Notes on Birnbaum, R.

(1989) The Latent Organizational Functions of the Academic Senate

Use of the term Academic Senate

Formal representative, governance structure at the institutional level Faculty or faculty majority and representatives of others like administrators, staff, students, etc Exist in one or other form in about 60% to 80% of all campuses

The manifest functions of the academic senate

Manifest functions are those for which behavior leads to some specified and related achievement There are three models that analysts use to view Senates
Model 1: Bureaucratic: The senate is viewed as an integral part of a hierarchical, rational organization This model recognizes eight functions 1. Senates clarify institutional purpose 2. Specify program objectives 3. Reallocate income resources 4. Develop new income resources 5. Management of operations 6. Degree requirements 7. Academic behavior 8. Program evaluation An observer using this model will consider the senate to be effective if It considers institutional problems efficiently Uses rational processes to Develop rules Regulations Procedures Critics using this model view Senates as slow and inefficient Model 2: Political Position: Views the senate as part of a political system The Senate is viewed as a forum for the articulation of interests Senates serve as a place for campus politicians to exercise their trade An observer using this model will consider the senate to be effective if it formulated and clarified goals and policies Critics using this model view Senates as oligarchical and not representative Model 3: Collegial viewpoint: Views the university as a collegium. It has a less explicit analysis of the senate The Senate in this model is a forum for achieving goal of a dynamic of consensus An observer using this model will consider the senate to be effective if it develops shared values leading to consensus Critics using this model view Senates as vehicles to expose latent conflict and increase feelings of community

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Notes on Birnbaum, R. (1989) The Latent Organizational Functions of the Academic Senate

Each one of the three models suggests its own range of activities, processes and outcomes as the manifest functions of the Senate
Because the Senate does not appear to be doing any of those functions well, it appears to be a solution looking for problems! But the Senates do survive! So they might be doing something. What can that possible be? The answer is: The latent functions!

The latent functions of the academic senate

The Senate as a Symbol
Symbolize institutional membership Collective and individual faculty commitment to professional values Joint faculty-administration acceptance of existing authority relationships

The Senate as Status Provider

Faculty members are always super-worried with their statuses. They have huge egos The Senate offers a route of social mobility Prevents the rising of informal leaders and organizational deviants

The Senate as Garbage Can and Deep Freeze

Problems become more difficult as they become connected with garbage (other problems, solutions and participants) Any choice point in a college can become a garbage can The senate can be used to focus attention on irrelevant matters and force decisions on what interests the manipulators

The Senate as Attention Cue

The number of problems and solutions is large The senate can play a role of driving attention to some problems and solutions, by an heuristic process

The Senate as Personnel Screening Device

The senate can be used to see if some candidates are suitable to fill administrative positions. See if they get along with faculty members and with administrative people

The Senate as Organizational Conservator

Administrators and presidents usually don't want to change processes, so the Senate comes in handy to keep things as they are The Senate can be used as a protective shield from those that want to gather data that can be useful for analysis and management

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Notes on Birnbaum, R. (1989) The Latent Organizational Functions of the Academic Senate

The Senate as Ritual and as Pastime

Universities are highly informal, and it is comforting to meet on a regular schedule As a ritual, the Senate provides a sense of membership and integration For others, the senate can be just a pastime. A place to meet with friends and follow faculty gossip

The Senate as Scapegoat

For all the things that go wrong in the University (and there are a lot!) the senate provides a wonderful scapegoat. It can be blamed for anything The senate can help keep cause-effect relationships in a fuzzy state that make things difficult to follow

Academic Senates in Symbolic Organizational Systems

The world is complex, and organizations can be seen as groups of people trying to give meaning to all that mess The American college or university is a prototype of organized anarchy. It is a mess, but some bodies like the Senate help give a sense of meaning to it When the Senate is seen as part of an organized anarchy, it's reason of being becomes apparent, and it is no longer a mystery how they keep existing when they seem not to be doing anything useful The latent functions must be taken into consideration by all those who want to eliminate the Senate. Eliminating it can lead to unintended and probably undesired consequences

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