Though understudied, academic structure reflects and shapes the central work--education, research, service--of higher education organizations (HEOs). Academic structure also shapes and illuminates the external environments and internal dynamics of HEOs. Despite the centrality of academic structure to HEOs and their work, our knowledge of it is…

The quest for institutional prestige in the academic hierarchy has become a common phenomenon among universities in the United States. At the same time, the institutions that choose to embark on such a journey (referred to as striving institutions) have not been closely examined to determine how such efforts influence the different constituencies…

Combining a phyletic approach based on history and current organizational theory and a phenetic approach through a national sample of institutions and multivariate analysis, a structural taxonomy was developed. Autonomy and centralization of decision making and participation and formalization of procedures were common to both approaches.…

The ideology of community college leadership dominant in the professional literature is examined using discourse analysis techniques. It is concluded that strong, often militaristic description perpetuates an image of leadership that is exclusionary, narrow, and inappropriate for community colleges, which serve diverse constituencies. Development…

Scott and Meyer (1991) suggest that individual organizations must conform to elaborate rules and institutional scripts to achieve legitimacy. In the case of the College of Business at Potential University (pseudonym), legitimacy was accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This case study used Benson's…

A grounded meta-analytic technique for comparing organizational interventions derived from rational-based strategies (e.g., management-by-objectives, planned change) with organizational culture-based strategies (organizational culture, climate) is described. The method is seen as useful for integrating qualitative and quantitative research.…

Research in organizational socialization is typically more concerned with settings where recruits are treated more harshly than with settings where they are treated well. It is argued that in settings where they are treated well recruits are allowed to import skills, knowledge and values. The process is described. (Author/MLW)

An exploratory study examined the effects of organizational attributes and interactional attributes on student attrition. Path analysis indicates that while organizational attributes directly affect academic or social integration, they have no direct effect on student withdrawal. (Author/MSE)

Recruitment is analyzed using a classical organizational theory in resource dependence offered by J. D. Thompson. The demographic changes are viewed as flucuations in the environment, which require adaptation from the organization in order to survive. (MLW)

An introduction to the missing linkages between the fields of organizational behavior and higher education is provided. A discussion of why gaps persist and of alternative theoretical perspectives for organizing the application of behavioral science to higher education are included. (Author/MLW)

A review and synthesis of contemporary models of decision-making in organizations is presented. The match between preferred decision styles of faculty or academic managers and the structural and situational demands of the organization are considered. (Author/MLW)

Social science paradigms are examined in an attempt to indicate the potential these approaches might have for students of higher education organizations. Paradigms from sociology, political science, and organizational analysis are presented. It is suggested that higher education scholars should understand and develop all three paradigms.…

The concept of organizational culture as explored in recent literature is defined, the application of the concept to colleges and universities is examined, and the concept's relevance to research and practitioners in postsecondary education is discussed. (MSE)

A study investigated the measurement of organizational decline in 82 universities where objective and perceptual measures of decline appeared to contradict each other. Results suggest institutions with objectively-measured decline without perception of decline are characterized by processes of "decline as crisis," while institutions with…

Theories of organizational effectiveness are examined for their application to higher education, and the competing values model for assessing college effectiveness is recommended as a research and administrative vehicle. (MSE)