Examines some of the conditions under which organizations come to adopt new objectives. (Author/RK)

This interview with the chief executive of Donnelly Mirrors, Inc. explains the basis of the company's leadership in participative management and discusses why it is more successful than traditional authority-based management styles. (Author/JG)

In its annual convention, the National Collegiate Athletic Association approved details of an organizational restructuring, granted athletes the right to work during the academic year, and offered fifth-year eligibility to students unable to compete in their freshman year. More trust was experienced by delegates than in previous years. Students…

Describes a systematic curriculum development approach in Dutch and French universities for a modularized curriculum on biodiversity. Suggests that it is effective, efficient, and adaptable to new research results. (SK)

While many colleges and universities have undertaken organizational change, many also have failed to produce such change. One reason may be that the failed planning processes have been overly rational, quantitative, and linear, neglecting intuition, artfulness, and sudden social and human shifts. Chaos theory, which describes systems and…

A study investigated the measurement of organizational decline in 82 universities where objective and perceptual measures of decline appeared to contradict each other. Results suggest institutions with objectively-measured decline without perception of decline are characterized by processes of "decline as crisis," while institutions with…

Key events and factors in the unionization of faculty at Youngstown State University (Ohio) are chronicled in the early years of the institution's inclusion in the state higher education system, 1967-73. Focus is on the early process of faculty organization, selection of a union, and collective bargaining during retrenchment. (MSE)

Discusses using advanced electronic and communication technology to improve organizational innovation. Group creativity techniques, such as electronic brainstorming, PMI (a brainstorming approach involving plus, minus, and interesting points), synectics, and their verbal counterparts are compared. Electronic PMI and synectics are found to be…

A study was conducted of the construction of meaning related to new roles and relationships initiated by the Supportive Supervision Model, an approach to teacher supervision and evaluation. Results with 22 educators piloting this approach reveal that organizational members construct paradox differently, and the construction of paradox guides…

Discusses why new best practices in information sharing are substantially reinventing all organizations, and why knowledge sharing, if it sparks innovation, changes in organizational dynamics, and new sources of value, can offer strategic differentiation in academia and e-learning. (EV)

Considers how peoples' creative problem-solving efforts are influenced by organizational characteristics. Examines the situations which call for creative problem solving at work and describes the kinds of processes people must apply to solve these problems. Reviews organizational variables that help or hinder these processes. (Author/CR)

Offers suggestions and strategies designed to enhance skills for planning, motivating, and implementing organizational change for librarians assuming the role of change agent. Highlights include the human side of change, including fear and anxiety; and a process model of change that includes three stages: endings, transitions, and new beginnings.…

British Petroleum's chief executive officer explains how the organization was redesigned to foster learning. Key topics include clear purpose, shared knowledge, distinctive relationships, breakthrough thinking, and peer team structure. (SK)

Interviews with human resource specialists at 20 companies that are major recruiters found most attempting to change the nature of the traditional employer-employee relationship. Subtle shifts are evident in the definition of a career culture, promotion and career development practices, and organizational expectations. (SK)

This book defines school-based evaluation, situates it within the larger field of evaluation, and gives enough information about the organizational challenges school-based evaluation presents to allow highly-motivated educators to conduct evaluations. Principles, methods, and procedures are described, but technical details are generally not…