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It is apparent from the accounts shared by the participants regarding their motivation and
what influenced their career direction that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors are at play.
While for some, the motivation comes from a need to develop themselves as leaders and
managers in order to contribute to the growth of their department, for others it results
from an external need. Whereas they would not, it seems,
deliberately seek out the
position, they eventually take it for the sake of the department. Again career directions
are either influenced by a passion and interest in the field or by the needs of the
department.
5.3.3.2 Job challenges
Challenges are encountered in any job situation. The position of HoD is no exception.
Consequently the participants were asked to share those aspects of their job as HoD,
which they found most challenging. One of the most frequently mentioned challenges by
South African participants was “dealing with merger problems.” However, both South
African and UK participants found “restructuring and transformation of universities and
of departments and programmes”
a trial. Some of the consequent problems of merging,
according
to participants, include “having to deal with staff who are resentful over
shrinking departmental budgets”
and those who “won’t let go of dying programmes”
. In
addition, according to a South African participant, merger and incorporation presents
challenges of “dealing with different cultures”, and said one UK participant, “being
integrated into the university’s ethos and culture – where many of the staff are from a
college which has been incorporated into the university”.
The budget
is a continuous challenge. HoDs have to operate with shrinking budgets and
resources and are expected to ‘do more with less’. This also results
in feelings of
resentment among staff forced to share scant resources. It leads to frustration and
aggression as well as confrontation and resistance—all of which are a test for the HoD.
‘Maintaining research outputs’
was identified as yet another challenge for the HoD. Not
only does the HoD have to ensure that staff engage in teaching, but she has to encourage
them to engage in top-level research as well in order to meet the demands for education
and research assessment. In the UK the research assessment exercise (RAE) is a ongoing
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issue for the HoD. Time management is yet another. The HoD
has to balance many
demands including work, family, university and programme requirements. She is also
faced with identifying and developing talented staff; designing and developing
postgraduate programmes; and turning an emerging programme around
.
In addition to all these tasks the HoD is a fulltime academic/professor.
5.3.3.3 Career advancement and obstacles
(a)
Plans and reasons to advance further in career
A commonly held assumption is that women (especially married) often put their careers
on hold to allow their partners or husbands to develop theirs.
The woman plays a
supportive role, often subordinating her own career to that of her spouse or sometimes
even sacrificing it for the sake of her husband. However, the experiences shared by the
women in the present study do not list ‘prioritising the husband’s career as an obstacle’.
Rather, it is the dual role of career and family (with some putting family first) which
constitutes an obstacle to career development.
The participants were asked if they had any plans to advance further and where they
would like their careers to be in the next five years. Three categories of comments were
distinguishable. The majority of comments were positive with regard to desire to move
up the academic ladder or move into a senior management position. The following are
representative selections: ‘would like to advance from HoD to dean…’ ‘looking for role
to become vice-chancellor…’ ‘would like to do PhD’.
An almost equal number of comments were negative or uncertain
with regards to desire
for career advancement: ‘no aspiration to go into management- would like to make a
difference in structures other than management…’ ‘not interested in moving up – would
like to work with students which is fulfilling…’ ‘not sure – currently re-evaluating…’
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The last group of commentators included the ‘age clock’ as an obstacle. Those who
responded this way said they were too old for advancement or could not advance
themselves even if they wanted to, because of retirement (cf 3.3.3.1(v) ): ‘well, I think
since you know how old I am, all I can say is there’s not much time to further my career
– I’m tired’ ‘retiring at end of year…’ [2006] ‘that’s a problem for me because I’m quite
old now – I’m nearing the end of my career and although I would like advancement it’s
very unlikely that a job will come up in time for me to apply’.
What was interesting about these comments were the reasons given.
Whereas the women
who aspired to a higher academic rank or a senior management position expressed a
desire to be more involved in research, publishing and supervision of postgraduate
students, and in ‘making a difference at the whole organisational level’, the women who
were not interested in moving up felt that being ‘too management-oriented’ would
hamper their enjoyment of working with students. It appears, therefore, that while on the
one hand, more involvement in management is perceived by some as
an opportunity to
improve their research careers, on the other hand, it is perceived by others as a barrier to
teaching and making a difference at that level.
(b)
Obstacles to promotion, promotion opportunities and strategies for dealing with
obstacles
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