Complex institutional problems require comprehensive and complex solutions, including such strategies as defining or redefining institutional mission, finding a market niche, planning, cutting costs and increasing income, structural change, enterprising leadership, and using existing assets and good luck to best advantage. (MSE)

Elements that the University of Akron, Furman University, and Wichita State University believe to be essential for mounting a successful program for change are identified: definition of institutional mission, top administrative support, leadership development, comprehensive change programs, emphasis on communication and process, and merging of…

A model for organizational analysis is described and applied to two problems in a community college context: remedial instruction and collective bargaining. The model assesses the institution's superordinate goals, strategy, structure, systems, staff, style, and management skills. (MSE)

Adaptation of the Total Quality Management approach to organizational improvement at Oregon State University involved creation of 10 pilot finance and administration teams and implementation of a 10-step problem-solving process. The approach has improved staff morale as well as client services. (MSE)

Broad contextual and cultural influences of reforms on employment and higher education in Lithuania are examined, effects of this transition on higher education administration are considered, and conditions that would encourage administrators to take an entrepreneurial or proactive approach are discussed. A model for training programs to assist…

Describes an ongoing reengineering project at Yuan Ze University (Taiwan) that has brought about significant change by providing integrated information services to the campus community. Discusses the change process, obstacles encountered, and strategies used to overcome them. Obstacles to the change process were not predominantly technological,…

Structural problems and political issues that must be overcome for the Texas A&M University Japanese branch campus to be successful are explored. It is concluded that the university must have clear priorities and attainable goals and garner the support and expertise of regional and national authorities in Japan. (MSE)

It is argued that, although Canadian universities face serious problems of money, morale, and purpose, their main problem may be that they are ill-equipped for constructive, institutionwide problem solving because of a preoccupation with finances, lack of useful decision-making or decision-implementing structures, and neglect of their own…

Six critical areas of community college organization and management are addressed in a direct and practical fashion. John W. Lee offers strategies for coping with the paradoxical decline in the quality of learning and the associated increase in instructional productivity. The translation of traditional intraorganizational into interorganizational…

Eight approaches to organizational change and problem solving that use large-scale events and involve a broad range of stakeholders are described, and their applications to college administration are discussed. They include future searches; open space technology; interactive design method; home-grown events such as retreats; great teaching…

Participatory management (PM) is discussed in this step-by-step guide that shows how PM can be made to work effectively on a daily basis in academe. Suggestions are offered for helping higher education administrators consult efficiently with representatives of campus groups--faculty, other administrators, advisory board members, policy council…

The problems created by declining enrollments and fiscal stringencies have brought about a "new reality" for postsecondary institutions in Ontario and other Canadian provinces. The lean future that institutions face requires clear articulation and communication of institutional goals, retraining and reallocation of redundant academic…

A nationwide longitudinal study was undertaken by the Higher Education Research Institute in Los Angeles to study the impact of Exxon Education Foundation's Resource Allocation Management Program on the 49 institutions receiving grants under the program. The focus was the behavioral consequences of management changes for administrators, staff, and…