Quality Management and Organisational Structure in Higher Education

Abstract

The paper reviews management theories about organisational structure, culture and the environment (the market place). The reduction of variation is the starting point for comparing a number of quality management theories, in particular Deming's emphasis on designing in quality and designing out variation. The theoretical frameworks are applied to evidence on the behaviour of higher education institutions. The concept of service quality is developed. Categorisations of organisations such as ‘analytical’ or ‘cybernetic’ are seen as loo idealised to apply to real higher education institutions, which are hybrids, but some of the ideas are helpful, in particular designing a university that is in tight contact with and learns from its environment, i.e. the market place. The conclusions from this evidence take the form of a summary, drawn out of the various theories and their usefulness in higher education, of structures that could optimise organisational effectiveness, including quality management.