“Alas, today’s full-time professional administrators tend to view management as an end in and of itself.” p2
Yes! All managers. Tend to forget they serve. Their job is to enable others to do their jobs well. They are merely facilitators, organizers—of resources, schedules, payments …
“Every year, hosts of administrators and staffers are added to college and university payrolls, even as schools claim to be battling budget crises that are forcing them to reduce the size of their full-time faculties.” p2
“Generally speaking, search firms [for senior administrators] rule out candidates about whom anything at all negative is said when they investigate candidates’ backgrounds. This practice introduces a marked bias in favor of the most boring and conventional candidates.” p5
“… I am always struck by the fact that so many well-paid individuals have so little to do. To fill their time, administrators engage in a number of make-work activities. … While these activities are time consuming, their actual contribution ot the core research and teaching missions of fthe university is questionable. Little would be lost if all pending administrative retreats and conferences, as well as four of every five staff meetings … were canceled tomorrow.” p41
“One activity with which underworked administrators can and o busy themselves is talk. … For example, at a recent ‘President’s Staff Meeting,’ eleven of the eighteen agenda items discussed by administrators at one Ohio community college involved plans for future meetings or discussions of other recently held meetings.” p42
Chap 3 “Managerial Pathologies” – sabotage, shirking, squandering …
