Research on staff development to support strategic management in universities

面对许多挑战，例如18岁年龄段的减少、全球化以及信息和通信技术的发展，日本大学被要求具有更强的战略眼光，并加强管理，以做出快速和中肯的决定。传统上，日本大学一直以合议制组织的形式运作，由教职员工组成的圈子，这些决定都是在协商一致的基础上做出的。在这样的环境下，非教职员工的作用一直非常有限，仅限于支持高级管理人员(他们通常是教职员工)和日常工作，几乎没有致力于决策过程。本研究旨在调查非学术人员的状态和作用，特别是与学术人员的关系，以及他们的管理和发展，并将他们与行业工作者和外国大学的非学术人员进行比较。研究人员特别研究了非学术人员的职业化和他们的职业发展。研究是通过阅读现有文献、网络搜索、问卷调查、实地考察(大学、专业协会等)在日本国内外进行的。研究成果包括相关术语的定义、该领域的研究进展、大学人力资源管理和发展、非学术人员的专业化和职业发展，以及决策者在大学管理方面可能采取的一些措施。

Faced with a number of challenges, such as diminution of 18-year olds, globalisation and development of information and communication technology, Japanese universities have been required to be more strategic and to enhance their management, to enable rapid and pertinent decisions. Traditionally, Japanese universities have functioned as collegial organisations, a circle of faculty members, and the decisions have been made on a consensus basis. In such an environment, the role of non-faculty staff has been very limited, being confined to jobs to support high-level administrators (who have been often faculty members) and to routine works, and have been barely committed to decision making process.This research was undertaken with a view to investigating the state and role of non-academic staff, with a special focus on the relation with the academic staff, and their management as well as development, comparing them with workers in the industry and non-academic staff in foreign universities. The researchers have particularly studied the professionalisation of the non-academic staff and their career development. The research has been done through reading of the existing literature, Internet search, questionnaire, site visits (universities, professional associations, and so on) inside and outside Japan. Outcomes of research include definition of relevant terms, development of research in this field, human resource management and development in universities, professionalisation and career development of the non-academic staff, and some measures that may be taken by decision makers concerning university management.