We make a distinction between discontinuous changes and incremental ones, such as those
that occur with normal maintenance of Web sites. Discontinuous changes to sites involve more
than mere alterations in appearance, such as changes in the number, nature, and organization of
pages that constitute a site.
The most obvious of these, if not the most important, is that we are all university employees and
have an interest in how they, as a population of organizations, work. Universities are important
organizational forms, having existed for many years and being likely to continue to exist for
many years to come. Understanding why universities make discontinuous changes to their Web
sites seemed to us to be a worthwhile goal.Van de Ven and Poole (1995) provide a comprehensive typology of change models. Their four
categories are:
Teleological theories (goal oriented) – Change occurs for rational reasons. People have
goals in mind for their organization and seek change to try to meet those goals. Theories
of this type would explain Web site change in terms of better accomplishing the organization’s
objectives.
Dialectical theories (conflict) – Change occurs in a process of competition between ideas
or for resources to accomplish different objectives. Theories of this type would explain
Web site change in terms of changes in the organization’s political landscape.
Life cycle theories – Change is seen as a normal progression through phases, analogous
to the well-known marketing model of brands having a life cycle. The brand is established
(birth), enters a youthful phase when the product is seen as fresh and young, matures
into a well-known product, and then dies when the brand is old and stodgy. Theories
of this type would explain Web site change in terms of desire to refresh an aging
brand image.
We believe that these four types of explanation for discontinuous change represent a thorough
coverage of the reasons that we were able to find in the literature and in correspondence with
other researchers.
1. Rational Change: When Web sites are changed to increase effectiveness or efficiency.
Change is required for the organization to accomplish its stated goals. The focus of the
change is on the work to be done, the task to be accomplished, and the objectives to be
met. Objectives may be internal, focused on efficiency and internal processes, or external,
focused on better customer relations. The manager seeking rational goal change will set
objectives and establish clear expectations for change outcomes.
2. Political Change: When Web sites are changed to reflect a new regime. A new executive
officer or technology officer required the Web site to change as a way to show his/her influence,
the “new broom sweeping clean,” or to clear out images and mechanisms from
the previous regime. It was not a requirement that the site work better or adhere to better accepted
design principles, just that it be different from the previous site. Users should
see that the new site is clearly connected to the new blood in the organization.
3. Marketing Change: When Web sites are changed to freshen up the organization’s brand
image. Web site design for an organization is a reflection of the organization itself and its
“brand”. All brands need occasional refreshing. This brand freshness will keep the brand
in the consumer’s eye and keep the look contemporary. Without routine brand image
change a once-novel look will become old and dated, leading to a consumer perception of
staleness and stolidity. A changing organization needs a changing brand image.
4. Institutional Change: When Web sites are changed to improve fit with peers. The organization
sees itself as being part of an ‘organization field,’ a collection of similar organizations.
These other organizations are the focal organization’s reference group. When
enough of the reference group changes in a given direction, or even one key referent
changes, then the focal organization changes in the same way to maintain a match with
the other. The organization changes to keep its membership in the group, so that others
can see it as falling in the same group of organizations.
Dawson and Buchanan (2005) argue that technological change occurs as part of complex political
processes that are not well described in terms of simple, linear event sequences. They suggest that
multiple, competing narratives are necessary to capture the reality of such processes and the contexts
in which they occur. According to Dawson & Buchanan, when corporate descriptions of
change processes are produced, they tend to present the firm in a positive light, sanitize the story
concerning the change, and describe how the change occurred in a neat fashion. Because change
can be the result of power struggles, from their perspective, to understand it requires multiple interpretations
of events focusing on the exercise of power over time—before, during, and after
change occurs.the most compelling reasons for
Web site change are rational ones--those that involve increasing effectiveness or efficiency.
Changes required for the organization to accomplish its stated goals may be the ones that will be
viewed as normal, perhaps leading to perceptions of the change being reasonable. When the focus
of the change is on the work to be done, the task to be accomplished, and the objectives to be met,
the motive for the change might be more easily understood and familiar. Speculatively, rational
reasons for Web site change may be the preferred ones to use in arguing for the approval of Web
projects, especially if the argument occurs in a typical university context.
Conclusively, arguments for Web site changes that are based on institutional or political reasons may be
viewed as more unusual. While this does not mean that such arguments are inappropriate or
unlikely to succeed, they may be more likely to stand out, which could mean that they will be
more closely scrutinized by decision makers. Whether this would mean that proposals with such
justifications would be rejected by decision makers more frequently than those justified by rational
or marketing arguments is not clear. This research suggests the need for additional study,
although it does not allow a definitive answer to such questions
SUMMARY BY:
Is-haq Ibrahim MIM/EDUC/3720/2009-2010
Garba Muhammed MIM/EDUC/5083/2009-2010
Ibe Iyabode A. MIM/EDUC/9716/2009-2010
Saidu Mujitaba Baure MIM/EDUC/3603/2009-2010
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