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Information Technology In Change Management: Using Computer-Mediated Communication To Support Distance Learning

Author: Ann Wilson, Australian Graduate School of Management, University of New South Wales
First published: 1997

"A number of educational challenges face business schools today. Not least is the challenge of providing relevant, current and practical learning to a population of learners who are increasingly mobile and increasingly involved in career-long learning."

One new approach being used by leading business schools looking to the future is to support career-long learning by using computer-mediated communication. The Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at the University of New South Wales is at the forefront in the creative use of information technology, initially by providing support to participants in a change management qualification using the Internet. As with all innovations, this is an ongoing process, constantly being refined to meet the needs of the course participants, not only those learning but also those facilitating the learning. This course is being used as a pilot programme to explore the possibility of using on-line learning on a much wider scale in the school's other programmes.

In February 1995, the AGSM was approached by a leading change firm, Andersen Consulting, to develop a training programme for change agents. A market for the services of change agents had been identified; however, there were almost no existing public training programmes for change agents and none which provided training at a distance.

In the past, change agents have mainly developed their skills through practice, coming to the job from a range of disciplines. The AGSM programme targets new graduates and practising change agents and is an attempt to create a professional qualification for an emerging and important field.

The aims of the Change Management Qualification (CMQ)are to:

Develop innovative and practical change management skills and ideas necessary to meet the challenges of the 21st century;
enhance productivity and client satisfaction through change management practice in public and private sector organizations;
deal explicitly with ethical issues involved in making organizational change;
promote self-development techniques and commitment to lifelong learning in change agents;
contribute to the development of change agent competencies in course participants.

Course development

The AGSM offers a full-time MBA of 18 to 21 months; a PhD programme; executive programmes of one day to one month's duration; and an Executive MBA (EMBA), a part-time MBA programme. The CMQ draws on research done in the EMBA programme which has a model of course delivery using print-based distance learning materials.

There are four subjects in the CMQ:

Approaches to Change
Change Skills
Redesigning the Organization
Systems for Sustaining Change.

Each subject consists of readings, activities and commentary and represents approximately 140 hours work. The development of the course materials was financed by Andersen Consulting and undertaken by the Centre for Corporate Change at the AGSM (a centre for research funded by the Commonwealth Government and supported by private sector organizations). Participants are expected to complete the CMQ in two years, taking one subject each semester.

Initially, while developing computer-mediated communication support structures, the course development team created comprehensive print materials supported by videos, audio tapes and tele-tutorials. Currently, the participants have four sources of learning support:

A tutor: to provide support and encouragement to complete the materials and grapple with the issues relative to the development of their change agent practice; tutors also mark the assessments and provide subject expertise and feedback.
A mentor: a change agent working in the field, who can provide assistance in making the link between the learning opportunities in each subject and change agent practice in the workplace.
A learning partner: a co-participant who can provide opportunity for discussion of readings, concepts and activities.
Learning materials: course materials and activities. The CMQ was first offered in 1995 to a cohort of 35 Andersen consultants. The first cohort open to public participation began in 1996 with 70 students enrolled. Initially the course was delivered in a more traditional way with print-based materials and interaction with a tutor using tele-tutorials.

Introducing computer-mediated communication (CMC)

The aim of the CMQ is to develop effective change agents. Through the use of CMC, the learning involved in doing this can be delivered to a wide range of participants in various locations. The user group for CMC includes course participants, tutors, administrative staff and course developers.

The target for the full introduction of CMC is July 1997. Participants must have a computer, modem and phone line available. The printed course materials provide a structure and support for regular participation. Working on-line, participants will engage in activities that allow then to contact:

their learning partner to discuss activities in the text;
their tutor for on-line tutorial support and encouragement;
the library for articles and research facilities;
co-participants and relevant faculty;
the CMQ coordinator.

At the same time, tutors need to be able to contact participants easily, no matter where they are working, to:

conduct synchronistic and asynchronistic on-line tutorials;
receive and return assessment and feedback efficiently;
interact with other tutors for moderation, support and feedback;
receive evaluations of the course.

Administrative staff need to contact:

participants;
tutors.

Reviewers and designers need the system to:

develop print material;
coordinate production;
support tutors;
conduct evaluation and feedback.

All of the above needs are being used to inform the debate and decision concerning the software and support systems that will be used to support the delivery of the subject. Technical issues concerning the host computer, software, network, workstations and framework matrix are still being addressed. The use of CMC in teaching and learning is new for the AGSM.

A review of the development and production process used so far, and an investigation of the application by other institutions has found that the preferred groupware system in other universities is First Class. However, in the business environment, Lotus Notes is preferred. In order to implement the system, the decision as to which system to adopt will be made. In the meantime the system architecture is being designed to fit either possibility. In this article, the term Lotus Notes/First Class will be used to refer to the software that will support the CMC.

First Class has been installed for all the development team and the system has become and integral part of the development and production process. To facilitate the wider use of Lotus Notes/First Class dedicated technical backup with an understanding of the educational philosophy of the course will be provided.

The CMQ will introduce a standard computer mediated delivery system for the course in July 1997.

Getting on-line

In the meantime, the course is being delivered using print materials with tele-tutorial support and teleconferencing. These will continue to be used in conjunction with the CMC programme.

We are developing and reviewing the print-based materials for four subjects which were developed for the initial pilot of the programme (July 1995 -February 1997). In February 1997 some of the participants in the July 1995 cohort will have regular access to a modem or computer and we will pilot aspects of the CMC programme in Subject 4, Systems for Sustaining Change.

By February 1998 all subjects will be fully supported by an integrated CMC system. Participants will be on-line to contact their tutor, learning partner and others in their cohort by CMC. This will allow them to undertake a variety of collaborative projects.

Participants in the CMQ will enjoy the following features of a virtual college:

café or participant centre;
faculty club for tutors;
library for supplementary readings and research articles;
read first for urgent messages and administrative reminders;
mailbox for correspondence between tutors and participants;
help for queries regarding system operation;
conference groups for interactive exercises;
conferences with guest lecturers.

Initially tutors, who are at various sites around Sydney, will use Lotus Notes/First Class to communicate with:

the subject leader regarding any issues presenting in the course materials;
the CMQ coordinator for administrative issues;
the subject leader regarding any issues presenting in the course materials;
other tutors to moderate the assessments and standardize delivery and feedback.

Participants who are on-line will be able to:

exchange e-mail messages or talk on-line with their tutor;
lodge their autobiographical details to help participants select a learning partner;
lodge their journal entries for tutor comment;
lodge their assessments and administrative details to the CMQ coordinator;
communicate with co-learners in a conference;
contact course developers, administrators and other faculty on-line.

In February 1997, the initial cohort of participants from Andersen Consulting will be enrolling on their final subject. Some of these participants have already participated in a limited pilot of Lotus Notes/First Class. An option will be offered to participants who have access to computer and modem to use Lotus Notes/First Class. The role of CMC in this stage of the CMQ will be one of providing an opportunity for:

tutor contact, through the use of e-mail and computer-mediated tutorials;
participants to lodge their assessments and resumes on Lotus Notes/First Class, rather than fax or mail;
CMQ coordinator contact for administrative issues;
learning partner contact.

By July 1997, Approaches to Change will be delivered using CMC with the tutor and with the other participants in their cohort. There will be tutor contacts once every two to four weeks, in conjunction with the print materials. Participants will work collaboratively throughout the subject.

The Lotus Notes/First Class architecture at this stage of the project will include:

e-mail between tutors, participants and CMQ coordinator;
participant only e-mail for learning partner contact;
participant only chat area;
help desk;
discussion groups set up within tutorial groups led by tutors.

The AGSM will be monitoring and evaluating use of CMC in the CMQ with the option of extend it to other subjects in the EMBA programme, currently over 1,000 students.

Assessment

The assessment strategy has required participants to mail or fax four assignments per subject. Using Lotus Notes/First Class, participants can lodge assessments directly by e-mail to the CMQ coordinator.

There is a final, compulsory, open book examination held at secure locations in Australian capital cities and other venues around the South Pacific.

There is an opportunity for using CMC for peer, as well as tutor, assessment and feedback. There is opportunity with CMC to develop group feedback and assessment activities.

The other three assessments will be conducted using Lotus Notes/First Class with an emphasis on collaborative work. Participants will also be encouraged to work collaboratively in the:

coverage of the readings;
development of documentation;
completion of other activities.

Case studies, a principal teaching tool used at the AGSM, have been used successfully in CMC and they will also be used in assessment of the programme.

Obviously the use of CMC for assessment purposes, other than administrative, will not be possible, or equitable, until all participants are on-line.

Participant motivation

In the course materials, the issue of participant motivation has been addressed by including:

a range of support contacts, such as their learning partner, tutor, mentor, CMQ co-ordinator;
an emphasis on praxis, one tool of which is the practice of a learning journal encouraging reflection on progress and integration of theory and practice through the course;
week-by-week application of course concepts to their work as change agents;
paced assessment activities and tutor contacts to help participants manage their time and progress;
reader friendly print materials;
audio-tape introduction and support in each subject.

Learning design

The learning materials have been developed based on adult learning theories (Knowles, Kolb, Brookfield) and the Nixon & Salmon model (1995) of participant use has been used to inform the development of the instructional design template.

As the students move to the use of on-line learning, there will be a need to develop activities that help the participant to progressively master CMC and to support participants in the programme who are at various stages of mastery at anyone time. Nixon & Salmon (1995) state that for the participant to move from 'new participant' to 'independent learner' there are five stages.

Access. 'Support at this stage is needed in providing hard, soft and net links and, in particular, solving technical problems. Access to support needs to be available at times at which the participant is likely to be struggling to get on-line on their own'.
Induction and socialization.
Seeking information and finding new pathways to have 'access to wider, more diverse groups of people and information than ever before'.
Interaction, where 'the tutoring aim can be to achieve interaction and networking for as many participants as possible'.
Boundary shifting, where the participant becomes responsible for their own learning. It is intended that these stages will form the basis for introducing CMC to the CMQ.

First, we want to encourage participant access and provide some start-up activities. To facilitate this participants will receive a start-up kit and instructions on how to go on-line. Roger Dence (1996) describes a participant induction programme. We will develop a similar programme to provide participants with:

introduction to Lotus Notes/First Class technical skills, including "netiquette" issues;
introduction to the CMQ programme and related study issues;
system for lodging resume;
instructions on the selection of a learning partner for the first activity;
access to on-line codes of practice via the library;
practice in the accessing and downloading of information and files;
opportunities to develop general conferencing and e-mail skills;
opportunities for social networking and other conferencing development activities between the course registration and course start dates;
opportunities to express themselves, in conversation on-line with other participants, in the café and participant discussion areas.

Second, in the text we will provide activities for participants in seeking information and finding new pathways so they can develop their skills in networking and collaborative work.

Third, to encourage interaction between all course participants using CMC, we will use: computer conferencing; on-line case study discussions and debriefs; role plays and simulations; tutor contacts, using both e-mail and on-line discussion; contact with faculty; learning partner contacts and co-participant networking; time on-line to consult content experts; and peer writing, problem solving and tutorial groups.

Increasingly, continuing education needs to be delivered to professionals who hold full-time jobs, are widely distributed geographically and who are highly mobile, that is, who in the course of their work move intercity, interstate and internationally. Computer- mediated courses can provide a flexible delivery system tailored to the needs of adult learners. The challenge is to create a system architecture, a variety of learning resources and educational processes which are suited to the new medium and which also provide opportunities for systematic high-quality learning experiences. The AGSM's Change Management Qualification is an exciting attempt to meet this challenge and model an approach that can be used by the AGSM and other institutions to develop the new frontier of computer-mediated adult learning.

Ann Wilson (MA) (London) is an instructional designer for the AGSM, with particular interest in computer managed communication. She can be contacted on e-mail annwilso@World.net.au