assumption of a change agent role; someone who would come in to a struggling organization, bring order from chaos, mandate the necessary changes, and then move on leaving the organization with a legacy of conflict and factionalism. A new leader would then be brought in to mold the pieces back together. Obviously, such an approach is contrary to the life style aspirations of most of us. It means the stress of almost constant conflict; the loneliness of remaining an outsider and a foe, and the disruptiveness of changing positions and perhaps moving every three to four years. Yet some leaders have tended to thrive on the excitement and challenge of such situations. If the nature of the task is understood at the outset and the expectation

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1Vhitehead, James I. ~ Business O/ricer at Hutchings, has a Masters in Business Administration from the State Uni- versity o[ New York at BuHalo and teaches in the Business Departmeent at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse. This is his second article in the Journal.

is only for a short term placement without the necessity of maintaining credibility, civility and con- sensus, such an approach may be a legitimate extension of Fiedler's situational leadership concept and worth exploring.4

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REFERENCES

I. John McTighe, "Management Strategies to Deal wlfh Shrink(ng Resources," PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, (January/February, 19781, pp. 86-90.

2. T. Scott Bunion, Keynote Address, Fifth Annual Educational Conference, New York State Chapter AMHA (June 8, 19821.

3. Charles Levlne, "Organizational Decline and Cutback Management," PUBLIC ADMIN(STRATION REVIEW, (July/ August, 1978), pp. 316-32S.

Charles Lev|ne0 "More Cutback Management: Hard Questions for Hard Times," PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, (March/Aprll, 19791, pp. 179-183.

4. Fred Fiedler, "The Leadership Game: Matching the Man to the Situation," ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS, IWinfer, 19761.

The L a s t r - PE so.AL COMMENT

WHAT'S THE GOOD WORD??

Right now in Oklahoma (in January) it's cold and foggy; a bit unusual for what we've been having in weather. In spite of that, the outlook is ALL SUNSHINE. The reaction of the present membership, as well as that of some of our recent returnees to member- ship, is most encouraging. Credentialing is one of the main reasons for this rapid upswing in head-count. Here we have a solid opportunity to make our individual and collective knowledge, our expertise felt in our chosen field. We can demonstrate our abilities in a positive manner. It gives us a vehicle to add credence to our total Association. We now have a rallying point to draw in more membership. Good mathematical funda- mentalists say "The whole is equal to the sum of its parts". Certainly this is true, but if we upgrade the value of these parts, then the total must also increase. By certification, by continuing education being intergrated into our daily routine, and by the dynamic interchange of ideas and experience, we can increase our total posture in the Mental Health Field. Again, it will take the effort of everyone, but the initial move has been made. LET'S KEEP IT GOING!!

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