Universities as organisations or institutions? : The culture debate and one institution

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dc.contributor.authorVan Wyk, Berteen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2017-07-03T13:30:09Z
dc.date.available2017-07-03T13:30:09Z
dc.date.issued2009
dc.descriptionCITATION: Van Wyk, B. 2009. Universities as Organisations or Institutions?: The Culture Debate and One Institute, in E. Bitzer (ed.). Higher Education in South Africa: A Scholarly Look behind the Scenes. Stellenbosch: SUN MeDIA. 331-347. doi:10.18820/9781920338183/15.en_ZA
dc.descriptionThe original publication is available from AFRICAN SUNMeDIA - www.sun-e-shop.co.zaen_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis chapter attempts to conceptualise institutional culture by posing a critical question: Are universities institutions or organisations? The question arises due to ambiguities in the literature: several authors describe universities as institutions rather than organisations, while others use the notions of ‘organisation’ and ‘institution’ interchangeably. In agreement with Hoffman (1999) that it would be critically important to consider how and in what ways concepts of culture can enhance – or impede – understanding, research and action in education, I explore the culture debate. There seem to be complex conceptual issues associated with some of the baseline debates on the nature of culture and, following from this, the nature of institutional cultures. The literature suggests that institutional culture as a social construct is embedded in a very definite historical context and purpose (Louw and Finchilescu 2003), and this historical context becomes very useful in an analysis of what constitutes institutional culture at Stellenbosch University. The discussion on two meanings of institutional culture (perceptions, and the language issue) indicates that culture is dynamic, and highlights how meanings change over time. The essay suggests that there is no easy definition of ‘institutional culture’, as there is no one single characteristic of an institution that can be cited to define this culture. I conclude that the usefulness of institutional culture is that it connects people and should be used for a purpose; it is not just something to have, which is where the discussion of the concept usually focuses (Toma, Dubrow and Hartley 2005).en_ZA
dc.description.versionPublishers' versionen_ZA
dc.format.extent17 pagesen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationVan Wyk, B. 2009. Universities as Organisations or Institutions?: The Culture Debate and One Institute, in E. Bitzer (ed.). Higher Education in South Africa: A Scholarly Look behind the Scenes. Stellenbosch: SUN MeDIA. 331-347. doi:10.18820/9781920338183/15.en_ZA
dc.identifier.isbn978-1-920338-14-5en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn978-1-920338-18-3en_ZA
dc.identifier.otherdoi:10.18820/9781920338183/15en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101903
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherAFRICAN SUN MeDIAen_ZA
dc.relationHigher Education in South Africa: A Scholarly Look behind the Scenesen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartHigher Education as a Field of Study and Researchen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartImprovement-Oriented Evaluation of Undergraduate Science Programmes and the Quality of Student Learningen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartInstitutional Governance in SA Higher Education: For the Common Good or Politcal Power-Playen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartJourneying with Higher Education Studies and Research: A Personal Perspectiveen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartResearch Within the Context of Community Engagementen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartThe Professional Developments of Academics: In Pursuit of Scholarshipen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartThe University in a Contemporary Era: Reflections on Epistemological Shiftsen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartTowards a Pedagogy of Possibility: Teaching and Learning From a 'Social Justice' Perspectiveen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartTowards Integrated Assessment in South African Higher Educationen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartTwo Master's Student' Perspectives on Higher Education Studies: In Pursuit of Scholarshipen_ZA
dc.relation.haspartUniversities and Public Goods: In Defence of Democratic Deliberation, Compassionate Imagining and Cosmopolitan Justiceen_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101826en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101895en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101896en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101897en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101894en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101622en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101899en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101900en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101902en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101887en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101888en_ZA
dc.relation.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/101904en_ZA
dc.rights.holderSUN MeDIAen_ZA
dc.subjectStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.subjectCorporate culture -- South Africaen_ZA
dc.subjectEducation, Higher -- South Africaen_ZA
dc.subjectOrganizational culture -- South Africaen_ZA
dc.titleUniversities as organisations or institutions? : The culture debate and one institutionen_ZA
dc.typeChapters in Booksen_ZA
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