ABSTRACT
Organising what in some systems are thousands of students who all study and use materials on different time schedules is an organisational nightmare on a large scale. The notion of distinctive competences is very much present in organisations using a number of technologies, such as those required for the production of multi-media teaching materials, where the organisational structure is built up around clusters of specialised skills and equipment. The distance-teaching universities represent a new departure in the organisation and management of universities. Within the organisational structure of universities a number of decision-making styles can be identified. A fundamental characteristic of decision-making in conventional universities is that, in line with their cellular structure, most decisions are localised and have very little impact outside the department in which they are taken. Most academic decisions have resource implications, or bear upon the terms and conditions of service of staff.
