Management control in schools

Abstract

In this chapter we shall look at management control in schools, not only as an example of control in a specific situation but also as a vehicle by which to reflect upon the framework of control suggested by Ouchi (1979, 1980) which we referred to in Chapter 3. We shall use Ouchi’s framework as a heuristic device giving ‘ideal types’ of different approaches to control and we show how these ideals of hierarchical (or bureaucratic), market and clan control can be used to understand the approaches to management and control in schools. The chapter will also illustrate the effect of organisational participants with deeply held values on political and legislative attempts to change control mechanisms in particular organisations. Before the introduction of legislation in 1988, schools in the UK had been involved with management control only in an educational sense. They are now having to grapple with broader management issues, following the introduction of local management of schools (LMS), the details of which we shall examine later in the chapter.