The National Professional Qualification for Headship: Perceptions of the providers of taught higher degrees in educational management in England and Wales

This paper argues that evidence from the commercial sector suggests that successful organisations, even when subjected to competitive pressures from other organisations in a market environment, soon become complacent and thereafter begin to fail. It contends that the effects which lead to such complacency could also apply to successful schools. Based upon an analysis of these effects the paper argues that a strategic planning process which takes account of the dangers of a strong shared culture in a school could avert the dangers of complacency. Further, it suggests that schools should take a wider view of their development than the current English Government's preoccupation with examination and test results if they are to keep abreast of changing client expectations and avoid a stultifying quest for marginal improvements in exam scores.