Implementation and Communication Discussion

Watch all four videos that are posted in the assignments for this week. This week we are discussing implementation and communication.

While virtually all of us have an idea about what we want to change and how we want to accomplish that change, we seldom create a comprehensive plan that includes implementation steps. Far too often, a well conceived change initiative ceases to exist altogether, because the change agent has not appropriately addressed many of the barriers to successful implementation. From poor communication to change resistance to poor design to lack of training, implementation barriers need considerable attention from change agents. What part do leaders play in implementation? The videos for this discussion have some clues about why change initiative implementation may fail. Some of those barriers are addressed in your text, but others are found in many other places.

There is no greater barrier to change than communication issues. There is no greater skill than communication that can cross levels, depth, scope, and breadth of people and information. People who are adept communicators quite literally link the world for everyone else. Using the video above, think about the communication that Mr. Laipply uses as he works through his time on stage. Did you understand it? Did you laugh with the audience? What was the language that he used? Why did you understand it? How does culture feed into understanding this video? How does empathy impact our communication skills? Is empathy its own language? Do change agents need a great deal of empathy? Explain. Is there value in outrospection in change management? All of the questions here are presented to help create a framework for your answer. They do not require explicit and listed answers.

Discussion boards are an all or nothing assignment. You either receive full credit or none at all. There is no partial credit. To receive ANY credit for the discussion board, you must meet ALL of the following criteria:

1. Do NOT describe or restate the content of the discussion reading or video. Instead, choose one or two points that you find interesting/important and elaborate on those points in your discussion.
2. A minimum response is 250 words.
3. Every initial response is required to include, minimum, two scholarly or peer-reviewed resources to support your response. Our library allows you to choose these settings to help you find appropriate research to support your work.
4. Do NOT use Wikipedia.com, wiki-anything, about.com, how.com, answers.com, blogs, or any other generic answer base, because you cannot verify the accuracy of the information on the website. Instead, search our extensive library databases to find articles that have contain verified information to support your discussion. If you find a blog from a notable source, you can include that information, but the blog will not count as one of your scholarly references.
5. There are several articles in Course Documents and Web Links that you can, and should, use as references to support your discussions.
6. Every response must be completed in APA style. That includes all citations, both in text and reference, and format. This includes indented paragraphs, font size, and other particulars that you will find specified in the APA manual. You will find an example of a paper written in APA style in Course Materials. Also, the APA style manual is a required text for this course. Discussion boards do not require cover pages, tables of content, and other front matter, and can be copied and pasted from a draft page, such that attachments are not necessary.
7. You must respond to, at least, two (2) other students in class in their discussion boards as well as any questions and comments from the professor or other students. You are required to actively communicate with other students in this class.
8. The initial post for each week’s discussion board is due by Wednesday, 11:59 p.m., of every week that a discussion board is due.
9. There are no discussion boards in week 1 or week 9, because these are the weeks for preparation and the final exam.
10. Technique counts, so be sure to proof read your posts for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other technical issues that can impact communication quality. If you are not a strong writer, you can contact the Writing Center for help toward improving your work.
11. I always suggest that students write their discussion board posts in Word or other word processing software rather than directly into Blackboard. This allows you to save your work and to make corrections before you post your work publicly. Blackboard has, regrettably, been known to eat some thoughtful and insightful responses simply because the response did not load correctly.
12. Again, if you do not meet all of these requirements, you will not receive any credit for the discussion board. Below, you will see a checklist that will help you insure that your work meets graduate standards and decreases the likelihood that you will suffer oversights.

Four Videoshttps://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_ritz_a_teacher_growing_green_in_the_south_bronx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U  presented by Sir Ken Robinson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc  presented by Daniel H. Pink

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMH0bHeiRNg , presented by Judson Laipply

These videos are the property of The RSA and are used under the public domain guidelines found at http://www.thersa.org/events/about-events/rsa-video-and-audio-file-usage-policy .

Palmer, I., Dunford, R. & Buchanan, D. A. (2017). Managing Organizational Change (Third Ed.)  Boston: McGraw- Hill Irwin.