Multidisciplinary Faculty Seminar Series - Additional Reading: Jackson Library: Stanford GSB

Stanford GSB Alumni Lifelong Learning: Events & Programs

Multidisciplinary Faculty Seminar Series: Additional Reading

February 15, 2006 (Series Seminar Two of Three)
"Leadership Lessons: The Promise and Pitfalls of Applying Business Principles to Education"

Debra Meyerson, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior ( by courtesy); Associate Professor of Education, School of Education

In a world where education reform is considered a top priority by almost everyone, there is little debate that we must learn from the rich lessons of leadership and management effectiveness developed in business. But which are the right lessons to learn? What and how much is really transferable? Drawing on her research on change efforts in business and reforms by educational organizations (like charter school groups), Professor Meyerson will explore the promise - and the potential pitfalls - of modeling leadership practices and educational reform after strategies employed in the business world. She will also point to some important and relevant ideas about leadership and organization developed by management scholars that have not yet been applied to education.

Selected Articles

Additional reading material has been selected by Jackson Library Staff. Due to contractual arrangements, remote access is only available to the current Stanford community and the subscribers of the "Library Databases" offered through the GSB Alumni's Lifelong Learning Program. Other access is limited to onsite at Jackson Library. Inclusion below does not imply University endorsement of ideas expressed.

Colleges Turning to Business Models to Boost Profits. Community College Week August 2005

Discusses the significance of business partnership to community colleges in the U.S. Benefits offered by business partnerships for Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
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Ready to Lead? American School Board Journal July 2005

The article focuses on studies that examined content of the courses taken by principals in their preparation programs. In 2004, 56 of the 496 programs that grant master's degrees in educational administration were surveyed and collected at least four core course syllabi from 31 of the programs. The bottom-line finding was that these syllabi paid scant attention to managing with accountability, using data or making tough personnel decisions.
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Inside School Reform. Ed. magazine June 2005

If calling Richard F. Elmore the "father of school reform" sounds high and mighty, consider this: the Anrig Professor of Educational Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education estimates he has worked with 30 or 40 school systems nationwide on issues of educational policy and leadership, including New York, Chicago, and Boston.
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Educational Leadership. Council of State Governments January 2004

Districts Large and Small Turn to Business Models for Funding, Public Relations, Professional Development, Networking.
View article

Selected Books

	Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work by Debra E. Meyerson. Harvard Business School Press, c2001 Jackson Library HD58.8 .M493 2001
	*Operating Principles for Business-Education Partnerships* by Michael R. Bloom. Conference Board of Canada, c1997 Jackson Library LC1085.4.C2 B566 1997

Selected Websites

Debra Meyerson

Education Reform from a Foundation Perspective

Compound Interest: Business and Philanthropy in Education Reform