Develops a theoretical frame linking the genesis of formal organizations to societal evolution. Analyzes peculiarities of medieval craft guilds and the developments that caused their decline and replacement by formal organizations. Medieval guilds were important predecessors of these formal organizations. Includes 101 references. (MLH)

Sees diagnosis as process that helps organizations enhance their capacity to assess and change dysfunctional aspects of culture and patterns of behavior as basis for developing greater effectiveness and ensuring continuous improvement. Presents framework for understanding "learning diagnosis" in which diagnostic process is part of large-scale…

Describes Campbell Development Surveys, integrated battery of five surveys covering organizational satisfaction, leadership characteristics, interests and skills, team morale, and community life. Notes that all surveys have common set of features: identical item formats, homogeneous scoring scales, standard T scores, procedural checks, and similar…

Using Senge's five disciplines, the characteristics of a learning organization match those required of a one-person microbusiness. Self-employed persons attempting to operate using the traditional business model are unlikely to succeed. (SK)

Belbin's theory that teams with a wide range of roles are more effective than those with role imbalance was tested with six teams composed of individuals with homogenous roles and six with mixed roles. Mixed teams performed better on team tasks. (SK)

Discusses ways in which gestalt theory can inform learning organization practice regarding concepts of learning, holism, relation to environment, mental models, and team learning. (SK)

A shift is occurring from the idea that only experts have valuable knowledge toward the notion that useful knowledge is distributed throughout organizations. Corporate examples show how knowledge is transferred among teams and new knowledge developed in the process. (SK)

Intellectual capital and the management and use of an organization's intellectual resources can be understood from the perspective of Habermas' theory of communicative action. The systematic and reciprocal relations of communicative action create value through the mechanisms of exchange. (SK)

Looks at the practice of using employees from other departments as short-term trainers. Advantages include getting fresh ideas and perspectives, having real-life experiences, providing credibility for the training department, and providing links with other departments. The problems are people who do not want or know how to train, lack of knowledge…

Project management provides a natural home for organizational learning, freeing it from mechanical processes. Organizational learning plays a critical role in intelligent project management, which combines manageability, performance outcomes of knowledge management, and innovation. Learning should be integrated into an organization's core…

This article examines the nature of organisational learning and the leadership practices and processes that foster organisational learning and, more importantly, the impact of these variables on teacher leadership. A path model is used to test these school variables as well as school characteristics such as availability of resources and community…

The article examines a relatively new tool to increase the effectiveness of organizations and people. The recent development and background of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is reviewed. Basic assumptions of the model are discussed. Implications for departments and divisions of student affairs are analyzed. Finally, suggested readings and workshop…

Shortly after the first commercial radio broadcast in 1920, the medium's popularity exploded and the number of stations on the dial grew tremendously. By 1930, however, a mere 10 years after the first radio broadcast occurred, the industry was dominated by large, commercial stations who sold advertising time in a variety of forms and were operated…

This study explored the involvement of 15 training and development (T & D) professionals during mergers and acquisitions (M & A). The study found that T & D professionals are highly involved in orientation and management training and organization development related activities such as communication and diagnosis and blending of organizational…

This Support Document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report, "Investigating Learning through Work: The Development of the 'Provider Learning Environment Scale'" (ED503392). While couched in very different terms, the analysis presented in this report points to a substantial overlap in the conceptual bases that…