THE MCUNIVERSITY - ORGANIZATION, MANAGEMENT AND ACADEMIC SUBJECTIVITY

This paper uses elements of Weberian and Foucauldian social theory to speculate on the consequences of recent higher education change in the UK. We argue that changes in the political, institutional and funding environment have produced forms of HE organization that increase the power of management and diminish the autonomy of professional academic s. These new forms of organization, which are increasingly bureaucrati c and utilize sophisticated systems of surveillance, will make academi cs increasingly instrumental in their attitudes and behaviour. We conc lude that the rationalization of HE should be resisted, but that nosta lgia for a previous order should not be part of that resistance. 'Mass ' higher education organizations are not simply good or bad, but their rationale and consequences need to be clearly thought through if thei r negative aspects are to be addressed.