Purpose: This paper aims to review the relevant literature on training needs assessment (TNA) with an objective to provide users/beneficiaries of TNA with the understanding of its growing concept, multiple uses (outcomes), and valuing these uses (antecedents). Design/methodology/approach: To conduct the literature review on uses of TNA, the…

Explores concerns over the direction the field of organizational behavior is developing. Karl Weick identifies approaches to theory building that are misleading. Peter Frost identifies blind spots in teaching and application. Walter Nord compares both papers. The authors offer their views on directions in which the field might move. (Author/BEF)

Strategic planning is a process by which the guiding members of an organization envision its future and develop tactics to achieve that future. This paper discusses the nature and purposes of strategic planning in educational organizations, and presents a 10-step generic model to illustrate the basic components of strategic planning. These 10…

Explores the implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) in the context of art education administration. Maintains that successful employment of TQM principles depends on four criteria. These include continuous improvement, pursuit of goals, open discussion and critiques, and professional development. (MJP)

Principals can be categorized as initiators, managers, or responders according to the extent to which they initiate significant change, accommodate change through effective management, or react to developments only as they occur. An interview-based study of 12 elementary school principals, four of whom were placed in each of the three categories…

Review of the current state of human-resource-development literature includes definitions, models, and dominant biases. The review concludes that the literature is fragmented and reflects a diverse range of issues and opinions. (73 references) (SK)

On the approach of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the American Sociological Association (ASA), readily available, official records were utilized to write its history. The product does not detail a history of sociology in the United States; it deals with a history of an organization facing, over time, a series of problems. There is a…

Summarizes the open questions that must be answered by researchers if practioners of interorganizational development are to have adequate planning-and-action guidelines. Suggests the questions should help practitioners become more sensitive to potential action considerations that may require special thought and attention until a firmer knowledge…

Options in management style from corporate administration literature available to educational institutions include the choices of Theory X vs. Theory Y, the managerial vs. academic grid, management by objectives, autocratic vs. bureaucratic vs. participative vs. free-rein leadership styles, situational leadership, presidential role, leadership…

In January 2002, Ireland's minister of state announced the establishment of the National Adult Learning Council to take effect in March 2002. One of the council's priorities will be to establish local adult learning boards (LALBs) to oversee development and delivery of adult education. An Irish government white paper recommended that LALBs'…

Strategies for initiating and sustaining complex education change, as reported in this paper, entail coordinated interaction across administrative levels of public education systems. Efforts to change schooling in England have included initiatives to downsize and reconfigure the provision of state-funded education. These efforts have created…

Reviews results from controlled research data and evaluation of career development programs that include career planning and career management. Identifies elements of successful programs. Concludes match between individual career needs and organizational goals plays a vital role in the implementation of a successful program. (Author/TE)

Research in organizational development and ecological psychology has demonstrated the importance of viewing organizations from a systems perspective. Organizational innovations are planned, designed, and implemented in increasingly complex and dynamic ecosystems. This paper presents a model of organizational change which was developed using a…

Employee training and development (T&D) in business and industry, as a critical function of human resource development, must reflect a whole-health, proactive orientation in helping today's organizations survive in an increasingly competitive market. A proactive T&D orientation is based on humanistic views of work and education and is reflected in…

Using the results of a literature search, a conceptual framework is developed for comparing the schools of philosophical thought with the aims, methods, curriculum, and teacher-learner relationships found in training and development programs in business and industry. From this analysis, a philosophy for the field of training and development can be…