Between the Ivory Tower and the academic assembly line

This paper considers the impact of managerialism and the reactions it has e ngendered in university life. It examines the degree to which institutions of higher education in the UK have in recent years been subjected to what s ome commentators have seen as a managerial assault, alongside economic pres sures to restructure and reform, and explores the reactions of academic and administrative staff in middle and junior levels through a case study of t wo universities. Consideration is given to attempts to introduce managerial controls, including the setting of targets, appraisals and peer review, as well as to the resistances which followed. It is argued that the notion of resistance to domination and control has been underplayed in the literatur e of organization and management. In exploring its various manifestations i t is shown that managerialism is not fully embedded in university life and that matters are far from settled. It is contended that those engaged in ac ademe in middle and junior levels of the organizational hierarchy are activ ely seeking to keep alive the craft of scholarship by mediating and moderat ing the harsher effects of the changes through supportive or transformation al styles of working.