![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
This study examines the institutional visibility of the university governing body amongst staff, as an unexplored factor influencing the effectiveness of the body in performing stewardship and strategic responsibilities on behalf of the university. A constructionist view of governance is taken in order to examine the enactment of governing body institutional visibility within the spaces of the university, from the formal projection of its legal and constitutional duties, to communication of the decisions made at governing body meetings, through to governors’ informal encounters and engagement with staff. An institutional visibility spectrum was developed based on governing body ‘apparency’, ‘transparency’ and ‘engagement’, prior to interviewing secretaries and clerks as key actors in the governance system. It was found that governor visibility through engagement and interaction with a range of staff outside the ‘boardroom’ was perceived as a contributor to governing body effectiveness, including governors’ knowledge-building and ability to contribute to strategic initiatives in the host university.
References
Section:
|
Augé, M (1995) Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity. London and New York: Verso. Google Scholar | |
|
Baird, J (2006) Beyond professionalisation: enhancing the governing culture for Australian university boards. Tertiary Education and Management 12(4): 297–309. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Banks, JA (1998) The lives and values of researchers: implications for educating citizens in a multicultural society. Educational Research 27(7): 4–17. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Bargh, C, Scott, P, Smith, D (1996). Governing Universities. Changing the Culture? Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Beitin, BK (2012) Interview and sampling: How many and whom. In: Gubrium, JF, Holstein, JA, Marvast, AB, McKinney, KD (eds) The Sage Handbook of Interview Research: The Complexity of the Craft. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Bennett, B (2002) The new style board of governors - Are they working? Higher Education Quarterly 56(3): 287–302. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Berle, A, Means, GC (1932) The Modern Corporation and Private Property (2nd Edition). New York: Harcourt, Brace and World. Google Scholar | |
|
Bevir, M (2012) Governance: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Brighenti, AM (2010) Visibility in Social Theory and Social Research. Basingstokeand New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Burgess, RG (1984) Autobiographical accounts and research experience. In: Burgess, RG (ed.) The Research Process in Educational Settings: Ten Case Studies. Lewes: The Falmer Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Carr, ECJ, Worth, A (2001) The use of telephone interviews for research. Journal of Research in Nursing 6(1): 511–524. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Chait, RP, Holland, TP, Taylor, BE (1996) Improving the Performance of Governing Boards. American Council on Education. Westport, CT: Oryx Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Crotty, M (1998) The Foundations of Social Research. Meaning and Perspective in the Research Process. London: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Creswell, J (2007) Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. 2nd ed. London and Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
CUC (Committee of University Chairs) (2014) The Higher Education Code of Governance. Available at: http://www.universitychairs.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Published-Version.pdf (accessed 8 January 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
CVCP (Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals) (1985) Report of The Steering Committee for Efficiency Studies in Universities. Google Scholar | |
|
Danziger, K (1997) Naming The Mind: How Psychology Found Its Language. London: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Dawkins, A (2011) Boundary-crossing and governance ‘space’: Negotiation of the professional identity of secretariat staff in higher education (HE). Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education 3(1): 47–60. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Deem, R, Brehony, K, Heath, S (1995) Active Citizenship and the Governing of Schools. Buckingham and Philadelphia, PA: Open University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Denzin, NK, Lincoln, YS (2005) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Enquiry. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi and Singapore: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Farrington, D, Palfreyman, D (2006) The Law of Higher Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Fawcett, P (2013) How are we Governed? Decentred Theory and the Core Executive. Political Studies Association Conference, University of Cardiff, Cardiff, 25–27 March 2014. Available at: http://www.psa.ac.uk/sites/default/files/684_358.pdf (accessed 8 January 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
Finklestein, S, Mooney, AC (2003) Not the usual suspects: How to use board process to make boards better. Academic of Management Executive 17(2): 101–103. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Giddens, A (1990) The Consequences of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Gillies, M (2011) University Governance. Questions for a New Era. Oxford: Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI). Google Scholar | |
|
Gittleman, S (2004) An Entrepreneurial University: The Transformation of Tufts 1976-2002. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England. Google Scholar | |
|
Henkel, M (1997) Teaching quality assessments: Public accountability and academic autonomy in higher education. Evaluation 3(1): 9–23. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Hennink, M, Hutter, I, Bailey, A (2011) Qualitative Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Higher Education and Research Act (2017) (HL Bill 97). Available at: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2016-17/highereducationandresearch.html (accessed 4 May 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
Hill, R (2000) A study of the views of full-time further education lecturers regarding their college corporations and agencies of the further education sector. Journal of Further and Higher Education 24(1): 67–75. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (2014). Memorandum of Assurance and Accountability between HEFCE and Institutions. Available at: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/reg/MAA/ (accessed 8 January 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
Holstein, JA, Gubrium, JF (2011) The constructionist analytics of interpretive practice. In: Denzin, NK, Lincoln, YS (eds) The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Huse, M (2005) Accountability and creating accountability: a framework for exploring behavioural perspectives of corporate governance. British Journal of Management 16: 65–79. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Jarratt, A (1985) Report of the Steering Committee in University Efficiency. London: CVCP. Google Scholar | |
|
Jarzabkowski, P (2005) Strategy as Practice: An Activity Based Approach. London: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Kakabadse, A, Kakabadse, N (7 2014) The Company Secretary: Building Trust Through Governance. ICSA and Henley Business School, University of Reading. Available at: http://wwww.geniusmethods.com (accessed 8 January 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
Kezar, A, Eckel, PD (2004) Meeting today’s governance challenges: a synthesis of the literature and examination of a future agenda for scholarship. The Journal of Higher Education 75(4): 371–399. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Kezar, A (2006) Rethinking public higher education boards performance: results of a national study of governing boards in the united states. The Journal of Higher Education 77(6): 968–1008. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Kogan, M, Hanney, S (2000) Reforming Higher Education. Higher Education Policy Series 50. London and Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Google Scholar | |
|
King, R (2009) Governing Universities Globally: Organizations, Regulation and Rankings. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
King, N, Horrocks, C (2010) Interviews in Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Lambert, R (12 2003) Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration. Final Report. Available at: http://www.hmtreasury.gov.uk/lambert_review_business_university_collab.thm (accessed 8 January 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
Le Blanc, R, Schwartz, M (2007) The black box of board process: gaining access to a difficult subject. Corporate Governance: An International Review 15: 843–851. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Llewellyn, D (2007) The Role and Influence of the Secretary In Relation to Governing Bodies in Higher Education. Available at: http://opus.bath.ac.uk/22037 (accessed 8 January 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
Llewellyn, D (2009) The role and influence of the Secretary in UK Higher Education Governing Bodies. Final Summary Report. Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. Available at: https:/www.lfhe.ac.uk/researchhub (accessed 8 January 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
Lock, A, Strong, T (2010) Social Constructionism: Sources and Stirrings in Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
McNay, I (2002) Governance and decision-making in smaller colleges. Higher Education Quarterly 56(3): 303–315. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
McNay, I (1999) Evaluation of the Work of the Governing Body. London: University of Greenwich. Google Scholar | |
|
McNulty, T, Roberts, J, Stiles, P (2005) Undertaking governance reform and research: further reflections on the Higgs review. British Journal of Management 16(Special Issue): 99–107. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
McNulty, T (2013) Process matters: understanding board behaviour and effectiveness. In: Wright, M, Siegal, DS, Keasey, K, Filatotchev, I (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Corporate Governance. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 163–176. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Marginson, S (1997) Steering from a distance: power relations in Australian higher education. Higher Education 34(1): 63–80. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Mason, J (2002) Qualitative Researching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Massy, W (2010) Managerial and political strategies for managing accountability. In: Stensaker, B, Harvey, L (eds) Accountability in Higher Education: Global Perspectives on Trust and Power. London, New York: Routledge. Google Scholar | |
|
Morgan, J (2012) Governance track for man who helped privatise the UK’s railways. Times Higher Education 24 5. Google Scholar | |
|
Neave, G, Vught van, F (1991) Prometheus Bound: The Changing Relationship between Government and Higher Education in Western Europe (ed.). Oxford: Pergamon Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Novick, G (2008) Is there a bias against telephone interviews in qualitative research? Research in Nursing and Health 31(4): 391–398. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
|
Opdenakker, R (2006) Advantages and disadvantages of four interview techniques in qualitative research. Qualitative Social Research 7(4): Article 11. Google Scholar | Medline | |
|
Pettigrew, A, McNulty, T (1995) Power and influence in and around the boardroom. Human Relations 48(5): 845–873. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
|
Pye, A (2002) Corporate directing: governing, strategizing and leading in action. Corporate Governance: An International Review 10(3): 153–162. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Ranson, S (2003) Public accountability in the age of neo-liberal governance. Journal of Education Policy 18(5): 459–480. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
|
Rytmeister, CR (2009) Governing university strategy: perceptions and practice of governance and management roles. Tertiary Education and Management 15(2): 137–156. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Saldaña, J (2013) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Thousand Oals, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
Schofield, A (2006) Getting to Grips with Being a Governor. Making Sense of Governance in Higher Education. A Programme for Members of Governing Bodies in Universities and Colleges. London: SCOP Ltd. Google Scholar | |
|
Schofield, A (1 2009) What is an Effective and High Performing Governing Body in UK Higher Education? Available at: http://www.lfhe.ac.uk/en/governance-new/index.cfm Google Scholar | |
|
Searle, JR (1995) The Construction of Social Reality. London: Penguin Books. Google Scholar | |
|
Shattock, M (2006) Managing Good Governance in Higher Education. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Sonnenfeld, J (2004) Good governance and the misleading myths of bad metrics. Academy of Management Executive 18(1): 108–113. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
|
Strauss, A, Corbin, J (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
|
The Further and Higher Education Act (1992) Available at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/13/contents (accessed 8 January 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
The National Committee of Enquiry into Higher Education (NCIHE) Dearing, R (1997) Higher Education in the Learning Society. Available at: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/ncihe (accessed 8 January 2017). Google Scholar | |
|
Thomas, SP, Pollio, HR (2002) Listening to Patients. A Phenomenological Approach to Nursing Research and Practice. New York: Springer. Google Scholar | |
|
Tricker, B (2009) Corporate Governance. Principles, Policies and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar | |
|
Trowler, P, Saunders, M, Bamber, V (eds) (2012) Tribes and Territories in the 21st-Century: Rethinking the Significance of Disciplines in Higher Education. London: Routledge. Google Scholar |
