In Search of a Conceptual Framework for the Capacities of University ITEM

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and illuminate the capacities of information technology for educational management (ITEM) as a regulative element in the managerial operations of universities. It is argued that the environment in which institutional management functions has become more unpredictable typified by numerous stakeholders with various demands. Moreover, the academic organization comprises disciplinary units that respond to the stakeholders differently. However, pressures for efficiency and effectiveness are calling for more integrated functioning. We envisage that ITEM has the capacity to support internal integration of the university and also link it to external constituencies. But understanding this capacity in terms of organizational theory has been largely elusive. It is this dimension that this article seeks to elucidate by applying the tenets of the organizational learning framework to illustrate the possibilities university ITEM in integrating the functions of middle management within a university.