This paper reports a case study of the implementation within the special education division of the Massachusetts state department of education of fiscal reforms required by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Special Education Statute, Chapter 766. Three theoretical perspectives were used to organize the study--a rational, organizational, and…

Elementary and secondary teachers in Brazil, Jordan, Venezuela, and the United States feel they have a fair amount of autonomy in running their own classrooms, somewhat less autonomy regarding certain miscellaneous job-related matters, and still less autonomy in matters affecting the operation of the school as an organization. The attitudes of a…

A process to assess a college's external environment and audit its internal environment in order to pursue options available to postsecondary education is described. Essentially the concept is one of matching opportunities in the external environment with institutional strengths as determined by an internal audit. Strategic planning must consider…

The academic program review process that accounts for conceptual properties of loose coupling is analyzed, and organizational theory literature is reviewed with regard to program review and loose coupling. In addition, the academic program review process used at Ohio State University is described in detail, and the elements of loose coupling…

Organizational frame analysis may provide a useful alternative to traditional organizational theory, which focuses on organizations as goal-meeting structures. According to Elkind, "frames are the set of implicit rules, expectancies, and understandings that regulate social behavior in repetitive situations." While frames are normally…

Research of 25 Michigan elementary and secondary public schools is used to test a model relating organizations' problem-solving adequacy to their available inputs or resources and to the appropriateness of their structures. Problems that all organizations must solve, to avoid disorganization or entropy, include (1) getting inputs and producing…

The retrospective case history is a little-used, but very valuable tool in organizational theory research. It is particularly useful in illuminating variables in an organization's development which, in controlled experimentation, would require prohibitively long periods of time to materialize. Additionally, the technique is useful for generating a…

This paper focuses on identifying the way that individual and organizational variables affect the classroom leadership behavior of teachers. Measured are the effects of one individual-level variable and six organizational variables--three at the organization system level and three at the classroom subsystem level. The individual-level variable is…

This monograph, relating to events that happened during 1966-68, is a case study of a voluntary, educational, and intercultural organization that had been service oriented for almost 15 years. The organization had been organizing literacy classes, opening rural libraries, providing health extension, and conducting a small program of publication…

Contrasts in the approaches of a Japanese company and the American university to management development provide the basis for a discussion of Theory Z's potential application to faculty affairs. Among the issues discussed are the tenure and promotion system, collegial decision making and responsibility, faculty development and incentives, and…

Discusses the configuration of a department's position within a university system. Considers organizational issues, such as periodic self-evaluation, and argues that conversations concerning these issues should not wait for a full organizational analysis but should be a continuous activity. (MS)

This paper discusses theoretical issues surrounding the creation of new departments at universities and presents a case study of how the Institute for Media and Communication at Oslo University (Norway) was created. It examines the effects of status, resource allocation, and power relations on the creation of university departments. (MDM)

Government expansion of child care services is based on the assumption that both parents are employed (the adult worker model) and make cost-benefit calculations in choosing child care (the rational economic choice model). This paper addresses this assumption, based on research examining mothers' assessments of appropriate child care. These…

Purpose: The principal aim of this research has been to discover what perception Spanish managers have of the organizational contexts in which they work and, in particular, in what way they consider that these conform with the characteristics of a continuously learning organization. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected in accordance…

This study examined changes in private college governance during the years 1960-90, and at how external forces affected decision making structures and processes and at faculty's powers. The theoretical construct for the study was largely based on H. Mintzberg's (1983) concepts of organizational structure and power. Historical and case study…