Does It Really Matter? Assessing the Performance Effects of Changes in Leadership and Management Structures in Nordic Higher Education

AbstractUniversities are public organisations, which operate in a highly institutionalised environment. They are heavily dependent on public resources. As such, universities are susceptible to shifts in governance arrangements but are also far from being passive recipients of reform agendas. They face demands from multiple internal constituencies (academics, administrators, students, managers) and from a variety of external stakeholders. This chapter explores the interplay between governance arrangements resulting from policy shifts and university dynamics. It sets the stage for the book, asking the following research questions: (1) what characterises changes in governance regimes in Nordic…

Recruitments in Finnish universities: practicing strategic or pathetic HRM?

Recruitment is a core instrument in the academic labour market. This article takes the perspective of the organisation − here, the university − on recruitment. Universities’ personnel policies and practises are shifting from legally oriented personnel administration to more strategic human resource management (HRM). In Nordic countries, this shift is partly driven by the changing status of higher education institutions from state-governed bureaus to more autonomous institutions. This article provides insight into this transition, using Finland as a case example of higher education systems that have undergone drastic reform, moving from a civil servant model to autonomous personnel policy. D…

Yliopistot uudistuvat, uudistuuko henkilöstöjohtaminen?

Yliopistojen henkilöstöjohtaminen on linkittynyt historiallisista syistä valtionhallinnon henkilöstöjohtamiseen. Tämän lisäksi yliopistolainsäädäntö on luonut vahvan juridisen kehikon henkilöstön pätevyyksille, tehtäväkausille ja tehtäville. Siirtymä byrokraattisesta henkilöstöhallinnosta kohti (strategista) henkilöstövoimavarojen johtamista on vasta tapahtumassa yliopistoissa. Tämä sisältää monia mahdollisuuksia mutta myös uhkia akateemisen työn ja työympäristöjen kehittämiselle. Tässä artikkelissa luomme katsauksen siihen miltä yliopistojen henkilöstöpolitikka näyttää vuonna 2016 ja kuinka yliopiston henkilöstöä johdetaan. Artikkelin aineistona toimii opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön tilaa…

Latest reforms in Finnish doctoral education in light of recent European developments

Doctoral education as a policy field is an important link between educational, research and innovation policies. It is gaining importance in European and national policy discussions. Doctoral education policies are increasingly formulated at the supranational level, even though the European Commission does not possess formal competence in terms of authority over the educational policies. Consequently, policy steering is mostly performed at the national level. In this article, we examine Finnish doctoral education from the steering perspective in a European context. We describe the development and steering of Finnish doctoral education, as well as the current doctoral education policies and …

Nuorten tutkijoiden eteneminen yliopistoissa : sattumaa vai suunnitelmallisuutta?

Nordic Higher Education in Flux: System Evolution and Reform Trajectories

AbstractThis chapter provides a brief description of how the four national systems included in this study—Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden—are currently organised and structured. In doing so, it illuminates several specific features such as the types and sizes of the institutions, enrolment patterns, performance measures, and funding. In addition, the chapter gives a snapshot of how higher education systems have evolved historically by shedding light on policy dynamics from the late 1990s to 2013, the baseline period for the FINNUT comparative study, the research project that provides the basis for this edited volume. This is followed by a section describing the aim, methods, theoretica…

Management and academic profession : comparing the Finnish professors with and without management positions

ABSTRACTManagement is one of the most studied phenomena in higher education. Most of these studies are conducted in the framework of higher education policy, academic work and quality of education and research. The management is often seen as an independent variable explaining the changes in higher education in the context of New Public Management and managerialism. In many studies, it is often forgotten that, the managers of academic organisations are academicians, not actors working for the government and funding bodies for implementing their agendas. Typically, management positions are employed by the professors. In our paper, we are interested in (1) who the managing professors are and …

Following the money? : Performance based funding and the changing publication patterns of Finnish academics

Research on how performance-based funding influences the behaviour and performance of academics is limited in Europe. In this study, we investigate the changing publication patterns among Finnish academics associated with the introduction of awarding funding for publications within specific journals in the national performance-based funding model. We find evidence, particularly in the social sciences, and to a lesser extent humanities, that Finnish academics increasingly target international (English-language) publication outlets and lower-tiered journals. We conclude discussing the possible long-term implications of the current funding formula for both Finnish academia and society. peerRev…