The learning organization concept tends to assume homogeneity of thinking, ignoring differences among individual members. The processes of transferring soft and hard knowledge may not be the same. Alternative organizational structures such as team, circular, or "hypertext" are needed for effective knowledge management and organizational…

A study conducted at the University of Minnesota (1977) suggests there is no significant difference in the activities of elementary school principals and industrial managers when it comes to planning, investigating, coordinating, and evaluating activities. (JC)

A study of career transitions of 15 Australian dual-career couples confirmed that job changes are complex and determined by many factors. However, the culture of employing organizations is a significant determinant. More flexible career paths and employment practices were recommended. (SK)

There is a powerful and common glass ceiling (barrier that prevents capable employees from being promoted) that affects men as much as women. Between middle management and the executive level, corporate culture shifts to one based on power and a worker must play by new rules even if these have never been explained. (JOW)

Investigated race and sex differences in work values of middle managers (N=322). Results revealed White females placed more importance on extrinsic outcomes than did White males, whereas Black males rated extrinsic outcomes as more important than did Black females. Found Blacks placed more importance on independence than Whites, and women more…

This research investigates the personal meaning that empowerment has for six women in leadership positions who were identified by their peers as empowerers of others, to discover how the women empowered others, and to define the term empowerment. The term was explored as both an intrapersonal and interpersonal process. (JPS)

A study of 569 men and 145 women managers in Australian public service and 406 men and 108 women managers in the British National Health Services found no significant gender differences in leadership characteristics. Job and organizational tenure and senior management experience had more influence than gender on the formation of leadership…

Middle managers in high-tech companies (n=163) characterized their work environment with the terms complexity, ambiguity, and lack of control. A postmodern mechanism for organizational and managerial development involved creation of complexity maps, a diagnostic tool for identifying concerns and areas for personal growth and development. (SK)

The National College for School Leadership continues to extend its influence into school through the medium of training programmes based on standards frameworks. It has been suggested that these have three features. First, they place an overwhelming emphasis on leadership, rather than on management and administration. Secondly, the view of…

Debates about middle management in higher education have been largely confined to the dominant discourse of managerialism. In this paper, we argue for an engagement with the broader management literature, with its multiple discourses of middle management. We present an analysis of middle management as a multifaceted phenomenon and review…

Something new is on the horizon, and depending on one's role on campus, it might be storm clouds or a cleansing shower. Either way, no matter how hard one tries to avoid it, sooner rather than later he/she will have to deal with metrics. Metrics do not have to cause fear and resistance. Metrics can, and should, be a powerful tool for improvement.…

This monograph, intended for a broad range of student affairs practitioners, provides eight papers on mid-level managers in higher education student affairs whose needs have perhaps been subsumed within other aspects of career tenure or career specialty. The following papers are included: "Defining Student Affairs Mid-management" by Robert B.…

In an effort to identify some factors that interfere with effective writing in adult writers, a three-page questionnaire was administered to 165 adults, most with technical degrees, who worked in the Washington, D. C., area. Respondents were top to middle management personnel who spent a significant portion of their time on the job writing and who…

Career plateauing was measured objectively by time since promotion and subjectively by age and tenure for 373 U.S. and European middle managers. Objectively plateaued managers were more successful when they did not perceive themselves as plateaued. Successful plateauing was not related to time since promotion or perception of one's value to the…