Argues that the decline in the competitiveness of American industries arises from a failure to innovate in quality management rather than from a decline in product quality. Discusses the superiority of the U.S. in generating technological innovations and its lag in the commercialization of the fruits of that technology. (HB)

Transcript of a conference on Higher Education (American Academy of Arts and Sciences) discussion held at the House of the Academy in Boston. (AP)

For decades the principles of scientific management, borrowed from industry, have held sway in U.S. schools. Now these principles have been supplanted in the industrial workplace by new socio-technical theories. This article describes the new industrial management model and its implications for education. (Author/WD)

Suggests that the term "training" does not cover all the functions of the professionals working in human resources development. Advocates use of the term "performance management," illustrated as a department with five divisions: (1) training, (2) feedback, (3) contingency management, (4) job engineering, and (5) organization development. (CH)

Noting the increase in assistance provided by American corporations to Third World countries, the authors suggest some of the advantages and constraints that corporations face in providing technical assistance. (Author/CH)

An analysis by age of 275 occupations at Lockheed-California revealed the characteristics of essentially "young" and "old" occupations. The article suggests that the transfer of older people into technology-generated occupations is a distinct possibility, given accurate information and guidance. (Author/AG)

By picking and choosing the methods that suit them best, managers can make OD work best for their companies. (Author)

Examines industrial and organizational factors in the development of the superhero comic book industry. Discusses three major industrial influences on content: children as the primary market, company ownership, and production costs. Compares current trends with the 1950s and 1960s, and argues that the medium presently is a vehicle for cultural…

Post-Fordism suggests that trade work practices are outmoded and industrial restructuring will improve economic outcomes. This view overlooks an important characteristic of industrial trades--the integrity of the work culture--and is oblivious to the merits of the tradespersons' cultural identity. (SK)

Contributes to scholarship on organizational communication by tracing how voluntary cooperative standards were developed for the semiconductor industry through reflexive communication processes initiated by the SEMATECH consortium. Analyzes seven pivotal incidents that show how increased communication produced new provinces of meaning, actions,…

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…

The focus in recent studies of workplace learning has been on "communities of practice" and the ways that learning is shaped by such communities. In the process, there has been a downplaying of the importance of broader institutional arrangements, including the impact of organisational structures and management practice, as well as…

One of the simplest definitions of cost-benefit analysis states "ultimately, it is nothing more than a logical attempt to weigh the pros and cons of a decision" (Gramlich 1981). This definition highlights two issues: practitioners should be clear about what decisions will be made as a result of this analysis, and they need to decide how…

This publication is the second of four volumes of "Tomorrow's Manpower Needs," which are devoted to the subject of national, state, and area projections of manpower requirements. This volume presents a discussion of industry employment trends, and the occupational structure and projections of manpower requirements for each major industry in the…