Open System Model and Organizational Change

Open System Model/Organizational Change

This paper presents an overview on how a change in a school's organization management can be effectively handled using an open system foundation. The writer explores how the system works and how it will be implemented within this school and the issue at hand. There were six sources used to complete this paper.

American public schools have been under intense scrutiny for the past few decades as parents demand change for their children's education (Silvester, 1999). As the school systems scramble to affect change while at the same time delivering a quality education to the students, many of them have found that organizational changes are effective ways to move in a positive direction. Organizational change can provide a positive step toward expansion and success within a business (Klein, 1994). Organizational changes within a school however, can be tricky, given the many years old method of doing things for most of the public education system. It is time to introduce an organizational change in this school system to address the teacher burn out rate.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

For most of recent history the system was that teachers were all on equal footing and if they had to deal a problem or had a question they would go to the assistant principal or the principal. While this worked in the arena of administrative issues it was sometimes a recognized problem in the area of teaching and the questions that could arise there. For those questions it seemed that administrators had sometimes been out of the classroom for so long that their ideas may not be appropriate or accurate in dealing with the current classroom. This has led this school to move toward an organizational change within this particular school. The administrators of the school come with significant qualifications including PhD level abilities however for the past several years new teachers have noted a feeling of being unable to approach the administration for practical advice when it came to teaching their students. The school board and the school's administrators have decided to change the organizational structure with regard to the chain of command and provide a liaison for the new teachers to use in place of the principal and assistant principal. The change will be utilized by using the open systems model of change in the effort to affect the change quickly and with the least amount of resistance.

THE PLAN

The actual change that will be implemented will be the introduction of a mid level team of teachers that will be layered between the new teaching staff and the administration staff.

These teachers will be chosen based on their experience and years in education as well as their years within this particular school. The team will be referred to as the "Consult Team" and will be comprised of two teachers from each grade level.

While teachers will not be forced to accept the request to be a member of the Consult Team they will be urged to take part for several reasons. They will be offered a higher pay grade to be a part of that team, which will require an annual commitment. They will be able to help mold younger teachers along the way and they will be provided training for the purpose of being on the team which will help them build a stronger resume.

OPEN SYSTEMS MODEL

It is important to understand how an open systems model works in general before one can apply it to a specific situation. An open system model is a model in which change can be effected through the use of several important steps. One of the most significant steps within the open system model is using all team members to make the decision for change and to decide exactly how to create and implement that change (Luneberg, 2003). While the administrators of the school will make the final decision about who to choose for the actual Consult Team the teachers and other school staff will be asked to submit names, (their own or someone else's) that they believe would be ann asset to the team once it is developed.

An open system often provides one or more feedback loops to use as a measure of control. This can be utilized by using external and internal feedback systems to monitor and control the success of the new organizational system.

Public schools are protected because of the mandates that the participants, the parents take part in their operation. This makes it even more conducive to the use of the open system model. The open system model promotes the involvement of all parties involved. It also promotes the foundation from which the participants believe and understand that they are an active part of the process and decision making.

The open system model imports energy from outside sources. For the purpose of effecting the change in this school's organizational structure outside energy will be derived from the members of the Consult Team as well as the teachers that utilize that team. Wheras before, the administrators had the only decision making ability, this open system model will provide the input and energy from outside sources before decisions are made or implemented.

The next step to the open system model is called throughput in which that outside energy is put to use. In the case of the organizational change within this school and the implementation of a Consult Team the throughput includes the implementation of the team as well as the training the team provides for the new teachers and the training the team members received to develop their skills as team members (Luneberg, 2003).

The output from this model is going to be measurable because it will be the student success and problems. The students' knowledge will be measured through the use of standardized testing and the scores will reflect the success of the Consult Team's impact on the new teachers by showing measurable success and progress through their teaching. In addition the team efforts and organizational change within the school will be measurable through the project improvement and school scholastic competitions in which many of the methods being taught to the new teachers by the Consult Team members will be evidenced.

An important element in an open system model is the cycle of events (Luneberg, 2003). In a school system the cycle of events is seen nationwide as alumni groups come together for the betterment of future student bodies. In the case of this organizational change the cycle of events will be noted when the new teachers of the Consult Team concept today, move forward in a few years to become Consult Team members themselves.

The negative entropy of the public school system and this particular school's use of an open system will be minimized as a risk because public schools are very well insulated and protected from going out of business. While open systems are generally more protected than other systems because of the fact that they put take in more energy than they put out, the fact that this particular system is being used to affect change within the organizational structure of a public school provides almost fool proof protection against closing down (Luneberg, 2003).

Information feedback is another important component of the system (Luneberg, 2003). This school's open system that is being used to address the need for a consult team will provide feedback by way of parent support or failure to support, student successes or failures and the rate of teacher retention in this school.

An open system within this context is going to provide several beneficial elements for the teachers, administrators and students.

Many times in a school environment the administrators begin to focus on areas of the business that are not about the teaching. They have to handle many tasks and those tasks can be overwhelming. In addition, once an administrator is out of the classroom for a length of time they often forget about the day-to-day needs of new teachers when it comes to motivating them to succeed.

This open system for the purpose of organizational change to provide a "Senior Teacher Consult Team" will alleviate that issue. The continued support of more experienced teachers will provide support and hope for those teachers who are entering the field. The rate of teachers leaving the field after a few years of teaching has reached alarming rates. This open system proposal will address that issue by providing the team to assist the new teachers in their first few years of their career, and hopefully slow the burn out rate and the desire to leave the profession due to a lack of support.