Efficiency of management structures in universities

Aim of the project is the analysis of processes which determine the capability of acting and willingness of co- operation of universities` management organs and their subdivisions. In Austria there are - according to the new universities organisation act (UOG 93) - totally new conditions and possibilities for the management of universities. Since the ratification of the new Law universities have a greater range in decision-making for creating a new internal organisation. This allows processes of fundamental organisational change which can be seen as examples of self-referentially regulated changes in knowledge-based organisations. The handling of this complex restructuration should be analysed by studying a particular case - the university of Innsbruck - in order to see 1) how both the reorganisation of management structures and the execution of management functions can be combined simultaneously 2) which specific conditions and possibilities determine the concrete arrangement of management structures and the execution of management functions in universities 3) this particular case is contrasted with additional reference cases of reorganisation processes in Austrian universities and abroad as well as by regarding the appropriate knowledge and theories of international universities management. In order to investigate the particular case, various methods of qualitative empirical research are used (interviews, focus groups, analysis of documents). In the particular case the studies take place in different steps along the implementation process of the new management structure, so that the processual character can be seen. The analysis of the case studies is done with a theoretical background that focuses on the micropolitical relevance of the actor`s action and on the learning processes of the organisation. The general objective is to produce a potential of knowledge for emerging problems of organisational and social efficiency of management structures in knowledge-based organisations in general and especially for the typus university". It is aimed to publish empirical founded and theoretical comprehensive results: therefore the insights are important for higher education institutions as well as for the scientific discussion of organisational design of universities. According to that the project shall contribute to the following topics: 1) giving insights in the internal functional context of universities to the public 2) enlighten the conditions and interdependencies of (one`s own) action in universities to the responsible persons in universities and ministries 3) analyse systematically the complex process of reorganising a university from the specific focus of development of co-operations and management structures in order to generate knowledge for processes of change in comparable knowledge-based organisations in the future.