Decrying the lack of professional standards, the author attempts to define an organizational development professional in terms of the personal traits, skills, and competencies needed. He outlines a learning sequence for skills development and presents a skills assessment scale for self-evaluation. (SK)

Trist discusses his own training and his research in organizational development, networks, and management systems. His work in the United States is explored. Trist is professor of organizational behavior at York University, Toronto, and professor emeritus at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. (Author/BEF)

Discusses distribution of capabilities and role assignments on a team and proposes a model linking variables that affect productivity. Research is needed on what interaction processes result from team characteristics and which processes affect team productivity for members with particular capabilities. (Author/JAC)

Evaluation of leadership is a central task in organizational consultation, but too often ignores the relationship between task definition and administrative structure, and the availability of scarce resources. A systems approach focuses on the reciprocal impact of individual psychodynamics and organizational characteristics on leadership…

In the field of organizational development, it is almost self-evident that an intervention or change action comes after a period of data gathering and/or analysis of the organization. This article explores how a manager can determine what actions to take following an organizational diagnosis. (LRA)

Five models commonly used to analyze change in the Swedish higher education system are described, and a sixth model related more to public administration than to education is proposed. The public administration model approaches higher education as a system of institutions interrelated by an authority structure, a relationship not fully considered…

Freedom from material insecurity brings with it new human expectations. Demands for personal fulfillment and development of human potential will increasingly be placed on schools, and change will be necessary for organizational success and individual self-actualization. The authors present ten principles for bringing about desired changes.…

This article provides an historical overview of organizational theory and research relevant to participation in decision making. Applications of this theory and research in schools are discussed. Two examples of organization development interventions which foster participation in school decision making are described. Implications of recent…

A suburban Denver school district has upgraded its management practices by putting into practice a management by objectives and organizational development system. (Author)

The two papers report a conceptualization of service management and two idealized models for its implementation. Actual experience guided the development of the concept and models. Data are reported regarding the status of service management after technical assistance from the Philadelphia Geriatric Center to the State Office and area agencies.…

Advocates the use of matrix management to make school districts more flexible and creative in response to non-routine problems. (BD)

Examines the relationship between survey feedback and the organization environment to determine under what environmental conditions survey feedback was perceived by subordinates as having had an impact and if there is any systematic relationship between the degree of feedback provided to subordinates and the impact of survey feedback as perceived…

Discusses the development of information technology (IT) in teachers' professional work and its development within organizations based on examples in the United Kingdom. Highlights include Project INTENT, to improve IT in teacher education; dimensions of professional development; personalized strategies for staff development; individual and group…

Introduces different kinds of meta-knowledge which all have positive influence on the usage of knowledge-management systems. Presents results from a qualitative study conducted in five German companies, and derives relations between kinds of meta-knowledge and the characteristics of knowledge management systems. Only if this experience with…

Distance education is an answer to the demand for flexibility in training. The aim is to build a virtual learning community on the basis of a knowledge model that meets different learning needs. This article analyzes possible innovations in corporate training, and proposes a framework that integrates all information sources and offers practice…