A resource-directive model is developed that specializes the organization's goals and decisionmaking activities into quasiautonomous units and that circumvents interunit dependencies (or externalities) in decentralization. The organization is considered to act by the sequential process of decisionmaking, operating, and then, on the basis of this…

Systems analysts help the University of Buffalo prepare to move and store tons of goods and transport 40,000 students daily. (Editor)

For optimal allocations of limited funds, it is necessary for libraries to develop measures of output. Various forms of user exposure to documents are discussed in an effort to develop such measures for public libraries. It is suggested that the accrual method of accounting be used to compare such measures with costs. (40 references) (Author/NH)

A model is presented which indicates the increase in use of information referral centers to be expected for a given level of service. Another model analyzes a directory to a data base and introduces the concept of zoomability" as a means for improving directory performance. (29 references) (Author/NH)

Project Evaluation and Review Technique is a basic procedure for project management. (Editor)

Internal auditing, which can help governing boards exercise their control responsibilities, is discussed, including financial, compliance, and operations auditing. Governing boards should be prepared to handle reports on operation audits, financial and compliance audits, and reviews of management information systems. (MLW)

Describes the origins and developmental requirements of the Informant Panel, an inexpensive, time-efficient, retrospective method for obtaining consequently meaningful information needed to guide organizational change projects. The panel combines features of the Nominal Group and Delphi Techniques. (WAS)

Identifies information specialists who employ systems methodology and discusses the modern systems movement, its role in the changing world view of science, disciplines (cybernetics and operations research) that have contributed to its development, and distinctions between General Systems Theory and other approaches to the study of systems.…

Student evaluations of instructors may be used as a basis for assigning instructors to courses. Four models are presented demonstrating various research techniques. Each of the four models has the same objective of determining the optimum allocations of instructors to courses, but the models differ in terms of their constraints. (JN)

There are many uses for the shortest path algorithm presented which are limited only by our ability to recognize when a problem may be converted into the shortest path in a graph representation. (Author/TG)

Discusses the purpose of mathematical models and reviews the phases of the modeling process--defining performance, representing the problem, predicting performance, estimating parameters, defining optimization criterion, determining solution, and implementing results. Reviews of book-use, resource allocation, and library network models are…

The role of optimization in mathematical, physical, biological, social, and management sciences is examined. A plea is made for giving optimization a central place in the mathematics education of scientists and technologists. (Author/MK)