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TOWARD A THEORY OF PLANNED SOCIAL CHANGE - ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES AND IDEAS

NCJ Number
51456
Journal
EVALUATION Dated: SPECIAL ISSUE (1978) Pages: 41-47
Author(s)
R F RICH; G ZALTMAN
Date Published
1978
Length
7 pages
Annotation
A FRAMEWORK IS PROPOSED FOR ANALYZING CAUSAL STATEMENTS AND LINKING THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PLANNED SOCIAL CHANGE WITH FOCUS ON TERMINATION PROCESSES, CHANGE VALUE AND YIELD, AND CROSS-ACTIVITY EFFECTS.
Abstract
ISSUES OF CRITICAL INTEREST TO THOSE CONCERNED WITH THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF SOCIAL CHANGE INCLUDE DEFINITION OF THE KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PLANNED AND UNPLANNED SOCIAL CHANGE, THE PROBABILITY OF A LINEAR PROCESS IN PROBLEMSOLVING AND CHANGE, APPROPRIATE ROLES FOR CHANGE PLANNERS, AND EFFECTS OF THE TERMINATION PROCESS ON CHANGE. ALTHOUGH CHANGE PLANNERS DIFFER IN THEIR IDEAS ON SOCIAL CHANGE, THEIR THEORIES USUALLY SUPPORT COMPARABLE ACTIVITIES SUCH AS CHANGE TEAM DEVELOPMENT, CLIENT IDENTIFICATION, PROBLEM DEFINITION, INNOVATION DESIGN, SPECIFICATION OF OBJECTIVES, SELECTION OF GENERAL STRATEGY AND TACTICS, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EVALUATION. THESE ACTIVITIES CAN BE USED AS A BASIS FOR THEORY EXCHANGE, BUT A METHODOLOGY FOR THEORY BUILDING IS NEEDED TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE. USE OF CAUSAL 'IF-THEN' DECISIONMAKING IS SUGGESTED AND DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF POSITION A/B STATEMENTS, WHICH REPRESENT TWO ENDS OF A CONTINUUM ALONG WHICH A CHANGE PLANNER CAN PLACE HIMSELF AND DETERMINE THE TYPES OF ACTION WHICH SHOULD FLOW FROM THAT POSITION. THESE POSITIONS ARE DESCRIBED WITHIN AN ANALYTIC ACTIVITY FRAMEWORK; THE MAJOR BENEFIT OBTAINED USING THIS FRAMEWORK IS AN INCREASED AWARENESS OF CROSS-ACTIVITY EFFECTS, I.E., THE DIRECT AND IMMEDIATE EFFECTS THAT DECISIONS CONCERNING ONE ACTIVITY MAY HAVE ON ANOTHER ACTIVITY. TERMINATION OF CHANGE IS EXAMINED AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL, INDIVIDUAL, AND PROGRAM LEVEL; AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES AND CLIENT RESISTANCE ARE CONSIDERED. DISCUSSION OF THE VALUE AND YIELD OF PLANNED SOCIAL CHANGE MAY BE ORDERED ACCORDING TO THIS STATEMENT: POSITION A--CHANGE IS A NECESSARY CONDITION FOR A HEALTHY ORGANIZATION, BUT POSITION B--CHANGE IS NOT. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHANGE AND 'VALUABLE' CHANGE MUST BE DETERMINED WITHIN THIS CONTEXT: PLANNED CHANGE HAS VALUE IF IT CONTRIBUTES TO IMPLEMENTING, OPERATING, OR MONITORING PROGRAMS THAT ARE RESPONSIVE TO OBJECTIVES; IF IT HELPS THE AFFECTED COMMUNITIES OR INDIVIDUALS TO UNDERSTAND, EVALUATE, AND IMPLEMENT THEIR PROGRAMS; OR IF IT HAS SOME BENEFICIAL, DOCUMENTABLE EFFECTS FOR THE CLIENTS. (DAG)

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