Describes networking as a strategy for solving problems and ultimately implementing change. Networks include the personal, the interpersonal, and intergroup. One of the most important skills is being able to identify and use the various human, nonprint and print resources available. The positive benefits are limitless. (Author/BEF)

With increased campus interest in continuing education subject matter, departments are assuming roles which were previously the exclusive domain of extension departments. In examining this situation, the author proposes an organizational and functional model whereby both the university and adult student body may be best served. (Author/BP)

Presents and compares the results of 1973 and 1975 analyses of the organizational development (OD) effort at a government research laboratory and assesses the laboratory's present organizational climate. Concludes that the OD program has been a qualified success that provides a viable model for other organizations. (Author)

Discusses how language arts educators can promote enduring change, including the need for continuous cooperation, collaboration, and reflection; the active involvement of all the stakeholders during every stage of nurturing visions; and how to support this complex growth process with flexibility and with an enduring commitment. (SR)

Research on stress, burnout, and family-work balance among extension agents in several states identified factors influencing stress. Effective stress management techniques were derived from successful extension workshops. Also needed are systemic changes in policies and in practices that contribute to high stress. (SK)

Compares past and present forms of university and corporate executive education. Considers the benefits of a customized approach containing features of both. Identifies trends affecting executive education, such as global competition and technology change. (SK)

Higher education institutions must be transformed to make them accessible to learners on learners' own terms. This means overcoming such barriers as faculty attitudes about their role, inability to recognize how the clientele is changing, and rudimentary technological infrastructure. (SK)

Explores the concept and definition of best practice and how it relates to organizational concepts such as benchmarking, leadership, innovation, and managing change. Describes the six steps of best practice: (1) identifying areas of need; (2) assessing the need areas; (3) establishing profiles; (4) looking beyond the organization; (5) establishing…

Discusses the adoption of information technology and describes a study that explored the impact of technology on institutions of higher education. Topics include the Teaching, Learning, Technology and Roundtable Program that provides a model to merge technology planning and organizational change; campus participation; safe planning environment;…

Provides suggestions for identifying and dealing with management problems when expanding from a single child care site to multiple locations. Lists signs of trouble, including accounting problems and difficulty finding time for ongoing maintenance. Discusses staffing issues, focusing on tenure and qualifications of center directors. Examines the…

Examines trends in voluntary and involuntary part-time employment, the disappearing "job," competitive international pressures, and new job skill requirements. (SK)

Public confidence in the schools and educators can be restored through the thoughtful, appropriate application of systems thinking. This process requires the destruction of traditional power structures to create vehicles for truly continuous improvement that empowers all stakeholders to create appropriate learning systems. Change happens when…

Proposes that strategic planning is a linear, rational model best suited for managing change under conditions featuring an equilibrium between internal and external environments. Suggests conventional managerial/planning techniques are inadequate for the turbulent 1990s, where many variables are in constant flux. Presents a paradigm change model…

Analyzes public school bureaucracy and ways to reform institutions into learning communities that value shared knowledge and learning experiences. Describes how a bureaucratic organizational structure impairs learning. Proposes the "learning organization" in which adults learn alongside students, planning is decentralized, families are…

Interviews with 38 students, faculty mentors, and administrators involved in programs focused on recruiting/retaining women of color at the University of Minnesota revealed that mentoring is systematically addressing causes of attrition by promoting student/faculty communication, intervening promptly with academic difficulties, and creating a…