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Week 4: Change Communication and Resistance to Change
Social Media at the Museum
So far, you have learned that organizational change is affected by various internal and external factors. Although it might not be as commonly mentioned as the others, social media is another factor that can shape the organizational change approach.
After reading the case Social Media at the Museum on p. 120 of your textbook ( attattachedin word file), answer the following questions:
In what ways could social media applications contribute to the mission of your organization?
How could social media change or strengthen the culture of your organization, with regard to widening collaboration and becoming more agile and responsive?
To what extent will your current organization silos and hierarchies inhibit the communication and collaboration opportunities opened up by social media? Or, will social media help you to break down those silos and hierarchies and encourage more “horizontal working”?
How should your organization balance the need for management control with the desire to open up conversations more widely across the organization to encourage experimentation with social media?
In your assessment, would your organization benefit or suffer from working in a “perpetually beta” state of mind, constantly experimenting, learning—and improving—from the mistakes?
In your paper, ensure to utilize the textbook and integrate at least three peer-reviewed sources along with their citations and references. Your paper must be APA formatted and include at least 1500 words. Please use the APA 7th Essay Template available in the Supplementary Course Resources>>APA 7th Edition Resources section.
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EXERCISE 7.3
Social Media at the Museum
LO 7.5
In the past, institutional mission and strategic vision were reviewed every four years; now,
they are reviewed every time someone posts to Facebook, comments on a blog, or opens a
new Twitter account. (Allen-Greil et al., 2011)
Social media could itself trigger dramatic organizational changes, as well as creating new
channels of change communication. For example, social media is changing the ways in which
museums interact with the public, and also how museum staffmembers communicate and
work with each other. Allen-Greil and colleagues (2011) argue that, used effectively, social
media can further the mission of the organization and foster more agile and collaborative
organizational cultures. There are many wider cultural, political, and social pressures
encouraging openness and collaboration. Social media offers a new set of tools with which
organizations can respond to those pressures.
Allen-Greil and colleagues studied three museums: The Smithsonian’s National Museum of
American History (NMAH); Monticello, a historic house and research institution; and the J.
Paul Getty Trust (the Getty). These museums have adopted different approaches to the use
of social media.
At NMAH, social media contributes to public programming, focusing on education and visitor
services, complementing the existing email newsletter, website, and other online
communications. At Monticello, the focus lies with relationships building, and in particular
on increasing the organization’s “social media outreach.” This means using social media to
increase the number of “online visitors.” In contrast, the Getty is using social media to “get
off the hill.” The Getty has a reputation for being inaccessible as it is located on a hill above
the 405 freeway, and visitors have to take a quarter-mile tram ride to get up there. Social
media thus allows the Getty to “take the collections and programs into the community” and
to promote its educational and research work.
Sometimes the Best Thing Managers Can Do Is Get Out of the Way
Staff members who collaborated on social media projects in these museums have created
new channels of communication and new ways of thinking and working with each other. The
leadership of these initiatives was mainly “bottom-up” and did not rely on senior
management experts. Allen-Greil and colleagues note, “Effective collaboration means staff
members need to cross lines traditionally drawn between different working groups, and
probably across lines drawn between hierarchical levels within the institution.” Social media
may thus lead to flatter hierarchies and “horizontal working.” The study also found that an
increased level of online engagement with the public led to an increase in face-to-face
conversations among staff. Why? Social media project staff had to meet with colleagues
across the organization: human resources,, legal department, registrars, publishers, and
educators. The authors argue, “Social media are pushing us together in a very personal way.
New conversations between staff members who have never had any reason to talk before
are establishing new relationships and new lines of engagement.”
A Perpetually Beta State of Mind
Senior managers need to encourage staff to experiment with social media, to develop more
efficient and effective processes. However, at the Getty, the use of different social media
platforms, by different groups of staff, meant that initiatives were often uncoordinated and
some even competed with each other: “In a large, hierarchical institution, this kind of
testing, rapid prototyping,and risk-taking is pushing the boundaries of the usual, highlycontrolled content development processes.” Although exciting for staff, spontaneous
experimentation may not be sustainable. However, Allen-Greil and colleagues askPage 242
us to consider, “What would it really be like if we could work in a perpetually beta state of
mind? If we could try, fail, and try again? We are closer than you think because it’s already
happening at every museum that uses social media.”
Now that you have read this case, consider the following questions:
In what ways could social media applications contribute to the mission of your organization?
How could social media change or strengthen the culture of your organization, with regard
to widening collaboration and becoming more agile and responsive?
To what extent will your current organization silos and hierarchies inhibit the communication
and collaboration opportunities opened up by social media? Or, will social media help you to
break down those silos and hierarchies and encourage more “horizontal working”?
How should your organization balance the need for management control with the desire to
open up conversations more widely across the organization to encourage experimentation
with social media?
In your assessment, would your organization benefit or suffer from working in a “perpetually
beta” state of mind, constantly experimenting, learning—and improving—from the
mistakes?
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