Assessment at North Carolina State University: Adapting to Change in the Workplace

Marilee J. Bresciani, Jane H. Griffiths and Jon P. Rust   |    Volume Four  |   

Abstract

Effectively introducing change in job responsibilities, particularly when dealing with tenured faculty, can be challenging. More often, additions or changes to work tasks, such as integrating assessment procedures into existing work tasks, requires employees to apply new and/or more complex knowledge, skill, and ability. When compared to organizations practicing contemporary-type work methods, institutions practicing traditional-type work methods, such as those common to traditional university settings, can find adaptation to change particularly onerous. For example, tenured faculty may perceive introductions of new concepts or new terminology as substantive changes in their practice, even though the change is an introduction of new labels to their current practice or a systematization of a former practice. Consequently, the integration of new assessment procedures, as in this instance, can have a significant impact on faculty when learning to accommodate that change. Therefore, understanding why long-tenured employees may be particularly resistant to change in the workplace is important when adding assessment procedures to existing work responsibilities. To better understand faculty resistance to change and to help facilitate the change process, one can apply the integration of work adaptation theory. This paper reviews concepts included in the theory of work adaptation, with a focus on work adaptation theory developed by Petrini and Hultman. Petrini and Hultman cite six common beliefs that lie at the root of employee resistance to change and provide strategies for addressing such resistance. The six common beliefs include the following: (a) One’s needs are currently met by the traditional methods already in place, (b) The change will make it more difficult to meet one’s needs, (c) The risks involved outweigh the possible benefits, (d) There is no basis for the change – it’s just another plan to get more work out of us with fewer resources, (e) The organization is mishandling the change, and (f) The change will fail and go away. This paper addresses issues related to employee resistance when incorporating undergraduate assessment into the culture of a Research Extensive institution. Discussed are experiences in confronting Petrini and Hultman’s six beliefs when working with tenured employees as well as the application of strategies they suggest when addressing employee resistance to change. Furthermore, the six beliefs and strategies are applied as a means to clarify key findings with regard to the institution’s successful implementation of changes designed to improve student learning.

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