Bolman and Deal’s discussion of short-term thinking versus long-term consequences (pp. 27 – 30) is on the money. How many of us have been awed by the stupidity of a policy decision in the workplace? Many seem arbitrary and appear to have been made with no thought given to the downstream repercussions, but what about decisions over which the organization has no control?

I am thinking of examining the effects of recent state budget cuts on the Virginia Community College System. Specifically, I want to look at contingency planning by the Humanities and Social Sciences department at the Alexandria Campus of NVCC.

Sometimes an organization is at the mercy of forces over which it has no control. All the reframing and restructuring in the world cannot mitigate the harsh fact that there is no money forthcoming. It appears that there is nothing an organization can do but put the best face on a bad situation.

Looking forward to classes

I will look forward to working on our class assignment, especially since it is pertinent to our work universe. I keep thinking about my proposed theme: The Dean's vision of "creating a problem-based learning and research community. By targeting the "learning community" aspect, I came up with a looooong laundry list of potential focuses/impacts (infrastructure, organizational, pedagogy, technology, student life, etc. etc.). I need to decide on what to focus and enjoy dissecting...knowing that I will be hating it by semester's end!

re-posted

I think I posted this in the wrong spot, so I am posting it again. Sorry for the double posting.

I was wondering if I need to narrow my topic or "organizational problem" for the paper. Here is what I was thinking: The Dean of the College has this philosophy or vision. That philosophy/vision is that the college would have three components 1. Academic, 2. Professional (this includes faculty that are also professionals in the field of fine arts) and 3. Community (this involves integrating the college with the community). The problem being how to get the people in the college to embrace this concept of not just concentrating on the area that they are directly involved in, but to think about the other areas too. Not sure if that makes sense. My questions is- Is the above topic too large or should I try to narrow it to a specific problem? If anyone has any feedback I would appreciate it. Thanks. Kathy

My first blog!

Hello All,

It was very nice meeting everyone yesterday. I was struggling to come up with a "problem" in class but it came to me on the drive home. I think it is unfair that Mason has three conferral dates but only one ceremony. What about the students who graduate at the end of the Fall term, especially the international students who's student visas expire. Shouldn't they be able to walk after they complete their degrees instead of waiting six months till the ceremony in May? Mason is one of the largest universities in VA but one of the few that still only have one commencement ceremony. What do you all think?

CTCH 622 Organization/Administration Blog

Welcome to CTCH 622 Organization/Administration at GMU! We are embarking on the exciting world of organizational theory as it applies to higher education. You may be saying, "hmmm, how is organizational theory exciting?". Well, much of the experiences that you have and the work that you do as staff, faculty, and/or as a student in higher education can be viewed from one of the many theoretical perspectives that we will cover in this class. Each lens will help you see your workplace in a different way and help you to solve problem more systematically and more effectively.

I aim to create a collaborative environment in class where we bring together all of our expertise and experience in a learning community. This blog exists to help you continue the learning community conversations online and out of the class. So, jump in a write!

A few notes on the blog, please do not worry about grammar and/or the content of your posts. You are not graded on the actual post, just the fact that that you are contributing. I will be monitoring the blog, but only as a equal contributor. My only requirement is that you keep your posts relevant to this class.

Welcome again and let's get started.