A Phenomenological Study Examining the Impact of Unionized Environments on College Work Relationships

Autor/in	Strehlow, Betty
Titel	A Phenomenological Study Examining the Impact of Unionized Environments on College Work Relationships
Quelle	(2012), (142 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit Ph.D. Dissertation, Northcentral University
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISBN	978-1-2677-5618-3
Schlagwörter	Hochschulschrift; Dissertation; Unions; Labor Relations; College Faculty; Deans; Interprofessional Relationship; Governance; Public Colleges; Community Colleges; Phenomenology; Semi Structured Interviews; Adjustment (to Environment); Group Behavior; Holistic Evaluation; Minnesota + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Thesis; Dissertations; Academic thesis; Arbeitsbeziehung; Fakultät; Dean; Dekan; Education; Educational policy; Financing; Steuerung; Bildung; Erziehung; Bildungspolitik; Finanzierung; Community college; Community College; Phenomenological psychology; Phänomenologie; Psychologie; Gruppenverhalten; Holistische Methode
Abstract	For the last half century, faculty in higher education has embraced unionization in its profession in a significant way. Both administrators and faculty in unionized college environments have a stake in the interactions between the two entities and a vested interest in understanding the factors that can influence working relationships. Despite this shared governance, poor work relationships remain a crucial problem in unionized college environments. The problem is that little information exists on how work relationships are impacted by a unionized environment. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of college administrators working in unionized environments and to examine how that environment impacts work relationships. Specifically, the author explored the perceptions of academic administrators employed at Minnesota public community colleges, at the level of dean or above. Ten administrators, each with five or more years of administrative experience in a unionized environment, were chosen through purposeful sampling. A semi-structured interview approach was used to gather the experiences and perspectives of each participant. A modified van Kaam methodology was used to analyze the data garnered from the interviews. Study findings revealed six essences representative of the meaning of the experience of working in a unionized college environment common to the participants as a group. Three of the core essences impact work relationships in a unionized college environment. Those essences are adversarial undercurrents, groupthink, and emotive adjustments. The remaining three essences identify aspects of a unionized college environment that affect work relationships. Those essences are dichotomous focus, rigidity, and control. A holistic evaluation of the findings within the study's theoretical framework and phenomenological philosophy results in an interpretation that dichotomous focus, rigidity, and control ("aspects") fostered adversarial undercurrents, groupthink, and emotive adjustments ("impacts") in the unionized environment. Additional research focusing on the core essences identified in this study would provide greater depth of understanding of the essences and how the essences interact with the situational environment. Further research is recommended exploring work relationships in unionized environments, including phenomenological studies with faculty as well as a comparative multiple-case study. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10