Many school leaders have explored the issue of diversity when it comes to students, teachers and staff. Their focus typically has been on gender and ethnicity. However, generational diversity, an area of diversity that warrants serious consideration, has received less attention. Generational intelligence is important today for two reasons. First…

Most colleges have steered through the first jolts of the recession without resorting to layoffs, cutting employee benefits, or imposing across-the-board freezes on hiring. But the economic pain is afflicting campuses in many other ways, according to the findings from a new survey of chief business officers conducted last month by "The Chronicle"…

As the economy sinks, dwindling state appropriations and plunging endowment values are forcing colleges to make significant budget cuts. Professors--from the tenured to the adjunct--are beginning to see teaching-load increases and travel restrictions, along with salary cuts and layoffs. At institutions taking austerity measures, those measures are…

The education headlines have been filled with grim news about facility closings, teacher layoffs and program cutbacks. When the economic climate is gloomy, few areas of schools and universities are spared. In areas outside the classroom, such as safety and security, the cuts may be larger and come more quickly. When money is scarce, education…

With school budgets shrinking every year, tough decisions are made by those powers that be, and you very well may be the next RIF (reduction in force) waiting to happen. Sadly, those school librarians who have stopped learning, who have become stale in their role as librarian, or who feel the newer tools and ways of doing the job are not necessary…

This thesis presents three essays on industrial organization and political economy. In the first essay, I show how the attributes of a managerial workforce affect firms' placement decisions and wage offers, and managers' quit decisions. My OLG model features two division managers and a CEO, where each executive may be at a different point in his…

Across America, school psychologists are reporting that as the economy has floundered, they have felt uncertain about their job security, and in some places school psychologists have reported that they are even being laid off. Commonly in these districts, the school psychologists also report that they have not had an active advocacy campaign for…

Greensboro College has many of the intimate hallmarks of a small, private, liberal-arts college. Professors give their cellphone numbers to students and routinely provide extra help to those who need it. Classes at the North Carolina institution average 14 people. One of the students featured on the college Web site is a biology major who plays on…

The authors' recent study of all published decisions in state and federal courts concerning superintendent termination led to a surprising finding: The decisions overwhelmingly favored school districts. In this article, the authors examine several superintendents' intriguing cases. The authors also discuss practical lessons for superintendents.

A furlough is a cross between a vacation and getting fired. College employees have the day off, but they are not getting paid. A few college employees are adhering to the letter of their unpaid furloughs, but most have trouble drawing the line between life and work. In these lousy economic times, a handful of colleges have already instituted…

Still-rising national jobless rates are surpassing 8.9%. This translates to millions of ill-prepared job seekers, raising complex questions about how to manage layoffs. Even if workers receive severance benefits, most struggle with how to move on and find jobs. Rather than focusing primarily on work skills and practices within individual…

In this analysis the authors introduce three memos announcing layoffs in Chinese companies. The three memos, translated from Chinese, are from: (1) Hewlett Packard China, an American company doing business in China; (2) UT Starcom, founded in China; and (3) Rizhao Steel, one of China's largest steel manufacturers. Comparing the Chinese and…

Many universities have experienced financial hardships during the recent economic downturn. To save money, several have resorted to laying off employees, which has often resulted in increased work and stress for the remaining employees. Such an increase has the potential to adversely affect employees' sense of job satisfaction. This study created…

Kansas school districts reduced employment by 327 full-time equivalent positions this school year, the smallest reduction in three years of cuts to district operating budgets. Districts reduced positions by 561 in FY 2010 and 1,626 in FY 2011. Districts eliminated nearly 400 "regular" teaching positions this year, but added 114 special…

K-12 school districts that lay off personnel according to seniority cause disproportionate damage to their programs and students than if layoffs were determined on a seniority-neutral basis. School districts face severe budget challenges with state funding at risk in this perilous economy. In this four-page analysis of K-12 district layoff issues,…