This article presents a practice theory for diagnosing organizations--that is, a combination of many ideas in a relatively simple framework that can be applied in various settings. It brings together organization/environment, sociotechnical, and formal/informal systems concepts, and proposes six broad categories for looking at an organization.…

Develops a case supporting the claim that the objectives of the work in most of the public affairs careers entered by psychologists can be served as well, possibly better, by a mix of skills and knowledges in a general program that requires less than MA or PhD preparation in psychology and more of other areas of learning. (Author/AM)

The background, achievements, problems, and future plans of various workers' organizations in agriculture are discussed: International Federation of Plantation, Agricultural, and Allied Workers; Trade Union International of Agricultural, Forestry, and Plantation Workers; World Federation of Agricultural Workers; and the Asian Trade Union College.…

Organization development consultants (N=75) asked to list the 10 "most important" diagnostic questions they would want answered before accepting the contract. These were seen as a function of the change agent's organizational model and predictive of the interventions these consultants would plan. (Author)

The detailed organization of an integrated medical sciences curriculum from its initial planning to the final state of "automatic" administration are described. Flexibility and scope for controlled change and experiment are retained in spite of some reduction in departmental autonomy. (Author/LBH)

This Catholic college for women in St. Joseph, Minnesota, is adopting components of systematic institutional development in its planning and budgeting. Four programs are integrated: institutional research, the management information system, management development, and management planning. (LBH)

The primary goal of the Study of New Scholars is to make the academy a more equitable and appealing place for new faculty so that academic institutions can continue to attract the best and brightest scholars and teachers in all disciplines. The underlying idea of the study is to provide institutions and prospective junior faculty members with…

This report presents lessons learned from the National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) and offers advice for state and local reinvention efforts, describing how NPR's leaders built political and public support and focusing on five aspects of reinvention: getting started (e.g.; creating a reinvention team, building relationships with…

This study examines action learning as a vehicle for the transfer of organizational values in a multi-cultural, virtual-team based leadership development process. A Case Study of Kanbay International's Global Leadership Development Program is used as a lens through which HRD researchers and practitioners may glimpse new possibilities for the…

The paper explores critical issues for HRD practice from a parsonian framework across the HRD legs of organizational development, adult learning, and training and development. Insights into the critical issues emerge from this approach. Identifying successful transfer of training to be critical for organizational, group, and individual success.…

This ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) monograph updates and expands upon earlier ERIC publications on the topic of instructional development (ID) models. This monograph presents a brief history of ID models, describes a taxonomy for classifying them, provides examples from each of the categories in the taxonomy, and describes trends…

As the global business environment becomes more turbulent, quality management seems more indispensable. This book offers strategies for integrating the theory and practice of Total Quality Management (TQM) with organizational-development (OD) theory at all organizational levels. Chapter 1 answers the question "Why Total Quality Management and…

A practical view is offered to leaders, managers, and teams of how to think about their companies and reinvent them without losing the value and knowledge embedded in their current organization. Organizations can break through challenges and recognize entirely new business opportunities through the creation of interlocking, boundary-crossing…

Teams can produce innovative solutions to complex problems, enabling organizations to be faster, more responsive, more competitive, and more successful in meeting their missions. These kinds of results are not guaranteed, however. When an organization sponsors a team, it is usually to address a challenge deemed essential to organizational success.…

Learning Management Systems (LMS) represent a rapidly expanding domain of e-learning touted to bring great efficiencies and effectiveness to organizations through growth and training of employees. Their presence is made possible by recent gains in instructional technology of power, speed, and accessibility, enhanced by the demise of the…