Contributions to Governance Theory and Research: A Critical Review

Abstract

REVIEW ESSAYS OF GOVERNANCE BOOKS : AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE J. Victor Baldridge, David W. Curtis, George Ecker, and Gary L. Riley, Policy Making and Effective Leadership, San Francisco: Jossey -Bass^ 1973, 290 pages, $12.95. John D. Millett, New Structures of Campus Power, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1978, 294 pages, $12.95. Kenneth P. Mortimer, T. R. McConnell, Sharing Authority Effec­ tively , San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1978, 322 pages, $13.95. The three essays which follow are intended to serve several purposes: (1) to review the three books listed above; (2) to critically assess the state of research and development in this area of "college governance;" (3) to suggest some further directions for research. Three knowledgeable scholars, authors, and consultants were given the freedom to choose the framework and the issues to be emphasized in each of what might be called "review essays" or "extended reviews." No attempt was made to present a comprehensive review of research. Rather, these three books are assessed for what they contribute to theory, research, and develop­ ment for this specialized sub-field of study in higher education from the particular perspective of each individual reviewer. While enough material was presented to give a general feel for the content of the books, it is as­ sumed that most interested readers will have already read one or more of these volumes. The purpose of the Review of Higher Education is to broaden and deepen the discussion in reviews of this type, rather than merely to in­ form and pass judgment. The first essay was titled by its author; the other two essays were titled by the Editor and hopefully reflect the central themes of the review essays. Authors and readers of these books and readers of these reviews are invited to respond to the Editor in ways that might help us to come closer to achieving the purposes noted in the opening paragraph. S.E.K. CONTRIBUTIONS TO GOVERNANCE THEORY AND RESEARCH: A CRITICAL REVIEW Marvin W. Peterson Center for the Study of Higher Education University of Michigan In almost concurrent presentations T. R. McConnell (1963) and Algo Hen­ derson (1963) typified the literature on higher education organization and administration as consisting of a preponderance of description and memoirs and a paucity of research or conceptual knowledge which might be expected re­ garding an institution so central to our society. In 1974 thi's author, in preparing a review of the research on organization and administration in higher education, noted the rapidly expanding research filling that void. However, that research was typified in part by non-empirical, descriptive case studies and limited theoretical development. The research and writing about colleges and universities as complex organizations and their governance or management has continued to grow in the past five years and has now become a deluge of books, monographs, articles, and reports. Further, the last decade-and-a-half have produced a litany of critical issues facing our 2 institutions of higher education; we have flirted with or incorporated a myriad of governance and management approaches; and, most critically, we are at the end of the growth era— at least in traditional higher education— and may face new governance challenges. These three works, all published in 1978, deal with processes and struc­ tures of decision making, i.e . , with governance and management or policy making and implementation. While the book by Baldridge, et al. , deals with a broader analysis of colleges and universities as complex organizations, much of its focus is also on governance processes and issues. The four authors are knowledgeable and respected writers on organizational theory and gover­ nance in higher education: two are experienced observers— McConnell, the scholar/researcher, and Millett, the scholar/administrator; and two are younger, well-respected authors— Baldridge and Mortimer, both scholar/researchers . In all three works and in varying degrees the authors have pre­ sented research of their own, placed it in the context of the larger litera­ ture and research, and made some attempt to relate their own current perspec­ tive. Thus, while other works and other authors might have been included in this review, the timeliness of these three books provides an excellent oppor­ tunity to critique the...