Increasing the Attractiveness of the Academic Profession: A Challenge for Management

Framed by the broad considerations of recruiting and managing the academy, this chapter looks at the forces creating increased pressure and responsibility for academic management. Our analysis explores academic work and the academic workforce in the context of current dynamics and likely futures. It discusses the significance of academic work, reviews workforce characteristics, and analyses tensions and pressures. Prevailing conceptualisations, it is argued, do not reflect the current situation in which the profession finds itself, and would provide a very shaky foundation on which to build the future workforce. There is an overarching need for a fresh conceptualisation of academic work that is authentic and feasible and suggestions are offered of what this might look like. A number of strategies are proposed how such a recasting might be implemented. The chapter works from Australian research, and makes suggestions for other systems.