Abstract:
As the AIDS epidemic moves from the early stages of HIV spread into a growing
wave of premature deaths, its in-house impacts are felt in all formal
organisations. The paper addresses the particular situation of institutions of
higher learning, known to be among the last to develop management responses to
the epidemic. While some smaller Ugandan universities have adopted AIDS
policies, Makerere University, situated in a country hailed for its success in
fighting HIV/AIDS, is yet to offer a clear response to its toll among staff and
students. The fates of initiatives taken on campus since the early 1990s are
discussed within a context of general demands made on a university deeply
affected by the turmoil preceding the NRM government. Organisational problems in
decision-making on sensitive issues are studied. The paper ends with a review of
suitable theoretical approaches to explain behaviours of universities, among
them Minzberg’s (1993) characterisation of ‘professional bureaucracies’.