"Although there is a tendency for many academics to feel that nothing constructive can happen until a university's culture is changed, my experience, supplemented by the wisdom found in the rich literature on change, demonstrates that change must begin with a modification of behavior and attitudes."Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#445 A COLLABORATIVE MODEL FOR LEADING ACADEMIC CHANGEFolks: The posting below, while longer than usual is interesting in that it give a quite detailed analysis of what it takes to bring about change at the department level. It is from the section, The Eight-Step Change Process, in Chapter Two: A Collaborative Model for Leading Academic Change by Ann F. Lucas in Leading Academic Change: Essential Roles for Department Chairs, Ann F. Lucas and Associates. Published by JOSSEY-BASS, A Wiley Company, San Francisco. http://www.josseybass.com Copyright © 2000 by Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers. Reprinted with permission. Regards, Rick Reis UP NEXT: Creating Classroom Lessons on Ethical Inquiry Tomorrow's Academia -------------------------- 2,113 words ------------------------ A COLLABORATIVE MODEL FOR LEADING ACADEMIC CHANGE The Eight-Step Change Process Change is more likely to be successful when the following stages are used as guidelines (Kotter, 1996, p.21): 1. Establishing a sense of urgency The fist example is an eight-year project in the Department of Management and Marketing at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), a large private university in which student enrollment had been declining, as was true at schools across the country, because fewer students were choosing business as a major. A number of faculty had become stagnant, discussions about teaching seldom occurred, several faculty members had received poor student evaluations, the curriculum had not been updated in years, and a large percentage of faculty were not engaged in scholarly activity. A few members of the department felt strongly that some changes had to take place. Although there is a tendency for many academics to feel that nothing constructive can happen until a university's culture is changed, my experience, supplemented by the wisdom found in the rich literature on change, demonstrates that change must begin with a modification of behavior and attitudes. The process used to make this happen at FDU is discussed in the following paragraphs using the stages in Kotter's change process to illustrate what was done by the management faculty. 1. Establishing a sense of urgency. This is a crucial step that is often neglected by those who want to bring abbot change. Given that individuals tend to want to preserve the status quo-even if it is a painful situation-unless there are some cogent reasons for change, they will resist. Typically, faculty who oppose change will think, What do I stand to lose if change takes place? I know what I have now; what will I have to give up? Therefore, those who want to lead change must get others on board by identifying both potential crises and the opportunities that will not come about unless change occurs. In some institutions, faculty have become very skeptical about purported crises. Therefore, although urgency can be demonstrated, greater emphasis should be places on the opportunities that will be generated for faculty as a result of the change. At FDU, a few faculty members, under the leadership of one individual, decided on their own that they would like to develop the Center for Human Resource Management Studies (CHRMS). They felt that this new program could be the answer to many of the department's problems. It could provide students with marketable skills; link faculty more closely with outside organizations by partnering with business; increase research projects; enhance consulting possibilities, thereby increasing both the departmental budget and faculty income; and revitalize faculty. These were the messages that were repeated to create a sense of urgency and to emphasize opportunities for professional development in an otherwise complacent faculty. 2. Creating the guiding coalition. Enough people must be involved at this stage to get the change project rolling. They must demonstrate commitment and be willing to devote time and energy to the project. Synergy, cohesion, and attractiveness of group membership will generate sustained excitement about the project. At FDU, initially only about six of thirty-two faculty members were involved in the CHRMS project under the leadership of Daniel Twomey, and ex-chair of the management and marketing department. These individuals, who felt dissatisfied with the stagnation in the department, began meeting on a regular basis. They received no additional compensation or release time for their work in program development. 3. Developing a vision and strategy. There was excitement in FDU's management and marketing department as individuals involved in the project envisioned what developing such a program could do for the department, the students, the faculty, and the college. The vision was to transform management education through academic-business partnerships, application-oriented learning methods, and state-of-the-art learning technologies. Partnering with industry would create an updated curriculum that would attract and educate more and better graduate students and provide stimulating new courses to teach, more research projects, and more consulting opportunities for faculty. The mission statement for the program became, "The Center for Human Resource Management Studies is a partnership between education, industry, and the community, creating a learning environment committed to the development of knowledge and leadership in the management of human resources." Whereas a vision can excite and stimulate faculty intellectually and emotionally, it leads nowhere unless participants take the next step of developing strategic goals and action steps. The strategic objectives for the CHRMS were as follows (CHRMS Staff, 1994): 1. To be the standard of excellence and innovation for partnering with business 2. To be a leader in integrating scholarship with practice 3. To be a leader in an integrated learning community 4. To be global in perspective, organization, and activity 5. To serve societal needs and foster economic development The action steps for meeting these goals are discussed shortly, in the section on empowerment, which is stage 5 of Kotter's change model. 4. Communicating the change vision. It must be possible to communicate the vision as an "elevator speech," that is, in the time it would take an elevator to travel between floors. The vision must be simple but exciting. The FDU faculty found the mission of transforming management education through partnering with industry to be a stimulating prospect that would make their lives more interesting professionally. A newsletter was developed to discuss the new enterprise with colleagues and business partners. Ongoing conversations with others, both in the department and in the College of Business, and frequent progress reports at meetings at a later stage spread news of the vision. The dean, who was supportive, was kept informed. 5. Empowering broad-based action. Groups that act as change agents must be given the authority to act in ways that move the change effort forward. In FDU's management and marketing department, the change agents empowered themselves while keeping the dean apprised of developments so that the dean could be certain that the change agents were functioning within the scope of their responsibility and authority. T this stage, the committee decided on the following action steps to implement their strategic goals. They *Formed an advisory committee of faculty and the vice presidents of human resources from various external organizations *Conducted focus groups with vice presidents of human resources and with graduate students at the university *Conducted a curriculum survey of all other colleges of business that offer programs in human resources *Interviewed individually some human resource people from several organizations *Ran monthly breakfast meetings with the vice presidents of human resources from external organizations *Formed committees with vise presidents to develop an innovative, cutting-edge curriculum (the vice presidents felt this was their greatest contribution) *Created a subcommittee of the advisory committee to discuss research and consulting possibilities *Developed other subcommittees that focused on noncredit short courses to be attended by individuals from business, and on the use of advisory committee members as guest lecturers in classes or as adjunct faculty 6. Generating short-term wins. As Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1998, p. 94) points out, "everything looks like a failure in the middle." Persistence and some indication that their efforts had been successful were needed after the change agents had expended so much effort on planning and implementing steps. Some of the management group's tangible accomplishments were as follows: *The new human resource development curriculum was approved by the educational policy committee and by the dean. *Four one-day noncredit courses for individuals employed in human recourses grossed about $15,000 during the first year. The money went into the budget for the CHRMS. *A video on the human resources program that could be used for publicity purposes was produced, gratis, with significant professional expertise provided by a company represented by one of the advisory board members. The rewards for faculty included that they were able to teach innovative courses and engage in some research and consulting projects. Rewards for students included a new program that offered marketable skills, closer contact with faculty and high-level business partners, more internships, summer employment, and excellent job-placement opportunities at the completion of the program. As Terrence E. Deal and M.K. Key (1998) make so clear in their book Corporate Celebration, celebration infuses life with passion and purpose. Ceremonies that commemorate accomplishments can put spice back into lives, create excitement, revitalize, and rebuild commitment to counteract burnout by reminding individuals of how far they have come toward reaching goals that were once so energizing. 7. Consolidating gains and producing more change. Once a certain level of achievement has been attained, accomplishments must be integrated and new goals set. It was now possible for the new human resources program to be staffed all day, five days a week. Research and consulting projects with external organizations were initiated. The following steps were also taken: *An executive-in-residence joined the department as a full-time affiliate whose salary was covered by industry. *A utility company invited the program director to develop an employee evaluation program. *A prestigious organization invited the faculty to develop an employee satisfaction program. *A third organization requested a survey to determine regional salaries for a particular industry. *Another graduate assistant was added to assist in research conducted by the human resources center. *The program continued to offer short courses and became institutionalized as a funding source for the department. 8. Anchoring new approaches in the culture. When a new culture is developed, it must be embedded in the organization so that it becomes a permanent part of the structure. Others in the organization need to recognize that the change is effective and is being rewarded. Some indications of success at FDU were as follows: *Annual joint presentations by faculty, members of the advisory committee, and leaders in the field of management were made to professional organizations, such as the Academy of Management. *Monthly breakfast seminars were offered by leaders from industry. *Business ethics roundtables were hosted by academics and business partners. *Human resource law roundtables were held four times a year. *Diversity roundtables were presented four times a year. *Executive scholars program for students were held monthly by business partners. *Research papers and discussions were presented monthly by faculty. *Eight new faculty members were hired who brought important skills and in turn received ongoing faculty development in the area of human resource management. *Student enrollment in the CHRMS program tripled. *The number of internships for students more than doubled, and graduated of the program were hired by companies that had grown to know their work. *Faculty felt revitalized by their participation in the program. *Research and consulting with industry became an ongoing part of the culture. *Executives form the advisory committee now teach as adjunct faculty or lecture in classes in which they have special expertise. *Planned social activities have solidified the relationships among faculty, students, and members of the advisory committee. *Additional faculty have become involved in research and consulting with organizations represented by members of the advisory committee. An interesting positive side effect occurred in the rest of the management department as the CHRMS demonstrated visible signs of success. Over a ten-year period, eight faculty members retired, another seven voluntarily left the university, three were discontinued, and two died. The department faculty members seemed quite aware that standards were being increased, that more would be expected of them, and that their performance would look bad by comparison. Faculty not involved in the CHRMS began to note their own strengths and identify opportunities for new programs that could be built around them. Committees were formed to discuss curriculum revision and outcomes assessment. Colloquia on teaching effectiveness and increasing faculty scholarship were offered. Junior faculty began presenting some of their own research, and these new faculty members also helped revitalize the department. Without any deliberate attempt on their part, the faculty who made up the critical mass of change agents also triggered renewal that took the form of changed behavior and attitudes in the rest of the department. Although this change process was used in a management and marketing department, the dynamics of change are the same in any department. A leader is needed, one who ca manage resistance and conflict so that the department is strengthened and faculty are revitalized rather than demoralized by the process. A courageous department chair who is knowledgeable about the steps to take and what to expect at each stage is the ideal person to launch such a change., which can transform a department. If change is to be permanent, planning and long-term management are required, and the change must be rewarded by central administration. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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