Organizational Development and Learning Technology in the Workplace: The Migration of University Reporting Tools

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to understand, and examine the experiences at the individual, team, and organization levels of the University Planning Group (UPG) and the University Software Group (USG), as they migrated from the Oracle Discoverer reporting tool to the Cognos reporting tool.

METHODOLOGY
The targeted population consisted of the 11 individuals in the University Planning Group (UPG) and the 26 individuals in University Software Group (USG) at Henry University (a mid-sized public university in southern New Jersey). Respondents completed the Dimensions of the Learning Organization (Marsick & Watkins, 2003), the Margin in Life survey instrument (Stevenson, 1982), and the Leadership Practices Inventory. Six one-on-one interviews were also conducted.

KEY FINDINGS
The LPI was administered in terms of the author completing the Self version and 35 of the respondents completed the Observer form. Her Self scores were generally higher than those provided by observers, and fell within the “moderate” rate on the Kouzes Posner normative scale. The most frequent leadership practice according to observers was Enable, followed by Model and Encourage, and then Challenge and Inspire.

The author concludes: “As a leader at Henry University, I would strongly recommend that the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) become an annual survey for the management team to gauge their listening ability, when it comes to adult workers. This survey instrument helps to bridge the gap between adult workers and management. The necessity to work together towards common goals is paramount, with less funding and more work to be accomplished” (p. 173).