DEPARTMENTALISATION AND DIVISIONALISATION IN UNIVERSITIES

Anup K Singh

DRIVERS OF ORGANISATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Organisational is influenced by both individual and structural factors

While leadership variables are well examined, structural factors are less researched and discussed

Strategy, structure and systems are major hard factors of organisational excellence

All three of intricately related and influence one other

THE ISSUE

Universities in India are ranked lower on excellence Separate IIMs, IITs and other specialised institutions

were created because it was felt that the university system would lead to mediocrity

There is evidence that free standing institutions have performed better than university embedded institutions

Decision making is slow in university system; formalisation dominates the functioning of units; following rules becomes more important than institutional excellence

FUNCTIONS OF ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

Effective decision making Better integration of roles and units Reduction in conflict Efficiency enhancement

ISSUES IN RESTRUCTURING UNIVERSITIES

Designed on government pattern Predominantly based on functional structure Over control of the Government Excessive manpower High formalisation High centralisation Lack of alignment with the corporate world

REGULATION

The UGC and AICTE are the regulatory bodies. They assume that all academic units are more or less same. Therefore, most norms should be same for them

As institutions largely follow the norms set by the regulatory bodies, they also treat all units more or less similarly

However, there are separate professional regulatory bodies that expect different things from different units

Over-regulation encourages centralisation and standardisation rather than decentralisation of institutions

Centralisation restricts and limits excellence

OWNERSHIP AND DIVISIONALISATION Government follows a centralised,

departmentalised structure. The government university is the mirror image of the government

Private universities can think of greater decentralisation

UNIVERSITIES AND 3S

In general, universities are mission-driven They often do not develop competitive

strategies They have perspective plans, ranging from 5

to 20 years Most universities are in the government

sector and they largely develop plans to meet government expectations

Competition and excellence are related. No competition, no excellence

CONTD...

Traditionally, universities are highly centralised system

They follow departmentalisation pattern in which each academic discipline is treated as a department

Each department has parity with another department in terms of academic norms, facilities, operations and HRM

However, in reality, each department has its own unique environment – students, placement avenues, faculty, curricular requirements, regulator, etc.

Systems are largely affected by the structure of an organisation

CONTD...

Divisionalisation, on the other hand, treats each academic subject as a separate strategic business unit

Each division is given sufficient autonomy to be effective in its unique environment and to compete with the institutions nested in its strategic group

Each division develops its own strategy and systems to thrive

Thus, it is able to respond more effectively to its environmental challenges

Values, aspirations, and culture bind different divisions; but, they differ in their marketing, operations, and HRM

CONTD...

Departmentalisation is a rule, while divisionalisation is an exception in the university system

Divisionalisation is based on market requirements, whereas departmentalisation is based on internal orientation

Some units generate surplus, while others act like parasites

Just because there are different departments, there is no synergy among them

Top management apparently has more influence in departmental structure but seems to lose the basis objective of institutional excellence

THE ROLE OF TOP LEADERSHIP IN A DIVISIONALISED STRUCTURE

Developing vision, mission and value framework

Setting strategic direction and ensuring support

Strategy monitoring and control Facilitating learning across units Growth and diversification Providing common facilities, like Finance, HR,

branding, public relations, etc. Managing common labs and learning spaces

HYBRID STRUCTURING

A mix of divisionalisation and departmentalisation with bias for the former

Central matrix roles are required, such as teaching-learning centre, PR, branding, international relations, etc.

Networking among units Professional bureaucracy

DEPARTMENTS ARE AFFECTED BY:

Employment opportunities (Professional vs. Liberal arts) and recruiters

Regulation (professional programmes vs. Liberal arts) Nature of degree (MBA vs. BA; five year integrated vs.

Split degree) Students’ willingness to pay, thus resource availability Resource consumption (Science vs. Arts) Research support (Science vs. Law) Faculty availability (Medical vs. Management) Theoretical and practical orientation (Pharmacy vs. Law) Skill orientation (Architecture vs. History)