I recently read an article about Cathie Black, former chairman of Hearst
Magazines and author of Basic Black (one of my favorite practical books
on Management), not quite making it as Chancellor of the New York City
Schools. Extremely successful in business but not so in the academe,
this just goes to show that the key success factors for leadership and
management in business are not quite the same as the key success factors
for leadership and management in education. Indeed I have observed
that successful leaders and managers in the business sector don’t
necessarily fully understand what would be required of them as leaders
and managers if they cross-over to the education sector - Cathie Black
would be the perfect example. The same thing applies to successful
leaders and managers in the academe if they cross-over to business.Incidentally, I don’t recall ever encountering any material that was written on the subject of crossing over between business and academe. Therefore I hope to do pertinent research some day. After all I can understand and empathize with leaders and managers in both the business and education sectors because I have operated in both . Indeed this was the first topic I contemplated on when I was about to start work on my doctoral dissertation.
Meanwhile, some of the salient features of educational administration which makes its very different from business administration, as I could theorize offhand, are as follows:
• THE FINANCIAL GOALS FOR A EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE DIFFERENT. Profit-Oriented Business Entities always aim for optimum revenue. The pressure is always great as far as generating sales are concerned. “Making money,” is the order of the day, and this goal is usually reflected in the materialistic culture of the organization. However, in the case of an educational institution, the goals are different. The goals are not to makes sales, but to create as many Centers of Excellence, to assimilate as many qualified PhD-holders in the faculty, to produce the best graduates, and so forth. Indeed, while business enterprises always aim to increase sales, the best schools on the other hand normally put a ceiling on their sales level by limiting its student intake. From the Education perspective, it is a wise aim because it preserves the excellent quality of the student body. However, from a strictly “money-making” Financial perspective, it is simply unheard of.
• A SCHOOL IS AN EGALITARIAN ORGANIZATION. Profit-Oriented Business Entities are authoritarian. Thus, someone such as the Financial Controller can quite literally “control.” However, an educational institution (especially if it is a major university) is an egalitarian community of intellectuals, where everyone is perfectly capable of questioning everyone else, especially the administrators.
• WORKING FOR A SCHOOL IS AN EXERCISE IN HUMILITY AND ALTRUISM. In the Business Industry, the Chief Executives (CEO, COO, CFO) are among the most well compensated and respected, not only for the volume and difficulty of their work, but also for the risks they manage. However, such is not necessarily the case for a School Administrator. He must prepare to work harder, but for less – both in terms of material rewards, and in terms of power and stature (precisely because of the egalitarian nature of the organization). It certainly helps therefore, if the said Administrator has the altruistic heart of an educator.
• THE ETHICAL STANDARDS OF A SCHOOL ARE HIGHER. Finally, Profit-Oriented Business Entities are ethical, however educational institutions are even more so. In the case of a school owned and run by a religious orders, its ethical culture is even amplified by its religious backbone. Thus, not only must the Administrator have the altruistic heart of an educator as aforementioned, he must also be able to conduct his duties in a manner that is definitely beyond reproach.
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