New College Hierarchies?

Abstract

This article reports on the findings of a research project aimed at establishing what form of organisational structures have been adopted within Further Education (FE) colleges in England and Wales five years after incorporation and their removal from local education authority control. Colleges, like other public sector organisations, have been adapting to their new and changing external environment and to the demands for greater efficiency and higher standards of service. The article describes the new type of organisational structure and discusses the influences that have contributed to its development. It draws on the organisational development models of markets, hierarchies and clans, widely associated with the work of William Ouchi, as a framework with which to examine the dominant structure within the sector.