In his most recent book, Management Fads in Higher Education: Where The Come From, What They Do, Why They Fail, Robert Birnbaum argues that most attempts to integrate contemporary management concepts into the higher education arena have failed. But in contrast to his earlier works, most notably How Colleges Work and How Academic Leadership Works, Birnbaum displays a troubling lack of understanding of the subject matter.

     Management Fads in Higher Education is organized into three sections in which Birnbaum attempts to explain how academic management fads develop, how they evolve from an organizational and managerial perspective, and how they can best be dealt with by educational administrators. Birnbaum goes into considerable detail in explaining what he interprets as the academic "life cycles" of seven different management "fads": Planning Programming Budgeting System, Management by Objectives, Zero-Base Budgeting, Strategic Planning, Benchmarking, Total Quality Management, and Business Process Reengineering.

     He first describes their impact on management efficacy in the corporate sector (which he sees as essentially nil) and then turns his attention to how they have been naively embraced by higher education. Once Birnbaum's analysis is complete, he arrives at the rather predictable conclusion that colleges and universities cannot and should not be viewed as traditional businesses.

     The primary problem is that Birnbaum does not write in good faith--he does not approach the topic in an objective manner. It is obvious from the very first page that he already believes his particular philosophical position to be correct. As such, everything he presents is intentionally slanted toward his perspective. Even Birnbaum's basic concept of a "fad" is questionable. During its initial introduction, Christianity would have fit his definition.

     Birnbaum's sarcastic writing style is also distracting, especially for a book which purports to be a "scholarly work." For example, in reference to those who attempt to apply corporate management innovations to higher educations, Birnbaum notes, "Although now an apostate, I empathize with my colleagues who worship at the altar of false gods. I was once myself a votary" (p. xv). The implication is that Birnbaum, due to his life and work experiences, has somehow acquired an insight into reality that the rest of us have obviously overlooked.

     Anyway, much of what Birnbaum classifies as "fads" are actually management innovations that have been employed with considerable success at a large number of companies and several institutions of higher education. The truth is that all of the management approaches that Birnbaum identifies as "fads" have substantial merit along with the potential to beneficially transform both business and the academy if given a fair chance to succeed; i.e., more than fifteen minutes. Much to Birnbaum's chagrin, his "fads" are quietly but relentlessly changing the face of our world.

     Take Total Quality Management (TQM) for instance. Birnbaum dismisses TQM as misguided and counterproductive. He even goes so far as to assert that many business are openly hostile to quality (pg. 104). In today's intensely competitive economic environment, however, companies that are not concerned about quality tend to go away. The truth is that TQM has been irrefutably successful in companies and institutions where it has been conscientiously and consistently implemented. Yet Birnbaum seems to think that management systems such as TQM inherently denigrate the nature and essence of higher education. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Rather than an attempt to commodify higher education, TQM provides institutions with a proven means of demonstrating accountability and, ultimately, societal responsibility.

     Part of Birnbaum's problem revolves around one-dimensional thinking and semantics. On page 204, he asserts that "Words and phrases such as personal growth, intellectual development, the scholarly community, humanism, improving society, and liberal education give way to discussions of accountability, cost-benefit analysis, and reengineering." The central flaw in his reasoning is that he assumes this is an either/or proposition. The fundamental mission of higher education has always revolved around personal, social, cultural and intellectual enlightenment. But colleges and universities can be both effective and efficient in achieving these ends.

     Throughout the book, Birnbaum keeps reiterating the same charge; namely, that anecdotal evidence affirming the success of these management "fads" is overwhelming, but actual data are often hard to find. This simply reflects Birnbaum's relatively narrow perspective on what constitutes legitimate "research." Over the last couple of decades, even higher education has begun to acknowledge and accept the importance of qualitative research. The real reason Birnbaum is quick to dismiss this type of evidence is probably because it does not support his thesis.

     Birnbaum does accurately identify the true culprit, although it is unclear whether or not he realizes it. On page 104, he notes that "As is customary, academic institutions rather than the idea itself [in reference to TQM] were the problem." The bottom line (to use a business phrase) is that higher education must change if it is to survive. It must chart a new course. The encapsulated and overly romanticized view of the Ivory Tower that Birnbaum is so desperately clinging to is slowly giving way to the integrated, overtly realistic institution of the future. And unfortunately for Birnbaum, the way to manage the future will be decidedly different from what worked in the past.

     In the final chapter in the book, "Managing Fads," Birnbaum contends that higher education should somehow be exempt from the economic and political forces that shape the rest of society and its institutions. Birnbaum is adamant about this and asserts that "Burning institutionalized villages has never effectively captured the hearts and minds of their inhabitants" (pg. 222). But if higher education refuses to accept objective reality; i.e., that it must change in order to survive, then Birnbaum's point, no matter how well intentioned, is really moot.