Cultural Capital as a Driver for Performance in Higher Education

This paper reviews how awareness of certain manifestations of organizational culture can enhance performance in institutions of higher education. Based on findings from PhD research on the identification of manifestations of organizational culture in relation to performance in higher education, and the work of for instance Scott (2002), Yokoyama (2006) and Becher and Trowler (2001) a classification of manifestations of organizational culture is made. This results in a framework, which encompasses manifestations of organizational culture in relation to performance within Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences. This framework is reviewed in the context of national policy documents on performance in higher education in general and universities of applied sciences in particular. Furthermore, the framework was analyzed by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews with employees of these universities and policymakers within higher education in the Netherlands, observations and a document analysis. By triangulating the data a picture of how manifestations of the organizational culture contribute to performance and in particular which manifestations that were was revealed. The dawn of the 21(st) century has shed further light on higher education. The two main treaties (Bologna and Lisbon) of the late 20(th) century brought an unprecedented wave of change in higher education. The times when national and even local institutions and policymakers could establish their own strategies and policies in order to provide higher education appears to be over. The key words for higher education in this era are; diversity, flexibility, within a European framework, stimulating participation, knowledge production, sustainable social and economical environment and higher education as a global marketplace. All the external, environmental factors are affecting higher education. In total five manifestations of organizational culture were identified. In the light of the external pressure on HEIs one manifestation, collegiality, is further analyzed and appeared to be a strength in day-to-day operations of HEIs.