Digital Commons Network^™

A Case Study Of A Nationally Recognized Middle School's Decentralized Participatory Governance Structure, Donna Lynn Carman

Dissertations and Theses

To effectively and substantively impact the realization of school improvement goals, there is a perceived need for the implementation of participatory processes that involve parents, patrons, students, and educators through decentralization of the planning, programming, and implementation phases. Related to this need is the pressing requirement of providing educational leaders with a greater understanding of what knowledge and skills they should possess to effectively guide and direct the implementation of decentralized participatory processes. An exploratory case study of a nationally recognized middle school's decentralized participatory structure was conducted. The purpose of this study was to provide the comprehensive context of …

Producer Cooperatives And Industrial Democracy: A Comparative Study Of The Performance Of Cooperative And Conventional Plywood Plants, Youssef Khodaparast

Dissertations and Theses

Widely differing theoretical expectations exist concerning the economic performance of labor-managed firms or producer cooperatives (PCs). While a good number of theoretical studies of these firms by economists have been undertaken, there remain considerable gaps in the empirical record. This is especially true in the case of American PCs. In general, theoretical controversies have not been tempered by enough empirical analysis. While some expect good performance from PCs, others are much less sanguine. This study compares the economic performance of a group of eight worker-owned producer co-op plants with that of eight conventional mills in the Pacific Northwest softwood plywood …

Organizational Development: An Investigation Into The Knowledge Obsolescence Of Engineers In The Electronics Industry, Cheryl J. Hubbard

Dissertations and Theses

Purpose. This study investigated organizational development climate within the context of an organization experiencing rapid change in its environment resulting in employee knowledge obsolescence. Secondary purposes were: (1) determine current development methods and behavior; (2) identify preferred development methods; (3) examine the influence of educational background on development; (4) examine the influence length of service on development and (5) investigate reward preferences and their link to development. Procedure. The data were collected through a sample of 550 nonmanager engineers. The questionnaire consisted of individual background information and a modified version of the Work Description Questionnaire for Engineers (WDQE). Environment factors …

Collective Bargaining: A Process Adopted By Oregon's Four-Year Institutions Of Higher Education To Support Faculty Members' Participation In Institutional Governance, Patricia Lillian Chadwick

Dissertations and Theses

An evaluative research survey involving 694 faculty members with an academic appointment in Oregon's 4-year unionized institutions of higher education was undertaken to determine whether or not collective bargaining has supported faculty rights for participation in institutional governance. Four hypotheses were formulated to study the relationship between the independent variable of collective bargaining and the dependent variable of institutional governance, specific to: (1) professional interest, (2) economic interest, (3) educational policy, and (4) academic and personnel policy. Data received from 486 respondents' questionnaires were used for the Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance to test the four hypotheses. The four hypotheses …

An Analysis Of The Affects Of Crisis On The Decision Making Practice Of A Dialysis Program: A Case Study, James Christopher Farley

Dissertations and Theses

In 1982 the Health Care Finance Administration mandated changes in the mechanism and financing of the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Program by the provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. These changes in finances and procedures became effective August 1, 1983 and have created a state of crisis for ESRD facilities program wide. This study analyzes a large non-profit dialysis program and how its decision making practices were affected 2 by the change in Medicare laws. Application of decision theory in health care provides a basis for this study on the affects of crisis on decision making.

This study …

The Outcomes Of A Quality Circle Program In An Electronics Manufacturing Firm, Martin L. Abbott

Dissertations and Theses

The literature on worker participation generally assumes that worker participation programs lead to positive work outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction) in more or less direct fashion. The current study challenges this assumption and posits that "desire for participation," and "attitudes toward participation," may affect the participation-satisfaction relationship. Data were gathered from a quality circle (QC) program at a large electronics manufacturing firm, using both quantitative (survey questionnaire), and qualitative (interviews, observation, meeting attendance) means. QC members and non members were compared on all attitude measures, and on general job satisfaction. The results indicated the following: (a) the participation-satisfaction thesis was not …

Effective Acquisition Of Basic Skills: An Elementary Schools Program, Linda L. Terhark

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate and to determine the effectiveness of the Basic Skills Program. This was a program developed at Clackamas Elementary School that implemented many of the effective school characteristics along with analyzing low-achievement areas in the California Achievement Test and organizing an instructional program that would teach to those low areas. This study compared achievement test results from the Spring pf 1982 for grades four, five, and six (approximately 140 students) with achievement test results from the Spring of 1983. The treatment to improve low areas as determined by the California Achievement Test results …

Organizational Innovation In A Professional School: A Case Study, Marie Streng Berger

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research was to apply specific organization development strategies in a professional school to test the applicability of Argyris' Theory and Method Model for this setting. The research was designed to determine the effectiveness of group decision-making processes before and after intervention. In order to accomplish this, the research included two phases. The purpose of Phase One was to involve all members in the organization development program so valid information could be collected about strengths, limitations, and problems of the organization. Data for this phase were collected by individual and group interviews. These interviews, while unstructured, were …

Organizational Decision Making And Participation In An Interorganizational Service Network, Vinod Valji Chohan

Dissertations and Theses

This study attempts to identify the variables associated with an organization's decision to participate in an interorganizational service network. The survev of literature on the subject supported the hypothesis that structural variables of complexity, formalization, and centralization and a psychological variable, the awareness of organizational interdependency, are associated with the decision to participate. Interorganizational participation was operationally defined in terms of various behavioral components: an organization's involvement with the coordinating agency, client referrals to and from other organizations and to and from the coordinating agency, and information exchanged with other organizations and with the coordinating agency. Using this framework, testable …

The Attitudes Of Youth Workers On Delinquency And Delinquency Programs, Gary Lee Dominick, Carol Swartz, Michael Orval Taylor

Dissertations and Theses

This research developed from our interest in juvenile delinquency. We wished to examine how youth workers think about the causes of delinquency, the structure of delinquency programs, and their own role as workers. These perceptions will be examined by looking at workers' responses to statements dealing with 1) juvenile delinquency causation, 2) programs for treatment and prevention, and 3) the role of the worker. The responses will be examined in the light of a theoretical framework reflecting the continuum between theories and programs based on individual causation and those emphasizing societal factors.

Leadership Styles And Staff Satisfaction In Four Nursing Homes: Implications For Service Delivery, Carol Nightengale

Dissertations and Theses

This is a study of four nursing care facilities in Portland, Oregon in 1975-1976, which examines the relationship between leadership style and staff satisfaction, leadership style and patient satisfaction, and staff satisfaction and patient satisfaction.

The Impact Of Ssi On The Social Security Administration: An Intraorganizational Study With Interorganizational Ramifications, Patricia A. Parker

Dissertations and Theses

In 1974 a revolutionary new income maintenance program was implemented in the United States. It was revolutionary in style because it provided a federalized income floor for the elderly, blind and disabled, previously provided for under various federal, state, and local welfare programs. The program was called Supplemental Security Income, or SSI.

The Social Security Administration, a long-standing institution in the financial community because of old age, survivors and disability insurance (OASDI) benefits, was chosen to administer SSI. SSI represented a new innovation for the Social Security Administration who had never before had to provide non-work-related benefits to indigents. In …

The Influence Of Tradition On The Process Of Organizational Change: A Study Of Two Oregon Child Care Centers: Edgefield Lodge, Troutdale, And St. Mary's Home For Boys, Beaverton, Helen Paula Grant

Dissertations and Theses

For over two centuries, child-caring institutions in the United States have helped families care for their children, and have been solicitous as well for the dependent, neglected, and retarded children. Since the founding of the first orphanage in the United States in 1737 by the Ursuline Sisters, after the ravage of an Indian massacre, child care has developed slowly from simple custodial care to institutions giving specialized care in some one single area. This change was a result not only of the need of children for specialized care but also of the advances in the nation's social, economic, and medical …