University Management Practices Research Articles

Avaliação das técnicas de precipitação química e encapsulamento no tratamento e destinação conjunta de resíduos líquidos contendo cromo e vidrarias de laboratório

In this paper, we present procedures for the treatment and final disposal of residual solutions containing chromium, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of chemical precipitation of the metal and the potential of the glass encapsulation technique, using broken laboratory glassware. The results demonstrated that pH-values convenient for chemical precipitation are between 10 - 11. With regard to Cr(OH)3 encapsulation, the leaching and solubilization tests allowed to classify the waste as non-dangerous and non-inert. Finally, it is pointed out that the adoption of waste management practices in universities should be encouraged, helping to train professionals skilled in good laboratory practices.

'New managerialism' and higher education: The management of performances and cultures in universities in the United Kingdom

The paper examines the applicability of recent theories positing the existence of new approaches to the management of public sector institutions, to current organisational forms and management strategies in universities in the United Kingdom. The term 'new managerialism' is generally used to refer to the adoption by public sector organisations of organisational forms, technologies, management practices and values more commonly found in the private business sector. Particular attention is paid to the writings of John Clarke and Janet Newman. Their discussion of organisational forms (including Newman's attention to the gendering of such forms), technologies and narratives under 'new managerialist' regimes and of the tensions between managing cultures and performances in organisations operating under 'new managerial' regimes, are then drawn upon to analyse two different instances of organisational regimes and management practices in universities. The first of these is based on an exploratory study of a small group of feminist academic managers in higher education, where questions are raised about the possible links between feminist values and what Trow has termed 'soft' approaches to management, as opposed to the 'hard' management practices of 'new managerialism'. The second example is an insider account of changes to organisational forms and technologies resulting from a severe financial crisis at Lancaster University, where a shortage of resources seems to have precipitated at least some moves in the direction of 'new managerialism', even if the attempt to change organisational cultures has so far been uneven

The Aftermath of Decline

How do universities compare with businesses in managing revenue decline? No research to date has examined the impact of decline on university management practices. The four authors questioned 3,406 individuals from 334 colleges and universities, thirty-four of which had experienced declining revenues between 1977 and 1982, to see if twelve attributes of declining business organizations occurred more frequently in colleges and universities experiencing decline. The significant differences came not between declining and stable organizations, or between those with stable and unstable budgets but between growing and static organizations. Implications for future research and management practices are also discussed.