Review of literature on downsizing from 1994 to 1998 found evidence that some downsizing is inevitable and can have positive outcomes (increased efficiency, competitiveness, profits). However, poor implementation by unprepared managers makes the experience worse than necessary for individuals and organizations. (SK)

Addresses the changes in higher education in the United Kingdom focusing on four specific topics: (1) organizational changes; (2) increases in student numbers; (3) financial changes; and (4) new approaches to assessing the quality of teaching. Attempts to indicate the effects of these various changes on the teaching of psychology. (CMK)

Examines stories told by the members of a Roman Catholic parish staff to each other in informal settings, investigating ways they reinforced or challenged the organization's power structure and reflected changes in cultural traditions. Shows that much story content reinforced the church's hierarchy, and occasionally reflected changes in the larger…

Interviewed private adoption agency staff in 1987-89 and 1993 to examine the impact of open adoption on practices and services. Found that over time, agencies offered a greater range of openness options. Client demand, changes in agency philosophy, and competition from independent or private adoptions were among the most salient reasons for…

Develops an analytical methodology for service organizations by examining four key cultural and managerial developments: understandings of markets and marketing held within the school; organizational responses to the market; use of analytical tools; and development of appropriate marketing strategies. Shows variations in schools' development of a…

This interview with Stephen M. Griffin, program manager of the Digital Libraries Initiative at the National Science Foundation, discusses the terms "electronic library,""digital library," and "library of the future"; electronic access and intellectual access; implementation and social effects of digital libraries; the…

Explains how a management education video on the Challenger disaster was created and insights gained from the experience. Reflects on its use in promoting organizational transformation. (SK)

Examines discourses in the academic and information science literature that attempt to justify and promote, to criticize and resist, or to explain and interpret transformational social change. Surveys literature about organizational change in academic libraries and builds a syncretic interpretation to overcome some of the traditional problems of…

Based on nine reports, four sets of changes affecting human resource management are outlined: market, demographic, social, and managerial. The evolution of the role of human resource managers from functional to strategic approaches is discussed. (Contains 20 references.) (SK)

Asserting that college reforms usually fail for structural reasons, outlines some barriers to change and offers suggestions to overcoming them. Barriers include: people cannot agree on the problem to be solved, time frames and structures are not clear, and there are no evaluative criteria. Strategies include: define roles and time frames, seek…

Discussion of the creation of the Pennsylvania College of Technology, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania State University, and replacing Williamsport Area Community College, looks at the decisions behind the merger; new governance structures; and strengths, challenges, and concerns about future success. New opportunities for program expansion,…

Examines the use of videodisc and interactive video (IV) technology in New Jersey institutions of higher education. Finds that institutions in New Jersey compare well with national trends in IV purchasing. Suggests that organizational change is necessary for IV technology to be successfully integrated. (RS)

Interviews with 25 primary care physicians found that (1) self-employed and salaried doctors view important practice issues identically; (2) they have different views of professional role and image; (3) self-employed doctors were concerned with protecting economic autonomy; and (4) salaried doctors' technical autonomy was threatened by the…

Interviews and other data collected from a high-tech firm found that organizational instability raises workers' inclination to quit, independent of whether their job security is threatened. Instability undermines trust and impairs the usefulness of incentives intended to increase commitment. (SK)

Tests the relative effects of several antecedents to users' behavioral coping responses to quality programs in four organizations. Finds that users' attitudes, concerns for performance, normative influence, uncertainty, and their perceptions of the context of change affect each of three dimensions of their behavioral coping responses. (SR)