| The purpose of this research was to deepen the understanding of organizational change and the implementation process through an analysis, description, and examination of a “new” phenomenon in higher education: courseware copyright. Courseware copyright represents a place where faculty and administration's values and interests come into direct conflict. This conflict and the issues of debate regarding courseware are represented in several publications, organization reports, and institutional policies. A thorough investigation of this literature provides a deep understanding about courseware copyright context, but posits a lacuna in our understanding about the implementation impacts and organizational change stimulated by a courseware copyright policy as understood by the experiences and perspectives of organizational members. The context for this research investigation was The Pennsylvania State University and the processes being explored were the conceptualization and implementation of the courseware copyright policy. This research investigation utilized a theoretical framework that encompassed two domains of inquiry, systems analysis and description and systems development.; The research design framework for this study consisted of the merging of two qualitative traditions, phenomenology and case study. Seventeen participants were interviewed and twenty-one documents were analyzed. The three primary themes, which emerged from this research investigation, included potential impacts, policy, and process. The major findings and conclusions from this research indicated the courseware policy did in fact represent a significant change for the University and its members. According to the participants, this change has the potential to result in either positive or negative outcomes. Implementation will be the true test; both of whether the organizational change results in positive outcomes and whether the potential impacts voiced by the participants can be avoided through implementation which ultimately should encompass collegial interactions between administrators and faculty. |
