Enhancing the Quality of Management Research Managers, and their organisations, face an uncertain world in the 1990s. They must operate in ever more competitive markets within an increasingly global economy, and cope with rapid technical and organisational change Both private and public sector organisations are undergoing unprecedented restructuring as they react to external change and move to safeguard performance and the delivery of effective services. Good management underpins organisational effectiveness and ultimately underwrites the economic performance and quality of life in the UK as a whole. Research into the problems, solutions and success of management processes, and the ways in which organisations can best adapt and thrive in a changing environment, has much to contribute to good management.
Research can contribute directly to management practices and to informing policy makers.
It has a particular role to play in analysing change, in pinpointing critical factors in success or failure, and in bringing forward new perspectives and methods of management. But management research and education in the UK, as in other countries, has reached a crossroad. Business schools continue to expand and many of them are now engaged in reviews of their course provision to meet the changed demands of the 1990s. At the same time, the value and quality of some management research has been questioned by academics, Sunders and users alike. The task of the Commission has been to review current problems and to set out a strategy to solve them.