Chameleon leaders? The influence of context on leadership in Australian private providers
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(Published version)
Date
2013
Authors
Harris, R.
Simons, M.
Editors
Griffin, T.
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Conference paper
Citation
21st National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference 'No Frills' : refereed papers, 2013 / Griffin, T. (ed./s)
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21st National Vocational Education and Training Research Conference (11 Jul 2012 - 13 Jul 2012 : Adelaide, South Australia)
Abstract
The current environment of increasing contestability, moves towards a more interconnected tertiary sector and rapid expansion in provider numbers presents leaders of private registered training organisations (RTOs) with opportunities and challenges. This paper analyses leaders' perceptions of the challenges they face and how they adapt to meet them, in order to show how organisational context impacts on their leadership. In-depth interviews were held in situ with 34 personnel in 16 private RTOs (five commercial, six enterprise and five industry) across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The organisations were selected to obtain a broad coverage of different types, particularly in terms of geographical location and types of industry they serve. The leaders exemplified the complex and contextual nature of the work that being a leader in VET entails. Their leadership was shaped by the operating conditions in which their organisations were located, including the state of the business and its position vis-à-vis the competition with other providers. The decisions they made and the way their work unfolded could only be understood within their particular context.
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Copyright 2013 Commonwealth of Australia. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the Department's logo, any material protected by a trade mark and where otherwise noted all material presented in this document is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. The Creative Commons licence conditions do not apply to all logos, graphic design, artwork and photographs. Requests and enquiries concerning other reproduction and rights should be directed to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au)