Elitism and the intellectual hierarchies of creative practice

Owing to pressures from a range of stakeholders for a wider and improved range of services from the Higher Education (HE) sector in the UK, linked with a simultaneously increasing pressure on resource utilisation, universities are currently facing the challenges of reorienting their approaches to be more customer‐focused and conducting their activities in a more business‐like manner. A consortium of UK universities is currently implementing the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) excellence model as a means for addressing these issues. The focus of this paper is the implementation of EFQM excellence model self‐assessment in the UK HE sector. This paper describes the specific issues in implementing the model in UK HE, with a particular focus on the choice of self‐assessment methodology, and compares and contrasts these with self‐assessment issues in the wider public sector. The early signs are that EFQM excellence model self‐assessment can help to produce a more customer‐oriented culture in HE institutions, providing that the lessons learned from the wider public sector are put into practice.

ABSTRACTOrganizations are under increasing pressure from governments and stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions from their business operations for climate change mitigation. Universities are not exempt from this challenge and are operating in a complex external environment, not least responding to the UK government's Climate Change Act 2008 (80% carbon reductions by 2050 as per 1990 baseline). In 2012–2013, the UK Higher Education (HE) sector consumed 7.9 billion kWh of energy and produced 2.3 million tonnes of carbon emissions. This indicates the scale of the challenge and carbon management is central to reduce carbon emissions. However, effective processes for implementing and embedding carbon management in organizations in general, and universities in particular, have yet to be realized. This paper explores the critical success factors (CSFs) for embedding carbon management in universities and, more widely, in organizations. This exploratory study adopted a mixed-methods approach including the content analysis of universities' carbon management plans alongside semi-structured interviews in the UK HE sector. The paper identifies six key factors for successfully embedding carbon management that are pertinent not just for the HE sector, but to organizations broadly: senior management leadership; funding and resources; stakeholder engagement; planning; governance and management; and evaluation and reporting.

ABSTRACTThe quality of working life (QoWL) has preoccupied practitioners and management scholars since the 1960s [Grote, G., and D. Guest. 2017. “The Case for Reinvigorating Quality of Working Life Research.” Human Relations 70 (2): 149–167. doi:10.1177/0018726716654746], while satisfaction and occupational stress for professional and academic staff in universities are issues of growing concern amidst a context of poor student mental health literacy [Gorczynski, P., W. Sims-Schouten, D. Hill, and J. C. Wilson. 2017. “Examining Mental Health Literacy, Help Seeking Behaviours, and Mental Health Outcomes in UK University Students.” The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice 12 (2): 111–120]. The enhancement of QoWL appears increasingly difficult to achieve within the UK higher education (HE) sector, with constant external and internal reforms [Bessant, C., and S. Mavin. 2016. “Neglected on the Front Line: Tensions and Challenges for the First-Line Manager-Academic Role in UK Business Schools.” Journal of Management Development 35 (7): 916–929. doi:10.1108/JMD-09-2014-0105], the “tyranny of metrics” [Muller, J. Z. 2018. The Tyranny of Metrics. Princeton: Princeton University Press], and the continuous decline in QoWL survey results, which became an issue for many UK universities [Denvir, A., J. Hillage, A. Cox, A. Sinclair, and D. Pearmain. 2008. “Quality of Working Life in the UK.” http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/452.pdf]. Furthermore, there is little understanding of how university HR departments enhance QoWL [Yeo, R. K., and J. Li. 2011. “Working Out the Quality of Work Life: A Career Development Perspective with Insights for Human Resource Management.” Human Resource Management International Digest 19 (3): 39–45. doi:10.1108/09670731111125952]. This paper presents a new perspective by looking at the role of HR and management in achieving QoWL in the UK's HE sector. The incongruity between strategic human resource management metrics in the HE sector to measure employee well-being and self-reported employee satisfaction has a significant influence on student satisfaction, particularly in large units like business schools. Drawing on secondary data, we contribute to debates on current challenges faced by UK universities and offer practical suggestions to improve QoWL.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a field study, investigating accounting, strategising and accounting for strategic management and power structures in the Jordanian higher education (HE) sector on the basis of Bourdieu’s theory of practice. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts an interpretive stance, seeking to investigate the perceptions of actors in the field, with regard to accounting, strategising and accounting for strategic management in HE. The adopted methodology is adapted grounded theory, as this study assumes a prior theoretical stance of Bourdieu’s theoretical concepts. Data were collected through participant observation in meetings, at the workplace, interviews and documentation. Findings The main findings of this paper reflect how strategising and accounting in practice manifest themselves in the Jordanian HE sector. Bourdieu’s theory of practice sets the meta-theoretical context of the current study, with field setting the scene, and habitus being represented in the strategising mind-set participants adopt. The mind-set determines how strategic management accounting is perceived and dealt with. Strategic management accounting takes place at varying degrees. The power structures that influence and determine strategising and accounting in support thereof are researched on the basis of Bourdieu’s forms of capital. Different forms of capital matter in the HE sector determined by fields’ doxa. Research limitations/implications The researcher is a part of the field, the Jordanian HE sector; thus, their habitus has been exposed to its characteristics and features. Thus, certain internalised structures and experiences needed to be challenged for this analysis, which was not an easy task. Originality/value This study investigates accounting, strategic management and power structures in HE, and it highlights the different power structures, using Bourdieu’s forms of capital, which offers a great insight into how different cultures approach similar issues.

This exploratory paper considers the current state of UK HE branding, in particular, conceptualisations and approaches. It is driven by calls in the literature for clearer understanding and application of branding in Higher Education (HE).Objectives of the research, drawn from literature, were to explore conceptualisations of branding in the UK HE sector, as well as current challenges to branding concepts/ practice in UK HE. The methodology was based upon depth interviews with fifteen opinion leaders and opinion formers, specifically Heads of Marketing or External Relations in UK HE. Findings suggest that branding is a key issue for UK universities, but an overall conceptual model for brands in the HE sector remains challenging, although parallels with corporate branding are drawn. However, simplistic adoption of corporate branding does not offer a clear solution, and the requirement for a conceptual framework particular to the sector is evident. In exploring conceptual frameworks, experiential branding and internal branding are discussed as possible approaches that may offer a route for differentiation that universities seek. Whilst developing a clear conceptual model is the key challenge identified, limited and variable understanding of the branding concept and limited genuine differentiation around which to build a brand were also notable challenges. Overall, significant branding opportunities and challenges in a changing sector are discussed. Conclusions argue that corporate branding, experiential branding and internal branding literature all have a degree of applicability, but clearly further empirical work is needed to advance this important field.Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: STORIES OF ENGLISH AND CZECH ACADEMICS AND HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS

The number of international students in the United Kingdom’s (UK) higher education (HE) sector has significantly increased, yet research on pedagogical frameworks for these students remains limited, particularly within the context of private business schools. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the application of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) for international students in a UK HE private business school. CRP is a pedagogical framework that supports students’ intellectual, social, emotional, and political development by integrating their cultural backgrounds into teaching practices (Ladson-Billings, 2009), emphasising the importance of aligning teaching content and students’ cultural backgrounds (Yu, 2022). Using qualitative methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed through thematic analysis with a deductive coding approach based on the three tenets of CRP: academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness. Findings suggested that participants, who were lecturers, were drawn to tenet 2, cultural competence, but also indicated challenges to incorporate CRP principles for international students within the UK HE private business school context. Contrary to the original CRP framework, findings in this study suggested that students and institutions, along with lecturers, should share the responsibility for students’ academic success. Unlike CRP in the United States (US) context, participants hesitated to discuss social issues with international students in the classroom. Given the challenges identified in this study, further study is necessary to reconceptualise CRP for international students, not only within UK HE private business schools but across the broader UK HE landscape.

In this article the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in the UK Higher Education (HE) sector is interrogated, with a focus on the Gig Academy. A literature review of the casualisation of academics in the sector is undertaken and critiqued through the consultative unitarist values and behaviours of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), predicated on the mutual gains model of good HRM being good for both employer and employee. It is argued that the Gig Academy, situated within a neoliberal context, emphasises the needs of the education market but is at odds with these values and behaviours. More particularly, disaggregated, atomised labour is used to meet the needs of the performative university at the expense of gig academics, particularly women and ethnic minority academics, experiencing precarity and a lack of mutuality. Precarity experienced by gig academics further contributes to the de-politicising of academic staff as a means of meeting government metrics, at the expense of other stakeholders. This article argues that to address these issues, cultural rather than disaggregated HR practice is required in the HE sector, based on a commitment to HR professionalism and the values and behaviours of the CIPD.

PurposeIn recent years, the higher education (HE) sector has been influenced by a marketised approach. Such an approach has enabled higher education institutions (HEIs) to increase their international presence and also to enhance their student profile. Nevertheless, marketing theories applied to commercial sector may not be relevant to the HE sector. The purpose of this paper is to examine how marketing framework has influenced various aspects of HE management and its implication to dealing with student issues.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a conceptual discussion of the issues.FindingsThe paper takes a critical view of customer metaphor for students and argues that such attempts restrict the rights and privileges that students and the HE sector traditionally enjoyed. Differences between commercial organisations and HE sector in terms of products developed and the underlying process of development are explored. How the uniqueness of the HE sector relies more on a sector‐wide agreement than on legal framework is analysed. The role of marketing units in developing a mature market which is strong enough to demand quality HE products is emphasised. Several aspects that need to be coordinated among quality assurance departments, academic staff, and the marketing departments are discussed.Research limitations/implicationsIndiscriminate use of marketing metaphors in the HE sector has introduced new dimensions to the relationship that exists between the HEIs and students.Practical implicationsMarketing in the HE sector is not similar to what exists in the commercial sector as “higher education products” are different from “commercial products” and students are different from “customers” who buy commercial products. Moreover, the roles of marketing departments in the HE sector are different from those in a commercial organisation.Originality/valueMarketing frameworks cannot be transplanted into a HE environment. The sector is unique and is characterised more by the principles of self‐governance and academic freedom. Application of marketing techniques will restrict students' rights and destroy the relationship that exists between the HEI and the students. Marketing departments should focus on creating mature markets.

This article reviews key findings from six surveys of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) across the UK higher education (HE) sector, conducted by Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association in association with Jisc. Updating the findings presented by Jenkins, Browne, Walker, and Hewitt [2010. The development of technology enhanced learning: Findings from a 2008 survey of UK higher education institutions, Interactive Learning Environments. First published on: 22 January 2010 (iFirst)], the article reports on the emerging and planned patterns of TEL across the UK HE sector over the last decade. Our analysis shows that against the backdrop of Higher Education Funding Council for England capital funding, institutions have made considerable investments in technology and infrastructure to support learning and teaching – specifically in the domain of learning management and assessment systems. While the drivers for TEL development have consistently focused on enhancing teaching and learning over the years, the subject of this investment has been directed to the implementation of enterprise-wide systems to manage and control learning processes, delivering efficiencies of scale and standardised learning experiences through centrally managed solutions, rather than support for student-controlled tools. In contrast, the diffusion of technologies supporting collaborative learning and knowledge sharing has been more a feature of local TEL provision, as evidenced through the informal learning practice of students and departmental projects. The evolution of course delivery models and pedagogic developments supported through the use of technology have been noticeably much slower to realise; growth in “web-dependent” rather than “supplementary” course design models has been quite limited across the sector and we have observed negligible growth in distance learning provision over this period. The evidence suggests that challenges remain in developing course delivery models which focus on active student learning, maximising the opportunities that web and mobile technologies now offer for interactive student-centred learning design. We speculate that the recent upsurge of interest in Massive Open Online Courses may act as a catalyst in this respect, in driving campus-based courses to embrace new learning models supported by TEL tools.

To achieve the carbon reduction targets set by the UK Higher Education Funding Council, universities in the UK are investigating a number of energy-efficient technologies including combined heat and power (CHP). However, the growth of the CHP technology in the higher education (HE) sector is slow and this may be because of barriers to implementation. Towards the end of 2011–2012, 59 of the 161 UK universities had installed CHP. The main objective of this study is to identify barriers which may be preventing the growth of CHP technology in the UK's HE sector. An online questionnaire was sent to the Energy Managers at all UK universities. The results reveal a range of barriers, with the most important being the following: lack of funds; site constraints; lack of incentives and lack of support from higher management.

PurposeThis article problematises the international student label by critically examining the mechanisms that actively portray international students as necessarily different, deficient and uncritical. It broadly aims to tackle the following issues: (a) to challenge the underpinnings of the international label; (b) to uncover the role of neo-essentialist representations of cohorts of students labelled international in sustaining financial exploitation and deficit narratives; and (c) to criticise the current hyper-internationalisation strategy widely adopted by UK HEIs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper mainly relies on findings from research that adopted narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of students labelled international. Data were collected via a series of interviews with 15 postgraduate students at a university in the north of England. The paper also makes use of brief statistical analyses to provide a general overview about the status of UK higher education (international student admission, net economic impact and income).FindingsThe paper reveals the underpinnings of the international label and how it is mobilised to other non-UK-domiciled students. The paper equally establishes a strong link between hyper-internationalisation and the (un)sustainability of the UK’s higher education sector.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is expected to raise important questions around the experiences and realities endured by students labelled international. In particular, the paper challenges the international label and the mechanisms that sustain the label at institutional levels.Practical implicationsThe paper calls for abandoning the international label as a marker of a presumed difference. Equally, the paper highlights the current unsustainability of the UK’s higher education sector and suggests a gradual cap on international tuition fees to alleviate some of the educational inequalities endured by students international, and to ensure the sustainability of the higher education sector.Originality/valueThis is the first research that openly challenges the international label and substitutes it by “students labelled international”. Equally, this is the first paper that recommends to cap international tuition fees on account of findings from students' narratives and statistics that reveal the unsustainability of the UK's higher education sector. Finally, the paper’s conceptual contribution includes a reference to the idea of hyper-internationalisation.

In recent years the rhetoric of flexibility has become increasingly influential within the UK’s Higher Education (HE) sector. In reports, such as that of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education (NCIHE, 1997), in Green Papers such as the Learning Age (DfEE, 1998) and its Scottish equivalent, Opportunity Scotland (Scottish Office, 1998), in university mission statements, in course advertisements, prospectuses and brochures, in all these places and more, exhortations of flexibility have emerged almost unchallenged. Indeed, flexibility became one of the buzz words of 1990s academe.Where discussions of flexibility exist (Edwards, 1997; Schuller et al., 1998; Johnston, 1999) they have hitherto often been limited to contextualisation accounts, rather than attempting critiques. This article digs deeper by looking at various aspects of flexibility within UK HE. It suggests that by examining notions of flexibility as they were developed in labour market theory during the 1980s, it is possible to gain greater understanding of current discourses of flexibility in HE. It further suggests that notions of core and periphery taken from the labour market have their parallels in UK HE. Finally, it argues that thus far UK HE can be characterised as having an inflexible core which limits flexibility to the more peripheral areas and discusses the merits of some forms of inflexibility.

PurposeTrade-offs are unavoidable in a competitive and difficult economic environment, causing a challenge for those wanting to provide consistently high-quality service across all touchpoints in the service delivery ecosystem, included in which is the higher education (HE) sector. This study aims to explore the key factors influencing service trade-offs related to the efforts of academics in Malaysia’s HE sector.Design/methodology/approachA self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 400 full-time academics from several higher learning institutions in Malaysia. Data were analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach.FindingsThe results reveal that service trade-offs in the HE sector were heavily influenced by service priorities. Customisation of services, meeting individual student needs, working under immense pressure within tight timeframes and focusing on teaching and research jointly contribute to academics’ service trade-offs in the HE sector. Indeed, the nature of the job necessitates such trade-offs by default, as academics are unable to cancel or postpone classes due to scheduling constraints and the requirement to be physically present during class sessions.Practical implicationsHE administrators and managers should provide academics with adequate resources, effective work allocation and optimal timeframes for task completion, as service priorities are the key factors influencing service trade-offs in Malaysia’s HE sector. The satisfaction of these needs would enable academics’ service priorities and trade-offs to be better balanced, thereby contributing to better operational efficiency, boosting organisational performance and maintaining business sustainability.Originality/valueThe empirical results serve to clarify the key factors influencing service trade-offs in the HE sector, thus expanding the extant literature, which has mostly concentrated on describing the same phenomena in the manufacturing sector. The proposed service trade-offs model would serve as a guideline for operational efficiencies in the HE sector to prevent future recurrence and reduce the potential risk of service disruption, thus mitigating the risk of dissatisfaction.

Globalization, the transfer to knowledge society exposes the environment of higher education institutions (HEIs) to increasingly complex operating conditions. The universities have to address additional demanding tasks with often-staggering public funding at their disposal. The paper aims to depict the interaction of government – managers – and higher education (HE) sector – employees – in the context of recent university governance reforms, which in its essence is another manifestation of managerialist policy followed by the government. The paper starts with contextual information on the HE system in Latvia and its antecedently limited public funding. It then touches the introduction of the performance-based funding model. The review of the funding model came as a reaction to dramatic public funding cuts within the higher education sector that were triggered by the economic crisis 2009-2012. The paper outlines the expectations of the higher education sector that additional public funding will be invested as soon as the new funding model is implemented. However, quite surprisingly for the higher education sector, the newly elected government decides to reform the internal governance of public higher education institutions instead. The depicted context is analyzed against the concept of managerialism and its influence on the higher education sector, specifically on the deterioration of collegiality as the traditional form of university governance. The paper explains, why the plans to reform the university governance in Latvia by introducing university boards with external stakeholders represented there have been met ambiguously by the higher education sector. The authors seek to answer the seemingly irrational series of actions taken by the Latvian government and do so referring to phenomena of managerial ideology, as well as cautions against the rule of uncompromising, forthright managerialism within the public sector. The article finds, however, that pure collegiality is no longer viable in the higher education sector in Latvia, and different manifestations of managerialism are there to stay in the higher education sector. Therefore, ways need to be found to adopt and draw benefits from the induced changes. Understanding the rational reasons behind seemingly irrational reforms introduced by the government is the first step in this direction. The next step, but this would be then the subject of further researches, would be to detect the conditions in which the incoming managerialism may undermine or reinforce the quality of higher education.