Factors That Limit Effectiveness of College Administration
How effective schools and colleges are is correlated with the quality of learning outcomes, ability of the institutions to meet their objectives, and the capacity to make teaching qualified. Effective administration coupled with strong leadership are fundamental to the effectiveness of colleges. To enhance their effectiveness, college administrators may resort to organizing and conducting studies aimed at improving teaching quality. They can also focus more on their leadership capacities. Effective college administration can be exhibited through behaviors such as serving as role models for teachers and others by showcasing effective behaviors, taking roles as instructional leaders, improving education and training quality, ensuring environmental support, and emphasizing on the need to achieve set objectives. Moreover, effectiveness in college administration can be illustrated through focusing on student learning and making an effort to minimize obstacles to the same. I believe that there are numerous obstacles that limit effectiveness of college administration most of which should be addressed.
A factor that limits the effectiveness of college administration is the lack of resources. Effective college administration entails exhibiting behaviors such as rewarding successful teachers and learners. However, many college administrators do not have such reward systems in place thus jeopardizing their effectiveness. Even though rewarding does not always have to be financial, administrators have to come up with a team of people that will help in executing such a responsibility. Besides, financial rewards are the most common in today’s educational contexts and they tend to have significant impacts. With adequate human and financial resources, administrators can carry out this role and become even more effective in their administrative roles (Cansoy, Kutlu, Araşkal, Bozkurt, & Danışmaz, 2018). An observation across colleges is that reward systems are mostly run for students while leaving out faculty members, and this is attributed primarily to inadequacy of resources encountered at the administrative level.
Tight schedules and daily routines of college administrators have adverse impacts on their effectiveness. An observation across colleges and other institutions of higher learning is that college administrators hardly stay in touch with faculty members. In fact, for most administrators, the higher they move up in rank, the more they interact less with faculty members and other stakeholders. Most of the administrators lose sight of the requirements of faculty members. Understandably, being in an administrative position comes with substantial material and time demands evident in the endless emails these people receive and the several hours they spend dealing with management and personal issues (Perlmutter, 2018). These aspects notwithstanding, college administrators are expected to set aside time for faculty members and other key stakeholders forming part of their institutions. Put simply, administrators must stay in touch with everyone in their institutions. They can achieve this by ensuring that they attend research talks, creating venues to meet faculty members outside formal schedules and meetings, and welcoming impromptu office visits and chats with various stakeholders within their institutions. The bottom line is that college administrators must ensure that they are seen to be equal to other people rather than sitting and attending to their tight schedules and daily routines.
Another factor that seriously limits the effectiveness of college administration is the lack of presence and inaccessibility. Many college administrators including overwhelmed by many and increasing external lodestones. These commitments tend to lure administrators away from the administrative responsibilities. Even though administrators cannot be within campus every day of the week, there is a limit on how much absence on their part is acceptable. In this regard, college administrators should strive to be in touch with their assistants and other people within college even if they are on the road (Perlmutter, 2018). This entails giving contact details to people at their institutions through which they can be reached when necessary. College administrators can also prevent inaccessibility on their part by ensuring that their staff members are not overprotective. There are multiple cases where administrative assistants prevent faculty members from seeing administrators. Such occurrences can have adverse impacts on the image of college administrators thus limiting their effectiveness.
The inability to show care or concern to other members within the institution substantially limits the effectiveness of administration at the college level. In the ancient Roman Empire, emperors showcased their effectiveness in administration in how they recognized, praised, and rewarded their troops as individuals. To be considered effective, college administrators must focus on inspiring groups and making their members feel as though they are cared for at a personal level (Olimjon & Abbasi, 2014). Observations across colleges and other higher learning institutions reveal that administrators with high approval ratings in their institutions are individuals who convey personal touch and regularly share credit with their constituents. In this regard, administrators can learn and remember the names of people as well as their strengths and weaknesses. College administrators can also learn to regularly appreciate people’s contributions within their institutions. Administrators must show concern and care about other people’s personal problems. While showing concern, they must be genuine as college settings entail intelligent, perceptive, and sensitive people who can easily detect rote empathy.
Unawareness that perceptions vary by location and listener limits the effectiveness of college administration as well. It would be wonderful and encouraging if every member of the institution with negative information about an administrator went to their office, laid out evidence, and talked it out in a respectful manner. From a reality viewpoint, an administrator may not be in a position to explain every action they take to everyone in detail. It is expected that different people will form their perceptions of impressions of the administrator based on their viewings of the matter at hand. In such scenarios, some members can talk about things that were never said by the administrator or say them in a manner they think they administrator did. A way out for administrators in such contexts is winning trust on big things (Kolodziejczyk, 2015). Actions taken by members in such contexts are also dependent on local cultures. The tone, voice, and manner in which a college administrator engages faculty members has different impacts on the latter depending on the cultural context. In one culture, a college administrator might speak quickly and talk over people and be accepted. In another culture, speaking quickly and talking over people can be considered insulting and aggressive thus limiting an administrator’s effectiveness. Thus, being aware of variation of perceptions by listener and location can help avert ineffectiveness in administration.
Effective administration is fundamental to general effectiveness in colleges and other institutions of higher learning. It can be exhibited through serving as role models for teachers and others, improving education and training quality, and emphasizing the need to achieve set objectives. There are factors that can limit the effectiveness of college administration. As discussed above, some of these factors include the lack of resources, tight schedules and daily routines of college administrators, lack of presence and inaccessibility, inability to show care or concern to members, as well as unawareness that perceptions vary by location and listener.
References
Cansoy, R., Kutlu, H., Araşkal, S., Bozkurt, E., & Danışmaz, N. (2018). Factors That Limit Effective Administrative Behaviors of School Principals: A Mixed Method Study. Journal of History Culture and Art Research, 7(1), 65-76. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324132533_Factors_That_Limit_Effective_Administrative_Behaviors_of_School_Principals_A_Mixed_Method_Study
Kolodziejczyk, J. (2015). Leadership and Management in The Definitions of School Heads. Athens Journal of Education, 2(2), 123-135. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/53127546.pdf
Olimjon, B., & Abbasi, J. (2014). Factors Affecting Educational Administration at the University. International Journal of Multidisciplinary and Current Research, 2(3), 1151-1153. Retrieved from http://ijmcr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Paper111151-1153.pdf
Perlmutter, D. D. (2018, July 22). Administration 101: Good Administrators Care About ‘How It Will Look’. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/Administration-101-Good/243970