All organizations can increase efficiency and quality, but academic institutions are unlikely to improve academic productivity by formulas, brute force, or threats of external intervention. Studies of two institutions suggest that several factors can make improved productivity possible. Ten ways to accomplish this are suggested. (Author/MSE)

Peter Senge's learning organization theory suggests that the new challenges of the information age demand radical transformation of businesses, schools, and governments. Examples from Ford, Federal Express, and GS Technologies illustrate the use of the tools of the learning organization. (JOW)

When viewed dynamically, organizational change can be both adaptive and disruptive. When viewed over time, same forces rendering organizations inert also make them more malleable. These ideas are supported by dynamic models of organizational failure and change estimated on population of 1,011 Finnish newspaper organizations over 193 years. Change…

Maintains that writers and editors are likely candidates for downsizing within an organization. Notes that centralization-decentralization factors are valuable in addressing downsizing, as is knowledge of corporate management's point of view toward its investment in writing and editing. Offers five self-assessment scenarios to help prepare for the…

Pacific Gas and Electric's employee involvement program aggressively focuses on customer service, performance measurement tied to management bonuses, and commitment to change in the organizational culture. (SK)

Describes an evolutionary model of organizational change through the selective retention of jobs. Idiosyncratic jobs, those created around particular people, serve as a mechanism for change. Discusses organizational processes for adaptation. (83 references) (MLF)

Argues that, unless information technology managers pay attention to how people share information, advanced technological systems cannot achieve their full potential. Outlines how organizations can rebuild their information cultures, integrating human flexibility and disorder into information systems and changing employee behavior. (JOW)

Provides case studies and data from the major telecommunications service providers in most of the industrialized countries. Discusses reasons for the persistence of monopolies and the difficulty of affecting organizational change. Looks at privatization, challenges facing the workforce, and new job opportunities that would result. (JOW)

Because public organizations have multiple stakeholders, any change decisions must consider impact on each group. Because most organizations respond to rather than initiate change, proactive methods are not enough. Situational ethics come into play. (SK)

Summarizes organizational progress over two years of author's presidency of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Notes major activities, including development of a new organizational structure and the selection of new leadership for the NAEYC Board. (KB)

Case study of a manufacturing firm that implemented total quality management (TQM) found that the initiative may have failed because the company was undergoing rapid, radical structural change. Other problems included short-term focus, communication problems, and employee concerns about job security. TQM may be more compatible with continuous…

Kansas City YouthNet is taking on a leadership role in promoting community youth development (CYD). YouthNet's efforts to shift the measurement and evaluation focus from delivery of staff services to individual youth achievement is expected to lead to additional funds, a new CYD infrastructure, and improved lives of youth. (Author/JOW)

The 2-year process by which the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Organizational Learning transformed into the self-governed Society for Organizational Learning illustrates new ways of conceiving organizations, the capabilities required for change, and critical elements of the process: diverse representation, grounding in business…

A learning organization is viable when the learning climate successfully changes managers' mindsets. A case study of a financial services enterprise illustrates ways to keep mind sets from hardening and shows how changing learning activities and tools can change habits of thinking and learning. (Contains 30 references.) (SK)

Using data from two integrated steel-making sites, variation in the process and outcomes of workplace restructuring was studied. Four union capabilities were critical to success in negotiating with management over workplace restructuring: ability to access information, educate members, communicate with management, and access decision making at…