Managing Change

Organizational change is the process by which organizations move from their present state to some desired state to increase their effectiveness.

- Change agent is the person who acts as a catalyst, and qassumes the responsibility for managing the change process.

- Change intervention is a planned action to make things different.

- Change targets are individuals and groups who are subject to change

Types of Organizational Change

1. Reactive Change

2. Proactive Change

Some Determining Factors of Change

• Internal planned change

• Internal unplanned change

• External planned change

• External unplanned change

Planned Internal Change

• Changes in products or services

• Changes in administration system (procedures, rules, and regulations)

• Changes in organizational size and structure (downsizing, decentralization, job redesign, outsourcing)

• Technological changes (change in equipment, work process, work sequence, information-processing systems, and degree of automation)

• Person-focused change ( HRP, enhancing employee competence and performance

Unplanned Internal Changes

• Changing employee demographics (women, retired employees)• Performance gaps• System disequilibrium• Differing needs of individuals and groups• Resource constraints

Planned External Changes

• Introduction of new technologies• Advances in information processing and communication

Unplanned External Changes

• Government regulation (deregulation, foreign exchange, etc.)• Economic competition in global arena• Changing customer needs and preferences

Resistance to Change

Individual Factors• Problem of adjustment• Economic reasons• Obsolescence of skills• Emotional factors

- fear of unknown- Ego defensiveness- Group norms- Social displacement

Organizational Factors• Threat to power and influence• Organization structure• Resource constraints• Sunk costs

The following guidelines should be followed to successfully implement a change.

Management of Change

Step - I Identification of need for change (based on internal and external factors)

Step - II Determination of elements to be changed (technology, structure, people, governance)

Step - III Planning of change

Step - IV Force-field analysis

Step - V Soliciting worker’s participation

Step - VI Instrumentation of change

Step - VII Appraisal

Kurt Lewin’s Change Model

• Unfreezing (based on benchmarking: process by which a company compares its performance with that of high-performing organizations)

• Changing

• Refreezing

System Model of Change

OutputsInputsStrategic

Plans

OrganizationalArrangements

People

MethodsSocial

Factors

• Inputs (Mission, Vision, SWOT)

• Strategic Plans (Strategies, Goals)

• Organizational Arrangements (Policies, procedures, roles, structure, rewards, physical setting)

• People (Knowledge, ability, attitudes, motivation)

• Methods (processes, work flow, job design, technology)

• Social Factors (organizational culture, group processes, interpersonal interactions, communication, leadership)

• Outputs (organizational level, department level or group level, individual)

John Kotter’s Eight Steps for Leading Organizational Change

1. Establishing a sense of urgency (why change is needed)

2. Crating the guiding coalition (create a cross-functional, cross-level group of people)

3. Develop a vision and strategy

4. Communicate the change vision

5. Empower broad-based action (eliminate barriers to change, use target elements of change, encourage risk taking and creative problem solving)

6. Generate short-term wins (plan for short term improvements, recognize and reward people who contribute to improvements)

7. Consolidate gains and produce more change (organization wide change)

8. Anchor new approaches in the culture (reinforce the changes by highlighting connections between new behaviours and processes and organizational success)

Step 1 to 4 -- unfreezing, Step 5 to 7 --changing, Step 8 -- refreezing

Process of Planned Change

FeedbackFeedback

Identifying need for change

Elements to be changed

Planning for change

Assessing change forces

Actions for change

• Unfreezing• Changing• Refreezing

Creating Change through Organization Development

OD consists of planned efforts to help persons work and live together more effectively, over time in their organizations. These goals are achieved by applying behavioural science principles, methods, and theories adapted from the fields of psychology, sociology, education, and management.

- A set of techniques or tools that are used to implement organizational change

OD Interventions for Implementing Change

• Survey feedback (to ascertain employees perceptions and attitudes for group cohesion, job satisfaction, and managerial leadership through questionnaire, results of the survey can be communicated with employees so that they can then engage in problem solving and constructive changes)

• Process consultation (assistant of the OD consultant for better – interpersonal-relations, decision-making, conflict-handling patterns, and group dynamics- occurring in work groups and provides feedback to the members involved)

• Team building (role of OD change agent to team cohesiveness)• Intergroup development• Technostructural activities (improving the work technology or

organizational design with people on the job)

Why People Resist Change in the Workplace

• An individual’s predisposition toward change.• Surprise and fear of the unknown.• Climate of mistrust.• Fear of failure.• Loss of status or job security.• Peer pressure• Disruption of cultural traditions or group relationships

(whenever individuals are transferred, promoted, or reassigned, cultural and group dynamics are thrown into disequilibrium)

• Lack of tact or poor timing• No reinforcing reward systems

Overcoming Resistance to Change

1. Effective communication2. Consultation with union leaders3. Education and training4. Facilitation and support (listening, guidance, emotional support)5. Negotiation6. Manipulation and co-optation7. Coercion (dismissal, transfer, denial of promotion, loss of job, suspension)8. Developing commitment9. Leadership10. Group dynamics training for change

Six Strategies for Overcoming

Resistance to Change

1. Education + Communication

2. Participation + Involvement

3. Facilitation + Support

4. Negotiation + Agreement

5. Manipulation + Co-optation

6. Explicit + Implicit coercion

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