Purpose: Human resource development (HRD) as an applied discipline is an example of a scholarly field that has emerged through the collaboration of scholars and practitioners with backgrounds in various foundational disciplines. This study interested in both the influence of other disciplines on HRD research and in HRD's influence on other…

The purpose of this paper is to present a method and an illustration for taking account of the problem of nonindependence among internally "hard" criterion measurements in the evaluation of OD efforts and organizational change. (Author)

This paper discusses differences among schools in their readiness for organizational development interventions. The author begins by outlining criteria for organizational success. He then discusses two variables that have been found important in assessing readiness to profit from organizational development; i.e., readiness for collaboration and…

Schools are essentially human systems; without people they are nothing but wood, concrete, and paper. Yet, the people who make up schools -- professionals, parents, service personnel, and students -- often form into ineffective and poorly coordinated groups, much in the way that employees in the bureaucracies of industry and government become…

In this publication, the authors suggest that the findings reported are sufficiently well supported by evidence to act as useful guides, even if tentatively. The central purpose of the program was to develop a theory and technology for structural and cultural change within the public schools. The program deliberately emphasized both formative and…

This book records the history of the American Vocational Education Research Association (AVERA), which was organized in 1966 as a professional association for scholars and others with research interests in the relationship between education and work. The purposes of AVERA are as follows: stimulate research and development (R&D) activities…

This paper argues that research on innovation and organizational change should shift its focus from the impact of individuals to that of organizational structure and environmental factors. The results of two research projects carried out in 1968-69 and 1969-70 on organizational change in school districts are presented to support the premise that…

Research into the process of educational change has centered largely around the diffusion concept--the spread or permeation of an innovation from system to system or from school to school throughout a particular state or number of states. It is as if many teachers and administrators have understood the purpose of educational change to be the…

This study attempted to examine the organizational structures of elementary schools in terms of complexity, centralization, formalization, stratification, and job satisfaction; and to analyze the relationship of these variables to the adaptiveness of elementary schools. More specifically, it compared the Multiunit School-Elementary (MUS-E) type of…

As Latin American nations marshall their rapidly growing human and material resources, they frequently encounter organizational infrastructures which are incapable of supporting the rapid process of modernization. Yet, these inadequate infrastructures persist over time, leaving behind unrecoverable losses. Attempts to understand the problems of…

Using the results of a literature search, a conceptual framework is developed for comparing the schools of philosophical thought with the aims, methods, curriculum, and teacher-learner relationships found in training and development programs in business and industry. From this analysis, a philosophy for the field of training and development can be…

Organizational development is explored through this discussion of a series of projects initiated by researchers at the University of Oregon to provide consultation and training to a school district in the Northwest. The primary focus was the improvement of problem-solving skills in the district and the development of a heightened capacity for…

Most studies either concentrate on situational variants or relate specifically to differences in interpersonal relationships involved. Therefore, difficulties arise in setting up control groups, the timing of post-measurements, and the use of varied intervention techniques. Dilemmas are caused by focusing on projected, rather than on desired,…

A study explored training from the perspective of the trainees, what it meant for them when they were faced with a major reorganization of their work, and what its impact was. Data were collected from 10 women operators working in cellular manufacturing, 2 foremen, and 1 forewoman. The interviewees selected by the management had converted to…

This collection of articles indicates much about the state of organization development (OD) and its application to education. Organization development, as an intervention theory and method, is an iterative process including six sequences of events: entry, data collection, diagnosis, intervention, evaluation, and withdrawal. The articles included…