Who Can Save the University? | Public Books

Food for thought: "As public universities have sunk into economic frailty over the last decades, attempts to restore their health have followed a script inherited from traditional enterprises. The remedy employed is always the same and so trivially simple it is a wonder they bother granting business degrees. It can be summarized in one word: productivity. The full version will fit on an index card: (1) Reduce labor costs by (2) automating where possible, (3) drawing more work from surviving employees, while (4) cheapening labor costs via wage and benefit reductions, and at the same time (5) accelerating throughput, the velocity with which goods fly through the production process. Often a final step expands the managerial layer charged with directing these newly accelerated processes. If the consumer’s price tag can be jacked up as well, all the better. Got it? Shazam, you have an MBA."