Relations among Freedom of Action,Goal Orientation,Coupling,and Satisfaction with Frame Management among School Managers

Abstract

Determinants of satisfaction with frame management were investigated among 78 managers representing all 30 upper secondary schools in Nordland county, Norway. The school managers are managed by the central county administration through a frame management system. Frame management or frame budgeting is a system for managing decentralised units in the public sector while trying to meet the needs for accountability and flexibility which should make public service more cost effective and of better quality. Subjects were tested on perceived goal orientation of the management system, their perceived personal coupling to the central county administration and their perceived freedom of action within the frames. The school managers' personal competence, i.e., education and leadership competence, and the cultural climate of cooperation in schools were also assessed. Analyses showed that all these determinants correlated positively and significantly with satisfaction with frame management, and multiple regression analysis showed freedom of action and education to be the major predictors of satisfaction with frame management in this sample.