Although the Total Quality Management (TQM) system offers an admirable goal and offers promise of organizational improvement, the process it recommends is not a panacea and may only forestall the conflict inevitably arising from decision making, individual accountability, and organizational change. The approach is being abandoned by some. (MSE)

At Indiana University, budget problems and the information explosion led to a project, financed by a computer company, integrating information technology (IT) into administrative functions. The administrative workstation project increased IT knowledge and use by key administrators, resulting in greater productivity and creativity, improved…

A major challenge facing state policymakers who are demanding a high level of accountability in education is to design an accountability mechanism to track educational reform. The structure and uses of eight exemplary approaches to accountability are examined, resulting in a set of design characteristics for state accountability mechanisms. (TJH)

A system for raising productivity in higher education institutions is proposed, based on two theories used to explain the tendency of unit costs to rise. Emphasis is on combining clear goals, accountability, and incentives with an experimental approach. An institutional research strategy for implementation is outlined. (MSE)

Reviews "Preparing School Administrators for Democratic Authority" by Richard A. Quantz et al. Proposes adding to the curriculum a critique of the underlying assumptions and structures that constitute the American social order. Describes some ways in which graduates can network and find support to maintain their critical perspective.…

Reviews developments in the database industry for 1993. Topics addressed include scientific and technical information; environmental issues; social sciences; legal information; business and marketing; news services; documentation; databases and document delivery; electronic bulletin boards and the Internet; and information industry organizational…

Summarizes and reflects on efforts to improve the relevance and functioning of the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The AERA is addressing such issues as quality of papers, the role of special interest groups, the evaluation of meetings, and the process of change itself. (SLD)

Assesses literature regarding how to plan and implement information technology in the community college, as well as literature that deals with the implications of technology implementation. Suggests that community colleges consider hiring a full-time information specialist responsible for installing and maintaining software and hardware. Contains…

Discusses insights gained from observations of cross-functional computer-based team planning in a variety of enterprises. Observations involved over 2000 participants in 100 planning efforts over a period of six years. Efforts focused on the planning of new products or processes, development of strategic business plans, and consensus building…

When academic advisers are trained in the principles and practices of team-centered developmental advising, as at Valencia Community College (Florida), and interventions create the expectation for student success, advisers are better equipped to teach students to approach their education in purposeful ways. Technology that delivers accurate,…

Explosive changes in social, demographic, economic, and ideological factors in America require public education to respond with its own changes to assure competent citizens for the 21st century. School psychologists play an active role in school reform. Too frequently, school psychologists have been limited to testing to the exclusion of other…

Describes Hong Kong's Target-Oriented Curriculum (TOC), a major curriculum renewal initiative designed to improve the quality of learning in local primary schools. Discusses the context in which it was introduced and factors that proved problematic in managing change. Focuses on five elements in the change process: practicality, ownership, teacher…

Reviews the literature on changes in academic library organizations and describes the results of a survey of library directors that investigated concepts of a virtual library, both as digital technology and as a new organizational concept. Discusses models of virtual libraries and library networking, and includes a copy of the questionnaire.…

This article describes practical methods for agencies to move from a process to an outcomes focus when preparing and presenting reports to payers and regulators. Essential components of an outcomes system are outlined, and methods for preparing and presenting reports are drawn from experiences at Father Flanagan's Boy's Home. (Contains…

Does information technology "pull" the organizational management toward change in terms of authority and control, or is information technology "pushed" through the organization, by management, to maintain its existing system of authority and control? These conflicting positions are explored through a case study of the Federal…