Discusses how principal-counselor teams can enhance the organizational adaptability of secondary schools. (JG)

Compares the common but unsuccessful management method of "management by crisis" to the principles and results of sound management practice, in an attempt to enable crisis managers to recognize and overcome their mistakes. (Author/JG)

This special issue is based on papers presented at an international conference held in 1996 in Belgium. Focus is on the convergence between telecommunications and broadcasting from a culturalistic perspective, by historically mapping developments in communication technology vis-a-vis cultural processes in the ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian…

The learning processes of an employee in a new role were analyzed using the Dreyfus model of skill development (novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert). Influences of the trainer, informal workplace interactions, and formal courses on the transition to the new role were identified. (SK)

Factors that have shaped the practice of federal program evaluation in Canada are discussed, including accountability, federal policy issues, political actors, organizational structures, and political and governmental changes. A key issue is that of promise versus performance. (SLD)

Uses Eisner's educational connoiseurship approach to illuminate larger organizational design issues and analyze and appraise Virginia State Superintendent for Public Instruction Joseph Spagnolo's reorganization plan. The analysis focuses on several design issues: fit/form, focus/function, force, and fulfillment. The Spagnolo design is constantly…

Japanese firms are reducing work force size and costs without layoffs. However, these restructurings appear to be symbolic rather than substantial. They seem intended to signal the need for corporate culture change and diminished expectations. (SK)

Describes the use of small-scale change projects by Philadelphia's Department of Human Services to generate new outcomes and new skills and experience that improved basic day-to-day operations, strategic planning, and cumulatively produced larger-scale changes in service, financing, and performance. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the accelerating pace of change that librarians must cope with and suggests looking to the private sector for strategies to become more comfortable with change. Describes the five disciplines comprising the learning organization culture: systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision, and team learning. (LRW)

Examines the traditional hierarchical administrative structure in academic libraries. Also analyzes some of its features, and questions specific principles of management in order to propose a more balanced organizational type based on organizational behavior and leadership that will best enable academic libraries to meet challenges. (PEN)

Organizations learn when they embed new practices and values and make real changes. Organizational learning must address group tendencies toward helplessness and conformity. Individuals still bear responsibility for monitoring what is learned. (SK)

The globalized economy appears to promote economic insecurity and underemployment. Lifelong learning is increasingly focused on competitive advantage. Adult educators should encourage discussion and debate about the nature of these changes and advocate lifelong learning that benefits the whole person and broader community. (Contains 30…

Examines challenges that high school department chairpersons faced while changing to a 4 x 4 block schedule. Finds that chairpersons experienced multiple learning curves and increased tensions between departmental and teaching responsibilities, problems exacerbated by reduced release time. Recommends aligning job descriptions with procedures,…

A participant-observation study in a South African mining company that used self directed work team training identified organizational constraints that hindered training effectiveness: lack of materials, machinery breakdown, decentralized budget, and imposed standards. Miners more often used improvisation and initiative to solve daily problems,…

Describes three types of communication assessment: structural assessment; functional assessment; and process assessment. Contends that these traditional approaches are inappropriate for assessing organizational change. Proposes that complexity theory explicitly focuses on evolutionary processes and thus is a more appropriate foundation for…