Networked Educational Management:
Transforming Educational Management in a Networked Institute
Dr Philip Uys
Deputy Director:
Educational Technology
University of
Botswana, Private Bag UB 0022, Gaborone, Botswana
Tel: +267- 3552799 Fax: +267-302884
E-mail: philip.uys@globe-online.com
Personal homepage: http://www.globe-online.com/philip.uys
(Formerly Senior
Lecturer and Director: hydi Educational New Media Centre
Massey University at
Wellington, New Zealand)
Invitation
If you
need assistance in the strategic implementation of e-Learning (networked
education/distributed learning) in your institute, you are welcome to contact philip.uys@globe-online.com
to discuss your needs.
ABSTRACT: Transformation of academic, student and administrative
management are key elements in the institutionalisation of
Internet/intranet-based (networked) education in higher education. The
distributed nature of networked education demands distributed models of
academic, student and administrative management. This precept is based on the
writer's doctorate research, implementation of networked education at Massey
University, New Zealand as well as on consulting assignments over the last six
years including a five-month consulting engagement at Cape Technikon, South
Africa. Some argue that networked education is essentially an alternative
delivery mode and its management is thus no different than that of other modes.
Others posit that networked education is a new educational paradigm and a
response to the educational needs of the emerging information society, in the
same way as the traditional class was a response to the educational needs of
the industrial society. Management of networked education is therefore
fundamentally different from conventional educational management and correlates
with new forms of private enterprise management including management of the
learning organization, the information-based organisation and the networked organisation. The writer proposes a new
form of higher educational management for the operations of networked
education: networked educational
management. The following dimensions of networked educational management
are discussed: its distributed nature, managing convergence, its adaptability
and transitory character.
Top
Introduction
The widespread implementation of Internet and intranet-based education
(networked education) in tertiary education globally necessitates a careful
consideration of appropriate corresponding academic, administrative and student
management approaches. Drucker (1998, p.
100) argues
that “… as soon as a company takes the first tentative steps from data to
information, its decision processes, management structure, and even the way it
gets its work done begin to be transformed.”
Networked education are being implemented on an exponential
scale due to its flexibility, its links to the
emerging culture of post-modernism (Hartley, 1995), potential to increase the
cost-effectiveness of delivery (Romiszowski, 1993, June) and quality of learning (Uys,
1998) and its pertinence as an appropriate educational response to globalisation
and in addressing the increase in the world demand for tertiary education
(Daniel, 1998). Tiffin (1996, November) believes that the “...concept of the
virtual class is the kernel of a new educational paradigm that matches the
needs of an information society”
(p. 1).
This paper
presents some aspect s of the writer's doctorate research of the last four
years (Uys, 2000). It is primarily based on the action research findings of the
hydi Educational New Media Centre (Uys, April 1998;
Uys, July 1999) in implementing networked education since September 1995 at
Massey University, New Zealand. It also draws on case studies in other
countries including a five-month consultancy in 2000 at the Cape Technikon,
South Africa to start the wide implementation of e-Learning.
The term "management"
is used in a broad sense to describe planning, organising, leading and control
(Boone and Kurtz, 1984); Newman, Warren and McGill, 1987; Schultheis and
Sumner, 1989) on all levels of a tertiary educational institute. There has been
a clear and consistent call from prominent writers on management and
organisational design like Drucker (1989, 1995), Senge (1990), Peters (1988),
Marquard (1996), Tapscott (1996), Limerick
and Cunnington (1993) that these functions of management are to be
practiced in an entirely new way in the context of the emerging global
information or knowledge society.
A networked institute is one in which networked education
has been implemented widely and strategically. Paul (1990) posits that an institution
that is dedicated to the values and practice of open learning needs to have an
“open management style” (p. 72). Thomas,
Carswell, Price and Petre (1998) argues for the “…transformation of practices
(both teaching and administrative) to take advantage of technology in order to
provide needed functions, rather than superficial translation of existing
practices”. Bates (1999) contends that the introduction of networked education
"…will mean a thorough re-examination of the core practices of the organisation,
from advertizing to registration to design and delivery of materials to student
support to assessment of students, in order to analyse the most effective way
of providing these services in a networked, multimedia environment."
Conventional educational
management
The management
structures of universities has remained largely similar through the ages as
Patterson (1997, p. 7) points out “The historic continuity of the
institution is unbroken, and many of the medieval university’s unique features remain
characteristic of today’s universities: features, for example, such as …
structures of governance, such as the division of major branches of learning
into faculties, and the hierarchical positions such as deans, chancellor and
rector”. Over the years
Higher education grew in size and complexity and "...bureaucracies
became the controlling mechanism” (Garrison, 1989, p. 38). In contrast to the
institutional management structures, the teaching and research functions of
academic staff as professionals are typically more client oriented, less formal
and less concerned with hierarchy (Paul, 1990). While institutional
conventional educational management operates on a largely bureaucratic model,
academic staff operate on a “collegial model” (Paul, 1990. p. 32). The anarchic
model (Cohen and March, 1974) depicts the modern university as an organised
anarchy which, according to Paul (1990) illustrates such ambiguities and
uncertainties that it renders the traditional forms of management meaningless
or inept (p. 37).
The management model on organisational level in
conventional tertiary education is therefore one of tension between a
centralised administrative approach and a decentralised academic approach in
which the centralised, bureaucratic and hierarchical dimensions seem to be
pre-eminent. The generic conventional management paradigm in tertiary education
can therefore be described as being often mechanistic,
formal, centralised, focussing predominantly on the local environment, insular,
inflexible, rigid, bureaucratised, with strong institutional control and
segmented, with a high degree of division of labour, variable participation,
and often politicised.
Top
New forms of educational
management
In view of the new technologies and the emergence of the
information age, education “…is experiencing a shift from formal, centralised,
and segmented operations to increasingly complex, decentralised, and integrated
levels of organisation” (Garrison, 1989, p. 38). Rumble (1992) refers to the
operations of distance education as a “highly distributed system” which “looks
very different to the residential or non-residential campus-based university”
(p. 95). Peters (1993) contends that in the
post-industrial society there will be in distance teaching institutions a
“departure from a highly centralized organisation of the teaching-learning
process and a move to small decentralized units which can be made transparent
by the means of new technology” (p. 53). Forsythe (1984) contends: “…the
use of such communication systems is seen as part of a large learning system
that may well be a network of institutions” (p. 60).
Paul (1990) suggests that a value-driven leadership
approach can address the different models of educational management and that in
this approach, leadership is committed to ensure that people find meaning in
life through their work by creating things of value (p. 68). Paul argues that
an institution that is dedicated to the values and practice of open learning
needs to have an “open management style” (p. 72) and that “those responsible
for the leadership and management of these institutions must emulate the
principles they espouse in the performance of their day-to-day activities”
(p.22).
Top
New forms of private enterprise
management
Aspects like the globalisation of education, the role of
private enterprise in tertiary education and pressures on the funding base
impel tertiary institutes to increasingly operate in ways that closely resemble
private enterprise. At the same
time private enterprise is concerned with, and heavily involved in education (Drucker, 1989, p. 243; Garrision, 1989, p. 38).
Organizational structures in private enterprise are becoming increasingly
distributed. Drucker (1998) asserts that the
“…need to organize for change also requires a high degree of decentralization”
in the structure of the “new society of organisations” (p. 117). Beare and Slaughter
(1993) contend that “… a business which operates on bureaucratic lines cannot
compete in a post-industrial economy…” (p. 35). Marquardt (1996) describes the learning organisation as being
“boundaryless” (p. 83). Two major
transformations (or megatrends) in society are a transformation from centralisation
to decentralisation (in effect distribution) and from hierarchies to networking
(Naisbitt, 1982, p. 1).
Marquardt (1996) contends that in
this “…faster, information-thick atmosphere of the new millennium… ‘old’
companies [cannot] compete with more agile and creative learning organisations”
(p. xv). A learning organisation has a streamlined, flat hierarchy and is
seamless and boundaryless (p. 83).
It is further built on networking and “…realize the need to collaborate,
share, and synergize with resources both inside and outside the company… they
provide a company with a form and style that is fluid, flexible, and adaptable”
(p. 84).
Top
Networked educational management
The writer proposes a new educational management paradigm
for managing the operations of networked education: networked educational management. Networked educational management
incorporates the key elements of the new forms of private enterprise and
educational management. This term is chosen since a central aspect of education
in networked education and the management thereof seems to be the connectivity or networking that it facilitates often across the boundaries of space
and time. This term correlates with “network management” (Limerick and
Cunningham, 1993) and terms that writers like Tapscott (1996)
("internetworked organisation"), Beare and Slaughter (1993) (“network
organisation”), ” Limerick and
Cunningham (1993), (“network organisation”), and Tapscott and Caston (1993)
("open networked organisation") use when describing the
organisational model for the emerging information age.
Networked educational management has twelve dimensions:
networking, student focussed,
globalisation, transitory, adaptability, transcending time, market orientation,
computer mediation, collaboration, convergence, boundary orientation and being
information based. Its distributed nature and the dimensions of
convergence, its adaptability and transitory character are discussed in this paper.
Distributed nature
Networked educational management postulates that a
distributed model of management is appropriate for networked education on both
learning and institutional level. The distributed nature of networked
educational management is based on the new connectivity within networked
education, the distribution of learning and control, the distributed nature of
the Internet and intranets, and the globalisation of education.
Networked educational management has its control, power and
resources distributed throughout the organisation.
Managing the connectivity that networked education
facilitates is a key difference between managing the conventional class and
managing the operations of networked education. The learning control as well as
on-line learning and teaching materials are distributed to both local and
distance students using the same interface (ie a Web browser) because of the
convergence of learning modes which traditionally have been called “distance
education” and “on-campus education” through networked education. This implies
that the management of learning is no longer linked to physical locality
(on-campus/off-campus) but distributed to study networks comprising local,
distance, national and international students, that operate as virtual teams (Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1998; Lipnack and
Stamps, 1997).
Bates (2000) acknowledges the challenge to create a
congruity between centralised and decentralised management aspirations in
tertiary education: “When it comes to organisational structures, the challenge
is to develop a system that encourages teaching units to be innovative and able
to respond quickly to changes in subject matter, student needs, and technology.
At the same time, redundancy and conflicting standards and policies across the
institution must be avoided” (p. 181). A similar tension within the
organisation of information systems activities and communications has been
transcended in computer and communication systems using distributed approaches.
Networked educational management can ensure conformity to central principles
and standards as Evans and Nation (1993) contends, and simultaneously
encourages diversity (Frederick, 1993; Negroponte, 1997 June).
Convergence
The convergence that networked educational management need
to address finds expression on the institution level as well as the more
detailed learning levels. On institutional level this convergence is
increasingly occurring among educational institutions, enterprise,
entertainment and the like (Evans and Nation, 1993).
The
convergence that networked educational management needs to address is related
to it being computer mediated. ICT is fundamental to the operations of
networked education. Bates (1995) points to the convergence of
telecommunications, television and computing as an important technology trend
for the distance-teaching organisation (p. 45), while Tapscott (1996)
highlights convergence of computing, communications, and content industries as
one of the themes of the new economy. Networked educational management needs to
manage a new integration or convergence of computing, communications, and
educational content.
Networked educational management deals with a new
convergence of on-campus and distance learning which has been made possible
through networked education particularly with the advent of Intranets and the
Internet. Garrison (1989:117) notes that
this convergence is “…blurring the
boundaries between conventional and distance education”. This is due to
an increase in the ease and feasibility of simultaneously offering a networked
course to on-campus students as well as to distance students. Berge and Schrum
(1998:31) contends that “it is important to recognize that on-campus programs
and courses may often use the same resources and infrastructure as those
delivered to students at a distance”.
The convergence on macro- and micro-level does not
necessarily mean conformity. Networked educational management is based on a
distributed or networked model and can therefore couple centralised
(strengthening conformity) and decentralised (encouraging divergence)
management approaches.
Adaptability
The turbulent and dynamic internal and external environment
calls for networked educational management to be highly adaptive. It connects
to the concept of learning organisations (Marquardt,
1996) in which management needs to be highly adaptive. Networked educational
management is organised along a flat hierarchy and is seamless and boundaryless
like learning organisations (Marquardt,
1996).
There is also a requirement for
flexibility within the software and hardware for developing on-line materials
itself due to the inherent flexibility of web based materials. Management of
networked education also needs to be flexible in the approach to acquiring and
discarding ICT in order to grow with the continuing developments in the
undergirding ICT.
An adaptive approach is also required
in managing the learning environment through instructional design. Adaptive
hypermedia systems achieve personalised presentation (Brusilovsky, 1996). This means that educational material is
presented in an individualised and possibly unique way to students on the basis
of mapping systems that are created for each individual student.
JIT teaching that is teaching that can change rapidly and
immediately based on the needs of students and is available when students need
it (Tiffin and Rajasingham, 1995; Marquard, 1996; Mason, 1998) calls for the
management of teaching to be particularly adaptive.
Transitory
Control is an integral part of management (Newman, Warren,
McGill, 1987) that is directly impacted by the transitory nature of the
operations of the virtual class. Networked educational management acknowledges
a decrease in control, more uncertainty and therefore an increased risk in the
management of digitised education (Tapscott, 1996). The central position of the
student and the changing nature of the student body contributes to an
uncontrollability of huge proportions, which challenges the essence of
conventional educational management and have to be addressed in networked educational
management. Networked education further
provides students with the flexibility of studying at their own pace and also
at their choice of place. Networked education also allows students to
either study independently in a more flexible mode or as part of a group in a
more structured manner.
The transitory nature of networked educational management
is linked to both the transitory nature of the technological environment and
that of the change process. The environment in which networked education in
tertiary education occurs at the beginning of the new millennium has been
described as exceptionally dynamic and volatile (Tapscott, 1996). The introduction of computers in education is seen in
revolutionary terms by some (Drucker, 1989). Even the nature of the change
process from conventional to networked education itself is not stable
(Morrison, 1995).
The global dimension of networked educational management
furthermore increases the boundaries of the institutes using networked
education and exposes them to be impacted by more factors and influences from a
turbulent international environment.
In the emerging information or knowledge society, education
has to further contend with an exponential growth of the amount of new
information available for use by organisations, governments, and businesses and
people (Nugent, 1996). The growth in the Internet continues to be exponential
while there are furthermore sustained, revolutionary changes in the ICT that
undergird networked education (Bates, 1995:45; Szabo et al., 1997). In the increasingly digitised environment of
networked education, networked educational management needs to allow for less
control and more risk-taking (Tapscott, 1996).
Web-based materials are further especially fluid due to the
ease of publication and the state of continuity of Web-based materials. In
networked education the materials and teaching process is in a state of
continuity which is in contrast to the state of discontinuity of materials in
conventional tertiary education. Once a course is on the WWW, it remains
available and no special arrangements are needed to keep it continually
available - special arrangements however have to be made to discontinue its
availability.
Top
Conclusion
Transformation has become a key descriptor for the
environment in which educational institutes operate. Conventional tertiary
educational management has struggled with a dichotomy between its centralised
administrative processes and its more fluid academic processes and has been
criticised for its bureaucratic and unresponsive management structures.
Institutes wishing to widely implement networked education will encounter the
need to also transform its management processes. Networked educational
management is proposed as an appropriate objective for this transformation.
“In a time of drastic change it is the
learners who survive;
the ‘learned’ find themselves fully equipped
to live in a world that no longer exists”
Eric Hoffer
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