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Volume 46, No. 1, 2016, pages 19-37  \nBarriers to Differentiation: Applying Organizational Studies to Ontario Higher Education  \nRoger Pizarro Milian McMaster University  \nScott Davies  \nUniversity of Toronto  \nDavid Zarifa  \nNipissing University  \nAbstract  \nOntario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities is currently attempting to increase institutional differentiation within that province’s postsecondary education system. We contend that such policies aimed to trigger organizational change are likely to generate unanticipated responses. Using insights from the field of organizational studies, we anticipate four plausible responses from universities to the ministry’s directives: remaining sensitive to their market demand, ceremonial compliance, continued status seeking, and isomorphism. We provide several policy recommendations that might help the ministry overcome these possible barriers to further differentiation.  \nRésumé  \nLe ministère de la Formation et des Collèges et Universités de l’Ontario cherche à accroître la différentiation institutionnelle du système d’éducation postsecondaire ontarien. Nous soutenons que les politiques publiquesvisant à déclencher ce changement organisationnel vontvraisemblablementengendrer des réactions imprévues. Tirant nos connaissances des champs d’études organisationnelles, nous anticiponsquatreréactions potentielles aux directives du ministère par les universités. Ainsi, les universités peuvent : demeurer  \nCJHE / RCES Volume 46, No. 1, 2016  \nBarriers to Differentiation / R. Pizarro Milian, S. Davies, & D. Zarifa 20  \nréceptives aux demandes de leur clientèle, entreprendre une conformité superficielle, s’engager dans une recherche perpétuelle d’un statut supérieur ou favoriser l’isomorphisme. Nous suggérons plusieurs recommandations de politiques publiques qui peuvent aider le ministère à faire progresser la différentiation en surmontant ces éventuels obstacles.  \nIntroduction  \nIn light of financial challenges caused by the economic downturn of 2008, and due to anticipated waning enrolment growth, Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) has identified “differentiation” as a key priority for its higher education system (MTCU, 2013, pp. 4–6). In a highly differentiated system, each college and university would have sufficiently distinct strategic mandates, research profiles, and academic programs. The common rationale for differentiation is to reduce unnecessary duplication, promote efficiency, and encourage effectiveness by incentivizing each institution to build on its particular, well-established strengths (Weingarten & Deller, 2010) . Through such a strategy, the ministry seeks to trigger more differentiation by having each institution craft its own unique strategic plan and subsequently ensuring that each adheres to that plan. Through this process, it hopes to reshape the structure of Ontario post-secondary education (PSE) .  \nBut how might Ontario colleges and universities respond to this initiative? Our paper ponders some possible consequences of this centralized attempt to promote more differentiation. We use insights from the field of organization studies—an interdisciplinary field of research composed of organizationally inclined sociologists, economists, political scientists, and business management scholars—to examine how change often occurs among organizations such as universities and colleges. Based on our reading of this literature, we identify four forces that are likely to mediate the MTCU’s efforts to boost institutional differentiation: (1) local market demand,(2) the tendency of colleges and universities to emulate high-status universities, a process known as isomorphism,(3) the capacity of institutions to engage in ceremonial compliance rather than substantive change, and (4) the tendency of higher education organizations to engage in stat","cbCaiv7YHWo22xgC","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiv7YHWo22xgC","pdf",235869,"English","# Introduction\n# The Landscape of Ontario PSE","[{\"question\":\"What policy goal is Ontario’s ministry pursuing for higher education?\",\"answer\":\"The ministry aims to increase institutional differentiation within Ontario’s postsecondary education system by encouraging each institution to craft and follow its own distinct strategic plan.\"},{\"question\":\"Why might differentiation policies lead to unexpected outcomes?\",\"answer\":\"The paper contends that organizational-change policies can generate unanticipated responses from universities rather than the intended substantive differentiation.\"},{\"question\":\"What four responses do the authors expect from universities?\",\"answer\":\"The expected responses are remaining sensitive to market demand, ceremonial compliance, continued status seeking, and isomorphism.\"}]","Barriers to Differentiation - Applying Organizational Studies to Ontario Higher Education | PDF",1792083489,48]