The perceptions of 522 employees regarding the family-supportive nature of their organization was related to number of benefits offered, benefit usage, supervisor support. These perceptions influenced job commitment, job satisfaction, and work-family conflict. Global perception of the work environment had more influence on attitudes and…

International camp counselors can enhance the camp environment and improve marketability. Guidelines for achieving a mutually beneficial international camp experience include hiring staff from a variety of countries, establishing a relationship before arrival, actively incorporating international staff into the camp community, incorporating…

Proposes a rethinking of what professors should teach technical writing students, based on actual experience with three organizations in Oregon. Discusses how to design assignments for students that simulate the reality of a work environment. Explores types of technical writing skills that are increasingly in demand. Offers several strategies for…

Suggestions for developing a creative and synergistic organization include the following: believe that people want to do their effective best in their work; communicate with people face-to-face; share virtually all information regularly and freely; use humor to create an upbeat work atmosphere; and always establish a timeline when asking someone…

Leadership enlivens the school philosophy, mission, and vision and determines school climate and work culture. "Enculturating" principals are advised to envision a collaborative direction for the future, establish a clear mission/practice linkage, focus on solutions, be fair to others, foster staff development, create new networks, and…

To understand the dynamics of moving from fragmented work units to an integrated whole, a recent study examined the work cultures of 28 schools involved in major change efforts. This paper presents findings from three participating high schools that represent different phases (fragmentation, differentiation, and integration) of the development…

A reflective conversation between 2 cooperative education students identifies 10 qualities a university education should cultivate: broad knowledge base, creative and critical thinking skills, adaptiveness, comfort with ambiguity, flexibility, communicative competence, collaboration and teamwork skills, multiple perspectives, self-directed…

Develops a theoretical account of how teachers' perceptions of transformational leadership are formed. Provides an empirical test of this theory, which explains formation of teachers' leader perceptions as a function of alterable school-context conditions and unalterable characteristics of leaders and followers. Survey results from 423 schools…

Recent research on wildland fire fighting supports educational administrators' use of the fire-fighting metaphor to describe the nature of their work. Fire-fighting nuances illuminate subtle conditions in educational organizations that increase their vulnerability to failure. These parallels suggest five management conditions that determine…

The 21st-century superintendent faces several challenges: changing demographics (growing diversity), the divide between haves and have-nots, devaluation of children (reliance on remediation over prevention), de-emphasis on education for citizenship, deregulation, devolution of power, "demassification" (fewer common information sources),…

Surveyed graduate students in international business at a top-ranked program in the United States on their attitudes and preferences relative to different aspects of potential future job assignments. Noted differences based on respondents' country of origin that indicate a place for tailored educational responses. (EV)

According to many psychologists, the connections between motivation and rewards and recognition are crucial to employee satisfaction. A plan for developing a multi-layered recognition program within a division of student affairs is described. These recognitions programs are designed taking into account the differences in perceptions of awards by…

Schools with high concentrations of poor children often get the poorest prepared teachers. Those schools also typically have the highest levels of turnover. We must deal with the working conditions in those schools. We need to ensure that our strongest leaders work there and then make it worth their while to stay there financially by giving them…

Focus-group interviews with 52 camp counselors examined their experiences as camp staff. Positive outcomes included important relationships with campers and other staff; appreciation of diversity; teamwork; group cohesion; leadership and responsibilities; and technical, interpersonal, and administrative skills development. Problems included…

Managers look at online training as an activity that should be done "off time" whereas employees still think of it as something to be done during working hours. No valid study has shown that online delivery reduces learning time. A better understanding of learning needs must be considered before requiring online training. (JOW)