Lean Management as a Concept of Management in Higher Education

Abstract

The author focuses on analysing the external and internal contexts of the functioning of modern higher education institutions. She analyses changes in approaches to managing universities, taking into consideration public organization management models, public policies, the changing definitions of the roles played by universities in social and economic development, as well as management concepts and methods. The author characterizes the essence of the process approach, defines the specific qualities of processes conducted in higher education institutions, as well as new approaches to their classification. She also discusses process management concepts followed in universities, e.g. Total Quality Management (TQM), Business Process Reengineering (BPR), and Business Process Management (BPM). She also presents the essence of Lean Management and the conditions for implementing this concept in higher education institutions. The chapter ends with a proposal for a Lean university model.