Museum Management and Museum Services
PROF. LUIGI DI CORATO
COURSE AIMS
The objective is to equip the student with the competencies needed to understand
the peculiarity of the museum and museum services in order to allow an informed,
aware application of specific management strategies.
COURSE CONTENT
Our starting point will be an analysis of the meaning of the word “museum” by
comparing the different national and international definitions and providing a
detailed overview of the features of Italian museums, as well as the professional
staff required to run them. This will enable us to answer questions such as: How
many museums are there? What kind of museums are they? How are they
managed? By who? How many visitors do they get?
After consolidating the reference context, we will study the economic and
organizational rationale that underpin the existence of museums and differentiate
them from other types of organizations. We will then analyze some of the business
economics models applied to the cultural heritage, with special regard to the
museum’s relation with the market.
We then will study the management assumptions, illustrating the specificities of
the diverse types of management (in-house management; institution; privately
managed not-for-profit and for-profit museums). Of the possible management tools
and as key reference point of Italian legislation, we will address the theme of
museum standards. This will be interpreted through national and international
experiences and, above all, in the perspective of museum intended as a public
service.
We will also analyze other management and development tools, such as museum
networks and systems, as well as cultural districts, illustrated also through concrete
cases of success.
The theme of museum development will be approached through methodological
guidelines and basic assumptions of sustainable strategic development. Fundraising theoretical guidelines and practical techniques will also be afforded. A
special focus will be dedicated to internationalization policies, as strategies
characterizing contemporary leading museums’ approach, but actually, in this era
of globalization, impacting even on the smallest museums.
Eventually the course plans to provide the student with operational preparation in
using one of the most popular management methods: project management.
Museums from culture to management
1.1 Definition of museum.
1.1.1 Today’s museum according to ICOM, to the main English-speaking
museum associations (Museum Association UK, Irish Museums
Association, American Association of Museums, Canadian Museums
Association, Museums Australia), and according to Italian law (Legislative
Decree 42/04).
1.1.2 Museum professional associations abroad and in Italy.
1.2 How many museums does Italy have?
1.2.1 Ownership, type and distribution.
1.2.2 Size and number of visitors.
1.3 Who works in museums?
1.3.1 The scientific and managerial professions
Museums and management
2.1 Museums’ economical rationale – market and museum. Cultural heritage
intended as a collective asset not responding to the market rules and
business-oriented museum: some business models applied to cultural assets
and the museum.
2.2.1 Museum and market. The museum as a producer of mixed goods and its
relation with the market
2.2 Legal status and types of management. Management considerations and
assumptions: museums are not all the same (in-house management; institution;
privately managed not-for-profit and for-profit museums).
2.3 Museum standards as a management tool: history, purpose, and potential
applications.
2.4 Networks, systems and districts. Integrated management, economies of scale,
platforms and forms of local area development.
2.5 Museums, sustainable development, and strategic management. The basis of
harmonious development and the guidelines to achieve it.
2.6 Fund-raising for museums. Fund-raising objectives and methods.
2.7 Museums and globalization. Internationalization models and worldwide
activities.
2.8 A management method: project management. Theoretical and practical
guidelines.
READING LIST
For the final exam, in addition to being tested on the course essay (available in pdf format
on the lecturer's webpage), the student will need to:
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demonstrate solid knowledge of at least four museums in Milan;
prepare two in-depth studies to be chosen from the topics on the website.
TEACHING METHOD
Lectures, group seminars, field work or projects.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Oral exam.
NOTES
Meetings and discussions on current and special interest topics will be scheduled during
the academic year.
Further information can be found on the lecturer's webpage at
http://docenti.unicatt.it/web/searchByName.do?language=ENG, or on the Faculty notice
board.