Effective School Management

Step 2: establishment of criteria
When a problem has been defined and its causes identified, the needs of the
situation can be determined. These should be expressed in terms of ends not
means. To help establish priorities, it is useful to split the needs into two
categories:
(1) Essential ends – those which, unless they are achieved, will mean that the
situation has not been put right or improved.
(2) Desirable ends – those which are wanted but are not essential to putting
right or improving the situation.
Pursuing the example of lunch-hour losses, we may feel that the criteria for a
satisfactory solution are as follows:
Essential
(1) Lunch-hour thefts from form rooms will not occur.
(2) Parents will have no grounds for complaint against the school in this
matter.
Desirable
(1) Children should not have to carry their possessions at all times, in