Centralised versus decentralised administrative resource allocation in the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of the Free State

[摘要] At present, universities find themselves in an environment of increasing competitionfor scarce resources in the public sector at large. Being in a competitive environment,universities might lean towards a centralised management control system (on the oneextreme) to improve coordination, monitor quality and reduce costs, but still allowingacademic decision-making to take place at departmental level (decentralised on theother extreme). Due to the increasing tension between these polarities, universitiestend to opt for a more hybrid option by adapting the best of both practices in order tooptimise the allocation of scarce resources. Furthermore, external audits and qualitycontrol mechanisms increase the accountability on the universities' side, forcing themto implement transparent resource allocation procedures. The problem facingFaculties of the Humanities is the ability to identify the best form of an administrativeframework in order to optimise resource allocation and improve service delivery inacademic administration. The primary objective of this study is to propose anadministrative framework for Faculties of the Humanities in order to improve servicedelivery in academic administration.Various qualitative research methods were used to gather data. These included theinvestigation of possible administrative structures available to the Faculty of theHumanities at the UFS by comparing it to the administrative structures of Humanitiesfaculties at other universities. The recent restructuring of academic support structuresin the office of the Dean in the Faculty of the Humanities at the UFS will also beanalysed in an attempt to identify further optimisation of service delivery to students.Data collection took place through semi-structured interviews; informal interviews;focus-group observation and texts and electronic resources. Through process andactivity analysis, the recent restructuring of academic administrative processes in theDean's Office in the Faculty of the Humanities was used as a basis for possibleadjustments and improvements in order to identify the optimal administrative structure.Demographic change; rapid advance of digital technology; political atmosphere, andthe professionalisation of university administration are all factors forcing the universityand the Faculty, to adapt in order to provide their students with the best possible service. Within the Faculty, the challenge of adequate human resources iscomplicated further with the constant underlying tension of costs incurred foradministrative staff versus academic staff.In conclusion, it is advised that the Faculty of the Humanities at the UFS adopt a hybridadministrative framework, capitalising on the strengths of both the centralised and thedecentralised models. On a central level, clear guidelines through policies andprocedures will provide a solid framework as reference for the Faculty to build itsprocesses around. In turn, this will provide the Faculty with the necessary room forflexibility on a decentralised platform to make its own decisions and to respond morepromptly to any external changes that might have an impact on the Faculty. Througha hybrid administrative system, collaboration between the Faculty and the centraladministration will be emphasised and the isolation of any of the two units from theinstitutional goals will be prevented.

[发布机构] University of the Free State