Towards the Responsive Polytechnic

Polytechnics are living in turbulent times; their legal and political status will probably change but it is not clear how. They are being freed from external validation constraints by CNAA, they are facing a collapse in their traditional market, and they are becoming exposed to competition in new and unfamiliar product areas as never before. To survive, they will have to become far more responsive than they are now and will have to reorganise themselves to become responsive to a rapidly changing and uncertain environment. It has been argued that the way to manage productivity in polytechnics is to pursue quality as the principal objective. Quality in everything must be the core value and this must be internalised by all members of the college. “Quality” goes beyond academic excellence to encompass everything the polytechnic does, and involves everyone who works for it.

A rural child psychiatry day treatment centre: systemic perspective

The author presents the complexities of directing a DTC (Day Treatment Center) in a rural setting. These complexities are explored from the perspective of system's theory. The various systems contained within the DTC are in dynamic equilibrium with each other as well as with various community groups. Changes in any one system have significant impact on the groups the system impinges on. As an example, the DTC had not functioned well for a period of time prior to the author's arrival. During that period the staff communicated poorly among themselves, resulting in conflicts between the teaching and non-teaching staff. When these conflicts were resolved the well-established incompatibilities and stresses within the system of the non-teaching staff surfaced. In the process of this conflict resolution the DTC was reorganized. New groups were established to access children at primary and secondary levels of medical prevention. Rapport with other systems in the community improved. Consequently, with better communication between groups of staff and with the community, the treatment of the children could be more effective.

Strategic Mentality

Strategic mentality is the individual ability of managers to think, decide and act strategically. This requires the ability to see an integral whole. This ability is less common than organisational and societal needs require. Strategic mentality profiles (cognitive and emotional) are presented and related to existing manager typologies. Circumstances that hamper strategic mentality are discussed and practical suggestions made on how to cope with such circumstances.

Unethical decisions: the impact of reinforcement contingencies and managerial philosophies

Unethical behavior is a serious issue facing business organizations. This study reports the results of a laboratory experiment involving 338 subjects in an in-basket simulation requiring that they decide whether or not to give kickbacks. Subjects were divided into two groups—each assigned a different managerial philosophy. Subjects were rewarded for unethical decisions on the first three trials and punished for unethical decisions on the last three trials. Results on all six trials support the hypotheses that unethical decisions are dependent on reinforcement contingencies and partially (in the first three trials) support the hypothesis that unethical decisions are dependent on stated managerial philosophy.