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AET/560 Communication Plan
- 1. Communication Plan Derek J. Jackson March 23, 2015 AET/560 Randy Howell
- 2. Introduction – Pearson Education Organizational Information • NorthAmerican affiliate based in United Kingdom • Publishing company ownerships • Deep involvement with test assessments • $1.16 billion profit in 2012 • Multi-million dollar contracts with several states
- 3. Introduction – Recent Pearson Education Testing Issues • California 1998:Test scores delayed • Arizona 1999-2000: Grading mistakes • Florida 2000:Test scores delayed • Washington 2000: Rescored writing exams • Minnesota 2000: Grading mistakes in graduation assessments • Minnesota 2002: Incorrect failing of students due to a computer glitch • Michigan 2005:Test scores delayed • Virginia 2005: Grading mistakes • Minnesota 2007: Online math assessment malfunctions • South Carolina 2008: Scoring errors • Arkansas 2008: Retakes on test • Wyoming 2009-2010: Computer test program failure • Florida 2010:Test scores delayed • NewYork 2013: Errors in scoring tests
- 4. Introduction – Need for Communication Plan • Gap between expectations at the state level and the product being delivered • Millions of dollars changing hands with contracts and fines • Reliable, fair, accurate, and valid assessments for our students • Continued failure of Pearson Education to meet standards requires organizational change • Communication is the groundwork for organizational change
- 5. Communication Plan Layout • Launching the Communication Plan • NecessaryTechnology • Testing Effectiveness and Impact of Management Response • Generating Feedback for Continuous Improvement • Addressing Negative Responses • Affecting Organizational Change
- 6. Launching the Communication Plan • Phase One: Pre-Change Approval • Sell the plan to upper management of Pearson Education including top executives and regional leaders • Introduce change in smaller steps • Consideration of timing • Connect change processes to Pearson Education goals, vision, and their priorities
- 7. Launching the Communication Plan • PhaseTwo: Developing and Creating the Need for Change • Rationale and employee reassurance of fairness • Clarification of change steps • Comparative data • Employee job status • Training
- 8. Launching the Communication Plan • PhaseThree: Midstream Change • Communicating progress to employees • Full circle feedback • Identify misconceptions and combat rumors • Websites, surveys, blogs • New roles and structures in place • Enthusiasm and motivation to maintain positive environment
- 9. Launching the Communication Plan • Phase Four: Confirming Change • Celebrate successes • Strengthen incomplete tasks • Prepare for subsequent changes
- 10. NecessaryTechnology • LCD projectors to display presentations • Private e-mail • Change websites, blogs, online surveys, and electronic bulletin boards to help employees understand change processes and maintain communication • Fairness, respect, trust, and confidence from employees toward management • Company-issued or personal cellular service, preferably with smart technologies • Video conferencing
- 11. Testing Effectiveness and Impact of Management Response • Ensure employee understanding of need for change and impact on each of them • Ensure employees about job changes and influences on the future • Ensure employees that they will be kept informed
- 12. Testing Effectiveness and Impact of Management Response • Compare goals of change process with communication accomplishments • 360° feedback to get many points of view • Contribute data to determine effectiveness with triangulation • Impact of training and skill development • Communicating progress with each other and leadership • Behavioral and cognitive training for upper management of Pearson Education • Coordination, innovation, quicker response times
- 13. Generating Feedback for Continuous Improvement • Encourage and support employee communication from the bottom up • Online surveys and blogs to keep employees informed • 360° feedback from leadership to employee levels • Communicating aspects of new roles and responsibilities • Performance appraisals
- 14. Addressing Negative Responses • Focus on behavioral aspects of individuals • Welcome the resistance as an opportunity to foster further communication • Alignment of communication with systems and structures of Pearson Education • “What is happening, why is it happening, and what does this tell us about what we should do now?” (Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols, 2012b, p. 222).
- 15. Addressing Negative Responses • Engagement • Keep Pearson Education employees engaged and in the know • Timeliness • Be quick and credible • Two-Way Communication • Encourage communication from the top, down and from the bottom, up
- 16. Affecting Organizational Change • Increased employee engagement and motivation • Strengthening communication leads to fewer mistakes • Repair the damaged name of Pearson Education • Framework and foundation for change processes • Learn from errors and prepare for future changes • Inspire, motivate, and develop future leadership
- 17. Affecting Organizational Change • An effective communication plan for Pearson Education will… • …close the gaps between product expectations and the product that has been delivered in the past. • …identify and strengthen the roles and responsibilities of the employees of Pearson Education. • …be the means toward which Pearson Education achieves successful assessment-driven products in the future. • …directly affect the students in school districts where Pearson Education is an important tool in educational success.
- 18. Conclusion • Communication must be connected to Pearson Education goals • Communication must be continuous and effectiveness constantly tested • Communication must include feedback from top executives as well as the working employee • Communication must turn resistance into a tool for change
- 19. References • Cawsey,T.F., Deszca, G., & Ingols, C. (2012a).Action planning and implementation. In Organizational change:An action-oriented toolkit (2nd ed., pp. 299-342).ThousandOaks, CA: Sage Publications. • Cawsey,T.F., Deszca, G., & Ingols, C. (2012b). Managing recipients of change and influencing internal stakeholders. In Organizational change: An action-oriented toolkit (2nd ed., pp. 299-342).ThousandOaks, CA: Sage Publications. • Singer, A. (2013,April 24). Enough is Enough -- Pearson Education Fails theTestAgain and Again. Retrieved March 21, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/enough-is-enough-pearson- _b_3146434.html • Spector, B. (2013). People alignment. In Implementing organizational change.(3rd ed., pp. 99-124). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Secured PDF document Implementing_Organizational_Change_3e_Ch05.pdf
Editor's Notes
- (Singer, 2013) Among their most notable and recognizable publishing ownerships are Scott Foresman, Penguin, Adobe, Harcourt, Puffin, Prentice Hall, and Allyn & Bacon. Notable assessment information includes the SAT (Stanford Achievement Test) and the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress).
- (Singer, 2013) These issues are from a single article and do not reflect all of Pearson Education’s mistakes in the past 15-20 years. It is notable that most issues are in the untimely nature of districts receiving test scores from Pearson Education once they are scored, assuming they are scored correctly. This may become the focus for immediate change processes – to identify why there is such a delay and why it keeps occurring.
- (Cawsey, Descza, & Ingols, 2012a) Introduce employee behaviors during this phase, but be continuously aware of the timing of the pre-change approval phase. We want to be opportunistic and get maximum involvement from the most notable individuals within the company.
- (Cawsey, Descza, & Ingols, 2012a) The comparative data piece can be the unfreezing point for some of the complacent employees who do not immediately recognize the need for change. When they see how Pearson Education is being negatively affected by consistent errors and mistakes, along with the comparison of how another rival company is taking advantage of Pearson Education’s downfalls, it might strike a chord.
- (Cawsey, Descza, & Ingols, 2012a) Rumors and gossip destroy company morale and breed further negativity as well as resistance. Websites, surveys, blogs, and electronic bulletin boards are quick and easy ways to get important information to all stakeholders before rumors and gossip can unfold.
- (Cawsey, Descza, & Ingols, 2012a) Celebrate successes and accomplishments along the way, not just at the conclusion of the communication plan or the change process. This will help increase employee buy-in, motivate individuals on the fence, address negativity, and impact behaviors for the better.
- (Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols, 2012a) To be used throughout the four phases of the communication plan. Depending on the type of communication and the responses being sought, the wealth of communication and the method in which it is done will have an impact and must be taken into consideration.
- (Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols, 2012a) Majority of this impacted in midstream phase of communication plan. Employee reassurance in these three areas is key to testing the effectiveness of the communication plan. Too often, those in leadership roles will assume that because they understand these three points then everyone underneath them will understand as well. This is not true, and it needs to be communicated to employees to quell all assumptions.
- (Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols, 2012a) (Spector, 2013) “Self-appraisal and data from multiple sources can help increase the validity and effectiveness of performance feedback” (Spector, 2013, p. 106).
- (Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols, 2012a) (Spector, 2013) Feedback itself is a great communicator if it is used appropriately. It should maximize impact on employee behaviors, focusing on new behaviors rather than supporting old ones. Performance appraisals during the second and third phases of the communication plan are a formal way to address to continuous improvement. Employees with regularly scheduled appraisals will understand strengths and weaknesses, address them further, and reinforce new behaviors during the process.
- (Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols, 2012b) Employee resistance will come in many forms and for various reasons as outlined in chapter 7 from Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols. The focus is not on finger-pointing and placing blame when resistance is met from individuals. Instead, open conversation is the key to communicating those differences and moving forward.
- (Cawsey, Deszca, & Ingols, 2012b)
- Failure to meet the goals and demands of the communication plan will have an adverse effect on the change process. Communication is the single-most important aspect of organizational change because without it, failure is the destiny of any organization.
- Perhaps it is the availability of so many forms of communication today as it relates to technology that problems with Pearson Education were not well documented prior to 1998. Communication is imperative to ensure that Pearson Education thrives as a leading publishing company into the second quarter of the 21st century.