Focuses on the customer satisfaction element of Total Quality Management (TQM) in libraries, including definition of the terms customer and customer satisfaction, determining customer expectations, complaint systems, keeping customers, and empowerment of staff. Appendices list approaches libraries and other organizations have used to improve…

Higher education institution business officers need to follow principles of presentation, judgment, and measurement in developing effective executive financial reports. Principles include (1) keep the statement simple; (2) be consistent in reporting from year to year; (3) determine user needs and interests; (4) limit data; (5) provide trend lines;…

Believes that fundamental reorientation of administration toward the development of Russian regional (oblast) educational systems must occur to create a balanced system of regional administration that takes account of the specific character of Russia and its regions. Discusses the many innovations that have taken place in the oblasts (regions) of…

In 1961, Fritz Roethlisberger, coauthor of the landmark Hawthorne studies, wrote a memorandum sketching his understanding of the nascent field of organizational behavior. The memo's purpose was to discuss the relationships of theory and practice in the field, identifying in particular some of the tensions and contradictions that the field poses…

The transformation of higher education systems under the pressure of new needs required by the "society of knowledge" in France and Italy has had a deep effect on the relationship between state and university, and therefore a direct impact on university governance. This article sums up the main results of a research carried out on…

Grant writing provides not only financial rewards but also insights into the living mission of an institution, and points toward collaborative opportunities within and among various units across a campus. In the future, more and more grant funded programs will be a necessary part of our work in student affairs. This manuscript offers basic tools…

This article examines emerging norms of good practice for Australian university governing boards and issues that university governing boards could address to develop effective governance cultures. It firstly considers the ways in which support for many Australian university governing boards has become professionalised over the past decade. At the…

Although extensive research has been conducted on organizational change initiatives in recent years, much of this research has tended to focus on issues of the timing of the change, types of change, and/or rationale for change. In order to better understand the systemic dynamics of change, however, efforts should be made to examine the inherent…

The Institute for Academic Leadership Development is a 2-semester practicum experience designed to help community college administrators gain leadership experience through the development and implementation of an Individualized Professional Development Plan (IPDP). The IPDP is designed to help participants gain a knowledge of self, capacities for…

After a decade of institutional turmoil, including a succession of four chief executive officers, efforts were undertaken at one educational institution to identify the cultural dynamics at play in the organization and reframe its approach to management. A brief survey was distributed to over 125 people on the college's management council asking…

Scenario planning can help institutions change the mental models used in planning to achieve a focus on the long-term future, rather than on the immediate future. While institutional survival depends upon the ability to detect and adapt to critical changes in the environment, all institutions face a wide range of potential future scenarios. By…

This Digest argues that management factors are central to youth program successes and failures and that these factor have been ignored in research on youth programs. Instead, the Digest notes that research and evaluation of programs have focused on the following: (1) whether the right audience is served; (2) whether to make incremental…

A model proposal for a strike contingency plan is presented as a guide to the many concerns that must be dealt with so that potential disrupting activities of employee organizations will least compromise the instructional program. Operational, instructional, and negotiational considerations are listed for a private, multi-campus university. (JT)

Included in this annotated bibliography of 11 publications are reports asserting that ethical values are an integral part of school leadership and must not be neglected in the pursuit of academic excellence. Subsequent reports suggest that adequate moral socialization should be demonstrated by school administrators, focus on the ethical principles…

The governing structure of Harvard University is reviewed, and the findings include the following: (1) Harvard's present administrative and governance structure utilize corporate techniques of management that allow the president to diffuse administrative tasks without diffusing power--the difficulty of locating responsibility in the decentralized…