Skyline College Overview - Essay Example

?TMA College SKYLINE COLLEGE Skyline College is a vast It has different s suitable for a large number of students. The college is headed by a vice chancellor and his assistant who is the deputy and chief supervisor of all the college departments. The college gives diverse career options to the students in the location and also has its branches internationally. The vice chancellor is responsible for implementing changes and ensuring that the colleges’ time plan flows as expected. There are various internal and external factors that influence the overall culture of this institution. One of the internal factors that affect the overall culture of the organization is leadership. The vice chancellor, being the chief executive officer and the deputy manager, plays a very important role in influencing culture in the college. For instance, the changes that come about by the beginning of the year were much influenced by the leaders of the college. Some of the lecturers and students were not involved in this and, as a result, required to leave. Communication is the other factor that influences culture in the Skyline College. The communication between the workers and the management has a major role in keeping the culture of the college. For example, the recent changes effected in the university were rejected by part of the workforce and the students’ body. Most of their ideas and grievances were ignored and, as a result, some of the lecturers ended up quitting while a small number of students opted to transfer to other schools. The third internal factor that affects culture in any organization is the structure of the organization. The division of labour in any organization is important in determining culture in any organization (Hodder, 2001). To understand some of the external factors that influence culture in an organization, Pest analysis is necessary. Politics is a major external influence of culture in any organisation. This is because politicians are responsible for making laws and these laws come down to affect the management and working conditions of an organisation. Technological factors are also important in affecting culture. For example, the introduction of computers into higher educational establishments has greatly affected the approach colleges use to manage their daily learning and extracurricular activities. This will automatically lead to change in culture. Economy is also a major determinant of any culture. For example, an affluent economy can be able to support technological advancements and other important gears that a poor economy cannot be able to afford. It is also evident that economy will affect the environment of the institution, especially the infrastructure of the institute which is very vital to the organisation culture. Role of leaders at Skyline College The above factors have a major impact on the culture of the organization as a result; there needs to be a person or people to monitor and control this influence. Leaders at Skyline College play a major role in mediating the impact of different factors in the school. First, the vice chancellor of the college is responsible for ensuring that every member of staff performs his/her duty as expected. This ensures that every employee knows the role they play in the various departments and what is expected of them. The vice chancellor also has the responsibility of allocating leadership roles to different workers, lecturers and students, as a result, influencing the way professional duties are carried out in the organisation. The leaders are also responsible for ensuring that there is effective communication in the school (Schein, 2007). For example, the deputy chancellor makes sure that suggestion boxes are emptied every week and read by the administration heads. With this, the vice chancellor is able to know all the issues affecting the college and how they can be worked on. Organization structure is also influenced by the leadership of the university. For example, in the recent changes in the college, a huge section of the structure of the former system was changed. This was done by the school management and is evident through the way pioneer members of staff and students are discontented with the changes. However, the deputy chancellor is confident about the new structure showing that she was part of decision making of the changes. This shows that the administration of Skyline College has a major responsibility in ensuring that all the internal factors affecting the culture of the school are verified. In the external environment, the leaders are responsible for ensuring that political factors do not influence the culture of the school negatively. They have to do this by completely excluding negative influences of politics in the college and speaking out against laws that negatively alter learning and regular functioning of the school. However, it is important to note that the vice chancellor does not do this individually, rather, by the board of directors in the higher learning body who can selectively determine the negative political influence in universities and write reports against them as well as publicly deny these policies (Preddy et al, 2011). The directors are also responsible in ensuring that higher learning institutions do not take part in any negative political campaign. This, therefore, excludes political influence in the individual college as well. Technological advancements in the college are also influenced a lot by the management of the college. First, vice chancellor through the finance department of the college has power over the funds. He is responsible for ensuring that the college has the latest technological tools that can be used to assist the both lecturers and students as they work. The management is also responsible for rejecting use of some of the technological devices such as phones in the offices during working hours. This influences the way that technology affects the workforce in college. There are also devices that are not accepted in the college compound due to their effect on others and the owners. For example, guns are prohibited, therefore, preventing gunfights at the territory, a common phenomenon in other countries (Cini, 2000, pg 89). The college leadership also has a responsibility of protecting the entire company fraternity from technological attacks by having detectors in the university that are able to detect prohibited materials into the compound. Economically, the College Board is responsible for all the transactions that the college is involved with. For example, before any purchases are made, the vice chancellor has to pass through the administration board that has to look at the proposed items and approve their purchase before any money is released by the finance department. This ensures that there are no faulty projects passed. The leaders are also responsible in ensuring that devices and infrastructure are constructed appropriately to ensure that the college is fully equipped for their usual activities (Meyer, 2000, pg. 45). Leadership discourses There are various leadership discourses presented by Simon Western. Discourse number one is a leader as a controller: the leader is responsible for controlling most of the things in the organisation and this includes financial controls, and so on. This discourse puts the leader at the top of any organization since the employer is able to control everything that is below them. An example is the roles that the vice chancellor has at Skyline College. The leaders are responsible for controlling all the finances of the college, as well as the learning programs. This proves that the leaders are absolute directors of an organisation. It is, however, important to note that these responsibilities do not make the leaders have overall authority, rather, responsibilities are divided all the way from the top the only difference being on the level of responsibility. The second discourse is leaders as therapist: this discourse gives the leader the responsibility of ensuring that all the needs of the other members of the organisation are met. The leader, therefore, acts as the human resource of the organisation. In so doing, they also have to ensure that their own needs are also met and this includes respect from the lower members of the organisation. For example, it is the responsibility of the vice chancellor at Skyline College is to ensure that the assets are in a perfect condition. If any complain from a staff member, student or subordinate arises, and then it is directed to the deputy vice chancellor to ensure that all complaints are dealt with. This also shows that they are the major persons involved in the needs of the all members in the college. This discourse also puts the leader at the top of the organisation. The third discourse leader as a messiah: this discourse puts the leader as a person that the other members of the organisation look up to. In this case, the leader acts as the role model in an organisation. The leader is, therefore, expected to act in a professional manner that reflects the image of the position they have in the organization. It also shows that the leaders have to portray how to lead and act as a leader (Preedy et al, 2011). This will ensure that the other members of the organisation also follow the chosen direction. For example, it would be appalling for the organisation if the leader came late to work and expected other members of the staff to come in early. This discourse is very evident in Skyline College. Following the changes implemented in the college, there were several employees and students who were against the changes. However, the deputy vice chancellor was the first person to support the changes. This shows that she is acting positively to allow the whole workforce to follow this direction as well. This discourse also puts the leader at the top of the organisation. Bibliography Cini, M. (2000). The European Commission: leadership, organisation, and culture in the EU Administration. Manchester, Manchester University Press. Hodder, I. (2001). The Spatial organisation of culture. Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Press. Meyer, M. (2000). Organisation culture. Randburg, Knowledge Resources. Preedy, M., Bennett, N., & Wise, C. (2011). Educational leadership: context, strategy and collaboration. Milton Keynes, U.K., Open University. Schein, E. H. (2007). Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers. Read More