A literature review on action learning in management/executive development concludes that few meaningful examples of action learning have been assessed for their effects on organizations. There has been more focus on team building than on individual or organizational learning. (SK)

A learning organization is viable when the learning climate successfully changes managers' mindsets. A case study of a financial services enterprise illustrates ways to keep mind sets from hardening and shows how changing learning activities and tools can change habits of thinking and learning. (Contains 30 references.) (SK)

Madzar reviews literature on feedback seeking in organizations, examining motivation, contextual influences, barriers, and particular feedback-seeking behavior of newcomers and groups. Morrison comments on some misrepresentations and confusions in the literature review. (SK)

Career cycles should be considered apart from life cycles, even though the two are interrelated. This essay examines five theories about life and career cycles, and offers insights into their limitations and potential uses. (JB)

Reviews current organizational development and training practices in two articles of a special section. The first compares OD philosophy with McGregor's integrative approach. The second article discusses contributions OD practice can make to theory, including modifying existing theories, addressing new problems, and exploring the internal logic of…

Reviews and organizes modern leadership theories. Notes the research supporting the main thesis of contingency theory and that effective leadership style is contingent upon situational factors. Characteristics of management training based on the contingency approach are identified. (Author/MLF)

Reviews the status of new workplace technologies. Discusses the impact of these new technologies on individual employees, on management methods, and on organizational structure and design. Discusses the role of industrial psychologists, and how they might contribute to systematic research aimed at productivity improvement. (JS)

A review of the theoretical and empirical literature was conducted to identify, in a systems framework, organizational processes and dimensions associated with effective functioning. Potential methodologies for use in controlled organizational experimentation were also explored. Literature was reviewed according to an empirically derived…

Two logically related themes in management literature are the "productivity paradox" and "business process reengineering." Hypotheses concerning the stages through which information technology will pass lead to the same conclusions: the industry is in transition, and there will soon be an upward turn in conventional productivity calculation. (AEF)

Effective leaders require a state of mind without which skills and information become ineffective. Leading-edge leaders idealize, imagine, and predict; they are sensitive to the cultural environment and attempt to escape mechanistic organizational norms. (RC)

Organized around the themes of quality and team building, this book contains essays by community college practitioners who address various structural or thematic aspects of the community college. The book contains these articles: (1) "A Team Approach to Institutional Quality: Toward a Model," by George A. Baker, III, and Vaughn Mamlin Upshaw; (2)…

This paper describes a leadership model based on assumptions about connections between human development and organizational development, and the application of the model in leadership training for New Hampshire special education directors. The model assumes that four critical factors of human development outlined by Piaget and Meisels can be…

Contract learning is an invaluable tool in organizational learning and management development. A contract can incorporate teacher-directed learning (TDL) and self-directed learning (SDL), as appropriate. Substantial research has revealed the power of SDL; the trick is to harness this learning for the benefit of the organization. The literature on…

Explores the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in the context of art education administration. Maintains that successful employment of TQM principles depends on four criteria. These include continuous improvement, pursuit of goals, open discussion and critiques, and professional development. (MJP)

According to psychologist Daniel Goleman, a strong IQ can set the baseline for success but does not guarantee prosperity. Goleman believes that factors contributing to "emotional intelligence" (for example, self-control, zeal and persistence, and ability to motivate oneself) are key to success in the corporate world. Howard Gardner has…