Organizational change and the chief diversity officer: A case study of institutionalizing a diversity plan.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine A. Stanley ◽  
Karan L. Watson ◽  
Jennifer M. Reyes ◽  
Kay S. Varela
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Chief Diversity Officer ◽  
Diversity Plan

From Theory to Practice and Back: How the Concept of Implicit Bias was Implemented in Academe, and What this Means for Gender Theories of Organizational Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 089124322110003
Author(s):  
Laura K. NelsoN ◽  
Kathrin Zippel
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Implicit Bias ◽  
Institutional Transformation ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Theory To Practice ◽  
Engineering Mathematics ◽  
Promote Gender Equality ◽  
Change Framework ◽  
Gender Theories

Implicit bias is one of the most successful cases in recent memory of an academic concept being translated into practice. Its use in the National Science Foundation ADVANCE program—which seeks to promote gender equality in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) careers through institutional transformation—has raised fundamental questions about organizational change. How do advocates translate theories into practice? What makes some concepts more tractable than others? What happens to theories through this translation process? We explore these questions using the ADVANCE program as a case study. Using an inductive, theory-building approach and combination of computational and qualitative methods, we investigate how the concept of implicit bias was translated into practice through the ADVANCE program and identify five key features that made implicit bias useful as a change framework in the academic STEM setting. We find that the concept of implicit bias works programmatically because it is (1) demonstrable, (2) relatable, (3) versatile, (4) actionable, and (5) impartial. While enabling the concept’s diffusion, these characteristics also limit its scope. We reflect on implications for gender theories of organizational change and for practitioners.

scholarly journals Storytelling and `Character': Victims, Villains and Heroes in a Case of Technological Change

Organization ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Whittle ◽  
Frank Mueller ◽  
Anita Mangan
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Technological Change ◽  
Moral Status ◽  
The Self ◽  
Routine Work ◽  
Social Positioning ◽  
Face Saving ◽  
Positive Light

In this article we examine the role of stories in the temporal development of images of the self at work. Drawing on an in-depth case study of technological change in a UK public-private partnership, we highlight the role of stories in the construction, maintenance and defence of actors' moral status and organizational reputation. The analysis focuses on the development of one `character' as he shifted from the role of innocent victim to implied villain to heroic survivor within the stories constructed during routine work conversations. We argue that stories are intimately linked to the forms of `moral accounting' that serve to deal with the challenges to `face' and social positioning that accompany `failed' organizational change. Stories, we suggest, are likely to be invoked when an interactional encounter threatens the participants' sense of social worth. Stories in which we present ourselves in a positive light—for instance as virtuous, honourable, courageous, caring, committed, competent— comprise a key component of face-saving strategies designed to maintain our social positioning: processes that are often intensified during periods of organizational change.

Organizational change for sustainability education: a case study of one university’s efforts to create and implement institution-wide sustainability competencies

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 497-515
Author(s):  
Vanessa R. Levesque ◽  
Cameron P. Wake
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Sustainability Education ◽  
Similar Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Level ◽  
Institutional Sustainability ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
The University

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how the process of creating and implementing sustainability competencies across a university illuminate dynamics of organizational change. The push to advance education for sustainable development in higher education will likely require transformation of existing policies and practices. A set of shared sustainability competencies could guide the integration of sustainability throughout an institution. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on a case study of one US university, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) that developed institutional-level sustainability competencies. The process used to create and implement sustainability competencies is outlined, and key factors that influenced the associated organizational change are identified. Findings Very few US universities have institutional-level sustainability competencies. At UNH, drivers of organizational change such as overcoming disciplinary boundaries, developing a common vision and working from the bottom-up enabled the creation of institutional sustainability competencies, but the same processes were not enough to drive deeper implementation of the competencies. Originality/value This paper not only identifies the context-specific drivers of the development of institutional sustainability competencies, but also identifies universal themes that can be applied to other institutions embarking on a similar process. Additionally, this paper serves as a foundation for future research exploring how the process of creating institutional sustainability competencies may be linked to how effective they are in shaping subsequent sustainability education.

scholarly journals Systemic Design for Second-Order Effects

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan Barba
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Core Competency ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Classroom Intervention ◽  
Second Order Effects ◽  
Design Skills ◽  
Systemic Design

Second-order effects refer to changes within a system that are the result of changes made somewhere else in the system (the first-order effects). Second-order effects can occur at different spatial, temporal, or organizational scales from the original interventions, and are difficult to control. Some organizational theorists suggest that careful management of feedback processes can facilitate controlled change from one organizational configuration to another. Recognizing that skill in managing feedback processes is a core competency of design suggests that design skills are potentially useful tools in achieving organizational change. This paper describes a case study in which a co-design methodology was used to control the second-order effects resulting from a classroom intervention to create organizational change. This approach is then theorized as the Instigator Systems approach.

scholarly journals Enabling Sustainable Organizational Change: A Case of Cognitive Diversity in the Automotive Industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tonja Blom ◽  
Yvonne du Plessis ◽  
Hamid H Kazeroony
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Change ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Change Implementation ◽  
Cognitive Diversity ◽  
Single Case Study ◽  
Niche Theory ◽  
Implementing Change

In diverse societies such as South Africa, organizations continue to face inclusion challenges when implementing change. This study proposes a different method and new dimension of diversity management within the cognitive diversity construct, namely human niche theory, to tackle the diversity dilemma of exclusivity. The research question asked whether human niche theory, as a defined concept within cognitive diversity, could be utilized by managers to enable inclusion and promote sustainable organizational change implementation. Conceptually, this paper relates human niche theory to seven themes in the change process, namely, communication, training, motivation, resources, control, monitoring, and feedback. An exploratory single case study in a multicultural South African automotive organization that implemented a company-wide technology change project was used as a unit of analysis. The single case study revealed a new understanding of change implementation processes using the human niche theoretical framework related to radical technological change implementation. Data collection included in-depth interviews, focus group sessions, solicited company data, field notes, and observations. Content and comparative data analysis were used to present findings. This research showed that managers’ awareness of human niche theory in terms of cognitive diversity could assist in managing diversity, enabling inclusion, and change effectiveness in the organization, while minimizing emotional exclusion.

A Case of an IT-Enabled Organizational Change Intervention

2012 ◽  
pp. 190-212
Author(s):  
Bing Wang ◽  
David Paper
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Organizational Change ◽  
Change Management ◽  
New Technology ◽  
The Novel ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
It Implementation ◽  
Perceived Change ◽  
Change Event

This case study documents an organizational change intervention concerning the implementation of a novel information technology at a university-owned research foundation (URF). It evidences the disparate expectations and reactions by key actors toward the change event, marking a mismatch between a new paradigm required by the new technology and existing information technology practices. Drawing upon change management and management information systems (MIS) literature, the authors discuss the perceived change management issues hindering the change process at URF. The discussion is tempered by a theoretical lens that attempts to integrate the literature bases drawn upon in this research. In particular, resistance from in-house IT specialists was observed as the strongest force obstructing the novel IT implementation. This study offers a forum to stimulate both researchers and practitioners to rethink the necessary elements required to enact change, especially with respect to novel IT implementations.

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