High Output Management

by Andrew S. Grove

A university is an odd place to manage. The president of the University said, “There’s clearly a shared responsibility for decision-making between administration [functional organization] and faculty [mission-oriented organization].” A University Planning Advisory Council [a group of peers] was formed with representation from the faculty and administration to help allocate limited resources [a most difficult and common problem] in the face of severe budget cuts. “We are being educated to think institutionally,” said one council member. “I’m representing student affairs, which had some projects up for consideration this year. But I made a big pitch for buying a new bulldozer.” So to put it yet another way, the hybrid organizational form is the inevitable consequence of enjoying the benefits of being part of a large organization—a company or university or whatever.