Demonstrates how the Gestalt Approach can be useful in facilitating systems design for educational change. This approach focuses on awareness of the process that the group is involved with and helps to create an environment where individual and group concerns can be integrated and harmonized. Discusses the "Cycle of Experience" and…

Proposes an extended form of dialog for social systems design called design conversation. Two modes of social discourse are combined: strategic dialog (communication that focuses on the specific task of seeking solutions) and generative dialog (common frame of thinking and shared meaning in a group). Describes a conversation program of the…

The key to making optimal use of time, energy, and institutional resources in college and university technology planning is to understand important differences between long-term socioeconomic planning and short-term operational planning. A ten-step procedure that focuses on process rather than product, and allows ready reallocation of resources as…

Discusses government directives linking availability and dissemination of information resources and improved public access with results (strategic planning, goals/objectives, performance indicators, customer service, standards/plans) and other issues (funding and performance-based budgets, government and deficit reduction, and government…

A study that examined action plans of 60 British special schools which had failed their inspections found school target-setting was almost universally not matching the expected criteria, monitoring and evaluation were frequently confused, and there was a wide variation in the support which schools gained from local authority advisers. (Author/CR)

Provides a literature review on project management related to corporate instructional design activities. Highlights include project integration, strategic planning, resource allocation, optimizing performance and quality, constructing a project team, generating a productive working climate, and implementation strategies. (LRW)

Explores administrator and staff perceptions of mission-critical agency capacity in a predominantly Hispanic region that has a high degree of acculturation and elevated use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Domains explored are financial resources; proposal development; agency policies; organizational structure; communication; leadership;…

Discusses Edina School District's School Profiles composed of multiple indicators from student achievement assessment results, school demographic data, and survey responses. Focuses on student, staff, and parent surveys, and shows how the surveys were developed, presented, and used by the schools to support comprehensive and ongoing efforts to…

Faculty/staff workshops provide a way of enhancing teaching and learning strategies and pedagogical techniques. We include faculty/staff development workshops designed to create team that taught interdisciplinary courses which address issues of diversity and democracy for first year students. Strategic planning of the workshop and responsiveness…

Planning for the ongoing support and maintenance that accompany implementation of new enterprise resource planning systems may be more essential to realizing benefit from a technology investment than choosing the product with the most features. (Contains 1 table.)

This chapter extends the discussion of the Baldrige framework in the preceding chapter by highlighting the eleven lessons learned from Baldrige best-practice organizations. (Contains 6 notes.)

This chapter describes how the Kansas Study of Community College Instructional Costs and Productivity can be used in state, institutional, and regional accreditation contexts.

The sustainability of a competitive, national economy depends largely on the ability of companies to deliver innovative knowledge-intensive goods and services to the market. These are the ultimate outputs of a scientific knowledge system. Ideas flow from the critical, identifiable phases of (a) the discovery, (b) the development, (c) the…

The Association for Educational Communication & Technology held its International Convention in Orlando, Florida, October 18-22, 2005. The convention theme was "Exploring the Vision". Division report highlights include: (1) Reflections on a Convention: A Vision Explored (Wes Miller); (2) Definition and Terminology Committee (Al…

The study analyses the role of regional development in higher education using the approach of the balanced scorecard, which provides a framework for organizations to describe and communicate their strategy. It turns out that the balanced scorecard is not only an approach for implementing the strategy, but it also provides a general framework for…