The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of organizational culture in governing the dynamics of resistance and facilitation of change by explicating the operational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the role of organizational culture in governing the dynamics of resistance and facilitation of change by explicating the operational mechanisms underlying the Model of Organizational Change in Cultural Context (OC3 Model).
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual definition of facilitation is introduced that parallels the psychosocial construction of resistance, while departing from traditional views that cast these constructs as polar opposites. Within the context of the OC3 Model, a multifaceted perspective on organizational change is advanced in which facilitation takes place alongside of, rather than in the absence of, resistance.
Findings
Two sources of resistance and facilitation are delineated, both stemming from the degree of cultural alignment of the content (strategic initiatives) and process (implementation strategies) elements of strategic change. The dynamic interplay of these independent sources of resistance and facilitation is explored within the context of the OC3 Model where the consequences of cultural alignment or misalignment are considered with respect to change implementation and linked to established theory and empirical evidence. Four interaction effects emerge from this analysis: augmentation, undermining, prevailing and immunity. A visual model illuminating the countervailing effects of facilitation on resistance is provided, along with illustrative examples derived from multiple ethnographic field studies.
Practical implications
Theoretical and practical implications of these interaction effects for advancing scholarship and leading organizational change are explored.
Originality/value
Articulating this theoretical extension of the OC3 Model provides a valuable corrective to extant theories of change that afford equal importance to all culturally embedded sources of resistance and fail to account for the counter balancing effects of facilitation.
Details
Keywords
Ray R. Buss, Ron Zambo, Debby Zambo and Tiffany R. Williams
The purpose of this paper is to examine how entering students and graduating students from an education doctorate (EdD) program viewed themselves as learners, leaders, and action…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how entering students and graduating students from an education doctorate (EdD) program viewed themselves as learners, leaders, and action researchers. Further, the paper examines differences in the identity trajectories between the two groups. Finally, the paper suggested a new identity status – scholarly and influential practitioners (SaIP) emerged from melding the three identity statuses.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employed a mixed method design.
Findings
Results indicated students new to the program held strong identities as learners and leaders, but not as action researchers; whereas graduates held stronger views of each type of identity, especially as researchers. Program features such as cycles of action research (CAR), and leader-scholar communities were instrumental in influencing graduates’ identities as researching professionals.
Research limitations/implications
SaIP emerge when doctoral programs enhance the learner and leader identity statuses of doctoral students while at the same time fostering the construction of a researching professional identity status.
Practical implications
Development of researching professionals can be accomplished by fostering a researcher ethos during their participation in a doctoral program. For working professionals, this can be accomplished by requiring and supporting ongoing CAR in a doctoral program.
Social implications
With respect to social implications, researching professionals, especially those in education offer substantial promise of achieving the educational reforms the school so desperately need.
Originality/value
This research examines how one institution has attempted to develop researching professionals during their preparation in an EdD program, which is based on Carnegie Project for the Education Doctorate (CPED) working principles and design features.