1
Freeman-Brown Private School Case Study
Colangelo College of Business, Grand Canyon University
MGT-420: Organizational Behavior and Management
, Freeman-Brown Case Study 2
In 1944, the Freeman-Brown Private School (also known as FBPS) was founded by the
Brown and the Freeman families. This school has earned a reputation for being a leading school
in academia with its progressive curriculum. Parents of the students enjoyed having an highly
performing environment for their children. The school continued to grow and open many other
campuses in the Illinois surrounding areas. Eventually, the Brown and Freeman families decided
to sell the FBPS for a non-profit organization called the Caudhill International Family of
Schools. After owning the school for a year, they decided to change the name of the school to
Freeman-Brown Preparatory School. When the name changed happened, it did not affect the
school’s image or how it operated, but it was the beginning of the end for the school. In the
paragraphs to come, Freeman-Brown Private School will be examining the open and complex
adaptive systems, organizational culture and climate, the decision to close the school and how
the closure took place, the social responsibilities and the backlash on the stakeholders, and the
plans for the future for of FBPS.
Freeman-Brown Private School consisted of both open and complex adaptive systems.
Open Systems are those that obtain resource inputs from the environment and transform them
into finished goods or services that are returned to the environment as product outputs,
(Schermerhorn, Jr., 2016). Complex Adaptive systems are those where the environment is
constantly evolving and changing that the organizations must adapt to survive, (Schermerhorn,
Jr., 2016). FBPS had an open system because the parents of the students had the option to
choose between their school and other chartering schools. Although, when other campuses did
start to open, that caused the curriculum to suffer and students started to transfer elsewhere.
Where the complex adaptive systems came into play at the school was due to the ever-changing
economy. “That period was a difficult time for schools in Illinois in general, with reports from
Freeman-Brown Private School Case Study
Colangelo College of Business, Grand Canyon University
MGT-420: Organizational Behavior and Management
, Freeman-Brown Case Study 2
In 1944, the Freeman-Brown Private School (also known as FBPS) was founded by the
Brown and the Freeman families. This school has earned a reputation for being a leading school
in academia with its progressive curriculum. Parents of the students enjoyed having an highly
performing environment for their children. The school continued to grow and open many other
campuses in the Illinois surrounding areas. Eventually, the Brown and Freeman families decided
to sell the FBPS for a non-profit organization called the Caudhill International Family of
Schools. After owning the school for a year, they decided to change the name of the school to
Freeman-Brown Preparatory School. When the name changed happened, it did not affect the
school’s image or how it operated, but it was the beginning of the end for the school. In the
paragraphs to come, Freeman-Brown Private School will be examining the open and complex
adaptive systems, organizational culture and climate, the decision to close the school and how
the closure took place, the social responsibilities and the backlash on the stakeholders, and the
plans for the future for of FBPS.
Freeman-Brown Private School consisted of both open and complex adaptive systems.
Open Systems are those that obtain resource inputs from the environment and transform them
into finished goods or services that are returned to the environment as product outputs,
(Schermerhorn, Jr., 2016). Complex Adaptive systems are those where the environment is
constantly evolving and changing that the organizations must adapt to survive, (Schermerhorn,
Jr., 2016). FBPS had an open system because the parents of the students had the option to
choose between their school and other chartering schools. Although, when other campuses did
start to open, that caused the curriculum to suffer and students started to transfer elsewhere.
Where the complex adaptive systems came into play at the school was due to the ever-changing
economy. “That period was a difficult time for schools in Illinois in general, with reports from
