We will make decisions based on what is
best for students with parallel attention to
our well-being.

Operating assumptions must also be overt and
clearly stated. They relate to attitudes toward and
beliefs in certain principles of human behavior. If all
work group members are fully aware and accepting of
these tenets, a common frame of reference will exist for
decision making and conflict resolution. Some ex-
amples of operating assumptions are:

The only behavior I can control is my own.

There are many right ways to do most
things.

My operating style and pace may not be
the best for someone else.

The only way I can lose my personal
power is by giving it away to someone or
something.

I can only help a student, or anyone else, if
I am functioning (in terms of interpersonal
skills) at a level at least slightly higher than
his/her level.

As part of a “human system” or work
group, I am constantly aware that every-

thing I do will have an impact on that
system.

If work group members consciously choose their
norms and assumptions, commitments will be made;
furthermore, all members will expect to be reminded of
these commitments by others. The group must also
make a decision to conduct periodic checks on how
well they are doing with their commitments. This
attention to process must be an intentional decision.
Moreover, it should be part of any work group’s
planned activities.

Fortunately, in the DCCCD we have access to
Process Consultants who can help us choose norms
and identify assumptions. Nearly every college has
counselors or organizational behavioral specialists who
could serve in similar roles. The crucial reminder for all
groups is that the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to
make these new choices.

Bettie Tully, Counselor, Ombudsman, and DCCCD
Process Consultant

For more information, contact the author at El Centro
College, Main and Lamar, Dallas, TX 75202-3604.

 

 

elebrate with us!

 

The 1991 International Conference on
Teaching Excellence and Conference of Admin-
istrators is scheduled for May 19-22 in Austin,
Texas,

Speakers will include Manuel J. Justiz,
The University of Texas at Austin; Tessa
Martinez Tagle, Miami-Dade Community
College; and William Moore, Ohio State Uni-
versity. Pre-conference presentations will fea-
ture John E. Roueche, Claire Weinstein,
and Rosemary Gillett-Karam, all from The
University of Texas at Austin, plus special
sessions by Wally Cox, College of the Canyons,
who will provide instruction in country-and-
western dancing. The Conference of Adminis-
trators; 1991 NISOD Excellence Awards pres-
entation; Monday-evening Mexican buffet and
dance; and tours of Austin, Texas Hill Country,
and San Antonio round out the schedule.

For more information, contact Suanne
Roueche, Director, NISOD, The University of
Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, TX 78712,
512/471-7545.

 

 

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

 

March 29, 1991, Vol. Xill, No. 10

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD),

©The Unversity of Texas at Austin, 1991 EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Subscriptions are available to nonconsor-
Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER tium members for $40 per year. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.

institutions for their own personnel.

Issued weekly when classes are in session dunng fall and spring terms and once during the summer. ISSN 0199-106X.
=o ae