Daniel Langmeyer

Improving Organizational Problem Solving in a School Faculty

The intervention detailed here was aimed at improving the flexible organizational problem solving of a junior high school faculty. It was pointed toward organizational development, not personal change. Even though the emotional reactions of faculty members were considered in designing the training events, our intervention remained fixed on organizational roles and norms and their interrelationships. We hoped to learn whether improved organizational functioning could be produced in a faculty by integrating group training in communication and problem solving with the normal business of the school. We began our intervention just prior to the academic year and returned intermittently until February. Data evaluating the effects of the intervention support the claim that a number of salutary outcomes were at least partly due to the intervention. Movement in favorable directions occurred in a number of concrete, observable organizational changes, in verbally expressed attitudes about the principal and staff meetings, in the kinds of innovations reported, and in the changing organizational norms of the faculty. Strengths and weaknesses of the intervention are discussed.

Psychological Androgyny and Social Competence

The present study investigated the relationship between psychological androgyny and three self-report indicators of social competence: quality of interpersonal behavioral skills, level of interpersonal anxiety, and amount of social activity. 261 college students (150 men) of high androgyny were significantly more competent than low subjects.

Sex Differences as Artifact in the Prisoner's Dilemma Game

Female subject pairs have often been found to compete more than either male pairs or mixed sex pairs in the Prisoners Dilemma (PD) game. It was hypothesized that sex differences in the PD were in part a function of the sex of the experimenter. Three males and three females served as experimenters. The hypothesis was supported for, although females evidenced higher competition with male Es, no sex differences were found with female Es. Female subject pairs were, however, the only pairs which evidenced significant differences in level of competition under male and female Es. Results were discussed in terms of greater sensitivity on the part of female Ss than male Ss to characteristics of both the partner and the E. Implications for the design of experimental investigation of sex differences were also considered.

Organizational Theory Applied to School Reform: A Critical Analysis

Organizational change in education, as manifested by school reform, is indeed complex. In this article, we describe our experience with organizational change and analyse it using organizational change theories common in education. An evaluation of the reform initiative yielded unexpected problems related to sustainability. As a result, this article revisits the assumptions from the organizational change literature that guided our change strategy. This reflection led to the discovery of key theoretical ideas that, although less familiar, may have more practical utility for those engaged in organizational change within schools.

Planned and actual spending among owners of home computers

Abstract The degree of correspondence that actually obtains between intentions and behavior remains controversial. Two opposing views can be distinguished: the cognitive perspective associated with Fishbein and Ajzen (1975) holds that intentions will be the best predictor of consumer spending, while the behaviorist perspective associated with Foxall (1983) rejects the value of intention measures. This study compares buying plans and the prior behavior of consumers as alternative explanations for subsequent action. The results support a middle position (Triandis 1977); neither intentions alone,nor prior behavior alone, afford an optimal prediction of behavior. Market researchers are advised to question consumers about both their cognitions and their past actions.

Perceptual Style As A Determinant In The Solution Of A Group Task

orientation (FIs).&dquo; Although there is a clear implication about the relationship between field articulation and group task performance, there has been little research in that area. Wallach, Kogan, and Burt (1966) provide the only evidence to date on the behavior of FIs and FDs in response to a group task. They used the risky-shift phenomenon and found that longer discussions of the situations reduced or even reversed the risky shift for FI groups while longer discussion among FD groups enhanced risky shifting. Reviews of the group problem solving area suggest that the effects of

Correlates of African-American Undergraduate Student Achievement: Implications for the Prize Initiative.

Male and female African-American college students (n = 131) at a large urban predominately White publicly funded institution participated in a survey measuring the effect of a multitude of psychosocial constructs and factors on grade point average (GPA). Part One of the studys analysis focused on three of the six total constructs examined within this study: Barriers to Achievement, Ethnic Identity, and Intrapersonal Attributes. Cronbachs alpha tests and item analyses found that each subscale was determined sufficiently reliable with the exception of Ethnic Identity. Pearson correlations indicated that the Interpersonal Attributes subscale and its individual factors were most significant in predicting academic success. The Barriers to Achievement subscale did not significantly affect student GPA, though family problems and maintaining employment were found detrimental to GPA. While the Ethnic Identity construct was not reliable, the factor “ethnic fit” was significant.