This collection of short essays presents and examines six vignettes of organisational change in British, New Zealand and European universities. Drawing on the social studies of economisation literature, formal research projects and auto-ethnographic insights, the authors detail profound changes in how knowledge is produced in universities. They…

This study investigated perceptions of organizational change management among executive coaches working with British higher-education leaders and factors that make leaders effective when managing change. This basic qualitative research used semi-structured interviews with eight executive coaches selected through purposeful sampling. As main…

This paper describes a two-spiral action research approach (AR) in its analysis of the experience of a British University endeavouring to change and reposition itself in the context of fast pace external change in terms of innovation. Taking the European Union (EU) 2020 digital competence framework (Ferrari 2013), with its drive to address the…

Vocational education and its leadership is an important sphere of economic activity worldwide and is being impacted by several trends including: the increasing significance and centrality of skills development in today's economies; economic trends associated with globalisation (internationalisation of education and emergence of global labour…

In Great Britain, attempts to broaden university-community engagement have taken significant steps in recent years. A wide variety of community-engagement structures and activities are now emerging. This paper uses one innovative example--University of Brighton's Community-University Partnership Program--to describe the opportunities and probe the…

In recent years, the global market for higher education has expanded rapidly, while internationalisation strategies have been developed at university, national and European levels to increase the competitiveness of higher education institutions. This article asks how institutional settings prevailing in national models of capitalism motivate…

Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to describe the design and delivery of a leadership programme for a diverse group of clinicians and middle managers within a British mental health organisation. Design/methodology/approach: This paper shows how the course was co-designed between managers, clinicians and higher education, specifically to…

The author, an organizational change agent and the originator of the 3-D Theory of Effective Management, summarizes the reasons why organizations start a change program and the major strategies (mainly the T group and consultation approaches) used to introduce change. (LY)

Examines trade union mergers highlighting merger forms, merger motivation, role played by union officers, and merger waves. Discusses the consequences of mergers on members and union performance and concludes that union merger activity has had little impact. (Contains 74 references.) (JOW)

This study examines the influence of culture on digital libraries of the first wave. The local cultures of innovation of five European national libraries (Biblioteca nacional de Portugal, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Die Deutsche Bibliothek, the National Library of Scotland, and the British Library) are reconstructed in case histories from…

Compared trade union education activities in Brazil and Britain to prepare workers for globalization and its role in organizational change. Points out which direction the ideology and program philosophy of each country takes. (SK)

Describes part of a 3-year research project into the organization and workings of eight LEA's, with the main focus on the structure and key methods of the administrative agencies. Six case studies were undertaken of how these authorities planned certain changes to their educational provision, and two of LEA's that reorganized their education…

Comments on a proposal for specific and regular monitoring and performance appraisal of chief education officers in Britain. Suggests that Department of Education and Science research projects into the workings of Local Education Authorities should focus on how chief education officers might improve their performance and contribute toward making…

Using a British community college program as an example, this article describes how change may occur in loosely coupled systems. According to Weick, change in loosely coupled systems is continuous, small-scale, improvisational, accommodative, and local. If major change is necessary, tighter coupling may be achieved through training contracts,…

Reports on the possibility of restructuring physics and chemistry departments and merging others at British universities. Suggests modifications of the course content for greater acceptance by students. Concludes that the logic of the committee's recommendations rests in the subsequent ability of certain departments to grow. (RT)