The research presented in this paper is part of a much wider study of a single institution, the Australian Catholic University, which was formed as a result of Government initiatives including the release of the White Paper in the late 1980s. In perhaps one of the most turbulent times in the history of higher education, Government directives resulted in mergers of various institutions, including the amalgamations of McAuley College in Brisbane, the Catholic College of Education in Sydney, Signadou Dominican College in Canberra, and the Institute of Catholic Education in Melbourne, Victoria, to form the Australian Catholic University (ACU).

The ACU was incorporated as a limited company in 1990 and commenced operation in January 1991 with administrative functions centralised at the Vice Chancellery in Sydney. Originally the University comprised eight campuses located in Brisbane, Ballarat, Melbourne (2), Sydney (3) and Canberra. Since the commencement of the research, the Castle Hill campus of the University has been closed and its functions transferred to the remaining two campuses located at North Sydney and Strathfield in Sydney. The University is a member of the Unified National System of Higher Education, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, and the International Federation of Catholic Universities.

Over the past decade, a growing number of organisations have undertaken to implement the kinds of organisational changes needed to survive and prosper in the commercial environment. Through demonstrating initiative and innovation in managing change, they have adopted a proactive stance in radically implementing operational changes, rather than merely reacting to financial and organisational crises.

Traditional conceptions of organisation now make way for newer models which set priorities to seek results from 'outside' the organisation and achieve performance in the market. With the increasing ambiguity and flexibility required by organisations, Hesselbein (1997) argues that far more clarity will be needed in respect to mission, values, and strategy; in terms of balancing long and short range goals; and in defining results. Increasingly, organisations will need to operate as 'transnational' businesses in which markets remain local or regional but competition is global (Hesselbein, 1997). Others argue that organisations, such as universities, should be regarded as more than just responsive to the market forces driven by the economy (Johnson, 1994; Currie & Woock, 1995; Marginson, 1995; Luke, 1997), as they comprise individuals who bring with them individual beliefs, attitudes and values about all manner of things relating to the ongoing life and development of the organisation.

Central to effective management is the development of an understanding of the underlying assumptions that members of an organisation share about its identity and ultimate mission or function. Theories of organisation and management are, according to Morgan (1996), based on implicit images or metaphors that lead us to see, understand, and manage organisations in distinctive yet incomplete ways. The use of metaphor implies 'a way of thinking' and 'a way of seeing' that pervades how we understand our world generally. Along with this, however, is the notion that the use of metaphor always creates with it a form of 'one-sided insight' in which less valued information is pushed further into the background.

Understandably, individuals within organisations will hold differing views about their role and the future direction of the organisation to which they belong. Not unexpectedly, they will also vary in their perceptions of their 'ideal' organisation. Yet accepting this, successful organisations still have the capacity to project a coherent and common identity to those outside the organisation and are able to galvanise individual perceptions and goals into group goals within (Senge, 1990). Successful managers work to maximise the strengths of their employees, and the management of situations is distinguished by their ability to 'read what is happening' in order to understand and transform particular situations (Morgan, 1996).

While considerable research has been carried out in specific areas of higher education, it is only relatively recently that interest has turned to the exploration of areas such as the cultures within universities, student cultures, and ethnographic studies of institutional 'underlife' (Riseborough, 1992; Trowler, 1998). In a study of one British university, Trowler (1998) explores how academic staff respond to changes in higher education. He identifies four educational ideologies which revolve around three axes: the aim of higher education (Newmanite or vocational); the important content (discipline-based propositional knowledge or general transferable skills); and the important functions taking place within it (research or teaching). At the most fundamental level, these, he believes, answer three essential questions about education: 'what exactly should we do?', 'why should we do it?', and 'how should we do it?'. Within this matrix, Trowler identifies four ideological positions: traditionalism, progressivism, enterprise and social constructivism (Trowler, 1998).

In brief, those adopting a Traditionalist position view universities predominantly as elitist in nature, and consider that academics are custodians of the cultural, research and disciplinary heritage of society. Access to universities is limited to the talented minority, able to cope with the inherent difficulties of study at the level of higher education. Conversely, those adopting a Progressivist position reject the elitist perspective and believe universities should be open to all comers. An important role of the university, from this perspective, is to encourage those who are disadvantaged, and in so doing provide opportunities for balancing the inequalities imposed by an unjust social system. Academic standards are seen as of lesser relevance and teaching is favoured over research. The third position, titled Enterprising, promotes the view that the university should equip students with the necessary skills to be able to pursue a successful career; ie, development of the human capital. The motivation and reason for the university is therefore economic. This view embraces new technology and other advances seen as improving production efficiency. Skills are more important than content; teaching is more important than research. Finally, the fourth position, described as Social Reconstructivism claims that education can be a force for encouraging social change. Individual students are 'improved' through participation in higher education, are therefore better able to address the prevailing social norms and help change them for the better. This perspective supports the use of variety and flexibility in courses. The university is therefore a change agent but is incorporated into the system of state control.

This paper reports on findings from a study of staff in the Australian Catholic University. The study explores the impact of change on over sixty academics, who occupy various positions within the three faculties of Health Sciences, Arts and Sciences and Education. This paper explores responses to five open questions from a total of twenty six questions designed to facilitate thinking on the broader socio-political context of change in higher education, through to changes occurring within the local context, and finally, the impact of change on individuals at the personal level.

The five questions specifically focus on academics' perceptions of the role of universities, what constitutes an ideal university, their views on the direction they believe the Australian Catholic University should be heading in the future, and those factors which might threaten the continuing development of the ACU.

Participants were determined on the basis of an incidental or opportunistic approach to sampling and, as might be expected in an organisation undergoing considerable change, a wide range of academic staff occupying positions at various levels and across the three faculties within the University structure presented for interview. While accepting the limitations of an opportunistic approach, including that of replication, every effort was made to maintain a balance of factors including such factors as gender, age, and geographical location in the sample. In all, 65 interviews are reported in this paper: from Arts and Sciences, from Education, and from Health Sciences.

Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and the subsequent interrogation of the interview transcripts completed through the adoption of a qualitative approach to analysis. Numerous codes were developed to categorise the ideas presented and subsequent themes have begun to emerge. Frequent reference to the interview transcripts was made to check references and extend meaning.

The specific interview questions selected for analysis in this paper were:

• What role do universities play in society?

• In what direction would you like to see the University heading in the future?

• In your view are there any factors which might prevent or threaten its continuing development?

• What do you perceive as the driving force behind the organisation?

• If you were able to design your 'ideal' Australian Catholic University what would it be like?

While individual responses have been organised according to academic staff level and faculty, the analysis of the data for this paper makes no such distinction for the purpose of presentation in the following tables.

Responses to this question demonstrated clear differences in the way in which academics view the nature and role of the university in society. 22% regarded the university as a repository of knowledge and a place where individuals were able to pursue knowledge for knowledge sake. 13% also saw the university as a centre for scholarly research while 23% saw the university as a centre of learning which had as it aim the betterment of society. Another 21% believed the role of the university should be to critique society; or as stated by one academic 'I see that it should be a bit of a leaven, ...be able to critique society, ...bring out the best in students ... be the conscience of society' or as described by another ' to be an irritant ...to irritate people into thinking as opposed to just accepting the status quo'. Only 15% saw the university as a training institution with the specific purpose of offering courses which are linked to vocational outcomes. A number of other minor categories were identified. Interestingly, only 2% saw universities as instruments of social change and even fewer saw universities as providing opportunities for mass education or focussing on community service.

Responses to this question clearly demonstrate academics' preferences for the future direction of the University. The highest ranking of 21% came from those academics who strongly believed the University should look for those opportunities which allow it to create a niche market; in particular, the development of special courses which make the University unique. This was not to happen, however, at the expense of what might be regarded as the 'bread and butter' courses such as teaching which had served the University well in the past. Another 21% saw the promotion of a Catholic identity as occupying an important role in the future growth of the organisation while a further 9% saw the development of a national and international reputation, as important. The nurturing role, for which ACU has established a fine reputation, did not rate as highly as might be expected with only 9% placing importance on this aspect and only a further 5% regarding a community focus as an essential role for the University. Only 8% described research as essential to the future development of the organisation which possibly reflects the evolution of the University from the various colleges of education for which research was traditionally not given a high priority. 17% of responses indicated concern with internal organisational matters (items 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16) while the remaining 10% touched on a variety of other issues.

Not surprisingly, the highest proportion of responses (30%) related to concerns about financial matters, and especially the possibility of further Government funding cuts. 13% held concerns regarding the University administration and expressed reservations about the adequacy of existing structures for future development. There were concerns regarding the inadequacy of the decision-making process, lack of prior consultation and an effective, functional decision-making structure which 'strikes a balance between getting the job done and allowing those people who should be involved to have sufficient input'. Another 6% identified the geographic dispersal of ACU campuses in three states and the ACT expressed as 'a great ongoing challenge' and the push to bring all the faculties together across the various boundaries to 'think together...think globally as one faculty rather than separate campuses' was seen as a source of tension.

The possible influence of the Catholic Church was highlighted as a possible future threat, although not a particularly strong one, and loss of a Catholic identity was only regarded as a problem by 5% of academics. While excessive workload has been identified as a cause for concern (Broadbent, 1997) only 8% of academics identified it in this question as a possible factor threatening the continuing development of the University. Of minor concern (1%) was the possibility of unemployment for graduating students.

Responses to this question clearly indicate that academics perceive the organisation as obviously 'people driven' with a substantial 25% of academics believing they are the driving force behind the organisation while another 23% believed it to be related to members of the organisation occupying top management positions. Only 13% saw the Catholic Church as a force behind the organisation despite the University's title and obvious presence of the Church at the level of governance.

Mentioned also was the Catholic community, including Catholic religious and lay people, as having a high interest in the survival and success of the University. A larger proportion, 15%, saw the need to address economic priorities and the University's reliance on government funding as a driving force. Of some concern is the 10% who did not perceive the University to have a driving force at all; ie in the words of one academic, it is 'self-propelled'.

Responses to this question provided considerable insights into academics' views of their ideal university. 17% of staff highlighted the importance of a collegial environment at the University where more open communication, mutual trust and sharing between staff are regarded as highly important. Another 11% would prefer a move away from the current centralised administrative structures to the provision of 'a structure in which the campuses had a greater degree of local autonomy, while still meeting the demands of a single university structure' Others questioned the validity and logic of 'an incredible passion...that everything has to be the same...to be done at the same time,...through one central place', possibly creating the potential problem experienced in larger universities, where students become 'just numbers'. 13% believed the religious orientation should be strong, 10% want more resources, and 7% want ACU to be a top research establishment. A further 7% would like to see it more heavily involved in social justice issues. A number of other options were also described in the wide ranging responses to this question.

Organisational change is a broad phenomenon encompassing a diversity of applications and approaches, including economic, political, technical, and social perspectives (Cummings and Worley, 1993). Change in organisations can be in response to external or internal forces, such as market shifts, competitive pressures, and technological innovations, or more simply, through managers attempting to implement or improve existing work practices. Regardless of its origins, organisational change impacts on people and their relationships and, if not implemented well, can have significant social consequences resulting in resistance and possible sabotage (Cummings and Worley, 1993).

Significant changes brought about by the formation of the Australian Catholic University required modification to the internal structures and processes for managing the organisation. From the legacy brought by the discontinued colleges of education, the drive to obtain University status and credibility necessitated modifying the several existing cultures in order to produce a unified, corporate culture to support the new direction. Management was challenged by the need for strong leadership while academics were required to make qualitative shifts to the way they perceived, conceptualised and carried out their workplace roles.

Essential to organisational effectiveness is the level of cohesion between the cultural, political and technological systems including the provision of opportunities for active participation in administrative processes. Successful implementation of change is characterised by considerable innovation and learning which continues almost indefinitely as organisational members discover opportunities to respond to the changes through the adoption of new strategies and reassessment of individual goals as the organisation adapts to the changing conditions. That academics hold differing views regarding the future direction of the organisation, as found in this study, provides a potential source of tension for management, especially considering the low priority given by most interviewees to the development of a research profile. As well, further opportunities for academics to be more closely involved in the decision-making processes would also seem, from the Table 6 responses, to be imperative to the successful development of the organisation in the future.

Academics import into their professional lives, attitudes, sets of values and behavioural norms from other environments which help shape the type of work environment created as well as guide the selection of work-related activities and roles to which individuals aspire. This study demonstrated that considerable differences in attitudes and perceptions regarding the future development of the organisation exist. This presents a challenge to management in maximising opportunities to utilise the dynamics created by these differing views. In vigorously pursuing a vision for itself, ACU management must be cognisant of the individual visions of academic staff themselves, as they form not only the characters but also the characteristics of the institution's resource base.

In pursuit of an identity, the University has set out to be an excellent University but, as this research suggests, has lost some opportunities to be unique. While the title suggests that it has distinctive features, it is also important that it be seen to be so. Cultivating the unique features will no doubt produce tensions but also opportunities for both management and staff. The challenge is to develop a vibrant organisation able to manage ongoing change while maintaining or indeed improving, the standards and quality of its offerings and learning environment for its students.

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