Challenges with Which Institutional Administrators Face - Research Paper Example

Abstract Like in all other institutions or organizations, several challenges face the administration or management of higher learning institutions. Institutional administrators have to apply certain theories and philosophies in order to effectively manage their institutions. Three notable approaches or theories with respect to administration are positivism, social constructionism and postmodernism. The issue of cultural diversity which is commonly associated with discrimination and ethnocentrism is one issue that must constantly be addressed by institutions of higher learning. Managing and valuing cultural diversity in learning institutions includes appreciating, utilizing and benefiting from the different cultural backgrounds of students and staff. University administrations should ensure that a culturally supportive environment is in place if harmony, peace and mutual understanding must be part of the experience. The learning institution must also formulate policies and institute strict and effective ways of dealing with cases of harassment and discrimination - be they direct or indirect - on grounds of cultural differences. This paper seeks to discuss the administration of higher learning institutions and will focus more on the issue of cultural diversity. Administrative and Cross Cultural Issues Common knowledge has it that organizations require administrators to ensure their objective running and proper management. In an institution of higher learning, the administration is the organ that is charged with the responsibility of supervising and maintaining the institution. Like in all other institutions or organizations, several challenges face the administration or management of higher learning institutions. One such issue is the existence of cultural diversity (Lynch, Modgil & Modgil, p1) with which also come issues related to ethnocentrism and discrimination. In the modern society, multiculturalism is quite hard to avoid and more especially in organizations that serve different states or countries. In universities, colleges and other learning or academic institutions, people from dissimilar cultures and backgrounds come together all of them sharing at least one common goal – to get educated. Given the diverse cultures, institutional administrators have to apply certain theories and philosophies in order to effective manage the institutions. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of cultural diversity and how it affects the practices of the administration of higher learning institutions. In particular, this article seeks to discuss the theories applied in the administration of universities and colleges. Further, the critical relationships that exist between the administration and faculties of universities will be covered. Great focus will be directed at discussing the impact of cultural diversity in the rubric of administration and the institution as a whole. Theories of Administration In exercising leadership, administrators of institutions of higher learning apply several theories and philosophies to enable them achieve their institutional goals. Organizational theories are a means of viewing organizations and the cultures that are in them. The conflicts arising from cultural evaluation can be solved using organizational theories. If both the faculty and the administration are to understand the culture of the organization, then they should institute changes that will help in reducing inter-cultural conflicts or that encourage mutual understanding. Without such theories, making administrative decisions would be a tedious job as there would be nothing to rely on. In other words, administrators would have to face each problem as if it were an isolated case that has never been experienced before. This would definitely lead to the making of uninformed decisions as there would be no principles to rely upon. Generally, administration of higher learning institutions is based on the principles of equal treatment, reliance on experience, skills and expertise relevant to position, specific measures of output and work, no extraorganizational positional prerogatives, extensive record keeping, enforcement of rules that serve biased towards the organization’s interests and recognition of binding regulations and rules. Unique problems on administration rarely came up. Most problems usually have individuals who have solved them successfully before. In this respect therefore, there it is necessary to constantly refer to these previous solutions to successfully face the day-to-day administrative problems that arise. In order to make good use of theories constant practice is required. Simply stated, skills on how to apply administrative theories are acquired gradually. Theories of administration can be approached from three varying viewpoints which occasionally lead to contradicting directives on what actions should be taken (Mats & Kaj, 14-16). Each viewpoint has its own legitimacy and not all the time do they guide to automatic solutions to the various administrative challenges. However they are deemed to be helpful in highlighting incidences that require to be attended to for the institution’s success. Three notable approaches or theories with respect to administration are positivism, social constructionism and postmodernism (Mats & Kaj, 14-16). The positivist approach has its merits in enlightening the leadership of colleges and universities on organizational leadership and decision making. Its shortcoming arises from the fact that the environment of higher education institutes has become gradually complex, chaotic and unpredictable. The other paradigm, social constructivism, proposes that there is no much separation between the organizational world and the observer (Bess & Dee, 522). Taking things from a social constructivist’s perspective, organizational life seems to be vague with information being less reliable and having numerous interpretations (Mats & Kaj, 23). This in fact is the case with institutions offering higher education according. The social constructionist paradigm points out that the exploration for reality is a continuous or rather dynamic process. Postmodernism points out that the modern experience of individuals is so distinctive that knowledge about the experience cannot be logically related with certainty. This is due to the current trends of globalization, information technology and the development of consumer-driven economies which have changed the original perceptions about legitimacy and knowledge. Postmodernists put great value in the use of words to manipulate situations. An example is use of certain words to empower the top management in an organization, as opposed to junior employees. The administration of universities and colleges tend to follow the positivist point of view more than the other two paradigms since, though flawed, it is associated with swift action and speedy decision making. Administrators want to avoid conflicts between themselves which may have a toll on efficiency and so may take a positivists’ approach without much debate; which could also be quite dangerous. Cultural Diversity and Some of its Effects Culture can be defined in many ways. According to anthropologists, for example, culture is viewed as a distinct way that persons living in different places around the world classify and represent their experiences and act creatively (Laroche, p4). In general culture can be taken as a set of shared values, attitudes, practices and goals that characterize a group, organization or institution. It is also widely accepted that culture affects every aspect of human life. Cultural diversity include differences in values, language, sexuality, ethnic background, race, family responsibilities, dress, values, communication, community and social responsibilities, religion and associated practices, concepts of morality, disability, notions of family, country or region of origin and political views according to Laroche (p4). According to Geert Hofstede (p34-35), there are mainly five cultural dimensions. These include the following: femininity versus masculinity, collectivism versus individualism, uncertainty avoidance, short versus long term orientation and power distance. In other words, people from different cultural backgrounds understand or perceive life in different ways even though they may be speaking the same language. One sensitive subject with respect to cultural diversity is religion. The administration always has to make sure that the teaching and running of the institution is done in a manner that is neutral with respect to religion. This is especially important if people of diverse religious affiliations have to be attracted to the institution – whether as students, lecturers or subordinate staff. A university or college which, say, enforces strict Christian principles in its day-to-day running cannot expect students of other religious affiliations to maintain interest in the institution. A lecture may come from a culture that may prohibit him/her touching any student even during social activities. Students may read this as an act of dislike or that the lecturer may be angry with them. A decision to have cultural assessment will enable the university or college communities to understand differences between them and avoid such miscommunications. The standard way of American teaching requires students to be in lecture rooms at specific times. Most of the teaching involves note taking and reading of textbooks with lecturing being a common practice. Individuals from different cultures may however not be accustomed to this way of learning and hence may lose interest in the whole learning process. They may also be considered incapable of learning by some lecturers. The decision on what practices to carry out and how they should be carried out in the institution is usually influenced by culture. An example is the practice of employing social workers to solve misunderstandings amongst the members of the organization. Social workers have always been treated with suspicion to be home breakers. If the administration modifies its policies to suit these concerns so that social workers focus more on helping relationships within the institution grow stronger as opposed to weakening them, social workers would be appreciated more. Decisions and Practices As mentioned earlier, colleges and universities are made up of individuals that come from diverse backgrounds. These people therefore have different and, sometimes, divergent thoughts, traditions, customs and ways of communication. The administrative departments of academic institutions have to not only understand these differences but accept and value them as well. It may be accurate to assume that people of the same race, religion and speaking the same language share a common culture (at least to some extent). It is also worth noting that differences are not only present between cultures but within individuals as well. This is so considering that, although people may share the same geographical and historical backgrounds, they are different when considered individually. In most instances, choices made by individuals are deeply affected by the respective culture they come from. For instance, the subject one chooses to study or the recreational activity one prefers to engage in may hugely be a factor of culture. Individuals coming from the same background may not share a common religion or even similar ways of reasoning. The decisions made by the administrations of these institutions are in many cases integrated with the multicultural environment. The relationship between faculties and the administration of higher education centers sometimes is marred by differences. Difficulties normally arise in universities when two purposes are joined, causing a dilemma. For example, faculty evaluation by the administration is many times approached with reluctance as it has two contradictory functions; collecting evidence to use in making personnel decisions and collecting information to rely on in improving lecturing performance. Faculty evaluations are a way of encouraging, promoting and supporting faculty development. Besides this, they also give information that the administration uses to make decisions on rank, promotion and tenures. This sometimes leads to a dilemma with faculty members wondering whether or not to give accurate information on performance as they may risk being considered by administrators to be underperforming which could lead to conflicts. Future Implications of Cultural Diversity on University Administration Managing and valuing cultural diversity in learning institutions is the process of appreciating, utilizing and benefiting from the different cultural backgrounds of students and staff. University administrations should ensure that a culturally supportive environment is in place if harmony, peace and mutual understanding must be part of the experience. The learning institution must also formulate policies and institute strict and effective ways of dealing with cases of harassment and discrimination - be they direct or indirect - on grounds of cultural differences. Past cultural experiences influence current attitudes. In the U.S.A, for example, African-Americans and Native Americans are some of the groups that have in the past experienced unjust treatment from the dominant American cultures. The unjust experiences have generated a lot of mistrust; those from cultures that felt oppressed particularly find it difficult to trust people from the dominant cultures. This culture of mistrust unfortunately has been passed down from generation to generation. In a multicultural environment like that of the university, this suspicion between groups is bound to exist. This means that administrators must continuously be aware of the dynamics of different cultures that are represented within the institution and seek to communicate decisions in a manner that takes into consideration elements of effective intercultural communication. The administration therefore needs to make policies that would soften and possibly help in eliminating this mistrust and encourage groups to freely interact. Cultural Diversity and Learning Objectives It must be noted hence that more like international businesses, learning institutions must have respect for divergent cultural views. While this may be a great challenge, they have to ensure that the environment is conducive for all groups of people. Administrators must also avoid being ethnocentric as they make decisions that affect other people who share different beliefs and views in life. Normally, universities’ administrations have to perform cultural assessments in order to determine the effect their actions have on the multicultural environment. An example is the issue of physical space between individuals during sessions of social interaction which differ from culture to culture. The decision to carry out cultural assessments will enable students adapt to the standards of teaching of the institution. Research methods that university administrations may use to study issues related to cultural diversity within the institution are numerous. The administration needs efficient methods to research the cross cultural environment. The research which could either be done domestically or at an international level may also experience challenges. The research, especially if it involves diverse cultures, at an international level, may experience methodological challenges that could result in numerous errors due to assumptions (Punnet and Shenkar, p18). For example, some concepts may have meanings and attributes that differ from culture to culture and this has to be considered when interpreting cross-cultural data if the interpretation must be sound. Language used in researching, say if research is done using questionnaires, influences the answers that will be gotten from the respondents. Use of a single language during surveys regarding diversity is not advisable. In order to establish what methodological issues will most affect the research, it is important to categorize the research project in terms of how it approaches the research on cultural diversity. Punnet and Shenkar (p18) state six ways of exploring issues that deal with cultural diversity. These include polycentric, synergistic, geocentric, comparative, ethnocentric and parochial research. These approaches vary in their methodology and thus require different measures to handle underlying processes of the research. The above research methods, with the exception of geocentric research, may be used by University and college administrations to carry out research on the cultures their students and staff and therefore to be in a position of making informed decisions which will not rub any of the cultures in a wrong way. The administration should examine the cultural environment of the institution and from this assessment determine what ways the element of culture assists in identifying its community members’ needs and problems (Edgar, 337). Such assessments will enable the administration make informed decisions on developing mechanisms that can provide solutions to the various challenges experienced by members of the institution. Conclusion Issues related to cultural diversity are bound to exist in higher learning institutions. What really varies from institution to institution probably is the level and seriousness of these issues. The issues are more pronounced in institutions that that have international students and staff in their midst. Tension between the administration and the college or university community can easily arise if it (the administration) chooses not to acknowledge cultural diversity in decision making. This is in respect of the fact that most people are strongly inspired by their cultures whenever they have make decisions. It is therefore noted that there is a great need for university and college administrations to have some knowledge and appreciate cultural diversity if the institutions have to be maintain peace and professional management. Appreciating cultural diversity can assist in developing an understanding of the relationship that exists between the administration and different faculties of the university. Works Cited ChangingMinds (n.d) Hofstede's cultural factors. Retrieved 6th December, 2009 http://changingminds.org/explanations/culture/hofstede_culture.htm Edgar H. S. Organizational culture and leadership. San Francisco, USA, John Wiley and Sons. 2004. Geert H. Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.) California. SAGE Publications. 2001. Laroche L. Managing cultural diversity in technical professions. Elsevier Science. USA. 2003. Lynch J., Modgil C. and Modgil S. Cultural diversity and the schools, Volume 4. Human rights, education and global responsibilities. The Falmer Press .1992. Mats A. & Kaj S. Reflexive Methodology: New Vistas for Qualitative Research. London SAGE Publications. 2009. Punnett J. & Shenkar O. Handbook for international management research. Michigan. USA. University of Michigan. 2004. Bess, J.L and Dee, J.R.. Understanding college and university organization: Theories for effective policy and practice. Volume I. The state of the system. Sterling Virginia. Sylus Publishing. 2008. Read More