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In this article, we review how time and space relationships are reframing the training and development agenda. As the speed of business moves faster and boundaries become less relevant, we need ways of expanding and choosing how and when learning and development can take place. We need ways to target development on specific business issues and deliver improved performance in less time with reduced cost. We define a learning options framework to help organize, integrate, synthesize, and better fit training and development methodologies to business realities. Specific knowledge, tools, and examples are provided to show how organizations are identifying and choosing among development options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective organizations are configurations of management practices that facilitate the development of the knowledge that becomes the basis for competitive advantage. A market orientation, complemented by an entrepreneurial drive, provides the cultural foundation for organizational learning. However, as important as market orientation and entrepreneurship are, they must be complemented by an appropriate climate to produce a "learning organization." The authors describe the processes through which organizations develop and use new knowledge to improve performance. They propose a set of organizational elements that comprise the learning organization and conclude with recommendations for research to contribute to the understanding of learning organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the effectiveness of international business enterprises. The emerging international economy will offer varied opportunities for companies in a position to effectively capitalize on them. The article examines the methods employed by transnational companies to solidify their market position and increase their effectiveness. The approaches employed by Western and Japanese corporations are compared to determine similarities in their operations and management styles, and lessons that can be learned from select case studies are considered.

A unique social value function of organizational effectiveness is logically possible if the evaluation of outcomes is based not on the preferences of constituents but, instead, on the relationship among organizational outcomes. The implication is that the values of outcomes are determined by the interstructuring of human actions over time. This result is theoretically important. It implies that constituent preferences are not necessary for evaluating the outcomes of organizations. It thus is possible to assess organizational effectiveness independently, for comparison with assessments based on preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author presents a response to commentary published in this edition of the journal by political science doctoral candidate Mark Goodwin titled "Which Networks Matter in Education Governance," which critiques his previously published 2008 article “New Philanthropy, New Networks, and New Governance in Education.” He discusses the inherent difficulty in mapping the structured relationships of power within education policy networks. The complexity of heterarchical governance analysis is examined.

Performance management and citizen participation are being used by local governments to improve government accountability and responsiveness. In some cases, local governments are integrating these two trends. One area of local government in which this trend has not been assessed is special districts. This paper uses data from a study of nine special districts in the state of Texas to fill this void. To assess citizen participation in performance management among the districts, we interviewed district managers, analyzed minutes from governing board meetings, and conducted citizen focus groups in three regions of the state. Our findings suggest that although districts may not yet be in tune with the latest performance management trends, they are making efforts to engage citizens in other ways. We recommend ways that districts can build on these experiences and more effectively incorporate citizens in the development, analysis, and reporting of performance measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to measure the extent to which information technology provides competitive advantage, the construct "Competitive Advantage Provided by an Information Technology Application" (CAPITA) was operationalized. A field survey gathered data from 185 top information systems executives regarding information technology applications which had been developed to gain competitive advantage. A confirmatory analysis revealed that CAPITA may be conceptualized in terms of nine dimensions which satisfy key measurement criteria including unidimensionality and convergent validity, discriminant validity, predictive validity, and reliability. The nine dimensions form the basis of a preliminary multidimensional measure or index of competitive advantage which has practical uses for competitive assessment. These include justifying and evaluating applications and acting as dependent variables in empirical competitive advantage research. Extensions entail formulating alternative measures of CAPITA to clarify the theoretical foundations of the construct, validating the latent-structure model on another data set, use of multiple informants for data collection, and exploring complex factor structures for the construct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some authors have argued that research on organizational effectiveness should cease. This study demonstrates why organizational effectiveness studies are crucial in certain types of organizations, and it points out how many of the weaknesses and criticisms of past investigations can be addressed. The results of this study of 29 organizations indicate that certain managerial strategies are strongly associated with high static scores and with improving effectiveness over time. Managerial strategies, in fact, were found to be more important than structure, demographics, finances, and other factors. Proactive strategies and those with an external emphasis are more successful than internal and reactive strategies. Managerial strategies that are multifaceted are more likely to lead to effectiveness than monolithic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]