Copyright 1997 CAUSE. From CAUSE/EFFECT Volume 20, Number 2, Summer 1997, pp. 64-65. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, the CAUSE copyright and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. To disseminate otherwise, or to republish, requires written permission. For further information, contact Julia Rudy at CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301 USA; 303-939-0308; e-mail: [email protected]
Doing Academic Planning:
Effective Tools for Decision-Making
Edited by Brian P. Nedwek
(Society for College and University Planning1; 1996; member $50, non-member $60; 153 pages)
ISBN 0-9601608-3-3
Reviewed by Cynthia Rolfe
Postsecondary institutions are beginning to recognize the value of planning strategically to address the paradigm shift to a learner-centered orientation. This change from the traditional provider-centered mode has been encouraged by public scrutiny and a shrinking financial resource pool.
Doing Academic Planning, the first in a three-part series published by the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), is an effective compilation of articles that focus on procedures and tools to assist an institution in strategically moving toward a more service-oriented model. The book presents eight areas of higher education planning, each of which is discussed by leading administrators in post secondary institutions. The topics include environmental scanning, curriculum planning, enrollment management, human resources planning, planning for information technology, student services, academic planning within the larger context, and linking quality and accountability. These issues are directly aligned with the areas of planning in which I find myself regularly involved.
The value of this volume to information technology professionals is evident in the current surge in network scholarship. Information technology has moved from the basement to the board room in both academe and business. Information technology professionals have become integral to an organization's planning process. This new-found responsibility, however, presents a challenging transition for computing directors and chief information officers who must recommend and implement technology from a learner-centered perspective. I have used the volume as a quick access to information about functional areas in which I am not intimately involved, but where I am assisting in technology planning.
Doing Academic Planning is designed for the busy IT professional. Tools for planning are presented in articles rather than chapters, offering the flexibility to read just one of the fourteen presentations at a sitting. In addition, each article is designed for readability within the context of the others by using a structure that discusses core planning questions, basic concepts, planning models or approaches, action issues, recommendations, and print and electronic references. Readers may easily select topical areas and foci, making this a quick resource for planning. The book's structure lets me compare information regarding others' experiences in academic planning without spending inordinate amounts of time searching for examples.
Even if the reader is not directly involved in planning for one of the topical areas presented, the information contained in this volume will be beneficial to an overall understanding of planning in an academic organization.
Reviewer Cynthia E. Rolfe is Chief Technology Officer at the University of Central Oklahoma. She is a member of the CAUSE Editorial Committee.
Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended
Consequences
by Edward Tenner
(Alfred A. Knopf, 1996, $26, 346 pages)
ISBN 0-679-42563-2
Reviewed by Susan Foster
Edward Tenner has given us a multi-faceted view of technology's unintended consequences as well as a thoughtful enquiry into how they come about. The examples he explores affect global public interests and include medicine, the environment, agriculture, computerized offices, and sports.
Common among his illustrations are the compounding complexity and intensity that technologies bring to all that we do. As we apply technology to intensify an outcome -- antibiotics to suppress disease; new varieties of agricultural products to increase food production; energy production and other products to meet our demand for comfort, safety, and efficiency; tools to enhance individual and group productivity and power -- complexities emerge that spawn unintended consequences.
On the one hand Tenner seems to be saying that technology has a determinism of its own over which we must be eternally vigilant. On further reading, however, he is really warning us about ourselves -- warning us against technological arrogance and ignorance of the very nature of things. He urges us to understand as much of that nature as possible -- not to anticipate its every nuance, but to be prepared to cope nimbly. He calls this substituting brains for stuff, subtlety for bombast, finesse for the frontal attack.
I found this an especially encouraging perspective to apply to information technology which, more than ever before, offers us opportunities for the light touch -- for intelligence delicately applied.
Reviewer Susan Foster is Vice President for Information Technologies at the University of Delaware and current chair of the CAUSE Board of Directors.
The Absolutes of Leadership
by Philip B. Crosby
(Pfeiffer & Co., 1996, $19.95, 144 pages)
ISBN 0-89384-276-1
Reviewed by Darryl Huish
I will recommend The Absolutes of Leadership by Philip Crosby for two reasons. The first is that the book provides concise ideas that are relevant for any reader, whether in a position of leadership or not. These ideas can best be called food for thought or catalysts for pondering one's own leadership style as well as the styles of others.
Crosby asserts four absolutes of "true leadership" -- a clear agenda, a personal philosophy, enduring relationships, and worldliness. As I measured myself against his absolutes, I had a framework for a fresh perspective about my strengths and my soft spots.
My second reason for recommending this book is that it is truly a "quick read." Counter to the trend of 500-page books to be digested over several evenings, this book can easily be read and understood in less than two hours, even while allowing extra time for chuckling at the cartoons.
These strengths -- food for thought and brevity -- also provide the basis for a caution. Readers looking for a fail-safe menu for developing leadership skills may be disappointed. Crosby's model was a little simplistic for me. For example, he flatly states that there are five types of leadership styles, and provides labels and characteristics for each. While I saw some elements that applied to my style and to those leaders around me, I found mostly shades of gray and partial matches. Because of Crosby's sparse style, I found myself wondering if leadership could actually be developed or, instead, only observed and labeled. Consider reading The Absolutes of Leadership; you will gain insights, but don't expect a quick fix.
Reviewer Darrel Huish serves as Director, Applications and Consulting, within Information Technology at Arizona State University. He is currently a member of the faculty for the CAUSE Management Institute.
1 You may order from SCUP by mail at 4251 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105-2785, or by faxing to 313-998-6532. Send e-mail to [email protected] to request an order form.
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