This handbook examines the communication aspects of the management position in academia. Most academic department chairs are not trained in management skills, including communication strategies. While previous works have dealt with personnel and time management issues, this book illustrates how to communicate with faculty, students, consultation teams, and other administrators in ways that improve the workings of a department while decreasing the workload and tension that often accompany the appointment.

This handbook examines the communication aspects of the management position in academia. Most academic department chairs are not trained in management skills, including communication strategies. While previous works have dealt with personnel and time management issues, this book illustrates how to communicate with faculty, students, consultation teams, and other administrators in ways that improve the workings of a department while decreasing the workload and tension that often accompany the appointment.

Publisher Description

"Developed from the author's extensive background in administration, organizational communication, and conducting training sessions, this book presents communication strategies tailored to the specific responsibilities and contexts of the department chair's position. The strategies are applied in real-life case studies that develop critical thinking and communication skills. Practices, questions, prompts, and analyses walk the reader through the case situations to possible solutions to problems. This is a practical and engaging resource for anyone who communicates with multiple constituencies"--Back cover.

In Effective Communication for School Administrators: A Necessity in an Information Age the authors blend research, theory, and practice as they examine the critical nature of communication in contemporary practice for administrators. Divided into two parts, it examines relationships among communication, public relations, and school reform and addresses effective communicative behavior in relation to learning organization, democratic leadership, organizational networks, conflict, positive relationships, and site-based management.

As a new department chair, you face many challenges?chief among them that you likely received little or no formal training in academic leadership. You may feel that you face these challenges alone, but in fact a wealth of information and time-tested techniques have been collected over the years from experienced academic administrators. For the first time, this booklet brings together some of the best guidance and strategies that have appeared in The Department Chair, resulting in a collection that is highly relevant to a new chair?s work. The advice contained in these pages can help you build the skills necessary to successfully lead your department. This booklet is full of practical advice that can be put to use immediately, and each article is concisely written so you won?t have to spend valuable time searching for a solution or technique. Whether you?re looking for information on how to work more effectively with your dean, how to better manage your time, how to conduct successful department meetings, or how to best facilitate change, this booklet will help?it covers all these topics and more, from the basics to the specifics. This booklet is structured to provide guidance in four critical areas: chair as leader, getting started, managing conflict, and helping faculty and students thrive. The articles were selected to provide you with timely, comprehensive information. They detail effective practice and represent the best, most innovative thinking on topics and situations you will regularly encounter. This essential resource will become your personal guide as you navigate the responsibilities of your new role as department chair.

Critical Administration: Negotiating Political Commitment and Managerial Practice in Contemporary Higher Education explores the challenges that higher education administrators face when negotiating political commitments in the day-to-day practice of university life. Jay Brower and W. Benjamin Myers have collected reflections from 12 administrators, all of whom identify as critical/cultural scholars, about how ideological commitments affect their identities as administrators and the work they conduct. Contributors reflect on how their academic training helps them understand their role as administrators in higher education in terms of central issues surrounding power, ethics, and identity, and how they entwine with managerial responsibilities. Each contributor focuses on specific experiences where their managerial duties intersect with political commitments. Ultimately, this collection provides opportunities to observe the challenges and opportunities of performing ethical leadership in contemporary higher education. Scholars of education, critical/cultural communication, and administration will find this book particularly useful.