Baker Library at Harvard Business School is increasingly asked by the school's faculty to create custom digital information products to enhance course assignments and to find novel ways of electronically disseminating faculty research. In order to prioritize these requests, as well as facilitate, manage, and track the resulting projects, the…

In the current educational context, school models that leverage technology to personalize instruction have proliferated, as has student enrollment in, and funding of, such school models. However, even the best laid plans are subject to challenges in design and practice, particularly in the dynamic context of a school. In this collective case…

Case study of Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt's attempt at innovation in the United States Navy offers a means of assessing individual initiative in hiearchical change. (PD)

Describes the steps involved in the action research model of planned organizational change and presents a modified model for teacher librarians in public school systems. An example of a problem and the steps needed to resolve that problem are provided. (9 references) (CLB)

This paper examines elements that support the creation of a Motivational Learning Environment. Is it possible to motivate students or should educators focus their energy on creating a motivational learning environment in which students become self-directed and self-motivated learners? The paper focuses on the topics of paradigms, purpose, people,…

Examines the important role that communication can play in the implementation of organizational change and discusses the case history of a personnel-oriented change in a specific organization from the perspective of the communication model to illustrate its proper use. (TA)

The primary cause of difficulties in the implementation phase of planned change in business organizations is the lack of a parallel communication plan to facilitate the changes implied by new strategy. Planners usually concentrate on content (the strategy itself) to the neglect of process (how the strategy should be developed and implemented).…

This information analysis paper examines (1) the characteristics associated with effective change facilitators and (2) the concept of "style" and its value in describing and understanding leadership performance and the role of change facilitators in particular. Three bodies of literature are highlighted and summarized in pursuit of…

Kurt Lewin's seminal work in organizational communication could potentially help solve many dilemmas faced by workplace literacy programs as they attempt to ensure that program participants not only learn basic skills but also use them in the context of work. According to Lewin's "field theory" approach, an individual's behavior is a…

Addresses the subject of organizational termination, suggesting it is an appropriate concern for the field of organization development, and that present methodologies are inadequate to deal with it. Describes a consulting experience with one dying organization and experimental intervention strategies. Describes behavioral reactions of staff to…

This document consists of four papers presented during a symposium on the change process in organizations moderated by John Redding at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "Corporate Culture: Friend or Foe of Change?" (Joanne Burgess) reports a study of the characteristics of corporate culture that facilitate…

Considers approaches to dealing with user attitudes toward newly implemented information systems (IS), and suggests that behavioral management strategies relevant to IS fall into three categories: (1) empirical/rational; (2) normative/reeducative; and (3) power/coercive, based on "planned change" theories. An integrative contingent model…

This book, which is designed for individuals interested in changing and developing their organizations, examines the organizational learning cycle and ways of learning collectively. Among the topics discussed in the book's nine chapters are the following: (1) changing nature of work and organizational learning; (2) theoretical framework of…

Children with disabilities and their families tend to interact with numerous human services agencies, but often no formal mechanisms exist to coordinate the agencies' services. The Concurrent Services Model was developed and pilot tested to meet this need. Strategies are offered to ensure that interactions among agencies become more efficient and…

This essay presents an approach to substantial and long-range curriculum change in three stages: planning, implementation, and evaluation. Planning, to which three quarters of the paper is devoted, is defined as a deliberate, collaborative, continuous process of determining and providing for the most effective manner to implement a change. The…