The Organisation: University As ‘Ideas Factory’?

As described briefly in Chapters 1 and 2 the university sector has, along with major public services in the UK, undergone significant change in their ideologies as well as in the way they have become organised as a business entity. Although still relatively autonomous from the UK public service sector, during the last twenty years universities have developed new systems and processes that reflect the changing nature of their services to students, public and government. We have described some of these changes in an historical as well as current context, and also made close associations with theories and ideologies rooted in a social science context, such as organisational management and behaviour. New Managerialism (NM) is a distinct field of study concerned with the organisation and management of businesses (in this case the university) in ways that reflect the need for flexibility and adaptation of the strategic and operational (Clarke, Gewirtz & McLaughlin 2000; Ferlie et al. 2003; Deem & Brehony 2005). It requires the organisation to be highly adaptable, to reflect and learn, and most importantly, to consider change as an ongoing re-invigoration of the institution as an organism. This is a rare occurrence, in business as well as in higher education.