Inger Boyett

The public sector entrepreneur ‐ a definition

Since the early 1980s there have been fundamental changes in the structure and management of the UK public sector, based on the introduction of quasi‐markets. The literature suggests that, for markets to operate at their maximum level of efficiency, there is an overwhelming need for entrepreneurial activity. Attempts through a synthesis of the published literature, surveys of educational and health managers and case examples, to determine whether a new strain of leadership ‐ the public sector entrepreneur ‐ is emerging to display many of the characteristics of their business counterparts.

The Dynamics of Partnership Sourcing

Examines how and why some major UK purchaser and supplier organizations have increasingly sought to become partners. Drawing on detailed case studies of Rank Xerox, Hoover, ICL and British Rail discusses the dynamics of partnership sourcing, and analyses and exemplifies the costs and benefits to both partners and suppliers. Suggests that both partners benefit from the increased commitment and improved communications that partnership brings. Argues that purchasers derive extra advantages from partnership relations in the form of the potential for a reduced supplier base and increased scope for quality improvements in supplier goods and services. Finally, considers a number of problems, opportunities and constraints on partnership sourcing. Concludes that it is the UK cultural heritage of adversarialism in purchaser‐supplier relations which present the most significant difficulties in making partnership sourcing work.

New leader, new culture, “old” university

Argues that changes in education policy over the last decade‐and‐a‐half have moved some of the most traditionalist organizations in the UK, the “old” universities into a totally alien environment. The numbers of universities has nearly doubled, competition is encouraged through external audit and league tables, resourcing has been cut, while the student numbers have grown; and the twin concepts of “business” and “management” have entered their vocabulary. Asks whether, in a period of such accelerating change, the leadership styles in the old universities have changed to accommodate the new managerial culture. Gives a case example of the changing management and organizational development at the University of Nottingham to provide an example of the new style of higher education leadership.

The failure of competence‐based management education in the public sector – A problem of generic transfer or implementation?

This paper presents a case study of a management development programme, which adopts a competence‐based approach aimed at middle managers in a further education college. The programme takes place in a context that promotes the concept of general management. However, the programme, in which the general management approach is embedded, is resisted by the participating middle managers, to the extent that the programme “collapses” half way through and is never revived. As the paper suggests, there may be two reasons for this. First, in considering any potential relationship between public and private sectors, a key question is whether generic transfer of managerial ideas and practices from private to the public sector is appropriate. Second, it may be a question of the way in which the programme was implemented and delivered.

The pillar of the community: back to entrepreneurial basics

In Victorian Britain the school head teacher along with other local officials was seen as a pivotal force in the economic development of an area. This recognition has declined over time and increasingly in the last decade when the policy-makers have been denigrating the outcomes of the state school sector to facilitate policy changes. A number of academics have identified the role of the ‘community entrepreneur’ in local economic development. This paper, using the case of a school situated in a depressed area of Nottinghamshire and its head teacher, attempts to examine the role of the head teacher as a ‘community entrepreneur’. The study would seem to suggest that entrepreneurial head teachers may provide a more cost-effective input in the longterm generation of depressed areas, than high levels of finance or artificially created community entrepreneurs in the form of civil servant consultants.

Corporate governance and the school head teacher

This article poses the question as to whether the concepts of corporate governance as applied to business are applicable to state schools in the UK. The definition of corporate governance as the manner or system of governing a united group to achieve best performance, rather than as a method of control or accountability, is explored. The post‐Cadbury model of corporate governance and a formal education version are evaluated. Using previous research by the authors, and two case examples, it is suggested that a more comprehensive model of governance is needed. The model would incorporate a tripartite system—governing body, advisory body and head teacher—allied to the involvement of all stakeholders in shared organization decision‐making and control.