Post-modernism, deprofessionalisation and commodification: the outcomes of performance measurement in higher education

The central argument of this paper is that current regimes of performance measurement in the UK's higher education sector are unlikely to deliver any real improvements in performance. Rather, the paper argues, the most likely outcomes will be further increases in the deprofessionalisation of academic staff and commodification of the work they carry out. The paper reaches this conclusion for three main reasons. First, the regimes of measurement reflect the triumph of a flawed post-modern philosophy which privileges and emphasises system deconstruction and economic functionality. Second, the regimes reflect a further installment in the two decade old story of New Public Management (NPM) and the transformation of the public sector through the importation of private sector practices and philosophies. Finally, the regimes will not deliver on their objectives because they are fundamentally flawed in terms of management process.