Careful attention to the organization and management of student services is necessary to the contemporary university to deal effectively with retention, student consumer interests, budget constraints, and shrinking admissions pools. A model is described that places responsibility on both academic units and central resources. (Author/LBH)

Disagreements over budgeting are often resolved by using political power. A critique of definitions of political behavior is presented and an alternative is proposed that is applicable to groups and individuals and that addresses both the intentions and effects of political action. (Author/LBH)

Develops a 5-state model for decision-making that incorporates a faculty-opinion survey permitting almost universal expressions of opinion and preference on a complex administrative decision and generating alternative policies for decision-makers. It was successfully employed to reexamine the role of dean in a large university. (Editor/JT)

Higher educational institutions can produce quality work only to the degree that they simultaneously encourage the development of self-direction and shared purpose among their members. Eight characteristics of a "liberating structure" are developed and a case analysis of a business school course is presented. (Author/LBH)

A study of 12 years of financial data from 93 institutions and surveys of faculty suggest (1) little correlation between an institution's financial resources and its faculty's perception of the institution's functioning but (2) some correlation between administrative style and faculty perceptions. (MSE)

The behaviors and subsequent situations of two sets of colleges that experienced severe financial difficulties in the mid-1970s were examined. One set made a dramatic recovery; the other set did not. The more resilient group pursued a combination of adaptive and interpretive strategies. (MLW)

Examined the relationships between institutional culture, decision-making approaches, and organizational effectiveness through a survey of 639 faculty and administrators at 30 public two-year colleges. Colleges with a strong adhocracy culture were able to minimize the impact of difficult enrollment and financial conditions, perhaps by enabling the…

This survey of 331 institutions of higher education found that attributes of the postindustrial environment--scarcity of resources, competitiveness, and turbulence--are negatively associated with the effectiveness of four-year colleges and universities. Participative decision making, domain offense strategies, and political decision processes…

Organizational behavior is defined and its micro and macro subdivisions described. Leavitt's model for organizational change (task, technology, structure, and people) is employed to extract meanings from the organizational behavior literature. A diagnostic approach is suggested for applying organizational behavior to the practice of higher…

Aspects of an ombudsman's conduct that may effect his impact on an organization are illustrated. Daily activities are partitioned into three phases: appearance, problem definition, and resolution. Judith W. Harvey's commentary on the paper is included, as is Stewart's reply to her comments. (Author/LBH)

The characteristic silence of universities toward change as opposed to a rational problem-solving approach is analyzed and ways of enhancing organizational intelligence are described. Intelligence is portrayed as a prerequisite for collective action to improve learning and to adapt to serious environmental shifts. (Author/JMD)

Over the past four decades higher education institutions have faced increasing complexity related to governance (Berdahl, 1991; Birnbaum, 1988; Kezar, 2000; Leslie & Fretwell, 1996). In particular, institutions now face even greater competing priorities and demands to engage the community, business, and industry; to solve social problems and…