SYSTEM DYNAMICS AND UNIVERSITY MANAGEMENT

Contemporary management of the national university system in Australia is characterized by the pursuit of government goals through the linki ng of funding to expressed priorities, Competitive elements of policie s at the national level have been translated by individual institution s into management strategies that promote competition between internal units such as faculties and schools. This is in addition to the compe tition that has been encouraged between the universities themselves in areas such as student enrolment and research productivity, Within the se organizational contexts a variety of system archetypes can be ident ified ''plying their trade''. Efforts to contain debt by staff attriti on, competition between institutions for students, setting of goals fo r enrolment levels, and distribution of scarce resources on the basis or research activity provide contexts for the manifestation of delayed feedback loops, escalation, sliding goals and 'tragedy' scenarios. Fo llowing illustration by means of example, some experiences of attempti ng to introduce system dynamic concepts into decision making discussio ns are shared. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.