Change
Management Process a Case Study of One Laptop per Child (OLAP) Project
Background
In any country’s general election, politicians make many promises to the
citizens during the campaign period in an effort to woo them for votes. In Kenya
this is not any different. During the last general election campaign period,
the Jubilee coalition also known as ‘UHURUTO’ traversed the country and one of
their most catching promise was introduction of laptop project in lower primary
school where every class one child would be issued with a laptop in an effort
to impact technology early in the development stages of the children. Many
people opposed to Jubilee Coalition criticized this promise and dismissed it as
just another campaign tool and strategy that would die immediately the campaign
period was over and probably be used in the next general election campaigns. On
March 4th 2013 Kenyans went
to the polls and Jubilee Coalition won and consequently formed the government.
The government through the President Uhuru Kenyatta himself has
reiterated that the project will be implemented as promised and is due to start
from January 2014. To prove the commitment, 17 Billion Kenya shillings was
allocated for the program in the 2013/2014 budgetary allocation presented in
parliament by the finance cabinet secretary in June this year.
The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is an education
initiative program developed to issue new low cost laptop computers to hundreds
of millions of children from the age of 4 years around the world in both
developed and developing countries in the world to introduce technology to the
young minds early in the developing stage of the children. This will provide seamless
integration of ICTs in teaching, learning and management of education the main focus
being enhancement and support of the teaching and learning process (Pedagogy).
With the technology, children can learn to read,
speak and write early and quickly and also nature their innovative minds early
in life. It also
allows primary school students early access to computer skills and computer
science understanding while expanding their knowledge on specific subjects like
Science, Mathematics, languages and Social Sciences through online research or
content hosted on servers.
The project will also complement
the low ratio of teachers to pupils in impoverished countries and help the
pupils cover the school curriculum even with the reported high rate of teachers’
absenteeism in schools. This project will be a major transformation in the
education sector in Kenya and a fundamental step towards the building of a knowledge based
economy as stipulated in Kenya’s Vision 2030.
According to Nicholas Negroponte the founder of the One
Laptop per Child initiative, the overall project goal is to put a
learning tool in the hands of children, assume an intelligent, creative,
curious user who will interact with the machine and possibly do unexpected
things with it and provide tools for creation of media, documents, programs,
and previously unimagined innovations.
The
project has attracted a lot of criticism from many quotas in Kenya from teachers, parents the technology community, the political
opposition parties and the larger public many saying that this is an expensive
undertaking coming at a time when the country is facing many other social and
economic challenges that should be given a higher priority.
OLPC Criticism
The
major criticism that is facing the project includes;
Lack of supporting infrastructure to guarantee successful running of the
computer classes in many schools in the rural areas for example access to
electricity and internet connectivity. Majority of the schools have dilapidated
classrooms and other amenities, not to mention some extreme cases where
learning takes place under the trees. The forces against the project have
dismissed the program maintaining that there is no point of giving students
laptops when their schools have other more pressing needs.
Lack of capacity among the teachers is another hurdle. There are very
few teachers who are computer-literate and can use a computer leave alone use
it as a teaching gadget. The gap in technical expertise to troubleshoot and
repair the computers when they break down has also been forwarded as a point to
review the program.
The project has also been dismissed many saying it is a wrong timing for
such an ambitious initiative. There are other pressing matters that can be
dealt with instead of throwing away money in an impractical project. For
example, many have said the money allocated for the project should instead be
used in jobs creation for the youths, improving the healthcare or paying the
striking teachers or at least first hire more teachers if at all this is a
matter of enhancing education.
The major criticism of the OLPC project is the teachers’ view of the
program as an initiative to replace them with the gadgets. In the just ended teachers
strike in demand for higher pay, there was high indication of how much skeptical
the teachers are on the project yet they are the ones relied on for the
successful implementation.
From the onset, it seems the project will have to undergo major hurdles
and resistance in the implementation and requires clear and sound change
management leadership for its successful implementation.
Change Management
Change
is the process of improving the performance and position of a person, organization
or sector by moving from a current state to a future state and changing how work
is done. A strategic change decision is made at the strategic level and is
aimed at transforming the industry from its current situation to a better state
usually perceived to be a better position for the organization which makes it
gain a competitive advantage over the rivals (Bridges, 2003). Changes may
include cost reduction strategies, production cuts, and staff lay-offs which in
many cases bring about process changes.
Change management is a set of
processes employed to ensure that significant changes are implemented in a
controlled and systematic manner. It
is the approach of shifting or transitioning individuals, teams, organizations or
an industry from a current state to a desired future state (Peters, 2006). It is the process and tools; such as
communications, sponsorship, coaching, training and resistance management plan
for addressing the people side of change. Change management is not an event but
rather a process of helping individuals understand, internalize and support a
change. Sometimes
change management refers to a project management process or stage where changes
to a project are formally introduced and approved.
One major goal of change management
is the alignment of people and culture with strategic shifts in the industry to
overcome resistance to change in order to increase engagement and the
achievement of the change’s goal for effective transformation (Kotter, 2006).
Achieving sustainable change begins with a clear understanding of the current
state of the organization, followed by the implementation of appropriate and
targeted strategies. According to Shaffer & Thomson (1999), the focus of
change management is on the outcome the change will produce; the new arrangements
that must be understood.
A comprehensive change management
strategy should lead to the desired objectives and create a sense of ownership,
enable sustained and measurable improvement and build capability to respond to
future changes.
Change
Management Process that Government through the Ministry of Education should
take
For
the One Laptop per Child project to be successful and gain support from all the
stake holders, the Government through the Ministry of Education should put more
emphasis and effort in the change management process. This will assist in
reducing the resistance that is currently facing the project and have more
driving force that support the change exceed the restraint forces that are
against the change. Qualified, skilled and experienced project managers should identified
to lead the change.
According to (Whitten, 2010), any
change initiatives should be recommended by the change management leader.
Although the change management leader or specialist performs as a key role in
change initiatives, this person normally does not have people supervisory
responsibilities. In this perspective, a board or a Transformation Committee and a strong cross
functional project management unit should be set in the Education Ministry to
oversee the OLPC program and work closely with the consultants to deliver the
objectives of the program. The Project Management Unit would
coordinate with rest of the stakeholders for any necessary input in order to
deliver the desired results at the conclusion of the project. Modalities
that would minimize disruptions to the curriculum during the project should
also be put in place by this team. The expectation would be that the project
would result in operational controls that would lead to efficiency and cost
reduction in implementation.
Many
change management processes exist and can be used in managing the OLPC project.
For example Kurt Lewin’s three phases change process through which the change agent can
proceed before the planned change becomes part of the education system can be
used.
The process starts with the
unfreezing phase. This is the stage where the change agents or the project management unit set up
should unfreeze forces that maintain the status quo to reveal the drawbacks of
the present education system. The people should become discontented and aware
of the need to change. This is very critical because before the OLPC change can
occur, people must believe the change is needed. The Government should
establish a clear communication channel with all the stakeholders to be able to
convince them the need for this change. Campaigns, public awareness forums and
seminars should be rolled out all over the country to sensitize the teachers,
the parents and the students of the benefits of the program.
As
a project manager or the change agent of the OLPC program, the guiding
principles in the initial phase should be having a plan for the project
implementation and being prepared to adapt the plan if the outcomes at
different stages show this to be necessary, having the senior management or leadership support which
is essential for the success of a project, but recognizing that change will
come from bottom up, setting objectives and assigning them to project teams and
congratulating the team when each objective is achieved while keeping
improvement is an ongoing process and finally recognizing that a plan for
introducing change and monitoring the effects of the change is important, but
gaining commitment of people is vital in the success of a project.
This
stage corresponds to John Kotter’s stage of creating urgency for change. The
Ministry of Education through the project management unit should start an honest
discussion, and give dynamic and convincing reasons to get people talking and
thinking about the project. This can be done by organizing study trips for
teachers’ representative to schools in Kenya that have already implemented
similar projects like NEPAD E-School in Kikambala Primary School and Moi Avenue
Primary School Nairobi, ACE in 23 Primary Schools at Coast Province, Camara NGO
Open Source in Primary Schools in Mombasa and Kilifi counties, E-reader in 60
Schools in Bungoma, Kisumu and environs. Lessons learnt in other countries that have already
implemented the project for example Rwanda, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Brazil should
be used as reference. This can work as motivation and strengthen the government
argument which will help in changing the attitudes.
Communication as a tool should be
the greatest asset that the government should use in this stage. Early communication and consultation, while the change
implementation is still in the planning stage, assists in getting people
interested and prepared to participate in the change process. The
greatest failing of the government from the start of this project has been the
lack of communication of what the plan really is, in a comprehensive manner.
This single factor has probably been the greatest contributor to the skepticism
and resistance the government has received to this project. The project could
be a good plan, but without communicating it, people are left to speculate. To be successful, a change management process must include
an effective communication strategy of the vision for the project. A
good and workable communication plan should be implemented.
The change agent should
have a clear understanding that all stakeholders must have opportunities to
express their views and attitudes as part of the planning process. A lot of
improvement is about changing mindsets. It is about having the tools,
techniques and confidence to work with all stakeholders to try something that
is different. It is about understanding the possibilities of thinking
differently and aiming to make practical improvements that will be of benefit
to the pupils, the teachers, the parents and the government as the major
stakeholders of the project.
Any
change process is faced with a certain level of resistance. In the second stage
of Lewin’s process which is movement or change phase, the project manager
should identify, plan, and implements appropriate strategies that will ensure
that forces supporting change exceed the
forces resisting change. Recognizing, addressing, and overcoming the
OLPC resistance and criticism may
be a lengthy process. Professor Whitten advises that an outside specialist is
sometimes recommended to deal with the people perspective of change to minimize
employee resistance and engagement. This person coaches sponsors, stakeholders
and forefront supervisors into delivering project change plans (Whitten, 2010).
For this reason, it is important to value high-ranked employees like school
headmasters who are in support of the project and help influence the rest of
the staff.
Any change of a system, human
behavior, or the perceptions, attitudes, and values underlying the change takes time. Therefore, the OLPC
project should be gradual to
allow installation of the necessary infrastructure, training teachers and
technicians and setting up a good environment for the introduction of the
computers. Enough time should also be allowed for those involved to be fully assimilated in the change. The
vision of the leaders is also very important for planning and implementing the
strategies.
It might therefore be a good idea to begin with a pilot project.
The Government can for example use schools or counties that are already
enthusiastic about implementing the OLPC both in rural and urban areas and take
a few lessons from it. This will increase the chances of success and pave the
way for a positive and broader rollout. The pilot or trial will highlight any
barriers to the project as well as provide valuable learning in successful implementation
strategies. The information and outcomes achieved from a pilot can re-define
the approach used in implementing the project in the rest of the schools in an
even better way. The purpose of conducting the pilot project should be
clarified with the team and all stakeholders involved before commencement and
should be run to assess the best method of implementation and not to determine
if the project will go ahead.
The purpose of this phase should be to make sustainable
improvements to the project implementation and performance. It is during this pilot implementation
phase where the project manager and the project team should monitor the project
generated short term wins, consolidate the gains to produce more change and anchor
new approaches in the education culture. The key objectives of lessons
learnt here should be used to prepare and agree the country wide rollout of the
OLPC project implementation, resource plans and deliver tailored communication to
all the stakeholders that will ensure they all understand by now the need for the
change. The challenges faced in delivery of computer classes should also be
used to prepare and train all the teachers on training using computers, develop
structures, manage concerns and conflicts as soon as they arise, and ensure the
planned benefits are achieved by reviewing the impact of the project.
For
individual level change management, Prosci a renowned researcher in change
management introduced Change Management Methodology called ADKAR model (Prosci, 2009). The project management
unit can apply this model for stakeholders individual change management where 5
stages (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement) are focused
on.
In
the first stage of awareness, one must define why the change is needed, the
risk of not changing, why the change is currently proposed now instead of
later, and what is currently wrong with the existing process. The OLPC project
management unit must be able to create awareness amongst the teachers and
stakeholders who will be involved in the transformational changes by holding
focus group discussions to highlight the needs for the changes and to get their
opinions. According to (Whitten, 2010), this is the phase where a leader will
experience pro and con attitudes. This is also the stage to visually see who is
pro-change or reluctant to the change presented.
The
second stage is the desire phase where everyone is considered to have their own
personal view of the recommended change. So as a change the leader, the project
management unit must instill the desire to change during this phase along with
leaders’ participation. Unlike awareness stage, this phase focuses more on the
expected questions of how the change will directly benefit the affected persons
or will it be a threat to their status quo. The management should therefore
communicate the expected benefits of the changes to the involved persons.
Knowledge
is the third stage. Through communication, the change management team should
deliver the needed knowledge to stakeholders, so that they may perform change
as well as sustain it. This phase includes training in skills as well as
behavior. Training must include both technical and nontechnical dimensions
especially in OLPC which is an IT project that will typically change the
teaching processes and practices which can become barriers to achieving project
goals such as scope, costs, and quality. Workshops and tutorials in using the
technology should be incorporated. The teachers should also be informed about
the increase of responsibility and accountability in their duties at this stage
to change their belief that the project has come to replace them.
The
fourth stage of personal change management process is the ability to implement
the change. This includes displaying the ability to achieve the intended level
of performance for the change. The teachers should be given the responsibility
of implementing, monitoring and controlling the OLPC changes in their
respective schools, with the focus being reduction of costs, growth in value
and gaining greater acceptability.
The
last stage is reinforcement where overall success should be noted along with
sustaining the new processes and resistance. The project management team should
engage in effective communication and dialogue with all the stakeholders
involved in the project to ensure that the resistance is reduced.
For the project team to be able to review the
results of the individual change management and overall OLPC piloting, the
project management unit should lay out evaluation strategies to ensure the
involved teachers and schools have a clear channel for communicating the
results to the management, capturing, recording and communicating lessons
learnt to the broader change management team and other useful information for
future changes in the project. Clear ways of capturing best practice approaches
for future reference and to ensure performance objectives are maintained and
the process continues to improve should also be in place.
If
the pilot project does not produce the expected results, then the first stage
should be revisited and planning should start afresh with the lessons learnt in
mind and as a foundation of the new strategies.
Finally, the project can be rolled out in the entire country preceded
by preparing a conducive environment from the lessons learnt from the pilot
project. This may take a long time due to the resources required. The role of the project managers
in clarifying direction is even more important during the country wide
implementation. It is the role of the direct supervisor to translate the change
around the team into clear identifiable outcomes and expectations for
individual roles. These outcomes need to be managed and supported throughout
the change process. If anything, managers need to communicate more and meet
more frequently with their team members and stakeholders during times of change
to ensure efforts stay focused and constructive towards the new education
system vision.
The
last stage in change process according to (Lewin, 2000) is refreezing. This is the stage where the industry once again becomes stable
(Syque 2007). The change management should keep a keen eye to see when the changes are
taking shape and the stakeholders have embraced the new way of teaching using
the laptops and use this as a sign that the change is ready to refreeze. Otherwise, the team should not be so quick to
celebrate success.
The refreeze stage also should be used to help people and the
country to internalize or institutionalize the changes. This means making sure that the OLPC project
is incorporated into everyday pupils learning both at home and at school. The
pupils should be allowed to try new things with the gadgets, teach their
parents and other siblings, play games with other children and be allowed to
feel comfortable using the laptops at all times. With this new sense of stability, everyone
will feel confident and comfortable with the new ways of teaching.
As part of the refreezing process, the managers should make sure the
country celebrates the success of the change.
This helps people to enjoy success, thanking them for enduring a painful
time, and helping them believe that future change will be successful and we as
a country can transform the country to a developed nation through technology.
Recommendations
The Government should start advocating for
the OLPC project. A committee to steer the project should be setup led by able,
experienced change managers to act as the change agents. All stakeholders
should be identified and fully involved in the project including cabinet secretaries
in the concerned Ministries led by the Ministry of Education, teachers,
students and parents, vision 2030 management team among others. Leaders across the
board should also be involved including ICT champions, technology community,
digital content providers, NGOs who are implementing similar projects and other
countries that have already implemented similar projects. The change committee
should identify the most appropriate change model to use that will see
resistance reduced and ensure a successful project at the end.
The
Government should also commit enough funds to lay infrastructure required for
smooth implementation of this project. Electricity, internet connection and
security, capacity building by training teachers and the laptop technicians
should be a priority. The digitization and development of education content
should also be underway.
Conclusion
ICT
is undisputedly a key driver of knowledge-based economy. In the Vision 2030,
one of the goals for Kenya’s development and improvement in educational quality
and increased use of ICT might be addressed by an implementation of OLPC in Kenya.
The project will address access to quality education and opportunities for all
students both in rural and urban Kenya as stipulated in the constitution and at
a cheaper cost. This will propel Kenya from a Least Developed Country to a
middle-income economy; and therefore these reforms need to happen sooner rather
than later.
However,
it must be noted that implementation of any significant change process usually
succeeds or fails because of the leadership of that change process. The role of
the leadership in clarifying direction is important during times of change. It
is the role of the management to translate the change around the team into
clear identifiable outcomes and expectations for individual roles. These
outcomes need to be managed and supported throughout the change process. If
anything, managers need to communicate more and meet more frequently with their
team members during times of change to ensure all stakeholders’ efforts stay
focused and constructive towards the new change vision.
References
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Hiatt, J. (2010). ADKAR: A Model for Change in Business, Government and Our Community.
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Kotter,
J. (1999). What Leaders Really Do. Harvard Business School Press:
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Kotter,
J. (2002). The Heart of Change. Harvard Business School Press: Massachusetts.
Kotter,
J. (2003). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press: Massachusetts.
Prosci
(2010). Best Practices in Change
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