Illusion or Reality? Academics and administrative middle-level managers in the same boat

Higher education governance is supposed to ensure flexibility and creativity which is partly derived from traditional university values such as academic freedom. On the other hand, the organisation is supposed to aim at enough structure to preserve organisational cohesion. A balance between those two mind-sets is crucial for HEIs performance improvement, adaption and survival. As such higher educational management is challenged to provide a clear strategy and structure as well as a supportive culture enabling mutual understanding and cooperation between these conflicting approaches. This paper seeks to identify current behaviour patterns at the interface of academic and administrative responsibilities and corresponding mechanisms that help to align those conflicting and contradicting demands from both an administrative and an academic angle.