Stages of Change Management –
Read the following online article: Know the Stages in Change Management? Use a Change Management Checklist to Guide Your Efforts in Managing Change (Heathfield, 2015)
https://www.thebalance.com/know-the-stages-in-change-management-1917802.
Discuss each of the 6 stages in change management as outlined by Heathfield (initiation, investigation, intention, introduction, implementation, integration). Identify potential limitations barriers which may occur in each stage, as well as identify strategies for successfully achieving each stage. In your discussion, use
examples from your workplace pertaining to current change that is taking place or change that you wish to implement.(See additional files). DEVELOP AN 8-10 PAGE PAPER and support the discussion through ADDITIONAL RESEARCH (5-7 references).
Week 1 Discussion
Review the Creative Change Model outlined on pp. 25 – 26 of Puccio, Mance & Murdock. Describe an instance in your work environment wherein creative change was implemented. Discuss the importance that each of the components: Person, Process, and Product played in initiating that creative change.
In an effort to respond to the needs of our students, we initiated the creative change process of implementing the Response-to-Intervention approach to provide assistance to struggling students. Response-to-Intervention (RTI) is a method of adding an academic intervention aimed at providing effective instructional support to students experiencing difficulties in reading, mathematics, and/or behavior. The RTI approach allows students to receive intervention services early on by screening students beginning in kindergarten.
We knew and understood that for this change to be successful, the people involved needed have buy-in for them to implement the process successfully. All teacher-based teams were viewed as equals and participation was encouraged and supported. The leadership role for meetings and tasks were assigned to the individual with the most significant expertise, with the greatest time (where expertise was not a factor), or on a rotating basis for repeated tasks of joint responsibility, so no one felt immediately overwhelmed. One individual regularly performed some tasks, some were shared, and some were rotated. It was critical that all members would regularly attend meetings; without this, individuals may not have felt responsible for decisions made by the group. Everyone’s ideas and input were equally shared and valued.
One of the most significant problems encountered by teacher-based teams was the breakdown of communication or unclear communication channels. Team members had to encourage each other to openly communicate their desires and concerns, with each member feeling comfortable enough to express opinions and thoughts on any issue, regardless of the extent of agreement with that opinion. Periodically, members needed to revisit this topic to make sure that communication was clear, open, and encouraged.
The most commonly identified benefit of an RTI approach was that it eliminated the wait to fail mindset because students were recognized and received the help they needed early on within the general education setting. Another identified benefit of the RTI approach was its potential to reduce the number of students referred for special education services while increasing the number of students who were successful within the regular education setting. Following the identified benefits of RTI required commitment to the process, fidelity in the implementation, and a collaborative team of individuals focused on the intended product which was student achievement.
Week 2 Discussion-Change management
Using the summary on p. 50 of Puccio, Mance, & Murdock, discuss a specific problem in your work setting that was addressed in attempt to resolve the problem. Identify the problem type (formulaic, maintenance, predicament, opportunity) and the type of leadership behavior (management, creative management, creative leadership) that was applied in an attempt to resolve the problem. Was the problem successfully resolved by the action taken by leadership? If not, what could have been improved? What recommendations can you make?
My district conducts quarterly instructional rounds as a quarterly checkpoint to observe each school’s progress. Instructional rounds is a collaborative process through which a team of teachers and school leaders can learn more about their practice to develop a collective understanding of teaching and learning. During rounds, the team briefly visits classrooms to observe and collect data around an essential question of practice data in order to refine teachers understanding of highly effective teaching.
After the first rounds were complete, my school did not do well at all. During collaborative planning sessions with grade levels, there was a discussion on the data received from rounds and their perceived interpretations of that data. After discussions, there was a consensus that the teachers didn’t understand what and how they were being scored during rounds. This predicament was addressed by the process leadership behavior.
The process used to improve the data before the next quarterly rounds were put in place. Each grade level was given the essential questions of practice they were previously observed on. They went to observe another grade level during planning using those questions. After the observation, the teachers returned to collaborative planning to discuss the results. Each question was read, and everyone had to give and explain their results. After hearing each other’s explanation, they had to come to a consensus on how to score that teacher. This exercise helped them to understand better the meaning of each question and what should be done during rounds to get credit for addressing that practice. This was successful as our scores increased on the next set of rounds. The teachers also asked if they could continue this process to get a better understanding of what would be expected for each set of essential practices when they were observed again.
Source
Puccio, G., Murdock, M., & Mance, M. (2011). Creative leadership: Skills that drive change (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Discussion 3 – Diversity
Locate a scholarly article which discusses issues pertaining to diversity, culture, and change in the workplace. Discuss how you and your organization might benefit from the information you gained.
Diversity refers to the prevention of discrimination in conjunction with the improvement of equality. It’s about valuing differences and inclusion; this is the act of spanning such areas as ethnicity, age, race, culture, sexual orientation, physical disability and religious beliefs. In a global marketplace, diversity is theorized as a corporation that employs a diverse workforce in that includes both genders, people of many generations and those from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds. In daily vocation operations, diversity is alleged to assist appreciate and understand the demographics of the marketplace it serves and in effect creates more significant accomplishment.
Employee satisfaction is significant to an organizations goal, so a company that supports a diversity of its workplace not only gratifies workers but also increase productivity and work efficiency. Those that do comprise these segments within a business are often referred to as inclusion; this communicates how the organization utilizes its various appropriate diversities. It’s important to identify that if a workplace is diverse, but the employers take little or no advantage of that level of experience, then it can not gain whatever benefit diversity might offer.
The long-term success of any business demands for a diverse body of talent that can bring fresh ideas, perspectives, and views to their work. The challenge that diversity poses, therefore, is enabling your managers to capitalize on the mixture of genders, cultural backgrounds, ages and lifestyles to respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively.
An advantage of a diverse workforce is the ability to explore the many talents which employees from different backgrounds, perspectives, skills, and disabilities bring to the workplace. Senior management must advocate for a diverse workforce to make diversity evident at all organizational levels. It’s vital to emphasize the importance of accepting different ideas. Leaders can be trained to move beyond their traditional values, judgments, and ideas to recognize and take full advantage of the productivity potential essential in a diverse population.
Reference:
Knippenberg, D. V., de Dreu, C. K. W., & Homan, A. C. (2004). Work group diversity and group performance: An integrative model and research agenda. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89, 1008-1022.
