Management is concerned with the conception and choice of goals. A manager must first determine his own goals within the framework of overriding organizational objectives and limitations. Second, a manager must determine what methods he will use to achieve his goals--on the basis of cost-benefit comparisons. Third, the manager must design his…

Three problems currently facing education are: reduced public confidence and reduced willingness to support budgets for all government agencies; unnecessarily expensive public education; and no recognized way to determine if an educational program is cost effective. A realistic system of management by objectives may be the best defense against all…

Although two economic methods, cost effectiveness and benefit-cost analysis, are frequently mentioned as useful tools for educational decision making, only one, cost effectiveness, has potential for making a contribution to this field. A benefit-cost analysis tries for each alternative to measure benefits and costs, which are then discounted to…

A survey of the use of eight decision-science techniques was conducted in a stratified random cample of school districts in the United States. The purpose of the study was to determine the relative use frequency of these techniques in 14 application areas and the potential uses of the techniques in the school districts. The amount of formal…

The planning, programming, budgeting system (PPBS) is an instrument to help policy-makers assign priorities and allocate resources. It does not seek to computerize what is essentially a political process, nor is it intended that the statisticians and cost accountants take over functions that properly belong to the political decision-maker. PPBS is…

This speech presents issues and questions to be considered in deciding the relevance of program budgeting. Areas of consideration include identifying objectives, determining program costs, measuring learning outcomes, determining the contributions of the school and the program to learning outcomes, the effects of the beliefs of personnel on the…

Following a management summary and introduction, chapters 3 and 4 of this report present findings and recommendations related to the Montgomery County, Maryland, Public Schools process of procuring supplies and equipment (food supplies, fuel oil, warehouse supplies, and maintenance parts) and contractual services (data processing maintenance,…

The intent of this document is to describe approximately 30 management science and organizational behavioral techniques with practical applications in school business management. Each technique is described by the mechanics of using the technique, specific applications of the technique, and requirements and constraints in the use of the technique.…