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The following article deals with the new-institutionalist concept of buffering. The concept describes in short, how organizations cope with external and internal demands in order to gain or maintain legitimacy. The article applies this approach to quality management in higher education. We argue, that the introduction of quality management is a reaction to external demands to achieve more quality in teaching and learning. Simultaneously, it functions as a buffer for other organizational subunits within the higher education institution and tries to prevent them from becoming overloaded with external demands. Based on interviews from a research project, the article shows, that both quality managers and higher education managers partly perceive quality management as service unit, which prevents the departments from exaggerating external demands.
Eine evidenzbasierte Gestaltung von Studium und Lehre, wie sie heute normativ eingefordert wird, bedarf des integrierten Zusammenwirkens von Qualitätsmanagement und Hochschuldidaktik – aber gibt es dieses in der Praxis? Mit Blick auf die allgemeine Befundlage, aber auch anhand einer eigenen empirischen Untersuchung zeigt der Beitrag diesbezüglich auf, dass Qualitätsmanagement und Hochschuldidaktik als weitgehend desintegrierte Funktionsbereiche wahrgenommen werden und Evidenzbasierung in der Praxis folglich keinen sehr hohen Stellenwert genießt. Ausgehend von einer Ursachenanalyse wird auf die dysfunktionalen, aber auch auf die funktionalen Auswirkungen dieser Separierung aufmerksam gemacht.
Purpose Quality management has become an integral part of management reforms in public sector organizations. Drawing on a new institutionalist perspective, this study aims to investigate the relation of management reforms and organizational performance in the context of higher education. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyse the interaction between isomorphic conformity in quality management adoption, organizational learning and quality improvement and, in so doing, address the central theoretical question of what effects isomorphic conformity has on organizational performance. Empirically, the study draws on survey data from quality managers at public higher education institutions in Germany. Methodically, it applies confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings The results suggest that mimetic isomorphism is surprisingly compatible with processes of organizational learning, and thus, does not inevitably compromise organizational development. Originality/value By presenting these findings, the authors contribute to the controversial theoretical debate concerning the effects of isomorphism and to the ongoing discussion regarding the organizational impact of quality management in higher education.
Undisclosed desires
(2019)
Following decades of quality management featuring in higher education settings, questions regarding its implementation, impact and outcomes remain. Indeed, leaving aside anecdotal case studies and value-laden documentaries of best practice, current research still knows very little about the implementation of quality management in teaching and learning within higher education institutions. Referring to data collected from German higher education institutions in which a quality management department or functional equivalent was present, this article theorises and provides evidence for the supposition that the implementation of quality management follows two implicit logics. Specifically, it tends either towards the logic of appropriateness or, contrastingly, towards the logic of consequentialism. This study’s results also suggest that quality managers’ socialisation is related to these logics and that it influences their views on quality management in teaching and learning.
Undisclosed desires
(2019)
Following decades of quality management featuring in higher education settings, questions regarding its implementation, impact and outcomes remain. Indeed, leaving aside anecdotal case studies and value-laden documentaries of best practice, current research still knows very little about the implementation of quality management in teaching and learning within higher education institutions. Referring to data collected from German higher education institutions in which a quality management department or functional equivalent was present, this article theorises and provides evidence for the supposition that the implementation of quality management follows two implicit logics. Specifically, it tends either towards the logic of appropriateness or, contrastingly, towards the logic of consequentialism. This study’s results also suggest that quality managers’ socialisation is related to these logics and that it influences their views on quality management in teaching and learning.
The present article offers a mixed-method perspective on the
investigation of determinants of effectiveness in quality assurance
at higher education institutions. We collected survey data from
German higher education institutions to analyse the degree to
which quality managers perceive their approaches to quality
assurance as effective. Based on this data, we develop an ordinary
least squares regression model which explains perceived
effectiveness through structural variables and certain quality
assurance-related activities of quality managers. The results show
that support by higher education institutions’ higher management
and cooperation with other education institutions are relevant
preconditions for larger perceived degrees of quality assurance
effectiveness. Moreover, quality managers’ role as promoters of
quality assurance exhibits significant correlations with perceived
effectiveness. In contrast, sanctions and the perception of quality
assurance as another administrative burden reveal negative
correlations.