Educational management programs have planned outcomes that can be achieved through alternative routes. Methods-means selection is a systematic approach to choosing the most favorable route. "Methods" refer to the specific strategies and "means" refer to the actual resources and personnel used to carry out the chosen method. This systems analysis…

From the systems viewpoint, educational planning is the mechanism through which the educational system makes its goals specific and adapt its priorities, resources, and operational patterns to the changing environmental forces of its particular society. The systems-oriented administrator is a change agent and innovative strategist who delegates…

Developed at Brigham Young University, Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is a technique for enhancing the probability of success in any system by analyzing the most likely modes of failure that could occur. It provides a logical, step-by-step description of possible failure events within a system and their interaction--the combinations of potential…

This report, a clear statement of how one district developed a planning system, offers both a theoretical and a practical approach to providing the superintendent, his staff, and the board of education with a comprehensive planning system instrument for making policy decisions and allocating resources. Also provided are guidelines for involving…

In contrast to science and technology, public policymaking systems lack knowledge about the design and operation of overall social control. Policy sciences contribute to the understanding and improvement of large-scale control systems, especially in their attempt to give rationality to policymaking and decisionmaking activities. The most important…

Identifies organizational risks of end-user computing (EUC) associated with different stages of the end-user applications life cycle (analysis, design, implementation). Generic controls are identified that address each of the risks enumerated in a manner that allows EUC management to select those most appropriate to their EUC environment. (5…

Whether they want to prevent upheaval by student revolt or, more importantly, increase the development of mature and responsible students, personnel workers must evaluate and quantify what they are trying to do, what means they are using, and what progress they are making. Operations analysis is an excellent technique for this. (Author)

Describes the Drexel University Computer Simulator of Operations with an Online Program (DUCSOOP), a computer program intended to provide instruction on the nature of simulation and its use in decision making, by generating discrete flow simulation models based upon parameters provided by model designer. Examples and four references are included.…

This paper is an account of the theoretical and practical underpinnings of the Decision-Proposal Modification Coding System (DPM), which allows researchers to study more accurately the many aspects of group decision making in organizations. Following an introduction that reviews and supports arguments for process-oriented research on decision…

Literature on program budgeting is synthesized. Program budgeting has progressed considerably in development and use, but only recently has it been used by the public schools. Program budgeting is practiced differently, depending on the mission of an organization or school district. With regard to schools, literature on the subject is mainly…

There are basically four dimensions to a systems analysis that we find in current educational research: (1) Collecting information, (2) analyzing input-output relationships, (3) deriving models built upon these relationships to evaluate alternatives and to derive feasible solutions, and (4) attempting to derive the best solution consistent with…

Evaluation of instructional programs involves the process of ascertaining the decisions to be made. The decision maker, not the evaluator, determines the questions to be asked or the decisions to be made. A second task of evaluation deals with the specification of required information in light of system objectives. The task of the evaluator…

A review of cost-effectiveness analysis techniques was conducted in order to facilitate the selection of the most appropriate tool to aid any given instructional development effort. A survey was made of the cost-effectiveness techniques in current use, the differences among these techniques were examined in an analytical framework, and criteria…