Nancy Anderson is aware of the conflict she is having with her role as project manager and her desire to see the school succeed. Since she is hesitant in her role, she should seek to find a person who can fill her role as a project manager and maintain the trust which made Foundations School successful while working to accomplish the same goals as the board of directors and its staff.
Once Foundation Schools discover the need for a new project manager, it should incorporate a team lead to the project. According to McShane and Von Glinow (2005, p. 416), “leadership is the ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute to the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members.” The intention of adding a point of contact for Foundation Schools is to bridge the gap between administration and faculty, a common issue in school environment. During the board meeting there were many inquiries about the assignment and its advancement which were left unanswered. If Nancy had a point of contact involved in the project exclusively, these questions may have been brought to the surface
Amgen Therapeutics would be a great benchmark for Foundation Schools as Amgens principles center on management and partnership:
“Leaders at Amgen seek input and involve key stakeholders in important decisions. In gathering input, strong leaders will welcome diverse opinions, conflicting views and open dialogue for serious consideration. They will clearly communicate decisions and rationale openly and in a timely manner. Once a decision is made, the leader and members of the team will all be accountable for the results and for implementing the decision rapidly.” (Amgen.2008).
Finally, Foundation Schools needs to increase cohesiveness between tenured and less experienced teachers. Kreitner and Kinicki (2004, p. 459) stated that “cohesiveness is a process whereby a sense of ‘we-ness’ emerges to transcend individual differences and motives.” The Foundation Schools Life Skills model-approach is its merchandise which it advertises a great deal and advocates as having helped many students get employment. The dilemma that Foundation Schools is having is that the tenured teachers are unwilling to use new technology in favor of the obsolete technology. Schermerhorn, Hunt and Osborn (2005, p. 367) classify opposition to change as “any attitude or behavior that indicates unwillingness to make or support a desired change.” A.J. Schuler says there are 10 reasons for opposing to change. Among them, which may apply to the veteran faculty, are 1) people fear the lack the competence to change and 2) people feel overloaded and overwhelmed (Resistance to Change, para. 4 & 5).
People fear the lack of competence to change – Veteran faculty may fear that they cannot changeover to the new computer method and, as a result, refuse to accept changing to the new system.
People feel overloaded and overwhelmed – The instructors may already feel overworked and by increasing the ratio from 3:1 to 4:1 they may feel pressured and are afraid to fail.
Geraldine Markel states that “learning professionals can use the tools of their own trade to reduce the distractions caused when technology takes over the workplace by 1) taking yourself on as a client (plan, act, and lead) and 2) address the barriers (on a personal level and on a workplace or cultural level)”. (American Society. n.d.).
The abovementioned alternate solutions will aid Foundation Schools in sustaining its leadership status in needs based education and in bring about its goals of implementing Life Skills software for curriculum as well as organic growth and new market penetration.
Evaluate the Alternatives
The goals chosen, and their ideals, in parenthesis ( ), in the Alternative Solution Evaluation Matrix were: increase student/teacher ratio from 3:1 to 4:1 (5); offer progressive incentive plan to faculty (4); spread out into additional states (5); and bargain a new facilities price (3). Increasing the student/teacher ratio from 3:1 to 4:1 ranked highest in value as this means that the school can enhance enrollment. The increased ratio means that costs to students would decrease which, again, would encourage enrollment. Finally, the life skills is the marketable product of the school – without it, enrollment would dwindle. Offering a progressive incentive plan to faculty is ranked fourth because by offering an incentive, the school can eliminate the resistance the teachers have towards the new software and control expenses. Expanding into additional states was ranked a fifth since this is consistent with the schools’ intent to grow. Demonstrating this shows that there is growth potential to move into additional markets beyond the Southwest regions. Lastly, settling on a new facilities rate was ranked a third because it was designed to support growth and was not disadvantageous to their end state goals.
Narrowed List of Alternatives
The solutions with the highest marks will be selected by Foundation Schools. The two alternative solutions selected are finding a proxy project manager and increasing team cohesiveness among the veteran and new teachers
The proxy project manager can work aggressively with Foundations to accomplish its goals without any concerns or conflicts of interest. By creating cohesiveness among the faculty, Foundations can take advantage of influence as exchange – particularly, one of the related currencies (task, position, inspiration, relationship or personal). Essentially, the teachers can have a cross functional relationship with new teaching the veterans and veterans teaching the new, establishing best practices
Identify and Asses Risks
Owning and managing a business involves some degree of risk. The only concern is if the decision will ultimately affect its goals of increasing revenue and growth. Foundation Schools has already determined taking on a new project manager was worth the risk. The question left is if the remaining alternatives (assigning a team leader and increase cohesiveness among teachers) was worth the risk.
Assigning a team leader to the project scored lowest. A team leader will add an extra resource for the project manager and free them up for other work. The only concern is that a person who is promoted to assist the project manager would create disengagement and animosity within the group resulting in employee turnover; however, companies promote from within and succession plan frequently. The risk of turnover is minimal unless the employees were in their position for a considerable amount of time. A mitigation technique would be to offer training for existing employees with the promise of a career advancement plan.
The second alternative is to develop cohesiveness among the teaching faculty. This option is of greater value because it offers the school the opportunity to eliminate any risistance by the veteran teachers; however, before that can be talked about, the risks must be evaluated. If Foundation Schools trys to force cohesiveness on the teachers it risks losing valuable employees through turnover or causing bitterness among them. In order to mitigate these risks, Foundation Schools can assign team building projects where faculty work together – this will maintian levels of respect which long-term teachers may feel is warranted. In addition this woudl develop a level of trust among the teachers which would encourage a team oriented atmosphere and also encourage the veteran teachers to accept the leanring software. Developing cohesiveness is a more viable option in the long term.
Make the Decision
The optimal solution for Foundation Schools is to have a project manager who will aggressively pursue its goals of increasing revenues and spurring growth. The project manager will encourage teamwork within its ranks starting with all teacher faclutys. They will have meetings with the teachers and express the importance of learning how to use the Life Skills software and explain that it is central to their success and progression. The project manager will take a consensus of the veteran faculty to learn what the reasons are behind the resistance to change and work in tandem with them to ensure that they are working towards increasing the ratio from 3:1 to 4:1.
Next steps will include assessing the current problem solution process and its framework. The project manager will implement a process that encourages discovering solutions to problems. The purpose is to address any weaknesses which may exist within the current structure of the schools hierarchy.
The third step will include reviewing the organizational culture and re-evaluating it with John Thomas. There is obviously disconnect between the board members and John and its very important that this is reviewed and compromise given to ensure that no other board member is operating with hidden agendas or interest.
Finally, the school will review the current faculty compensation packages and consider revising it to reflect performance based compensation. This may prove to be an obstacle and Foundation School may need to phase it in through attrition – perhaps even making it more lucrative than its current state.
Develop and Implement the Solution
The plan will be as follows:
Nancy Anderson – responsible for finding a suitable replacement for project manager immediately. She will select and endorse, with board approval her replacement because the board want sto show support and leave no doubt of its confidence in her. She will also be responsible in developing a team approach with the veteran and new teachers. Her background and experience will be key to the success of this project.
Jeff White and Nancy Anderson – will work on the process framework to ensure there is a practical problem/solution map in place to reduce delays in project implementation within 90 days.
John Thomas – review the organization culture to ensure that there are no potential problems pre-existing. Meet with each member of the board and address any questions or concerns within six months.
Andy Antonio – responsible for reviewing and implementing new compensation packages among the teachers. The goal is to structure the compensation plan that it is more advantageous as a performance based plan. The timeframe is six to twelve months.
Jennifer Chin – responsible for implementing the life skills training with a focus on veteran teachers. Her background in piloting new technology may prove to be very useful in changing the life skills approach and in increasing the student/teacher ratio from 3:1 to 4:1.
Evaluate the Results
The success of the program will be measured in three different ways. The increase of student to teacher ratio will be measured by the performance of the teacher within their classroom and also on the enrollment metrics. For example 20 teachers equals a total of 80 students. There should be no instructor with less than four students and each instructor should be versed in the life skills software.
Increased growth will be measured by the overall financial health of the school and quarterly enrollment numbers. If enrollment is increasing, then it can be concluded that the school is reaching its goal of growth.
The success of school expansion into additional states will be measured by monthly statistical reports updating the status of the schools requesting charter status in neighboring states.
Conclusion
Foundation Schools is faced with the ethical dilemma of providing quality need based education at a profit. “Not for profit does not mean ‘for a loss” is a cornerstone for its goals. The faculty is interested in providing the desired education, the community wishes for their children to receive a proper education without being financially exploited and the Board wishes to appease both while increasing revenues.
By using strategic program management, Foundation Schools should be able to accomplish the goals it has mapped. The project life cycle and decision matrix will also assist in reaching their desired goals. Ultimately, it is a blueprint for success but does not always guarantee it. By making adjustments and hiring a new project manager, Foundation Schools has a great opportunity to meet the needs of each stakeholder while maintaining its high standards and providing quality learning model for children with special needs.
References
Amgen (2008). About Amgen. Retrieved for the internet on March 9, 2011, from
American Society. (n.d.).How learning professionals can keep technology distractions at bay. (2009). American Society for Training & Development, 68. EBSCOhost
Kreitner& Kinicki, (2004). Organizational Behavior (6th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill-Irwin.
McShane & Von Glinow. (2005). Organizational Behavior (3th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill-Irwin.
Parker, G. M. (2008). Team Players and Teamwork (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Schermerhorn. (2005). Organizational Behavior (9th ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
Schuler Solutions, Inc. (2009). Overcoming Resistance to Change: Top Ten Reasons for Change Resistance. Retrieved from the internet on March 8, 2011, from, http://www.schulersolutions.com/resistance_to_change.html
Spurgeon, Brad. (2008, October 10). 2 Japanese car makers pursue F1 success their own way. The International Herald Tribune. Retrieved from the internet on March 8, 2011, from, http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/10/sports/SRJAPAN.1-344399.php
Table 1
Issues and Opportunities Identification
Table 2
Stakeholder Perspectives and Ethical Dilemmas
Table 3
Analysis of Alternative Solutions
Table 4
Risk Assessment and Mitigation
Table 5
Pros and Cons of Alternative Solutions
Table 6
Implementation Plan
Table 7
Evaluation of Results
