In the 21st century world-class universities will need to be much more focused on innovation, rather than on stability and standardization. An innovative organization is different from a stable one. It requires different skills from its participants, and it functions in a different way from a stable organization. A focus on innovation will…

Asserting that college reforms usually fail for structural reasons, outlines some barriers to change and offers suggestions to overcoming them. Barriers include: people cannot agree on the problem to be solved, time frames and structures are not clear, and there are no evaluative criteria. Strategies include: define roles and time frames, seek…

The author argues that leadership is a cultural construct embedded in symbolic processes. By culture, the author refers to the informal codes and shared assumptions of individuals who participate in an organization. An organization's members shape and are shaped by the symbols and rituals of the institution as well as the unique history from which…

This guidebook argues that solutions to the many problems that internally plague academic institutions of higher education are best developed when administrators closely examine the values, beliefs, traditions, and histories that organizational members hold. Institutional evaluations should take place within a cultural context in which…

This article suggests that a critical postmodern organizational perspective offers significant ways to assess an institution of higher education's effectiveness. The first part of the article outlines what is meant by "critical postmodernism" and then delineates a definition of multiculturalism in higher education based on the work of…

Four strategies that college leaders can use to encourage a sense of community are offered. The strategies, focusing on the campus culture, involve allowing conflict to be heard and examined, emphasizing cultural rather than managerial leadership, honoring differences, and creating awareness of differences in others. (MSE)

Examined the dynamics of organizational change in higher education institutions and whether chartering a higher education organization would lead to increased faculty responsiveness and involvement in reform efforts. Data from interviews with school faculty, administrators, and other involved parties indicated that faculty work changed, work…

This book offers a critique of the current state of academe, focusing on such issues as what constitutes a well-rounded curriculum or an educated citizen, are business principles developed almost a century ago still viable, the public perception of college campus activities, and the "decline" of academia. The book's overall intent is to suggest…