Ethical Leadership in Higher Education in the Era of Complexity 189The recognition of the importance and role of universities in the
socio-economic development of the country was accompanied by calls
for the effective management of the institutions and public
accountability to its stakeholders via stringent reporting measures. This
development – often referred to as the ideology of managerialism –
requires university leaders to develop and implement management
systems based on extensive data collection, production of evidence and
compliance with elaborate reporting requirements (Cloete & Bunting,
2000). Altbach et al. (2009) argue that one of the biggest challenges
affecting the management of universities is the change in the
relationship between those responsible for the traditional core functions
of academia (teaching and research), and those who are responsible for
managing the institution. These roles often diverge and are in tension
with each other.
A study on academic leadership in Australia reveals that demands on
academic staff and the variety of additional managerial functions have
precipitated new tensions and competing priorities where more and more
attention is required for administration, compliance and day-to-day-
management (Broomhead, 2010). The expectations and demands from
within the university, as well as the system, present university leaders
with sometimes conflicting or competing priorities. These include the
pressure to increase research output, while improving access and
success, and generating more third-stream income. A Herculean task
when resourcing does not keep pace.
The dominant management and planning model for resourcing
traditionally rested on an assumption that the number of hours available
for utilisation were finite, and that an individual’s efforts could largely
be focused on research, a lesser or greater proportion on teaching, and a
smaller proportion on generating third stream income. This made
possible a comfortable balance and relative freedom to choose the
proportions dedicated to each according to an individual’s talents and