This study aims to investigate the determinants of the unification of national universities from the organizational behavioral point of view. The study is based on surveys of successfully unified universities and ones which failed attempts at unificat...
This study aims to investigate the determinants of the unification of national universities from the organizational behavioral point of view. The study is based on surveys of successfully unified universities and ones which failed attempts at unification. In order to achieve the aim, the following were set up in this study:
Firstly, the determinants of the unification of universities, from the findings, were intended as the fundamental data for desirable policy-making in universities, yielded by verifying the differences on individual, group, organization, and education policy level of organizational behaviorism in national universities between the successfully unified universities and the ones which failed in their attempts for unification.
Secondly, this study intended to find out if environmental variables would be a determinant of the unification. By examining the differences in understanding of environmental variables of Korean universities, of successfully unified universities as compared to ones which failed in their attempts for unification, the results will serve as fundamental data for the future.
This study focuses on type 2 of Kongju National University and Cheonan Engineering University and type 3 of Pusan National University and Miryang National University; among the successfully unified universities, and type 2 of Kongju National University and Iksan National University and type 3 of Kyungpook National University and Sangju National University among those that failed unification. 880 subjects, consisting of professors and staff, participated in this study.
Contents of the questionnaire and research questions were chosen in the light of the current status of the restructuring attempts of national universities, from the civilian government to the current Roh administration. The resource materials, which included articles of international media, related to higher education's structural reform, government publications, historical documents, statistical data, reports on the innovations in the national universities' operating systems by the Korean Council for University Education, etc., were analyzed for literature review.
Differences between individual, group, organization, education policy level, and environmental variables, between successfully unified and unsuccessfully unified universities, were verified based on research and studies that focused on Kunsan National University-Iksan National University, Kyungpook National University-Sangju National University, which failed in the attempt at unification, and Kongju National University-Cheonan Engineering University and Pusan National University-Miryang National University, which succeeded in the attempt at unification.
This study used SPSS for Windows v.10.0 to analyze the collected materials and t-tests were implemented to inspect the differences between each level of organizational behavior and environmental variables of the successfully unified universities and the ones which failed attempts.
The findings of the differences on each level and environmental variables in organizational behavior are as follows:
Firstly, examining relations, between the unification of universities and individual level, show that attitudes, perception, motivation, and sense of values on an individual level towards the unification did not make a significant difference. That is, the issue of unification is determined by national education policies rather than voluntary members' suggestions and participation, as a part of the government plan on structural reform of universities.
Secondly, investigating relations between the unification of universities and their group level, revealed that the president or dean then of successfully unified universities showed better leadership as compared to those which failed attempts at unification. Communications, sensible decision-making procedures, values were well-shared between the subjects. This shows that the president or dean plays an essential role in unification policy. Furthermore it demonstrates how the values of structural reform, as well as the unification of universities, should be shared through sensible decision-making procedures.
Thirdly, looking into the relations between the unification of universities and organization level, uncovered how the successfully unified universities took the development of universities, renovations, and geographical surroundings into account at the time unification was promoted. The cultural needs for unification did not make much difference between the two kinds of universities. This is critical at the point when the unification of universities is under discussion for the survival of organizations.
Fourthly, inspecting the relations between the unification of universities and education policy level, showed that confidence in the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development's policies played a vital role in unification. Successfully unified universities were well-supported in policy by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. In terms of the universities' unification policy, the unified universities were well-connected to government policy. The unified universities and the failed universities did not differ much, in terms of the financial grants of incentive.
Finally, considering the relations between the unification of universities and environmental variables, the unified universities did not significantly differ from the failed universities in terms of every item of environmental variables. In other words, regardless of whether the universities were successfully unified or not, each perceived a higher educational crisis. On the basis of perception ranking, the most severe crisis-perceiving environmental variables were the local universities' crises, compared to universities in Seoul, and the increasing rates of insufficient university enrollment.