Thursday, March 13, 2008

Ruthlessness in the University

I remember having read Peters and Waterman's bestseller "In Search of Excellence" in the late 80's. One point struck me for its simplicity: that good companies took care of their clients, their people, or their products. Furthermore, they specialized; which of these three they chose to emphasize depended on the company's choice and the nature of its business.

I remembered that book again about three days ago when a colleague of mine, a high ranking official in the university where I work, asked me what three areas I would emphasize if I wanted to have a good University. I said first ensure the high quality of the teachers; next, ensure the quality of the students; and finally, offer courses that are really useful.

Immediately I remembered Peters and Waterman: clients are the students; people are the staff; and products are the course offerings, generally speaking. The choice of emphasis, however, might be constrained by the idea a university has of itself.

One who has delved deeply into the subject was Cardinal Henry Newman. Discourse 6 of the Idea of a University is very instructive in this regard. Newman considers the University as a place for imparting knowledge. This is not simple 'downloading', but rather, knowledge that is acted upon by reason. The objective of the university might then be described as 'reasoned judgment'.

(to be continued)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

the university is biased. there is a lack of career assistance for some courses. i hope that the university will be fair in its treatment of all its course offerings.