UMI/ProQuest URL

 

http://80-wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/9932729

PUBLICATION NUMBER

 

AAT 9932729

TITLE

 

Board-executive relations in the context of organization transformation: Two case studies

AUTHOR

 

Ammarell, Natalie

DEGREE

 

PhD

SCHOOL

 

FIELDING GRADUATE INSTITUTE

DATE

 

1999

PAGES

 

302

ADVISER

 

Melville, Keith E.

ISBN

 

 0-599-33111-9

SOURCE

 

DAI-A 60/06, p. 2119, Dec 1999

SUBJECT

 

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT (0454); SOCIOLOGY, GENERAL (0626)

 

ABSTRACT

 

Due to rapid environmental shifts, in the coming years it is likely that many nonprofit organizations will be confronted with the need to commit to major shifts that <italic>transform</italic> the agency and its work culture. This study was designed to focus in an exploratory way at the nexus of the complex board-executive relationship and the events associated with deep change in nonprofit human service organizations. What are the roles and the patterns of interaction in the relationship between the board of directors and executive director as human service organizations engage in the process of organizational transformation? Do these roles and patterns change over the course of the transformation, and if so, how? Using an operational definition of organization transformation and criteria based on the literature, 2 human service agencies were selected as case study sites. During a 5-day site visit at each organization, information was collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews and extensive document review. The change processes in both cases were found congruent with organization transformation as described in the literature. Informants were able to make meaning of the transformation experience&mdash;describing concrete organizational changes, as well as shifts in attitudes and behaviors. In each agency, one board leader played a consistent leadership role, contributing significantly to the board's ability to engage in the transformation process. Board-executive roles and patterns of interaction &ldquo;changed with the change.&rdquo; It appears that organization transformation shocked and then revitalized the agencies in ways that challenged models of board-executive behavior developed under more routine circumstances. This study points to a need for further research on the role of board chairs in leading change, and on the shifts in board governance patterns at the moment of transformational crisis, and during the subsequent period of organizational reformulation. In the world of practice, boards and executives should be aware that there is a pattern to deep organizational change, and that it is possible to be intentional about leading transformation.