Coping with Conflict within the Entrepreneurial University: Threat or Challenge for Heads of Departments in the UK Higher Education Context

Abstract

This article attempts to provide an understanding of the conflict phenomenon in the UK higher education sector. A research survey was conducted in order to examine the role conflict associated with the headship position in the contemporary university context. ‘Janusian’ and ‘value’ conflict were the forms of role conflict experienced by heads of departments. On the one hand, heads' efforts to provide the critical link between the managerial requirements of the modern university and academic staffs' values of their departments, in addition to the performance of their academic core activities led to the development of ‘Janusian’ role conflict. On the other hand, the emphasis on market mechanisms in higher education and the departure from the traditional academic work values, in an era characterized by change, uncertainty and complexity contributed to the appearance of the ‘value’ conflict among heads of departments. However, both of these conflict dimensions were relative to the type of institution (new/old university category).