Leadership strategies in facilitating organizational change: An ethnographic case study of a school district unification.

摘要

Purpose. School district leaders continue to manage organizational changes and conflicts brought on by pressures to reorganize and consolidate districts. The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to identify and describe principles used by school district leaders in dealing with structural, cultural, resource-related, and people-related forces causing, and resulting from one form of organizational change: school district unification.;Methodology. One school district unification was selected to study from a list of potential school district unifications. Interviews involved 14 participants, each representing a specific constituent group of the school district community. Internal participants included school board members, administrators, certificated, classified, and confidential employees from both districts involved. External participants included county office board members and administrators, community members, professionals, and business owners.;Findings and conclusions. Findings from qualitative data revealed 12 effective principles used in leading a successful school district unification. Leadership principles included (a) it is important to know unification laws and policies; (b) participants represent internal and external community diversity; (c) the unification idea is a grass roots movement; (d) the unification goal is to improve education for students; (e) communication is thorough and public; (f) public meetings provide avenues for community feedback and input; (g) transparent communication regarding the impact on educational services is necessary; (h) community readiness is a determinant; (i) educational services are improved by reducing administrative bureaucracy; (j) a unification study process should be implemented; (k) a unification commission should be established; and (l) unification commission subcommittees could be established to study the specific impacts of a unification. Experienced and knowledgeable leadership was the most important component in this successful unification. Conflict exists in organizational change. In dealing with conflict, effective leaders seek out innovation and creativity and promote open and honest communication, which can promote higher quality decisions and strengthen the organization by enhancing organizational performance. Staff teamwork and communication improved from the unification. Additional financial resources contributed to generating unification support.;Recommendations. Future research might include more and larger school districts as well as the impact of a unification on the educational delivery methods of school districts.