This qualitative case study focused on the effect of a system implementation upgrade on

research university in the Southern United States. Review of literature revealed a lack of

a specific model or process for system implementation upgrades and its impact on

employees’ performance in a university administrative office. Guided by Kotter’s

research on change management models, the research questions examined the attitudes

and behaviors of employees involved with the business process project. Data collection

was through purposeful sampling and face-to-face interviews with 11 employees. Data

were analyzed through pattern-matching technique. The findings were that employees

initially felt positive about being a part of the business process project. During the

project, employees actually experienced (a) a lack of training, which employees advised

three wonderful daughters, Jazmin Norwood, Jade Norwood, and Khrystyan Turner, who

were instrumental in their patience and resilience of my long hours of writing and reading

to gain insight into this dissertation. On days when I felt I could not go on, their vibrant,

young minds would remind me about the why of my pursuit and the future opportunities

which would yield not only my way but our way after I receive this high honor. Thank

you my loves for not giving up on your mother.

this dissertation to you. Thank you both for being instrumental in getting me through the

technical portion of this dissertation and sharing your separate workplace issues with

I give sincere thanks for your patience, faith, and trust in making this research for me a

reality and stepping stone towards change management in the university administration

sector. Without you, this dissertation could not have been completed in the truth you

freely gave.

me from beginning to end. The time he has taken to encourage me and calm my fears are

priceless.

duration, patience, and face-to-face meetings in encouraging me, guiding me, and

assisting me with my thought process on the behavioral aspect of my research. Your time

was valuable and warmly appreciated. Thank you immensely.

stage I was in throughout this difficult doctoral journey and allowed an ear for me to talk

through my issues. You are appreciated and loved. Your positivity was wonderful.

Wheeler for her support in the use of her laptop, when mine crashed. She had just

completed her Master’s program and didn’t need her laptop. She graciously allowed me

to use her laptop to complete my dissertation. Love you sis!

List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... vi

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study… ................................................................................1

Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1

Chapter 2: Literature Review ...........................................................................................230

study, nature of the study, research questions, conceptual base, definition of terms,

change is widely varied and diverse in different forms of business. Negative employee

using surveys (Whyte, 1991). The surveys give management a view of how employees

currently envision the idea of change before the change is implemented. When there is a

the decision making (Whyte, 1991). Sagie and Koslowsky (2000) stated “The gap

between the failure of management plans and their success may, therefore, be a function

of the gap between worker resistance to and acceptance of these plans” (p. 19). The

employee resisting change can be a troubling problem, sometimes more so than the

complication of learning new technology. Advancement in technological change and

rapid innovation has given rise to further resistance in the corporate culture that makes it

imperative for the mitigation of the negative effects of employee reactions in the

structure of corporate organizations, and this extreme change affects the managing of

people. The Business Process Redesign (BPR) originally began as a process to aid in

change for Information Technology (IT) within organizations. BPR was reengineered to

behavior was affected by the dynamics of management’s decision of a system upgrade as

it relates to the employee’s current job duties. Since this was a system upgrade,

employees gave references given to the first system implementation conducted several

years ago, within the same administrative office. The outcome of successful change

management models or processes used in organizations handling change, can bring

confidence to a university administrative office with similar possible successful results.

The challenge was to obtain enough employee feedback to choose the right model or

process and incorporate it before the change implementation took place, although there

are processes that can be included into the change implementation, even after it has

begun.

processes successfully implemented in corporate organizations and the consequent

impact on the employees’ work behavior.

their job. When handling organizational change, management usually decides how a

change will take place and what method will be used to incorporate the change, without

involving the employees (Brenner, 2008).

involving employees in change management on the employees’ job performance in a

system implementation upgrade in a university administrative office during the initial

implementation phase. This study is a qualitative holistic case study and the population of

the study is the employees of a major research university administration office in the

Southern United States. Emphasis in research was placed on change management and the

effect on employee behavior. Change management reviewed in the literature revealed the

need to understand if negative behavior and disloyalty to a company can arise under

within a major research university administration office in the Southern United States to

explore the impact of a business process project on employees affected by change

only processes to navigate the technical side of a major system change within a business

(Hiatt & Creasey, 2003). In this study, I collected data on employees’ thoughts, attitudes,

suggestions, and feeling about the process or model used to implement change and

analyzed the data to find patterns and regularities.

open-ended interview questions to address the research questions. This case was a

critical case in testing theories that employee engagement in change management yields a

happy employee and a productive environment, exploring a qualitative holistic analysis

(Yin, 2009). Qualitative case studies, according to Miles and Huberman (1994), focus on

obtained in these studies can provide truth and impact the reader because of the real life

context and the emphasis placed on a lived experience.

implementation upgrade affecting their current jobs in a university administrative office?

In addition to the foundation question, four subquestions guided this study:

success during and at the end of the application of the model or process to assist in the

that were obtained in this study can be used as follow-up investigative research in how

change management continues to be a subject matter for employee engagement in this

current year. Further discussion of the implications of the research questions is given in

Chapter 3.

lasting change within the organization. Although incorporating a change management or

business process model is ideal for guidance in the successful implementation of change,

there are some organizations that would like to know the state of their employees before

the change is implemented. The purpose of this logic is to possibly delay any change

implementation if the majority of the organization is not prepared (Carter, 2008).

Readiness (OCQ-C, P R) is a step-by-step procedure involving a 42-item assessment used

on more than 3,000 members of public and private organizational settings. The

enablers affected by the change, from a human relations perspective. An organization is

for the proposed change within the organization. The questionnaire identifies any

problem areas as a prenotification of possible problems which could hinder any

successful change. Once the problem(s) are identified, addressed, and resolved, the issue

implementation can proceed. Although I was unable to find specific research, I propose

universities could benefit from such an instrument and process if there is not a record of

previous major change management based on a new business process model.

throughout the world in various corporations and institutions, I found a very popular

model of change used by dynamic management, which is the ADKAR model (Hiatt,

2006). The intent of the model is to be a guide or tool for management to use in

coaching employees through a major change process in their organization, regardless of

Hiatt (2006) based this notion for management to adhere to major change starting with an

individual, not an organization. The ADKAR model is one of the several direct models

that can be researched and used by an organization when implementation of a major

organizational change is involving its workforce. The model is a directive in showing

how employees can be engaged throughout the change management process, giving the

employees a sense of worth, and valuing their input in the change that affects their job.

Further research in the ADKAR model has shown several universities worldwide

approach or model can be drawn upon as a guide to effectively manage employees, their

behavior, and the work/job functions directly affected by the change (Buller, 2014).

administrative office is the use of a Business Process model (BPM). Review of literature

indicated the BPM is a component used in successful business process management. A

business process model maps out an organization’s current process to create a baseline

for process improvements and to design future processes with those improvements

however, the structure is not tailored to the employees having a part in the change

(Ostenwalder, et al., 2005).

used to ease employees into change without compromising important day to day tasks

(George, Jones, 2001). The problem addressed in this study involved the decision for

organizations to use change management models and/or business process models

introduced through consulting firms, which have proven track records of years of success.

Specifically, within the university environment, when the administration is faced with

handling the upgrade of a major financial system to enhance central operations, the

questions asked. There were respondents who voiced more than a quick interview

question answer. The final results stated in Chapter 5 have given a good indication of the

upgrade at their campus, and if the difference made in their limited and some, non-

involvement during this change. Saturation of data was obtained based on 12 employees

responding to the invitation to interviewed, which meant new participants were not

required, nor were there any new themes which emerged.

engage the employee through all stages of the system implementation upgrade to promote

positive attitudes for change and a sense of value and worth for the employee to continue

to aid the organization in success for the business, all in the midst of the change. First, in

this study I identified the gaps in the literature regarding university administration that

are facing similar organizational change, and the negative reactions from employees who

are not involved in the change affecting their current positions, when a system

implementation upgrade is the result of the change. These institutions were not

recognized as using a specific model or process of change for employee effectiveness as

was noted of the corporations that used a specific model or process of change to assist

employees. Moreover, the employees in these settings expected to be involved in the

implementation, yet were not involved as they thought they would be. Second, in this

organizations, and how a few employees’ involvement aided in a smooth transition of

change management within the organization, thereby showing a positive impact on

behavior simply because these employees were involved in some way by management in

the change process.

to the employee is needed to fulfill this goal. The model or process used in organizations

incorporate the employee in the change that will ultimately affect them, thereby reducing

feelings of ineffectiveness.

healthy work environment for employees engaged in the workforce of university

administration when there is a business process change, new system implementation, or

system implementation upgrade. When employees resist change, it can become very

unhealthy at work, and the issue can ultimately be carried home. Tvedt, et. al. (2009),

suggested in their research that “the healthiness of change processes make an important

difference, potentially helping both the individual health of the employees and the

productivity of organizations as the goals of the change may be reached” (p. 95). Using

professional development seminars can reiterate the need for the university

administration to employ such models or processes specifically aimed at assisting the

employee through the personal side of change, which is the goal of change management.

and friends of employees outside the work environment as well.

enhance employee job performance and the functionality of the offices. Change accepted

in the work environment has major implications for how such change introduced and

carried out amongst the employees. While the ADKAR model introduced by Prosci

(Hiatt, 2002) seems to be the best model for change with a large global following of

successful organizations, and a discouragingly minimal number of university

administration offices listed, there are other models and processes which could provide

equal success involving change management. Research has conducted on many corporate

environments along with what is the best practice to facilitate major change that will

all aspects of the change.

sums of money to visit these environments and lead the employees to change. University

administration has also touched on using external consultants when in the midst of

include or involve them in key processes of change, where their current positions are

affected. Employees helped identify just how much of an impact and the effect they

experienced and what added value they chose to give by being involved. The interview

results will be used to assist in presenting administration in college and universities with

potential models and processes to use in the face of change management. Also, there is

hope in possibly working with an existing change management firm to adopt such a

model or process specific to the university administration environment may be of a large

relevance worldwide, with interchangeable components fitted for the particular change or

need.

change management and its effect on employee attitudes and behavior when the

and processes in assisting employees with a change in an organization. I outlined

assumptions, limitations, delimitations, and significance of the study. The literature

review in Chapter 2 contains theories on organization history, understanding the cycle of

emotions normally experienced by employees in organizational change, various processes

major research university administration office in the Southern United States to explore

what impact a business process project possibly had on employees affected by change

management in a system implementation upgrade. An examination of research in

managerial change and organizational dynamics revealed employees have a high

stakeholders should show a commitment to their work duty and value for the change

initiatives to be successful.

Exposure to this information in the world of colleges and universities may be the answer

in a specific model or program assisting their administration with a managerial change.

Organizational change occurs when there is a need to reorganize a current business

process within a corporation (Whyte, 1991). The focus of this study was change within a

major research university administration office in the Southern United States. With so

much of an emphasis on systems and programs for corporations, my examination of these

practices focused on possible success in using the same framework for colleges and

universities.

with minimal resistance from employees. Organizational change is propelled by the

primary roles of psychological and organizational dynamics. The motivation for the

necessity of change initiated by management is usually in one of the following three

categories:

The human factor of the employee will always be the most critical initiative to consider

in change, yet is the most often overlooked, thereby making resistance dominant

(Brenner, 2008). Although the setting differs, these three aspects are the same in a college

or university.

This chapter includes a more thorough review of organizational change. I examine

several processes explored by companies when faced with a change in their organization,

and its effect on the employee. I also discuss how colleges and universities have

experienced change and how the institution managed the change. Most organizational

changes occur because of some form of implementation (Kotter, Schlesinger, 2008). I

conclude the chapter with a clear indication of the gap in knowledge for specific

situations in change management for university administration. The chapter concludes

implementation upgrade in, the current study’s limitations, and a brief introduction to to

Chapter 3.

corporate, government, or organizational structures that were published between 1993

and 2014. Specific literature for college and university administrative change mainly

dealt with the issues of faculty involved with the change in their respective academic

departments. Several peer-reviewed articles I discuss in this chapter is are about results

of managerial and implementation changes in colleges and universities in other countries.

I discuss how researchers conducted research in other countries on the effect of change

employees, students, and faculty involved in some form of organizational change. Three

specific models, Strategies, Skills and Structures Model, the Top Down Model, and the

Kotter Model, are discussed in the chapter for engaging employees in change at

university institutions that were not specific to central administration. Each article used

Regardless of the sector, size, or age of the business or corporate entity, change is

a common all-embracing phenomenon and impacts all organizations (Bouckenooghe et

al., 2009). Survival of the fittest in the marketplace determines if the organization did or

did not manage the change well (Kennerley et al., 2003). Change management is a

concept which denotes how businesses manage the people side of change, and if they are

successful at doing so (Hiatt, Creasey, 2003). Management of change is contingent upon

the people involved, the type of business conducted, and lastly the actual action of the

change taking place.

The reviews in this chapter are based on decades of organizational studies used in

I have of these studies is: Why do organizations change? Business and organizations

experience upward growth, decrease or downsizing. The response to the change can

affect the system, strategy, mission, and structure of the organization. There is a trend

toward less bureaucratic and more participatory and flexible structures used for change.

A clear understanding among employees concerning all aspects of change if the

organization is ready for the change envisioned from management or leadership is

optimal. and management must ask questions if there are proper resources in place to

monitor the implementation of change through until completion. Change has to be

whole. The effects of employees not being included could be detrimental to the employee

employee. When organizations support the employee, change can be successful. No

organization, college or university should implement change without the input and step

progression of the employee working on the front line (Alasadi, Askary, 2014).

thinking. The second stage is when the change occurs and causes a period of transition

their comfort zone before the change happened. The staging process was a type of

strategy to ease the organization into change using a definite model that used skill and

was a structured process. Based on Lewin’s model, the author embarked on a change

model incorporating seven phases for strategy, skill, and structure.

The reform was to launch a new personnel system within the university, based on

expose to the reader how critical having a model of change which includes the employee

is vital to the success of the organization.

John Kotter, a renowned researcher in organizational change, has developed and

helped corporations worldwide implement his change models within their organizations.

The author lists the eight steps and the actions needed to make the model successful in

the organization:

more than just a technical issue. Users of this new system could not perform their jobs

better. New management’s inclusion of the system, where even they did not have proper

training, was also a major factor to failure. Moreover, one of the main barriers to success

processes not normally done in the organization. The importance of the culture aspect is

there are more and more countries implementing global operations, and the barrier of

cultural differences can lend a detrimental effect on not just an IT implementation, but

any implementation affecting an organization (Warren & Myungsin, 2007).

accounting staff. With any new implementation, there will possibly be a need for more

staff. Employees should not feel the weight of the world is on their shoulders. Hence a

responsibilities, which were factors for resistance by employees to the change (Waweru,

2008).

responsibility of leadership, regardless of what type of implementation is being

Although we have just read about many corporate stories of change with positive

and negative conclusions, the focus of this study is on pertinent scenes of change in

colleges and universities, involving its administrative staff/employees and the

management/leadership teams who hold the key to organizational success or failure.

The pressures of increasing student enrollment and decreasing resources resulted

in a negative effect at a university in London, England. Changes no doubt had to be

implemented fast in the administrative offices. Staff had become completely overworked

and was performing double duties, with more hours beyond their normal work time

because of the increased enrollment. High turnover within the administrative department

looked at by university management for guidance and possible ideas during this time.

Usually, a committee is nominated to oversee exact changes, and they communicate their

decisions and recommendations. The changes that management decided were the hiring

of additional staff for the front office to serve as customer service, in order for the back

to specifically oversee the organizational changes needed, and the results of receiving

input from the stakeholders of how to make the office better (Child & Lander, 2008).

past few years. To manage the change effectively, the university begins designing

training programs to enhance the knowledge and level of expertise for newly hired

employees in the administrative office. The training programs included self-paced,

computer-assisted learning modules and packets about the office environment and

positions. There was also a series of workshops promoted using “team teachers” to

review the objectives learned in the computer programs. Participants gave positive

feedback to leadership that they had learned a great deal and were better prepared for the

1993). A university in South Australia ventured out to using a university-corporate

education partnership to train their employees for the changes at the institution. This

partnership gives employees a wide-range of change implementation topics to study and

to also possibly give them a chance at course-work for better job performance and

education. The institutions have not fully agreed on the acceptance and use of the

managerial changes brought in from the corporate environment into these institutions.

Universities are beginning to be held more and more accountable for the quality of their

performance by their Board of Trustees to improve their administrative quality.

Managerialism as defined by the authors is “the trend of adopting organizational

characteristics, such as organizational forms, technologies, management instruments and

values that originate from the private sector organizations” (Smeenk, et.al., 2009, p. 591).

While this is most prevalent in colleges and universities in the U.S., I will now give

examples of how institutes globally compare with the issue of managerialism, and

allowing their employees to have a voice during organizational change.

history of such a shift in the dynamics of managerial change. Consultants from corporate

organizations are becoming prevalent in higher education institutions. Universities are

increasingly calling upon the external expertise of consultants in management, where

knowledge-intensive, and usually enter into an organization where there are problems

with a top-down management model. Academics define themselves as experts, which

mean to have an outsider come in and break them down in their organization seems to be

almost an insult. It is the job of upper leadership to bring in consultants as an addition to

the change and often communicate with the entire organization as to the consultants’ role.

Collaboration between all parties involved would make for better organizational change

success.

Serrano-Velarde (2010) also advised that few German universities have suggested

that successful radical change in organizational management is necessary for the

changing environment. The EAP was an important program the staff welcomed at the

University and it was considered to be doing what it was purposed to do. To enhance the

program and provide more staff would be exceptional if administration saw it as

wonderful of a service as the employees.

decision to increase staff at the EAP. Three counselors who would work on site full time

would better serve staff and families of the program. Also, to bring the EAP up to current

organizational standards, time would be needed by management to devote better

administrative, developmental, and educational functions to the program. Once the new

program was in place, there was an orientation set up to introduce all employees to the

new EAP. The process was very involved and there were plenty of painful moments of

employees and management are involved (Csiernik, Hannah, & Pender, 2007).

of the involvement of employees and unions in decision-making in the workplace of

TCR clause and its evolution in the universities of Australia. The Australian Higher

Education sector is comprised of two private and 37 public universities affected by the

changes. Strategies involving the employee in change have dominated as a proactive

form of domination in industrial relations strategies and human resource management.

And while there is no specific change model for all situations, employee involvement in

organizational change of some sort is needed.

productivity and efficiency:

Education Workplace Reform Requirements required the universities to amend their

EBAs. The penalty for the institutions not complying would be a lost in Commonwealth

management of workplace change implies the timely involvement of the people who will

be directly affected by that change” (p. 177). The expectation with this mandate will be a

shift in the level of employee involvement in Australian universities (Weller & Van

universities, are discussed by Kenny (2009) stating they both play an important role in

ensuring the effectiveness of the modern university. Corporate models of compliance and

control should dissolve and the use of more inclusive management practices are brought

forward. If additional promotion systems and incentives can be used as part of the

change outcomes in the organization, thereby having such ideas as part of the change

implementation.

To help facilitate change in higher education institutions (HEI), organizational

project reported that ninety-two percent of all responding institutions (55 out of 60) were

actively engaged in some venture for the improvement of their institution. The

Government then announced it would provide funding to assist in the rewards of the

institution's staff development, improving equality and diversity, and modernizing the

management process. The higher institutes of learning have to take responsibility for their

assessment of the change process and practices to be put into place at the organization

and show a demonstrated track of continuous positive change progress and improvement

to the stakeholders.

The Standing Conference of Principals Personnel Network and the Universities

Personnel Association developed the People Management Self-Assessment Tool (SAT)

were using. The HEFCE listed the dates associated with providing an annual report as

summer 2006, summer 2007, summer 2008, and July 2008 as the final deadline.

Suspended or withdrawn funds from the institution would be the penalty if the reports are

submitted past the listed dates. Using a “systems-based model”, the evidence-based tool

A group of preassessment questions is given for each of the dimensions, to be used to

validate the current priorities of the institution and how they plan to support the

organization’s wider goals. Each dimension also has a checklist, along with examples to

follow, providing for the coverage of inputs, processes, outcomes, and outputs of staff

management, which is assessed by HR. Depending on the needs of the HEI, not all of the

dimensions are required to use as part of the assessment; a smaller subset of the

dimensions could be used instead of the full set. The tool is an assessment of the practices

of staff management, led by the HR professionals. Since the tool is evidence-based, the

is essential. The HR director at another university and a lay member of the University

Council served as external elements of validation. The project included three phases:

Phase 1: Data gathering and assessment, Phase 2: Consultation and independent review,

and Phase 3: Action planning.

not just at an institution, yet is varied enough to be used at organizations. It revealed gaps

improvements were the results of the completion of the assessment. There were two e-

learning packages to assist in stress management for staff and the role of the manager in

stress management commissioned as a result of the employee survey. The institution does

plan to initiate a follow-up survey in two or three years to examine the progress of the

institutions. Kotter and Schlesinger (2008) gave a very practical look at how to choose a

strategy for change. There are three steps used that can possibly manage organizational

change successfully:

The effort requires observation and how fast a review will determine the

strategic choices to be made. There has to be involvement of other employees in the

organizational change process, an amount of preplanning by management, and how

management will be cohesive with different approaches to the change. The choices must

problems, show factors relevant to what will produce change, use the analysis to form a

strategy, and monitor the progress of it all (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008).

college and university. Employees are affected by the mismanagement of change no

matter what the sector. Although the focus is on the administrative side of change in

colleges and universities, the literature reviews suggests faculty has also had to handle

change in their immediate departments. The issue of organizational change is steadily

college or university as a whole, are worldwide. There are also examples of the

individual college or university using existing instruments from the corporate

environment to “in-house” the managing of their employees with change, without the

assistance of outside consultants. In whatever way management make the decision to

confront the issue of change, the fact is change cannot happen effectively amongst

employees unless there is some guidance.

In a current review of the literature on change management within the college or

university setting I found the non-inclusion of employees faced with change on their jobs

remain a probable cause to negative employee attitudes and behavior, and ultimately

employee resistance. Alasadi and Askary (2014) found in their research that once

employees are empowered as partners to assist with the change process, it promotes

change and how they are positively handling the change as it was occurring.

Management’s fear of resistance and negative behavior diminished when employees were

included in the organizational change. As stated by Ayodo (2016), it is up to the leaders

to facilitate technology as it is constantly emerging and to value employees and assist in

readiness of change. There is a need by management to understand if employees are

ready for organizational change. Usually, questionnaires submitted by management about

impending change are completed by the employees. The results of the questionnaires are

a critical guide to assessing if development efforts should take place before the initiation

of the change. The bearing of employee emotions revealed in answering questionnaires

and expressing concern to leaders and management of organizational change can limit

progress as well. Dasborough, Lamb, and Suseno (2015) perspective on the outcome of

their research into the emotional stance of employees faced with organizational change at

higher education to have a standard or process model buildable for adaption to the

experience in management has shown me that any successful change has to involve the

lay worker, the person who touches and handles the actual work being affected by the

change. When incorporating individuals before, during, and after any change in their

respective department, I have seen an easier transition. I have also seen a greater

focus on the mission and viability of the university, rather than how to handle damage

control.

analysis. Case study methods can sometimes be utilized for intervening in a change

management situation, or evaluation of a changed process for effectiveness and efficiency

(Trochim & Donnelly, 2007). The case study research method is defined by Yin (2009) in

a two-fold definition:

of evidence that was used to gather the data. Yin (2009) gave the following strengths and

weaknesses for interviews as a case study method:

specifically focused interview allowed each Participant a short time frame. The questions

were not misleading or bias, and allowed interviewees to provide a fresh commentary

Yin (2009) stated that interviews are a vital source of evidence for case study

research because this type of research involves humans and their behavior regarding the

events in question. When an interviewee recalls information, well-informed responses

and insights into these events are provided. The interviewee can also provide a glimpse

their possession to lead with their answers (Singleton & Straits, 2010).

open-ended interview questions, with each of the 12 employees who participated, each

approached as a separate case. I based this case study on the grounds of a conceptual

framework concerning change management. Change within any environment dealing

with a system implementation upgrade will affect all employees in different ways (Fedor

et al., 2006).

introduced to the employees in the Fall of 2014. The employees had the chance to

behavior. There was insight from the discussion of the employee visibly being assisted by

management and involved in the system implementation process over the past 8 months.

Employees have shown positive effective acceptance to change management, and the

process yielded some positive success.

were specific to corporations and companies, absent of specific processes tailored for

fitting into the environment of a university administration office.

processes for the overall operation of the institution, management will seek out ways on

how to handle such large changes in managerial practices. Exposure to these institutional

needs will require the assistance of employees to guide management in how to effectively

conduct the change in where their jobs are critically affected.

university website informing the public about the changes within its administrative

departments was information for employees experiencing change within the university

system in the various aspects entailed for their specific position. The diverse sample

included salaried professionals, as well as administrative assistants. Appendix A is a

of participants responding to participate in the case study was 12. Since case studies

involving qualitative sampling involves work with “small samples of people” (Miles &

Huberman, 1994, p. 27), assumed interviews with a large group are not necessary. An

email (Appendix C) was sent to individuals in the offices who have been employed at the

university since the beginning of the initial business process project back in 2009 and still

employed as of the most current process, for interest in participating in the case study.

total interviews conducted, and no further interviews were needed to reach data

saturation. Once successful interviews were complete with common themes, the point of

data saturation was reached. As with the case of data saturation, Francis et al. (2010)

reference Glaser and Strauss (1967) that the point of saturation in the field of qualitative

importance of data saturation addresses if the theory-based interviews conducted will

cases of different views and stories of change management involving a system

implementation upgrade and how each handled the change. It is also possible to suggest

interview process. I then transferred information to a case study database, using NVivo

Pro 11. I used an audio recording device for recording purposes only, with the approval

and consent of the interviewee. The tapes serve as part of tangible evidence and proof the

interviews took place. Transcripts of the audiotaped sessions allow for transcript review

to ensure transcription is correct. All participants confirmed a written consent to the

recording session. TranscribeMe, a transcription service, was utilized to transcribe all

audio tapes into written form, which was downloaded automatically into the NVivo 11

Pro software. Appendix E is a copy of the signed Confidentiality Agreement from

TranscribeMe.

sessions took place. The individual’s name is not on the form, but the identifier is the

interviews in person at the most convenient time of the participants, which was during

their lunch hour at the University, in a private conference room booked by the employee,

at management’s approval. Appendix D is where the list of interview questions can be

found that were reviewed and used. Upon completion of the interview, each participant

interviews as part of my research, and part of the interview process. The information

gave me insight as to the stages of change implementation the university was undergoing,

as well as how the change process communicated to the employees via the website.

Since the name of the university is on the public material, I will not share it in my

research. The material however made my research foundation firmer because it

publicized the organizational change as it was happening around campus.

Data Analysis

The conceptual propositions that led to my case study were the general strategy

most preferred to follow in analyzing case study evidence. The analytic technique used

was pattern-matching logic, in which the empirically based pattern of change models or

processes assisting employees in how to handle change in their office compared with the

assistance in change implementation, making the change favorable and less resistant.

These patterns coinciding were a very important step for the results strengthening the

internal validity of the study. I used NVivo 11 Pro for Windows as my research database

software program to input and gather results, as well as organize and compile information

data.

calculated as to how the responses were rated based on like themes, using a graph to

show thematic results from patterns, discussed in Chapter 5. I used the data as a case

study analysis of how employees feel about the process of change within their university

administrative department, and how management could use the information to see

patterns in employees wanting and needing to be a part of the system implementation

change process affecting their current positions.

patterns. Yin (2009) stated pattern matching logic was “one of the most desirable

pattern coding, Miles and Huberman (1994) gives a brief description of pattern coding as

being explanatory and inferential, in which this type of analysis is used to review and

meaningfully break apart all data, to sort out, reflect and link information back to your

research. The use of pattern coding assists in the identification of emerging themes, or

research questions, framework, and/or any problem areas expected. The study results

show how I was able to match the codes with responses from the participants based on

the research questions I asked during the face-to-face interview sessions.

Table 1

Table 2

employees agreed the interview could be conducted via an audio session using a

microcassette recorder. Participants understood management would not have access to

locked in a file for 5 years per institutional requirement.

research. The participants confirmed the questions were understandable. The

participants confirmed they were allowed to add to their responses to the questions,

related to their current job, and the current change process they were experiencing. There

were suggestions to hint more to question 1 being specific about communication

possibly, yet I did not want to change the question and lead the respondent in the main

study on to a different response.

participants. I conducted the research per an agreement with the participants in using

their lunch hour, privately, within a conference room provided by the institution for me to

conduct the research. The privacy of the conference rooms allowed the participants to be

at ease in responding to all questions for the interview. Based on the responses given,

there was not any indication that conducting the research at the participant's place of

affected by the major change in a university administration office could benefit from a

definitive model or process to be used by management to assist the employee in a system

were employees. Participants came from four different departments within the

administration.

study is shown in Table 4. I interviewed employees and supervisors. Supervisors were

not part of the decision-making process but were used as a channel of information from

managerial meetings.

respondents. Participant 12 was called into an important meeting via their cellular device

possibly had on their job, thoughts, and feelings toward management. I interviewed

participants in a face-to-face format by asking six open-ended questions as the research

sessions, at the participant’s agreement. I conducted interview sessions at the institution,

during the lunch break, where the participant was employed. Each interview session

varied in duration from as little as 20 minutes to as much as 40 minutes. Some

research software NVivo 11 Pro, for coding and analysis. It took less than a week to

receive the transcriptions back in .txt form from TranscribeMe to my Walden University

email address. I uploaded the text files into the NVivo 11 Pro software in which coding

for themes would take place on participant responses to interview questions.

interview questions in Nvivo 11 Pro; I separated each transcript into a single participant’s

response. The emailed transcripts from TranscribeMe were delivered in three separate

email batches. Each single transcript was imported and labeled in NVivo based on the

participant’s alpha-numeric code of 2-A through 2-K. I saved these items in a folder

labeled “Interviews” housed inside of the Internals cabinet. Table 5 and Table 6 below

participants interviewed for this case study is as follows:

Table 5 Table 6

possible items to compare to participant’s responses. The themes were critical in a case

acknowledged by the employee during the experiencing of organizational change. The

Open-Ended Questions (see Appendix D) related to the research questions and were used

in the interview sessions to give each participant a chance to speak openly and share their

experience.

on the themes chosen for the research. These features allow the software to search

through the transcripts of all participants for like terms placing them in a list referencing

which participant made the statement.

example to represent the analysis. The participant’s alpha-numeric reference is used

based on the theme listed as nodes in the software. The references are not all inclusive,

yet are a confirmation of some relation to the case study theory of employees expressing

their thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors about organizational change during a system

implementation upgrade.

discussed in their thoughts of management making decisions of organization change and

how they would be affected by it. The participants do understand management actions

involving change, yet in addition to decisions made to make the department or

organization effective, management should also yield decisions for how to make the

university website of management conducting a series of meetings between the

employees and management on the system implementation upgrade. I wanted to know

what participants had to say about the meetings. The responses revealed how many of

the participants attended the meetings, and how many felt encouraged enough to speak

during the meetings. Also, it was noted meetings were not just between upper

management and employees; there were also meetings between the participants and their

immediate supervisors. Sometimes management would have meetings with the

supervisors only, and the supervisors would return to their individual department to meet

involved in two types of meetings, which seemed to be an important method for

management involving employees in different forms of communication. Participant 2-B

was an employee who used a meeting with management to voice their opinion on how a

process could become more effective.

would be of no consequence in remaining employed. Participant 2-C was an employee

who had the concern of the system implementation upgrade eliminating jobs in the

organization.

system implementation upgrade bringing increased duties on the job since automation of

current manual duties would process steps in using a system. Several participants

expressed the first implementation brought about processes to their job duties that turned

a five-step manual process into a 30 step system process because of the different

components to be put into the system and to verify before there was a finished product.

Participants also discussed if the increased work duties would bring an increase in salary,

and new personnel to share in the workflow. Participant 2-D was a supervisor who

expressed the need for the additional workforce.

based on participant experience with how management or supervisors communicated

their input.

guide the case study was: What impact has a business process project possibly had on

assisting and involving employees with change management in a system implementation

upgrade affecting their current jobs in a university administrative office?

management used to guide the employees in the system implementation process, not one

participant could give a definitive process or model being used. Based on research in the

review of literature, employees were given the name of a model or process being used by

management for change, along with definitive steps to be achieved throughout the

process. As noted in some of the literature reviews, defined models and processes had a

complete name and outline of its uses. An employee could readily identify and

understand a title. For example, the ADKAR model introduced by Jeff Hiatt is a defined

model an employee could cite as being used by management, which is measured by

milestone accomplishments.

Participant 2-H was a supervisor who noted:

One main question could not capture the exhaustive information intended to receive from

participant responses. The main question was broken down into four sub-questions to

further explore the responses and their relation to the seven themes. Participants have

management providing assistance to the employees during the change. Responses from

misunderstood by the participant when used in Question 5. Anticipation was for

statements discussing management’s action to increase employee participation in the

organization because of the change. University newsletters shared on the internet,

items I read, yet it bothered me no one thought it was important enough to mention

during the interview sessions.

system implementation or change process. Participants expressed experiencing some

increase. It brought other themes of possible job loss for not being able to keep up with

the added workload, stress for feeling non-completion of their job is at the end of the

work day, and not receiving training in time or detailed enough to do their current job on

an upgraded system. Questions and concerns over management are increasing the number

of employees to work at the organization to even out the new workload. The overall

major concern continually shared was that of training to do a current job, with increased

observed.

detailed and confirmed that employee behavior is altered when faced with change.

Several participants shared either looking for a new job or retiring early just to avoid

more stress. Other participants admitted to coming to work only to do as much as they

were of this negative experience, but some employees were able to voice their suggestion

and see the attempt of management to incorporate the suggestion.

in meetings because you're deemed-- if you give your positive-- if you say something that

they don't like, there's a target on your back, so we don't speak up during our meeting.

on the participants. Four managers/supervisors gave crucial insight from their side of the

spectrum, which were in sync with what some of their employees were going through.

Managers have had more of direct involvement with the system implementation than the

employees. There was not a mention of employees having some form of assistance in

going through this change management, as previously commented. Some participants

employee, they would essentially be out of a job. The behavior expressed by some

participants is that maybe it was time to leave the institution; also, an attitude was

expressed of just coming to work to complete a day, and then go home, and not being

motivated in the change management for the business process project.

functions/duties on a daily basis have the knowledge to assist management in how to

incorporate the business side of the office into a successful change implementation. The

purpose of this qualitative case study was to interview employees within a major

university administration office in the Southern United States to explore what impact a

impact the reader because of their real life context and the emphasis placed on a lived

experience. Yin (2015) spoke of the richness of context in qualitative studies since the

setting of the study involves the everyday lives of different people regarding how their

past or current circumstances. The five distinctive features listed by Yin (2015) were

evident in this research. They are as follows:

emerging themes and patterns not mentioned in the preassessment of possible codes

found is represented in Table 7. The new all-inclusive table of codes and code definitions

is where the bulk of the research findings confirmed portions of the literature review, as

well as alignment with the theory. Recoding refined my categories and placed more depth

into the code definitions, based on observation and progression into the research because

of the attention to details and perspectives of the participants (Saldaῆa, 2016).

Table 7

providing proper training to handle the increased workload, as well as if there would be

an increase in salary. Employees involved with the system implementation upgrade and

preferable by management, according to Erwin (2009). In order for there to be a culture

of change and understanding in an organization the critical level management address

should be the initial planning and accountability for leaders to be ready.

move to successful implementation of change when results of past efforts are not

considered to repeat (Prywes, 2011).

workspace changes and their effects on employee behavior in their work environment and

the major role it plays in the productivity of the employee. During the taped interviews

some employees expressed concern about their current office space, team, and

environment changing because of the increased workloads experienced as a result of the

system implementation upgrade. One employee expressed it may be time for her to

retire, something she has not thought about previously, but due to the changes, she did

not know if her work environment would remain the same. De Been and Beijer (2014)

stated that workplace environments can change or become innovative when an

goals. Employees encountering such changes within their workspace can have an impact

on job satisfaction and work productivity.

identify enough with the institution to have a positive attitude towards change as Bartels,

train new employees hired into the department. Participants were positive about this

approach. Employees participating in this case study at Penn State expressed the

university’s approach to similar techniques. Penn State provided some training, which

included packets of information on the system upgrade. Administrative management at

the university scheduled mini-seminars around campus to bring awareness of the system

implementation upgrade. However, the employees felt the approach was general and an

overall depiction of what was happening, rather than having training, modules, and

packets speaking directly to their specific job functions and/or areas.

number in the crowd. Smaller meeting with supervisors only became gripe sessions since

the supervisor did not have any decision-making authority, or was willing to give top

level management outcomes to the smaller meetings. Feelings of job loss and increased

work assignments brought agitation and frustration, all signs of negative social change in

organization which involves any form of major administrative change. They should take

strong consideration of the human side of change for the employee when their job is

affected. Business processes will be inevitably a part of any change within an

input and suggestions, develop corrective action programs and the conclusion of

celebrating small and large success throughout the change implementation (Hiatt &

Creasey, 2003). These are keys to overall positively profound social change, within the

organization.

to the importance of communication and how often if mentioned in their interview

transcript. The length of the line extended from the COMM code to the actual

participant’s transcript denotes how often the word communication came up in their

interview. 10 participants expressed some comment on communication as it relates to

management discussing the system implementation upgrade with them in some form.

individual case, based on the method of focused interviews to obtain data proved to be

research helps establishes a correspondence between two or more categories of text. It

analysis of how codes related to each response to a research question. Patterns were

drawn to form the level of relationship for the response to guide us in how important

of the system implementation upgrade has had on the participants.

understanding of complex issues revealed in the research. The participants show a

snapshot of the interaction of these issues and the relative factors affecting their lives at

employees within a major research university administration office in the Southern

United States, analyzed the impact of a business process project involving change

management in a system implementation upgrade. My theory on employee involvement

in change for a positive workplace has proved correct. The literature review dates back to

the 1940s for theories based on the importance of assisting the employee in a change

process affecting their job, by allowing the employee to be an intricate part of the change.

Employees’ exhibit strong negative reactions and behaviors when told their job will

change, or duties will increase, and there has been no consideration given to what input

they could have given to make the process easier. Employees who have been with a

company for years threaten to leave, or worse only show up to work to simply get a

paycheck, versus making sure the university will uphold through the change.

implementation or upgrade. The major component is communication before, during and

after the change. Training before during and after the change is another item to notate the

need for the employees. Moreover, yet the most important aspect of change is the show

of concern of management for the employee in all phases of implementation. Figure 5 is a

establishments as new technology changes the way we do business.

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