Otto Hüther

Hierarchy and power: a conceptual analysis with particular reference to new public management reforms in German universities

For more than 20 years, new public management (NPM) has been the guiding governance model of university reforms in Europe. One central aspect of this governance model is to strengthen the hierarchy within the universities. Recent research shows that the formal decision-making authority of university leaders and deans has increased in almost every European country. While these changes at the formal level are well documented in the literature, researchers have given little attention to the institutional protection mechanisms of hierarchy in organizations. The most important institutional protection mechanisms of hierarchy in organizations are power and the related potential for negative and positive sanctions. By discussing the German university system, we ask whether university leaders and/or deans have the power to use hierarchy within their universities. Three types of power are considered: organizational power, personnel power and power over resources. The article shows that in Germany, neither university leaders nor deans have sufficient power over the academics in order to exercise hierarchical governance. The absence of power at the university leadership level and at the departmental level seems an important barrier to the implementation of the NPM model in Germany. Our perspective on hierarchy and power allows for further comparative research.

Nested Organizational Fields: Isomorphism and Differentiation among European Universities

Abstract European universities have changed dramatically over the last two to three decades. The two dominant frameworks to analyze these changes are “New Public Management” and the construction of “complete organizations.” Both of these approaches highlight isomorphic processes leading to increased homogenization within European universities. However, empirical evidence suggests that European universities are differentiating from each other at the same time as they are becoming more isomorphic. To explain the simultaneity of homogenization and differentiation among European universities, we use the concept of nested organizational fields. We distinguish between a global field, a European field, and several national, state, and regional fields. Homogenization and differentiation are then the result of similar or different field embeddedness of European universities. The advantage of this approach lies in explaining homogenization and differentiation of universities within individual countries on the one hand, as well as cross-national homogenization and differentiation of subgroups of universities on the other hand.

Wandelbarkeit von Forschungsstrukturen in deutschen Universitäten. Eine Analyse der Landeshochschulgesetze

Die deutschen Universitaten waren in den letzten Jahren einem vielfaltigen Veranderungsprozess unterworfen. Neben der grundlegenden Umstellung des Studienangebotes im Zusammenhang mit dem Bologna-Prozess oder der Exzellenzinitiative bildete die Hochschulgovernance, die im Vordergrund dieses Artikels steht, einen weiteren wichtigen Veranderungsbereich. Zielsetzung dieser Reformen war, die wahrgenommene geringe Anpassungsfahigkeit der Universitaten im Allgemeinen sowie in Bezug auf die Forschungsausrichtung bzw. -strukturen zu verbessern.

Hierarchie ohne Macht? Karriere- und Beschäftigungsbedingungen als ‚vergessene‘ Grenzen der organisatorischen Umgestaltung der deutschen Universitäten

Traditionell wurden die Universitaten als spezifische Organisationen angesehen, die sich fundamental sowohl von Wirtschafts- als auch Verwaltungsorganisationen unterscheiden. Verwiesen wird in diesem Zusammenhang meist auf drei Perspektiven der Organisationsforschung: Universitaten sind lose gekoppelte Systeme (Weick 1976), organisierte Anarchien (Cohen et al. 1972) und der Prototyp der professionellen Burokratie (Mintzberg 1983). Alle drei genannten Perspektiven machen auf Eigenarten der Organisationsform Universitat im Vergleich zum Idealtypus der rationalen bzw. burokratischen Organisation aufmerksam.

Incentives and Power: An Organizational Perspective

Over the last years new incentives for professors were introduced into the German university system in order to strengthen the external motivation and the productivity of professors. At the same time a critical reflection has begun, in which the effects on internal motivation and deficiencies concerning the measurement and the overall effects on the science and higher education system were discussed. In addition to these criticisms, we will argue from an organizational perspective. From that perspective, incentives are a central aspect of power in organizations. This allows us to put incentives in a broader perspective, in which also other forms of power in higher education organizations come into light. Such forms are the power over resources, careers, and, ultimately, membership. The article argues that due to the specificities of the German university system and its organizations, the nexus between power and incentives is rather weak as compared to other systems. However, such a structure is not per se problematic. It generates a specific set of advantages and disadvantages with regard to the missions of universities in a knowledge society and some critical side-effects of a strong nexus between power and incentives can thus be avoided.

Summarizing Reflections—Stability and Change in German Higher Education

We have described and discussed a myriad of changes that have taken place at the macro, the meso and the micro level of the German higher education system over the last 20 years. In the respective chapters of this book we have embedded each of these developments in theory in order to lend greater depth to our analysis. We have also shown that, on the one hand, these reforms are embedded in transnational discourse and developments; on the other hand, however, that they are strongly influenced by national traditions and structures. Before we begin exploring how these changes are to be assessed overall, we should once again review the developments we described in each of the chapters.

Recent Reforms in the German Higher Education System

This chapter focuses on specific reforms in the German higher education system in recent years. These reforms are embedded in general societal developments that will also be explored. Furthermore, it is only possible to understand recent reforms in German higher education by adopting a broader perspective that also considers the key role of international reform developments. Although the development of a national higher education system like the German one has been characterized by multifaceted processes of interaction with other systems since as far back as the nineteenth century, these processes have accelerated rapidly in the last two to three decades. We argue that only by taking account of the latest wave of international reforms is it possible to understand the considerable reform efforts in the German higher education system.

Governance Structures and Their Developments

This chapter deals with developments at the meso or institutional level in the German higher education system. In this chapter we are focusing on the governance structures concerning German higher education institutions. As in other European countries, the discussion on, and development of, governance structures is strongly linked to “new public management” (NPM). Accordingly, the question here concerns the extent to which NPM is to be found at the discursive, the legal/formal and the practice levels in Germany. In addition, there is also the question of whether, or which, transintentional effects have emerged.

Equality of Opportunity in the German Higher Education System

This chapter also deals with developments at the micro level of the German higher education system. However, in contrast to Chap. 6 we change the focus of our analysis to the question of equal opportunity in the German higher education system. Equal opportunity of students, academics and administrative staff is a recurring and controversial topic in Germany, as it is in other countries. It is heavily related to the macro level of the system and embedded in broader society. Especially when gaining a degree leads to a lower chance of unemployment or higher earnings, the question raised is whether the opportunity to secure these benefits applies to all. Moreover, equal opportunity is particularly significant in academic careers not least because the award of a professorship goes hand in hand with high social status, autonomy and a higher level of social security. On top of this, equal opportunity is a critical variable in higher education and the scientific system. Individual performance and meritocracy are central sources of legitimation for both systems. A systematic and obvious infringement of this has the potential to deprive both systems of their legitimacy (Etzkowitz et al. 1994, 54; Engels 2015, 19–20).

Quantitative-Structural Configuration and Developments

In this chapter, we describe changes at the macro level of the German higher education system. Both the fundamental quantitative-structural configuration and developments in recent years are in focus. In part, these developments have been brought about by intentional interventions or reforms, in part by developments not attributable to intentional intervention, and sometimes we find a mixture of the two. In order to place the German system in the context of international developments, we will supplement our analysis by comparing developments in other countries. Furthermore, we will endeavor to provide theoretical explanations of the developments described.