This book focuses upon the relationship between effectiveness and improvement in schools and colleges. The main theories and research findings concerning organizational effectiveness and improvement are brought together within this single volume. The book aims to provide an understanding of the way in which organizational effectiveness is conceptualized, measured and realized in practice. It also explores the ways in which change associated with organizational improvement is effectively managed. The emphasis throughout the book is upon making theory accessible and of practical use to those concerned with organizational effectiveness and improvement. It will assist practitioners and managers to understand how improvement can be initiated, managed and sustained at all levels within the organization. This volume forms part of the Leadership and Management in Education series. This four book series provides a carefully chosen selection of high quality readings on key contemporary themes in educational management: professional development, reflection on practice, leadership, team working, effectiveness and improvement, quality, strategy and resources. The series will be an important resource for classroom teachers and lecturers as well as those holding designated management posts in schools and colleges and will provide a valuable basis for professional development programmes.

The book provides a full complement of assessment technologies that enable leaders to measure and evaluate performance using qualitative and quantitative performance indicators and reference points in each of seven areas of organizational performance. While these technologies are not new, applying them in a comprehensive assessment of the performance of both academic and administrative organization in higher education is a true innovation. Assessing Organizational Performance in Higher Education defines four types of assessment user groups, each of which has unique interest in organizational performance. This offers a new perspective on who uses performance results and why they use them. These varied groups emphasize that assessment results must be tailored to fit the needs of specific groups, that “one-size-fits-all” does not apply in assessment. An assessment process must be robust and capable of delivering the right information at the right time to the right user group.

Examines five accountability models--two from the manufacturing sector; a performance incentive model used in the evaluation of job training programs for the poor; accountability in the legal sector; and accountability in health care as shown by clinical practice guidelines, use of statistical risk-adjustment methods, and the public reporting of health performance measures. The authors summarize the models' effectiveness and draw lessons for implementing the No Child Left Behind Act.

This book focuses upon the relationship between effectiveness and improvement in schools and colleges. The main theories and research findings concerning organizational effectiveness and improvement are brought together within this single volume. The book aims to provide an understanding of the way in which organizational effectiveness is conceptualized, measured and realized in practice. It also explores the ways in which change associated with organizational improvement is effectively managed. The emphasis throughout the book is upon making theory accessible and of practical use to those concerned with organizational effectiveness and improvement. It will assist practitioners and managers to understand how improvement can be initiated, managed and sustained at all levels within the organization. This volume forms part of the Leadership and Management in Education series. This four book series provides a carefully chosen selection of high quality readings on key contemporary themes in educational management: professional development, reflection on practice, leadership, team working, effectiveness and improvement, quality, strategy and resources. The series will be an important resource for classroom teachers and lecturers as well as those holding designated management posts in schools and colleges and will provide a valuable basis for professional development programmes.

The book is intended to provide information and strategies on how to make practice more effective for professionals, and those they serve. It is written from a practical viewpoint and provide a forum for instructor, administrators, policy makers, counselors, trainers, managers.

Total quality management (TQM), reengineering, the workplace of the twenty-first centuryâ€"the 1990s have brought a sense of urgency to organizations to change or face stagnation and decline, according to Enhancing Organizational Performance. Organizations are adopting popular management techniques, some scientific, some faddish, often without introducing them properly or adequately measuring the outcome. Enhancing Organizational Performance reviews the most popular current approaches to organizational changeâ€"total quality management, reengineering, and downsizingâ€"in terms of how they affect organizations and people, how performance improvements can be measured, and what questions remain to be answered by researchers. The committee explores how theory, doctrine, accepted wisdom, and personal experience have all served as sources for organization design. Alternative organization structures such as teams, specialist networks, associations, and virtual organizations are examined. Enhancing Organizational Performance looks at the influence of the organization's norms, values, and beliefsâ€"its cultureâ€"on people and their performance, identifying cultural "levers" available to organization leaders. And what is leadership? The committee sorts through a wealth of research to identify behaviors and skills related to leadership effectiveness. The volume examines techniques for developing these skills and suggests new competencies that will become required with globalization and other trends. Mergers, networks, alliances, coalitionsâ€"organizations are increasingly turning to new intra- and inter-organizational structures. Enhancing Organizational Performance discusses how organizations cooperate to maximize outcomes. The committee explores the changing missions of the U.S. Army as a case study that has relevance to any organization. Noting that a musical greeting card contains more computing power than existed in the entire world before 1950, the committee addresses the impact of new technologies on performance. With examples, insights, and practical criteria, Enhancing Organizational Performance clarifies the nature of organizations and the prospects for performance improvement. This book will be important to corporate leaders, executives, and managers; faculty and students in organizational performance and the social sciences; business journalists; researchers; and interested individuals.

Learning communities have been demonstrated to dramatically improve student outcomes by engaging students in their learning.This book constitutes a comprehensive guide for readers who want a broad strategic view of learning communities, enabling them to identify which type of LC best meets the learning needs of their students, and the context and mission of their institution. It also provides the tools for planning, designing and implementing what the authors define as “powerful” LCs, and for understanding the assessment implications of their decisions.The potential power of LCs is realized through effective facilitation, appropriate team-building activities, linkages, planning, and active collaboration that promotes learning of the group and the individual group members – all of which topics are covered in this volume.This book is organized around the three themes of setting the stage, designing an LC, and building or enhancing a powerful LC, and covers three types of learning communities – student, professional (faculty, staff), and institutional LCs concerned with student learning – providing a range of tools and forms to facilitate planning. The authors also address designing and maintaining hybrid and virtual LCs. This book is intended as a practical resource for anyone at any level in higher education who wants to champion, develop or redesign student or professional LCs, or even explore broader initiatives to develop their institution into a “learning organization”. Administrators in academic and student affairs will find guidance for setting appropriate policies and allocating resources. The book may also serve as a textbook for graduate courses in institutional leadership and policy studies, curriculum and instruction, student affairs, or assessment/evaluation.