Gathering Data to Support Organizational Change
University ABC has been operating for 30 years, offering classes in two modalities including inperson and Online. The University is headquartered in Portland, OR and has 10 partner
universities across the globe that offer its programs/classes. Over the last two years, the
University has been struggling financially because of multiple factors, such as economic
fluctuations, new immigration laws impacting international students, the COVID-19 pandemic,
and a dramatic increase in commercial lease rates in downtown Portland where the University’s
main campus is located. To reduce the costs, the University’s president is considering a transition
from in-office into remote work business model. This shift represents a major organizational
change. The president knows that the success of any organizational change, even if well planned
and implemented top-down, depends significantly upon gaining employee buy-in and involving
them in the decision-making process.
You have been hired as a consultant by the president to gather data on various aspects and
implications of the above large-scale organizational change. Data collection can be a force that
sparks interest in change; it can bring organizational members together on a common definition
of the situation that they can then agree to change. Your task is to select at least two data
gathering methods to acquire helpful insights from employees (i.e., stakeholders at different
levels) about the proposed change that could inform and guide the president’s decision-making
about transitioning into the remote work model. Each method of data gathering that you select
must be relevant to a specific focus area (problems/opportunities) and lead to useful, valid
information about the proposed change and its implications. The following outline can help
you organize your work:
• Introduction: Include a paragraph to provide some background information about the
central concept for this assignment and a clear statement of purpose followed by a
breakdown of the key sections of your paper.
• Focus areas: Informed by the nature of the proposed organizational change, identify
key focus areas for data collection (e.g., the University’s technical capabilities to
support Online education). The insights gathered for each focus area should
significantly inform and facilitate the president’s decision-making by presenting a more
complete picture of the change in relation to University ABC. It is critical that you
know exactly about the type of information that could help the president; therefore, to
properly identify the focus areas, dedicate some time to dissecting and analyzing what
transitioning into remote work might entail along with its implications for different
stakeholders and departments.
• Determine and announce the data gathering methods: Select proper data gathering
methods for the focus areas and identify the associated stakeholder cluster. As part of
this selection, it is important to target the correct group of stakeholders with respect to
the type of information that you intend to collect from them. The alignment between the
specific focus area, data gathering method, and targeted stakeholder will determine the
quality of your work. Please be sure to justify and shed light on this alignment. To
properly select the stakeholders for data collection, conduct research to familiarize
yourself with a typical organizational structure of a university (e.g., positions, roles,
responsibilities, functions, and departments).
• Prepare for data collection: In this section, provide additional details about the
selected data collection methods. You are NOT required to fully develop the process for
each method; you should explain the key steps that you will take to prepare for
implementing each method. In your textbook, there are tips for each method (e.g., how
to reduce bias); please be sure to review these tips as you work on this section of your
paper. Here are some key considerations:
o If you select interviews, focus groups, or surveys, identify WHO would
participate and HOW, and present some sample questions you would ask.
o If you select observations, describe whom you would observe, for what length
of time, and in what setting.
o If you select unobtrusive measures, describe what data you wish to collect and
how you would do so.
