Page 134 - Crisis in Higher Education

A Customer-Focused, Resource Management Perspective • 105

5.2.2 Universities Are Professional Service Organizations
A professional service organization (PSO) is a group of highly educated
experts who provide assistance to solve problems, improve performance,
and take advantage of opportunities. These experts have special educa-
tion and training that they apply to complex problems, and they often
hold professional licenses that are earned through independent testing.
Hospitals, law firms, architectural enterprises, accounting firms, con-
sulting companies, and universities are a few examples. PSOs typically
have high customer contact and differentiated, if not customized, product
offerings. Most often, the leadership of PSOs is provided by these pro-
3,4
fessionals who have an in-depth understanding of the strong and close
relationship between the professionals and the customers. Universities
are PSOs, and tenured and professional faculty members are the highly
educated experts who

1. Create new thoughts and ideas
2. Disseminate these ideas through academic and practitioner
publications
3. Design, develop, and deliver knowledge through a wide variety of
programs that educate future leaders, technical experts, and a com-
petent workforce for a wide variety of jobs
4. Interact closely with students and employers to create a strong cur-
riculum that satisfies the needs of both groups.

Tenured and professional faculty members are the experts who create
value through innovative curricula. They develop the curriculum because
students, especially in undergraduate programs, are often recent high
school graduates and know little about what they need to learn to qualify
for a particular job. So faculty experts—working with employers, gradu-
ate programs, licensure groups, and others as appropriate—create cur-
ricula that lead to four-year degrees. They determine the content of the
curriculum and set the learning standards. These efforts in curriculum
design are fundamentally important to the success of higher education,
so a chapter is devoted to this vital activity, which is represented by an
arrow connecting customers and resources in Figure 5.1.

• Chapter 10: Redesigning Curriculum and Pedagogy: This rede-
sign must consider the needs of potential employers and students.
Curricula content and standards of performance are set by the needs