Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of the history, the present and the future or the learning organization as a concept and a practical approach, from the perspective of Professor John Burgoyne. Design/methodology/approach: This conversation piece follows the development of the concept from its early days into the current debates and…

Human resource development in organizations can be used as a coercive tool that reinforces existing power structures. The emerging postmodern organization must consider individual wisdom, values, and knowledge; recognize differences; remove inequalities; and create opportunities for all voices to be heard. (SK)

Action researchers frequently find themselves caught in a tension between the need to generate actionable, useful knowledge as an outcome of publicly funded research and the necessity to recognize that knowledge can only be actionable, and useful in that sense, if it is locally and culturally specific. This paper directly addresses this tension…

Recounts the innovative changes in a newspaper's staff structure, noting the positive and negative results. (RL)

An account of various group strategies, especially with respect to alternative schools, that employ particular styles, rituals, and even forms of "temporary perversity" in order to deal effectively with the bureaucratic educational power structure. (EH)

This model is based on considerations of formulation of political goals, a situational-power audit, identification of political targets, power tactics of the change agent and internal change unit, and monitoring of the change process. This should help increase the probability of successful change. (Author/BEF)

Suggests that the key to organizational change may not always rest in the hands of the holders of formal organizational power, giving an alternative to the usual strategies of re-education or replacement to the top of the organizational hierarchy in systems of rapid movement from entry to high positions. (Author/AM)

Political strategies and power tactics are necessary for the effective implementation of systemic change programs in organizations. Since the organization is a highly political environment, the consultant needs to develop both power bases and power strategies if he is to operate efficiently within such an environment. (Author)

The process of reorganizing the administrative structure of the Western Australian Institute of Technology is chronicled, from the early decisions to improve community ties, academic climate, openness to change, and cost effectiveness through a variety of proposals, theoretical considerations, and evaluation. (MSE)

Organizations go through life cycles that affect their behavior. Growth models often relate to leadership. In a study of one mental health center's development, growth is related to funding. If funding remains diversified and productivity is kept high, growth of a mature organization remains manageable. (JAC)

This is a review of work done in the past twenty years with the Control Graph, including the evolution of Control-Graph studies, its relationship to other perspectives of organizations, and an overview of study findings. (Author)

A model for systematic development and reorganization of college governance systems consists of three processes: reviewing the existing governance structure; examining the concerns and interrelationships of individuals and groups; and pinpointing desired changes. All must be done in the context of linking governance to overall institutional…

Discusses the connection between type of control structure for a school system and type of strategy for change that may be chosen. Shows that the mandator-controlled Swedish school system best corresponds to the "Developing the Organization" model of educational change. Describes a Swedish training program based on the model. (SB)

Thirteen school districts, a regional training network, and a university in Florida formed a partnership to develop support for the implementation of the statewide plan, "Blueprint 2000." Funded by the Florida Department of Education, the partnership used a quality and systems framework for helping the schools and districts in their restructuring…

Some of the most important causes for organizational deterioration and entropy are related to the fact that organizations have been designed and managed on a restricted view of man. Lack of interpersonal competence (and its consequences in group and intergroup behavior) has helped to create such an internal environment that the rational and…