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The primary barrier to initiating a project of this magnitude is the lack of executive management support. While executive management should be well represented on the steering committee, members of the committee must not assume that other institutional leaders either understand or share the conclusions of the planning process. At Wellesley College, for example, although senior management was involved throughout the planning process, the full understanding of what such a project would involve did not crystallize until the actual implementation was under way. Failure to achieve the fully knowledgeable buy-in and support of executive leadership can put the project at risk downstream when the inevitable challenges will occur and financial commitment can waiver.
Another major and often overlooked barrier to change is the institutional culture. If the steering committee's vision of the future includes the elimination of paper-intensive approval processes, the adoption of new credit and debit cards, and substantial reliance on business partnerships, while the current practices at the institution are labor- and paper-intensive and highly centralized, there is a high risk of employee resistance to the planned changes. Again, the current financial operating environment -- and its systems -- may be universally hated, but social psychologists warn us that people will often show a preference for the devil they know than for future uncertainty.
In the past few years, a number of institutions -- for example, the University of Michigan, University of California, and Pennsylvania State University -- have worked with consulting organizations to devise survey tools to assess cultural resistance to change on their campuses. The deployment of these tools can be a cost-effective way to assure those affected by the potential change that their concerns are being accounted for in the project planning. These tools can also go far in highlighting where attitudinal, training, and other gaps are likely to be found throughout the institution and where management attention can be focused throughout the project.
A third major barrier to change is the state of the institution's existing information technology infrastructure. This area, which depends on the institution's historical investments in and approach to information technology management, is often one that can be a showstopper. For example, if the institutional vision is to decentralize online financial transactions to academic departments, the state of both the workstation environment and the local and campuswide network connectivity will either enable or hinder progress toward achieving the vision. The lack of modern computers or a robust and widespread campus network can force project planners to conclude: "We can't get there from here."
It may also be wise to hold campuswide forums to draw comments and suggestions on the vision and principles for the new system and how the new system will interrelate with other systems. This broadening activity can be accomplished in a number of ways. No matter what approach is taken, it is essential for the steering committee to communicate their leanings and enthusiasm in ways that (1) elicit honest feedback, (2) ignite enthusiasm for moving ahead, and (3) manage expectations of the campus community.
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