Chief Ankama
7 May 2008
Windhoek — Language research is many times conducted and recommendations made without critically looking at the implementation of such recommendations.
Also, very often these recommendations and implementations do not come without conflict. In many instances, such changes are disruptive, costly and cause strain on resources.
If we are to be effective managers of conflict we need to develop certain attitudes and skills.This paper discusses how innovational conflict can arise and how certain attitudes and skills can help resolve it.
What features in this discussion as an example is a conflict and preventative measures taken during the implementation of the English National Language Policy that Namibia adopted in 1992.
Introduction
To effect any type of organized innovation, effective management requires positive attitudes, involvement of others and constant reflection to make innovation successful. Many times we fail to execute our day-to-day plans and blame others instead. This happens because we cannot properly plan and manage our time, prioritize the items on our personal agenda and to an extent because of unplanned, interruptive items which pop in and out of our programmes.
Whether at personal, group or company level, management has an important role to play in the execution of programmes.From the organization point of view in the modern world, innovation is inevitable.
It is with us at all times, it is challenging and demands those in authority to be pro-active and change-ready as per Bennet et al (1994, P.11) that:
"There is the realisation that organisational change is here to stay. We must stop opposing it and, like a judo expert, turn it to our advantage".
Innovation sometimes causes tension, conflict and instability in organizations. Whereas innovations inevitably bring with them levels of uncertainty, they also energize those involved in their development and implementation (Christison & Stoller 1997, p.33).
At various occasions many people in managerial positions find it not only disturbing but also difficult to handle.Out of frustration resulting from the said, some managers respond narrow-mindedly and cause more harm to the organizational output. Failure to implement successful innovations, according to Nicholls (1983, p. 1), is attributed to some of the following factors, e.g.,participants' limited knowledge about the planned innovation, limited knowledge of the process of implementation of innovation or lack of attention to the process of innovation.
In this paper, I use change and innovation interchangeably, although Christison & Stoller (1997, p.34), make a distinction between the two, thatchange is predictable and inevitable and that it always results from an alteration in the status quo but not necessarily improvement.
Contrary to change, they say innovation results from a deliberate and conscious effort that is perceived as new and is intended to bring about improvement. This paper refreshes our minds on what innovation is all about, about managerial principles and attitudes of managers during innovation, causes of conflict during innovation and possible solutions in diffusing innovational conflicts. Examples of typical innovational conflicts will be part of the causes of conflict discussion.
Managerial Principles and Attitudes of Managers
There seem to be varying definitions of what different writers think about educational management. (Everard & Morris 1990, p. 4).Dean (1985, p. 1) explains that being a manager in any context means getting things done through other people, and that one criterion by which a manager might be judged is his effectiveness in delegating tasks and enabling others to take them to a successful conclusion.
Everard and Morris (1990) rather summed it up differently by saying:
'What management is not is carrying out a prescribed task in a prescribed way'. (Ibid.).
I cited these definitions with a purpose to facilitate understanding on how sometimes conflict can arise during innovation.Management and innovation are inseparable, however, and this means the two supplement each other in their existence.
Each manager at the institution/department level does not only need to know the set goals or objectives of the institution/department which are sometimes general and practically inapplicable, but also the state of affairs concerning the real world and operational techniques in the fast changing environment.
Thus, as per Nicholls (1983, p. 2), good management involves working with people and resources as they are and helping them to work together to achieve agreed ends. In other words, it should not be taken for granted that holding a managerial position makes one to take unilateral organisational decisions that will affect change without the involvement of other people who might be affected by the same change.
While those in managerial positions tend to forget that the organisation they are leading is in existence because of the clients' interests, they are also ignorant to the fact that clients' interests are quality products driven.
The management also forget thatany member of the organisation contributes to whatever is delivered to the clients, and it is because of the co-operation (team spirit) that exists between the management and the rest of the entire workforce that the output of the organisation is in progress and recognition.
Nicholls (1983, p. 3) underscores this idea that in most organizations today, leadership is no longer an individual and perhaps an autocratic matter, but it is to some extent a group activity, with the personal qualities of individual members of the team complementing each other and with some responsibilities delegated or shared.
In the case of education, particularly at school level, development and progress can be attained better when innovation is accepted by most of the stakeholders.Everard and Morris (1990, p. 16) say the best known of the management models are based on the premise that every manager has two main concerns:
1. A concern to achieve results - task oriented
2. A concern for relationships - people oriented
Any bias towards one of these concerns can cause substantial problems and stagnation to the planned change.
The management in any setting should therefore realize that leadership is more effective when it accommodates the combination of the initiating structure and that of consideration, just as Christison & Stoller suggest that we should analyze the underpinnings of our programmes to determine whether or not faculties have been granted enough freedom to innovate and whether or not there is sufficient fluidity in the curriculum to allow for faculty experimentation (1997, p. 38).
Even though their suggestion is aimed at institution-based innovation such as universities or colleges, it is equally applicable in centralized innovation such as the Ministry of Education and other ministries, SOEs or entities in any form including schools.
By inviting views of the stakeholders on a particular change, they also learn how to support such opinions both in words and deeds. Innovation in some cases becomes a critical matter because managers instead of involving others in it, they either consulted them, ordered them to do or perform something or simply ignored them. In circumstances where innovation failed or back-fired, the management is there to defend what went wrong instead of looking to solutions. These attitudes aggravate problems and spoil future cooperation among the interested parties.
'An understanding of management style should re-open the options, cause managers to challenge their assumptions and consequent behaviour and, as a result, make them more effective leaders'. (Everard and Morris 1990, p. 22)
Innovation in Practice: A Case in Memory close
If there is any organisation that wishes to remain static, then it is likely to become counter-productive and lose fame as a result.Many organizations and institutions would adopt a competitive approach, selling themselves to the market. For genuine competitiveness, innovation is unavoidable.
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