For archival institutions to maximize productivity and efficiency and create well-balanced work environments for the individuals within those institutions, archivists must begin to focus more seriously and intently on the organizational processes and management style of their institutions. This article suggests that the management technique of organizational development be considered as an optimal alternative to more traditional management styles, particularly autocratic management styles. The author discusses organizational development in the context of an archival institution which, for a period of time, implemented the organizational development theory. The article concludes that unless the managers and individuals of an institution are truly committed to a progressive and humanly responsive management approach that values the processes of the organization and the development of the employee, archival institutions may remain mired in their own management deficiencies, thereby affecting the ultimate goal of an organization—to create an environment that is responsive both to the goals of the profession and the needs of the individual.
Research Article|
October 01 1988
The Change Masters: Organizational Development in a State Archives
Loretta Hefner
Loretta Hefner
1
The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, California
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The American Archivist (1988) 51 (4): 440–454.
Citation
Loretta Hefner; The Change Masters: Organizational Development in a State Archives. The American Archivist 1 October 1988; 51 (4): 440–454. doi: https://doi.org/10.17723/aarc.51.4.ju87w1502qk8q3tu
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