THE REORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL OF ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES AT WHITMAN UNIVERSITY: A CASE STUDY

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Date

2010-06-01

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[Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University

Abstract

This study employed a case study design to explore the phenomena surrounding the reorganization of a School of Allied Health Sciences (SAHS). Using qualitative research methods, three structural categories of interest--internal forces, external forces, and leadership--were identified to guide the data collection and analysis. The themes within each structural category were then identified and categorized. Data analysis was accomplished via a framework of organizational theories. The significance of this study is found in its applicability to the cases of other schools of allied health sciences, which are experiencing financial and identity challenges nationwide. The reorganization of the SAHS was a two-year process involving multiple procedural steps with complex manifestations. The leadership of the school was found to be the most dominant structural category characterizing the nature of the school's reorganization process. Internal and external forces were contributing factors, but were less influential than the role of leadership. Organizational change during the school's reorganization was influenced greatly by the communication disconnect between the Dean and the faculty, specifically the perception that the Dean's academic and budgetary plan was not the result of a rational decision making process and lacked validity. The overall organizational problem of the SAHS was found to be an identity problem whereby the SAHS was trying to fulfill its academic mission as part of the medical school and the economic reality of this context.

Description

Thesis (PhD) - Indiana University, School of Education, 2006

Keywords

ALLIED HEALTH, ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTERS, ALLIED HEALTH EDUCATION

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This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Type

Doctoral Dissertation