Student administrative systems swing between being decentralised or centralised with a number of benefits being put forward for each scenario, including economy, consistency, customer service and control. This study makes a comparison of these systems in English universities, particularly looking at the factors which influence the centralisation or decentralisation of student administration in order to identify the factors involved, so that informed decisions can be made by university management. The research was undertaken in two main phases: firstly a questionnaire survey of university registrars (the macro study) was carried out in order to identify the current structures and systems in place for student administration; secondly case studies of four universities were undertaken. The latter mainly involved questionnaire surveys of academic and administrative staff at each institution, together with semi-structured interviews to chart the different student administrative systems and structures in place and obtain qualitative and quantitative data to assess them. From the results of the first survey, it was possible to assess the degree of the centralisation or decentralisation of the student administrative functions and cross-reference the data to examine whether certain factors were influencing the design of these structures. The results of this analysis are documented in Chapter 4, and it was noticeable that the majority of the respondents favoured the “midway” structure for student administration. Four universities were identified from the macro study to form the focus of more detailed case studies: one with a centralised student administration, one with a decentralised system, and two with hybrid systems. Key administrative functions were examined closely to determine the effectiveness, efficiency and motivational influences involved for each case study university. The research concludes that a blanket centralisation or decentralisation of student administration does not maximise the resources and gain the optimum efficiency. By being selective in which processes are centralised or decentralised, the university can gain in economy and also ensure a supportive infrastructure to enhance the student experience.

Internal branding in universities has been acknowledged in marketing literature as an important area of research. In the context of higher education institutions, employees play a crucial role in the branding process. Research within the current spectrum of internal branding indicates some ambiguities surrounding internal branding in higher education. Yet very few studies are available in the field of internal branding within universities to explore employee behaviour in brand support. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to examine, from the academic staff’s perspective, the relationships between internal branding in universities and employee brand support and also the relevant underlying mechanisms (specifically, the mediating effects of internal branding aspects, i.e., 1. brand-centred training and development activities and 2. internal brand communications) in a Thai university context. This study employed a mixed methods approach with a dominant quantitative component, involving semi-structured interviews (with 19 respondents) and a pilot survey (with 95 respondents) to collect data for the development of measurement scales. Afterwards, the main survey (with 347 respondents) was conducted in order to test the research hypotheses and the proposed conceptual model. In addition, information from the semi-structured inteviews is used to explain the relationships found in this study after hypothesis testing. Based on a review of the existing literature in a range of fields (including higher education management, brand management, organisational identity, organisational culture and behaviour, corporate communication, human resource management, marketing management, government policy and leadership), this study proposes a conceptual model of the positive relationships between internal branding activities in universities (internal brand communications and brand-centred training and development activities) and employee brand support. In addition, the transformational leadership characteristics of the immediate leader (idealised influence or charisma; inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration) are also included in the model as determinants of internal branding activities and employee brand support. Brand-centred training and development activities and internal brand communication activities are proposed as mediators of the relationships in the model. The proposed conceptual model is developed on the basis of marketing control theory (Jaworski, 1988) combined with transformational leadership theory (Burns, 1978), social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) and Lewin’s (1947) change theory. From the statistical findings, together with upport from the literature and the in-depth interviews during the exploratory stage, this study finds positive relationships between brand-centred training and development activities, internal brand communication activities, the transformational leadership characteristics of the immediate leaders and employee brand support. However, an unexpected outcome is that the relationship between internal brand communication activities and employee brand support is not significant. This outcome indicates that the brand-centred training and development construct fully mediates the relationship between internal brand communication activities and employee brand support. Therefore, in order to create employee brand support behaviours among academic staff, institutions cannot rely solely on their internal communication activities. This finding highlights a crucial role for brand-centred training and development activities in building employee brand support in the context of higher education. In addition, the study finds that, given transformational leadership characteristics, an immediate leader of academic staff not only affects their brand support behaviour, but also either initiates or influences internal branding activities in the institution, thereby creating employee brand support among academic staff. Therefore, institutions which want to build employee brand support from the academic staff should ensure that the immediate leaders of their academic staff’ should manifest transformational leadership characteristics. Finally, this investigation is expected to be of value in advancing current knowledge about internal branding in universities and also be useful to higher education management and public policy-makers who want to encourage academic staff to support their university’s brand.

The marketing concept is posited as the philosophical foundation of the marketing disciplines and market orientation invariably refer to the operationalisation of the marketing concept into a management orientation. Engaging in marketing activities may be important but market orientation is a vital ingredient in determining an institutional success, despite inherent barriers towards its successful implementation. A higher education institution (HEI) can be market oriented only if it understand its market. This study was conducted with the main objective of seeking to establish Universities of Technology (UoTs) implementation levels of market orientation, possible barriers to market orientation and their influence on university performance. A non-probability sampling method (convenience sampling) was used in the study. The sampling frame for the study included full-time employed academics in all six UoTs in South Africa. Pre-testing and a pilot study preceded the main survey and reliabilities were measured using the Cronbach alpha coefficients. Out of 1250 questionnaires sent to participating institutions, a total of 528 responses were received and this resulted in a return rate of 42.24% for the main study. The statistical analysis of the collected data included exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to test the posited hypotheses. The findings of the study supported the predetermined theoretical and the empirical objectives as well as the hypotheses of the study. The findings further indicated that the market orientation of UOTs in South Africa was determined by seven fundamental factors within the institutions being market intelligence generation, interfunctional coordination, customer orientation, market intelligence dissemination, intelligence response design, intelligence response implementation and interdepartmental dynamics. Furthermore, three key barriers to market orientation were identified, namely internal, external and organisational environmental factors. In addition, the study also found a significant impact of market orientation on university performance as consistent with previous market orientation studies undertaken in other contexts. Recommendations emanating from the study will address various concerns on effective incorporation of the market orientation paradigm. Commitment and communication from top management to all units to support market orientation is critical. The support of those making strategic decisions is needed to garner the necessary support of other employees in UoTs, especially top and senior management buy-in and support. Marketing information generation should be a starting point when developing or adapting marketing strategies. HEIs should realise that marketing information dissemination is an effective way to reach prospective students and to create credible and persuasive communication channels. The development of a marketing strategy should also involve the inter-functional coordination and interdepartmental dynamics that enables HEIs to meet students’ needs and enhance service delivery to all its stakeholders. Key aspects that need to be prioritised includes: establishment of structures for marketing coordination, marketing efforts to be driven by teams to bring about synergy and cross fertilisation of ideas across departments and marshalling of resources in order to improve performance of all business units. Managers in different HEIs can also enhances performance of their instituions by implementing these key recommendations. This study will significantly contribute to the critical challenge facing HEIs, being to create the combination of the culture and the climate that maximises organisational learning, resources and capabilities to create superior university performance that is prescribed by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET). Other HEIs could learn from this study and utilise the research to diagnose and remedy barriers within their operational spheres.

Σκοπός της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η μελέτη θεμάτων Οργανωσιακής Συμπεριφοράς στο χώρο του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών και η παρουσίαση της τρέχουσας κατάστασης σε ιδρυματικό επίπεδο. Οι στόχοι είναι πολλοί και περιλαμβάνουν: Τη για πρώτη φορά γνωριμία με το χώρο ενός εκπαιδευτικού ιδρύματος ανωτέρας βαθμίδας, την αποτύπωση της παρούσας κατάστασης όπως αυτή γίνεται αντιληπτή από ένα αντιπροσωπευτικό δείγμα στελεχών μεσαίας κλίμακας και τη σύνδεση με την έννοια της αποτελεσματικότητας τής οργάνωσης ως σύνολο. Η μεθοδολογική προσέγγιση που ακολουθήθηκε είναι το Case Study (Μελέτη Περίπτωσης-ΜΠ). Η μελέτη περίπτωσης είναι μια σε βάθος μελέτη ενός φαινομένου (περίπτωση) στο φυσικό του περιβάλλον και από την προοπτική ματιά των συμμετεχόντων. / Aim of the MSC, is the study of Organizational Behavior matters, in Patras University and the presentation of current situation. The objectives are many and include: For the first time acquaintance with an educational institution of superior rung, imprinting of present situation, as this becomes perceptible, from a representative sample of executives and the connection with the effectiveness of organization as total. The methodological approach that was followed is Case Study (CS). Case Study is a in-depth study of phenomenon (case) in its natural environment and from the prospect glance of the participating sample.

Higher education landscape in South Africa could not escape the transformation which was necessary to ensure that South Africans receive quality higher education without any unfair discriminatory criterion. The 36 higher education institutions had to be merged and reduced to 21 and form a single coordinated higher education for the country. Tshwane University of Technology as a university with a multi-site institution has also resulted from this transformation agenda of the government. This merger is constituted by former Technikons Pretoria, Northern Gauteng and North-West. As a multi-site institution, managing other learning sites which used to be independent with their respective senior management structures became more challenging. An Interim Vice-Chancellor during the merger period appointed campus directors as an attempt to address challenges faced and discontent among staff and student. This study endeavours to describe and determine the roles of these Campus Directors in the institutional decision-making process of the University. / Public Administration / M. Tech. (Public Management)

Higher education landscape in South Africa could not escape the transformation which was necessary to ensure that South Africans receive quality higher education without any unfair discriminatory criterion. The 36 higher education institutions had to be merged and reduced to 21 and form a single coordinated higher education for the country. Tshwane University of Technology as a university with a multi-site institution has also resulted from this transformation agenda of the government. This merger is constituted by former Technikons Pretoria, Northern Gauteng and North-West. As a multi-site institution, managing other learning sites which used to be independent with their respective senior management structures became more challenging. An Interim Vice-Chancellor during the merger period appointed campus directors as an attempt to address challenges faced and discontent among staff and student. This study endeavours to describe and determine the roles of these Campus Directors in the institutional decision-making process of the University. / Public Administration and Management / M. Tech. (Public Management)