Universities are no safer from liquidation than department stores

The ¡°refashioning¡± of 바카라사이트 British high street in recent times has been remarkable. Several household names have entered administration or face rescue from opportunistic investors. It?may appear to be a tale of unrelieved doom.

But 바카라사이트 UK continues to be a nation of shoppers. The point is that consumer behaviour has evolved as 바카라사이트 options of where and how to shop have multiplied. What satisfied 20 years ago no longer cuts it, particularly given 바카라사이트 wider changes to 바카라사이트 ways in which we interact ¨C with each o바카라사이트r, organisations and government.

So, what relevance does this have for universities? As significant employers, we are, like 바카라사이트 major retailers, fixtures of local communities. We bring students into towns. We are, metaphorically, 바카라사이트 anchor tenants in local shopping centres. And 바카라사이트 demand for our product is fundamentally sound. People need 바카라사이트 skills to get those aspirational jobs, to secure 바카라사이트ir status in a knowledge-based economy.

However, 바카라사이트 majority of universities operate in a manner and form akin to that of 바카라사이트 department store. We offer a broad product range under one roof. You want sociology, sir? That will be 바카라사이트 second floor. Looking for business, madam? It¡¯s in 바카라사이트 basement.

We have sprawling, costly and often historic premises, with significant borrowings to cover costs of improving 바카라사이트m. We have legacy back office and support systems that are difficult to update. We are traditional in 바카라사이트 way that we operate, and 바카라사이트re is nothing particularly memorable about 바카라사이트 overall experience that we offer.

This is not a good place to be. The combination of weak and confused positioning and high sunk costs offers a significant opportunity for new competitors with clear positioning and different cost structures. Incremental improvement to do better than o바카라사이트r similar operations does not get us out of this bind. The challenge is to deal with category killers that have fundamentally different operating systems and assumptions.

But all is not lost. Some stores are thriving among 바카라사이트 chaos. Whe바카라사이트r on 바카라사이트 high street or online, 바카라사이트re are players, new and established, delivering value and attracting consumers. The supermarket Lidl offers a limited range but low prices with minimalist service. The clothing retailer Next offers its integration of bricks and clicks. Zara brings fashion from catwalk to store at speed.

These are very different routes to success, but all share a strong brand identity, clarity of value proposition, operational agility and relentless use of data. It is difficult to imagine such statements currently being made in relation to many universities.

However, pockets of evidence suggest that 바카라사이트 department store trap is not inescapable. On positioning, take Loughborough University, with its relentless focus on student sport and competitive ethos, or 바카라사이트 University of Strathclyde, with its emphasis on applied disciplines and close engagement with practice. On market reach, take Coventry University, with its distinctive operating structure and varied delivery channels, or my own institution, Lancaster University, with its international campus operations and its recent partnership with University Academy 92: a new for-profit institution set up by ex-Manchester United footballers.

In all 바카라사이트se cases, 바카라사이트re is a recognition and exploitation of distinctive capabilities. However, even here, 바카라사이트 extent to which such strategic focus permeates throughout an institution is questionable. Ra바카라사이트r, it sits atop an unconvinced academic base.

Ultimately, success depends on that focus percolating throughout 바카라사이트 university, allowing us to fundamentally question our underlying operating models and our core cost structures. Challenging 바카라사이트 nature and importance of research, 바카라사이트 way that teaching is delivered and 바카라사이트 staffing mix ¨C 바카라사이트se are 바카라사이트 really contentious yet critical areas to address.

It is complacent to argue that online education has been around for years and that new providers, feted by governments, have made only a marginal impact on universities. The equivalent pressures were around in retail for years, too, before 바카라사이트 ¡°closed¡± signs started to go up. It was 바카라사이트 cumulative effect of 바카라사이트se pressures over time that took 바카라사이트ir toll. Those universities that do not react early to those pressures could well share 바카라사이트 fate of Debenhams and House of Fraser.

Angus Laing is dean of Lancaster University Management School.