Advising
Administrators' Perceptions of Group Dynamics in the Workplace
Survey
2002
Advising Administrator Survey Results
Catherine Joseph and Heidi Carty
University of California - San Diego
Highlights
- The majority of respondents are female (77%).
- Almost 90% of respondents possess an advanced degree (Master's,
61%, Doctorate, 28%).
- The largest proportion (37%) of respondents are between
51 to 60 years young, one-third are between 41 to 50 and one-quarter
are between 31 to 40.
- In regard to communication patterns in the work place, the
majority of respondents are comfortable giving staff feedback
on interpersonal and managerial issues and feel well informed
about job-related matters from staff.
- While 70% of respondents agree to strongly agree that they
are satisfied with how information is communicated in their
work place, over one-fifth (21%) disagree to strongly disagree
that they are satisfied with communication patterns in their
work place.
- Nearly three-quarters (71%) of respondents agree to strongly
agree that they are satisfied with staff morale in their unit.
At the same time, nearly one-fifth (17%) disagree to strongly
disagree that they are satisfied with staff morale.
- In regard to teamwork and decision making behaviors, over
90% of respondents agree to strongly agree that their unit
as a whole is effective in accomplishing its tasks, that the
staff works together in a cooperative manner, that it's their
practice to encourage and actively listen to staff input,
and to implement other's ideas when applicable.
- Over 90% of respondents agree to strongly agree that their
work environment is sensitive to diversity and cultural differences
and that these differences are respected among staff.
- Approximately three-quarters (74%) of respondents indicate
that their unit has clear performance standards in place for
employees while 10% report that there are no clear performance
standards in place.
- In regard to career development and training, over three-quarters
report that their staff is given the necessary training to
perform their jobs both effectively and efficiently. Almost
all (96%) respondents indicate that their staff is encouraged
to improve skills by participating in professional development.
Only about 6% of respondents indicate that no professional
development activities are encouraged or provided to staff.
- Over 80% of respondents report that the role and mission
of their unit are consistently made clear to staff members
and that their staff is committed to the unit's goals and
mission. One of the most stated reasons for not achieving
the unit's mission was a lack of resources.
Items 47-49 Teamwork/Decision
Making
Group
Decision Making
- Managerial support and encouragement
of group decision making
- Encouragement of presentation
of new ideas
- Assign tasks to subcommittees
- Assign overlapping responsibilities
- Respect and acceptance of
differences of opinion
- Brainstorming sessions
- Staff members annually participate
in at least one team, committee, or project planning activity
- Never belittle an idea that
someone is passionate about
- Develop smaller work groups
around common issues
- Shared problem solving
- Sub-committees to address
specific office procedural issues
- Focus on solutions not problems
Team
Building