Open System Management Volume 1

About the Book

Open System Management Volume 1: Assessing the Human Services Culture describes the work that organizations can do to redesign internal interactions among sections, always with an eye to improving services and working relationships with clients. It reviews how a self-assessment was used as the basis of organizational change efforts in four North Carolina departments of social services, and it provides sample self-assessment tools and guidelines for using them.

Other volumes available:
Open System Management Volume 2: Samuel's Story: Creating a Community Safety Net for Families
Open System Management Volume 3: The Agency's Story: Fostering Collaboration Within
Open System Management Volume 4: Shifting the Organization's Culture: A Self-Assessment Guide

Or, purchase the set at a discounted price:
Open System Management Set of 4 Volumes

About the Author

Gary M. Nelson, DSW, is Associate Director for Program Development and Training Initiatives at the Jordan Institute for Families, School of Social Work, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A full professor in the school, he regularly teaches courses on public policy for child welfare and for aging. His wide-ranging interests include community and organizational change, organizational theory, organizational culture, learning organizations, complexity and chaos theory, child welfare, social policy or aging, rural aging, and home and community care systems. Most recently he has published Self-Governance in Communities and Families (Berrett-Koehler, 2000), which describes a theory and process for community planning and change developed for the Families for Kids initiative, funded by the W.K. Kellogg foundation. The Open System Management series was developed as part of a grant awarded by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families (No. 90CT0012).

Mary Anne P. Salmon, PhD, is the Aging Research Specialist with the Center for Aging Research and Educational Services at the Jordan Institute for Families. A member of a small interdisciplinary team, she collaborates to do research, training, and technical consultation primarily on issues involving the needs of older adults in North Carolina. She conducts survey research from instrument design to analysis and report writing.

Christine Howell, MPA, is a private consultant who works regularly with the Family and Children's Resource Program at the Jordan Institute for Families. She has facilitated many community dialogues focused on child welfare issues, and she has worked with the Leadership Roundtable of Directors of North Carolina County Departments of Social Services.