This article will present the argument that modern performance management systems have the potential to change and negatively affect the academic supervision process and the scientific knowledge perception within postgraduate education. Empirically, the argument focuses on how one statutory management model, the so called study plane (ISP), is designed and applied at the University of Gothenburg. Theoretically, basic assumptions inherent in the control and steering logic of the ISP-model are identified, and their potential significance for knowledge-, value- and interaction formation within the supervision and dissertation process is analyzed. Our main conclusion is that the ISP-model, if applied as intended, promotes the transformation process towards organizational professionalism within the research community. The model affects trust relations, value and knowledge formation within the supervision process, and hampers experimental and creative research and findings.