ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO CULTURAL AND LEADERSHIP COMPLEXITY

Abstract

Higher education institutions are increasingly pressured to identify performance measures related to organizational effectiveness. Research has shown that theorists and practitioners have varying views on which criteria most appropriately measure effectiveness in higher education institutions, which has led to the development of a robust model that amalgamates concepts from the major theoretical models into a single framework. This model, known as the Competing Values Framework, accounts for the presence of the paradoxical attributes associated with the complex nature of higher education institutions. This study uses the Competing Values Framework to measure the relationships between measures of effectiveness and cultural and leadership complexity based on the perceptions of faculty and administrators in the North Carolina Community College System. Community colleges represent the largest sector in American higher education, and the North Carolina Community College System is one of the largest and most diverse systems of community colleges in the nation; therefore, it was chosen as a representative sample for this study. The results of the linear regression analyses revealed that significant relationships exist between dimensions of effectiveness and cultural and leadership complexity, with minimal variance between faculty and administrator perceptions. Specifically, effectiveness dimensions related to student satisfaction and development as well as dimensions related to institutional practices and functioning were perceived to be more effective with increasing cultural and leadership complexity. In contrast, effectiveness dimensions related to individual employee satisfaction and development were perceived to be more effective with decreasing cultural and leadership complexity. These results can inform higher education practitioners and theorists on programs and practices that address these findings.