Although the financial crisis has accelerated these changes, the forces moving Extension from an organization of the past to an organization of the future are more fundamental than financial matters and reach well beyond Extension. Organizational Trends Each year scores of books appear advising managers and executives about how to run their organizations. It's interesting to note how that advice has shifted from the sixties and seventies to the eighties. By analyzing these trends, it's possible to identify the characteristics of the effective organization of the future as captured in the advice of those who think about demands on organizations in the changing information age. These changes are particularly important to monitor and understand because most senior Extension administrators were trained under the principles developed for industrial organizations.
Informationage organizations require a different organizational approach.
The role of leadership has correspondingly changed. To highlight the transition, it's helpful to begin with the characteristics of effective industrial-age organizations. Ideally, these goals and objectives are concrete, specific, and measurable. Managers and administrators monitor accomplishments of goals and objectives on a quarterly and annual basis and make adjustments as necessary. Thinking is linear.