Abstract
A number of dramatic changes have occurred in the higher education system since the Jarratt Report into efficiency and effectiveness in the United Kingdom. Building on Cameron's (1978, 1981, 1986) seminal work on organisational effectiveness (OE) in higher education, this paper describes a test of his approach in the U.K. in an effort to establish the groundwork of an organisational effectiveness perspective for policy decisions, organisational analysis and management, and further research. Overall, the findings indicate that the scales developed by Cameron in the U.S. demonstrate considerably higher levels of reliability in the U.K. than in Australia. The explanation appears to be related to cultural differences in that the U.S. and the U.K. have stronger enduring traditions linking reputation and resources (Bigelow 1980). These and results of more detailed analysis suggest the importance of further study to unravel both cultural specific interpretation and thicker descriptions of organisational issues to facilitate future policy and management decisions (Lysons 1990a, 1990b).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bigelow, J. D. (1980). ‘Evolution and middle range theories: Toward a matrix of organizational modes’, in Pinder, C. C. and Moore, L. F. (eds.), Middle Range Theory and the Study of Organizations. Leiden, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff, pp. 157–168.
Cameron, K. S. (1978). ‘Measuring organizational effectiveness in institutions of higher education’, Administrative Science Quarterly 23, 604–632.
Cameron, K. S. (1981). ‘Domains of organizational effectiveness in colleges and universities’, Academy of Management Journal 24(1), 25–47.
Cameron, K. S. (1986). ‘A study of organizational effectiveness and its predictors’, Management Science 32, 87–112.
Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals, ‘Report of the Steering Committee for Efficiency Studies in Universities’ (The ‘Jarratt Report’), March 1985.
Goodman, P.S., Atkin, R.S. and Schoorman, F.D. (1983). ‘On the demise of organizational effectiveness studies’, in Cameron, K. S., and Whetten, D. A. (eds.), Organizational Effectiveness: A Comparison of Multiple Models. New York: Academic Press, pp. 163–183.
Gross, E. and Gambsch, P. V. (1968). University Goals and Academic Power. Washington D.C.: American Council on Education.
Gross, E. and Gambsch, P. V. (1974). Changes in University Organizations, 1964–1971, A Report for the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Lysons, A. F. (1990a). ‘Taxonomies of higher educational institutions predicted from organization climate’, Research in Higher Education 31(2), 115–128.
Lysons, A. F. (1990b). ‘Dimensions and domains of organizational effectiveness in Australian higher education’, Higher Education 20(3), 287–300.
Lysons, A. F. and Ryder, P.A. (1988). ‘An empirical test of Cameron's dimensions of effectiveness: Implications for Australian tertiary institutions’, Higher Education 17(3), 323–332.
Lysons, A. F. and Ryder, P. A. (1989). ‘An application of Jones & James' perceived climate questionnaire in Australian higher educational institutions’, Higher Education 18(6), 697–705.
Pace, C. R. (1976). ‘Institutional instruments for standardized assessment’, in M. W. Peterson (ed.) Benefiting from Interinstitutional Research, New Directions for Institutional Research, No. 12, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Pace, C. R. (1979). Measuring Outcomes of College. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Peterson, R. E. (1970). The Crisis of Purpose: Definition and Uses of Institutional Goals, Report No. 5, prepared for the ERIC Clearing House on Higher Education, Washington, D.C.
Peterson, R. E. (1971). Toward Institutional Goal-Consciousness, 1971 Western Regional Conference on Testing Problems. Princeton, N.J.: Educational Testing Service.
Romney, L. (1978). Measures of Institutional Goal Achievement. Boulder, Col: National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lysons, A., Hatherly, D. Cameron's dimensions of effectiveness in higher education in the U.K.: a cross-cultural comparison. High Educ 23, 221–230 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00145014
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00145014