Diagnosis:
1-Does a strategic plan exist?
Yes, a strategic plan exists at Macmillan State College. When Scott Ferguson took over as the vice president of business affairs at the College, he had a vision to use technology to improve the work efficiency in the school by purchasing new software. In his plan, the new software would help the accounting department, admissions department, development department and administration department. This was a noble idea and he formed a steering committee and a redesign team that would oversee the redesign process.
2-Does it begin with a vision statement?
Yes, the steering committee had a vision statement. 3-Are the goals and objectives clear and measurable?
The objective and goals are clear ad measurable. The school wants to purchase and implement a new software system in order to improve work output of the staff. 4-Is the planing process ongoing?
The planning process is not ongoing. At the start of the process both the steering committee and redesign team were positive about the entire process, however, problems within the team arose that led to collapse of the entire process. Due to proper planning the steering committee was forced to implement suggestions by the redesign team and this led to more problems. Hasty implementation of the new system led to collapse of the entire process.
Prescription:
Scott needs to be more careful while leading the change process. It is evident that the steering committee used a trail and failure method to introduce change to the campus. The committee needs to plan even for the unexpected in order to achieve its goals. During the change process communication is vital and changes to plans should be accommodated. The steering committee and the redesign team need to communicate more effectively in order to ensure that any changes are reviewed and implemented if necessary. In addition, implementation should not be hurried since this will only lead to more problems. The process of implementing a new system needs to be well thought out and planned in order to ensure that it is successful.
Reference:
Palestini, R. H. (2011). Educational administration: Leading with mind and heart (3nd Ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.
