Cultural Elements Of Collaboration

Collaboration, as a key component of organizational development, requires the cultivation of specific cultural elements that are necessary to increase knowledge sharing practices that are not present in traditional knowledge-controlled practices (Rosen, 2013). Organizational structure plays a key role in the development of cultural elements that will support the development of a collaborative environment among employees and leaders. Bolman and Deal (2013) stated, "Structure needs to be designed with an eye toward desired ends, the nature of the environment, the talents of the workforce, and the available resources" (p. 56). In my school organization structure there is evidence of some cultural elements, as described by Rosen (2013), within
Inversely, in the aspect of becoming a learning organization that nurtures collaboration among teachers to develop innovative strategies that prepare students for more than just state assessments, there is room for improvement. I believe that all cultural elements described by Rosen (2013) are necessary within and a collaborative organization as it involves key processes that engage human resource management, communication, and management of information technologies. The cultural elements of collaboration that my school organization currently displays include goals, constructive confrontation, community, and value. Goals are a visible cultural element displayed which imply that our goal as an organization is to become recognized as an exemplary institution by the state and federal assessment standards. Jacobs (2009, June 2) stated, "Common goals provide clear direction and target on which to focus the ICE3 values of imagination, innovation, inquiry, collaboration, creativity, curiosity, exploration, experimentation, and entrepreneurship" (para. 5). Consequently, though we do have a goal-driven environment created by our school organization, I believe that Jacobs (2009, June 2)
Due to the continued high scores on state assessments our school and district leaders have become very protective of the instructional strategies and curriculum development practices. Consequently, trust is an element that is only shared with individuals that share common ideas and have the same instructional vision that is centered on improving scores on state assessments. Jacob (2009, June 2) stated, "To be able to give ideas up to the group for discussion, analysis, re-mix, contribution, and development is a sign of trust" (para. 3). I believe that a change educational focus must occur to expand its vision beyond state assessments in order trust to become a significant element of collaboration within our school. Sharing is an element that has not been a significant factor in building collaboration in our school due to the limited need to change the current instructional plans and techniques based on current student performance in core subject areas. Jacob (2009, June, 2) stated, "The strength of the Collaborative builds exponentially as the idea is shared with the network" (para. 4). I believe that when our teachers are challenged to create innovative instructional methods such as using web 2.0 collaboration tools, more sharing of knowledge and skills will occur. Rosen (2013)