"Town Hall" Strategies for Organizational Change

• NCJ Number: 229892
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 73 Issue: 3 Dated: December 2009 Pages: 2-9
• Author(s): Jennifer Lerch M.A.; Susan James-Andrews M.S.; Ernest Eley; Faye S. Taxman Ph.D.
• Date Published: December 2009
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Instructional Material; Case Study
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article presents a case study that illustrates effective ways for spreading innovative evidence-based concepts, practices, and technologies throughout a correctional agency, a process called "diffusion."

Abstract

The model of "diffusion" described in this article is modified from the work of Everett Rogers (2003). This framework for transforming correctional practice includes innovation attributes, social communication networks, and adoption time. Innovation attributes encompass the characteristics of the innovation that influence diffusion processes. Social communication networks pertain to the communication channels and social system that impact both how and what messages are dispersed through organizational channels. Time for adoption reflects the decisionmaking process timeline for the implementation of an innovation. The priority and importance of these diffusion concepts may vary according to the innovation involved, but they should always be taken into account in any organizational transformation. These concepts of organizational change for the purpose of implementing evidence-based change are illustrated in the case study of a prison-based work release center (PWRC). The PWRC is a work release facility that enables incarcerated offenders to leave the prison for employment in the community prior to release. The innovation that is the focus of the case study is the structuring of the PWRC so that it reports directly to both the prison and probation/parole agencies. Previously, the PWRC reported only to the prison department. The goal of the dual reporting is to have the PWRC function as a prison environment in a community corrections center. The difference between the prison and probation/parole environment is that security underscores the prison environment and offender change drives the community correctional center. The transformation reflects a shift in the expected role of correctional staff in the facility. The case study provides details on the techniques used to achieve evidence-based change in the organizational culture of a correctional agency. 1 figure and 9 references