Human competence is a vital element for any organization that expects to survive and then thrive. Developing individual performance ability is necessary but not sufficient because trained people alone will not make an organization successful. We must determine what people should deliver and why it should be delivered in order to add measurable…

The International Society for Performance Improvement has always been divided by two often-conflicting views of what its purpose or mission really is. Is it primarily technology focused (focusing on the development and promotion of the field) or member focused (focusing on members' interests and their professional development)? This difference in…

This paper explores the conduct and outcomes of an action learning activity during a period of intense organisational change in a medium-sized vocational education and training organisation in Victoria, Australia. This organisation was the subject of significant change due to government-driven and statewide amalgamation, downsizing and sector…

Professional development in family-centred services was given to professionals supporting children with disabilities and their families with the purpose to influence ways to perform working tasks. Is it possible to change ways of working through in-service training? In order to find answers to that question perceptions of in-service training at…

Evaluation capacity building, or ECB, is an area of great interest within the field of evaluation as well as in Extension evaluation. Internal Extension evaluators have long offered training and technical assistance to help Extension educators conduct evaluation. Today ECB in Extension encompasses myriad activities and processes to advance…

This article attempts to verify some assumptions evident in the scenario planning literature through the application of quantitative measures. The Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire is used to measure participant perceptions of the learning organization characteristics pre- and post-scenario planning intervention. Results are…

The term "mission creep" was originally coined nearly a hundred years ago to describe the gradual process by which a military mission's stated methods and goals change, and recently the term has been applied to incremental organizational changes. In this article, the term is used to describe what happens when a teaching-oriented college or…

Skills required for developing staff evaluation models are closely linked to skills required for staff development. Leading a vital, growing, innovative, dynamic school system requires risk-taking, stretching, painful, exhilarating change. This change is accomplished through staff development. Real staff development is not confined to one or two…

This book provides a model of followership that removes the passive connotations of the role and presents a dynamic alternative for contributing to an organization's pursuit of its mission. The dynamic model, in which leaders and followers form an action circle around a common purpose, balances and supports dynamic leadership. Chapter 1 explores…

This book shows organizations how to move beyond the initial phases of setting up a distance training program to making it a part of the strategic planning process, including infrastructure, budget, staffing, and policy planning. It examines distance training programs in 17 leading-edge for-profit, nonprofit, and government organizations,…

Describes structured sharing, a training template that facilitates mutual learning and teaching among participants, tapping into the power of concurrent co-creation of performance interventions. Presents compressed instructions for conducting four structured sharing games and gives detailed instructions on one activity to try out. Provides an…

Procedures used by the Eugene (Oregon) Public Schools to train staff members as organizational development specialists are described. School employees volunteer time to work as internal consultants, using organizational management concepts to help colleagues in the school system improve their organizational capabilities, interact effectively,…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on organization development and change. "The Effectiveness of Total Quality Management: A Response to the Critics" (Douglas H. Smith, Ralph G. Lewis) identifies four effectiveness principles: customer satisfaction, continuous improvement, speaking with facts, and respect for people. "Fast Cycle…

The year 2000 volume of this annual publication contains 18 articles on issues relating to organizational change, collaboration and partnerships, and teaching and faculty development in higher education. The articles are: "Diversity and Its Discontents: Rays of Light in the Faculty Development Movement for Faculty of Color" (Edith A.…

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)…