The Impact of Information Technology on Organizational Development and Change among College Students “Ubiquitous” is the word commonly used to describe the role of the Internet in American society in the twenty-first century. The scope of its use has yet to be fully reached, as new uses of the Internet are discovered daily. The Internet has affected everything from business, education, and research, to interpersonal and group relationship building. Approximately 97 million Americans use the Internet daily by sending e-mail, shopping online, reading or writing web blogs, sending instant messages, checking sports scores, online banking, playing online games, sharing recipes, checking the weather, planning vacations, selling belongings, listening to music and for other countless purposes (Pew Internet Online Activity Trends, 2006). Recently, a focus of research has been on college students’ active Internet usage. According to Jones (2002) in a Pew Internet and American Life project study, college students are identified as “heavy” users of the Internet. Malaney (2005) supports this with findings indicating that nearly 98% of 606 students sampled in 2003 at the University of Massachusetts Amerherst owned a personal computer compared to 85% surveyed in 2000. Students are using the Internet for research, socializing, leisure activities, managing their time, learning, and for entertainment (Jones, 2002). Some students understand the power and influence the Internet has as vehicle to promote change. This notion of change is a central theme in organizational development (OD), which is usually discussed in relation to business and industry. College students are members of institutional organizations that are similar in some capacities to business and industry. Besides being part of larger institutional organizations, college students
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form much smaller campus organizations. College students are using the Internet to plan and make system-wide instrumental changes to enhance these organizations. This [paper, section, or chapter] will focus on exploring how college students are using technology as a means to implement organizational development and change.
Definitions Before expanding on how college students are using certain types of technologies to bring about this large scale change, it is important to have a common understanding and definition of organizational development. Since the early sixties, many definitions of organizational change have been used. An early researcher in OD, Beckard (1969) suggests that organizational development is a planned, organization-wide effort with the purpose to increase organization effectiveness. His model stems from the scientific method. Kegan (1971) offers the following definition; “organizational development is an educational strategy employing experience-based behavior in order to achieve a selfrenewing organization…and is concerned with increasing the effectiveness of individuals, groups, and organizations.” (p.454). Burnes (1996) adds to these definitions by claiming that organizational change refers to understanding alterations within organizations at a broad level among individuals, groups, and at the collective level, across the entire organization. Cameron and Quinn (1983) describe organizational development as planned change which is generally oriented toward changes in individual attitudes and behaviors and in the organization’s culture. Worely (2002) brings together many of these definitions sharing that organizational development is system-wide planned change, using behavioral science interventions, targeting the social processes,
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i.e., belief systems, work groups, and organizational culture that intend to adapt and renew the organization. These definitions all capture the essence of organizational development and are boiled down to simply creating or bringing about change. None of these definitions specifically capture the influence of information technology as an agent for organizational development. There is one definition provided by Church, et. al. (2002) that declares organizational development as a data-driven process for change which has become dependent on the use of information technology. Organizational development is about purposeful and intended change. Since the advent of the Internet, college students have been going online to change the organizations they are in and, largely, the societal organization of student life on college and university campuses across the country. Researchers are feverously attempting to document and discover Internet usage patterns of college students. One difficulty is that data collected on information technology usage is nearly out-of-date before articles can be published as change using the Internet happens so quickly. The speed of researching the Internet can be described to that of the type of Internet connection being used. Thus, researching the Internet is as slow as the speed of a dial-up connection compared to college student Internet usage being as fast as a LAN or high-speed connection. Nie and Erbring (2000) conducted a survey of over 2,600 U.S. households and found that 65% had at least one computer and 55% used the Internet. A UCLA Internet report (2001) indicated that the U.S. postal service delivered 101 billion pieces of mail, compared to the four trillion electronic messages that were sent via the Internet. Since college students are usually avid users of the latest developments, it is difficult to obtain
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relevant empirical research documenting their usage. An excellent example is the increased usage of online social networking sites, such as myspace.com (myspace) and thefacebook.com (facebook). In 2004-2005, facebook was reportedly in the top ten websites visited daily, ranked one spot behind Google (Personal Communication with a Facebook spokesperson, January, 2006).
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College Student Use of the Internet Steve Jone’s (2002) Pew Internet study found that college students are considered heavy users of the Internet. Despite the year this study was conducted, one can speculate that these percentages have only increased as the prices of computers and Internet use have dropped. The following statistics were discovered by Jones’s study (2002): 86% of college students use the Internet compared to 59% of the general population. 26% of college students send instant messages compared to 12% of the general population. 60% of college students reported to have downloaded music compared to 28% of the general population. 66% of college students disclosed to having two or more e-mail addresses 42% of college students indicated they primarily use the Internet to communicate socially. 73% of college students said they used the Internet more than the library for conducting research for their classes.
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The advent of the Internet and development of communicative technology has had a significant impact on how students socialize (Russell et. al., 2003; Gatz, 2000; Farquhar, McGinty, & Kotcho, 1996). One study reported that 46% of the Generation Y age group (18-27) that use instant messages (IM), use instant messenger services more frequently than e-mail (Shiu & Lenhart, 2004). Another report projects that 74% of online Americans in the age group of 12-17 (nearly 13 million teens) utilize instant messenger services (Lenhart, Rainie, & Lewis, 2004). As part of the Mercury Project for Instant Messaging studies at Stanford University, Eric Chu (2003) and five of his classmates begin to explore how college students are using IM i.e., if there are gender differences in usage, the role IM has in community building, and concerns parents may have about their son or daughter using IM for social interaction. “Over 50 million adults trade instant messages and 24% are swapping IMs more frequently than e-mail,” report Shiu &Lenhart (2004). They project that 12% of Internet users on any typical day are sending IMs and that approximately 26% of all college student Internet users are sending IMs. Furthermore, Shiu & Lenhart (2004) found that 32% of college graduates use IM in their workplace and that 25% of daily Internet users use IM at work. Forty-eight percent of these teenagers feel the Internet improves their relationships with their friends, and 32% say that IM helps them make new friends (Lenhart, Rainie, & Lewis, 2001). Additionally, 37% use IM to deliver a message that they wouldn’t do face-to-face. (Lenhart, Rainie, & Lewis, 2001). Grinter and Palen
(2002) identified three primary activities that characterize teenage IM communication: informal talk/socializing, event planning, and schoolwork collaboration.
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The Internet isn’t only being used by students for social purposes. In 1998, it was reported that 54,000 online education courses were taken by 1.6 million students (NCES, 1999). In 2001, those numbers close to doubled, with over 127,000 courses being offered and more than 3 million students enrolled in a distance education course at a two or fouryear institution (NCES, 2001). From personal observation, students are expected to use this medium to communicate with faculty, check test grades, report an absence, conduct research, enroll for classes, obtain course materials, check professors’ syllabi, and gather general information about services or programs offered by the institution. Many students (46%) reported that e-mail allowed for them to express ideas to a professor that they would not have shared in class (Jones, 2002). Nearly 80% of college students agree that Internet use has had a positive impact on their college experience and 73% of students claim they use the Internet more than the library (Jones, 2002). The Cooperative Institute Research Project’s (CIRP) national publication “The American Freshman” supports these claims of increased usage among college students. They found that 85.7% of college students reported using a personal computer on a frequent basis compared to 27.3% in 1985 when the question about computer usage first appeared on the Freshman Survey (Sax, 2004). Online computer use and college students seem to be a trend that is only increasing. One fact remains clear: students are using the Internet.
Student Use of the Internet for Organizational Development There is little prior empirical evidence regarding how college students use the Internet and information technology for OD. However, as a researcher who has worked
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on college and university campuses for the last six years, I personally have observed many ways that students are using these technologies to influence organizational change. One of the most notable and significant recent organizational changes to student culture has been the introduction of social networking sites. Facebook, one of the most popular among college students in 2006, was developed by a college student at Harvard, Mark Zucherberg, in 2004 (Personal communication with Chris Hughes, Facebook spokesperson, 2006). Mark’s purpose for crafting this online social directory for college students was in response to Harvard’s lack of an online contact directory. This sophomore Harvard student saw a purpose and need for students to easily search and locate other students’ information using the Internet. Nearly every definition of OD can be seen in the implementation and use of Facebook to make a planned, system-wide, organizational change for increased organizational effectiveness. In 2006, Facebook officials report that over 85% of an institution’s undergraduate population has a Facebook user account (Personal communication with Chris Hughes, Facebook spokesperson, 2006). At Northern Illinois University, on January 6, 2006, there were over 16,000 registered users (Personal communication with Chris Hughes, Facebook spokesperson, 2006). This development of social networking and an online directory site has revolutionized the way college and university students interact socially. “Facebooking” has become a common activity among students, as they can post pictures, update their personal profile, leave messages on other student message boards (wall), and send and receive asynchronous messages. Facebook reports that over 67% of students log in more than once per day for approximately 20 minutes. In a 24 hour period
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Facebook is visited more than 300 million times (Personal communication with Chris Hughes, Facebook spokesperson, 2006). Facebook also gives users the ability to see how many connections they have with other users. Students can accept and confirm hundreds of friends and Facebook shows how individuals are connected to all of their friends’ friends. Thus, students can connect to thousands of people. In terms of feeling connected, this enhances the effectiveness of students feeling connected to individuals on their campuses and at other institutions. This social networking site is primarily for social purposes, which has raised many ethical questions among college administrators, faculty, staff, parents and students. Are students glorifying underage drinking and illegal activities? Do students share intimate and personal information? Are students promoting the development of superficial or unhealthy relationships online? Have students used this networking site to segregate and increase divisions between racial and ethnic groups? These are just a few of the many questions being contemplated. As Facebook claims to have over seven and a half million users, questions about who has access to student profiles and how students are using this tool to communicate are filling listservs, newspapers, and professional magazines with concerns and questions (Personal communication with Chris Hughes, Facebook spokesperson, 2006). Since the development of Facebook, numerous other social networking sites have exploded onto the Internet. One such site uses a similar name, Greekfacebook.com, was created as a social directory site for students in fraternities and sororities. Myspace, Frienster.com, Xuqa.com, are similar social networking sites that are being used to enhance, or in some cases, replace traditional social networking among college students.
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For example, students wishing to form study groups used to sign up on residence hall bulletin boards designed to bring study groups together. With Facebook, student users can log onto Facebook and with a few simple clicks see all student users who are taking the same courses and send them a message to form a study group. This is a more effective and easier method for all students belonging to an institutional organization. By Beckard’s (1969) definition; this example clearly illustrates Facebook being used for OD. These social networking sites are replacing traditional communicative behaviors of students. Students are more likely to share pictures of social gatherings on Facebook. It is common for students to share what they are looking for, i.e., relationships (friendships, serious romantic relationships, “random play,” or spontaneous romantic relationships, etc.). Also, the more students that use Facebook forces college and universities to start exploring how to handle situations where students abuse other students over this type of forum. One example is of a roommate dispute where one roommate created a group disrespecting her roommate and left threatening remarks on her roommate’s Facebook profile. Systematically, institutions are exploring how to hold students accountable for their actions on this new forum. Some researchers may argue that the development of online social networking sites is more a notion of organizational adaptation than organizational development. Adapting to the use of this new technology is occurring, however, students, staff, and faculty are exploring how to use this information technology to enhance college student life on campus. Many student organizations have Facebook clubs or profiles to recruit members, inform members of social events, and share organizational information with members and non-members. Universities can advertise campus activities and events by
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users posting messages or purchasing advertisement space. One institution, Mercyhurst College, has taken a unique stance and is trying to convince faculty and staff to participate in Facebook. Their thought is that faculty and staff involved can help educate students of appropriate usage and what to watch out for. Mercyhurst developed a “facethefacts” brochure that is sent to all students, faculty, and staff sharing information about how these social networking sites can be misused and how as an organization they can use it for positive system-wide change (Mercyhurst website, 2006). Aside from social networking sites, students have used information technology to enhance their organizational development. Before the popular rise of the social networking sites in the late 1990’s, instant messenger services were being heavily used by college students and they still are in 2006. IM use by college students includes a unique system-wide short-hand to express emotions and increase the speed of communication. The majority of college students likely know what “lol, wtf, or l8r” stand for regarding IM personal communication. This type of writing has found its way into student’s written academic assignments or e-mails to professors. Instant messaging was the first form of synchronous communication that occurred between multiple parties on the Internet. The IM chat function is a strong way for students to work together on group projects and ask each other questions regarding assignments without the obtrusiveness of calling someone and yet still as interactive. Another increasingly popular way students are using the Internet is to blog or write online personal testimonials, such as a diary entry. Blogging has become a popular phenomenon with individuals blogging about politics and current events, to popular reality T.V. and sitcoms. February 2004, the Pew Internet & American Life Project noted
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that at least 3 million Americans have created blogs. These blogs can allow organizational culture to be described and discussed openly among both members and non-members. Although there is no current data on just how many students are blogging, it is reasonable to assume that their numbers are equally sizeable (Downes, 2004). In addition to blogs, podcasting is a relatively new online technology that is being used by college students. Podcasting, named after the portable digital music player created by the apple i-pod, is obtaining downloads of audio or video files that can be played back at the users’ determined time thought their mp-3 player or i-pod. Podcasting consists of RSS (really simply syndication) feeds where users subscribe to have audio and video messages downloaded directly to their mp-3 player when they sync it to their desktop or laptop computer. Many students receive radio segments, newspaper stories, news highlights, or other interest-based files that can last anywhere from thirty-seconds to five-ten minutes. Podcasting allows for users to listen to these subscription RSS feeds whenever they desire, i.e., when they travel between classes, ride the bus, or work-out. College and Universities are starting to understand that many of their students own or use one of these portable digital players and are putting promotional material online to be downloaded, such as virtual tour programs. Additionally, sports updates and segments are “reairing” through podcasts. Although understanding how podcasts will influence OD and change is unclear, it is apparent that college students are attracted to the multiple uses of these mp-3 players and i-pods. Overall, these online uses for organizational development are heavily being used by college students. It is imperative that as part of organizational development, institutions and college students help educate the many ways these forms of
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communication are used. Facebook, myspace and other social networking sites will likely be the focus for Internet studies and college students over the next few years. Once colleges and universities understand the magnitude and influence these social networking sites can have on incoming students and the institutional culture there will be a new information technology that will become the latest trendy use among college students. As part of larger organizational cultures students need to be educated on their role in the university and the position they acquired being a full-time student on this campus. As with any technology there will be those who are savvy and able to quickly grasp the multiple uses of online technologies and there will be an equally or larger group of individuals that will not. This notion of the digital divide will permeate this project, and to some extent many offices throughout higher education. These technologies will either force organizations to adapt, or organizations and organizational members will need to explore how online technology could be used for organizational development and change.
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References Beckhard, R 1969 Organization Development: Strategies and Models, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. Cameron, K.S., and Whetten, D.A. (1981). Perceptions of Organizational Effectiveness over Organizational Life Cycles. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, p 525-44. Church, A.H., Gilbert, M., Oliver, D. H., Paquet, K., and Surface C. (2002). The role of technology in organizational development and change in Bensen, A. D. and Johnoson, S. D. (2002 eds.) of Information Technology. Advances in Developing Human Resources v4(4) p. 493-511, November 2002. Downes, S. (2004). Educational Blogging. EDUCAUSE Review, v39(5) p. 14-26. Jones, S. & (2002). The Internet Goes to College: How Students are living in the future with today’s technology. Pew Internet & American Life Project report. Found at http://www.pewinternet.org/reports on Nov. 9th 2002. Kegan, D. L. (1971). Organizational Development: Description, Issues, and Some Research Results. The Academy of Management Journal, v14(4) p 453-464. Lenhart, A., Horrigan, J. and Fallows, D. (2004). Content Creation Online. Pew Internet and American Life Project report. February 29, 2004. Retrieved on 5-4-06 at http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Content_Creation_Report.pdf NCES, (1999). National Center for Education Statistics. (1999, December). Distance education at postsecondary education institutions: 1997-98. Available http://nces.ed.gov. NCES, (2005). National Center for Education Statistics. (2005, August). Distance education at higher education institutions: 2000-01. Available http://nces.ed.gov. Pew Internet Online Daily Activity Trends (2006). Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved on 5-1-06 from http://www.pewinternet.org/trends/Daily_Internet_Activities_4.26.06.htm Personal Communication with Facebook Spokesperson, Chris Hughes (January 4, 2006). Sax, L. (2004). The American Freshman: National Norms for 2004. Higher Education Research Institute. UCLA: California. Retrieved 5-1-06 from http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/PDFs/04_Norms_Flyer.pdf Worley, C. G. (2002). Is OD still relevant? Consulting today. Retrieved on 5-2-06 from www.consultingtoday.com
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