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1 West Chester Private School Case Study Colangelo College of Business, Grand Canyon University MGT-420: Organizational Behavior and Management Lisa Duryee December 12, 2021

West Chester Private School West Chester Private School (WCPS) is a reputable academic institution with advanced curriculum for K-12 founded in 1944 in the Phoenix, Arizona with community and family- orientation in mind. After 70 years of owning and running WCPS, the Chandler and Gilbert families sold the school and its campuses to Education Management Services (EMS), an educational consortium that would continue the achievement and family-oriented place for educators and families. In the following years, WCPS would try to expand its campuses and programs but instead close locations, some with very little notice to parents and educators. The following pages will review and evaluate WCPS on the context of its open and complex adaptive systems, organizational culture and climate, the decision to close and the closure process, the challenges of technology and innovation, and the plans and future of WCPS. Open and Complex Adaptive System It is crucial for organizations to be flexible and adaptive to the ever-changing circumstances, managers must know and how to implement alternative plans and be open to problem solving (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). An open system interacts with its environment and utilizes its input resources into outputs for its clientele (Uhl-Bien, et al. 2021). An open system uses feedback from its environment to indicate how well it is doing and in turn influences its decisions (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). Complex Adaptive System is an interconnected organization that come together as a whole to manage and operate multiple ecosystems to be successful (Turner, Baker & Morris, 2017). WCPS’s specific environment, the people or groups that the organization interacts with, are parents, educators, and the local community. In review, WCPS did not appear to communicate with its stakeholders or specific environment of parents and 2

educators on decisions being made nor utilize the feedback from parent meetings and enrollment numbers, or with local government regarding federal and state assistance (Oke, n.d.). Due the COVID-19 pandemic, students and teachers did not receive the support necessary for distance learning despite emergency assistance to non-public schools being available by the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund that could be used to gives students resources for distance learning and educators the tools needed to deliver courses to students (Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools, n.d.). Organizational Culture and Climate Organizational culture is characteristics or basic assumptions that affect how people in a situation act and interact in a job, organization, or work situation (Ulh-bien, et al., 2021). Organizational climate is how those in the organization view and experience the culture, creating a mood (Ehrhart & Schneider, 2016). Climate affects the success of a team or organization and is usually lead by the leader’s behavior. In WCPS’s case, after the acquisition by EMS and schools were closed, the head of the school retired (Oke, n.d.). The sudden retiring of the school administrator after closures of campuses and decline in re-enrollment caused the moods of parents change, causing the climate of the organization be negative and the culture of the organization to shift. Measuring the climate of an organization allows it its leadership and team to improve (Ehrhart & Schneider, 2016). Understanding organizational culture and the strategies to read the situation, diagnose the behavior, and the actions needed to achieve long-term goals is essential to be a more effective organization (Uhl-Bien, 2021). The culture of WCPS prior to the new ownership was that of achievement-based, supportive, family-oriented, and where the 3

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community was valued (Oke, n.d.). EMS wanted to expand WCPS’s campuses and programs to outside of the Phoenix, Arizona community, their concern shifted from the community. Closure Decision and Process WCPS’s began closing campuses four years after obtaining the academic institution, promising parents that no other campuses would close and stating it was because of the impact of the economic recession that took place between 2005 and 2011 (Oke, n.d.). Although it not was uncommon for educational institutions to be affected by the economic recession and close, EMS did not notify parents in a timely manner of the closures, closing after the spring semester, causing parents to be outraged of the lack of communication, students to be on waitlists to register at neighboring schools, and educators out of employment due to hiring process of schools (Oke, n.d.). Problem solving is the identification of issues and taking the action to resolve the issues by evaluating performance threat, reviewing all possible performance opportunities, and making a good decision among all alternatives (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). There are various ways to approach a problem and solving it; openness, systematic thinking, multidimensional thinking, and cognitive styles (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). WCPS administrators would have needed to combine approaches and problem solve for the temporary closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and the permanent closures of campuses to be able to address multiple problems at once and have intuitive thinking on solving the various issues EMS faced with WCPS. Technology and Innovation Challenge For an organization to be successful, it needs to innovate and adapt to the constantly- changing technology. Technology can create a competitive advantage in successful 4

organizations by trying to find ways to use technology to operate at a lower cost, create products and services, deliver products and services, and adjust the products to fit the consumer’s needs (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). Technology is moving so fast that children are “digital natives” due to growing up with technology in almost every aspect of life (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). WCPS experienced a technology gap with some students and educators because of the lack of access to technology and internet for remote learning during the COVD-19 pandemic (Oke, n.d.). WCPS had opportunities to supply students, their families, and educators with devices and adequate internet, as well as the necessary support and training for educators to learn how to disseminate course materials to students and parents through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund through state and federal assistance (Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools, n.d.). EMS lacked the ability to read the sociocultural conditions and technological conditions to be able to supply students with online instruction, even after knowing it's neighboring competitor charter schools successfully implementing quality face-to-face and online classrooms to its students (Oke, n.d.). Theories from the Classical, Behavioral, and Modern Management Approaches Classical, behavioral, and modern management are theories of management that managers and administrators use to successfully manage their organization. Classical management approach has the common assumption that people are rational and consider their opportunities to do what they must to achieve success and money, managers must be able to approach this through scientific management, administrative principles, and bureaucratic organization (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). Behavioral management is a human relations approach that people are social and motivates through teamwork and collaboration (Hashaw, 2019). Modern management utilizes statistics to measure performance, solve problems, and make 5

informed decisions (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). There’s no single model of management that fits an organization, but rather an organization should combine multiple theories to create a successful management (Hashaw, 2019). WCPS under EMS was a bureaucratic organization that was founded on authority and order, Dr. Murphy being the leader who directed and controlled all levels of WCPS (Oke, n.d.). Behavioral management would have been ideal for WCPS to implement with a combination of modern management, that WCPS and its community could work together for the success of the campuses and the students. Plans for the Future Planning is essential for an organization’s management to achieve objectives through planning, organizing, and leading (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). Planning enables the management of an organization to set its direction, objectives, and goals, importantly with time management. Managers should be able to set goals in terms of time; long-term and short-term goals and have strategic plans to achieve short and long-term goals (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). After multiple campus closures, COVID-19 pandemic, and the decrease in enrollment, WCPS quickly assessed its options at the end of the school year in order to compete with Allegiant Academy that, despite facing similar issues due to the pandemic, were still able to provide proficient learning modules for traditional and remote learning (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). Concluding Statement This review of the case study of West Chester Private School and Education Management Services showed that the management lacked the four functions of management; planning, organizing, leading, and controlling resources through the various departments in an organization (Uhl-Bien, et al., 2021). Planning is used to set goals for an organization, EMS had the intentions of keeping the success of WCPS while expanding its programs and campuses. 6

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Organizing is the allocation and arranging of resources to accomplish goals. EMS did not receive additional funding from government agencies to assist in issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic and declined the offer of some parents of paying more for tuition to be able to provide services to students. Leading is the guiding and inspiring of others to achieve the tasks at hand, Dr. Murphy praised WCPS campuses and communities but did not acknowledge concerns of parents, students, and educators, and instead refused to work with them to provide viable options for the community affected. Controlling is the monitoring of resources and performance to achieve objectives. EMS was not in good standing financially and caused a strain on growth and assistance for WCPS. Dr. Murphy stated that EMS financials were not a factor in the closure of the campuses, despite an analysis reported shows that the parent organization lacked creditworthiness. The absence of the four functions of management lead to the failure of WCPS after its acquisition by EMS. 7

References Ehrhart, M. G., & Schneider, B. (2016, December 22). Organizational climate and culture. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology . https://oxfordre.com/psychology/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.001.0001/ acrefore-9780190236557-e-3. Emergency assistance to Non-Public Schools . Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2021, October 14). https://oese.ed.gov/offices/education-stabilization-fund/emergency- assistance-non-public-schools/. Hashaw. (2019, March 27). Management Theories & Concepts at the Workplace . Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021, from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/management-theories-concepts-workplace-17693.html. Oke, M. (n.d.). West Chester Private School case study. Grand Canyon University. Course Materials: https://lc.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html Turner, J. R., Baker, R., & Morris, M. (2017, December 20). Complex adaptive systems: Adapting and managing teams and team conflict. IntechOpen. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/58821. Uhl-Bien, M., Piccolo, R.F., Schermerhorn, J. R. & Bachrach, D.G. (2021). MGT-420 organizational behavior and management with WileyPLUS. Wiley & Sons. 8

B Smith WCPS

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