Uses examples from military strategic communications to demonstrate that organizational structures and the distribution of power within organizational structures adapt to changes in information handling capability. It is concluded that delegation and decentralization can be viewed as indicative of inadequate information handling and that improved…

Theories concerning the organizational dynamics underlying the dispersion of institutional research activities within colleges are proposed. Two theoretical arguments concern whether or not a centralized, monopolistic institutional research office will be found on a given campus: the informational legitimacy argument and the limited attention…

Research shows that neither centralization nor decentralization of decision-making authority in multiunit community colleges is a primary determinant of organizational effectiveness; rather it is the degree of participation in decision-making by staff members at all hierarchical levels. (BB)

The implications of the recently authorized regionalization of university administration in Spain, with the possibility of autonomous communities taking on wide responsibility for higher education and scientific and technical research, are explored. Concern is expressed for potential loss of efficiency and effectiveness. (MSE)

Proliferating the number of decision centers and separating needs from resources minimizes the ability of metropolitan areas to deal with areawide problems. State governments often encourage such fragmentation to minimize the risk that a given metropolitan area would act in a cohesive fashion. (Author/KC)

The style of management in higher education has changed significantly in recent decades. The groups that have demanded, and in most cases been given, a share in the governance of the institution are the administration, the faculty, the students, and the non-faculty staff. The problem arises in implementing the claims for a share of authority. Some…

Used factors identified in the literature as predictors of centralization/decentralization as potential discriminating variables among several decision making configurations in university affiliated professional schools. The model developed from multiple discriminant analysis had reasonable success in classifying correctly only the decentralized…

In many institutions, increasing numbers of offices are becoming involved in institutional research activity. A theoretical perspective, derived from theories of power, information, and change in organizations, is proposed for better understanding this phenomenon. (Author/MLW)

A regional survey of 141 higher education institutional research offices investigated the following aspects of program administration: research and analysis staff size; educational preparation and experience; location in the organizational hierarchy; functions and tasks; and role in assessment. Four different types of offices are described.…

From the monthly Saturday Review supplement, "Education in America, sponsored by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.

A research program at Trinity College in Ireland is reported that focused on the decision-making process, particularly the committee structure. Described are the role of individuals within committees, centralized versus decentralized decision-making, costs, sources of rigidity, and problems of the concentration of power. (Author/LBH)

In the early twentieth century, supervisors began to move toward increasing professionalism in their positions. In the late nineteenth century, supervision was characterized by bureaucratic methods in a centralized school management system. Research reveals that after the turn of the century, there was a concerted effort by supervisors to…

Issues concerning whether to centralize or decentralize decision-making are addressed, with applications for colleges. Centralization/decentralization (C/D) must be analyzed with reference to a particular decision. Three components of C/D are locus of authority, breadth of participation, and relative contribution by the decision-maker's staff. C/D…

In January 1972, 3,320 faculty members and administrators at 12 urban multicampus community college districts were asked to indicate their perceptions of the distribution of decision-making authority and influence among six organizational levels (the board of trustees, the district administration, the unit administration, deans, department…

An overview is provided of the research conducted in Japan during the past 30 years on the Performance-Maintenance Theory of Leadership. Experimental and field studies are described which suggest that the consequences of leadership in Japan result from interaction of performance-oriented and maintenance-oriented behaviors. (TE)