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…

Issues in understanding organizational change from an interpretive viewpoint are explored in this paper, which discusses two perspectives for viewing organizational responses to their environments: (1) "environment" as an open concept (i.e., how "environment" is defined by participants in a given organization); and (2)…

The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) monitors and encourages human rights compliance by signatories of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975. Language pertaining to migrant workers is found in all major CSCE documents, and the examination of migrant farmworker issues represents part of the Commission's ongoing review of U.S.…

The Leda Study, a research project, examined Sweden's team teaching system. The working conditions of teacher teams in different types of school organizations are described, with a focus on group decision-making and problem-solving processes. Methodology involved observations of teacher teams in four schools; interviews with teachers, team…

Working conditions of school leaders in Sweden are influenced by the state and various interest groups. Results of a study to compare teachers' perceptions of school leaders' work with their formally designated tasks are reported in this paper. Reasons for school leaders' working conditions are also discussed. A mailed questionnaire was completed…

The content of a good speech writing course includes an explanation of the function and impact of speech writers, an examination of speeches produced by professional writers, and a focus on the sharpening of students' writing skills. The content must also be balanced between the practical/professional and the abstract/academic aspects of the…

The influence of immediate working environment upon research productivity of 1,009 academic, physical scientists was examined. Working environment was classified as being either professionally oriented and supportive of scientific productivity, or organizationally oriented and supportive of bureaucratic advancement. Liberal arts, parochial, and…

An incentive program was developed to reduce teacher absenteeism in a large community high school (2,200 students) in South Florida. The four-point program included improved record-keeping systems, increased communication and information dissemination, internal recognition, and a cash lottery system. Pre- and post-attitudinal tests were…

The relationship between secondary school professional staff perceptions of school climate and their respective personalities is examined in this study. The Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire-Rutgers Secondary (OCDQ-RS) and the Heath Typology Assessment Instrument (HTAI) were administered to 232 secondary teachers to assess…

An analysis of the department chair role to determine the extent of role ambiguity and role strain inherent in the job is the purpose of this report. Methodology is based on structured interviews with 56 department chairs in 9 high schools in one district and content analysis of written job descriptions. The findings identify six factors of role…

An analysis of the relationship between teachers' work culture and the school's social context is the purpose of this study, with a focus on teachers' shared psychological work orientations as components of a teacher culture. The methodology relates high school teachers' attitudes in two high schools to different social contexts with the cultural…

A two-part study examined the employment status, distribution, job satisfaction, and promotion opportunities of women working for livestock industry magazines. Livestock publications were chosen for this research because they are typical of industry-related magazines and are traditionally dominated by males. The mastheads of 59 magazines were…

An ethnographic study examined the sense of the social world as a natural order produced by the organizational members of one sales team at a New York media representation firm. Communication was observed and recorded over a ten-week period, and members of the sales team were interviewed during an additional two-week period. Results indicated that…

The role of nine academic vice presidents in managing Christian, liberal arts colleges was assessed, as part of research conducted at Christian or church-related liberal arts colleges that were identified as being well managed by one or more persons. Data collected on the academic vice presidents provided the following profile: the average age was…

This report summarizes the findings of a study on stress management training in the modern office. It identifies the training needs arising from the modernization of the office environment and the consequent stress experienced by staff, reflecting both the experience of change and the demands of the information technology (IT) environment. The…