Abstract
In developing corporate identities, universities have adopted management practices that generate problems similar to those documented in relation to business and industry. See, for example, Senge (1990). The operating environment contains interacting feedback loops, many containing substantial delays. The resulting system dynamics mean that effects emerge removed both in space and time from causes, and this confounds the intentions of managers who assume immediate and direct outcomes from their policies. Difficulties in achieving expected outcomes are discussed in relation to problematic elements associated with artificial internal structures, funding formulae, the relative importance of system parameters versus system structure, and the significance of time-scales and delays in influencing system behaviour. It is argued that university management should move forward from a corporate framework to locate itself within an ecological world view.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
