Managing the Process of Organizational Change in E-learning Development in Higher Education at Institutional Level

The British education system, especially higher education, has embraced the rapidly changing technologies for its potential in supporting diverse approaches in teaching and learning. E-learning systems have been widely used over the past decade in both higher and further education in Britain, driven by strong encouragement from government and institution levels to fully exploit new technologies. However, not much research have been conducted from a management perspective on the organizational and cultural changes associated with the adoption of new technologies. This presentation reports on a research that focuses on four case studies of universities in Britain. The main purpose is to examine the organizational and cultural changes linked to the deployment of the e-learning system, focusing on the experiences and perceptions of stakeholders (e.g. senior managers and staff) and the impact on established teaching and learning practices. This study is currently at the data collection stage. Some preliminary findings emerging from the first two case studies will be discussed in the presentation.