Session 3 Understanding change

Attitudes and roles: (example 3.1 p/49) People’s attitudes towards change may be shaped by a variety of factors (Kanter 1992) including: Their general orientation towards change. Their position. The amount of influence they have in the change process. How it is likely to affect them. Their role in the change process: change strategist (initiator), change implementer, change recipient.

The three different roles in the change process: Change strategists or initiators: A person who suggest that change is necessary to enable an organization to continue to operate successfully, &who identifies the types of change required. Change implementer: A person responsible for managing change projects. Change recipient: A person who is affected by change.

To change or not to change ?: Change may be vital, but that does not mean every possible change project is worth pursing, the costs of making the change may some times be too high. So the first problem you face will often be deciding whether a change is warranted & whether it is feasible. When assessing the prospects for change you should: 1- Identify the need for change: Much of the management literature sees change as a necessary response to poor performance, an economic threat or some kind of crisis, the reality is often not so clear-cut. It can be difficult to decide whether & what change is needed without discussing the issues, but discussing the issues may itself be problematic &cause concern among staff &customers.

2- Identify what needs to be changed: Another problem can be defining the scope of any change project what do you include & what do you exclude? Leavitt’s diamond Leavitt’s diamond (figure 3.1 p/54) named after its originator Leavitt, 1964 provides one useful way of thinking about this problem. It suggests that an organization’s structures, systems, tasks &people are interconnected, so if you make changes in one area, then you need to consider the likely implications in other areas & the balance between the four components (tasks, system, structures, people).

3-Assess the feasibility of change by : Force-field analysis: As well as deciding whether a change project is worthwhile & what its scope & aims might be, you will probably have to consider whether it is feasible, will it be possible to make the change in your organization at this time? Force-field analysis: A method of analyzing developed by Lewin in which factors working for & against change are identified in simple terms, driving forces work for change & restraining forces work against it. When these forces are equal, equilibrium is said to exist.

This simple approach can be applied to many situations at an individual, group &organizational level, or even to wider assessments of social change. When you are describing the various driving &restraining forces it often helps to assess their relative strengths (represented by the thickness of the arrows) & to cluster them under different headings, including (personal, interpersonal, inter group, technological, financial, organizational, environmental). A force-field diagram can also be used to identify ways of promoting change- ways in which you can shift the balance of forces in favors of change. Reducing restraining forces is often more effective than beefing up the driving forces. Force-field analysis needs to be applied with some care. While one of its strengths is it’s simplicity. (figure 3.2,3.3 p/55)

The change process-a three phase model: 1- Preparing: This is a crucial phase, it is about preparing the ground for change, &it is often more about creating the right climate for change. This phase is about people coming to terms with the need for change & starting to consider possibilities. Communicating the need for change,containing feelings& reactions (neither rejection nor reinforcing), getting going,weighing factors supporting change against cost. The change equation was developed as a tool to highlight what is needed in order to initiate a process of change. (Box 3.1 p /61)

2- Changing: During the phase of actually making the changes, a variety of management skills will be put to the test: planning & control, managing individuals & groups, decisions making, leadership, anticipating & overcoming problems. The complexity & uncertainty surrounding change mean that things do not usually go exactly to plan. As a result, it is worth building some slack into plans, such as free resources or little bits of extra time to help you deal with the unexpected. 3- Consolidating: Monitoring & evaluating the change, not slipping back into old ways: making other necessary changes to support the main change (Leavitt’s diamond may be useful). ( p/64)

Session 4: Managing change Approaches and Strategies: Change can be approached in a variety of ways. There is no one best strategy. In this section we will distinguish between five different broad approaches to managing change described by Thurley &Wirdenius (1973)

Directive strategies: Management’s right to manage change; managers use their authority to impose the change with little involvement of other people. Advantage: relatively fast. Disadvantage: ignores views & feeling of change recipients. Expert strategies: Management of change as problem solving. This approach adopted when a change results from a technical problem that requires solution by experts. Advantage: uses relevant expertise, relatively small group required, relatively fast to implement. Disadvantage: expertise may be challenged if so, resistance likely. Negotiating strategies: Bargaining about change. This approach involves a willingness to negotiate with other groups and to accept that adjustments may have to be made. Advantage: change recipients have some say, resistance likely to be reduced. Disadvantage: may be relatively slow, changes may have to be modified.

Educative strategies: Managing change means winning hearts & minds. This approach involves changing people’s values & beliefs so that they support the change & are committed to a shared set of organizational values, through a mixture of activities such as persuasion, education, training & selection. Advantage: people committed to change. Disadvantage: Relatively slow, likely to require more resources. Participative strategies: We’re all involved in making the change. This approach involves those affected by the change process. Advantage: change more likely to be a accepted, people committed to change, more opportunities for individual & organizational learning. Disadvantage: likely to require more resources. (table4.1 p/70) The different strategies are not mutually exclusive &typically you may use them in combination.

Factors affecting the choice of strategy: Change strategy continuum: A technique developed from the ideas of Kotter & Schlesinger which assists change strategists & change initiators to identify the factors that will influence the strategy for & implementation of change ( p/71). Factors include: The urgency of the situation, The likely degree of opposition, The power base of the change initiator, The need for information, resources & commitment from those affected to enable the change to be implemented successfully. (Figure 4.1, page 72)

Opposition and involvement: There are several approaches to opposition & involvement:  Identify reasons for resisting change. For example: Loss of control, loss of identity,loss of competence, personal uncertainty, surprise,real threats. (table 4.2 p/75) Kotter & Schlesinger (1979): suggested Parochial self-interest; misunderstanding; low tolerance to change; different assessments of situation. p/75

 Choose appropriate methods to deal with resistance as : Avoidance of unnecessary Change, Communication & Education, Participation & Involvement, Support & Development, Negotiation & Bargaining, Building Coalitions & Alliances, Manipulation & Co-option, Explicit & Implicit Coercion. Co-option: A way of tackling opposition to change, suggested by Kotter &Schlesinger, by buying off the most out spoken objectors.

Use commitment planning: 3 -Use commitment planning: To help identify where resistance needs to be overcome and/or commitment developed. Commitment plan: A chart showing key individuals and/or groups affected by a change, and the level of commitment each one has to the change. It assists change strategists & change implementers to design preparatory (unfreezing) activities by identify where individual or group commitments need to be modified in order for change to be implemented successfully (figure 4.2 p/81). Be Selective in your efforts to overcome resistance & 4 - Be Selective in your efforts to overcome resistance & encourage commitments. encourage commitments. Use additional methods to develop commitment where 5 - Use additional methods to develop commitment where necessary : necessary : for example, reward people, treat immediate problems, be a role model, use peer group pressure, encourage sharing of positive changes. Create a climate for change. 6 - Create a climate for change.

Evaluation & consolidation of change: Evaluation & Consolidation of change is important, you need to: Monitor changes & take correction action where necessary. Make other changes necessary to support the main change. (p /86)

A checklist for managing change: Preparing for change. Implementing change. Consolidating change.