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the higher learning in america-第27章

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that the universities are assumed to be irreconcilable



competitors; both in the popular apprehension and as evidenced by



the manoeuvres of their several directors; is too notorious to be



denied by any but the interested parties。 Now and again it is



formally denied by one and another among the competing captains



of erudition; but the reason for such denial is the need of



it。(3*)



    Now; the duties of the executive head of a competitive



business concern are of a strategic nature; the object of his



management being to get the better of rival concerns and to



engross the trade。 To this end it is indispensable that he should



be a 〃strong man〃 and should have a free hand;  though perhaps



under the general and tolerant surveillance of his board of



directors。 Any wise board of directors; and in the degree in



which they are endowed with the requisite wisdom; will be careful



to give their general manager full discretion; and not to hamper



him with too close an accounting of the details of his



administration; so long as he shows gratifying results。 He must



be a strong man; that is to say; a capable man of affairs;



tenacious and resourceful in turning the means at hand to account



for this purpose; and easily content to let the end justify the



means。 He must be a man of scrupulous integrity; so far as may



conduce to his success; but with a shrewd eye to the limits



within which honesty is the best policy; for the purpose in hand。



He must have full command of the means entrusted to him and full



control of the force of employees and subordinates who are to



work under his direction; and he must be able to rely on the



instant and unwavering loyalty of his staff in any line of policy



on which he may decide to enter。 He must therefore have free



power to appoint and dismiss; and to reward and punish; limited



only by the formal ratification of his decisions by the board of



directors who will be careful not to interfere or inquire unduly



in these matters;  so long as their strong man shows results。



    The details and objective of his strategy need not be known



to the members of the staff; indeed; all that does not concern



them except in the most general way。 They are his creatures; and



are responsible only to him and only for the due performance of



the tasks assigned them; and they need know only so much as will



enable them to give ready and intelligent support to the moves



made by their chief from day to day。 The members of the staff are



his employees; and their first duty is a loyal obedience; and for



the competitive good of the concern they must utter no expression



of criticism or unfavourable comment on the policy; actions or



personal characteristics of their chief; so long as they are in



his employ。 They have eaten his bread; and it is for them to do



his bidding。



    Such is the object…lesson afforded by business practice as it



bears on the duties incumbent on the academic head and on the



powers of office delegated to him。 It is needless to remark on



what is a fact of common notoriety; that this rule drawn from the



conduct of competitive business is commonly applied without



substantial abatement in the conduct of academic affairs。(4*)



    Under this rule the academic staff becomes a body of graded



subalterns; who share confidence of the chief in varying degrees;



but who no decisive voice in the policy or the conduct of affairs



of the concern in whose pay they are held。 The faculty is



conceived as a body of employees; hired to render certain



services and turn out certain scheduled vendible results。



    The chief may take advice; and; as is commonly the practice



in analogous circumstances in commercial business; he will be



likely to draw about him from among the faculty a conveniently



small number of advisers who are in sympathy with his own



ambitions; and who will in this way form an unofficial council;



or cabinet; or 〃junta;〃 to whom he can turn for informal;



anonymous and irresponsible; advice and moral support at any



juncture。 He will also; in compliance with charter stipulations



and parliamentary usage; have certain officially recognized



advisers;  the various deans; advisory committees; Academic



Council; University Senate; and the like;  with whom he shares



responsibility; particularly for measures of doubtful popularity;



and whose advice he formally takes coram publico; but he can not



well share discretion with these; except on administrative



matters of inconsequential detail。 For reasons of practical



efficiency; discretion must be undivided in any competitive



enterprise。 There is much fine…spun strategy to be taken care of



under cover of night and cloud。







    But the academic tradition; which still drags on the hands of



the captains of erudition; has not left the ground prepared for



such a clean…cut businesslike organization and such a campaign of



competitive strategy。 By tradition the faculty is the keeper of



the academic interests of the university and makes up a body of



loosely…bound noncompetitive co…partners; with no view to



strategic team play and no collective ulterior ambition; least of



all with a view to engrossing the trade。 By tradition; and indeed



commonly by explicit proviso; the conduct of the university's



academic affairs vests formally in the president; with the advice



and consent of the faculty; or of the general body of senior



members of the faculty。 In due observance of these traditions;



and of the scholastic purposes notoriously underlying all



university life; certain forms of disinterested zeal must be



adhered to in all official pronouncements of the executive; as



well as certain punctilios of conference and advisement between



the directive head and the academic staff。



    All of which makes the work of the executive head less easy



and ingenuous than it might be。 The substantial demands of his



position as chief of a competitive business are somewhat widely



out of touch with these forms of divided responsibility that must



(formally) be observed in administering his duties; and equally



out of touch with the formal professions of disinterested zeal



for the cause of learning that he is by tradition required to



make from time to time。 All that may reasonably be counted on



under these trying circumstances is that he should do the best he



can;  to save the formalities and secure the substance。 To



compass these difficult incongruities; he will; as already



remarked above; necessarily gather about him; within the general



body of the academic personnel; a corps of trusted advisors and



agents
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