What makes organizations so similar? We contend that the engine of rationalization and bureaucratization has moved from the competitive marketplace to the state and the professions. Once a set of organizations emerges as a field, a paradox arises: rational actors make their organizations increasingly similar as they try to change them. We describe three isomorphic processes-coercive, mimetic, and normative—leading to this outcome. We then specify hypotheses about the impact of resource centralization and dependency, goal ambiguity and technical uncertainty, and professionalization and structuration on isomorphic change. Finally, we suggest implications for theories of organizations and social change.

The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields (Chinese Translation)

Jeez, man. It's all about GIMMICKS in this big ol' crazy
dot-com feverish world. But I got to say that I think
WIMMIN'S SITES are, like, the weirdest gimmick of all.

The POWER of IDEAS

Purpose – Which comes first – quality or change? Managing change is inherent in organisational quality enhancement. Managing organisational change and managing organisational quality go hand‐in‐hand. This paper seeks to look into quality enhancement initiatives to achieve organisational fitness for purpose.Design/methodology/approach – This discussion focuses first on organisational quality – what quality means, why it is important and the means for achieving quality. The focus then shifts to effective management of organisational change including the nature of change and the high failure rate of change initiatives. Many models, approaches and prescriptions for understanding, and effectively managing, change are available. Two are discussed here: Kotter's eight‐step model of change and Doppelt's seven‐point “wheel of change”. Commonalities and differences of the two approaches are examined and pointers to “green” and “red” lights for change managers are highlighted. A large‐scale organisational reform pro...

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Organisational quality and organisational change: Interconnecting paths to effectiveness

The paper presents results of research related to perception of creativity in higher education made by the authors at the University of Mostar from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This research was based on a survey conducted among teachers and students at the University. The authors developed two types of questionnaires, one for teachers and the other for students in order to investigate the perception about creativity at the University. Namely, the idea that higher education has key role in development of knowledge-based society and economy has been in the very heart of Bologna process – the overall reform of the higher education in European Union. Also, many official European Union documents identified creativity as a major driving force towards knowledge creation and social and economic advancement through the development of a knowledge society. But, the complex questions of knowledge-based society and economy could not be solved without creative, forward-looking individuals and groups who are not afraid to question established ideas and who are able to cope with the insecurity and uncertainty this entails. If today's universities, including University of Mostar, would not succeed in strengthening creativity of teaching process and education of their teachers and students, development of knowledge society could be at stake. The University of Mostar has been started with implementation of the main postulates of Bologna process since 2005. Almost ten years later, the authors wanted to examine if teachers and students of the University of Mostar are aware of the importance of creativity in higher education for development of knowledge society. That was the main reason why the authors started with research related to perception of creativity at the University of Mostar. The aim of this research was to investigate the awareness of teachers and students of the University related to the necessity to enhance creativity within and by academic community.

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Creativity in Higher Education.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in societies as they enhance the sustainable development of nations. In a context of increasing competition and financial difficulties in higher education institutions, the loyalty of students, faculty and administration staff as well as institutional reputation are key factors for survival and success. They are built upon trust and high quality of services rendered by HEIs. The intentional development of trust serves the purpose of enhancing the quality culture in higher education. The concept of quality culture has become a natural successor of quality management and quality assurance in universities presenting a new perspective for viewing quality at HEIs—as a combination of structural and managerial with cultural and psychological components. This paper provides an elaboration of a novel Trust-Based Quality Culture Conceptual Model for Higher Education Institutions which presents the perceived interconnections between trust and quality culture at HEIs. It can form a source for an inquiry process at HEIs, thus contributing to better contextual diagnosis of the stage where HEI is in the process of building the quality culture based on trust. The findings of this study are important in better understanding the quality culture development in HEIs that is based on trust, loyalty and reputation. It may have an impact on the decision-making processes concerning HEIs’ management. The proposed model contributes to the need for greater clarity, ordering and systematization of the role of trust in the processes of quality culture development.

Trust-Based Quality Culture Conceptual Model for Higher Education Institutions

Rue d’Egmont 13 1000 Brussels Belgium Phone: +32-2 230 55 44 Fax: +32-2 230 57 51 www.eua.be C A SE S TU D Y : EM B ED D IN G Q U A LI TY C U LT U R E IN H IG H ER E D U C A TI O The European University Association (EUA) is the representative organisation of universities and national rectors’ conferences in 46 European countries. EUA plays a crucial role in the Bologna process and in infl uencing EU policies on higher education, research and innovation. Thanks to its interaction with a range of other European and international organisations EUA ensures that the independent voice of European universities is heard wherever decisions are being taken that will impact on their activities.

Embedding quality culture in higher education : a selection of papers from the 1st European Forum for Quality Assurance

Implementing and Using Quality Assurance: Strategy and Practice: A Selection of Papers from the 2nd European Quality Assurance Forum

After a consideration of major trends and policies in Europe, particularly the Bologna Process and the Modernisation Agenda, this chapter provides a historical treatment of quality assurance (QA) developments in Europe and seeks to respond to the following questions: Are internal and external quality assurance processes supporting the European transformational agenda and the requirements of knowledge-driven societies? Is the relationship between external and internal QA processes optimal? What is the impact of the European QA framework on the “European dimension” and the trust level across borders and within national QA systems? To what extent is there a development of a European QA market? What could be expected of the new emphasis on metric and transparency instruments in the Bologna Process? The paper is based on several studies conducted by the European University Association.

Quality Assurance and the European Transformational Agenda

The number of mergers and alliances in higher education has grown recently in Europe, and France has not escaped this general trend. An unpublished survey of the 34 national associations of universities that are members of the European University Association (EUA) shows that, as of November 2012, 21 associations reported activities in this area. The survey revealed that motivations for such activities could be grouped into four categories (several of which may be relevant to a single country): economies of scale; enhanced regional or international impact; increased quality via the rationalisation of the education offer and the consolidation of a fragmented research sector; and creating new synergies in education and research by seizing on the opportunity of a demographic decline. Although these might be shared objectives, they should not conceal important contextual differences. Thus, this chapter presents the evolving French policy context that has led to recent mergers and alliances in universities. The stand-alone schools of engineering or of commerce are also engaged in a similar process but these types of institutions are not part of this historical account because their motives and trajectory for engaging in such activities are somewhat different from those of the universities.

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Mergers and Alliances in France: Incentives, Success Factors and Obstacles

espanolDesde los anos 90, muchos paises europeos han reformado sus sistemas de educacion superior. Las reformas se caracterizaron por la desaparicion del control estatal directo de las instituciones de educacion superior (IES) en favor de una mayor autonomia de las universidades. Al mismo tiempo se introducian nuevos mecanismos de regulacion y de rendicion de cuentas aumentando el control de los resultados institucionales. Este articulo analiza los procesos de reformas estructurales en seis paises europeos: Austria, Dinamarca, Finlandia, Francia, Paises Bajos y Portugal. A pesar de las diferencias entre cada uno de dichos paises en relacion a sus respectivos procesos de reformas, se observan tendencias comunes en materia de gobernanza, politica de recursos humanos, financiacion, evaluacion de la calidad y fusiones. Las reformas nacionales y sus resultados confirman, que la gobernanza de los sistemas de educacion superior es cada vez mas compleja. El estado ya no tiene la exclusividad en el dialogo con las IES, sino que lo comparte con otros actores sociales como: las agencias autonomas (p.ej. agencias de la financiacion, agencias de calidad, los Consejos de Investigacion, y Consejos de Educacion Superior), representantes empresariales, actores politicos regionales y locales. Reformar sistemas de educacion superior es un proceso de negociacion politico dificil, que, en algunos casos, ha acabado en cambios substanciales, y, en otros casos, ha introducido solo cambios parciales. Los casos presentados muestran que los procesos de reformas suelen producirse en etapas. Cuando se ha llegado a un equilibrio entre las coaliciones de interes, los subsistemas son, con mucha probabilidad, muy estables en el tiempo. Solo cuando la presion externa e interna hacia un cambio se vuelve insostenible las relaciones entre las coaliciones de interes se vuelven inestables y se busca un nuevo equilibrio a traves de reformas. EnglishSince the 1990s, many European countries have reformed their higher education systems. The reforms were characterised by the disappearance of direct state control of higher education institutions (HEI) in favour of greater autonomy of universities. At the same time new mechanisms for regulation and accountability were introduced, increasing the control of institutional results. This article analyses the processes of structural reforms in six European countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands and Portugal. Despite the differences between each of these countries in relation to their respective reform processes, common trends can be observed in terms of governance, human resources policy, financing, quality assessment and mergers. National reforms and their results confirm that the governance of higher education system is increasingly complex. The state is no longer the exclusive interlocutor with HEIs, but shares it with other social actors such as: autonomous agencies (e.g. funding agencies, quality assurance, research councils, and higher education councils), business and industry leaders, local and regional political actors. Reforming higher education systems is a difficult political bargaining process, which in some cases, has led to successful reforms and in other cases to changes that were partially successful. The examples presented show that reform processes take place in waves. When a balance has been struck between the advocacy coalitions, the subsystems are likely to be highly stable over time. Only when the external and internal pressure for change is perceived as unsustainable will the advocacy coalition become unbalanced and seek a new equilibrium by means of introducing reforms.

Implementando las reformas de la gobernanza: Las reglas de juego en los sistemas universitarios europeos = Implementing Governance reforms: Policy games in European university systems

Andrée Sursock

Papers

Embedding quality culture in higher education : a selection of papers from the 1st European Forum for Quality Assurance

Implementing and Using Quality Assurance: Strategy and Practice: A Selection of Papers from the 2nd European Quality Assurance Forum

Quality Assurance and the European Transformational Agenda

Mergers and Alliances in France: Incentives, Success Factors and Obstacles

Implementando las reformas de la gobernanza: Las reglas de juego en los sistemas universitarios europeos = Implementing Governance reforms: Policy games in European university systems