HIED 842 Discussion Posts – Emily Louise Lane Obermiller

HIED 842: Discussion Posts

Introduction

For this initial discussion forum, please take a minute to introduce yourself to me and your fellow classmates. To facilitate this process, respond to the following bullets:

• Your name

• What previous HIED classes taken

• Your current level of experience with administration in higher education.

• Your hope for this course (i.e. what you would like to learn or experience)

• Any other background information you would like others to know.

• (optional) If you would like, feel free to upload your current resume/CV

In addition, please make sure that you have an up to date bio. If you have not already done so, click on the “People” link in the course navigation menu.

Hi everyone!
My name is Emily Lane and I began this masters program in Fall 2019. So far I have taken:
808: Professional Seminar
545: Introduction to HIED
801: Foundations of Institutional Research
846: College Students and Their Success
807: Academic Advising
Along with this class I am also taking:
810: Planning and Resource Management
840: Assessing Student Outcomes and Evaluating Academic Programs

I am currently a high school Chemistry and Biology teacher in Wuhan, China. I graduated from Meredith College in 2015 with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Studio Art. I am from North Carolina but have been a science teacher for the past five years in China (3.5 in Beijing and 1.5 so far in Wuhan). I enjoy working with Chinese students and hope to eventually continue working with international students within a higher education setting. I also enjoy research, so I’m hoping to pursue the IR Certificate as well. I have not yet worked within a higher education institution, but I am looking forward to learning from all of you that have!

As I have no experience with administration in higher education outside of being a student myself, I hope to build on the knowledge I have learned in previous HIED courses regarding university administration’s structure and function. I am particularly interested in the internal and external components that influence administrators’ decision-making. Hopefully understanding more about these components will give me a better understanding of how to be an effective administrator in the future.

Formal Authority Structures

For this discussion, think of a position you have held, if possible, from the field of higher education. Consider the formal authority structure related to your position (e.g. how was the unit or organization structured). What were the implications of that particular structure and lines of authority (e.g. how did work get done)? Who had formal authority if you needed decisions approved? Was there clarity regarding to whom you reported? How much authority did you have in your position? Did you have autonomy to make your own decisions or did you need to regularly check before you moved forward with decisions?

How did the formal structure of the organization impact your perspective about your job?

Here are two examples to guide your reflections:

1. In my position, I had clear reporting authority to my boss and she provided me with the autonomy and freedom to make decisions I deemed best and did not require me to check before making hard decisions. I loved working there, but sometimes wished I had a little more direction.

2. In my situation I reported to two different individuals. Both were micromanagers and want me to check with them before making any meaningful decisions. With both of them! Sometimes they gave me conflicting advice and marching orders. My life was not so fun.

Although I have not worked within higher education, my current position as a high school science teacher, there is a clear authority structure with a governance structure similar to the Political Frame mentioned in the lesson. I collaborate with the chemistry, biology, and physics department subject leaders regarding subject specific decisions, and I report directly to the science department director for all other decisions. I am currently the international teacher for several subjects and groups of students so I cooperate closely with the subject heads to ensure we are teaching similar material. Generally I have a short meeting every 2 weeks with the science department director to discuss overall course material being taught, issues I’ve encountered, and areas where the students need more instruction or reinforcement.

The lines of authority are very clear. If I need a decision approved, I must talk to the science department director, who talks to the high school director, who talks to the school’s administrative director, and if need be, the executive principal of the school. The executive principal of our school is quite involved in decision making and has final say in decisions made. In my position, I have quite a bit of authority and autonomy regarding material taught, daily responsibilities, and class activities. I do not have authority regarding logistical matters such as equipment ordering or departmental resource allocation. In these situations, I prepare a written request for materials for the science director to evaluate and approve or pass along to a higher power as he sees fit.

I enjoy the clear structure and the open communication this authority structure offers.

How Do Organizational Structures really Work?

Lesson 2’s discussion asked you to consider and discuss official organizational structures. For this discussion, your focus will shift to exploring how did those organizational structures *really* work? Can you provide an example of informal authority where a person had more or less authority than you would expect based upon the organizational chart? Or can you provide an example of informal networks where relationships (not formally listed on the organizational chart) influenced the functioning of the organization in important ways.

How did the informal structure of the organization impact your perspectives about your job?

Example: I worked somewhere that had a clear reporting format. The Director was in charge of the entire organization. With three levels of management to carry out her directives, she was in a position to make a final decisions. However, in many instances the director would communicate a decision and then would change her mind if presented with “sob stories.” Individuals who knew she was heavily influenced by emotional reactions would leverage this fact to perpetuate their own agendas. It was problematic because she would not always communicate those changes to others in the organization. Her lack of communication resulted in some supervisors and managers implementing incorrect directives. So, this director really had less authority because she was easily manipulated and those people who chose to manipulate her had more informal authority.

My last job had a clear reporting format. I reported to the Chemistry department head, she reported to the science department head, and she reported to the vice principal. The structure was clearly defined, however, I noticed that certain employees would be assigned more additional duties than others, and I was among those assigned extra work. Soon I learned that the employees who received extra work were often lacking key governmental ties that allowed leniency in workload intensity. Of course, these ties came with their own responsibilities that were important in the unstated governance of the public school I was working with, but it was frustrating to be unaware of these dynamics. Once I was at the job for some time, I was able to more easily identify people who likely have governmental ties and avoid conflict with them.

Although the school I was working at seemed to operate as an organization defined by the Rational Perspective, “A collection of individuals who take formal roles within the organization and clear rules guide behavior and the relations between workers in different roles”, I soon learned that the school was an organization that, at its roots, operates in the Open Perspective, where the environment played a key role in the organization’s operations (Penn State World Campus, n.d., p. 2). Furthermore, the institutional leaders dealt with a great deal of goal complexity. After some time, I learned that the public school was navigating complex governmental legislation changes regarding public schools with international departments, so although the stated goal was to provide bilingual education and access to western universities, the administration was wrestling with “support goals, which are necessary for maintaining the organization” (Hendrickson et al., 2013, p. 25). The leaders had to navigate the formal and informal structures of both the school and the local government, so naturally, the members of staff who were not connected to these issues would need to assume more duties in school. Without being aware of these informal structures and their concerns, negative feelings began to build and miscommunication was rampant.

References
Hendrickson, Robert, Lane, Jason, & Harris, James (2013). Academic Leadership and Governance of Higher Education: A Guide for Trustees, Leaders, and Aspiring Leaders of Two- and Four-Year Institutions. ISBN: 978-1579224813

Penn State World Campus. (n.d.). Lesson 3: Conceptualizing the Nature and Structure of HIED Institutions. In HIED 842 Canvas: Spring 2021. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2092040/modules/items/30833511

Leadership Styles

What leadership style do you prefer, and which one do you think better describes your own leadership style? Why?

I prefer a transactional leadership style because I appreciate clear goals and “consistency of expectations and evaluation of work performance” (Penn State World Campus, n.d., p. 4). Currently the executive leadership of the private school I work for leads through transformational leadership. My boss seeks to build commitment from personnel and improve the institution through keeping “one foot on campus dealing with student and faculty concerns and the other foot in the world outside the academy” (Hendrickson et al., 2013, p. 246). Her style of leadership is well received by many of my Chinese coworkers, but I, and other foreign coworkers, often struggle with the lack of communication of specific long-term goals for our school and how the initiatives and extra duties we are being asked to assume advance these goals. I believe that a strong leader should be transactional when addressing members of the organization and transformational when dealing with public or external issues. This way faculty and staff are aware of expectations, yet they also see the leader publically as a charismatic and passionate visionary.

I am a mixture of a transformational leader and a transactional leader depending on what the situation calls for. As a high school science teacher, I must establish myself as a transformational leader who exhibits both legitimate and expert authority (Penn State World Campus, n.d.). The most important part of being a teacher is to support my students and encourage them to believe that they are capable of success in my class and other endeavors. Often, students feel uncomfortable with advanced science concepts and it is easy for them to give up with the explanation that they are “just not smart enough”, so during teaching periods I strive to lead through charisma and support. On the other hand, during periods preceding important tests I act primarily as a transactional leader. I must lead the students to success by providing detailed instructions and ample reminders of the grades they will likely achieve if they do not fulfill the requirements I have given them. In these times I find myself leading through coercion under the threat of earning poor grades. Generally, I am thankful to say, by the time mid-term and final examinations arrive, my students hope to bring pride to themselves, their class standing, and me as their instructor. Just as the lesson explained, this referent power is a result of trust and respect between the individual students and myself.

References

Hendrickson, R.M., & Ikenberry, S.O. (2013). Academic Leadership and Governance of Higher Education: A Guide for Trustees, Leaders, and Aspiring Leaders of Two- and Four-year Institutions: Vol. First edition. Stylus Publishing.

Penn State World Campus. (n.d.). Lesson 5: University Leadership. In HIED 842 Canvas: Spring 2021. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2092040/modules/items/30833526

Decision Making -Resolution, Flight, or Oversight

Describe a decision that you observed within an organization. Was it a decision by resolution, decision by flight, or decision by oversight? This can be a decision that you were involved in making or a decision that you observed others making. We encourage you to choose a decision that you were involved in making so that you can reflect upon your own direct experience.

How was this decision reached? With the advantage of hindsight, would you have made a different decision? Why or why not?

In China, all 9th graders take a test called the ZhongKao at the end of the year before entering 10th grade. The test is distributed by the government and if students pass the test they are allowed to go to public high school, but if they do not, they can choose to go to a trade school, a private school, or directly into the workforce. The level of passing also dictates the group the students will be placed in during high school, either high achievers or low achievers. Naturally, this is a test the students feel very pressured to do well on.

This year has been a difficult year for all students, but the 9th graders and their teachers are feeling very concerned about reviewing for this cumulative test. So, the teachers, including me, met with the department heads to present this concern, and together we weighed the pros and cons of canceling the last month of classes for the ninth graders and replacing them with intense revision and preparation for the ZhongKao. This would mean altering the pace of teaching as well as multiple schedules and possibly needing to hire some test preparation professionals. After about a week of meetings between the teachers and administrators, the administrators took the suggestion to the executive principal who discussed the idea with some parents to get their feedback as well. Finally, a decision was made to change the course material to include new material and gradual revision with the last month of school being dedicated to test preparation.

This decision was made by resolution because it was evaluated carefully and the plan was revised based on communication with the various parties involved. Of course, the final decision is made by the executive principal, but she made an informed decision based on the suggestions of administrators and teachers. I would not have made a different decision with the advantage of hindsight because I value decisions made by resolution that are supported by facts. I also appreciate the support the school is showing for their students while they face this vital academic milestone.

Challenges When Communicating with Internal Constituencies

What challenges are there when communicating with internal constituencies? How have you or would you anticipate changing your communication with different internal constituents? (Use the four groups in the lesson, or if you have other experience with other internal constituents, feel free to reference them.)

A common theme throughout HIED coursework seems to be overcoming existing departmental silos to enhance internal constituencies’ communication. Yet, this week’s lesson and readings evaluate the Student Affairs, Faculty, Students, and Athletics constituencies based on their alignment and contributions to the institutional mission. This shared commitment should serve as the foundation to clear communication and “good governance” (Penn State World Campus, n.d., p. 6). However, I’m sure that each constituency mentioned contains many specialized units and departments with unique purposes and objectives.

For example, Student Affairs is now responsible for supporting a collegiate Student Personnel Point of View as well as maintaining an environment that is safe and supportive of all students (Penn State World Campus, n.d.). These endeavors are huge and certainly cannot be completed by an individual or even a small office where it is easy to communicate with invested parties. Student Affairs must communicate with members of their department as well as members of other institutional constituencies in a clear, timely manner. This type of communication to individuals and departments outside of one’s own department is time consuming and invites scrutiny and outside opinions that may slow the decision-making process.

I anticipate internal constituents would rather be efficient in their decision making through engaging in practices that encourage silos rather than intentionally seeking the different perspectives of other departments. Likely, communications between different constituencies must be strategically presented and routinely scheduled between leaders of various departments so problems can be presented and collaborative solutions can be pursued.

References

Penn State World Campus. (n.d.) Lesson 8: Internal Constituencies: Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Faculty, Students, Athletics, and More. In HIED 842 Canvas: Spring 2021. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2092040/modules/items/30833548

Challenges When Communicating with External Constituencies

What challenges might there be when communicating with external constituencies? How have you or would you anticipate changing your communication with different external constituents? (Use the groups in the lesson, or if you have other experience with other external constituents, feel free to reference them.)

Communicating with external constituents seems to be an incredibly challenging communication skill, especially considering the depth and breadth of different types of constituents. To be successful, I believe the devil is in the details, and the way a school treats the least influential constituents may be indicative of bigger problems. For example, growing up, I remember my parents always complaining about their respective universities calling (during dinner) every other month, or so, asking them for more money than the current donation to their alumni associations. Eventually, after years of pestering, they stopped giving and withdrew their membership. Although individual donations from one alumna don’t make much of a difference, it’s this impersonal attitude and approach towards communication with outside constituents which could trickle up to the top, and be the reason a university appears to be begging for money.

In my opinion, dealing with constituents of a higher level (ie. State, Federal, Corporate..) probably isn’t much different than any other personal communications situation. Ultimately, each group will have some representative reaching out and communicating, and the results of these interactions will likely be based on a few people’s ability to communicate effectively. Hendrickson et al. (2013) summarizes the need for effective communication with outside constituents in discussing, “the diffused system [which] permits multiple external groups to assume roles of varying importance in the life of an academic institution” (p. 199). This diffusion of influence can be found in governmental organizations, or donors to name two groups, but likely they will want to maintain some level of control over decisions made and how their donations are used. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, and it’s important that the universities team is well versed on exactly what interests these may be. In general, the most important thing is to understand who your constituents are (no matter how big or small), what their interests are, or what their situation is and communicate to them how contributions will be mutually beneficial, and not one-sided.

References

Hendrickson, Robert, Lane, Jason, & Harris, James (2013). Academic Leadership and Governance of Higher Education: A Guide for Trustees, Leaders, and Aspiring Leaders of Two- and Four-Year Institutions. ISBN: 978-1579224813.

Using Leverage on the Job

Please share a situation when you have used leverage on the job in a real-world situation.

I, fortunately, have many opportunities for employment because the demand for a science teacher that is a qualified, native English speaker, physically located in China far exceeds the supply of teachers fitting these requirements. The supply has drastically decreased in the last year and a half due to the travel bans and restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Working visas typically have a two-year duration, so I must re-negotiate my contract every two years. This year, because of COVID-19, many expatriate teachers (expats) are unable to return to China. Therefore, their positions are left vacant and the demand is extremely high – especially for English teachers. Although I am not an English teacher, my school asked me to teach some English classes in the 2021-22 academic year because there are local teachers that can teach science courses in Chinese. Unfortunately, teaching English rather than science is an unacceptable demand because it is a slippery slope that is hard to come back from, so I needed to use leverage to address the situation (Penn State University [PSU], n.d.).

First, I needed to recognize that this year my school views me as an irreplaceable resource because an expat vacancy is extremely difficult to fill. More than this, my leaving would also cause my husband, who teaches math, to also not renew his contract, so the school would be left with two expat vacancies. So I developed a plan to provide value to the constituencies of the school – the administration, students, and parents – without compromising my position as a science teacher (PSU, n.d.). I proposed developing and teaching a course specific to scientific writing and vocabulary that requires conducting several experiments, developing a well-kept lab notebook, designing and conducting an experiment, and orally presenting the results. Each of these skills is directly transferrable to undergraduate research and are skills the high school students traditionally lack. The new class would not occupy many additional resources because I could align the experiments with the ones already taking place.

The executive principal proposed the idea to several involved parents and agreed that the course would assist them in marketing as well as being an effective use of resources. So, we agreed that the course would only be offered for one year. This will give the school enough time to hire additional expat English teachers and ensure I would be back to teaching the upper-level high school chemistry and biology courses by the 2022-23 school year (PSU, n.d.).

This situation required the use of leverage because it is not professionally acceptable to refuse a teaching course that would benefit the school in a time of crisis – especially when local teachers could cover my normal course load. Although I could easily find other employment that does not require teaching outside a science curriculum and developing a course is incredibly time-intensive, I would prefer to continue supporting my current school (who supported me during the more trying times resulting from the pandemic rather than leaving them in a difficult position). Therefore, I was able to use my leverage to identify a solution that would allow both advance my school’s mission of preparing students for success at an international university and my professional requirement of remaining a science teacher.

Finally, because I know contract renewal occurs every two years, I strive to contribute more to my department than required without exerting any use of leverage that is not absolutely necessary. Luckily, my employer has not taken advantage of these services. As Dr. Cheslock notes, “I’m going to be here for a long period, but sharing of that information could disadvantage me personally, and so [instead I] share my institutional loyalty” which does indeed work out (PSU, p. 9).

References:
Penn State University. (n.d.) Lesson 10: Conceptualizing constituency relationships. In Canvas: HIED 842: Spring, 2021. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2092040/modules/items/30833564.

Metaphor for Organizational Change

For this discussion, you will be creating your metaphor for organizational change and selecting an image that represents this metaphor. For more specific directions, please see the Lesson 12 Discussion Instructions for more detail.

In addition to those instructions, also consider the following question:

• How did this week’s content influence your perspective about the metaphor you created?

It could be the biology teacher in me, but I have always thought of a higher education institution as an organism capable of adapting to change and evolving over time in order to survive. In fact, reading about Population Ecology in this lesson made me smile because it is such an intuitive concept (Penn State University [PSU], n.d.). Any living thing must be adapted to its environment to not only survive but also thrive.

Being capable of change doesn’t mean it actually does change. It also doesn’t mean that it changes at the same rate as its environment. Let me give an example based on an endangered animal, the Hawksbill turtle. This turtle has a beautiful shell that is highly valuable and is found in tropical oceans throughout the world. They are a fundamental species for coral reef health due to their diet and are protected by governments throughout the world. Unfortunately, they are still hunted for their shells and have experienced habitat loss due to pollution, excessive egg collection, and other concerns (World Wildlife Fund, 2021). If the turtle could simply change and adapt to the changing environment by developing different patterns on its shell, feeding on different organisms, or laying eggs in a different habitat, it would be able to survive, but of course, biological changes take time just as institutional changes take time.

Thinking of a higher education institution as a living organism that must adapt to its surroundings to survive gives a framework to understand the different pressures that promote structural inertia which make change difficult (PSU, n.d.). These institutions are often historical establishments that have operated through defined interaction with their environment over many years. They provide certain services to their environment and receive certain services in return. However, their environment is changing at a much faster rate than the institutions are changing, therefore creating environmental pressure. Higher education is not endangered as a whole, but its response to the increasing environmental pressures could be indicative of an institution’s longevity. Just as the turtle has expanded its hunting area and become more adept at hiding from predators, the higher education institutions of today have expanded recruitment efforts and adapted responses to external threats to their stability.

References
Penn State University. (n.d.) Lesson 12: Organizational Change. In HIED 842 Canvas: Spring 2021. https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2092040/modules/items/30833580.
Sea Turtle Status. (n.d.) Hawksbill Turtle. SeaTurtleStatus. https://www.seaturtlestatus.org/hawksbill (Links to an external site.)
World Wildlife Fund. (2021) Hawksbill Turtle. WWF. https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/hawksbill-turtle (Links to an external site.).

Suggestions and Comments

In addition to your paper described above.

Identify the most relevant fact/concept that you identified in your scan of the literature. Then post that information in this discussion forum. In the subject line of the forum, please make sure to include your specialty area of focus. The body of the post should include information related to the following questions:

What about this will inform the practice of academic advising?
Why should other advisers be aware of the information?
How might it effect current advising practice?

What concepts or ideas have you applied from this course? What was most useful to you? What was the most unexpected item that you learned in this course? Why was that important to you? Be specific.
o Gaining a better understanding of governance structures, internal and external constituencies and various structures and models of leadership have been particularly helpful ideas I have learned in this course. Although some HIED classes I’ve taken in past semesters also touched on many of these ideas, 842 provided opportunities to first, discuss the ideas with my classmates, then synthesize the ideas from each module into an analysis of a real-world situation. Although the module assignments were challenging, they provided an opportunity to apply each idea from the module, and I think this truly enhanced my understanding.
o The most useful skill I learned from this class was how to identify the key players, both internal and external to an institution, that influence decision making at that institution. I was able to apply this idea to many assignments in my other courses I took this semester, and it just enhanced my understanding of the inner-workings of an institution as a whole. I now feel comfortable using these skills when reading current event articles (like from the Chronicle) and I understand the issues and advancements being discussed at a deeper level.
o The most unexpected thing I learned was “garbage-can decision making”. As a teacher, I am often exposed to workshops to build leadership and communication skills, so truthfully I was not looking forward to the unit dissecting leadership strategies and decision making. However, the garbage-can model was surprisingly relatable and I often notice it being used around me.
o The summaries of each module in the announcements were particularly helpful when outlining the key concepts from the lesson and readings. Thank you for providing those!
What can be improved in the Administration course? Help us by providing perspective on the course, by being specific you help us to make changes so we can improve.
o I learned a lot from this course, particularly from the Module assignments. I did find the module 1 and 2 assignments to require a substantial amount of preparation (with readings), research, and synthesis, and in general just more difficult than the module 3 and 4 assignments. My only suggestion would be to switch module 2 and module 3 assignments so that there is a bit of a break between these two intense projects.
o Generally feedback is something I hope to be improved, but I found the grading to be fair and the feedback to be constructive, substantial, and incredibly thorough. I know that takes a lot of time, so I really appreciate your efforts. I have learned a lot from your feedback.