Some comments on integration/management issues and strategies for new university/business alliances: the relationship to TQM/ISO9000 Available to Purchase

Integration is a key theme of what is being called the New Economy. It reflects itself not just in industries, but in new global alliances of organizations which were once competitors. This trend is reflected in universities as well as in business. Today alliances between the university and business are crucial to the survival of the university as one of humanity’s oldest institutions serving nation states. Technology and alliances are changing the very nature of the university experience, its content, and its delivery. The “Business” model is changing old adversaries into newly allied partners. Distinguishing best practices, the TQM benchmark, as operations rather than strategy is essential in the university domain, as well as in business. Operational effectiveness vs strategic positioning is a key agenda difference. Schools of business in the university world mirror this issue for the university as a whole. The new clicks and bricks alliances of a cradle‐to‐grave learning world turn attention to education as product rather than process. As the core business concept of monetizing information rules concepts of education, the very core issue of quality education is challenged.