Technological growth in developed and developing countries in the 20th century has lent a great deal of importance to scientific reasoning in the management of human affairs. An important outgrowth has been the development of systems thinking to organize the workplace. The business reengineering process and the enterprise resource planning system…

This paper seeks to explore the notion of risk as an organisational logic within schools, the impact of contemporary accountability regimes on managing risk and then, in turn, to posit a systems-based process of risk management underpinned by a positive logic of risk. It moves through a number of steps beginning with the development of an…

The goal of education for sustainability (EFS) is "to develop in young people and adults new knowledge and new ways of thinking needed to achieve economic prosperity, participate democratically, secure justice and equity, and all the while regenerate the health of the ecosystems, the gift upon which all life and all production depend." The…

In 1996 Hubert Saint-Onge and Smith published an article ("The evolutionary organization: avoiding a Titanic fate", in The Learning Organization, Vol. 3 No. 4), based on their experience at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). It was established at CIBC that change could be successfully facilitated through blended application…

A decision to don the chaos lens, adopt dialogue as its primary mode of communication, and to recognize the power of the organizational mind has fundamentally and irreversibly changed the way a Dutch capital-equipment manufacturer operates in its rapidly complexifying global marketplace. Beginning in September 1999, the focus of an ever widening…

The Systems Theory Framework (STF) of career development represents a metatheoretical account of career development that is consistent with the constructivist worldview. Presented as a framework of influences, the STF clearly illustrates the content and process of career development. The STF has provided the stimulus for the development of a…

Specifications recently proposed as standards in the domain of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), question the designers of TEL systems on how to put them into practice. Recent studies in Model Driven Engineering have highlighted the need for a framework which could formalize the use of these specifications as well as enhance the quality of the…

Contemporary supply chains are vastly complex, and decisions made by actors have system-wide consequences that these might not be able to foresee. There are gaps between "best practice"-founded theory and actual practice in supply chains. To remedy this, we argue, the supply chain actors need to enhance systems knowledge. There is a need to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe fundamental concepts and theoretical challenges with regard to systems, and to build on these in proposing new theoretical frameworks relevant to learning, for example in so-called learning organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The paper focuses on some crucial fundamental aspects introduced…

While the frequency of program evaluations has increased, evaluations often have limited effectiveness because the information they provide is not adequately conferred throughout the school system. Whether or not a specific program shows merit, the organization can benefit by using that information to increase knowledge among organization members,…

After almost three decades of school reform, student achievement nationally is about where it was when it started, and student behavior has declined dramatically. Numbers of dropouts, especially in cities and among the poor and minorities, have gotten much higher. Yet many billions of dollars have been spent; countless professionals have carried…

As the sophistication of technology has increased, so has public demand for quality. This expectation of quality has occurred across a broad range of products and systems, including education. To meet the demand for quality, many products and systems (including educational ones) have become increasingly complex. Within education there are also…

Combating corruption is an important condition for bringing about the flourishing of academic research. There are many reasons for the emergence and proliferation of academic corruption today. These are closely related to the long-term lack of training among our country's scholars in modern academic standards and the absence of an academic spirit…

Assessment is a worthwhile undertaking when meaningful data are generated, evidence-based improvement initiatives are thoroughly considered and discussed, and results are ultimately used to improve educational effectiveness. National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) results are oriented toward such practical use. Each year, more campuses use…

The term resiliency is used to describe the "human capacity and ability to face, overcome, be strengthened by, and even be transformed by experiences of adversity." Native American culture provides a framework for fostering resiliency. The Lakota Sioux society identifies four core needs that foster resiliency and motivate individuals to reach…