Transcript Leadership and Governance in the Process of Merger of Two

Leadership and Governance in
the Process of Merger of Two
Nursing Schools
Sofia Sousa
Carina Correia
Pedro Silva
CIPES (Centre for Research in Higher Education
Policies) & ESEnfC (Nursing School of Coimbra)
Presentation
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The Project
Merger and Acquisition
Merger and Nursing
Leadership and Governance
Empirical Study of the NSC Merger
Conclusion
The Project
• PESEnfC: a project about a process of merger
of two nursing schools - Nursing School
Bissaya Barreto (NSBB) and Nursing School
Ângelo da Fonseca (NSAF) into a new school
- Nursing School of Coimbra (NSC)
• 2005-2008
• Partnership between CIPES and NSC
• 8 Researchers
Aims of the Project
• Contribute to the conceptualization of the process
of mergers in Portuguese higher education
• Discuss organizational and institutional
dimensions of the process
• Discuss professional dimensions of mergers in
higher education
• Discuss governmental, institutional and
professional dimensions as they are perceived by
teaching staff, non-teaching staff and students
Methodology of the Project
• Documental analysis
• Content Analysis
• Interviews: 23 teachers, 4 non-teachers
and 3 students of both previous schools
and key-actors of the all process of
merger, including politicians and exleaders of NSBB and NSAF
Merger
“Combination of two or more separate
institutions into a single new organizational
entity, in which control rests with a single
governing body and a single chief executive
body, and whereby all assets, liabilities, and
responsibilities of the former institutions are
transferred to the single new institution”.
(Goedegebuurre 1992, p.16)
Merger and Acquisition
• Mergers and the field of higher
education: NSC as a horizontal merger
(similar academic field and product
orientation)
• Acquisition? Retention of original
identity?...
Merger and Nursing
• Disciplinary field and ‘scientific
knowledge’
• Practice
• The future integration of NSC in the
University of Coimbra
Leadership
• Vision, trust and adhesion (Aubert, n.d.)
• Management and Leadership
• Leadership:
“Leadership can be regarded as an individual
capacity to effectively influence and motivate
others with respect to the achievement of
organisational goals, strategies and objectives”.
(Meek 2003, p. 12)
Governance
“The management of this allocation at the
various levels, its implementation and
evaluation [being developed in] (…) the
realm of ‘policies’ under the aegis of
government rule”.
(Magalhães and Amaral, forthcoming)
Governance and...
• Governance and management
• Governance and governing: changing
relationship
• NPM
• Managerialism
• Institutional autonomy
Empirical Study of NSC
• Results for this paper – based on documents
and interviews.
• Interviews: six key-actors – two were former
directors of NSBB; two were former directors
of NSAF and two were leaders in the way the
process of merger (idea of merger and
movements related to that) has developed.
1998 - big concern of the Govern:
rationalization and consolidation of public
higher education institutions in general and
health education institutions in particular.
Resolution of the Council of Ministers
nº 140/98, 4th December – two measures
that are important for our study.
• This Resolution also created a Mission Group
to make the link between government decisions
and the nursing interests. → Governing and
Governance levels appear to be mediated
by this mission group.
The nursing schools, their directors and
part of teaching staff saw in the Resolution the
opportunity to make step towards the
University and started all kind of procedures to
make it happen.
• Decree-law nº 99/2001 – created the
Polytechnic Health Institutes (in Coimbra, Porto
and Lisboa), integrating nursing and health
technology areas.
Was interpreted by the nursing schools of
Coimbra as an impossibility to achieve their goal
to joining the university. → more movements.
• August 2001: the President of Republic did
not pass this decree.
• Decree-law nº 175/2004, 21st July –
established the merger of the nursing schools.
• Complex process – demonstrates that is
possible achieve actors goals even when they
are against political power.
“It was interesting; was one of the experiences
which affected very much the process. I have
always believed that after things were written
and published there was no turning back”.
(Interview C)
• Governing level was strongly contested and
confronted by the Governance level.
• Following Magalhães and Amaral: ‘realm of
policy’ (Polytechnic Health Institutes) was
contested by the ‘rules’ and ‘power
relationships’ inside nursing field and nursing
schools. – Changes in original policy.
NSBB
NSAF
35 years and a strong 125 years and a strong
leadership
leadership
Same director in
charge since the
beginning
She assumed to put
nursing above any
value
Same director in
charge for more than
20 years
He supported the idea
that being the first and
larger one, the NSAF
was also the best.
Those leaders were close in terms of
power, but different in terms of their leadership
– Their vision, their trust and their support
within and without their own institution created
two different schools.
NSBB
NSAF
More modern and
creative environment
Less modern and
creative environment
Betted their education Centred their education
in clinical teaching
in the classroom
More democratic and
participative culture
Weaker participative
ethos and less open to
their own community
• In spite of these differences, the merger was
desirable and became reality in 2004
Goal:
Achieve a unique school.
• New kind of work begun – Merger
Coordination Commission
Undertake measures to create NSC:
creation of workgroups in all different acting
areas with members of both schools and
promotion of debates in the way to clarify all
the process.
• Concerns for the new school:
- creation of a unique study plan for the
graduate degree
- creation of scientific-pedagogic units that will
base the education process.
• However, only the effective creation of the
new school could legitimize measures and
changes. – 23rd June 2006 → Elections for
the governance bodies of NSC.
• Some elements make us sustain the
hypothesis that there is a dominance of the
organizational culture of NSBB - its democratic
culture and its practice oriented teaching.
Composition of the management bodies of
NSC → most of them are teaching staff with
previous affiliation to NSBB.
These facts constitute a relevant indicator
to introduce the scenario that the merger is,
after all, an acquisition.
• Process of Merger – two important
dimensions:
- the transformation into university education
and the integration into the University of
Coimbra;
- ‘scientific knowledge’ – Health Sciences
Research Unit: Nursing Domain → the first
major process of the NSC.
Conclusion
• The leadership characteristics, governing
tools and processes used in the pre-merger
institutions were marked both by personal
characteristics of the leaders, the context of
nursing professional practice and a
bureaucratic-driven approach to governance.
• The process of merger can be seen as a
‘deal’ between the level of governing and
governance induced mainly by the process of
governance in the context of NSBB, NSAF and
NSC.
Thank you for your attention!
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