Why is my university forcing me to see colleagues as "customers"?

The best academic research is done in a supportive, collaborative environment – not a corporate culture.
I started my career at a post-92 institution, which was struck several serious blows during my time there. The first was the withdrawal by the government of bursaries for nurses in 2017, which caused applications to fall by a third and had a major effect on our bottom line. The second came in the form of low performance in the National Student Survey, combined with a change of senior leadership. This saw a number of departments fighting for survival. More...