Universities play an important role in the development of society. However, it is not always clear what the objectives of collaboration between a Higher Education Institution (HEI) and external stakeholders from the surrounding society are. In this study, value-focused thinking was applied to construct structures of strategic, fundamental and…

Purpose: This paper aims to describe how the human resources development (HRD) policy has shifted from the national level to the sectoral levels; the paper also explains the changes that have been made in skills formation in the economy by presenting the emergence of Industry Skills Councils (ISC). Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents…

Focusing on five models of committee effectiveness for purposes of this assessment will lend insight into the strengths and weaknesses of utilizing a structured action plan as a guide to achieving and maintaining optimum committee effectiveness in higher education. In the compilation of the strengths and weaknesses of committee decision making,…

Promotion and tenure considerations are equally important steps both for the faculty and institution. For faculty, it's a matter of being able to exercise academic freedom without the fear of repercussion and potentially losing the job. For institutions, it's a matter of how to keep and nourish the best candidates and avoid making a lifetime…

This article illustrates the synergistic role between practice and theory in evaluation. Using reflective practice, the author reviews her own work as well as the work of other evaluators to illustrate how theory can influence practice and, in turn, how evaluation practice can inform and grow theory, especially evaluation theory. The following…

Higher education is deploying a range of innovative strategies in response to rising costs and financial challenges. This report presents findings from a NASPA [National Association of Student Personnel Administrators] study on cost-saving initiatives at three institutions. Each institution aimed to creatively address different areas affecting…

Scope and Method of Study: Qualitative research to collect data from two sources: (1) Face-to-face interviews with school board members representing four Oklahoma School Districts; (2) Newspaper articles. Findings and Conclusions: Data from the study indicate that time availability and personnel expertise are determining factors in the decision…

The bureaucratic politics model and the poliheuristic theory are used to examine how political advice presented in various contexts influences choice. Organizational advisers who offer endogenous political advice are compared with situations in which the decision maker is offered advice by a separate, or exogenous, political adviser. Results show…

A policy system design that can benefit from the dynamics of small group behavior without suffering from the adverse effects associated with group thinking, in which the members of small groups acquire a concurrence seeking tendency, is comprised of three subsystem functions: (1) a sub-system normative function which requires that small groups be…

A study revealed that many faculty and administrators believe most decisions are made in informal meetings that occur at times other than in the formally convened and formally conducted business meetings. The concept of meeting is expanded to include any gathering of members of an organization who assemble together informally and deliberately in…

Carleton's new governance experiment to bring together all elements in the college community in a combination of localized decision-making and coordination. (Editor/IR)

Discusses a stairway model of committee structures and effects as it relates to consensus and change. Proposes the model as a useful device for post-mortum analysis of committee behavior as well as a way to organize committees to achieve desired goals. (RL)

Author points out some typical common problems encountered in evaluating projects and proposes some tentative solutions to them. (Editor/RK)

This paper reports a study of committee decision processes. Two established university committees, one established departmental committee, and four student ad hoc committees were investigated. Sixteen meetings were videotaped, transcribed, coded, and analyzed. A general systems model was used to conceptualize the decision process and the…

The Blake Interaction Model presented in this manual is designed to eliminate three problems which usually confront a task force charged with the responsibility of program development in a conference setting: (1) how to involve simultaneously several work groups in the productive capacity developing solutions for several separate problems; (2) how…