The nature of project management is change. Even though all knowledge areas in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) are rooted in controlling change, none of these areas specifically addresses the human elements of change. There is a significant distinction between directly controlling change relative to the nonhuman aspects of a…

In most districts, the evaluation of superintendents by the members of the board of education takes place in executive session of the board behind closed doors. Few board members or superintendents question the status quo. Most evaluation forms are merely collections of subjective checklists that catalog approved personality traits, attributes,…

Stating that management training programs usually contribute little to organization results because they focus on improving personal characteristics, the authors describe a training and development strategy and training design to produce performance-improvement results. Programs using this strategy are described. (MF)

Three systems of appraisal of employees are described with reference to major characteristics and the most appropriate application context. The first system, the developmental action program, is designed to be utilized on a job allowing the employee considerable discretion in reaching the job's objectives, and perhaps some autonomy in establishing…

This report provides an overview of the Department of Education's (ED) progress toward four main goals: (1) help all children reach challenging academic standards; (2) build a solid foundation for learning for all children; (3) ensure access to postsecondary education and lifelong learning; and (4) make ED a high-performance organization. The…

The Research and Planning (RP) Group for the California Community Colleges (CCC) supports the Partnership for Excellence (PFE) effort to improve student success as measured by the goals, yet the RP Group sees the goals as limited in scope regarding the full work of the CCC. In addition, the RP Group is realistic about the political forces at work…

Explains how clear communication of job performance expectations and evaluation can help employees improve productivity. (JM)

This paper discusses policy issues faced by two-year colleges in the state of Washington during the first year of implementation of performance funding. Four key policy questions were reviewed: (1) the reward versus entitlement paradigm shift, which forces educators to alter expectations about "entitlement" to higher education funding…