Looks at the advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting and describes a training program to get people ready to telecommute. Offers tips for organizing an office at home. (JOW)

Suggests that the biggest obstacle to career growth is inertia and offers a personal plan to get started in leveraging a career. Indicates that it makes sense to set multiple goals, be aware of options, and to work actively toward several at once. (JOW)

Focus group discussions with 50 human resource development professionals elicited their opinions on the following: what is a learning organization, what distinguishes organizational from individual learning, what role do training professionals play. Although some clarification was achieved, many thought it essential to the nature of learning…

Cultural diversity affects organizations in several ways: recruitment/retention, outreach beyond traditional clientele, management styles and decision making, and interorganizational relationships. Intercultural effectiveness can be improved by making training strategic, building cultural knowledge, targeting unconscious discrimination, and…

Reaction to career plateaus depends on the employee's resources as well as the organization's response. Counseling, training and development, job enrichment, and other activities can minimize the stressful effects of involuntary plateauing. (SK)

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)