Patrick McDevitt

Anchoring Cultural Change and Organizational Change Patrick McDevitt

This book describes the organizational processes and changes coupled with leadership changes over three distinct eras from 1995-2015. It illustrates the challenges the college faced, and the actions taken to resolve issues and make changes. The successes, and the barriers encountered as the organization worked toward solutions to the many interrelated and confounding social and financial issues with which the college was facing, are also described.

In the book, John Kotter's Steps of Organizational change and culture is the theoretical context in the analysis of data. Kotter stresses the point that in Organizational change the "Culture" must be anchored in order for change to take place successfully. Kotter understands "Culture" as the Organization's Identity and the Organization's attitude for "Change". The concept of "Culture" also includes how "Identity" and "Change" interrelate to one another. Unfortunately, this "anchoring of culture" does not often happen in many organizations which leads to failure and the dying of Organizations. In general, Kotter's theory is typically used in for-profit organizations, whereas the All Hallows' study applies Kotter's theory to a faith-based and non-profit organization. Although All Hallows enjoyed 172 years of educational contributions, the book will illustrate how legacy challenges, sense of complacency, lack of vision and mission identity at critical times of change failed to inculcate and anchor an Organizational Culture and Identity for Change.