Surveys (n=6,000), interviews (n=600), and case studies (n=60) of organizational learning in British small businesses indicated that nearly all claimed to be learning organizations, but learning was largely incidental and sporadic and only a fraction of it was communicated to others. Few were using knowledge management strategically. (SK)

The nature and structure of academic power in American higher education is described and compared with the British and Continental modes of academic organization. Structured power is described as providing influence to certain groups, systematically backing certain values and viewpoints at the same time subordinating others, and determining…

Surveys the current status of outdoor training for management development in Britain, including types and quality of providers and courses and advice for organizations interested in offering such training to their employees. (SK)

Indicates the existence of a new field of research that appears to have exceptional possibilities for application to educational problems and to be startlingly integrative in its implications, making it possible to perceive educational institutions as unified learning systems in which management and teaching/learning styles are fundamentally…

Trist discusses his own training and his research in organizational development, networks, and management systems. His work in the United States is explored. Trist is professor of organizational behavior at York University, Toronto, and professor emeritus at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. (Author/BEF)

This report is designed to give readers an introduction to the principles of human resource planning (HRP) and the areas in which it can be used, including those facing today's managers. Chapter 1 outlines why some organizations no longer plan, describes the background of change and uncertainty that discouraged them, and defines HRP. Chapter 2…

This paper outlines some of the general characteristics of current LEA (Local Educational Agency)-inspired self-evaluation schemes and suggests that they may be usefully viewed from an organizational development standpoint. The construction and use of a self-evaluation instrument which was informed by such a perspective is briefly described.…

Outlines some activities and assumptions of organizational development in the schools. (IRT)

An awareness that British educational institutions will not be effectively managed until their administrators more thoroughly study and understand the theory and concepts of educational management has produced a rapidly expanding professional literature base on such questions as: How does the management of tertiary, adult, and continuing education…

The emergence, development to the present, and future trends of teacher centers in Great Britain are examined. The effects of political decisions, educational expenditure, the Plowden Report, curriculum review, social crises, and other factors on the ways in which teacher centers were organized and have changed are discussed. Problems and possible…

The detailed organization of an integrated medical sciences curriculum from its initial planning to the final state of "automatic" administration are described. Flexibility and scope for controlled change and experiment are retained in spite of some reduction in departmental autonomy. (Author/LBH)

Virtually all British secondary (high) schools and many primary (elementary) schools feature what is called a senior management team (SMT), typically consisting of the headteacher (principal), one or more deputy heads (vice principals), and other teachers. To explore how SMTs are working, a survey questionnaire was mailed to 150 headteachers in…

An exercise is presented that is designed as a training aid for junior administrative and/or academic staff in their first 6 years of service in universities. It is intended to help participants think about management principles in general while trying out their own ideas for solving the specific problems outlined. It will also permit individuals…

Highlights some unresolved tensions emerging from the knowledge agency area of interest. Focuses on Great Britain's Department for International Development (DFID). Discusses DFID's policy for internal knowledge management and its theory of how to support partner countries' knowledge generation and dissemination. Suggests a number of challenges…

This book offers advice to facilitators and change agents who wish to build systems-level learning to create knowledge that can be used to gain a competitive advantage. Chapter 1 describes forces driving companies to build, sustain, and effectively use systems-level learning and presents and links a working definition of the learning organization…