After reviewing the readings it does not seem like the major theories and models have changed significantly in response to technological, economic, or societal contexts. However, some potential challenges are likely considered more now than in the past. For example, Bayerl et al. (2013) discusses the cultural perceptions and norms that leaders of change need to be aware of.
The Judson method is described in Al-Haddad (2015) as “consists of five phases starting with analyzing the organization, planning for change, communicating it to people and finally reinforcing and institutionalizing it” (p. 249). This is somewhat aligned with my approach, and is similar to the approach used at my organization. Ultimately, any change management is much more nuanced than this, and whether or not it is successful will be due to the attention to detail.
Leadership plays a critical role in managing change. Some of the change methods described by Al-Haddad (2015) are identified as relying heavily on leadership. For example, Al-Haddad (2015) states that “Luecke’s method stresses the importance of strong leadership in supporting change and motivating employees to accept change” (p. 250). Al-Hadded (2015) also states that “The entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation embedded in leadership are very important to successfully managing change” (p. 239).
I think the unique challenges in managing change for learning in digital environments is developing and maintaining the knowledge to understand the digital environment and predict future strengths and weaknesses of technology. Digital environments can change quickly, and leaders need to have a strong understanding of the environment. Looking at the model based on resilience offered by Weller and Anderson (2013), I think this is far too high-level to be of use within my own context.
References
Al-Haddad, S., & Kotnour, T. (2015). Integrating the organizational change literature: a model for successful change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 28(2), 234-262.
Saskia Bayerl, P., Jacobs, G., Denef, S., van den Berg, R. J., Kaptein, N., Birdi, K., … & Horton, K. (2013). The role of macro context for the link between technological and organizational change. Journal of organizational change management, 26(5), 793-810.
Weller, M., & Anderson, T. (2013). Digital Resilience in Higher Education. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning.
Hi Jason,
I think you have hit upon a characteristic that is specific to managing change in digital evironments and that is the need to develop a level of knowledge that will allow you to anticipate some of the inevitable technological advancements and tech risks. When I had the privilege of being CIO at RRU, it was a challenge to come up to speed. but it was important that I was knowlegeable enough to be able to listen to the experts on my team and provide them with decisions, guidance, or support as needed. I did a lot of reading and networking with other CIOs to keep myself informed.