A case study of a human service agency is used to demonstrate opportunities and dangers of diversity training, outline steps needed to manage transformation to multiculturalism, and make recommendations for lasting change in the areas of leadership, education and training, evaluation and follow-up, culture and management systems, and…

Argues that adult education discourse about the workplace uncritically adopts management perspectives and pays inadequate attention to gender and power issues. States that understanding gender as an organizing principle provides insights into these issues that can be applied to organizational change. (SK)

Examines each section of the Task Force on the Role and Future of Minorities' 1996 report that was delivered to the American Education Research Association (AERA) Council. Discusses Historical Context of Diversity Efforts in AERA; Changing Demographics, Epistemologies, and Ideologies; Inventory of Concerns; and Task Force Recommendations. (GR)

Examines Appreciative Inquiry, a relatively new approach to organizational change and growth, as a method for institutionalizing retention activity. Results of a case study in a college of arts and sciences suggest the method to be effective in creating a shared vision for the organization, energized participants, improved morale, and increased…

Examined the impact of institutional culture on the change process in colleges and universities. Using an ethnographic approach and two-tiered cultural framework, investigated comprehensive change at six institutions. Results suggest that campuses should conduct audits of their institutional culture before engaging in the change process. (EV)

Explores the cultural context of school improvement in Thailand, a developing Asian nation that retains a strongly traditional set of cultural values and norms. Drawing upon literature review and case-study data, examines the changing nature of successful school improvement in Thailand during period of rapid cultural transition. Also discusses…

Employees in a British hospital (n=119) involved in downsizing and staff redeployment were surveyed. Traditions of employment security in the National Health Service and increasing uncertainty in the work environment provoked negative attitudes and reluctance to participate in retraining and redeployment. These attitudes were not associated with…

Discusses the successes and struggles of change efforts at Wood College in Mississippi as a lesson for improving governing boards that are blithe to an institution's immediate and long-term needs. (EV)

Australian chief executives, human resource managers, line managers, and employees rated aspects of learning organizations using a benchmarking model. Results show that Australian organizations are increasingly committed to adopting and implementing learning organization principles. Organizations can use the 10-principle model to identify the…

Cross-cultural analysis of the effects of transformational leadership on organizational learning in elementary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, Western Australia, Canada (Manitoba), and Taiwan. (Contains 41 references.) (PKP)

An ideal world-class corporate university would integrate four elements: knowledge systems, networks and partnerships, learning processes, and people processes. Case studies of two British corporate universities illustrate how they use current technology, develop networks with learning providers, and share information about learning resources,…

Defines appreciative inquiry as a change model that uses traditional organizational development processes (team building, strategic planning, business process redesign, management audits) in a new way, both as a philosophy and as a process. Emphasizes collaboration, participation of all voices, and changing the organization rather than the people.…

Describes how General Physics, a training and work force development company, developed and implemented a leadership training program based on military boot camps and using the principles of Outward Bound. (JOW)

During the library centralization effort at a large telecommunications company, certain middle managers balked at giving up their library collections. A consultant was hired to determine library goals and objectives, and a survey of middle managers was conducted. Once support for centralized library services was demonstrated, an official decision…

Presents findings of a study examining how an elementary school faculty made sense of its principal's replacement. Teachers' understanding was affected by two sets of research-based factors: a group norm and characteristics of the succession process. A general expectation of change and presuccession sense making also affected teachers'…