RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ‘FUNCTIEMIX’
WITHIN THE SECONDARY SCHOOL
Master thesis, MscBA, specialization Change Management
University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business
September 19, 2010
MARIEKE DE BOER
Student number: 1840738
Herman Costerstraat 10
8917 BM Leeuwarden
+31 (0)6 1907195
m.de.boer28@student.rug.nl
First supervisor / university Second supervisor / university
Dr. Karin Prins Dr. Ben Emans
Supervisor / field of study Dr. Hennie Brandsma
Educatief Centrum Noord en Oost (ECNO)
ABSTRACT
To make the profession of teachers more attractive and to improve the quality of education, the career opportunities for teachers have been improved. The agreements that have been made on this, have been put into the ‘Convenant LeerKracht van Nederland’. This covenant contains the approach which should be used by educational organizations to improve the career opportunities. This approach is called „de functiemix‟. The main goal of the functiemix is to place teachers in different scales of income. The central question used as the base of this research is: „Which organizational characteristics influence the expected success of the change process, regarding the functiemix within secondary schools?‟. Literature research has been conducted in order to investigate these characteristics and to explain the relationship between those characteristics and the change process. The characteristics are: leadership, vision, communication, culture and efficacy. To investigate the current situation of the organization and to determine where changes should take place, interviews were conducted. The interviewees were all aware of the importance of the organizational characteristics and the influence of those characteristics on the expected success of the change process. However, several aspects in their process were missing, of which the most important one was the cultural aspect. Therefore one of the recommendations for the secondary schools is to investigate their current and desired culture, in order to implement the change successfully. Another recommendation is to make use of a clear change plan, for example: „the eight steps of Kotter for leading successful change‟. The study was conducted at Educatief Centrum Noord en Oost (ECNO). ECNO was asked by the secondary schools to assist in the change process. Among other things, they will assist the secondary schools with the formulation of the salary scales. Clear scales should result in more transparency on the career opportunities for the employees. Up till now, there was no specific research done regarding the implementation of the functiemix. Therefore this research and the outcome of this research can contribute to the change process.
Key words: planned change, structure change, success of change, leadership, vision, communication,
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION... 4
1.1 Functiemix change in staffing structure... 5
1.2 Functiemix as a planned change ... 7
1.3 Motivation and research question ... 8
1.4 Success factors during planned change... 9
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ... 11 2.1 Leadership ... 11 2.2 Organizational vision... 13 2.3 Communication... 14 2.4 Organizational culture ... 15 2.5 Efficacy ... 16 3. METHODOLOGY ... 18 3.1 Set-up of research... 18 3.2 Method ... 18 3.3 Data collection ... 18 3.4 Data analyses ... 20 4. RESULTS ... 22
4.1 Influence of vision on expected success ... 22
4.2 Influence of leadership on expected success ... 24
4.3 Influence of communication on expected success ... 26
4.4 Influence of culture on the expected success... 27
4.5 Influence of efficacy on the expected success ... 29
5. DISCUSSION ... 30
5.1 Conclusion... 30
5.1.1 Influence of vision on the expected success of the change ... 30
5.1.2 Influence of leadership on the expected success of the change process ... 31
5.1.3 Influence of communication on the expected success of the change ... 32
5.1.4 Influence of culture on the expected success of the change... 33
5.1.5 Influence of efficacy on the expected success of the change ... 34
5.2 Recommendations ... 35
5.3 Limitations and further research ... 37
Appendix I... 44
1. INTRODUCTION
This chapter contains an introduction of the research topic, after that the type of organizational change will be discussed. From that point the research question will be formulated. Once the research question is determined, there will be an analysis of organizational characteristics influencing the organizational change process, and finally these selected characteristics will be translated into five sub question s.
Rusaw (2007) noticed that public organizations experiencing a great deal of change. Also Soltani et al. (2007) identified the need for a particular organization-wide change and leading organizations through that change is widely recognised as one the most critical and challenging responsibilities of the management of private sector organizations. At the same time, the take-up of such initiatives is also notable in or for non-profit organizations.
Within the Dutch non-profit sector the secondary schools are also facing several changes. The first of July 2008 the ‘Convenant LeerKracht van Nederland’, is signed by: ‘de Minister van Onderwijs,
Cultuur en Wetenschap, de Staatssecretaris van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap, de Algemene Centrale van Overheidspersoneel, de Centrale van Middelbare en Hogere Functionarissen, de Christelijke Centrale van Overheids- en Onderwijspersoneel – CNV Onderwijs, Ambtenarencentrum – AVS, Werkgeversvereniging Primair Onderwijs / PO-raad, en de VO-raad.’ The covenant contains the
be found between the percentages which should be met in the „randstad‟ and the percentages which should be met in the rest of the Netherlands. The reason for this is due to the second goal of the functiemix, namely growing deficit of teachers. In the „randstad‟ region is the growing deficit of teachers a more acute problem than in the remainder regions. An overview of the history of the percentages, and the percentages which should be met are shown in table 1.
TABLE 1
Functiemix of teachers within secondary schools, goals of the Netherlands and by region
Total Netherlands 2006 2008 2011 2014 LB 64,4% 63,4% 52% 33% LC 16,9% 18,7% 29% 38% LD 18,7% 17,9% 19% 29% Randstad LB 64,9% 62,8% 34,9% 14,9% LC 16,6% 19,6% 45,6% 55,6% LD 18,5% 17,6% 19,5% 29,5% Outside Randstad LB 64,1% 63,7% 61,1% 43,1% LC 17,2% 18,1% 19,2% 27,2% LD 18,7% 18,2% 19,7% 29,7%
Source: „ministerie van OCW‟ (2009)
The management of the secondary school is required to determine a multiannual plan in which they define how they will reach these goals/percentages. The objectives which are described can be separated in qualitative and quantitative. Functiemix can be used as a tool to raise a quality incentive, on the other hand secondary schools can also chose for the more pragmatic approach (quantitative incentive). When a school chooses for a quality approach, they are required to link that approach to their strategic goals. When a school chooses for a pragmatic approach, the focus will mostly lie on executing the defined „cao‟ appointments.
1.1 Functiemix change in staffing structure
connected with each other regarding the necessary taste transfer and coordination. Keuning and Eppink (1990) made the distinction between the organic structure and the staffing structure. The organic structure can be defined as the formation of bodies within an organization. Bodies are formed by the head departments, the subsections of the individual positions within an organization, who are all performing their own function within the larger organization. The staffing structure is about the staffing occupation of the functions within the departments. Pinto (2007) noticed that the word structure implies organization. People who work in an organization are grouped so that their efforts can be channelled for maximum efficiency. Furthermore, he noticed that the organizational structure consist of three key elements: organizational structure designates formal reporting relationships, (including the number of levels in the hierarchy and the span of control of managers and supervisors) organizations structure identifies the grouping together of individuals into departments and departments into the total organization, organizational structure includes the design of systems to ensure effective communication, coordination, and integration of efforts across departments. A clear designed organizational structure is an important tool for the management, focused on the control of the totality of the organizational processes, and the correct way of working and progress which take place within the organization to promote (Keuning & Eppink, 1990).
During the implementation of the functiemix within secondary schools, a change within the staffing structure of the secondary schools should take place. When changing the structure of an organization, for example the staffing structure, several aspects are important. One of the important aspects is that the structure has to fit with the organizational environment. This was also mentioned by (Burnes, 2009), who stated that the structure and operation of an organization is dependent (contingent) on the situational variables it faces, the main ones being environment, technology, and size. Also Keuning & Eppink (1990) mentioned the relationship between organizational structure and the situational variables. Firstly they mentioned that the structure of the organization has to fit with the requirements from the external environment, secondly the mentioned that the structure of the organization has to fit with the personal predispositions of members of the organization.
1.2 Functiemix as a planned change
The Oxford dictionary describes change as behaving in a different and better way from before or as a process of becoming or making something different. Chaffey & Wood (2005) defined change management as the process of managing structural, technical, staff and cultural change within an organization. Organizational change by Jones (2007) is defined as the process by which organizations move from their present state to some desire future state to increase their effectiveness.
Literature written about change management distinguish two important different change approaches. The emergent change approach which is based on the assumption that change is a continuous, open-ended and unpredictable process of aligning and realigning an organization to its changing environment (Burnes, 2009). The second approach is called the planned change, the model of planned change is rooted in Kurt Lewin‟s work in which he offered a three step model for implementing change successfully: unfreezing, moving refreezing (Andreeva, 2008). During the years the planned change of Lewin is criticizes and there developed more broader definitions about planned change. According to Timmerman (2003) planned change is characterized as a set of activities and processes designed to change individuals, groups, and organization structure and/or organizational process, planned change models generally assume that managers deliberately initiate and implement changes in response to perceived opportunities to improve organizational performance or fit with the environment. Pettigrew (1985) defined planned change as being a rational linear process with specific „end- states‟ that can be predicted, planned and achieved. Because several goals are set for the functiemix which should be reached in 2010, 2011, and 2014, functiemix can be called a planned change process. Therefore, the functiemix will be appointed as „the change process‟, or „change‟ in the rest of this research.
a high proportion of change efforts end in failure, the reasons for such a high level of failure include complacency, poor communication, weak leadership, inappropriate culture and political infighting.
1.3 Motivation and research question
The secondary schools have to meet the goals which are set for 2010, 2011 and 2014 to reach the desired end result of the change process. As described in the previous chapter the implementation of planned changes can be difficult and more than half of the planned change processes end in failure. Due to this, the Dutch organization: the Educational Centrum of the North in the City of Groningen (Educatief Centrum Noord en Oost, „ECNO‟ for short), was asked by several secondary schools to assist and support them within this change process. Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide :
- A recommendation of how the secondary schools can implement the change successfully within their organization.
- An overview of which organizational characteristics the secondary schools should take into account.
- An investigation of with which organizational characteristics the secondary schools should receive support.
- Some methods/instruments which can help the secondary schools to implement the change successfully.
The end result of this study can help the management of the secondary schools with the further development of the design of the change plan, and can help the management achieve the ultimate goal of the change process. The data of this research will be collected by literature study and by interviews with the management and/or with the head of the human resource department of the selected secondary schools. The aim of the literature study is to identify the most important organizational characteristics. These characteristics can affect the success of the change process in a positive or a negative way. The organizational characteristics will be evaluated using the literature, and on the basis of the interviews which will be done with the management and the human resources specialists of several secondary schools.
Now the goal of the research is formulated, the research question can be defined as:
This research will investigate which organizational characteristics influence the expected success of the change within secondary schools. Before elaborating further upon these characteristics, the definition of the dependent variable of ´expected success of the change process´ should be given. It is not possible for as well the writer of this research as for ECNO to define the dependent variable
expected success of the change process. Therefore, this variable will be defined by the management of the secondary schools in combination with literature about the definition of a successful change process.
Firstly the following the following paragraph contains a literature study regarding organizational characteristics which can have an influence on (planned) change processes.
1.4 Success factors during planned change
Lewis (2000) noticed that human and organizational factors have been commonly identified as causes and contributors to failures and difficulties in implementation efforts. Therefore, many research is done on organizational characteristics or factors which can affect or has an influence on the degree of success of a change process. Also Gardner (2009) wrote that countless studies have been conducted to understand why organizational transformations often fall short of achieving their objectives, in nea rly all case, the answer is related to people- poor leadership, not enough sense of urgency, resistance to change, incompatible cultures, inadequate training; challenges most likely underestimated: training, culture, communication, and executive alignment. In order to avoid this, Kotter (1995) defined an eight steps program for transforming the organization, only when these steps are taken correctly the organizational change will be successful according to Kotter. The eight steps were the following; 1: establishing a sense of urgency, 2: forming a powerful guiding coalition, 3: creating a vision, 4: communicating the vision, 5: empowering others to act on the vision, 6: planning for and creating short-term wins, 7: consolidation improvements and producing st ill more change, and 8: institutionalizing new approaches. Beer and Nohria (2000) also wrote about success factors during planned change „effective change requires changing a combination of policies, or all of them, to create a new and integrated design‟. In addition Meyer & Stensaker (2006) wrote that a number of prescriptions on how to manage change processes exist, such as communicating the need for change, involving employees in decision-making and implementation, and conscious attention to tempo and sequencing of changes. In the literature, these prescriptions are often presented as general recommendations for increasing the success of any particular change initiative. Leppitt (2006) made an analysis of comparative change management frameworks by identifying fifteen key dimensions, the key dimensions are: leadership, sponsorship, context for change, urgency and need to change, goals clear vision, building consensus, communication, assessing organizational readiness, planning the change, putting the resources in place, clear empowerment and team authority, change management structures/delivery, short-term wins, metrics monitoring and control, and consolidating.
nearly all of the literature written about organizational characteristics and their relation with change. The fifth characteristic (efficacy) has been added by ECNO. These selected organizational characteristics can probably influence the expected success of the change process.
Now that the characteristics have been determined, it is possible to formulate the five sub question:
1. In which way can leadership influence the expected success of the change process?
2. In which way can the vision influence the expected success of the change process?
3. In which way can communication influence the expected success of the change process?
4. In which way can the organizational culture influence the expected success of the change process?
5. In which way can efficacy influence the expected success of the change process?
2.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The previous chapter explained the motivation for this research and the management question. The type of change and the organizational characteristics whic h could have an influence on the degree of expected success of the change process have been described. This chapter starts with a definition of the dependent variable expected success and discusses the five selected organizational characteristics according to the literature, and how they are related to the expected success of a change process.
Once the research question and the sub questions are defined, the following step is to define the dependent variable expected success. Beer & Nohria (2000) noticed in their book: „what is known about the interrelated set of factors that contribute to the success of change initiatives? Indeed, what is success in the management of change?‟. They noticed that definitions of success include ratings of the quantity, quality, and pace of change. Furthermore, they noticed that few academic researchers studying change processes collect time series data, and many do not include or outcome variable such as success of failure, or impact on performance. They also noticed that there should be enough commitment, awareness, and the development of a coherent and sustainable direction for the business, should the organization desire a successful change. Price & Chahal (2006) noticed that critical to successful change is not only the development of more efficient and effective processes but also alignment of the organizational culture to support these new processes. Zeira & Avedisian (1989) wrote that successful change means achieving or improving competitive advantage by revealing environmental opportunities and weaknesses as well as internal strengths and weaknesses (rather than symptoms) and dealing effectively with them. Integrating the definitions written by several authors, a change can be defined as successful when: ‘the determined goals are achieved, the organization is
improved, and when there is created a culture where enough commitment and support for the change (new way of working or new processes) is, within the organization.’
With the definition of expected success defined, the following part of the chapter contains an explanation of the organizational characteristics and the most suitable approach to a successful change process. This literature study should contribute to the reciprocation of the research question and the sub questions, specifically in which way the five selected organizational characteristics influence the expected success of the change process.
2.1 Leadership
through being personally very adaptable and by exhibiting the right change leadership behaviours (Miller, 2002). Gill (2003) stated that while change must be well managed – it must be planned, organised, directed and controlled – it also require effective leadership to introduce change successfully: it is leadership that makes the difference. Furthermore, he stated that leadership of successful change requires vision, strategy, the development of a culture of sustainable shared values that support the vision and strategy for change, and empowering, motivate and inspire those who are involved or affected. Lyons et al. (2009) stated that leadership behaviours are unequivocally linked to successful change initiatives. Hopen (2010) noticed that the role and practices of leadership are changing, as the situation around organizations changes, she noticed that success is less and less dependent on personal knowledge and skills and more and more dependent on the leader‟s ability to encourage and support others‟ efforts.
(2009) made a framework for management, leadership, and change in his book. In this framework he made the distinction between changes at organizational and individual/group level. He made also the distinction between changes where the focus lays on the culture and where the focus lays on the structure and processes. As mentioned earlier this change process can be characterized as a structure change, which should be done/executed according to the transformational leadership. This is also because transformational leadership is essentially open ended in nature, enabling organizations not only to cope with change, but also to be proactive in shaping their future (Metcalfe & Metcalfe, 2005).
2.2 Organizational vision
According to Gill (2003) one of the best definitions of a vision comes from the Oxford English Dictionary: „something seen vividly in the imagination, involving insight, foresight and wisdom‟. A vision is a desired future state: this is the basis for directing the change effort. Hull & Lio (2006) wrote that the vision acts as a guide for an organization, a central reference point that focuses an organization and directs its strategy. This is not only an organization‟s public „mission‟ or „vision‟, but the ultimate goal of its operations. Carter (2008) wrote that shaping the future shows that there is a better place to go, that you (as leader) are confident and competent to lead the change, and that organizational members have a place in the new state. The shaping of the future can be done with the help of a joint vision. A joint vision can in the most easiest way be defined as an answer to the question: „what do we want to create‟ (Senge, 1992). In addition Kotter (1995) mentioned a vision as something that clarifies the direction in which an organization needs to move.
Farmer et al. (1998) conducted a research about the relation between the role of communication and achieving the shared vision. They found out that members who believe that they are well-informed about the leader‟s vision are more likely to report that they agree with that vision. Therefore, communication is the third characteristic which will be discussed.
2.3 Communication
In the text written above, the relationship between vision and communication was already stated. However, the relationship between communication and change was also described by other writers. Lewis (2000) noticed that implementing planned change is almost always difficult, communication problems are commonplace. Also Johannson & Heide (2008) wrote that the relationship be tween communication and organizational change has attracted increased attention from scholar and practitioners during the last decade. Furthermore, they noted that many writers have emphasized the important role of communication in change processes. Communication can be seen as an important aspect or useful tool which contribute towards the successfulness of a change. According to Allen et al. (2007) researchers are in relative agreement that communication or the provision of information constitutes a vital component of any successful implementation plan. Furthermore, research has indicated that change communication can facilitate openness and positive attitudes towards change to the extent that it effectively addresses employee uncertainty (Allen et al., 2007). Also Kotter and Schlesinger (2008) noted the importance of communication, „communication of ideas helps people see the need for and the logic of a change‟. Kitchen & Daly (2002) argued that many mistakes in change management programmes can be linked directly to, and have causal connections with, breakdowns in communication. Furthermore, they noted that communication is regarded as a key issue in the successful implementation of change programmes because it is used as a tool for announcing, explaining or preparing people for change and preparing people for positive and negative effects of the impending change. Nelissen & Selm (2008) did also research about the relationship between the use of management communication on the one hand and positive and negative responses to a planned organizational change on the other hand. They noticed that the role of management communication is most strongly correlated to responses to the organizational change; employees who are satisfied with management communication score high on positive responses and low on negative responses. According to Evans (2008) communication is the key to employee engagement. Good internal communication requires a two-way process and is a vital means of addressing staff on a practical level, internal communication helps employees to understand a company‟s vision, values and culture.
success of the change. The employees should know what is expected from them, in order to achieve a successful change.
Different communication methods can be used during planned change processes. Several authors make a broad distinction between two types of communication, namely interpersonal and mediated channels. Mediated channels make use of technology or some form of mass media and interpersonal channels involve primarily face-to-face communication (Dewshirst, 1971; Fidler&Johnson, 1984; Rogers, 1995; Rogers&Schoemaker, 1971). Jones (2007) stated that in general you can use face-to-face communication, telephone communication, formal written letters, memos, and email. Palmer (2009) described also several communication methods, which starts with the physical presence (face -to-face), interactive media (telephone, electronic media), personal static media (memos, letters, tailored computer reports), and impersonal static media (flyers, bulletins, generalized computer reports). In addition Oakloand (1998) pointed out: an effective communication method for any change initiative should have two essential components: one is general information about the change program, and the other is regular meetings between employees and managers/supervisors. Such a communication system, Oakloand argues, should include all conventional communication methods, namely seminars, departmental meetings, posters and newsletters. When there is enough communication about the reason and motivation for the change, the goals which should be met, and what the organization expects from the employees in combination with the use of several communication methods, this will contribute to the success of the change.
2.4 Organizational culture
There can be few people who now doubt the important role that culture plays in the life of organizations, especially when it comes to change (Burnes, 2009). For example Jung et al. (2009) wrote that organizational culture is widely considered to be one of the most significant factors in bringing about organizational change and modernizing public administration and service delivery. Jaskyte & Dressler (2005) noticed that organizational culture is seen as a critical factor affecting organizational innovativeness.
statements are interpreted and provides what written documents leave out. Therefore, he noted that the fundamental diagnostic question is: Does the organization‟s culture support the behaviour that is needed for organizational success today (or does it pressure members to live according to what worked yesterday)? Schein (1992) stated that how change occurs within organizations will be influenced by the fact that cultures are underpinned by deep assumptions that are patterned and shared.
The implementation of the functiemix within the secondary schools asks for a culture where several aspects are possible. Firstly it asks for a culture where it is possible to implement changes. Secondly the culture asks for the possibility to talk openly about the functioning of results and performance of employees. Lastly the culture should be shaped in such a way that it is possible for the employees to develop their professionalism, because several teachers should be able to make a promotion in the organization.
Jaskyte & Dressler (2005) noticed that strong cultures are problematic for innovations, organizations with strong cultures might have difficulties in implementing new ways of functioning, in responding to changes in the external environment, and in generating new solutions to problems that arise. Furthermore, they noted that many organizations use strong organizational cultures for social control, while creating uniformity, loyalty, and commitment to the organization, strong cultures can become cult-like, inhibiting innovation and organizational ability to respond to change.
Jones (2005) described four different type of cultures, one of these cultures is the human relation. An organization emphasizing human relations values aims to foster high levels of cohesion and morale among employees through training and development, open communication, and participative decision-making (Jones, 2005). This research pointed out that organizations with this type of culture are more likely to possess positive attitudes towards organizational change. From text written above, the conclusion can be made that culture can have a positive influence on the expected success of a change process. The organization needs a culture which supports the change process, however the culture should not be that strong of inflexible that it will result in resistance to the change.
2.5 Efficacy
organizationa l abilities to successfully implement the organizational change. In an organization change effort, the question to be addresses is „do I/we believe that I/we can successfully implement the proposed change?‟ (Armenakis et al., 2007).
Within the secondary schools the degree of efficacy regarding the change process should be noticed. This is because besides meeting the formal goals, the efficacy should also be presented in the organization. The efficacy should be with the management of the organization as well as the teachers of the organization. According to Tschannen-Moran & Hoy (2001) efficacy affects the effort teachers invest in teaching, the goals they set, and their level of aspiration, teachers with a strong sense of efficacy tend to be exhibit greater levels of planning and organization, they also are more open to new ideas and are more willing to experiment with new methods to better meet the needs of their students. In addition Rafferty & Simons (2006) wrote about efficacy that individuals with higher self-efficacy are more likely to believe that they can achieve change and that their organization can achieve change. It can be concluded that when there is enough efficacy by the employees of the organization, it is more likely that the change process will lead to a success.
Summarizing the above written literature, this will result in the conceptual model which is reproduced in figure 1. The model contains the five above written independent variables, and the dependent variable, namely the expected success of the change process regarding functiemix.
FIGURE 1 Conceptual Model
Vision Communication
Leadership Culture Efficacy
3.
METHODOLOGY
The previous part of this research concerned the motivation and the theoretical basis of this research. This chapter will focus on the research methodology which is chosen in order to answer the formulated research question and the sub questions.
3.1 Set-up of research
The goal of this research was to provide an answer to the research question: ‘which organizational
characteristics influence the expected success of the change process, regarding the functiemix within secondary schools?’. Using the written literature, five organizational characteristics which probably
could have an influence on change processes were selected. These five organizational characteristics (leadership, vision, communication, culture, and efficacy) were approached from a change management perspective.
In order to conduct this research there was chosen to carry out a qualitative research. This was preferred by the researcher as well as by ECNO. They both had the opinion that much more information could be obtained during interviews, and that „questionnaires would not give sufficient room to answer the questions in such a way that the researcher would be satisfied‟.
3.2 Method
This research can be typified as a qualitative research. Within qualitative research several methods can be distinguished, for example case studies and comparative studies (Flick et al., 2004). This research focused on a comparative study. This was done in an empirical way by comparing every organization‟s initial situation concerning the selected organizational characteristics. The data concerning the organizational characteristics has been collected during interviews.
3.3 Data collection
selected. Within the province Groningen two schools were selected from the public overall board, Open bare Onderwijs Groep Groningen (O2G2), and two schools were selected from the Christian board, Christelijke Scholengemeenschap Groningen (CSG). With the selection of these three different board types there was made a reflection of boards within the North of the Netherlands. This was among others because the three different types of boards had their own way of financing the several schools. This could have an influence on the way of executing of the functiemix. A notification about the research was sent towards the six selected schools. This notification is added in appendix I. A few days after the notification was sent, the selected schools were contacted and asked if they would participate in the research. The two secondary schools who were part of the CSG made clear that their head department of the CSG was responsible for the implementation of the change and for the goals which were set. Therefore, an appointment with the director of CSG was made. The director is responsible for most aspects of the human relation side of the organization. CSG did not employ a human relation specialist. A part of the human resource management aspect was delegated to the secondary schools of CSG. However, they were not responsible for the implementation of the change. Another school of O2G2 was in the middle of a merger, due to this they were not able to participate in the research, therefore they gave the information of another public school of O2G2. After the first interview with one of the schools of the O2G2 was done, it was clear that they did not have a lot of room to implement the change because of their policy. This was because the norms formulated by the „College van Bestuur‟ of O2G2 were nearly impossible to achieve , and therefore the schools did not take much action. Due to this fact, a second interview with another school of O2G2 would probably not have given more useful information. Because the planned second interview with an O2G2 school did not take place, another interview with a public school in Friesland was conducted. An overview of the interviewed persons of every organization is summarized in table 2.
TABLE 2 Overview interviewees Province School
Friesland Pompeblêd
-Burgermeester Harmsma School (director / human resource specialist ) -Piter Jelles (human resource specialist)
-Singeland (director)
Groningen Christelijke Scholengemeenschap Groningen (CSG)
-director / human resource specialist
Openbare Onderwijs Groep Groningen (O2G2)
The interviews were recorded on tape. Before the interview started the question was asked if they agreed with the fact that the interview was recorded. By using a tape recorder there was more time to ask questions and talk about the change instead of writing down all the information. The interviews were worked out after the interview was done, and the interviewees got the possibility to receive the report of the interview. They could contact the researcher by e-mail or phone if they did not agree on the information in the report.
Before the interviews started, a test interview was executed with an actor within ECNO. This actor was familiar with the change process. During this test-interview the interviewer could experience how an interview can take place, how to ask the right questions and how to lead the conversation during the interview.
During the interview the interviewer made use of a questionnaire to ensure all required information would be obtained but also left enough room for the interviewees to openly talk about the change
process.
3.4 Data analyses
The second part of the research contained the interviews. The questionnaire that was used has been added in appendix II. The information from the interviews was collected and summarized which led to the results which formed the basis of the conclusion, and recommendations. After all the results of the interviews of every organizational characteristics were collected they were worked out in a document, compared and summarized. Two of the questions were of such nature that their results could be quantified as shown in table 3A and 3B:
- Table 3A is designed to summarize the answers to the question “How do you judge the influence of the organizational characteristics on the expected success?”.
- The results to the question “How do you judge the relationship between the organizational characteristics and the expected success” are taken from table 3B by computing the average of the answers. These results were shown in the new conceptual model.
TABLE 3A TABLE 3B Influence Relationship Influence of organizational characteristic Very influential 0% Influential 0% Neutral 0% Little influence 0% Very little influence 0%
Relationship between organizational characteristic and change
Very positive related ++
Positive related +
Neutral related +
Negative related -
4. RESULTS
In this chapter the results of the interviews have been summarized. Human resource specialists and the leaders of the secondary schools were interviewed. This chapter starts with the results of the definition of expected success of a change process, after that the results of the five organizational characteristics and their influence of the expected success of the change proc ess will be discussed.
The goal of this research was to find out which organizational characteristics could have an influence on the planned change process within secondary schools. The second goal of this research was to assist and support the secondary schools with the implementation of the planned change process.
As described in the first chapter, the schools were given the choice to implement the change with the focus on a quality impulse or to implement the process with the more pragmatic approach. Table 4 shows the percentages of the chosen approaches.
TABLE 4 Chosen approach
One of the questions which was asked during the interviews was: „how the organization wou ld characterize a successful change process‟. Two schools determined the change as successful when more than 80% of the employees support the change. They mentioned that it is not possible to realize 100% readiness for the change within the organization. Furthermore, they mentioned that the change process can be characterized as successful when it realizes an improvement/progression within the organization. One of the interviewees mentioned that the change process can only be characterized as successful when there is enough communication and readiness. To his opinion there should also be enough openness and transparency in the culture, for example when it comes to the decisions made by the management of the organization. An additional interviewee mentioned that the change can be characterized as successful when they have realized a successful framework that would lead to an improvement of the current situation.
4.1 Influence of vision on expected success
Before the question was asked, the five interviewed organizations mentioned that having a clear vision is very important for the realisation of a successful change. They mentioned that the vision of the
Change Approach
organization should be in accordance with the goals and the vision of the change process. For example: when the vision of the schools is creating opportunities for students as well as all their employees, the secondary school should design their change process in such a way that there are opportunities for teachers of all levels in the organization to grow to the highest levels (LC and LD). It was mentioned that it is not always easy to integrate the vision of the school within the way of execution of the change process.
When asking how the school would characterized or define the vision, they said that they se e the vision as the result or outcome of their „dream‟. According to them a vision is an overall goal that the organization tries to achieve. It is also what distinguishes them from other orga nizations in their field of work. In all the things they do, the ir vision should shine through. Therefore the vision should be kept in mind in the change process. When the vision of an organization is unclear, it will also be unclear for the employees where they are going as an organization and why certain decisions are made. If the vision is clear to everybody, the employees will better understand the decisions (or the changes) and their importance to the organization. The employees will better understand that it is part of what the organization tries to be or tries to reach. This is what all of the interviewed schools mentioned: when the vision of the school is not formulated clear enough, it is not possible to realize a successful change. The leaders of the organization as well as the employees should have knowledge about the motivation for the change and its eventual results. As noticed earlier it will be difficult sometimes to combine the change with the vision of the school. One of the schools mentioned that their vision is: „opinionated education and the school as an exploration‟. It will be difficult to combine this vision with the functiemix, because it is a planned change process with clear goals that should be met. They mentioned that they would try to combine the innovate and „sensational‟ form of education in for example the typing of the teacher roles in the different levels (LB, LC, and LD) of the functiemix.
One of the organizations which was interviewed, a single school with only one department, has a vision which does not integrate easily with the functiemix. Because all students follow education on nearly the same level, the teachers are also all on the same level and as a result the school‟s vision is equality. The leader mentioned that despite the difficulty in combining the vision with the change process, it is still important that there is a clear relationship between the two. Therefore, the organization has chosen for the more pragmatic approach when implementing the change.
change process because it will probably lead to more readiness for the change. Readiness for change will result in a more successful change. The interviewees mentioned that the relationship between the existence of a clear vision and the expected success of a change process can be indicated as positive. Table 5 shows the results of the question „what the influence of having a clear vision is on the expected success of change process‟.
TABLE 5 Influence of vision Having of a clear vision
Very influential 80%
Influential 20%
Neutral 0%
Little influence 0%
Very little influence 0%
4.2 Influence of leadership on expected success
In determining the vision it was mentioned that there is an important role for the leader of the organization. All of the interviewed schools mentioned that the vision of the school is formulated very top-down by the management of the organization. They said that this is also the only possible way to define a vision, because it is not possible to define the vision of the school in collaboration with 400 employees. After the vision was formulated by the management this was communicated towards the personnel of the organization and in most situations they had the possibility to react to the formulated vision. The role of the vision within the change process was to combine these two. Due to this, the combining of the vision with the change process was done a bit more bottom-up, because teachers have to work with the new situation created after the implementation of the change process.
Other aspects mentioned about leadership during the interviews were: the responsibility of the leader towards giving feedback about the goals which are already reached, and an explanation of the current situation in the organization. It was said that: it is important to mention that during the feedback the leader pointed out that it is not the leader but the employees of the organization who are responsible for the results which are achieved. Several interviewees mentioned that during the change process an important task of the leader is to celebrate „short-term wins‟ and to give attention towards employees who are involved in the process and are spending much of their time within the process. The interviewees mentioned that when doing this, this will probably result in more willingness for change. A summary of characteristics of a good leader which are mentioned by the interviewees, and which will make the change a success are: persuasiveness, acceptation, trust, and clarity. Furthermore, it was mentioned that the leader should be an ambassador of the change. This was also formulated as „ownership of the change‟. This is because an important task of the leader concerning employees is to create the willingness for change, and to inspire and motivate the employees. This is only possible when the leader is more than hundred percent owner of the change project, but the leader should also take care for enough participation of the employees, and communication towards the employees. According to the interviewees, these aspects will make the change a success.
When questioned which leadership style the leaders should have to make the change a success, all of the employees were in agreement about the need of the transformational leadership style during the change. With the key characteristics as already mentioned above: developing a vision, communication, motivation, and trust.
Consequently the relationship between leadership and the expected success of a change process can be indicated as positive. Table 6 shows the results of the question „what the influence of leadership is, on the expected success of change process‟.
4.3 Influence of communication on expected success
All of the interviewees mentioned the relationship between communication and the realization of a successful change. First of all it was mentioned that the communication of the vision was very important. Therefore, most of the interviewees started at the beginning of the change process with the designing of a communication plan. Several communication methods which were used during the change process and which were described in the communication plan are described in the following section.
One of the interviewees used the newsletter for informing the employees about the change process. However, they told that not every newsletters was read by the employees, due to this the organization has to repeat the information in the newsletters for several months, only then all of the employees will be informed. According to this leader the next step in the process was to organize a plenary session where the leader should inform the employees about the change, the benefits and the consequences for the employees. Another school also made use of communication in the form of a newsletter, firstly a few separated newsletters for all of the teachers with only information about the change process. However, they mentioned that the teachers get so much information about all different kind of subjects, they realize that this extra newsletter was maybe too much. The human resource specialist and the director of the organization decided that a paragraph with information about the change and the recent situation should be integrated in every newsletter that was written by the director of the organization. The director wrote a newsletter every two weeks about different developments within the school. This letter was read by nearly all of the employees. Another communication action that was taken by this school was that the human resource specialist visited every school to introduce the change in the form of a presentation. There was the possibility for all the employees to visit this presentation to give feedback and ask questions. Another interviewed school took a bit the same steps. They visited also the several departments of the schools and informed them about the way of execution of the change process. The interviewees mentioned that by making use of these plenary information meetings, the management would try to achieve more readiness and motivation among the employees. There was one school which did not communicate much about the change. They informed the employees about the change and the only step which was taken after that was to set up a work group. In this work group the members are going to talk about the execution of the change. The last interviewed school organized several meetings, the teachers were allowed to visit these meetings. During these meetings the goal of the change was explained, and more information about the change, for example the benefits for the teachers, was given. After these meetings, a workgroup was set up. This group will participate in the change process.
who are involved in the process. Beside that it will also motivate and stimulate the employees to continue with making the change process a success. Furthermore, the interviewees mentioned, as written in the beginning of this paragraph, that having a clear communication plan is crucial in the realization of a successful change. According to them, a clear communication plan is crucial because of the importance of clear and frequent communication during a change process, the relationship between enough and clear communication, and the expected success of the change process. The interviewees mentioned that clear and enough communication leads to more readiness and support for the change. This is because the employees understand that they have to change and what the goal and benefits are for the organization. Another aspect why communication was notified as important was because the interviewees mentioned that with the use of communication the leaders are able to explain the goals and the desired situation.
When asked „how would you judge the relationship between communication and the expected success of a change process?‟ the interviewees mentioned that this can be indicated as very positive. Table 7 shows the results of the question what the influence of communication is, on the expected success of change process‟. TABLE 7 Influence of communication Communication Very influential 100% Influential 0% Neutral 0% Little influence 0% Very little influence 0%
4.4 Influence of culture on the expected success
The literature, but also documents written by for example the Dutch „Ministerie van Onderwijs,
Cultuur en Wetenschap’, noticed the importance of the culture of the organization, especially during
change processes. For the realization of a successful change, the secondary school should adopt a culture where it is possible to talk openly about your functioning.
with a strong culture within that organization. This was a culture where nearly all of the employees were willing to follow extra courses and trainings, for example to qualify themselves to raise a higher level. On the other hand the culture is also based on a high degree of equality. This can result in difficult situations, because this change will make more distinction between the teachers in relationship with their income level. Some of the other interviewed schools had more locations, due to this there were also more different types of cultures. However, the human resource specialists and the leaders of the organizations mentioned that in all types of schools it was not usual to explain yourself and justify choices you made and actions you have taken. In the new situation, teachers who have been teaching for more than twenty years and have never given accountability for their profession, should now clarify why they work and act in the way they do. In general the interviewees mentioned that there was an „old‟ culture embedded in the organizations. Most teachers have been working the same way for a long time. They do not face a lot of changes. As noticed above they were not required to justify their actions. However, as the interviewees mentioned there was a strong and sometimes old culture in the organization. The culture which was presented was focused partly on learning and developing.
The interviewees were aware of the importance of the culture during the change process. The interviewees mentioned that a culture where employees are willing to change will result in a more successful change process. In summary, it was said by the interviewees that a culture needs several conditions to make the change process a success. These conditions are: possibility to talk openly about your functioning, employees who are willing to change their behavior and way of working , and transparency.
Consequently the relationship between the influence of culture and the expected success of a change process was indicated by the employees as positive. Table 8 shows the results of the question „what the influence of the organizational culture is, on the expected success of change process‟.
TABLE 8
Influence of organizational culture Culture
Very influential 17%
Influential 83%
Neutral 0%
4.5 Influe nce of efficacy on the expected success
The last organizational characteristic which was mentioned during the interviews was efficacy. As mentioned earlier, the implementation of the change is in the starting phase. The teachers of the organizations do not have any experience with the new situation because this will start in the beginning of 2011. Therefore, the importance of the change is not very high for the majority of the teachers. The teachers who are interested in the change had visited plenary meetings and participated in the work or project groups which were formed by the different organizations. When questioned how the degree of efficacy can be described the interviewees mentioned that this is presented by the leaders of the organization. They mentioned furthermore that this is necessary to implement the change successfully. The leaders of the organization should have the feeling that they are able to implement the change successfully. Most of the interviewees mentioned that instead of efficacy you can also use the word ownership. Ownership was mentioned as one of the organizational characteristics which probably will lead to a successful change. The interviewees mentioned that in the current situation this ownership existed only by the employees who are involved in the process. Therefore, the assignment for these employees is to try to share this ownership with the other members of the organizations. One of the directions would be to do this by making use of the work group members when presenting the plans made about the change. When doing this the director will try to make it more tangible for all employees within the organization. It was mentioned by the employees that the relationship between efficacy and the expected success of a change process can be indicated as positive. Table 9 shows the results of the question „what the influence of the efficacy is, on the expected success of change process‟.
TABLE 9
Influence of organizational efficacy Efficacy
Very influential 0%
Influential 40%
Neutral 60%
5. DISCUSSION
This chapter contains the conclusion of the results of the interviews, and further elaboration on the results of the previous chapter. The results will be discussed and compared with the theoretical part of this research which is written in chapter two. The result of this section leads to the answering of the research question. The second part contains recommendations with regards to the implementation of the change process. This research will conclude with the limitations and suggestions for further research.
5.1 Conclusion
The definition of „expected success of a change process‟ was formulated in the previous chapter of this research, namely when there is enough support for the change (80% of the employees) and when the organization has created a framework through which there is really improved something within the organization, progression of the current situation within the organization. With the definition of expected success determined, the following part will give an answer to the five formulated sub-questions. Each individual sub question will be compared with the theoretical part of this research and there will be an explanation of what the results mean for this research.
5.1.1 Influence of vision on the expected success of the change
The sub question about the vision was ‘In which way can the vision influence the expected success of
the change process?’ The vision can act as the guide for an organization. When the vision is clear for
the employees of the organization they know in which direction they have to go and what the organization exactly expects from them. Kotter (2007) defines in his eight steps process about why change processes often fail, lacking a vision is one of these eight steps. Also Carr & Folliard (1999) mentioned that in order to achieve improvements and respond effectively to the changing environment everyone needs to be aligned to the mission and vision of the organization, and all decisions would have to support the mission and vision of the organization.
organizations were not that far in their change process, but they were well aware of the fact that from the beginning of the process, they should link the vision of the organization to the change.
It can be concluded that a clear vision which is shared by all of the employees should lead to a more successful change. This conclusion is in accordance with what is written about the relationship between the vision and change processes in the literature. It was mentioned by the interviewees that the leader is responsible for the formulation of the vision, however they also mentioned that this should be in accordance with the employees of the organization. This is also mentioned by several writers, for example Price & Chahal (2006) who noticed that senior management has a key leadership role in developing the vision and achieving change though consultation rather than by diktat. When the employees are informed about what the organization expects from them and in which direction they have to go, the why, and what the benefits are for the organization, this will probably have a positive influence on the successfulness of the change process.
5.1.2 Influence of leadership on the expected success of the change process
From the literature study it was made clear that the leader plays a significant role during change processes, and has an influence on the successfulness. The leader should support the change for one hundred percent, because this will increase the successfulness. This was also mentioned by Whelan-Berry & Somerville (2010) who wrote that the lack of leadership has been noted as a source of change failure.
Furthermore, it was noticed that several leadership characteristics could be distinguished. Also during the interviews the importance of leadership was argued. In accordance with the written theory about several leadership styles, the interviewees also mentioned that a transformational leadership is most successful during the implementation of the change. The interviewees mentioned that the organization needs a charismatic leader who is able to break the status quo of the organization and bring change. During this process the leader should use enough communication, and should be able to motivate and coach the employees. This was also mentioned by Gilley et al. (2008) who did research on the perceived importance of specific leadership skills and abilities necessary for a successful change. The results show that the ability of the leader to communicate and motivate are crucial for a successful change process.
chance of a successful change process. This opinion is also shared by (Kotter & Heskett, 1992) who noticed that while top leadership support is critical, leadership support from leaders throughout the organization including teams, departments, and locations is also critical.
One of the most important characteristics that leaders should have is that they are open and transparent about the decisions made by the organization. When the leader behaves open and honest this will lead to more support for the change process, so there should be enough transparency within the organization. Bens (2008) noticed the importance of transparent leadership. He noticed that a transparent leader should ensure that relevant and important information is openly shared with team members and stakeholders. Another important characteristic mentioned by the interviewees was the importance of feedback during the change process. The importance of feedback is also mentioned by Lewis (2000) who stated that it may be important to provide channels and opportunities for employees to gather feedback about their own participation in change programs.
It can be concluded that „good‟ leadership has an influence on the success of the change process. In this change process a „good‟ leader can be defined as a transformational leader. With good leadership the focus should also be on transparency and the motivation of employees.
5.1.3 Influence of communication on the expected success of the change
The third research question was ‘In which way can communication influence the expected success of
the change process?’ The theory related vision with communication, namely that during change
processes the vision should be communicated enough towards the employees. Furthermore , the literature noticed that communication has a significant influence on the success of a change process. As Basinger & Peterson (2008) wrote: it seems that nearly everyone who has ever studied or been involved in major organizational change advocates for open communication.
two organizations communicated about the change in the form of newsletters and one of them had organized a work group.
Most of the organizations developed a communication plan for the change. On the goal and benefits of a communication plan Samansky (2003) stated that communication plans are meant to establish a long-term vision or change the existing communications direction. The plans which were written by the interviewed organizations contain dates about when the employees should receive information about the current situation. With the use of this communication plan more clarity and readiness for the change should be created. It can be concluded that communication can influence the degree of success of the change. When there is enough communication about what the organization expects from the teachers, which role and influence they can have in the process, and why actions are taken, this will probably lead to a higher degree of success of the change process. Finally, it should be noticed that the leaders should take care of enough transparency during the change process. This is because the functiemix makes it possible for teachers to get a promotion but this promotion is not possible for every teacher. Due to this there should be clear communication on why some teachers get promoted and others do not. Using this strategy the organization will probably gain more support and less resistance for the change.
5.1.4 Influence of culture on the expected success of the change
People are the essential contributor to successful change, and managing change within the culture of an organization is important (Oakland & Tanner, 2007). Culture was the fourth organizational characteristic which was positively related to the degree of success of the change. However, the literature points out that an overly strong culture within an organization does not always have a positive influence on a change process. There should be a culture within the organization where there is enough readiness and motivation for changes. This is also mentioned by Price & Chahal (2006), they wrote that critical to successful change is not only the development of more efficient and effective processes but also alignment of organizational culture to support these new processes.
The interviewees mentioned that when an organization will reach a successful change, a change in the culture should take place. The current culture in most of the interviewed organizations is that teachers have their own groups with students, prepare their lessons etcetera. Most aspects of their work is not visible, there is a high degree of autonomy and independence. The role of the teacher in the new situation is to explain certain decisions and to show how several assignments are executed. This will result in a portfolio which can be used to determine whether the teacher has enough competences for a promotion. This is a new way of working for the teachers.
