transformative change

I will be focusing on Andy Warhol’s quote, “They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”  I think this quote says that if you want to see a change anywhere from your personal life to society as a whole then you need to initiate the change because no one is going to do it for you.  I see this quote as speaking directly to second order change.  Unlike single order change, transformative change actually alters the culture of the organization and causes changes in the way leaders and other members of the group think and behave.  Transformative change may be aided, or even expedited, by single order change as changing the procedures and rules of the group may be necessary to accompany the organization’s culture change.  For example, right now an issue in my chapter is accountability (second order); trying to get members to hold themselves accountable for their actions and hold one another accountable.  To accomplish this, the e-board has identified two single order changes that need to occur: establishment of an effective judicial committee and that the e-board lead by example.  We feel that these changes along with talking with the chapter about accountability, letting them know that each individual should take responsibility for their actions, and creating an environment where not doing so isn’t acceptable will help us to achieve the second order change.  Right now I would say the chapter is somewhere between preparation and action—we have a judicial committee now regularly holding meetings and the majority of the chapter expects members to hold themselves accountable, but not everyone has bought into the idea yet and even some of the people that have recognized the need for change are not fully invested in the idea.  It is especially difficult to generate support for this from some of the older members who have been in a culture without consequences for their entire college experience and they are quite content with the way things are.  It might not be possible to change the way they think, so I feel the best strategy is to focus on the younger members and show them what type of a culture we want to create and hope that if everyone else in the chapter buys-in to the idea that the select few that do not will feel enough external pressure to change their behavior.

Week 2:Fostering Change

An experience involving social change that I was a part of was the formalizing of recruitment during rush week this year.  Traditionally the fraternities on Ohio State’s campus do not cooperate with one another during rush and as a result we make it harder on ourselves to recruit.  During the fall quarter IFC focused on a collaborative recruitment effort to aid us; this included having a master schedule of rush events, IFC booklets being distributed to every freshman on the first day of winter quarter, open houses on the same days, etc.  The main thing that stood out compared to the past was the fact that many of the fraternities were now working with one another instead of against one another.  At first I was very pessimistic about the idea, thinking that all this would accomplish is having everyone draw from the same pool of freshman.  Essentially this is what happened, however, the pool was much larger than in years past and had more quality PNM’s because we were working together on the issue.  This made me feel like the IFC was helping to change the Greek community’s image and helping to relieve some of the negative feelings between chapters since working cooperatively ended up benefiting everyone.  This experience taught me that by working with the other chapters we could grow the Greek community much more effectively than if each Chapter attempts to go out and do its own thing.  It can be difficult to put our differences aside, but if we suck it up we really can accomplish more.

I approach change very cautiously and normally analyze the prospective change apprehensively—not because I oppose change, but because when moving from the status quo I want to be sure that the change will take us in the right direction and will do so in the most effective way possible.  Change is most effective when: there is a sense of urgency surrounding it, there is a group that is collectively behind the change, an ultimate goal and strategy to reach it are in place, the group feels like the change they want is attainable, check-points along the way are established to monitor progress, and when these checkpoints are reached they compound on one another to create momentum.  To manage change and help others manage change I think tangible goals must be established.  Being vague in language leaves too much up in the air and as a result it becomes very easy to get sidetracked.  By illustrating the actual accomplishments that can be reached through change it becomes much easier to create buy-in for the project and shows that progress is being made.  If you cannot generate buy-in still, then seeking out the advice of resistors may help.  This will help redefine the change in their mind from being your project to our project.  They are much more likely to help you if you listen to their goals and have them invest in the project rather than having them fall in behind your ideas.

Week 1: Social Change Motivations

One of the main motivations I can identify for social change is the interconnectedness of societal problems.  My experience at Ohio State, especially within Greek Life, has shown me that one group’s issue can quickly become the community’s issue.  Take for example when a fraternity finds itself in trouble for having an open party that hasn’t been properly monitored and it ends up getting out of control and someone ends up drinking too much and goes to the hospital, or even just goes back to the dorms and causes some mayhem.  If it isn’t Beta that is having the party then should this really affect me?  Absolutely, everyone in this group has seen the issues that arise after an incident like this—the whole Greek community takes a step back; it hurts us in the eyes of the university, alumni, and parents and is a setback to some of the long-term goals, like non-deferred recruitment and sorority and fraternity houses counting as campus housing, that we have.  So, from situations like this it becomes easy to see how when one group or individual loses the entire group is hurt.

Before coming to Ohio State I took a much more individualistic approach to social change, the kind that the book refers to as a Band-Aid approach.  Sometimes I would volunteer at a soup kitchen or a church’s fish fry, but never in a collaborative effort or with any higher goals in mind than getting through the day.  However, it’s impossible to be on this campus for too long without seeing a student group that has a definite goal and utilizes the vast array of resources, and people, here.  Seeing this makes you realize that while your own personal sphere of influence may not extend very far, it extends exponentially every time you enlist someone to help you in your cause.  Seeing how much further the impact of a group can go than that of a lone individual has definitely helped to shape my approach into more community than self based.