Tulosohjauksen yhteiskunnallisuus Jyväskylän yliopistossa : tarkastelunäkökulmina muoti ja seurustelu

Abstract

Yliopistojen tulosohjausta ja sen käytänteitä kohtaan on arkipäivän tasolla ja erilaisissa kirjoituksissa esitetty sekä kiitosta että kritiikkiä. Yksityiskohtaista, ilmiön kokonaiskuvaukseen pyrkivää tutkimusta yliopiston tulosohjauksesta ei kuitenkaan ole tehty. Leena Treuthardtin mukaan tiedon ja kokemusten kerääminen tulosohjauksesta on välttämätöntä, sillä kyseessä on volyymiltään ja vaikutuksiltaan merkittävä ilmiö, jota on ajankohtaista tarkastella sen oltua johtamisen, suunnittelun ja seurannan välineenä kokonaisen vuosikymmenen ajan.

The aim of the present study is to analyse and describe systematically the nature and functioning of the Finnish higher education steering system which is referred to as management by results. The study seeks to open new perspectives to this steering system, which is well-known as a phenomenon but has so far been examined mainly from a traditional and uniform point of view. In the present study, the management by results process at the University of Jyväskylä is examined from a critical point of view using two sociological analytical devices, fashion and social interaction, as developed by Georg Simmel (1908, 1917, 1986). Within social interaction, different perspectives are used: rites, power and politics, and culture. The study represents an ethnographic way of writing and studying in that it is a record of the ethnic heterogeneity of a number of people at a certain place and time.The social interaction obtaining the steering process between the Management/Central Administration of the University and the Ministry of Education appears to be satisfactory. However, according to the interviewees, the process does not fully meet the needs of the Faculties and Departments. In conclusion, it is suggested that the management by results system represents the modern era of universities. In this modern era, the universities are - even more than during the era before the performance-oriented management - treated similarly to any public sector organisations accountable to the government. At the same time, the power of discipline-rooted authority has declined in relation to institutional authority.Besides their traditional tasks and duties in the area of research and education, the universities have started to co-operate with local business and industries and by facilitating transfer of expertise to working life. This development also puts the stress on the need to develop the present management by results steering system. The universities are responsible for their results not only to the Ministry of Education but also to the broader community, that is, citizens and business. In this new situation, it is necessary to reconsider their relationship and accountability to the government.