University management - inputs for a discussion

Abstract

This article presents inputs for an analysis concerning university management politics. The main question is: in which measure does make sense to embody management programs in universities? The university is a singular institution for showing the capacity of overcoming historical changes without leaving the accompaniment of alterations in society. Around 70 universities created in Europe during the Middle Ages can still be found established in the beginning of this century, while many others institutions around the West part of the world have just disappeared. The university’s role, organization and modus operandi are, at the same time, reflection and counterpoint of the societies in which they are inserted and of their historical movements. Its historical function as a teaching and researching institution remains unaltered – what merely changes are the ways the university relates to its surroundings, which is the source of the debate concerning the relevance and the pertinacity of the current politics that aims to raise the university management rationality.