English edit

Etymology edit

departmental +‎ -ism

Noun edit

departmentalism (uncountable)

  1. Excessive adherence to departmental methods, rules or structure.
  2. Organization by government departments, as opposed to other mechanisms, such as NGOs.
    • 1989, David Paterson, ‎ Mary Palmer, The Status of Animals: Ethics, Education and Welfare, page 2:
      Lord Whitelaw, then Chairman of the Conservative Party Policy Committee, considered that departmentalism would be more effective than umbrellaism.

Further reading edit