Elementary School and School

¶ … change management strategy can ensure organizational success. Change is inevitable, as internal and external forces will impact organizations continually, requiring ongoing adjustments and assessments. As Nguyen Huy & Mintzberg (2003) point out, "resistance to change is bad," because resistance is a futile exercise in clinging to what will no longer work (p. 79). The goal is not to generate forces of change unnecessarily but to recognize when change is needed, what kinds of change, and how to steer the organization in the right direction to successfully navigate the new playing field. As Morgan (2006) points out, some organizations even thrive on change, particularly when change becomes part of the ways employees use their critical and creative thinking to continually collaborate on new ideas and directions for the organization. Unfortunately, the case study of the elementary school is one that highlights the need for change-resistant organizations to inject new life and passion into their operations. Partly because they are bureaucratic in nature, public schools tend to resist change due to the entrenchment of organizational cultures and structures. To properly manage change in the case of the elementary school, a number of key strategies can be used to rejuvenate and energize deep and meaningful differences in processes and procedures.

When strategizing organizational change, it may be helpful to realize and recognize that the same stressors that impact attitudes and behaviors in individuals also impact organizations. Therefore, successful change management requires stress reduction and the creation of positive attitudes toward change. Keeping morale high during the period of change is critical (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008). Moreover, it can be incredibly helpful to initiate the change strategy by diagnosing resistance, in order to better understand what employees are fearful of, mistrustful of, suspicious of, or clinging to rather than embracing the changes. As Kotter & Schlesinger (2008) note, many employees and departments resist change then they are being systematically disempowered by the change. Therefore, a key component to change management strategies in this case would be to empower all employees. Empowerment of employees can be achieved by holding regular meetings and informing the members of the organization about the changes. Soliciting feedback from members of the organizations also promotes empowerment and can remove the barriers that prevent successful change.

Another important part of the change management strategy for the school is determining precisely what types of change are taking place. Few organizations can afford to change everything at the same time. Therefore, leaders should prioritize the changes and start with the structural changes or cultural changes that can underlie other, more superficial, alterations in procedure. Often, though, change is imposed on the school from the outside, as with frequent shifts in educational policy. These types of changes can be disruptive, but a change management strategy can help show the stakeholders what types of changes are really occurring instead of getting bogged down by the details. Systematic training and professional development is one specific tool that can be used to drive successful change when issues impinge on the organization from external forces like politics (Nguyen Huy & Mintzberg, 2003). Few changes to public schools will be organic in nature, as they might be in the private sector. Still, individual stakeholders have the potential to be organizational leaders and change managers in their own right by embodying the ideals of the organization and promoting positive and collaborative frameworks. Often, organizational change occurs at the structural level but does not immediately affect the day-to-day operations of teachers. In those cases, the members of the organization that are not impacted by change do not need to waste their efforts and energy on focusing on the change.