A number of observers of higher education are arguing that the recent changes in the sector indicate a ‘corporatisation’ of higher education and that this process of ‘corporatisation’ is eroding traditional values and practices thus altering the nature of higher education. According to organisational theorists, the culture of an organisation can offer clues about the functionality of an organisation. Indeed understanding the culture of an organisation might enable key stakeholders to foretell system failure, and hence save an organisation such as a university from going ‘pathological’. This paper presents part of an exploratory investigation into the organisational culture of an Australian university. The findings support the assertion that recent changes in the Australian higher education sector have seen universities move from a corporate-collegial model towards a corporate-mercantile model, thus compromising aspects of core functionality. It is argued here that if an organisation understands what its core business is, that is, its true nature, then a strong emphasis on that area should ensure system functionality.

Key words: higher education, culture, competing values framework