The implementation in a school district of the Research Utilization and Problem Solving (RUPS) System is demonstrated. RUPS is an instructional system for an inservice program designed to provide the needed competencies for an entire staff to engage in systems analysis and systems synthesis procedures prior to assessing educational needs and…

The demand for administrators and specialists trained in quantitative concepts and skills has increased across the last decade mainly as a result of the accountability movement. Quantitative methods can greatly assist the school administrator in certain decisionmaking processes, although it is essential that he be able to distinguish between those…

Describes an approach to problem solving based on real-world problems. Discusses problem analysis and definitions, preparation of briefing documents, solution finding techniques (brainstorming and synectics), solution evaluation and judgment, and implementation. (JM)

This book is directed toward students in organizational-theory and problem-analysis classes and their professors, as well as school administrators seeking to examine their problems and policies from new perspectives. It explains and illustrates methodology for describing, documenting, and analyzing organizational problems. Part I, "Methodology,"…

The three principle elements of Total Quality Management (TQM) are a focus on customers; an attitude of continuous improvement of a system; and the involvement of everyone within an organization. At Delaware County Community College (DCCC) in Media, Pennsylvania, the first phase of implementing TQM focused on educating top management for the…

As part of a symposium intended to present a conceptual framework for networking and to discuss the implications of network usage for education research and practice, this paper presents a review of the leading change strategies and poses a definition of education change network. Education change network is defined as a linkage structure that has…

OPERATION PEP REPRESENTS A DESIGNFUL ATTEMPT ON THE PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITY IN CALIFORNIA TO PLAN, DESIGN, AND IMPLEMENT A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR THE EDUCATIONAL PLANNERS AND MANAGERS. THE BASIC CONTENT OF INSTRUCTION WILL BE DERIVED THROUGH THE ADAPTIVE TRANSLATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY TO THE CONTEXT OF…

The purpose of this research was to develop alternative models of a dissertation production system in educational administration. Interviews were conducted with 40 research administrators in public and private research settings; e.g., Bell Laboratories and the National Cancer Institute. Based on information derived from interviews and appropriate…

The main purpose of the research reported in this document was to discover whether controlled experiments can be conducted on the relations between people and the complex computing systems which they use. Three increasingly complex experiments were designed to test the effect of varying delays of computer response on the number of commands issues…

A demand for more and better education has driven educators to seek the help of systems analysis in the process of decision making. Basic to the entire systems notion is the concept of a model, a simplified but controllable version of the real world. The systems approach, once the problem is defined, is to specify the subfunctions and…

A project designed to put into practice elements of new and tested concepts in the behavioral sciences is described. It contains elements of humanistic education, systems analysis, group counseling and group guidance, and principles known to improve communication between people and to lead to a better understanding of self. The suggestions within…

Six papers dealing with decision support and knowledge based systems are presented. Five of the papers are concerned in some way with the use of artificial intelligence techniques in individual or group decision support. The sixth paper presents empirical results from the use of a group decision support system. (CLB)

THIS ARTICLE OUTLINED THE CURRENT STATUS OF QUANTITATIVE METHODS AND OPERATIONS RESEARCH (OR), SKETCHED THE STRENGTHS OF TRAINING EFFORTS AND ISOLATED WEAKNESSES, AND FORMULATED WORKABLE CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING SUCCESS OF OPERATIONS RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAMS. A SURVEY OF 105 COMPANIES REVEALED THAT PERT, INVENTORY CONTROL THEORY AND LINEAR…

Under current societal conditions in which the environment and the economy are neither stable nor permissive, homeostatic organizations are in extreme danger of being modified, controlled, or extinguished by outside forces. It is no longer a question whether management change should take place in order to keep organization renewal processes at…

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…