The managerial role of the department chairperson in schools of allied health: present and future

• Published in: Journal of allied health Vol. 7; no. 3; p. 213
• Main Authors: Selker, L G, Vogt, M T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 1978
• Subjects: Administrative Personnel; Schools, Health Occupations - trends
• ISSN: 0090-7421

The environment in which schools of allied health must exist is extremely turbulent and chaotic. The key to survival in such an environment lies in the creativity and effectiveness of those involved in the management of educational programs at all levels. In particular, it is the department chairperson who may critically influence the growth or decline of individual programs. This paper utilizes a simple conceptual management model to examine the role of the chairperson in a school of allied health. Goal setting, organizational structure, reward systems, resource utilization and interpersonal relationships are discussed and interrelated with respect to the department, school, university, health care system, state and federal government. The model as applied here reduces the idea of contingency management to a few simple operational steps and allows the chairperson to systematically deal with the changing environment, internal and external. As a consequence, departmental goals may be pursued in a logical, but flexible, fashion.