Training arts administrators to manage systemic change (Ohio, Austria, Hungary)

A growing perception exists in the nonprofit professional arts that training needs to be adjusted to changing demands in a more broadly defined cultural sector. The cultural sector is represented not only by the fine arts (i.e., non-profit or public sector professional organizations), but also by commercial arts, applied arts, the heritage sector, and amateur arts. Major changes are affecting the cultural sector around the world and suggest an urgent need for new skills in cultural administration. This dissertation explores the extent to which current training in arts administration is suited to meet changing demands in the cultural sector in North America and Europe. It is demonstrated that a disconnect exists between new demands in the cultural sector and the current focus of arts administration training. This gap would suggest that new skills are required to manage systemic change to assist the fine arts in coping with new challenges and opportunities.; It is argued that four major paradigm shifts are taking place which affect or produce systemic change in the cultural sector. First, the world system is shifting, due to the force of globalization. Second, a shift in the arts system is taking place as the sector's scope broadens from a concern with the fine arts to a more inclusive interest in "culture." Third, a shift in the cultural policy system is resulting from a growing awareness that national and international policy influences strongly affect the administration of arts organizations. Fourth, changes in economic assumptions and resources are causing a shift in arts funding systems in North America and in Europe. Despite the demands of these paradigm shifts, however, current arts administration education still seems to focus on the domestic environment, the fine arts sector, organizational administration, and outdated arts funding models.; The dissertation explores the ways in which the paradigm shifts as identified above manifest themselves in the diverse sociopolitical and economic environments of Columbus, Ohio/USA; Vienna, Austria; and Budapest, Hungary. In all three comparative case studies, the four paradigm shifts are tracked through analyzing management challenges of major classical music organizations, the ways in which the fine arts interact with other disciplines of the cultural sector, changes in the arts funding system over the past decade, as well as local, national, and international policy influences. This study assesses the significance and practical application of five proposed global change management capacities that might be developed to provide cultural administrators with a more proactive means of response to changing demands in the sector. In each case study, three types of training options are explored: formal higher education training programs, professional development programs, and on-the-job experience. It is demonstrated that the interaction of global systemic changes and local contexts require that certain "global capacities" be matched with "local skill sets" particular to the specific environments of these three urban contexts.; Comparative analysis of the cases provides evidence of disconnects between changing systemic demands, training options, and capacities to manage change in the cultural sector. The final chapter proposes a new systemic capacity building educational model to address these problems, and discusses specific avenues for future research.