Based on address to the Association of State Colleges and Universities (Washington, D.C., November 1968)

Since conflict may concern goals, roles, or individuals, it is endemic to the decision making process and is particularly evident at the stage of formulating and weighing alternatives. The entire social system of the school may be drawn into or affected by the conflict. If these patterns are free to run their course, the school could quickly enter…

Provides a step-by-step explanation of a method that will help administrators decide which school to close and simultaneously provide evidence that the decision was made logically, prudently, and objectively. (Author/IRT)

While educational institutions and industry share some common elements of the administrative decision-making process, a major point of divergence is the treatment of conflict. In higher education, conflict is seen as destructive and should be avoided, but it can be handled positively. Types, common elements, and styles of conflict are reviewed.…

Describes a general conceptual framework for the study of cognitive conflicts, an experimental paradigm for the analysis of such conflicts, and reviews the results of a series of experiments conducted with the paradigm. Available from American Psychological Association, Inc., 1200 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, single copy…

This conception of institutional accountability is...an effort to focus dialogue and effort on an area of accountability which has until now received little or no attention. (Author)

Understanding the roles implicit in the collective bargaining process is seen as essential to being prepared for negotiations. The collective bargaining process, selecting a chief negotiator, gathering information for negotiations, determining guidelines and positions, formulating the negotiation team, conduct of negotiations, etc. are discussed.…

Dependent variables such as preference, hedonic tone, aesthetic appreciation, and developmental stages are frequently observed to be single-peaked functions of the independent variables. This research addresses the problem of deriving, from more elementary underlying processes, a preference function that rises monotonically to a peak and then…

An Elmira, New York, elementary school resolves its playground disputes by allowing students to settle most of their own disagreements with the help of upperelementary students trained as conflict managers. Adult supervisors stop fights and give disputants a choice: discuss the problem with the principal or the conflict managers. Kids invariably…

Defines the cooperative group decision-making process of consensus, contrasts it with voting and compromise, and presents an illustrative situation. Describes individual consensus skills, the role of group facilitator, pitfalls of the process, and use of consensus in educational settings and large organizations. (SV)

Ethical dilemmas within any system are created when moral/ethical principles, rules, or guidelines can be cited for opposing actions with neither side presenting the obvious, right course to follow. This condition exposes the intricate interrelationship between abstract moral/ethical principles and the description and evaluation of real-life…

In the opinion of decision-making scholars, conflict is a natural component of group decision-making. A new direction for conflict and group decision-making theory and research will help dispel the confusion as to the promotive or disruptive nature of disagreement in group decision-making. Conflict literature is replete with descriptions of the…