Definitions 2

Strategy: a plan and a process that accomplishes the enterprise's desired outcome. It is a plan for action with clear and measurable goals linked to these outcomes. - Gordon Petrash -

Leadership: the ability in an organization to initiate and to sustain significant change, to work effectively with the forces that shape change. Peter Senge says "leadership is the capacity of a human community to create its future."

Creative Tension: comes from seeing clearly where we want to be, our "vision" and telling the truth about where we are, our "current reality. The gap between the two visions generates a natural tension.

Problem: the difference between an existing (current) situation and desired (output) situation.

Problem solving: The process of identifying problems is the process of defining differences, so problem solving is the process of finding a way to reduce differences.

Decomposition: The process of breaking down a system into smaller component

Modularity: Dividing a system up into chunks or modules of a relatively uniform size.

Coupling: The extend to which subsystems depend on each other.

Cohesion: the extent to which a subsystem performs a single function.

Organization Development:
- Top-management-supported, long-range effort to improve an organisation's problem solving and renewal processes, particularly through a more effective and collaborative diagnosis and management of organisation culture - with special emphasis on formal team work, temporary team and inter-group culture - with the assistance of a consultant-facilitator and the use of the theory and technology of applied behavioural science, including action research. - French and Bell (1990) -

- A process by which behavioural knowledge and practices are used to help organisations achieve greater effectiveness, including improved quality of life, increased productivity, and improved product and service quality... the focus is on improving the organisation's ability to assess and solve its own problems. Moreover, OD is oriented to improving the total system - the organisation and its parts in the context of the larger environment that impacts upon them. - Cummings and Worley (1993) -

Core beliefs: immutable beliefs that define purpose of the organization as a whole and individuals.

Habitual practices: What I do each and everyday.

Collective autonomy: A mode of operation in which people generally collaborate in pursuit of shared goals and interest that serve both the individual and the system. The school (department) becomes a united body in its determination to achieve the desired results but still fosters open inquiry and individual creativity.

Individual autonomy: A mode of operation in which people (organizations) generally work alone in pursuit of self-defined goals and interests because they see no pressing need to serve the system and its purposes. Individuals (organizations) assume that they can accomplish more working alone than with others and the system should support their efforts.

Shared vision: A shared vision articulates a coherent picture of what the department will look like when the core beliefs have been put into practice. The legitimacy of a shared vision is based on how well it represents well perspectives in the industry.

Incompetent System: Makes assumptions on perceived reality, utilizes unexamined assumptions, even when examining assumptions arrives at the answer to the question, "Is this the best?" based on perceived reality, has developed core beliefs that may not be based on reality and are detached from everyday decisions.

Competent System: Utilizes systems thinking and makes decisions of what can be based on the reality of what actually is, adheres to the operating principal that each school is a unique and complex living system with purpose that is inter-related and inter-connected to the whole, constantly examines the elements to contemplate the whole and discerns patterns to improve student learning and growth, constantly examines practices to determine if they align to system beliefs.