Suggests that organizational development consultants should use more explicit representations of the problems they work on with client teams. Offers an approach to overcome difficulties and provides a strategy for intervening in the processes of problem definition in teams. (Author)

At this time, those responsible for the retarded are asked to be accountable for new dollars spent. In most cases, tools and techniques that can be used to develop accountability models have not been integrated into systems that serve the retarded. This presentation deals with philosophies, tools, and techniques that can be used to improve present…

The study focuses on the survey Feedback--Problem Solving--Collective Decision intervention, a structural/task-oriented approach to planned organizational change. The objective of this research program is to further refine an organizational development approach which provides schools with a structure consistent with the environment of educational…

Three systems of appraisal of employees are described with reference to major characteristics and the most appropriate application context. The first system, the developmental action program, is designed to be utilized on a job allowing the employee considerable discretion in reaching the job's objectives, and perhaps some autonomy in establishing…

This report presents a theoretical model and a practical guide for a survey feedback-problem solving-collective decision intervention in educational systems. The intervention focuses on work roles and relationships; job function, authority, and communication patterns; and on reviewing group progress and problems. One objective of the strategy is…

The "Participative Process Model" of management is presented in which the team leader establishes what tasks need to be accomplished; then team members determine the resources required and develop a plan to complete the tasks. Suggestions are offered on how to implement the participative management process in existing organizations. (SLW)

The Total Performance System (TPS) concept, a conceptual tool to aid management of a wide variety of complex systems such as classrooms, courses, schools, and businesses is presented as a unit of analysis for systems approaches to educational and management problems. A description of the TPS concept defines the classroom as a processing system…

Survey feedback and problem solving processes can be applied to increase the effectiveness of task-oriented structural approaches to educational organization development. One such approach involves the superimposition of complementary collective decision structures over the existing authority decision framework of the school. Collective decision…

When educators, trainers, and human resource development (HRD) practitioners are asked to produce evidence that supports the productivity of the training enterprise, they are often frustrated by the lack of simple and effective methods for assessment. While administrators in an organization are likely to know exactly how much training costs, they…

In the course of carrying out the technical tasks of the school, teachers encounter common problems that do not impose on those in managerial roles. School organizations are typically structured in such a way as to prevent the information sharing and processing necessary to confront these problems. A collective decision-making structure for…

Organizational development (OD) is a systematic approach to (1) identifying the needs, problems, and objectives of an organization; (2) providing feedback needed for decisions regarding design and implementation of change strategies; (3) implementing and monitoring actions; and (4) evaluating their effects. Decisions in all phases of OD are…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on cost analysis, evaluation, and feedback in human resource development. "Training Evaluation with 360-Degree Feedback" (Froukje A. Jellema) reports on a quasi-experimental study that examined the effectiveness of 360-degree feedback in evaluating the training received by nurses in a…

The factors driving learning cultures within organizations were examined in case studies of seven organizations in New South Wales and South Australia. The seven organizations represented the pharmaceutical manufacturing, community services and health, agriculture, information technology, and local government sectors. In some cases, organizations'…

This document contains three papers on managerial performance issues. "Managerial Skill Requirements: Evidence from the Scottish Visitor Attraction Industry" (Sandra Watson, Martin McCracken) presents the findings from an exploratory study of those skills that managers in the Scottish visitor attraction sector considered most important…