Handling Conflict and Crisis Management
Autor(en)
Mārcis Auzinš, Fuada Stanković, Joachim Selter, Ralf Müller-Terpitz, James T. Harris III
Preis
12,99 € (87 Seiten, PDF)
Inhalt
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Risk and Crisis Management
(University of Latvia Case Study)
During the five years following Latvia’s admission to the EU in May 2004 Latvia experienced very rapid economic growth. The amount of the funds that the state invested in universities in 2005 in comparison to the year before was increased by 36 percent, in 2006 by 36 percent, in 2007 by 52 percent, in 2008 by 5 percent. Then in the beginning of 2009 already approved budget for higher education in several steps was cut by 48 percent. For higher education institutions that were used to the previous growth of investment, this decrease in 2009 was a shock, economically as well as psychologically. This paper, using the University of Latvia as an example, analyzes how the higher education institutions in Latvia coped with these cuts, managed to preserve the study places and maintain quality of higher education.
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Handling Conflict
Conflicts in higher education institutions can be expected at any time, particularly so in times of university reforms. Therefore, university leaders need to have specific knowledge and capacity to govern and deal with conflicts in complex institutions. This paper examines possible sources of conflicts within universities and how university leadership can try to manage and react in the most adequate way in order to resolve conflicts, using tools developed from general conflict management experience. Examples of research programmes and practice of preventing and managing conflicts at some universities are given. Some gender differences are also underlined with some recommendations.
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Conflict Management in Higher Education Organizations
This article on conflict management in higher education explores conflict potential and different types of conflicts in academia. The article presents dangers and outcomes of conflict escalation if no action is taken. By using different conflict management models and guidelines, the article shows ways out and provides strategies to professionally resolve occurring conflicts in higher education.
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Conflict Between Freedom of Research and Teaching and the New Models of Governance and Leadership
From a legal point of view, legislators are obliged to find a reasonable balance between the academic freedom of research and teaching on the one hand and the governance of higher education institutions on the other. Nevertheless, legislators enjoy a broad range of discretion when formulating legal frameworks for governance and participation. These legislative powers do, in principle, not exclude strengthening the competences of executive bodies. However, analysis shows that academic staff of a higher education institution must be given the opportunity to participate sufficiently in decisions related to issues of research and teaching in order to ensure activities of high academic standards, which is the paramount criterion for adequacy of organizational structures of higher education institutions.
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Mission-Driven Crisis Management: A Guide for University Leaders
Over the past decade, increased attention has been paid to crisis management in higher education with the research often focusing on the assessment of the handling of such crises. However, what academic leaders need are more case studies and practical examples of how they can best prepare for a crisis in advance. This preparation should include careful crisis planning and the creation of strategic democratic partnerships with key community stakeholders. In this article, a framework is presented that focuses on how to prepare for a crisis as well as how engaging key constituents in the creation of a clear mission, vision and strategic direction for an institution can be invaluable to an academic leader if a crisis strikes. The primary case study is based on Widener University and its work in one of the most distressed cities in the United States – Chester, Pennsylvania.