A revamping of the operation of the current academic labor market by drawing upon the system found in professional sports is suggested. To stimulate thought, it is proposed that rules governing free agency, professor reservation, first refusal, trading, and salary arbitration be applied to higher education to replace current, outdated procedures.…

Flexible tenure contracts are proposed as an alternative to the current college faculty tenure system. Such a contract would make more explicit, and potentially more varied, the contributions expected of the candidate, but avoid the tenure-track/non-tenure-track distinction. It could also help resolve conflicts over the relative weights to be…

Cites court rulings that the plaintiff must identify the causal relationship between a statistical imbalance and specific employment practices. Indicates that university promotion, tenure, and salary decisions will be upheld if the judgments are based on a merit system with the criteria of teaching, research, and service. (MLF)

Considers racial impact of using ability tests for employment decisions. Notes agreement that large differences exist in performance on general ability among races and that there is probable relation between general ability and job performance for most jobs; disagreement about whether racial differences in general ability are fixed and about size…

College and university personnel managers are urged to pay more attention to employees who operate behind the scenes by: finding a champion among them; linking work with institutional mission; hiring the best; encouraging customer service; soliciting ideas; fostering trust; enlarging responsibility; not upstaging; providing the best equipment; and…

A tenured teacher at the University of Minnesota at Duluth examines institutional policy of hiring non-tenure-track faculty for its writing program. He argues that underfunding and understaffing created a backlog that was then passed on to full-time "temporary" teachers, at the same time administrative costs were increasing. (MSE)

Discussion of telecommuting possibilities focuses on a program at Information Access Company that allows indexers and abstractors to work at home. Employer and employee expectations are discussed, equipment provisions are described, employee benefits are examined, and implications for the library environment are suggested. (LRW)

A few corporations are responding to the impact of family structural changes on workers' ability to balance their roles with flexible benefits and schedules and with training. Work/family issues are an integral part of career and life decision making and must be incorporated into the career development process. (SK)

This paper notes developments in supported employment practices and the manner in which support organizations, employees with disabilities, and companies interact. The paper then reconceptualizes supported employment and the role of employers. The reconceptualized approach involves such techniques as extending support to employer personnel and…

Adult educators can ensure access for Black adults to educational and employment opportunities in 1992 by lobbying, using Black media, developing information exchange programs and networks, supporting recognition of qualifications obtained outside Europe, and teaching about Black people's contributions to Europe. (SK)

Examines two aspects of faculty tenure decisions with ethical implications: criteria used in deciding to retain or dismiss a tenure candidate, and what is possible to judge with reasonable accuracy when evaluating such a candidate. Recommends that narrow, arbitrary evaluation criteria be avoided, including those promoted as "high academic…

Drawing on an ongoing project examining the literacies prevalent at an outsourcing site, this article explores the changing nature of workplace practices enabled by new information and communication technologies. It also examines the complex geopolitical dynamics of these practices, the discourses of development, and globalization. The author…

Principals today are expected to competently perform a variety of roles, particularly those of instructional leader and school manager, under increasing public scrutiny. In general, the school principal has few statutory protections and limited constitutional due-process rights. The problem is that in many cases, principals' employment contracts…

Although business organizations consider the financial and strategic implications of "downsizing" (a euphemism for what used to be called "layoffs"), they often neglect to consider the communication and human resource implications. Not only does downsizing affect the operational aspects of the restructured company, but also the…

This Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) kit begins with a summary by Kriza A. Jennings of the results of a survey which focused on identifying the practices of the 119 member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in the areas of cultural diversity, recruitment, and affirmative action practices. It is noted that of the…