ABSTRACT
In order to delve into the occult mysteries of managerialism, this chapter considers some forms of magic that are bound up with secrecy and mystery, exerting part of their power by this means. While an aura of mystery tends to surround senior university managerial staff in many respects, they are simultaneously promoted as high-profile figures by the institutional publicity apparatus, including the divisions of Marketing and Communication. While publicity plays a significant role, other forms of mystery and mystification may be employed to heighten the mystique surrounding senior managerial staff. The confusing, mutable nature of managerial policy and procedures plays another, more straightforwardly practical function, which tends to remain part of the hidden workings of managerialism and the systems of power and authority to which it may be accountable, as an undisclosed policy. Confusion of this nature can fulfil certain functions, which have been employed for comparable purposes in certain mystical practices. Manipulation and deception may fulfil additional functions.
