LAK E C OUN TY LI B R ARY DI ST RI CT

FRAMEWORK :
The mission and motto of LCLD is the county is served when we make time to listen. LCLD has a fine reputation for community service. The retired Head Librarian prided herself that there were more library cards issued per capita in Lake County than any other county in the state. But there were some imperceptive approach of the earlier management that raised certain eyebrows and led to bring about change in management. The changes that needed to be made were about: 1. Administration and 2. Use of Technology. In this case both the changes are being taken into consideration to meet the county governments concern. LCLD had certain problems to tackle to get a good accreditation from the county government. They were:
 The managements approach was traditional. The earlier Head Librarian took all the decisions herself and the mostly the employees had no say in it, that is they werent proactive in management decision.  Lack of se of library interns. They were the inexpensive labor and worked as a force for improvement and revitalization.  LCLD had no computerization at all. Now it has to be implemented.  Time limitation from the county to install and implement a computer systems in just one year, with no increase in systems operations budget for next few years.  Resistance of the employees to change because of the fear of retrenchment.  The employees fear that efforts of personal service will get diluted.  Decrease in the efficiency of the staff because they feel that they have neither the aptitude nor the interest to learn the extensive programming.

1st Phase

Now that we know the pressing issues at hand at LCLD we are left with four options to implement change: A. Implement computerization as a top-down change. Prescribe to the necessary direction ourselves. B. Implement the change by involving all the employees in decisions about how to put the system in place. C. Implement the change by involving all employees in decisions whether or not LCLD should implement a computer system. D. Implement the change by involving a group of employees in decisions about how to put the system in place. Keeping all the factors in mind we have to choose the correct alternative that would lead to the successful implementation of change in this scenario. In this case, it is evident that we would opt for option A.

Why option A
I choose option A because top down implementation is an ideal solution. The time available to install and implement the change is limited that is only one year. It means that the decision has to be implemented immediately. The Head Librarian has been selected because he has the experience with computerized library system. The location of the knowledge about the change is held with the manager being more knowledgeable than the rest, this add support to our decision of top-down implementation. The approach of the management was traditional, and employee participation was undermined, hence the employees expect the Head Librarian to tell them exactly what to do, that is they expect authoritative change. The Head Librarian is selected by the countys government so it gives great power to bring about the change. All these conditions are favorable for the top down implementation.
Why not option B

Option B is not the appropriate answer because this option implies towards delegation. There are different opinions of different people. If we call all of them to know about their opinions then it is possible that they may try to score of their own and the ultimate goal will be left behind. They may start arguing about what to implement and what not to, and this may create a rift between employees. It is not possible to delegate because:
y

The time is limited for the implementation of change

Only the current Head Librarian has experience with computerization of library system.

y y

Employees are not proactive in the management decision process. And, the current Head Librarian has all the power and backing of the countys government to take decision, which means that employees have to be instructed to perform a particular job.

Why not option C

After interviewing the employees 3 groups surfaced. a) Openly receptive group b) Uncommitted group, and c) Openly suspicious If all the employees are asked, then there are 2 groups uncommitted and openly suspicious groups, who will oppose it out rightly and they are large in number. They have fear of retrenchment and believe that they do not have the skill and the ability and the interest to learn the new system. By weighting or options we find that for implementing the change we cannot involve all the employees in decision about whether or not to implement a computer system. It is also mentioned that county has clearly stated to install and implement computer system. If this is the amount of resistance that the new management will face, then only top-down implementation comes to the rescue of the management and it is the only feasible way.

Why not option D

Involving a selected group of people may seem to be a feasible option, in order to know the mass opinion, but there are groups with different queries and doubts. Involving a selected group of people may create a sense of resentment in other people as to why only a few people are chosen and asked and why not the rest of them. This will create rift between the employees and they may further get divided into more groups. Then there is time limit of one year and LCLDs accreditation is at stake. No one from the employees have any expertise knowledge about the change and last but not the least, no proactive participation from the employees side. Given all these reasons, involving all or

selected number of employees in decisions about how to put the system in place is not a very feasible option.

LCLD II.
You have collective decided that the top-down implementation is the best. You now face several decisions about how to do this. Your first need is to decide how to phase the change. Which would you choose? A. Implement the change so that it is operational in the Live Oak branch first and then in the main branch and finally in the Crystal Lake branch. B. Implement the change so that it is operational in all the branches simultaneously. C. Implement the change so that it is operational in the main branch first and then in the Live Oak branch and finally in the Crystal Lake branch.
PHASE 2

After analyzing the situation and the given options, I choose A option as the appropriate choice on phasing the change.

Why option A
Live Oak branch has employees who are receptive to change and this will create a smooth path for the implementation. When the staff will be receptive to the computerization, the staff will try to learn and implement the new system; since they are receptive the management will be able to make draw more positive responses from them. These positive responses will be a sort of stepping stone for the implementation of change in other branches. Whatever results will be drawn from the Live Oak branch will make an impact on the minds of other employees. Their suspicions will be put to rest and then proceeding with the implementation will be easy. On the basis of the interviews, Crystal Lake branch has maximum number of employees who are having suspicion about the computerization. So the implementation should be done there at the last. Once maximum numbers of doubts have been removed from the employees minds only then the management should go with the implementation at the Crystal Lake branch.

Why not option B

Implementing the change in phases gives more upper-hand for the change to be successful. By implementing change in stages, employees find it easier to change. Phasing allows the involvement of those most committed to change early and delays the commitment of those who are initially more reluctant. It

allows those initially less committed to observe the effect of the change and reciprocate more favorable responses from them. It also allows those who are unprepared to go about the change to plan the roll out more efficiently when it approaches them. Hence, we dont choose the option of implementing the change so that it is operational in all the branches simultaneously as it will ruin us of a golden opportunity of turning the tide in our favor, which is, making the change to be accepted by the employees through observation or through successful completion of the first and the following phases of implementation.

Why not option C

The main branch has certain almost 70% of employees who are either suspicious of computerization or are totally unaware. This will become a problem in implementation as they will have suspicion and doubt about every minute thing, and they will consider themselves inefficient in learning anything new. They will hamper the progress with their suspicion and doubts, which will further hamper the future of implementation of in any other branch. The main branch is also the most important branch in hierarchy of branches, any failure in this will create uncertainty about the success of implementation of change. So option C is also not accepted because of these reasons.

LCLD III.
You are correct in phasing the implementation. This will enable you to demonstrate a small victory which would add to the momentum of the change effort. Choosing the Live Oak branch as your test site is also correct for the personnel. They seem to be least resistant from the onset. Now, if you face the decision about how to announce the change. It occurs to you that you could introduce it with different levels of visibility and fanfare, which of the following you would choose: A. High Visibility: Call a meeting of all personnel and announce your plan for the implementation of the computer system. Simultaneously send out a press release to county newspapers that details the plan and promise better services after the system is operational. Solicit invitations to speak at community services about the change. B. Moderate Visibility: Call a meeting of all the personnel and announce your plan for the implementation of the computer system.

C. Low Visibility: Tell the professional librarians your plan and ask them to communicate this to their aides and assistants.
PHASE 3

On going through the options and the given situation, I find that option A is the appropriate way in announcing the change

Why option A
While introducing the change, all the employees must be addressed in careful fashion. What is said or not said during the introduction can have a dramatic impact on the success change effort. The current Librarian must point out to the employees what is wrong with the present situation and what advantages will be offered by the new system. He/she should be able to explain why and what has caused the change and what benefits will be derived from the change. Sending out press release to county newspapers that details the plan and promise better services after the system is operational, will make the employees understand the gravity of the situation and also the people associated with the library will be informed about the changes. This will increase the interest of the people in the library works. Soliciting the invitations about the change at the community services will help the change to facilitate with great ease. As it has a fine reputation for community service, while speaking about the change, people will be positively influenced about this big change. hence option a is most relevant.

Why not option B

If only the employees are informed and no one else is told about the change, the employees will feel that they can simply reject the idea and will not go on with the change as they feel that they are incompetent and fear the retrenchment of jobs. So they will simply not accept it as they will feel that is change is unimportant. Only calling a meeting with the employees is not sufficient. It needs a mass movement to make a change successful. The people who are involved with the library works like the patrons and donators, are not told, then the change may come to them as a shock. As they havent been informed about the change in the library, the library may lose them as they will see the change as betrayal on behalf of the management of the library. So option B doesnt hold.

Why not option C

Informing only the professional librarians is not going to help because though 50% is receptive to computerization, but most of the employees working under them are not. It will create confusion and more doubts will emerge. It wold be

difficult for the professional librarians to explain the change when they themselves are unaware of the importance and benefits of compterisation. Hence this option is also not valid.

LCLD IV.
A highly visible campaign of announcing your intensions leaves little doubt as to your resolve for getting the system up and operational in a year. Anything less than this and people may be apt to test your resolve or underestimate it. You choose option A correctly. You now need to decide what to do with the position of Community Service Director. Recall that this position was vacated by Mrs. Bs husband when the both of them retired. One option is to fill the position with a person who will continue to serve as the primary liaison between the LCLD and the community. Thus, the new person would spearhead such efforts as the Toy of Reading program and the Childrens Story Home program. This individual would also be responsible for arranging new co-operative ventures with other libraries in the county being linked by an integrated information resource system. Another way of dealing with the position is to change it to a position to Director of Library Information Systems. This will require a change in civil service classification but you have good reason to believe that this could be done without delay or opposition. The implications of these two options are as follows: 1. Replace Mrs. Bs husband with a new director of Community Relations. You will need to ask Alice Bishop to serve as primary details of the BIBLIOTEK system, so she possesses the necessary technical skills to act in this capacity. However you will have to be very involved with the change to the point of having the delegate almost all responsibility for community service to the new director. This option will enable the LCLD to maintain a high profile in its concern for community service.

2. Change the position to Director of Library Information Systems and fill it with a professional. This will enable you to bring in an expert on library computer systems. He/She will be prepared to handle the details of the change and the linkage to other library systems. This will free you to be more visible in the community and allow you more flexibility in dealing with your responsibilities.

PHASE 4

Why not option 1

If this option is chosen then the current Librarian will have to delegate almost all the responsibility for community service to the new director. But we have chosen top-down implementation and that implementation consists of high visibility and phase implementation. We have less time on our hands and more power and knowledge. Delegation requires a lot of time and that is not possible in this case. The person will serve as the primary liaison between the LCLD and the community, so a professional is definitely needed to be hired. If the professional is not hired then the chaos will pursue. As the professional will be hired, that will increase the value of the library in the eyes of the patrons and donators who will feel that the library id doing everything to recreate its reputation. Hence option 1 stands nullified.

Why option 2
When a professional is brought in, he/she will be prepared to handle the details of the change and the linkage to other library systems because of the computerization. This individual would also be responsible for arranging new co-operative ventures with other libraries in the county being linked by an integrated information resource system. There will be no need for delegation and all the implementation of change will be on the same footing. This will free the current Librarian to be more visible in the community and allow him/her more flexibility in dealing with responsibilities. Therefore changing the position to Director of Library Information Systems and filling it with a professional is the appropriate answer.