The Conundrum of Organisational Silos within Universities

“Organizational silos are a metaphor used to illustrate pockets of interaction and knowledge in organisations. Within organizations, silos mean the presence of barriers to communication and exchange.”[1]

There are a plethora of sources which explore the concepts of organisational silos within HEIs: The Education Advisory Board (EAB) produced its own reflections titled Five Threats of Silos for the University Management Team[2] while “Cross-Silo Leadership”[3] can be found in the Harvard Business Review. A quick search online will have articles and papers falling like raindrops in April: “Organizational Silos A Scoping Review Informed by a Behavioural Perspective on Systems and Networks”[4], “Avoiding Silo Mentality”[5], “Leadership Challenge: Tearing Down Silos on Campus”[6], “Breaking Down Silos: Fostering Innovation and Collaboration in Higher Education”[7], “Breaking Down Barriers: Overcoming Communication in Further and Higher Education”[8], “Silo Busting is key to developing successful communities”[9] and so many more.

The theme appears to be: Silos are a ‘natural’ or ‘normal’ occurrence within organisations, they are bad and a variety of solutions are proposed to dissipate them or devise counter measures to overcome the disadvantages which are inherent within silos.

Overcoming the ‘stiction’ which silos present is recognised as difficult. “Think about your own relationships at work – the people you report to and those who report to you, for starters. Now consider the people in other functions, units, or geographies whose work touches yours in some way. Which relationships get prioritised in your day-to-day job?”[10] from the Harvard Business Review.[11] “Managers, engineers, salespeople and consultants in companies around the world” predominantly say vertical relationships.[12]

The Problems with Organisational Silos

The Education Advisory Board (EAB) identifies problematic issues associated with silos[13]: –

·       “Unclear decision rights and responsibilities stall or halt cross-silo leadership decisions

·       Silos keep innovation trapped in pockets, rather than scaled.

·       Silos cloud our ability to spot and prevent future risks

·       Siloed thinking leads to incrementalism in future planning

·       Silo challenges apply not only intra-university but also extra-university”

Solutions

The solutions or remedies presented range from the ‘academically wishful’, through the ambitiously vague to the whimsical which may be compared to the first episode of Star Trek in which William Shatner appeared as Captain James Tiberius Kirk. Captain Kirk issued orders of where the Starship Enterprise was to go next and said “that way and to the left” (1966).

The Centralised ‘Solution’

Some academics propose recognisable solutions which are possible to operationalise “Ultimately, the drive towards eliminating the silo effect and fostering collaboration within universities is not just about enhancing operational efficiencies or revenue growth; it’s about reshaping the educational ecosystem to better meet the needs of students and society. Centralising efforts can dismantle these silos (my emphasis), promoting a culture of openness, innovation and shared success that alights with the evolving dynamics of higher education.”[14]

The obvious potential shortcoming of a highly centralised approach is that “individuals are less likely to act when they assume someone else is handling the problem.”[15] Additionally those closest to the students and who are often best placed to perceive issues have no power to resolve them in a devolved manner. This reduces organisational agility as well as negatively impacting staff engagement.

The Matrix Approach

Other approaches abound. Matrix management, not without its challenges; middle managers have more than one reporting line, up through the functional division and another to a particular project which crosses functional areas. Potential conflict is obvious, but teams from different departments do work together to resolve challenges across cognate groups, departments, faculties and functional areas.[16]

The ‘Butterfly Defect’

Colleagues will be familiar with issues of poor communication and the vexation of unintended consequences within their different institutions. The phrase ‘butterfly defect’ has been employed to describe a single decision within a business area which ripples through interdependent systems. A decision to reduce the provision of English for Academic Purposes, which happens to be based in an area with few international students can quickly impact the academic performance of large numbers of international students across the university.[17]

Examples of success

It has been argued that “Working across silos requires transcending deeply entrenched discipline boundaries and cross-silo working is not the norm. Doing so requires not just a change of mindset but active management of the parties involved to raise their awareness and understanding of what is being required of them.”[18] 

It is of advantage to acknowledge that some HEIs appear to have successfully overcome discipline boundaries and achieved a change in ‘mindset’ and hence have gone some way to resolving silo communication issues. The implementation of a centralised communication platform at the University of Leeds, in conjunction with systematised regular interdepartmental meetings does appear to have contributed to improved coordination between academic and professional services and better student facing support.[19]. Coventry University’s “One Coventry” policy has facilitated job shadowing and staff exchanges. It is suggested that this led to more informed decision making and resource allocation.[20]

Conclusion

Unfortunately the realpolitik in many HEIs with which the authors are familiar is not one where ‘miscommunication’ impedes an institution wide collegiate approach. Large organisations are often a cauldron of competing power bases with different interests. The horizon of interest often does not extend beyond a faculty, department or cognate group. It is rare to find a colleague within a university who would acknowledge this to any other than a close ally. Some may not recognise this themselves. We once observed the stewarding of a revalidation within a large business degree. This involved the management and coordination of ten cognate groups within three departments and two faculties. The programme was characterised by different pathways and optionality. The first year however, constituted compulsory modules. For an academic subject group to ‘own’ a compulsory module within the first year equated to lots of hours of contact and therefore secure employment for academics. A careful reflection upon the most appropriate words to describe the situation concluded with: ‘turf war’.

The Nobel Prize winning philosopher Robert Zimmerman once wrote “The answer is blowin’ in the wind”. It may well be. However until a method is devised to capture that ‘answer’ which exists within ‘the wind’, pull it down, understand it, operationalise and implement a solution; it will not constitute any meaningful utility for university managers.

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[1]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343181708_Organizational_Silos_A_Scoping_Review_Informed_by_a_Behavioral_Perspective_on_Systems_and_Networks

[2]https://attachment.eab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PDF-PASF-EAB-Five-Threats-of-Silos-Briefing.pdf

[3]https://hbr.org/2019/05/cross-silo-leadership?tpcc=orgsocial_edit#:~:text=Though%20most%20executives%20recognize%20the,report%20to%20you%2C%20for%20starters.

[4]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343181708_Organizational_Silos_A_Scoping_Review_Informed_by_a_Behavioral_Perspective_on_Systems_and_Networks

[5]https://www.bcu.ac.uk/blog/business-and-management/avoiding-silo-mentality

[6]https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leadership-challenge-20-tearing-down-silos-campus-schofield-ph-d–iz73e

[7]https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/breaking-down-silos-fostering-innovation-higher-jayme-renfro–r7wrc

[8]https://newzapp.co.uk/blog/breaking-down-communication-silos-higher-education/

[9]https://www.dundee.ac.uk/stories/silo-busting-key-developing-successful-communities

[10]https://hbr.org/2019/05/cross-silo-leadership?tpcc=orgsocial_edit#:~:text=Though%20most%20executives%20recognize%20the,report%20to%20you%2C%20for%20starters.

[11]https://hbr.org/2019/05/cross-silo-leadership?tpcc=orgsocial_edit#:~:text=Though%20most%20executives%20recognize%20the,report%20to%20you%2C%20for%20starters.

[12]https://hbr.org/2019/05/cross-silo-leadership?tpcc=orgsocial_edit#:~:text=Though%20most%20executives%20recognize%20the,report%20to%20you%2C%20for%20starters.

[13]https://attachment.eab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PDF-PASF-EAB-Five-Threats-of-Silos-Briefing.pdf

[14]https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/breaking-down-silos-fostering-innovation-higher-jayme-renfro–r7wrc

[15]https://attachment.eab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PDF-PASF-EAB-Five-Threats-of-Silos-Briefing.pdf

[16]https://www.bcu.ac.uk/blog/business-and-management/avoiding-silo-mentality

[17]https://attachment.eab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PDF-PASF-EAB-Five-Threats-of-Silos-Briefing.pdf

[18]https://www.dundee.ac.uk/stories/silo-busting-key-developing-successful-communities

[19]https://newzapp.co.uk/blog/breaking-down-communication-silos-higher-education

[20]https://newzapp.co.uk/blog/breaking-down-communication-silos-higher-education/

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