Decision making in most universities is taught within the conventional OR/MS (Operations Research/Management Science) paradigm. This paradigm is known to be "hard" since it is consisted of mathematical tools, and normally suitable for solving structured problems. In complex situations the conventional OR/MS paradigm proves to be…

Describes graphically a simplified version of PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique), an instrument for organizing, planning, and implementing work projects. (KJ)

This document serves to display several of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) tools as they relate to California State University, Fullerton, which is serving as a pilot implementation site for the California State University and Colleges System for the application of currently available NCHEMS products. Full…

Program budgeting is a system that focuses on outcomes rather than on inputs, relates resources to outcomes, includes more than one time interval in the budget document, and states outcomes in measurable terms. If the assumptions underlying program budgeting are accepted, the system can be an effective tool for identifying new ways to do jobs…

A decision maker must organize information into a pattern that enables judgments to be made. Vocational education programs can be viewed as systems of components which can be categorized and interrelated for effective decision making. (SK)

Presents a schema for expert decisionmaking that can be used as a performance support tool. The ringshaped schema can be used in two ways: (1) beginning at the center with problemsetting and working outward to other supporting factors, or (2) skimming over the factors located in the outer ring to find a topic related to information about the…

Strategic management is concerned with determining the long-term goals of an enterprise and deciding on the most appropriate course of action to achieve them. Strategic planning can revive the entrepreneurial characteristics of a business whose survival otherwise could be threatened. (Author/WM)

Force field analysis combines the advantages of the basic organization, objectivity, and science of systems theory and systems methods, with a simplicity and clarity that allows its mastery by policy-makers and administrators who are not specialists in engineering, data processing, or programming. (Author/IRT)

Discusses difficulties within higher education management in achieving expected outcomes because of problematic elements in: artificial internal structures, funding formulae, the relative importance of system parameters versus system structure, and the significance of time scales and delays in influencing system behavior. Suggests that university…

Systemic planning is an operational approach to using scientific rigor and qualitative judgment in a complementary manner. It integrates rigorous techniques and methods from systems analysis, cybernetics, decision theory, and work programing. The annotated reference sources in this bibliography include those works that have been most influential…

The purpose of this article is to set forth a conceptual framework to help educational administrators understand the applications and potential of data processing activities in their institutions. It is expected that such a framework will provide a basis for data processing decisions and direction for future data processing activities. The model…

A new conceptual approach to the analysis of educational systems is defined. It centers attention on the instructional management decision making process, which serves to mediate the activities of the students and learning environment, so that much of the present confusion surrounding the design of educational systems is eliminated. Instructional…

Describes systems management, the coordination of information flows among the functional areas of business as an aid in the decision-making process. (Author)

Reports the results of a corporate planning survey involving fifteen United Kingdom companies and an experimental planning system developed as a research tool to investigate aspects of interactive planning. (Author)

Most educational management systems currently define organizational roles in terms of the operations to be performed. A more efficient manner of organization might be one that operates in terms of objectives to be reached. One way of implementing such a problem solving structure, would be to assign a particular problem to administrative personnel…