Desafios administrativo-acadêmicos e gestão do conhecimento em uma instituição de educação superior: o caso da Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação da Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei

Abstract

In this master thesis, we present the report of an applied interpretative case study carried out with the purpose of understand the main challenges that Federal University of São João del-Rei Research and Postgraduate Office’s managers are dealing concerning efforts to consolidate its graduate programs. Moreover, this study also sought to understand how formal initiatives in Knowledge Management can assist them in this regard, in a contemporary scenario of growing international pressures for greater university entrepreneurship. As a theoretical basis to comprise how these challenges are managed at the organizational unit object of the study, research draw on theoretical contributions derived from academic works developed in the field of Knowledge Management applied to public organizations in general, and to higher education institutions in particular. The findings showed that the main internal challenges experienced by these managers stem from the absence of institutional acts aiming functional qualification of academic staff that hold the position of coordinator of masters and doctoral programs, as well as insufficient communication between administrative managers and academic managers and a low-level of administrative-academic knowledge sharing among these professionals. On the other hand, the main external challenges come mainly from insufficient governmental funding in scholarships to ensure the permanence of graduate studants, both low recognition and financial valuing given to the position of coordinator of master's and doctoral programs at federal higher education institutions by the Ministry of Education and the lack of regional business support for research, technology and innovation developed in these programs, which is especially worrisome in a current Brazilian political-economic scenario of increasing government budgetary constraints. The findings also showed that proactivity and the practice of leadership in the organizational unit object of this case study are driven more by emergence of problems and doubts on the part of the managers than by reasons of planning and strategies. Regarding the applicability conditions of Knowledge Management initiatives in the organizational unit studied, analysis and discussion of the findings revealed that human and social factors literature consider essential to successful initiatives within this management technique are actually present in PROPE/UFSJ.