Coryn_Davis_task1b_mixedexpectations

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Running Head: MIXED EXPECTATIONS 1 Mixed Expectations Sierra Nevada College

MIXED EXPECTATIONS When Frank Hennessy was appointed chair to the Cherryhill School District planning committee, he was excited for the opportunity to share his human resources experience and be an important asset to the team. He was familiar with some of the challenges that the district faced and intended to use strategic planning to help the district “narrow its focus by deciding what was important” (Webb & Norton, 2003, p. 100). After meeting with the committee, Frank had a very different idea as to what it would take to get the members on the same page and put his plan into action. The following is a discussion of some of the problems Frank could anticipate at his next meeting, few strategies he could employ to remedy those problems, and possible consequences to those actions. Frank left his first planning meeting a little concerned about what the next meeting could entail. Based on how the first meeting went, he will face three main problems at his next committee meeting. First, based on the committee members’ responses, not everyone understood what Frank wanted from them. He asked each member to write a response to the “what” portion of the statement but based on their responses, he may need to be more specific. The next problem that Frank may face is that he will have difficulty gaining consensus. Each of the members had different interests and it will be difficult to get them to compromise on what issues they value in order to create a common goal. Finally, Frank is going to face the problem of having to choose sides. There is no way all members of the group are going to be able to come to a general consensus so ultimately, Frank will have to pick one side over another. There were symptoms of the first meeting that led Frank to the conclusion that he would face certain challenges at the second meeting. First, once he read the mission statements of the committee members, Frank realized them members had very different views as to what they wanted from the school system. Next, he gave each of the members a chance to read their 2

MIXED EXPECTATIONS statements aloud which gave everyone a chance to hear the other members’ views. Finally, while Frank gave everyone a chance to read their statements, he did not give them a chance to discuss them out of fear that conflict would arise. According to Webb and Norton (2013), the mission statement is a critically important factor in the development of a school system’s strategic plan. One of the first actions Frank may take to solve his problem is get the group to reflect on the educational environment in order to determine the focus of the mission statement. A problem that Frank encountered at the first meeting was that each of the committee members had a different idea as to how best to meet the needs of students. While Webb and Norton (2003) agree that environment shifts may create the need for redefining mission goals, they also argue that conflict arises when leaders either misinterpret or ignore the changing environment (p. 84). Another action Frank may take to solve the problem is “determine what function the school system serves within its environment” (Webb & Norton, 2003, p. 85). At the first meeting, the committee members could not agree on whether it was more important for the school to provide students with basic skills or to provide them with the skills necessary to be able to go directly into the workforce. Understanding the function the school system has within the community “focuses on the current and emerging education needs of the community” (Webb & Norton, 2003, p. 85). The final action Frank may take to solve the problem is to get the group to focus on what it will look like to implement the mission. One of the problems Frank’s district encountered was not having enough resources to fund collegiate and vocational programs. Webb and Norton (2003) contend that having the “how” written into the mission statement “gives guidance to material and personnel resource allocations” (p. 85). 3

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MIXED EXPECTATIONS After the first meeting, Frank should anticipate a few consequences when introducing his new ideas. First, he should anticipate the same varying ideas when he asks the group to reflect on the educational environment. Each of the committee members may have a different perception of any environmental changes and/or shifts that may have taken place. Next, he should anticipate that the committee members may have different ideas as to what function the school system serves within the community. To remedy this problem, Frank should be prepared with data to support his review of the population that the school system serves. Finally, Frank should anticipate that the group may not have an idea as to what implementation will look like. For many of them, the exercise to come up with a mission was only an exercise to describe their vision for the school and not necessarily an action plan. The committee has members with varying interests, so the main action Frank should not attempt is to make a decision without taking their interests into consideration. First he would distance himself from members of the group. At the start of the meeting, Frank received great support from committee members. The results of his activity showed that they were eager to move forward with his strategic planning so he wouldn’t want to do anything to make them lose that momentum. Next, he would lose support of parents. The case study talked about how parents had been pleased with the direction of the school and had been more involved in working with school personnel and Frank would not want to undo this practice. Finally, Frank might lose the support of the superintendent. Frank was offered the position as chair of the committee because the superintendent believed that he had the skills needed to take the district in the right direction. If Frank were to alienate members of the committee or lose parental support, the superintendent might reconsider Frank’s appointment. 4

MIXED EXPECTATIONS Frank’s appointment to the chair of the Cherryhill School District planning committee was not exactly as he planned it to be. After his first meeting with the committee, Frank realized it would take some effort to get the members on the same page and put his plan into action. The preceding was a discussion of some of the problems Frank could anticipate at his next meeting, few strategies he could employ to remedy those problems, and possible consequences to those actions. 5

MIXED EXPECTATIONS References Webb, L. D., & Norton, M. S. (2003). Human resources administration: Personnel issues and needs in education (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. 6

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