This article outlines a number of general approaches to organisational effectiveness, and three approaches to effectiveness in the more specific field of higher education.The literature survey is used to derive a broad framework suggestive of the main causal relationships likely to exist between various areas of institutional achievement, and this framework is used as a background to discussion of empirical evidence.Empirical findings in the field of institutional achievement are sparse and poorly interconnected. The article summarises findings from product portfolio matrix studies and Cameron's work on effectiveness, discusses some aspects of institutional management, and outlines some differences between British and American universities regarding the acquisition of funds.The article concludes with comments on some methodological aspects of assessing institutional achievement.