Provides a review of the total quality management movement and process, and advocates applying it to higher education as a solution to current problems. Customer emphasis, continuous improvement, developing human resources, and using tools for process development are described; and examples from specific academic institutions are included.…

This paper looks at the role of a Writing Program Administrator, and applies the idea of a cybernetic system to the administration of the program. In this cybernetic model, the Writing Program Administrator (WPA) works as both a problem solver and problem causer, with the responsibility of keeping the program in proper balance. A cybernetic…

This essay discusses changes in higher education management over the last several decades, focusing on the "mystiques" of the 1990s, total quality management (TQM) and diversity. It notes that since the 1950s, higher education has witnessed many fads in institutional management, from management by technique to management by style to management by…

As more women enter the managerial ranks, organizations are finding it necessary to address the possibility of gender bias in managerial performance ratings. To investigate the existence of gender bias in managerial performance ratings as they relate to problem-solving strategies, 197 college students (46 percent female) and 127 managers (of those…

This paper makes a plea for major improvements in the management of American colleges and universities. Six innovative solutions are offered: (1) management development, (2) human organization, (3) creative environments, (4) participative styles of management, (5) management by objectives as an operating mode, and (6) performance and appraisal…

This article focuses on types of conflict that can arise among college faculty members or between a faculty member and an administrator. Administrators may deal with these conflicts through: (1) avoidance or denial; (2) use of power; (3) rational approaches; or (4) use of a third party. (PP)

An exploratory study described the ways in which a university supervisor constructed meaning about the program goals, assessment system, and her role as a supervisor relative to a newly reconceptualized elementary student teaching program and literacy methods class. The supervisor worked in a teacher education program in a large urban university…

Management development and training is a vehicle to help make higher education management more professional by working with institutions' own managers on institutional problems. An integrated, systematic program for management development created by the Higher Education Management Institute and the Exxon Education Foundation is recommended. (MSE)

Reviews "Preparing School Administrators for Democratic Authority" by Richard A. Quantz et al. Discusses preparing administrators to be more reflective of the moral implications of their practice, making the link between theory and practice more informed and deliberate. Describes the master's program for principals at Trinity University…

As a CIO leading an IT department through change and reorganization, the author developed the Enterprise Compass--a four-point guide to reaching goals and focusing achievement. The Enterprise Compass directs staff to look forward to future accomplishment, back for performance assessments, across campus for better understanding of practical working…

Purpose: To show that the practices, processes and resources for the management of the university environment should be aligned to meet the ever-growing demands of sustainability and its motivations should be clearly spelt out to all stakeholders. Universities should also strive to become leaders in the development of effective environmental…

This essay examines the administration of public multi-campus universities, focusing in particular on central administration and the State University of New York (SUNY) system and on responses to the need for fiscal austerity. Before treatment of the main topic begins, the essay offers a look at five reasons for the suspicion and resentment that…

Ways to develop and manage partnerships between colleges and industry are discussed. The broad educational, economic, social, and political contexts supporting such partnerships are reviewed, along with the important supporting roles of government and third parties. The dynamics of different partnership arrangements are examined, including…

Ten colleges participated in a project to: (1) help organize and strengthen administrative teams in developing two-year and four-year colleges throughout the Southeast; (2) to assist administrative teams in identifying specific roles for each team member and in developing an understanding of team responsibilities; and (3) to assist administrative…

Suggestions are offered for making business and financial affairs of educational institutions more personal and accountable to faculty, students, administrators, and the community. Objectives are identified for business managers to: (1) devise more ways for student, staff, and faculty participation in shaping the college culture and managing the…