Commercialization and commodification of higher education has been subjected to wide critique in academic literature. The relative privilege of academic professions seems to be on the decline, as universities are subjected to increasing competitive pressures -- pressures which these institutions pass on to academics. Academics experience a loss of…

The purpose of this research was to develop an understanding of student affairs staff experiences with the departure of a chief student affairs officer (CSAO) at a 4-year college or university. The topic was investigated through the perspective of staff who reported to a CSAO at the time the CSAO departed the organization. The study's primary…

This project explores women and educational leadership from the perspective of an individual who moved from the UK to Australia in order to take up the position of Dean of an education grouping in a university. Emails sent by the Dean to the group are analysed after nine months in post and categorised according to the requirements of the position…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present adaptive culture structuration, a new approach for theorizing and analyzing culture change and for creating an "adaptive cultural structurated learning environment". Design/methodology/approach: Incorporating a case study in the financial sector the paper explores 12 employees' narrated…

This study uses a mixed methods approach to workplace dynamics. Ethnographic observations show that the consent deal underlies an informal stratification that divides the workplace into an "informal periphery," a "conventional core" and an "administrative clan." The "consent deal" is defined as an exchange of autonomy, voice and schedule…

A longitudinal study over a five-month period of changes in several jobs was conducted among 244 employees of a federal agency. Data were obtained on perceptions of job content and a number of job attitudes, and indicated a temporary positive influence of the changes in one set of jobs. (Author)

Flexible work hours scheduling has been well received in this country as well as in Europe, where it was introduced in 1967. Some problems and their solutions attempted by various employers, unions, and government bodies are described. (MF)

Presents an analysis of the predictive relationships of managerial behavior and work group climate on employee outcomes; 1,428 survey responses were collected during an organizational change in the marketing and sales division of an international pharmaceuticals company. Behaviors of managers and work group members were found to be significantly…

Discusses some elements which contribute to the rising concern for occupational mental health and directions that can be taken by firms, companies, etc., to provide health-promoting work environments for their employees. (TA)

This qualitative study examined the nature of work for 70 administrators (67% female, 33% male) who provide services to students at historically Black colleges and universities. Data were collected by administering the "National Professional Life Survey (NPLS)" that asked respondents about their work, relationships with others on campus, and the…

Organizational communication research needs a conceptual model or taxonomy of variables for developing a knowledge base for past and future findings and information access and retrieval. The proposed Outcome-Determinant-Interface (ODI) model distinguishes three major groups of variables, each divided into classes and subclasses. The outcome…

Describes how data from an employee attitude survey were used by the city of Phoenix, Arizona, as part of its city organizational development effort, to generate over 400 organizational changes and to increase personnel development of over 200 management employees. Includes a summary of survey results identifying training needs. (MF)

The literature on mid-level administrators in higher education has identified a number of factors that may affect their attitudes and performance, either positively or negatively. To a large degree, individual perceptions concerning recognition, discrimination, external relations, and mobility explain morale. Institutions can address these issues…

This paper presents a brief survey of several contemporary macro-issues in human work organizations as context for--and part of the work of--scientists-practitioners in organizational communication. A special attempt has been made to identify concerns or issues--called "TransIssues" for the purposes of this paper--that appear to cut across two…

Members of Professional Secretaries International (PSI) were surveyed to discover how corporate restructuring has influenced development of the secretarial profession since 1990. Of the 500 questionnaires mailed to PSI members in the United States and Canada, 174 (34.8%) were returned. Of those surveyed, 71% have been assigned a variety of duties…