How can action learning be used as part of an overall approach to changing the culture of an organisation? This article describes some of the work being done by managers in South Cambridgeshire district to build a more empowered and engaged organisation following the appointment of a new chief executive tasked with raising standards in an…

This article provides a detailed description and analysis of how one Canadian institution used groups of department heads as change agents to address their most acute department head role tensions. It is demonstrated that this institution's change initiative aligned very closely to the recommendations proposed, in both the literature pertaining to…

The state of higher education today is one of change and stasis. Economic vulnerability, globalization, technological innovation, and an increasingly competitive market underlie the need for change in higher education. At the same time, there are strong and stubborn forces at work supporting the status quo. Though daunting, institutions of higher…

Drawing on their experience in a Midwest healthcare system, the authors propose a model of leadership development through action learning that embraces "concentric collaboration" at its core. The present study suggests that the process of concentric collaboration can serve to strengthen the skills of the individual leader as well as…

Purpose: This paper aims to: extend the concept of "The learning organization" to "The learning community," especially disadvantaged communities; demonstrate how leaders in a migrant community can achieve positive change at the personal, professional, team and community learning levels through participatory action learning and…

Following a landmark organisational change event within the University of Western Sydney, when the university ceased operating as a federation of four distinct, inter-related elements and merged to become a single entity, four foundation College Managers made a strategic decision to form an alliance. This alliance significantly enhanced the…

This booklet attempts to give a brief overview of the nature of organization development (OD). It describes the role of the professional organization development specialist, how he functions, and what he tries to do in the client system. It also describes the purposes of the Midwest Organization Development Network, a nonprofit association of OD…

Discusses the critical issue emerging in the implementation of change strategies designed to improve the effectiveness of human service delivery systems. Describes the process by which change was introduced and implemented in a human service organization. Suggestions, theoretical guidelines, and a model are provided for future interventions.…

Examines some of the conditions under which organizations come to adopt new objectives. (Author/RK)

Strengthening Pre-collegiate Education in Community Colleges (SPECC) was organized by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in partnership with The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to increase student learning in developmental--or basic skills--classes. However, their concern was not just the success of students in classes…

The process used to engineer and manage major organizational change at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is described. Issues include defining change, gaining support, organizing to facilitate change, staff development, establishing project strategies, and measuring success. The role of the institution's information…

Objective: Organizational learning, underpinned by evidence-based health care, and greater user involvement in planning and delivery were key objectives of the NHS Plan. Evaluation, and specifically participatory evaluation, offers the potential to address these elements of the NHS modernization agenda. We discuss the strengths and limitations of…

Describes how data from an employee attitude survey were used by the city of Phoenix, Arizona, as part of its city organizational development effort, to generate over 400 organizational changes and to increase personnel development of over 200 management employees. Includes a summary of survey results identifying training needs. (MF)

This report describes a 2-year effort begun in fall, 1988, to improve the child care provided at the Child Health and Development Institute, located in an unidentified Middle Eastern country. The report begins by stating eight guidelines that governed the project. Discussion then turns to the three phases of the project: (1) identifying and…

The purposes of this paper are to describe a data-based organizational renewal effort in a school district, explain the application and utility of the collaborative process used, and discuss the implications of such activities for building-level delivery of educational services, particularly in the area of decision-making. Although the project was…