The cost of managerialism : the implications for the 'McDonaldisation' of higher education in Hong Kong

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management

Publication Date

5-1-1999

Volume

21

Issue

1

First Page

117

Last Page

127

Publisher

Routledge

Abstract

Universities and other institutions of higher learning now encounter far more challenge, and are subjected to an unprecedented level of external scrutiny. All providers of higher education today inhabit a more competitive world where resources are becoming scarcer, but at the same time they have to accommodate increasing demands from the local community as well as changing expectations from parents and employers. In order to be more responsive to all these competing needs an emphasis on "strong management" is introduced in the educational realm, with a fundamental paradigm shift to the notion of "economic rationalism" in running educational services. In such a policy context this paper sets out to examine how higher education in Hong Kong has gone through a similar process of marketisation, with particular reference to the strategies and approaches adopted by the University Grants Committee (UGC), the central funding body of higher educational institutions in Hong Kong, to assure a quality and "value for-money" higher education in the territory. This paper will end with a discussion of the implications of the adoption of a "management-oriented" approach in delivering educational services.

DOI

10.1080/1360080990210109

Print ISSN

1360080X

E-ISSN

14699508

Publisher Statement

The earlier version of the paper was presented to the School of Social and Policy Studies in Education, The University of Sydney, August 1997. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Mok, K. H. (1999). The cost of managerialism: The implications for the 'McDonaldisation' of higher education in Hong Kong. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 21(1), 117-127. doi: 10.1080/1360080990210109

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