Management by spontaneity shuns job descriptions, supervisory duties, needs assessment, strategic planning, group process, and problem solving. Not for the fainthearted, MBS requires knowledge of psychology, lawyerly skills, and philosophic wisdom. MBS remains untested, as current job descriptions have confined authors to MBO and TQM. (MLH)

This article describes a project that simulates the interplay between management and development project teams in a business environment. Each student team was assigned a management role supervising one project and a development role implementing another project. Results indicate that teams that communicate regularly and interact socially outside…

The time and effort spent during the first days of a new semester are key to the success of the class that lies ahead. What happens during these first days can set a tone that inspires students to work actively and cooperatively to achieve success in the new semester, or to sit back and assume a "here we go again" attitude. In this article, the…

This set of learning modules was developed during a project to deliver workplace literacy instruction to individuals employed in the more than 50 businesses related to the activities the activities of the Port of Baltimore. It is intended to help employees in port businesses develop team building and problem-solving skills. The following topics…

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Massachusetts) has developed a new freshman course titled "Computer Analysis in Civil Engineering" as part of a curriculum revision project which emphasizes critical thinking, cooperative group learning and problem solving, the integration of knowledge through projects, and student responsibility for…

Intended for use in conjunction with guidance and instruction from a teacher or tutor, this guide provides an overview of the philosophy of quality as well as some tools used in business and industry today. Each of four sections consists of a teacher explanation of the topics followed by student worksheets with annotated teacher keys. The first…

Three discrete but related studies contribute to the larger research question of how adult educators can help community problem-solving group members gain new skills and compentencies as they work together on community problems. The first study addresses defining individual growth in the context of rural community problem-solving groups and…

Participatory decision-making strategies have been suggested as effective in groups with the task of solving unstructured problems or creating innovations. Concerned about evaluating children's affective growth in open classrooms, eight educators in a large metropolitan area agreed to meet regularly after school hours to develop an instrument to…

A study analyzed and compared four selected models in the cyclical tradition of group development as a basis for identifying possible issues and implications for future theory building. The theorists whose models were examined were Leland Bradford, Jack Gibb, William Schutz, and Theodore Mills. Both historical and conceptual perspectives of the…

The evolution of collective bargaining in higher education and factors that lead academic bargaining from destructive conflict to cooperation are examined. Academic bargaining is viewed as a form of shared authority, but one with unusual institutional and organizational problems that may lead toward destructive, rather than constructive conflict.…

This guide, the second of four, is intended for persons involved in planning new schools or new programs; that is, comprehensive change projects, especially those that have a new, innovative thrust and where past practice cannot be easily relied on. The guide examines means by which to clarify goals and methods of designing social systems before…

Human relations problem situations for Army senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs) were identified and analyzed using group problem solving methods. Then, using an analysis summary prepared for each case study problem situation as the basis, candidate performance exercises were developed. (These exercises specify terminal performance objectives…

Addressed to managers, students of management, and organizational development (OD) practitioners, this handbook concentrates on the joint management of change, and presents particular methods that have proved useful in realizing change within business, government, universities, and many other institutional settings. Beginning with factors that…

A participant in a career transition workshop for 10 former college faculty members gives an account of the sometimes difficult process of changing perspectives, attitudes, and problem-solving techniques from academe to the world of business and of learning practical job search methods. (MSE)

The learner's role in acquiring cognitive and interpersonal skills in a first-year medical school course in neurobiology (12 students) that used a small-group, problem-based teaching method. Objectives of the study were to: (1) determine the cognitive and interpersonal skills the students believed were important; (2) evaluate how well the students…