This paper discusses the benefits and problems of tenure at higher education institutions in light of criticisms of a lack of faculty accountability and productivity. It examines the effects of contract versus tenure systems on faculty motivation, and argues that it is not the security of tenure that reduces faculty motivation and hence…

In 1991, the U.S. Congress commissioned the Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement to investigate the various aspects of education reform. This digest summarizes the findings of a resulting study that focused on the effects of school reform on students at risk. The digest identifies the components of effective…

Organizations are the product of the ideas and interactions of those who work in them. The challenge for learning in organizations is to have a shared purpose and vision of the organization, to develop new ideas arising out of the vision and purpose, to test the ideas in the organizational reality, and to communicate that knowledge to other…

Although incivility and conflict have long plagued community colleges and other educational institutions, recent budget declines have made this situation more critical. In the past, those who disagreed could be bought off and organizations tended to hire layers of people to perform tasks that one person with a personal computer can perform today.…

If they are to be effective, organizations must acquire and create new knowledge in order to achieve their goals. Service organizations, such as schools, must employ the concept of organizational learning. Organizational learning is an intentional process directed at improving organizational effectiveness. The process involves four…

This document consists of three papers presented at a symposium on transfer of training moderated by Gene Roth at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). "Validation of a Transfer Climate Instrument" (Reid A. Bates et al.) reports a study that attempted to validate Rouiller and Goldstein's (1993) eight-factor…

This book contains a collection of articles about the ways in which organizations do the key work of society, the ways in which the work of the organization will change, and the essential role of the organization in public, private, and social arenas. Following the preface and introduction, titled "Toward the New Organization" by Peter F. Drucker,…

During the mid- to late-1990s, the declining economy in Nova Scotia led to a reduction in the number of school boards and the closure or amalgamation of smaller schools. This paper presents findings from the first phase of a longitudinal case study that explored the amalgamation of five elementary schools in Gold Cove, Nova Scotia. The study uses…

A study examined structured on-the-job training (SOJT) within the organizational context of 8 Dutch firms exploring more than 500 individuals each. Between 7 and 19 individuals (trainees, trainers, supervisors, managers, and/or human resource development officers) were interviewed at each firm. The effectiveness of SOJT was found to be greatly…

Traditionally, teacher compensation has been viewed in isolation from other components of organizational reform. This paper examines changes in dominant models of schooling over time using an organizational lens. The six models include scientific management, humanistic/specialization, effective schools, content-driven, high standards/high…

The Newspapers section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following 24 papers: "Dropping the Paper: The Role of Women in Local Daily Subscription Cancellations" (Melinda D. Hawley); "The Effects of the 1990-1992 Recession in the Real Estate Industry in News Coverage in Real Estate Sections at Five Major U.S.…

While much attention has been paid to educational reform or restructuring efforts to improve the nation's schools, the fiscal aspects of reform have received little attention. The Education Commission of the States studied 20 school districts in 6 states (California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, and South Carolina) to determine what impact…

This volume of 16 chapters by 15 contributing authors was conceived as a means of drawing together a body of basic information about the Great Lakes that is up to date, based on sound research, and interpreted by experts in the scientific, historical, environmental and political value of the Great Lakes to North America and the world. Chapters…

Findings of a study that examined the extent to which transformational forms of leadership contribute to teacher commitment are presented in this paper. Teachers' commitment to change is expressed as a function of personal goals, two types of personal agency beliefs, and emotional arousal processes. Alterable variables giving rise to commitment…

To discover what effects the political, religious, social, and economic climate had on naming children, 100 families (representing almost 700 individuals) were interviewed to identify patterns in first names given over three generations. The sample of 100 families includes people from different religious backgrounds and from different parts of…