Discusses issues in the merger of East and West German educational systems, including problems of communication at interpersonal and administrative levels, structural differences in secondary and higher education, changes in the east in teaching style and ideological indoctrination, problems in vocational education, and growing European and…

Includes three articles that address issues associated with the automation and management of library acquisitions departments. Highlights include the systems librarian's point of view; restructuring the cataloging and acquisitions departments in a large academic library after NOTIS implementation; and the workflow in a smaller university library.…

Proposes that the organizational transition period of a school's restructuring requires special attention and that major responsibility for transition management should rest with teachers. Illustrates the dilemmas and frustrations of the transition period with a fictional case. Discusses special demands on the organization, teacher leadership for…

Contends that leadership needs to evolve to a new form that is more systemic and rooted in the knowledge of organizational work processes. Discusses several professions as leadership analogies for incorporating work into conceptions of leadership. Argues for a shift from viewing leadership solely in hierarchial terms to recognizing leadership as…

Discussion of restructuring educational systems focuses on strategies for implementing major change in large organizations, including public school systems. Highlights include what motivates change; the capacity to change; human resilience during change; roles in the change process; successful managers; the impact of organizational culture; and…

It is suggested that college administrators not let satisfaction with current operations develop into complacency. This includes setting ambitious objectives and providing the climate, resources, and incentives for people to meet high expectations, and requires a periodic critical examination of all operations. (MSE)

Compares the original and the current status of procedures documentation, a business communication genre. Advocates changing the perception of what the genre ought to be by looking not only at the end product being created but also at the process that created it. Justifies the shift by the changing global environment for effective management…

Retraining of employed technical professionals as an alternative to termination is being used by a small but growing number of firms. Case studies of involuntary and voluntary retraining generated guidelines for cost-effective programs: management support, candidate screening, career counseling, and realistic job previews. (SK)

Software systems are being created to assist both novice and expert instructional technologists in response to perceived need of organizations to increase their training. Underlying philosophies and goals of instructional developer automation tools and their potential effects upon the organizations who adopt them must be examined so they will help…

Internal reform in higher education management will require containment of excessive administrative growth, streamlining procedures, shifting focus from individuals to the organization, encouraging leadership, restructuring governing boards, eliminating duplicated effort, clarifying priorities, revamping the reward system, and creating…

Yale University (Connecticut) uses a "constructive evolution" method of coping with maintenance and fine-tuning of aging information systems. In this process, system developers form partnerships with user department representatives to plan and coordinate system changes. Evolution of the personnel/payroll system over five years provides…

Growth in college administration has increased costs and bureaucracy. Rather than wait for fiscal crisis or consumer revolt, academic leaders, including faculty and administrators, should initiate change by simplifying activities and procedures and rewarding consolidation. The challenge is to use resources more effectively and efficiently in a…

Interviews with trainers in 23 engineering firms confirmed the relationship between innovative training and ability to cope with skills shortages. Strategies identified were (1) evangelical, involving active outreach, direct relevance, and incentive; and (2) pastoral, characterized by education, support, and facilitation. (SK)

Traces the organizational history in Kentucky after the Department of Education was abolished by the Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA). Offers suggestions to other state legislators contemplating state department restructuring. Contends that "restructuring" turned out to be the same old process of bureaucratic adjustments practiced…

A method is proposed for manipulation of scale recalibration to evaluate techniques designed to detect change due to scale recalibration, including the Ideal Scale Approach of R. Zmud and A. Armenakis (1978). An illustration of an adaptation of the Ideal Scale Approach with 194 undergraduate students is included. (SLD)