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ABSTRACT
LEADERSHIP IN THE DESIGN OF ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS is the primary focus of an organizational development (OD) position. The OD consultant (internal or external) guides the leadership group to understand the complex nature of human organizations and the need for creation of systems and processes that support the mission, values, goals, and vision of the organization. As organizational structures change to adapt to new environmental challenges and development of a new culture is required, the approach to, and design of, new organizational systems will be critical to the success of the organization. This article will define for OD practitioners, human resource professionals, and library leaders some of the myriad organizational support systems that must be created and integrated to support new, postmodern organizational structures where collaborative learning, participative decision-making, and shared accountability can ensure adaptability, flexibility, and the potential for future success. The author's experience in the University of Arizona (UA) Library over the past ten years will be used to articulate potential approaches while sharing personal views of the successes and challenges.
INTRODUCTION
Over the past ten years, the University of Arizona (UA) Library has been a laboratory for learning about organizational change. This article does not intend to advocate for any particular change model but rather to share observations from one individual who has played a leadership role in that change process and to frame those observations within a developing theory that organizational change is best studied and assessed through the lens of system integration.
Certain organization researchers will be central to the exposition of theory embraced in this article. The work of W. Edwards Deming, Peter Scholtes, and Peter Senge form the core of the systems theory presented here. Deming defines a system as "a network of interdependent components that work together to accomplish the aim of the system. . . . An example of a system, well-optimized is a good orchestra" (1994, p. 50). Scholtes notes, "Systems consist of subsystems or, if they're small enough in scope, processes. What is the point at which something is no longer a system or a subsystem but becomes a process? I don't know. (When does a ship become small enough to be called a boat?)" (Scholtes, 1998, p. 58).
In this article the...