Plan C - USM Forum -- Message Board

Date: Jun 28, 2004

Plan C

Date: Jun 28, 2004

The flaw in your logic is to assume that shared governance is a liberal arts issue. I think shared governance is a model that applies across the university. In the real business world they also believe in shared goverance, they just call it empowerment. If you see the literature on 1) self managed work teams; 2) high performance work systems; 3) strategic human resource management; 4) the job characteristics approach to work satisfaction and productivity, or 5) the writings of Jeff Pfeffer of Edward E. Lawler III, two of the world renown experts in the area, you will discover that shared governance, under the guise of "empowerment" is a best practice in the real business world. If we were really intent on running USM as a business those are best practices we would implement!

Date: Jun 28, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: The folly of expecting A while rewarding B
"The flaw in your logic is to assume that shared governance is a liberal arts issue. I think shared governance is a model that applies across the university. In the real business world they also believe in shared goverance, they just call it empowerment. If you see the literature on 1) self managed work teams; 2) high performance work systems; 3) strategic human resource management; 4) the job characteristics approach to work satisfaction and productivity, or 5) the writings of Jeff Pfeffer of Edward E. Lawler III, two of the world renown experts in the area, you will discover that shared governance, under the guise of "empowerment" is a best practice in the real business world. If we were really intent on running USM as a business those are best practices we would implement!"

I agree wholeheartedly that shared governance is not solely a liberal arts issue. It's a best practice at all real "world-class" universities, across disciplines.

Date: Jun 28, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: The folly of expecting A while rewarding B
"The flaw in your logic is to assume that shared governance is a liberal arts issue. I think shared governance is a model that applies across the university. In the real business world they also believe in shared goverance, they just call it empowerment. If you see the literature on 1) self managed work teams; 2) high performance work systems; 3) strategic human resource management; 4) the job characteristics approach to work satisfaction and productivity, or 5) the writings of Jeff Pfeffer of Edward E. Lawler III, two of the world renown experts in the area, you will discover that shared governance, under the guise of "empowerment" is a best practice in the real business world. If we were really intent on running USM as a business those are best practices we would implement!"

I am fully aware that shared governance is not a just a liberal arts issue. Shared governance is, however, a major issue at USM. A second major issue at USM is this economic development/make-the faculty-rich model. A liberal arts institution is not simply one that embraces the traditional disciplines in the arts and sciences. Vanderbilt and Mercer are both liberal arts universities, but both have schools of engineering, medicine, nursing, music, and teacher training programs. Both also embrace the concept of shared governance. Neither are based on the economic development/make-the-faculty-rich model. The University of New Orleans was formerly LSU-NO. I was suggesting that a similar model might work well for USM. I know Ed Lawler's work. I have met, talked with him, and attended his presentations.

Date: Jun 28, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: The folly of expecting A while rewarding B
" . . . shared governance, under the guise of "empowerment" is a best practice in the real business world. If we were really intent on running USM as a business those are best practices we would implement!"

Folly, perhaps you aren't fully aware of the current situation at USM. Trying to run a university like a profit generating business is one of the several problems facing this campus. Some upstairs administrators seem intent on running the place like that. Faculty, on the other hand, are not terribly keen on the idea.

Date: Jun 29, 2004

Plan E:

Have Regis fly down and have faculty compete for Who Wants to Be A Millionaire!!!!!!

Date: Jun 30, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Delta Dawn
"Instead of one large university with two campuses, allow two smaller institutions by spinning-off the Coast campus into an autonomous university which would report directly to the IHL, not to Hattiesburg. "

The last thing Miss needs is another University. We are a state with 2.8 million people and we have 8 universities that the state cannot fund. This needs to be cut in half. Imagine this: USM stays the same with the GC campus, Ole Miss keeps the med school in Jackson, State take the W as a branch campus, and then Alcorn, Delta, and Valley are combined with JSU (think of what Louisiana did with UL of Lafayette, Shreveport, etc). Then we would have 4 large universities and we would cut a large amount of administrative salaries from the state budget that could be reapportioned to faculty/staff.

Date: Jun 30, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Plan Z
"
Then we would have 4 large universities and we would cut a large amount of administrative salaries from the state budget that could be reapportioned to faculty/staff."

While I agree with everything you've said, this last statement is pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die stuff. Consolidation would not result in any appreciable reduction in either the number of administrators or the size of their salaries. If anything, it would be used to spin off an entire stratum of new administrative positions.

Date: Jun 30, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Plan Z
" The last thing Miss needs is another University. We are a state with 2.8 million people and we have 8 universities that the state cannot fund. This needs to be cut in half. Imagine this: USM stays the same with the GC campus, Ole Miss keeps the med school in Jackson, State take the W as a branch campus, and then Alcorn, Delta, and Valley are combined with JSU (think of what Louisiana did with UL of Lafayette, Shreveport, etc). Then we would have 4 large universities and we would cut a large amount of administrative salaries from the state budget that could be reapportioned to faculty/staff."

I'd buy that plan. My Plan C pertained only to USM. It had nothing to do with any reorganization at the other schools. That's an entirely different matter. But yes, there has been too much proliferation of universities in Mississippi. Of equal importance, there has been too much proliferation (unnecessary duplication) of academic programs in Mississippi. Get the much of the politics out of the Mississippi system of higher education: adopt Delta Dawn's Plan A (separate Boards of Visitors for each of Mississippi's public universities).

Date: Jun 30, 2004

quote:
Originally posted by: Invictus
" While I agree with everything you've said, this last statement is pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die stuff. Consolidation would not result in any appreciable reduction in either the number of administrators or the size of their salaries. If anything, it would be used to spin off an entire stratum of new administrative positions."

Invictus,

You're right on target about the likelihood of administrative reductions should Mississippi condense 8 state universities into 4.

Unless the legislature applied major heat to cut administative positions during a consolidation, none would be cut. And state legislatures are normally uninterested in making state agencies cut administration.

Robert Campbell

PS. The only net administrative cuts at a South Carolina state university, during the last 20 years, took place at the University of South Carolina-Columbia, during the two years that the State Law Enforcement Division took the place over--in the wake of the huge scandals of the Holderman era. And the reductions were temporary; administrative headcount and spending rebounded after SLED left.