Management aids required in strategic planning are divided into three categories: (1) assessing the environment, (2) providing a process for reaching decisions, and (3) presenting criteria to evaluate strategic decisions. A model for scanning the environment has four dimensions that concern economic, social, knowledge-technology, and public policy…

This study sought to describe how an elementary school faculty made sense of the impending succession of its principal, and to extend Gephart's effort to develop a grounded theory of leader succession by examining an unforced succession in an organization whose members exerted little if any influence on the selection process. On the basis of…

The needs-press model, as operationalized by the Stern Activities Index (AI) and the Organizational Climate Index (OCI), was examined for its usefulness in evaluating and measuring organizational climate in a school setting. According to the model, needs represents personality and press represents the environment. This research was designed to…

The Nicaraguan people, through a successful revolution and subsequent elections, have chosen a communist government. This paper, using an historical-descriptive methodology, examines the status of Nicaragua under the current political-economy that prevails in that nation. Political-economic statements made and published in the press that support…

The AMSCO culture survey instrument was developed to obtain specific information about the changing employee values resulting from the implementation of the new quality programs at AMSCO, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. The culture dimensions measured in the survey included job evaluation/job satisfaction, work efficiency, training and development,…

Challenge to organizational authority, publicly presented in the local newspaper, can be either enlightening or trying for organizational managers and their public relations staff, depending on their viewpoint. Using a large public university as the organization, a study looked at these challenges and at what factors determine whether an…

A study was conducted at Bakersfield College to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the college's organizational structure and to determine to what extent the institution possessed specific elements of organizational climate and campus leadership that research has identified to be vital to educational quality. The survey instrument used to…

The managerial roles of the university president and the corporation president were compared, and attention was directed to the skills needed by both types of executives and their relationships with their boards. The activities of the chief executive officers of five middle-to-large-sized American organizations were observed for a week. These…

To test the effectiveness of an organizational development strategy to improve educational environments, data were gathered on the process and outcomes of a project for school climate improvement and school renewal. Data from two urban schools--a junior high school and a middle school--were drawn from interviews with participants, figures on…

Meaningful stress management efforts should include analysis of both organizational and individual factors. Results of a June 1982 survey of 130 teachers in 4 Buffalo (New York) school district elementary schools indicate that feelings of organizationally based stress did not vary significantly according to such demographic variables as sex or…

The survival of rural American farms and communities is dependent upon expansion of income and employment opportunities in rural areas. Recognizing the growing challenge for local leaders and the contribution that educational assistance can make, the Cooperative Extension System has identified Revitalizing Rural America as a priority program for…

A study examined the phenomenon of burnout in social service agencies, approaching burnout as a symptom of organizational communication patterns rather than a characteristic inherent in or developed within a particular individual. Sixteen working teams (defined as three or more people in a person-oriented service, who are perceived as a team by…

Gender differences among mid-level administrators in higher education is considered, based on a review of research. Attention is directed to research in three areas: (1) socialization of women and men to work and career patterns, (2) characteristics of higher education administrators, and (3) characteristics of the institutional climate and its…

Based on the Committee on the Next Agenda's analysis of four major aspects of public policy, recommended presidential initiatives for President Reagan's second term in office are outlined. Biographic information about Committee members and a summary of initiatives preface the report. Section 1 examines initiatives related to the role of government…

This report provides background information on Polish refugees that may be of use to sponsors involved in Polish refugee resettlement in the United States. The report discusses economic and social conditions in Poland; the social values and political attitudes of modern Polish refugees as opposed to those of Poles who settled in the United States…