nature• Skills: Understanding and

explaining natural phenomena and the natural environment

• Career interests: Chef, botanist, gardener, anthropologist

MIDAS Questionnaire

• http://www.jobsetc.ca/toolbox/quizzes/mi_quiz.do;jsessionid=A7E09F8900668F990A412477D5DE2D2A.jvm6?lang=e