Crossing boundaries
Subtitle: collaboration, coordination, and the redefinition of resources
By: Seymour B. Sarason, Elizabeth M. Lorentz.
Contributors: Lorentz, Elizabeth.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Published: 1998
Place of publication: San Francisco, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 170
Subjects: Organizational effectiveness; Complex organizations; Leadership; Interorganizational relations
Description: In this book, Seymour Sarason and Elizabeth Lorentz offer a penetrating analysis of the pitfalls and possibilities inherent in collaborations between and within organizations. They present a new paradigm for the management of people and resources and show how organizational collaborations can be successful.

Crossing Boundaries is based on decades of experience using a resource sharing model in both the private and public sectors. Illustrated with examples from both arenas, the book explains why effective collaboration hinges on rethinking organizational roles and structures. Traditionally, people are treated as "organization chart" resources - workers are pigeonholed and are not to stray from the confines of their carefully crafted job descriptions. True collaboration and resource exchange between organizations requires the creation of a new role, a network coordinator, to serve as a critical bridge between and across organizations.

The authors describe the characteristics of the ideal coordinator and explain how this resource exchange energizes and reinforces collegiality and a sense of community.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-167) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : charters, curricula, and a history of failure; title: An emerging paradigm shift; title: Redefining resources; title: Breaking the organizational chart mentality; title: Coordination : the origins of a point of view; title: The coordinator's rationale : cognitive and stylistic characteristics; title: Collegiality and community : the new paradigm in action; title: Epilogue : the public schools and the private sector  .