A recent Commentary in the Cayman Net News in the "Sands of Time" series, dealt with the issue of Cayman's future and the challenge of change. The Commentary examined a number of contributions from the staff of the University College of the Cayman Islands, in which it saw change as a recurring theme.

The commentator noted that change is central to the success of business enterprises, but that few people understand, or are comfortable with it, and stressed that to deal with it, and manage it rather than being its victim, it is important to understand it. He goes on to say that all organizations and their employees must embrace change, and makes the important point that providing people with knowledge and skills, and the opportunity to utilize these require a different kind of organizational structure.

I agree with the issues raised in the Commentary, but would like to expand on some of them.

If an organization does not change with the new developments in communications technology, new methods of approaching management issues and problems, or change its philosophy of management, it will find that it will lose its competitiveness to the competition. This applies to business organizations, health systems, as well as educational systems, particularly tertiary level institutions.

Most importantly, if the structure of the organization is not reformed, it will be unable to accommodate the new developments, with the result that the change initiatives will not have the desired effect.

In many developed countries,  higher education institutions have  had to change their way of operating and find either their own resources, or seek to complement the percentage that is allocated by the host government. This means that such institutions, including the UCCI, and others throughout the Caribbean, will have to become more entrepreneurial in meeting significant amounts of their resource needs, if they are to continuously attract clients.

This involves designing and running programmes for the private and public sectors, engaging in relevant research in the health and other areas to come up with solutions to problems, more demands on lecturers to become consultants to bring in financial resources for their institutions, and creating a business climate, which is unusual at the higher education level. Most importantly the players have to become open to the reality of change.

These changes would be initially difficult for staff, used to a cozy, relaxed lifestyle.  It means not only a change in function, but in their entire psychology.  Failure to change would mean declining numbers of students, frequent staff changes as the more innovative members leave for better environments, and a declining relevance of the institution.

This is seen where in one Caribbean country, an established teacher's college has recently assumed university college status, granting full degrees instead of diplomas, because it could not continue as a teacher's college, focused on a single type of clientele.

It had to change to meet the new circumstances where teachers want to graduate with professional degrees, because of the inadequacy of the subject content of their diploma programmes.  Change is therefore inevitable, whatever our private opinions, and we must be open to its possibilities.

Where business is concerned, if the needs of an increasingly sophisticated customer are not met, the business will experience serious operational challenges, including declining profits, and would either have to transform, or cease to exist.

Connected to this is the fact that if the management of the business or the educational institution is not open to new changes and development in management practices, but operates in the traditional way, there would be staff  turnovers, and an unproductive culture.

If organizations respond positively to the challenge of change by communicating the need for it, involving internal customers in framing the change strategies, and exercising wisdom in its implementation then they would be transformed and become more competitive.

Change is therefore critical to success.

Few people understand change because usually top management fails to explain what is happening that requires it, and how they can be important in making it happen.  Change is triggered by significant growth, new human resource policies, the need for quality in products and services, the move from a domestic to a  global economy, mergers and acquisitions, the reorganization of top management to get rid of organizational lethargy, and the need for new policies balancing work and life.

Evidence that change is needed is seen in the decline in profits and investment, falling market share, duplication of tasks, failure to achieve organizational objectives, and weak communication and management systems. Employees need to be educated about these factors, so that they could be enrolled in the change efforts, and become open to them.

A new twist that is needed where change is concerned is in the recruitment and selection of personnel.  Nepotism needs to be gotten rid of, and a more intense screening of applications needs to be done.

There are persons who apply for jobs in teaching for example, who have done no courses in the area, but feel all that is needed is to read around the subjects, marring students in the process.

Many do not have a sufficient subject base, and some have not been exposed to modern methods of lecturing or teaching. They do not subscribe to journals in their field, and have themselves been given dated information in their training. This has to change and interviewers have to be more vigilant with the questions they ask, and in examining the documents people produce.

Their track record also needs to be examined. If not, the host country will not get value for money.  Policy makers therefore have to be open to the need for, and the strategies necessary to bring about fundamental change

Change is important, and requires initiative, commitment, clarity of vision and goals, putting the right people in the most appropriate positions to bring about maximum positive results, and most importantly it requires openness on the part of all, since the process of change is a continuous one, and could result in a more efficient organization.