Change Theory in the 21st Century
Assignment: Essay
#2
Change Theory in the 21st Century
Advanced Organization Theory and Inquiry
EDAD 8043
By
Allen Mooneyhan
Cohort IX
Arkansas State University- Newport
Assistant
Professor
Health & Physical Education
Dr. Dan Cline
Center for
Excellence in Education
Arkansas State
University
Change has
occurred throughout history both when societies are ready for it and when they
are not. This essay will attempt to
discuss change as it relates to organizations today and in the future.
This discussion will begin with definitions of several different types of
change and how change relates to the process of education.
Next, diffusion will be presented as well as how modern technology will
affect diffusion. The merits of
different strategies of planned change in today's climate will be explored in
addition to the implications of organizational development in the 21st
century. Finally, the usefulness of
Deming's ideas in our society today and specific trends that affect the process
of change will be discussed.
Change
Defined
Individuals and
organizations view change in a variety of ways. Doing something in a different way may constitute change for
some whereas to others change may mean a total restructuring of an existing
system. There are several different
ways in which we view change (Jurrow, 1999).
First,
developmental change means to do something the same way but better.
For example I may learn to be a "better teacher" by doing the
same things I have always done but doing them in a way that is considered
"better".
Secondly, I could
find a completely new way to do the same thing I have always done.
This would be considered transitional change.
For example, I may teach the same material but do it in a totally
different way such as using multimedia presentations, group work, or
demonstrations rather than lecture.
Thirdly,
transformational change means doing something different by creating new
structures and new processes to fit new objectives. I may come up with a way to do something very different by
completely changing the processes that I have been using.
For example, I may begin to facilitate learning rather than teaching
information to students, and I may do this by allowing them to research
information on their own, thus, instituting a totally new procedure.
Transformational
change is probably more representative of what today's society is looking for.
Organizations have seen both developmental change and transitional change
come and go with very little lasting effects.
This may be a factor in motivating those leading our institutions to take
a chance on transformational change.
Education
is the Key
It has been said
that order will emerge out of chaos. While
this is probably true, it is also believed that societies can direct the forces
of change to suit goals and social values (Owens, 1998).
Furthermore, it is believed that planned social change is supported by
compatible educational systems. This
means that the infrastructure of the educational system can be used to
facilitate change in a positive way because it is the key to equality and equity
in society. For example, education can be the means by which one's
financial or social position can be elevated in our society. Because educational organizations are expected to transmit
traditional values and also to be a vehicle for change, they must balance the
implications of stability and change at the same time.
Many now believe
that reforming the educational system is a waste of time and money because of
the history of change attempts that have been undertaken.
According to Owens (1998), reform efforts have not been effective in
significantly altering the core of organizational culture in schools.
This is because the nucleus of the core of organizational behavior is
power. According to Friedman
(1999), culture is the medium through which emotional processes work.
Therefore, we must first understand the power of culture to shape beliefs
of people who have the capacity to bring about change in education.
School reform
means to give "new form" to a school changing it in fundamental ways
(Owens, 1998). This will be
necessary in order to confront the attitudes that have developed in those who
have lost faith in the procedures that have attempted change in the educational
system over the past few years. It
will be necessary to "give up" some of the power so that those who are
involved in the institution will believe that there is a genuine desire to
change the organization in a positive, meaningful way.
Schools can change through direction from the outside or they may change
from within (Owens, 1998). It will
probably take the latter to facilitate organizational change that will last. When those involved in the organization are involved in the
decisions to change as well as how that change should come about, there is a
greater possibility the change will be supported on a continuous basis.
Diffusion
The traditional
means of change in education is one that involves the spread of new ideas and
practices, which is neither planned nor structured. It typically takes about fifteen years for an innovation to
spread to about three percent of the school systems and another twenty years for
the change to be diffused into an area about the size of an average state
(Owens, 1998). In this way, change
occurs very slowly and the pace of the change that does occur contributes to the
attitude that nothing ever gets done with regard to change efforts in
educational organizations. Greenfield
and Ribbins (1993) point out that administrators and teachers are slow in
adopting innovations.
According to
Owens (1998), the strategy by which money is spent may have greater impact on
change than things such as per pupil expenditure.
This supports the notion that including those involved in the institution
in each process of the change can enhance the possibility of change.
When those working in the organization are given a voice in the change
and an opinion concerning how to implement it, there is a greater likelihood
that diffusion of that change may take place.
Conversely, when change is mandated, those being controlled will not
rally around the cause. Invention
and improvements of modern technology may have an impact on the rate at which
change occurs. Technology now
provides the potential to transmit new information to an almost limitless number
of individuals practically immediately. However,
because of this capability, we must be more careful about what we consider
appropriate innovations that are "ready for diffusion".
Strategies
of Planned Change
There are several
different ways to approach planned change.
Robert Chinn cited three "strategic orientations" useful in
planning and managing change as (1) empirical-rational strategies, (2)
power-coercive strategies, and (3) normative-reeducative strategies (Owens,
1998).
Empirical-rational
strategies focus on linking the findings of research to practices of education
by improving communication between researchers and practitioners.
This approach is based on the assumptions that: (1) new knowledge will be
perceived by potential adopters as desirable and that (2) adopters will do what
is desirable because it is in their own self interest.
Therefore this theory hinges on the production of new research, the
belief that this research will improve the organization, and that practitioners
will be motivated to put forth the effort necessary to implement the new ideas.
Power-coercive
strategies of change differ from an empirical-rational approach in the
willingness to use sanctions to obtain compliance. For example, under this strategy, rewards might be given to
those who adapt ideas and practices while punishments may exist for those who do
not. This strategy does not support
the philosophy that workers should have voice in developing, implementing, and
managing planned change.
A normative-reeducative
strategy is based on an understanding of organizations and people in them that
is different from the direction taken by other classical or bureaucratic
philosophies. Those in the
organization can deliberately shift the culture of the organization toward
desired change. This can be done by
encouraging those working in the organization to address and modify, if
necessary, their own attitudes and beliefs about the change to be implemented.
Concern should be
taken when attempting to bring about lasting change through the use of
power-coercive strategies. Both
empirical-rational and normative-reeducative approaches seem to be better
alternatives because of the increased involvement of those within the
organization either through acceptance or development of change procedures.
Organizational
Development
Given the
likelihood that organizations may have more success with lasting change when
they include those involved in the organization, it seems that efforts toward
organizational development must coincide with efforts to include everyone in the
change process. According to Block
(1993) allowing those in the organization to have a voice in every aspect of the
organization promotes a sense of ownership in the institution that can
facilitate positive change. Organizational
Development is defined as a coherent, systematically-planned, sustained effort
at self-study and improvement, focusing on change in formal and informal
procedures, processes, norms of structures, using behavioral science concepts
(Owens, 1998). Furthermore, several
concepts that characterize the process are the goal of organizational
development, system renewal, a system approach, focus on people, an educational
strategy, learning through experience, dealing with problems, a planned
strategy, a change agent, and involvement of top-level administration (Owens,
1998).
The goal of
organizational development is to improve the functioning of the organization
itself. System renewal means that
an organization can develop self-renewing characteristics.
A system approach emphasizes the wholeness of the organizational system
and the interrelatedness of its subsystems.
Focus on people indicates that the main concern is the human social
system of the organization. The
educational strategy seeks to stimulate self-renewal by changing the behavior of
the individuals within the organization. Learning
through experience advocates the concept of learning by actually doing.
Dealing with real problems deals with a similar issue in supporting that
the organization deal with existing problems.
A planned strategy implies that the effort is planned systematically.
It is necessary to have a change agent who has a vital and specific role
to play. Finally, that one cannot
change part of the system without affecting other parts of the system indicates
the need for involvement of top-level administrators. When we have organizational development that includes the
involvement of the organizations members we can have change efforts that truly
make a difference.
Deming's
Ideas
Deming devoted
much of his time to ideas concerning cooperation, participative management, and
empowerment in the workplace (Levin, 1998).
He advocated transforming change rather than adaptive changes saying that
schools have made adaptive changes over the years while remaining remarkably
stable. According to
Good and Brophy (1990) some aspects of schools allow for stability which makes
it possible to develop routines. Deming
believed that transforming change was a necessity that would change the
organization into something very different than it was previously.
Deming promoted
several concepts that characterize organizational transformation as follows
(Owens, 1998). The concept of total
quality attempts to make every part as right as possible, to do it the first
time, and to strive for perfection. Management
responsibility speaks to the primary responsibility for the shortcomings of the
organizational performance as resulting from management behavior rather than
workers' carelessness. Testing is
not the answer indicating the need to eliminate inspection on a mass basis by
building equality into the product in the first place.
Intrinsic motivation is important in enlisting willing workers and
providing them with the proper tools rather than more testing.
Emphasis on problem solving leads managers to enlist the expertise of the
worker. The elimination of performance ratings is necessary because
quality is improved through cooperation rather than competition.
Quality of organizational performance lies in placing the needs of the
customer first emphasizing sensitivity to the needs of the customer.
Kaizen is a Japanese word that speaks to the concept of continuous
improvement, not a "one-time fix".
These concepts
support the idea that organizational change should be undertaken with the
involvement of the people working within the organization.
When voice is given to those involved in the process, they will have a
greater tendency to feel ownership in the organization and work in a more
intrinsically motivated way. Additionally,
according to Astuto, Clark, Read, McGree, and Fernandez (1994), when
collaboration is used in place of competition those involved may feel they have
a partnership with co-workers and administrators.
Trends
which affect the process of change
Several trends
have been cited that may affect the process of change as we know it.
These trends will be areas of concern over the next few years as society
learns how instrumental they will be to our organizational infrastructures.
They include the communications revolution, shifts in the intellectual
division of labor, shifts in the funding streams of education, and demographic
shifts and accessibility (Ward, 2000).
The
communications revolution includes the application of the Internet to
educational processes. The uses of
the Internet have expanded dramatically over the past several years as evident
by the rising use of the Internet to offer instructional enhancement.
We will have to determine which aspects of this digital revolution will
ultimately benefit our students and our institutions.
The shifts in the
intellectual division of labor have come about because of the capacity to
communicate digitally over vast distances.
For example, instead of collaborating with colleagues across the campus,
individuals often will collaborate with colleagues across the world.
This leaves one wondering what the social impact will be when people
communicate digitally instead of face-to-face.
There has been a
major shift in the funding streams of higher education.
Educational organizations are receiving less revenue from sources such as
tax dollars and tuition. These colleges will be looking for other ways to gain revenue
in the near future, which will, quite possibly, extend into the world of
business and commerce.
Finally, there
have been shifts in accessibility. This
means that the university will increasingly serve a diverse population and must
have a diversity of faculty, staff, and student populations in order to be truly
representative of our society. This
will also enhance the possibility that organizations will consist of individuals
who take ownership in their work.
In order to deal
adequately with these trends and those that will emerge in the next few years,
we should attempt to explore their possibilities rather than exploiting their
potentials toward our own short-term gain.
For example, some organizations are attempting to put as many courses as
possible online in an effort to attain more students. While online courses are probably very useful, this concept
should be explored fully before supporting a proposal to shift all our
educational activities to the Internet. In
supporting this, Shoemaker (1998) indicated that it is necessary to continue to
grow but that problems that need to be considered include faculty power
struggles, tenure, diversity issues and budget and space issues.
Conclusion
The way change
occurs is constantly changing. Furthermore,
the change processes people perceive as effective are changing.
Upon entering the 21st century, many believe that in order for
change processes to have a lasting, positive effect, all parties must be
participative in terms of involvement. This
philosophy is supported throughout this paper.
Transformational change is probably more representative of what today's
society is looking for rather than developmental and transitional change.
This is because when those involved in the organization influence the
decisions to change and how that change should come about, there is a greater
possibility that change will be supported on a continuous basis.
There is also a greater likelihood that changes which take place may be
successfully spread throughout the system and to other systems.
In further support of this theme, both empirical-rational and normative-reeducative
strategies seem to be better alternatives because of the higher level of
involvement of those in the organization. When
we have organizational development that includes the participation of its
members, we accentuate the possibility of change within that organization.
When voice is given to those involved in the process they will have a
greater tendency to feel ownership in the organization.
Finally, in order to deal adequately with recent and coming trends
affecting higher education we should attempt to explore their possibilities
rather than exploit their potentials. Technology
can greatly enhance what we do in higher education provided that we do not
commit to philosophies that diminish the integrity of the educational process
while attempting to take advantage of our new world of changing technology.
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