Total quality management based governance models tend to focus on incremental improvements within the boundaries of a single organization. This may limit the benefits of information technology because they are not complex enough to address business or performance problems that extend beyond the boundaries of a single organization. The research…

Discusses the nature of and steps required in building an expert system. Includes comments by students given an assignment to choose a suitable topic and develop a small expert system related to that topic, as well as favorable faculty comments on the strategy. Also includes a student-developed expert system on rock-blasting. (JN)

Discusses difficulties within higher education management in achieving expected outcomes because of problematic elements in: artificial internal structures, funding formulae, the relative importance of system parameters versus system structure, and the significance of time scales and delays in influencing system behavior. Suggests that university…

Effective action in educational development is dependent upon an adequate consideration of requisite variety. An adequate consideration of requisite variety includes a delineation of the information field appropriate for the decisionmaking system. An interaction of the information domain with each state of development, state-set, and whole would…

One of the responsibilities of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is to support the effective dissemination of scientific information. The performance of this responsibility requires NSF to evaluate alternative information systems/services which are proposed for this purpose. This responsibility necessitates making decisions which are similar…

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…

Objectives of the study (summarized in Chapter I) were (1) to propose a task-oriented viewpoint in which the scientist actively participates as an integral part of the system in performing research tasks, (2) to identify major system planning decisions and criterion concepts for use in evaluation of proposed information systems, and (3) to…

This report submitted by Advocate Team No. 1 to the U.S. Office of Education, Division of Research and Development Resources (formerly Division of Manpower and Institutions) presents a proposed evaluation system for R&D institutions and programs. It includes: (1) an organizational framework within which the evaluation system could function; (2)…

Introduces human performance technology (HPT) by answering the following questions related to: what systems does; practical issues and questions to which systems thinking is relevant; research questions and answers with respect to systems thinking; how HPT practitioners can do systems thinking; systems thinking tools; what is and is not known…

The basic purpose of this book is to provide a practical approach for the introduction and installation of a PPB system. Part one describes the components necessary for an operationalized PPB system, suggests methods of achieving those components, and attempts to illustrate some of the risks and problems involved in the developmental process. Part…

The main thesis of this paper is that innovative changes in both urban metapolicy and in urban education are needed to meet present and future urban problems. Metapolicy deals with policies on policymaking, including the characteristics of the policymaking system and basic policy frameworks and postures. Unless urban metapolicy is improved, no…

The major objective of this study was to examine and describe how a large urban school system (the School District of Philadelphia) responds to crisis generated by student unrest. The purpose was to test the notion that crisis, under certain management conditions, may result in positive change or development. The procedure consisted of two parts.…

This paper outlines several considerations relating to the preparation of information systems for educational managers. College and university managers must have clearly stated needs for planning and management information and the potential uses to which such information could be put. Information systems should be created to satisfy operational…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER IS TO DEVELOP AN INSTRUCTIONAL AND SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO THE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM. GOALS, OBJECTIVES, STRUCTURE, AND RESPONSIBILITIES FORM THE FRAMEWORK OF A MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM. THE TASK OF A MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM IS TO PROCESS RAW DATA IN SUCH A WAY AS TO…

The system approach to planning and managing educational change features the use of an adaptive framework and a strategy for planned system change. The approach focuses management attention upon (1) relevant future states of expectations or goals, (2) present and future state variables and contexts, (3) human organization factors, and (4)…