Browsing by Subject "dilemma"

Aims: The aim of the research is to identify the sphere of work among academic middle managers and the dilemmas they face in their profession. During this millennium, academic leadership as a research area has increased. Yet there is little research on the subject despite the fact that academic leadership is directly connected to a university’s main goals and tasks, and therefore linked to the university’s overall success. An academic middle manager is a supervisor, a coordinator, a strategic leader and a change agent. They have a wide range of tasks and they work with many stakeholders. The position is, by its nature, one where tensions arise, which is highlighted through the context of an academic work environment and its culture. The tensions in the position may increase if the career path of an academic middle manager falls on them unintentionally. During the past decade, there have been various changes in the universities, which have shaped both the organizational structure and the tasks of an academic leader. Methods: The research data consisted of eight semi-structured theme interviews that were collected from academic middle managers working at the University of Helsinki. The interviews were analyzed by using qualitative content analysis. The research follows an abductive strategy on the analysis part. Based on the analysis, two work task areas were emphasized and four dilemma groups were identified; community dilemmas, operative dilemmas, change dilemmas and leaders’ career dilemmas. Results and conclusions: The research highlighted two main areas in a middle manager’s sphere of work; 1) strategic and operative leadership and management, and 2) people leadership. Other tasks within their sphere of work had been delegated to others. The research also showed that middle managers face both weak and strong dilemmas in their work, which were categorized into the four dilemma groups introduced above. Within these four dilemma groups there were three dilemmas that especially created tension. The first was the tension between individualism and collectivism. The second was caused by the power dynamics of an academic middle manager and the academic community. Also, lack of time appeared in three different dilemma groups creating tension in different situations. The research showed evidence of the dilemmas that academic middle managers face. The evidence and results may be used for building academic leadership training programs.