Organizational Change

Learning Team B
Brent Holloway, Rebecca Hurst, Ron Jarvis, Joseph
Petschl, & Lakisha Washington
AET/560
5/25/15

Rushmore Universitys Background

Private Institution
50 Undergraduate Programs
Graduate Programs in Business, Education, and

Information Systems
Extensive Technology Department
Presiding President has extensive IT background
Leadership offers open door policy and

encourages upward communication

Rushmore s Implementation Goals

Global Expansion in Africa & India

Increase Distance Education Offerings

Organization Scenario
Rushmore originated with a traditional school format

but has instituted distance learning in the U.S. market.

Rushmore is expanding the distance learning to Africa

and India International expansion.

Instructors are resisting the expansion for several

reasons.

Rushmore is implementing the change and wants to

motivate employees to accept the change.

Kurt Lewins Theory of Organizational Change

Focuses on changing organization norms and social habits to

bring about effective change

Quantified by formula (B)=f(P, E)

Where (B)represents behavior, (P) represents the person,

and (E) represents the environmental context
First stage: use organizational dissatisfaction to unfreeze

stakeholders out of current status quo

Second moving stage: employees alter their behaviors

and move towards permanent change

Third refreezing stage: employees institutionalize the new

patterns of behavior into the organization to create a new

status quo (Spector, 2013)

Rationale for Selecting the Kurt Lewis

Theory (KLT) on Organizational Change
(Spector, 2013)
Provides effective change model to meet Rushmores

current needs
Promotes Rushmore employees with a dissatisfaction

catalyst to shift them towards distance learning

Negates change resistance as stakeholders alter their

behaviors to meet employee and organization needs

Gives a basic three stage structure which is easy to

implement, monitor, and assess

Offers a proven change model used by numerous

organizations

Beckhard & Harris

Change Management Process
Organizational Analysis Start of the process that helps

understand the forces for change and the reasons why.

Why change? Second stage of the process in which the need

for change is determined and the nature of the vision of

change is downwardly communicated.
Gap analysis Third part of the process that offers distance

analysis of present state to future desired state.

Action Planning & Transition Management Implementation

Stage. Plans are developed and managers decide a metric

system to gauge progress.

(Cawsey, T., Deszca, G. & Ingols, C., 2012).

Rationale for Selecting the Beckhard & Harris

Change Management Process
Addresses dissatisfaction with the status quo
Change is desired and needed
Change is realistic and executable
Addresses the resistance to the change
Allows room to assess and evaluate change

process

Training Program
1. Reflective Assessment:
-Professional teams assess what is working and what isnt.
-Trends and assessment of organizational structures are
targeted
to create buy in (Cawsey, T., Deszca, G. & Ingols,
C., 2012).
2. Unfreeze:
-Work off the premise that expansion to Africa
and India online markets is the only way to stay in
business.
-Ask teams to develop strategies that target the issues in
the
assessment (Spector, 2013).

Training Program
3. Why and How:
-Teams determine the value in making changes as well as
which
changes will get them from where they are to where they
want to
go (Cawsey, T., Deszca, G. & Ingols, C., 2012)
-Teams take steps to make changes happen, moving forward
(Spector, 2013)
4. Transition:
-Throughout the transition, leaders manage successes and
failures.
-Implementation and modifications of steps are necessary
(Cawsey, T., Deszca, G. & Ingols, C., 2012)
5. Refreezing:
-Once steps are in place and efficient, protocols are set
(Spector, 2013)

Measures and Assessments

Increase in school revenues via distance learning programs
Increase in number of graduate degrees earned
Student satisfaction surveys
Accreditation of new distance learning courses
Instructor satisfaction surveys
Increase in total number of distance learning students
Increase in distance learning students from Africa
Increase in distance learning students from India
Increase in use of existing technology assets

Strategies for Reducing

Resistance
Effective
Communication

Active Listening

Empower
employees to
contribute

Allow Feedback

Quality
Improvement

Incentives

Building Commitment
Share distance learning information and market data with staff
Show potential /projected school income from increased offerings in

distance learning courses

Give staff ownership of the change process through active involvement
Use active listening skills and open communication
Tap into staff loyalty to Rushmore University
Show personal benefits of change process to staff
Create a formal implementation plan with staff supports
Provide adequate training for staff to navigate the change

Shared Diagnosis

Phase One
Meet with faculty to
review data
Determine trends in
the data
Explore forecast
trends (global,
national, etc.)

Phase Two
Develop action plans
from the data
Include outside
stakeholders
Clarify additional
issues and variables

Additional Data
Collection
Surveys, automated
calls, social media,
mailings
(Spector, 2013)

Continuous Improvement
How?
Data-driven
Continue open communication
Look for diverse innovations and perspectives
Continuous data collection?
Seek diverse views
Keep accurate data
Provide multiple avenues for data collection
Use informal and formal feedback
Why?
Continues monitoring
Prompts adjustments
Capitalizes on opportunities
(Spector, 2013)

Measurement of Change Process Via

Employee Job Performance
Employees are assessed on their competence

in using distance learning technology formats

Customer survey data is included as part of

employee evaluations
Professionalism and adherence to new

organizational norms are part of employee

evaluations
Graduation rates tied to employee

performance ratings

Continuous Monitoring of the Change Process

Obtain feedback from university stakeholders via

questionnaires, surveys, meeting notes, interviews, and

observations
Install integrated monitoring systems as part of the regular

scheduled school improvement

Maintain open door policy between leadership and employees
Review timeline and benchmark data provided by project

supervisors
Create confidential input sections on university website
Analyze stakeholder inputs to look for change process issues

Conclusion
Successful organizations engage in continuous improvement initiatives
Effective change models assist organizations to move toward their goals
Successful change leaders possess effective communication skills and

intimate knowledge of their organizations

Stakeholder resistance is a major barrier to change
Organization stakeholders require dissatisfaction to move them from

their current behaviors & status quo

Effective change requires clear roles and responsibilities for

organizational stakeholders
Monitoring and assessment are key elements of an effective change

process

References
Cawsey, T., Deszca, G. & Ingols, C. (2012). Organizational change. Retrieved from
The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
Image of change metaphor.(2015).Retrieved from
http://www.slidegeeks.com/powerpoint-templates/8811change_metaphor_powerpoint_templates_and_powerpoint_backgrounds_0511/?
SESSID=7kb5or25kgc37iee46jrvv87n4
Hanover Research. (2011, February). www.hanoverresearch.com.
Retrieved from http://www.hanoverresearch.com
Spector, B. (2013). Implementing organizational change: Theory
Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

and practice.