Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German University

Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor(a) principal: Huber, Michael
Data de Publicação: 2020
Tipo de documento: Artigo
Idioma: eng
Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v8i2.2582
Resumo: Quantification theories assume that numbers govern and steer a policy field or an organisation. In order to steer successfully, however, the local interpretation of numbers takes centre stage as the meaning of numbers—and thus the way how actors respond to them—varies between systems or sectors. Empirically, this article reviews how a German university makes sense of political numbers and their implicit steering signals, and how quantification alters its organisational structures and reshapes the roles of academics. The article analyses the translation process distinguishing between three levels: the political discourse on university reform; the organisational adaptations; and the effects they have on the professional academic role. The article finds that the university has highly differentiated strategies to respond to the ‘governance by numbers,’ and that it has established independent number-based steering systems. We also find that such differentiation of programmes makes the university management more flexible, helping it deal with anticipated goal conflicts and unwanted allocative effects, but it also places serious strain on—and potentially overburns—the coordination provided by the university’s central administration. We also find that academics have started to align their behavioural strategies towards fulfilling their organisational goals and that they tend to deviate from professional expectations. Discussing these differentiated strategies, this article shows how the differentiation of governance approaches also contributes to the university becoming an ‘organisational actor.’ These preliminary findings suggest the need for and potential direction of further investigations.
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spelling Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German Universityorganizational reform; quantification; university management; university studiesQuantification theories assume that numbers govern and steer a policy field or an organisation. In order to steer successfully, however, the local interpretation of numbers takes centre stage as the meaning of numbers—and thus the way how actors respond to them—varies between systems or sectors. Empirically, this article reviews how a German university makes sense of political numbers and their implicit steering signals, and how quantification alters its organisational structures and reshapes the roles of academics. The article analyses the translation process distinguishing between three levels: the political discourse on university reform; the organisational adaptations; and the effects they have on the professional academic role. The article finds that the university has highly differentiated strategies to respond to the ‘governance by numbers,’ and that it has established independent number-based steering systems. We also find that such differentiation of programmes makes the university management more flexible, helping it deal with anticipated goal conflicts and unwanted allocative effects, but it also places serious strain on—and potentially overburns—the coordination provided by the university’s central administration. We also find that academics have started to align their behavioural strategies towards fulfilling their organisational goals and that they tend to deviate from professional expectations. Discussing these differentiated strategies, this article shows how the differentiation of governance approaches also contributes to the university becoming an ‘organisational actor.’ These preliminary findings suggest the need for and potential direction of further investigations.Cogitatio2020-04-09info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v8i2.2582oai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2582Politics and Governance; Vol 8, No 2 (2020): Quantifying Higher Education: Governing Universities and Academics by Numbers; 26-352183-2463reponame:Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)instname:Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãoinstacron:RCAAPenghttps://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/2582https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v8i2.2582https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/2582/2582Copyright (c) 2020 Michael Huberhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessHuber, Michael2022-12-22T15:15:48Zoai:ojs.cogitatiopress.com:article/2582Portal AgregadorONGhttps://www.rcaap.pt/oai/openaireopendoar:71602024-03-19T16:22:13.552660Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos) - Agência para a Sociedade do Conhecimento (UMIC) - FCT - Sociedade da Informaçãofalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German University
title Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German University
spellingShingle Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German University
Huber, Michael
organizational reform; quantification; university management; university studies
title_short Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German University
title_full Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German University
title_fullStr Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German University
title_full_unstemmed Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German University
title_sort Steered by Numbers: How Quantification Differentiates the Reform of a German University
author Huber, Michael
author_facet Huber, Michael
author_role author
dc.contributor.author.fl_str_mv Huber, Michael
dc.subject.por.fl_str_mv organizational reform; quantification; university management; university studies
topic organizational reform; quantification; university management; university studies
description Quantification theories assume that numbers govern and steer a policy field or an organisation. In order to steer successfully, however, the local interpretation of numbers takes centre stage as the meaning of numbers—and thus the way how actors respond to them—varies between systems or sectors. Empirically, this article reviews how a German university makes sense of political numbers and their implicit steering signals, and how quantification alters its organisational structures and reshapes the roles of academics. The article analyses the translation process distinguishing between three levels: the political discourse on university reform; the organisational adaptations; and the effects they have on the professional academic role. The article finds that the university has highly differentiated strategies to respond to the ‘governance by numbers,’ and that it has established independent number-based steering systems. We also find that such differentiation of programmes makes the university management more flexible, helping it deal with anticipated goal conflicts and unwanted allocative effects, but it also places serious strain on—and potentially overburns—the coordination provided by the university’s central administration. We also find that academics have started to align their behavioural strategies towards fulfilling their organisational goals and that they tend to deviate from professional expectations. Discussing these differentiated strategies, this article shows how the differentiation of governance approaches also contributes to the university becoming an ‘organisational actor.’ These preliminary findings suggest the need for and potential direction of further investigations.
publishDate 2020
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2020-04-09
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url https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v8i2.2582
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dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/2582
https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v8i2.2582
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/2582/2582
dc.rights.driver.fl_str_mv Copyright (c) 2020 Michael Huber
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv Copyright (c) 2020 Michael Huber
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dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Cogitatio
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dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Politics and Governance; Vol 8, No 2 (2020): Quantifying Higher Education: Governing Universities and Academics by Numbers; 26-35
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