Organizational Change at a Local Center of Excellence—The Case of San Carlos University and the Office of Population Studies in the Philippines
ABSTRACT
The Higher Education System in the Philippines is in a state of transition caused by global pressures at the one hand and local needs on the other hand. The transition is first of all visible in the implementation of quality systems and secondly in the need for sustainable research and education networks and centres of excellence. The transition not only asks for a policy agenda, but is also a matter of organizational change management at a local level. This paper presents an in-dept case-study of a local research and education network between the Office of Population Studies (OPS) and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (SoAn) of the University of San Carlos (USC) in the region of the Central Visayas, Philippines. It shows that once loosely coupled local partners that worked successfully together in the past became de-coupled and non-sustainable after organizational change. In order to overcome local constraints and to (re)build a stable, local centre of excellence, adequate change management based upon mutual understanding and trust is needed. It is only through this that the ambition to attain global research standards and, at the same time, to stay effectively engaged in addressing development needs of the region can be fully met.
The Higher Education System in the Philippines is in a state of transition caused by global pressures at the one hand and local needs on the other hand. The transition is first of all visible in the implementation of quality systems and secondly in the need for sustainable research and education networks and centres of excellence. The transition not only asks for a policy agenda, but is also a matter of organizational change management at a local level. This paper presents an in-dept case-study of a local research and education network between the Office of Population Studies (OPS) and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (SoAn) of the University of San Carlos (USC) in the region of the Central Visayas, Philippines. It shows that once loosely coupled local partners that worked successfully together in the past became de-coupled and non-sustainable after organizational change. In order to overcome local constraints and to (re)build a stable, local centre of excellence, adequate change management based upon mutual understanding and trust is needed. It is only through this that the ambition to attain global research standards and, at the same time, to stay effectively engaged in addressing development needs of the region can be fully met.
KEYWORDS
Philippine Higher Education, Centres of Excellence, Organizational Change Management, Organization Coordination, Historical Case Study
Philippine Higher Education, Centres of Excellence, Organizational Change Management, Organization Coordination, Historical Case Study
Cite this paper
nullBoersma, K. , Sluijs, A. & Spijk, J. (2011). Organizational Change at a Local Center of Excellence—The Case of San Carlos University and the Office of Population Studies in the Philippines. Creative Education, 2, 106-113. doi: 10.4236/ce.2011.22015.
nullBoersma, K. , Sluijs, A. & Spijk, J. (2011). Organizational Change at a Local Center of Excellence—The Case of San Carlos University and the Office of Population Studies in the Philippines. Creative Education, 2, 106-113. doi: 10.4236/ce.2011.22015.
References
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[1] Allen, D. K. (2003). Organizational climate and strategic change in higher education: Organizational insecurity. Higher Education, 46, 61-92. doi:10.1023/A:1024445024385 [2] Altbach, P. G. (2001). Universities and globalization: Critical perspectives; the globalization of higher education. The Journal of Higher Education, 72, 254-256. doi:10.2307/2649326 [3] Arcelo, A. A. (2003). In pursuit of continuing quality in higher education through accreditation: The Philippine experience. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization: International Institute for Educational Planning. [4] Argyris, C., & Sch?n, D. (1996). Organizational learning II: Theory, method and practice. Reading, Mass: Addison Wesley. [5] Asian Development Bank (2001). Education sector development programme. Technical Report HE-7, TA-3500-PHI: [6] Asian Development Bank (2002). Technical assistance to the republic of the Philippines for the Organizational Development of the Commission on Higher Education. TAR: PHI 33454. [7] Babbie, E. R (2003). The practice of social research. Belmont: Thomson/Wadsworth. [8] Birnbaum, R. (1988). How colleges work. The cybernetics of academic organization and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. [9] Braddock, R. (2002). The Asia Pacific region. Higher Education Policy, 15, 291-311. doi:10.1016/S0952-8733(02)00019-3 [10] CIS (2004). University management development project. Amsterdam: Centre for International Cooperation, Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam. [11] Collins, D. (1998). Organizational change. Sociological perspectives. London: Routledge. [12] Cummings, W. K. (2006). Modernization, development strategies, and knowledge production in the Asia Pacific region. In V. L. Meek and C. Suwanwela (Eds.), Higher education, Research, and knowledge in the Asia-Pacific region (pp. 27-42). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. [13] Dam, R. (2002). Report of a Nuffic monitoring mission to the University of San Carlos. Philippines: Cebu City. [14] DeCaluwé, L., & Vermaak, H. (2003). Learning to change: A guide for organization change agents. London: Sage. [15] De Guzman, A. B., Dela, R. P. S. M., & Arcangel, C. N. (2005). The impact of globalization on teacher education: The Philippine perspective. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 4, 65-82. doi:10.1007/s10671-005-3362-5 [16] Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14, 532-550. [17] Gibbons, M., Limoges, C., Nowotny, H., Schwartzman, S., Scott, P., & Trow, M. (1994). The new production of knowledge: the dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. London: Sage. [18] Gibbons, M. (1998). Higher education relevance in the 21st century. Paris: UNESCO. [19] Gonzalez, A. (2004). The Philippines. past, present, and future dimensions of higher education. In P. G. Altbach and T. Umakoshi (Eds.), Asian universities. historical perspectives and contemporary challenges (pp. 279-298). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. [20] Gustavsen, B. (2003). New forms of knowledge production and the role of action research. Action Research, 1, 153-164. [21] Hoppers, W. (2004). Knowledge infrastructures for quality Improvement. Stockholm: University of Stockholm and University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg. [22] Lagura, E. M. (1998). History of the University of San Carlos: Role and contribution to leadership and nation-building. Paper read at the Centennial Congress on Higher Education held on May 28-29 1998, Manila. [23] Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [24] Marginson, S. (2004). Don’t leave me hanging on the anglophone: The potential for online distance higher education in the asia-pacific region, Higher Education Quarterly, 58, 74-113. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2273.2004.00263.x [25] Martin, J. (1992). Cultures in organizations. Three perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [26] Martin, J. (2002). Organizational culture. Mapping the terrain. Sage: London. [27] Massy, W., Wilger, A., &. Colbeck, C. (1994). Department cultures and teaching quality: Overcoming “hollowed” collegiality. Change, 26, 11-20. doi:10.1080/00091383.1994.9938496 [28] Meek, V. L., & Suwanwela, C. (Eds.) (2007). Higher education, research, and knowledge in the Asia-Pacific region. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. [29] Mills, M., Miller, P., & Nolan, R. (2005). Experiences of academic unit reorganization: Organizational identity and identification in organizational change. The Review of Higher Education, 28, 597-619. doi:10.1353/rhe.2005.0046 [30] Ockhuysen, G. A., & Bechky, B. A. (2009). Coordination in organizations: An integrative perspective. The Academy of Management Annals, 3, 463-502. doi:10.1080/19416520903047533 [31] Office of International Linkages USC (2003). A new institutional idea. Cebu City: University of San Carlos. [32] Office of Population Studies (2001). Policy guidelines for the Office of Population Studies University of San Carlos. Prepared for the approval of the University Cabinet and the Board of Trustees. [33] Office of Population Studies (2005). Folder OPS University of San Carlos. Philippines, Cebu City: Office of Population Studies. [34] Orton, J. D., & Weick, K. E. (1990). Loosely coupled systems: A reconceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 15, 203-223. [35] Salazar-Clemena, R. M. (2006). Higher education research in the Philippines: Policies, practices, and problems. In V. L. Meek and C. Suwanwela (Eds.), Higher education, research, and knowledge in the Asia-Pacific region (pp. 185-200). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. [36] University of San Carlos (1998). History of the USC, role and contributions to leadership and nation-building. Philippines, Cebu City: University of San Carlos. [37] University of San Carlos (2001). Folder University of San Carlos. Cebu City, Philippines: University of San Carlos. [38] University of San Carlos (2002). Folder sociology-anthropology department. Philippines, Cebu City: University of San Carlos. [39] Vaira, M. (2004). Globalization and higher education organizational change: A framework for analysis. Higher Education, Journal of Teacher Education, 48, 483-510. [40] Vorderstrasse, J., Cooney, R., Cummings, S., Schuning, J., Shier, W. T., & Watkins, R. (2001). Philippines: A study of the education system of the Philippines and guide to the academic placement of students in education institutions in the United States. Washington: American Association of Collegiate Registrars. [41] Weick, K. E. (1976). Educational organizations as loosely-coupled systems. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 1-21. doi:10.2307/2391875 [42] Weick, K. E. (1982). Administering education in loosely coupled schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 63, 673-676. [43] Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning Systems. Organization, 7, 225-246. doi:10.1177/135050840072002 [44] Yow, V. R. (2005). Recording oral history: A guide for the humanities and social sciences. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press. [45] Zosa, V. H. (2006). Concept paper USC zonal research program: 2004-2006. Cebu City: CHED-USC.