Engineering students are taught to approach the identification and solution of problems through design education, systems analysis, and other methods. These methodologies are applicable to other disciplines in relating problem solving to real world situations. (SK)

A review of the current status of data processing (DP) in management information systems, including the functions assigned to DP in organizations, what it was designed to do, and levels of training of personnel, provides the basis for an examination of new demands on DP. An approach which is advocated as a means of overcoming many of the…

Maintains that a simple problem-solving model applied to policy design is inadequate. Argues that purposeful institutional change and government reorganization are not promising strategies for the improvement of public policy. (JDH)

Describes a rationale, instrument, and methodology to improve the practice of organization needs analysis. The approach involves the author's "career of the organization" exercise for the trainer's use in identifying organization problems and in conceptualizing the nature of needs-analysis problem solving relating to both individual and…

Provides historical perspectives on preservation of records and highlights needs in library preservation, including a systems or engineering approach to conservation problem solving. Current educational efforts of Library of Congress and United States library schools such as School of Library Service at Columbia University are outlined. Two…

The greater organizational complexity of libraries and information centers in recent years has given rise to more complex problems for managers. To facilitate solutions, operations research (OR) techniques have been developed that consider the quantitative dimensions of problems along with their political and organizational aspects. Eight standard…

Using data from several western nations, this article maintains that policy analysis has over-emphasized policy substance and neglected the influence of the political process. Focuses specifically on how political and institutional constraints influence policymaking in the Federal Republic of Germany. (JDH)

Using Latin American examples, this article examines the influence of four types of constraints (technological, cultural, clientelistic, and political) on bureaucratic-authoritarian, liberal-democratic and neo-patrimonialist regimes. Maintains that policy will be more effective if aided by an understanding of these constraints. (JDH)

From a system dynamics perspective, distinctions between organizations and their environments are not objective givens, but hypothetical formulations. Wherever a reciprocal effect of variables is hypothesized, these variables are considered to be inside a single problem system. Everything outside this model system is the environment. To…