Description
This paper explain operations strategy southwest airlines.
Wise Ways
®
/ Academic Development Institute
Indicator: The district ensures that school improvement plans in rapid improvement situations
include “quick wins,” early successes in improvement. (26)
Explanation: When a school has been low?achieving for years, its faculty and community often
fall into an expectation that real change cannot succeed here. Gaining quick wins provides
evidence that change is possible. Further, quick wins can ameliorate some nagging problems
that confront school staff every day. Typical quick wins include improvement to the physical
appearance and cleanliness of the school, placing staff in hallways during transitions periods to
establish order, adjusting the schedule to allow for teacher team planning time, and meeting
short?term goals for student attendance. Always it is important that the leader set goals that are
sure to be met. The quick win plan may not necessarily be part of the larger school plan, but a
short?term, targeted plan for this purpose.
Questions: How does the district advise and support principals in setting quick win objectives?
What role does the school’s Leadership Team play in this process?
Change is hard. There is no sugar?coating it or giving it soft edges. Even if everyone is aware
that something must change, the process itself is never easy. Change means breaking old habits.
Change takes people out of their comfort zone and puts them in situations in which they are not
familiar. Change shakes up the status quo. Perlman writes,
It will come as no surprise that change will be difficult and not everyone will happily climb
aboard, even if the final goal is to provide the students with a better education. Involving
some of the skeptics in improvement teams and keeping formal and informal lines of
communication open can help reduce resistance. So can the results of the “quick wins.”
(2007, p. 55)
Herman et al. (2008) confirmed the need for quick wins in a turnaround situation, citing this
as one of four recommendations for sound turnaround practice. Public Impact (2007) studied
cross?sector evidence on turnaround situations and found that “Common to successful
turnarounds, however, is implementation of intense reforms in the first few months
(Sudarsanam & Lai, 2001). Fast, focused results during the initial year are important in part to
help establish credibility, create momentum for change, and break down resistance (Buchanan,
2003; Kotter, 1995; Paton & Mordaunt, 2004; Walshe et al., 2004)” (p. 8). In the world of
business, faltering or failing companies do not have the luxury of long?term languishing. If a
failing business does not turnaround quickly, it simply goes out of business. In education, failing
schools are allowed to exist for years with no immediate repercussions. This can give a false
message to schools that no real change is needed; it is okay to simply continue what you are
doing even if students are not making progress.
Districts can support the implementation of quick wins by ensuring failing schools have a
change agent or a turnaround principal in place. Then the district needs to give that principal
flexibility and support to make the changes necessary for dramatic improvements. Leaders who
plan and carry out a few quick wins in the first year communicate to the staff that 1. We are
serious about change, and 2. Change is possible. This will require a change in the culture of the
school as well:
A striking element of the research on turnarounds is that successful turnaround leaders use
speedy, focused results as a major level to change the organization’s culture….The research
indicates that in a previously failing organization, success can beget success; specifically, the
early and tangible wins can serve as a catalyst for additional positive changes. (Public
Impact, 2007, p. 15)
References and Resources
Buchanan, L. (2003, December). The turning of Atlanta. Harvard Business Review, 81(12), 18?19.
Herman, R., Dawson, P., Dee, T., Greene, J., Maynard, R., Redding, S., & Darwin, M. (2008).
Turning around chronically low?performing schools: A practice guide (NCEE #2008? 4020).
Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute
of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/Turnaround_pg_04181.pdf
Kotter. J. P. (1995, March?April). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard
Business Review, 73(2), 19?27.
Paton, R., & Mordaunt, J. (2004, August). What’s different about public and non?profit
“turnaround”? Public Money & Management, 24(4), 209?216.
Perlman, C. (2007). Restructuring options and change processes. In H. J. Walberg (Ed.),
Handbook on restructuring and substantial school improvement (pp. 53?70). Lincoln, IL:
Academic Development Institute. Retrieved from http://www.adi.org/about/downloads/Restructuring Handbook.pdf
Public Impact. (2007). School turnarounds: A review of the cross?sector evidence on dramatic
organizational improvement. Lincoln, IL: Academic Development Institute. Retrieved from http://www.adi.org/about/downloads/Turnarounds?Color.pdf
Sudarsanam, S., & Lai, J. (2001). Corporate financial distress and turnaround strategies: An
empirical analysis. British Journal of Management, 12, 183?199.
Walberg, H. (Ed.) (2007). Handbook on restructuring and substantial school improvement.
Lincoln, IL: Center on Innovation & Improvement. Retrieved from www.adi.org. See
Download ADI Publications.
Walshe, K., Harvey, G., Hyde, P., & Pandit, N. (2004, August). Organizational failure and
turnaround: Lessons for public services from the for?profit sector. Public Money &
Management, 24(4), 201?208.
©2013 Academic Development Institute
doc_450781118.pdf
This paper explain operations strategy southwest airlines.
Wise Ways
®
/ Academic Development Institute
Indicator: The district ensures that school improvement plans in rapid improvement situations
include “quick wins,” early successes in improvement. (26)
Explanation: When a school has been low?achieving for years, its faculty and community often
fall into an expectation that real change cannot succeed here. Gaining quick wins provides
evidence that change is possible. Further, quick wins can ameliorate some nagging problems
that confront school staff every day. Typical quick wins include improvement to the physical
appearance and cleanliness of the school, placing staff in hallways during transitions periods to
establish order, adjusting the schedule to allow for teacher team planning time, and meeting
short?term goals for student attendance. Always it is important that the leader set goals that are
sure to be met. The quick win plan may not necessarily be part of the larger school plan, but a
short?term, targeted plan for this purpose.
Questions: How does the district advise and support principals in setting quick win objectives?
What role does the school’s Leadership Team play in this process?
Change is hard. There is no sugar?coating it or giving it soft edges. Even if everyone is aware
that something must change, the process itself is never easy. Change means breaking old habits.
Change takes people out of their comfort zone and puts them in situations in which they are not
familiar. Change shakes up the status quo. Perlman writes,
It will come as no surprise that change will be difficult and not everyone will happily climb
aboard, even if the final goal is to provide the students with a better education. Involving
some of the skeptics in improvement teams and keeping formal and informal lines of
communication open can help reduce resistance. So can the results of the “quick wins.”
(2007, p. 55)
Herman et al. (2008) confirmed the need for quick wins in a turnaround situation, citing this
as one of four recommendations for sound turnaround practice. Public Impact (2007) studied
cross?sector evidence on turnaround situations and found that “Common to successful
turnarounds, however, is implementation of intense reforms in the first few months
(Sudarsanam & Lai, 2001). Fast, focused results during the initial year are important in part to
help establish credibility, create momentum for change, and break down resistance (Buchanan,
2003; Kotter, 1995; Paton & Mordaunt, 2004; Walshe et al., 2004)” (p. 8). In the world of
business, faltering or failing companies do not have the luxury of long?term languishing. If a
failing business does not turnaround quickly, it simply goes out of business. In education, failing
schools are allowed to exist for years with no immediate repercussions. This can give a false
message to schools that no real change is needed; it is okay to simply continue what you are
doing even if students are not making progress.
Districts can support the implementation of quick wins by ensuring failing schools have a
change agent or a turnaround principal in place. Then the district needs to give that principal
flexibility and support to make the changes necessary for dramatic improvements. Leaders who
plan and carry out a few quick wins in the first year communicate to the staff that 1. We are
serious about change, and 2. Change is possible. This will require a change in the culture of the
school as well:
A striking element of the research on turnarounds is that successful turnaround leaders use
speedy, focused results as a major level to change the organization’s culture….The research
indicates that in a previously failing organization, success can beget success; specifically, the
early and tangible wins can serve as a catalyst for additional positive changes. (Public
Impact, 2007, p. 15)
References and Resources
Buchanan, L. (2003, December). The turning of Atlanta. Harvard Business Review, 81(12), 18?19.
Herman, R., Dawson, P., Dee, T., Greene, J., Maynard, R., Redding, S., & Darwin, M. (2008).
Turning around chronically low?performing schools: A practice guide (NCEE #2008? 4020).
Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute
of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/Turnaround_pg_04181.pdf
Kotter. J. P. (1995, March?April). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard
Business Review, 73(2), 19?27.
Paton, R., & Mordaunt, J. (2004, August). What’s different about public and non?profit
“turnaround”? Public Money & Management, 24(4), 209?216.
Perlman, C. (2007). Restructuring options and change processes. In H. J. Walberg (Ed.),
Handbook on restructuring and substantial school improvement (pp. 53?70). Lincoln, IL:
Academic Development Institute. Retrieved from http://www.adi.org/about/downloads/Restructuring Handbook.pdf
Public Impact. (2007). School turnarounds: A review of the cross?sector evidence on dramatic
organizational improvement. Lincoln, IL: Academic Development Institute. Retrieved from http://www.adi.org/about/downloads/Turnarounds?Color.pdf
Sudarsanam, S., & Lai, J. (2001). Corporate financial distress and turnaround strategies: An
empirical analysis. British Journal of Management, 12, 183?199.
Walberg, H. (Ed.) (2007). Handbook on restructuring and substantial school improvement.
Lincoln, IL: Center on Innovation & Improvement. Retrieved from www.adi.org. See
Download ADI Publications.
Walshe, K., Harvey, G., Hyde, P., & Pandit, N. (2004, August). Organizational failure and
turnaround: Lessons for public services from the for?profit sector. Public Money &
Management, 24(4), 201?208.
©2013 Academic Development Institute
doc_450781118.pdf