An Integrated Program For Effective Organizational Change Within A School District Involving Staff, Student, And Citizen Participation (Group Culture, Management Skills, Team Building, Integrated Planning, Incentive)

The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated program for effective organizational change within a school system involving staff, student, and citizen participation. Concepts and practices pertinent to strategic planning and in harmony with systems theory were examined and applied to educational planning. The complex human elements of an organization that can act as barriers against or channels for facilitating planned change were reviewed as interdependent with strategic planning and participative decision-making; Five steps to organizational success were presented as forming an integrated approach to planned change within a school system. Built upon each other in sequential order to form a solid strategic structure, these key concept areas include group culture, management skills, team building, integrated planning, and incentive programs. Through a three-dimensional view of the school system, the unconscious and nonrational aspects of human life merge with strategies, structures, and incentives to form a dynamic, integrated whole greater than the sum of its parts; An ongoing cycle for planned change was identified as focusing on the implementation of strategic planning and organizational growth. The six phases for planned change include diagnosing needs, obtaining support, identifying strategy, prescribing action, implementing plans, and evaluating results; Nationwide data pertaining to educational planning and organizational change were reviewed and analyzed. A handbook was developed and included as an aid to managers in conceptualizing and applying an integrated approach to organizational success in the school system. Participative management, system analysis, formative evaluation, forecasting, group culture, motivation, and productivity were each considered within the construct of organizational change. Interacting human elements and active involvement of stakeholders were identified as key issues to effecting change within a school system