U.S. Announces Aid to Israel in Programs on Industrial Management

The U.S. International Cooperation Administration announced today a new program to assist Israel in developing educational and professional programs in industrial management, business administration and executive management. The three-year project will be carried out under contracts between the University of the State of New York and two Israeli institutions – the Hebrew University and the Technion at Haifa.

Contracts were signed at the Israeli Embassy with representatives of the University of the State of New York. As part of the U.S. technical cooperation program. ICA will defray the estimated $1,200,000 American portion of the total contracts costs. Israel will finance local requirements of the university team in that country. The university will send a staff of professors and specialists to Israel and bring Israeli participants to the United States for study.

A business administration program will be introduced this fall at the Eliezer Kaplan School of Economics and Social Sciences at Hebrew University. Two American faculty members, one an accounting specialist and one a management specialist, will organize and assist this project. The Hebrew University will send three of its most promising graduates to New York for graduate study each year during the three-year period. After completing their studies they will return to Hebrew University as members of its teaching staff and research department.

A graduate study in industrial management will be developed at the Technion by two American specialists. The Technion will send two members of its staff here each year for graduate study and program training. An executive management training program, keyed to the industrial economy of Israel, also will be organized. This is to be done by a group of four experts in the fields of organization and financial management control, productivity and quality control, personnel management and industrial relations, and marketing for foreign trade.

To acquaint Israel managers with American management training, twenty such Israelis went visit the United States each year. Dr. B. Bernard Greidinger, a professor of accounting, has been appointed coordinator of the over-all program. Dr. Greidinger said he anticipates that at the end of the three-year program the Israelis will be completely in charge of the over-all program in business administration, industrial management and executive management training.

The project grew out of requests from the Israeli Government for assistance in these three fields. Dr. Greidinger visited Israel last summer to confer with officials of that country and the ICA mission to Israel. Results of his survey formed the basis for plans for specific phases of the program.