This study examines the emergence of leadership characteristics within a new organizational community of individuals: the Maker community. The Maker community is a group of individuals that classify themselves as "Makers" and have become innovators and entrepreneurs through the creation of technological gadgets, artistic projects, and…

Building on network, learning, resource-based and real options theories, collaborative innovation through the sharing of ideas, knowledge, expertise, and opportunities can enable both small and large firms to successfully engage in strategic entrepreneurship. We use the real case of a research-oriented organization and its incubator for analysis…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between superintendent leadership and the operational processes of school improvement. School district superintendents (N = 226) from six southeastern states were surveyed concerning their leadership authenticity and school improvement practices. Descriptive statistics, analyzes of…

This survey questionnaire and self-analysis tool identifies most of the variables that impact institutional custodial operations and that serve as reliable standardized benchmarks for the industry. The survey also clearly defines several benchmarks that should allow more accurate and effective comparisons between operations. Sections cover…

Based on a survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) member libraries in February 1986, this kit is designed to illustrate a wide range of alternative approaches to analyzing the costs of technical services. The kit consists of the following unedited primary-source documents: (1) SPEC Technical Services Costs Survey (Three-Year Update)…

This paper explores the nature and extent of outsourcing by higher education institutions, benefits and challenges associated with outsourcing, and the implications of outsourcing for effective management. The principal investigator conducted a national study of outsourcing by four-year colleges and universities at two points in time, 1998-99 and…

A study was undertaken at the request of the Orem (Utah) Public Library administration to identify the library's strengths and weaknesses, and to measure how close they were to achieving their target goal of 100% effectiveness in the areas of referral, accuracy, and consistency, in order to improve the quality of reference services. Data were…

In the fall of 2004, following a series of conversations with the accreditation community on the topic of providing additional information to the public, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) contracted with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) to conduct a survey of accrediting organizations on this…

This manual identifies a series of performance measurements which, when assessed in their totality, can effectively measure a public library's level of service to its users. The measures have been developed at two levels. On one level, the measures can broadly evaluate the overall performance of library systems on the national level; on a second,…

This report is the result of a self-study undertaken by the staff of the University of Miami's Otto G. Richter Library as part of the Academic Library Development Program (ALDP), a management self-study program developed by the Association of Research Libraries' Office of University Library Management Studies. The basic responsibility for the…

The Delphi process provides a technique for scientific inquiry within the context of group interactions by generating information and seeking a consensus through a series of interactive probes. In a study of the effects of power on the allocation of resources in the organizational setting of public elementary schools, the Delphi technique was used…

The objectives of this study were identification and verification of key processes that could be used by higher education quality administrators to implement continuous improvement programs and benchmarking processes. East Tennessee State University's Continuous Improvement Key Process Relationship Matrix was used as the basis of a 44-item…