Presentation on Change and Sustainability

1. Curtis Griffin
Assistant Superintendent
Hatboro-Horsham School District

2. Sustainability – Honest Assessment

System Change Should be the Focus

Change the Culture by Changing Behavior

May the “Forces” be with you!

Change Happens to People

Leaders Facilitate Conditions


3. “Theories that travel well are those that
practically and insightfully guide the
understanding of complex situations and
point to actions likely to be effective under
the circumstances” (Michael Fullan,2008)

4. In today's work environment there are not

many fundamental tenets that are both
broadly accepted and impervious to the test
of time. However, one such tenet is that
change is pervasive - it is a constant and
common element that impacts human kind
individually and organizationally, day in and
day out. (Elrod and Tippett 2002)

5. Change is a process not an event

Change process can be viewed as sequences

of individual and collective
events, actions, and activities unfolding over
time and context that describe or account for
how entities develop or change.
(Pettigrew, Woodman, & Cameron, 2001)

6. In most studies of reengineering projects and

other major change efforts, 70% of the
initiatives are judged not to have met.
(Schneider and Goldwasser, 1998)
Change or Die - Allen Deutschman


7. “Beyond the implementation phase of change, in which new

ideas and practices are tried for the first time, is allusive
institutional phase, in which these practices are integrated
into teachers repertoires and affect many teachers, not just a
few”. (S.Anderson and S. Stiegelbauer, 1994)
The term sustainability was first coined in the environmental

field by Lester Brown, founder of the Worldwatch Institute, in
the early 1980s. He defined “a sustainable society as one that
is able to satisfy its needs without diminishing the
opportunities of future generations to meet theirs”
“Sustainability does not simply mean whether something will

last. It addresses how particular initiatives can be developed
without compromising the development of others in the
surrounding environment now and in the future”.
(Hargreaves and Fink , 2006)

8. Individual
or Work Unit
Group
System

10. When some aspect of the system is changed,

other aspects eventually will be affected (Burke,
1980).
There is scant evidence that attempting to

change individuals will in turn change the
organization (Campbell & Dunnette, 1968). The
target for change, then is the system not the
individual (Burke & Schmidt, 1971)
Organizational change relates to the open-

system characteristics of importation of energy
and negative entropy --- considerable attention
to the use of Human Energy (norms, rewards,
authority structure, cross purpose action, etc.)
(Burke, 2008)

11. The organization’s culture must be changed if

the success of the overall change will be realized!
The people side, the emotional component of

organization change “the change monster” – the
human forces that either facilitate or prevent
transformation (Duck, 2001)
◦ You don’t change the culture by trying to change the
culture. The culture is the way of doing things around
here and concerns deeply held beliefs , attitudes and
values.
Start by changing the behavior that will lead to

the desired in attitudes and values.

12. Confusing outcomes with behaviors is no

small issue. It turns out that without
behavioral focus, people don't choose to
enact the right behaviors.
◦ search for behaviors
◦ search for vital behaviors
◦ search for recovery behaviors

13. Kurt Lewin (1949): quot;Quasi-Stationary Social

Equilibria“
Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1969) On Death

and Dying

14. This theory describes

the how balanced or
imbalanced quot;force
fieldsquot; determine
whether social
systems maintain
equilibrium or
change to new
states.
Force Field Template


16.  Unfreezing
 Moving
 Freezing

19. Dissatisfaction with the Status Quo
◦
Existence Knowledge and Skills
◦
Availability of Resources
◦
Availability of Time
◦
Rewards and Incentives
◦
Participation
◦
Commitment
◦
Leadership
◦

20. Something is not right. Things could be

better. Others are moving ahead; we are
standing still. There must be something we
can do to improve our situation. Whether the
dissatisfaction is an innate feeling or an
induced state (as brought about by marketing
campaigns, for example) it is an emotion that
calls for change.

21. The knowledge and skills are those required

by the ultimate user of the innovation This is
one of the most important factors leading to
implementation.

22. This condition refers to the things that are

required to make implementation work. It
includes hardware, software, publications,
audiovisual media and other teaching
materials. Reference to funding in general is
also an indicator of the money required to
obtain these resources.

23. Implementators need time to acquire

knowledge and skills, plan for use, adapt,
integrate and reflect upon what they are
doing. This means good time, “company”
time, paid time arranged for by the
organization where the innovation will be
implemented. It sometimes means the
willingness of individuals to contribute some
of their own personal time to the process.

24. The studies discovered a minor conflict between

the words “reward” and “incentive.” An incentive
is something that serves as an expectation of a
reward or fear of punishment. It serves as a
stimulus to move an individual to action. A
reward is something given for performance-an
action that demonstrates satisfaction with a job
well done. The complication is extended by the
difference between an extrinsic reward and an
intrinsic reward. Extrinsic rewards can be
observed; intrinsic rewards are internal to the
individual. It is difficult to measure the
“satisfaction” that may be felt by users of the
innovation.

25. Participation means shared decision making;

communication among all parties involved in
the process and, when direct participation is
not possible, the implementers should feel
that their ideas are represented through a
surrogate.

26. This condition demonstrates firm and visible

evidence that there is endorsement and
continuing support for implementation of the
innovation. This factor may be expressed by
the primary leader (a principal of a school, for
example) or a group, such as a board of
directors. This condition is usually measured
by the perceptions of the implementators
rather than public acknowledgement of
policy.

27. Leadership, in this case, is two-pronged:

◦ (1) leadership of the executive officer of the
organization, and sometimes of a board, and
◦ (2) project leadership which is more closely related
to the day-to-day activities of the innovation being
implemented.
◦ Once the executive leadership is evident, then the
project leadership becomes even more important
because the person who can help with the
implementation is closer to the end user.

29. Sustainability: What are the initiatives that are

competing for position within your environment?
Change the System: How or how not are your

technology related change efforts focused are
focused on system change?
Change Behaviors: Identify specific vital behaviors for

the utilization of technology as a tool for learning.
Force Field Analysis: Identify in your environment

driving and restraining forces impacting the
utilization of technology as a tool for learning.
Facilitating Conditions: Using the Ely’s environmental

conditions identify specific actions - “behaviors” that
can facilitate the change process.