4 the change process

8/14/2019 4 the Change Process

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Session 4

The change process


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Planning and preparation for

change Once a manager or a group of managers has

been convinced that change is necessaryand that accurate diagnosis has been made

of the cause requiring change, preparation forthe changes can begin.


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Planning and preparation for change

Such planning calls for attention to severalissues:

Timing Building support Communication Participation Incentives


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Timing

Managers are often tempted to initiate something

quickly, especially if the need for change seemsexceptionally strong.

Acting too quickly can lead to changes that are not

well planned and that fail because they lacksufficient support.

On the other hand, waiting too long time to make

necessary changes can also be a recipe for failure.

Right timing is crucial and critical to success.


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Building Support One of the most quarantees for successful implementation is to

build support for change in advance.

Requires especially careful consideration of who will be affectedby the changes and how they will likely react.

This means that managers need to have a clear understanding of

the situation and circumstances in which the changes will takeplace if they are to increase the probability of success.

It also means that this kind of analysis, in turn, must be followedwith support-building activities by the manager.

How? Through Communication Participation Incentives


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Communication

A key step in building support for major

changes is to communicate about them inadvance to those who will be affected.

Cooperation is likely to be enhanced andmore people understand:

The reasons for the changes The ways those changes are likely to impact

them.


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Communication

Examples of communication such as:

Explained the proposed change to allemployees

Required hours of training in problem solving Goal setting

Conflict management

Set up scheduled meetings both individualgroups and with the entire workforce.


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Communication

In contrast if the reasons for changes cannot

be clearly communicated, they may not havehigh probability of success.

Seldom do change fail because of too muchcommunication

But likely to encounter difficulty when too littleinformation is provided.


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Communication

Particularly important in using communicationto build support for proposed changes is toprovide a compelling rationale for changes.

Those affected need to know the specificobjectives of the changes and how thoserelate to the larger goals and values of the

unit or total organization.


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Communication

Also important in communication is to focus

special attention on those who are likely to beinfluenced in shaping the attitudes of theircolleagues.

In other words, extra effort spent oncommunication with opinion leaders(thosewhoknows)can be good investment.


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Participation

During the planning stage, obtaining the

participation of those to be affected bychanges can help build later support for thosechanges.

Participation can build trust because thoseinitiating the changes, in effect, are allowing

themselves to be influenced about how andwhen to make the changes.


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Participation Use of participation is not cost free.

It takes time and effort on the managers part.

Participation may backfire if participantssuggestions and requests are diverge widely frommanagers goal.

Furthermore, if those asked to participate sense thattheir input is not really wanted and that management

is only going through the motion, this can quicklylead to feeling of being manipulated. In such cases participation has eroded rather than support

for change.


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Participation

Nevertheless, participation should be least beconsidered as a viable approach.

The real issue is whether the failure to use

participation creates more problems for thechanges than will the use of participation. The answer is often yes.


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Incentives

Other factor that can help build support for change

is to emphasize incentives for those who will beaffected.

Simply communicating how the change itself will

directly affect them in a positive way can oftenincrease support.

Examples are: Installation of new equipment to make work easier. Or reorganization to provide clearer direction. Or additional training to add to an employees skills.


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Incentives Providing incentives may involve conferring

benefits directly to those affected.

This could include eithernon-monetaryincentives such as:

A better accessed facilities. a more desirable working conditions.

Or the use of some form of monetary incentivessuch as increased compensation for increasedresponsibilities.


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Incentive

Managers should consider some important cautions

when using incentives to generate change.

One is that providing incentives to those likely to beaffected may make them feel they are being bought

over.

Thus use if incentives for change, especially

monetary incentive, can potentially createskepticism and cynicism of managers motives andthus, increase resistance to changes.


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Incentive Furthermore, offering explicit incentives one

time for a change may increase theprobability that those affected will expectincentives any time a new change is made inthe future.

Therefore, introducing incentives as a way forbuilding support for change is not something

that should be done lightly and withoutconsideration of possible serious, thoughunintended, side effects.


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Implementation Choices

Where planning for change leaves off andimplementation of change begins, it is often difficultto specify because the process is more or lesscontinuous.

Implementing change involves several criticalchoices for managers:

Choices of approach Choices of amount Choices of rate


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Implementation of choices

Choice of approaches (we discussed that

earlier) involves these options:

Technology

Structure Culture Strategy

Process People


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Choice of approach To initiate the change process, one or more

of these focuses need to be selected.

The choice depends in large part on theobjectives to be accomplished, which in turn

are linked to the problems identified in theassessment of the need to change.

For e.g. if the major problems is outdatedequipment, then obviously changing thetechnology will be the approach of choice.


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Choice of approach

However if the problem is one sluggish

growth in sales compared with competitors,then choice of approach is not so self-evident.

It could be that the organization is not sufficientlymarket-oriented, which could indicate a need forchange in the culture of the organization.


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Choice of amount

Either :

Small

Moderate Major


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Choice of amount

Even after managers have decided what

approaches to take and have started toimplement those choices, they must alsoconfront another set of issues:

How much change should take place?

That is, how comprehensive should the change

be affected? When change is too little, the benefits are not

likely to outweigh the costs involved.


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Choice of amount Changes can be too massive or too small

Although managers may be tempted to make bigchanges, once they decide to make change, theyoften overlook the potential costs.

Very large changes are sometimes what is calledfor, especially when major changes are occurring inthe units or organizations environment.

Studies showed that companies that engaged in burst ofvery large changes rather than a series of small,incremental changes were better able to cope with anextremely volatile environment.


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Choice of amount

Any change can cause resistance and big

changes can cause immense resistance.

Thus too great a change, in effect, can create

more chaos and more problems.

When this happen, no change at all would have

been better than change that was made.


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Choice of amount

Another aspect of the amount of change that

needs to be considered is the frequency ofchanges.

In these times ofcompetitive pressure andrelative turbulence in many organizationalenvironments, change must be implemented

much more often than in the past. In some sense, change is a more or less constantcondition


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Choice of amount If specific changes, especially those of at least moderate

size, are made continually, organization members can

get mentally exhausted.

Imagine, for example, that you are a member of a salesdepartment in a large, geographically dispersedcompany:

First management decides that sales department datashould be centralized and install a new datainformation system linking all geographic region.

Next, management institutes a team structure linkingsales with marketing and R & D personnel for newprojects.


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Choice of amount

Each of these changes, by itself, may improve

customer satisfaction and employee performance.

However, if they all occur with a short space of time,you might not have time to adjust to any one changebefore finding yourself in the midst of a new change.

Therefore, the frequency of changes must be

considered along with their size to gauge the effectson those who will have to respond.


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Choice of amount

The lessons for managers is that great care

must be taken in deciding how much changeshould be implemented.

Potential problems exist in making too smallor not enough change.

Similarly, there can be potential dangers inmaking too large or too many changes.


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Choice of amount

In particular instances, however, one of these

extremes may in fact be the best alternatives.

The general guideline, therefore, is that the

amount of change should fit the severity ofthe problems.

This should be determined by sound analysisof the strength of the need for change.


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Choice of rate Just as the amount and frequency of change represent important

choices in making changes, so does the rate of change.

If the pace ofchange is too slow, conditions that created theneed for it in the first place may again shift significantly.

Diverted back to square one

Also change that is too slow can frustrate many people, whowant to see at least some early and tangible results for theirefforts.

See e.g that follows


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Choice of rate

For e.g. suppose a company spent several months

putting together new work teams and trainingemployees in decision-making techniques, groupprocesses, conflict resolution techniques and use ofcomputerized performance tracking.

Then, however, suppose it delayed installing thenew equipment and software.

Employees would likely be frustrated by not being able toput their new knowledge and skills to immediate use.


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Choice of rate

Change that is too rapid can also cause major problems.

Whether the change is primary technological, structural,procedural or some other focus, people need to adapt tothe rate.

Rate that are excessively fast can exceed the typicalpersons ability to cope and thus, increase resentmentand resistance.

It has been suggested that in situation of rapid change,the work experience may be so stressful and sodamaging to a persons self-identity as to trigger violentbehavior.


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Choice of rate

Just as the rate of speed of a car can be

increased or decreased depending on theroad conditions, so can the rate of change inorganizational settings.

Just as in a car, if the rate is changed toooften or too drastic, it can be veryuncomfortable for those required to adapt.

This in turn can reduce confidence in theperson responsible for the changes.


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Resistance to change Although almost any change carries with it a

seed of resistance, managers are oftensurprised, and frequently disappointed by it.

Some degree of resistance may be inevitablein organizational changes but overcomingthat resistance is not easy.

In this section, we examine some of thereasons for resistance and some generalapproaches for dealing with it.


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Reasons for Resistance

Change embodies potential risks and threatsfor those affected.

They think they know how to size up thoserisks and threats in their present situation, butthey are uncertain what they will be in the

changed situation.


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Reasons for resistance

Within the overall context, some more specific

reasons for resisting change can be identified:

Inertia (feeling of unwillingness to do anything)

People in organization get comfortable with their presentways of doing things.

Even if they perceive no increase in risk, people simply findit easier to do thingsthe way they always have rather than

to operate or behave differently.

Ingrained and over-learned habit die hard.


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Mistrust

Even if those proposing change emphasizepositive future consequences, people often

doubt that they will actually occur.

Such skepticism is especially magnified if

change occurs in an existing climate ofmistrust or if previous change effort havefailed.


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Lack of information

A third contributing factor to resistance tochange can be a lack of adequate information

about both the need for the change and whatits effects are likely to be.

Even a seemingly small change such as a minor

reorganization of a specific unit can produceopposition, often of a subtle nature, simplybecause basic information was not provided.


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Anticipate Consequences

Another reason for resistance can be straightforward assessment of expected gains and lossesby those affected.

In other words, employees determine what is best forprotection of their self-interests.

Those affected by the change may considerpossible loss of status or influenced, which may beignored or underestimates by the managers who areinstigating the change.


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Dealing with resistance to change

There are no quick fix to reduce or eliminateresistance.

However, that does not mean that nothingcan be done and therefore, having aframework for analyzing the resistance canbe helpful.


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Dealing with resistance to change

Force Field Analysis

One very useful way of looking at theproblem of resistance is what is called aforce field analysis as proposed bypsychologist Kurt Lewin.

The uses of the concept of equilibrium, a condition

that occurs when the forces for change , thedriving forces, are roughly balanced by forcesopposing change , the restraining forces,. (pleasesee hand-out material for description)


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Force field analysis

If we apply this analysis to typical

organizational changes, we see thatmanagers basically have two choices:

Add more force for change, such as putting morepressure on subordinates to conform to newprocedures OR

Reduce the resistance forces, such as convincinginformal leaders that they will benefit from change.


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Force field analysis

The basic problem with increasing the driving

forces is that this often results in increasingthe opposing forces.

Therefore, Lewin analysis suggests thatweakening restraining may be the moreeffective way to bring about change.


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Kurt Lewins force field theory

According to Kurt Lewins theory, everybehavior is the result of an equilibriumbetween driving forces, which push forchange and restraining forces, which resist

change and strive to maintain the status quo.

Forces of resistance include the existing

organization culture, individual employeesself-interests and differing perceptions oforganization goals and strategies.


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Force field theory

In Lewins view, people find it difficult, if not

impossible, to change long-established attitudes andbehavior.

Even if they do make changes, they will soon return to theirold ways if the new ways are not reinforced.

To prevent this, Lewin suggest a three-step process:

Unfreezing existing behavior patterns Using a change agent to help employees identify with and

internalize new attitudes, values and behavior Refreezing to lock in the new behavior patterns.


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Force field theory

Unfreezing making the need for change so

obvious that the individual, group or organizationcan readily see and accept that change must occur.

Change agent the individual leading or guiding theprocess of change in an organization situation.

Refreezing transforming a new behavioral pattern

into the norm through reinforcement and supportmechanisms.


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Dealing with resistance to changeNegotiation

Negotiating too early with those who mayresist could be wasted effort because theissues to be negotiated or the degree ofresistance may not yet be clear.

If resistance is primary due to lack of

information, entering into negotiations toomay only increase resistance, thusstrengthening a restraining force.


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Negotiation

People may resist managers negotiation

efforts since they feel they cannot makeintelligent decisions about offers orcounteroffers because they lack sufficient

information.

Information is crucial under the negotiation table.

Managers should have sufficient and reliableinformation.


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Participation

Participation may be very effective in

defusing some resistance, or even identifyingvalid reasons why the change might not work,but it can be a costly use of everyones time

and can be risky for managers because theoutcomes are hard to predict.

For e.g. in a setting in which past change efforts

have failed or have hurt employees (e.g., through

layoffs), asking peoples participation may not

seem legitimate.

i i


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Communication

Communication can be relatively inexpensive

but if it comes too late, it may not have mucheffect.

For e.g. communicating and emphasizing toemployees that a firms profit have droppedsharply, after layoffs have already beenannounced, may seem like an after-the-factattempt to justify the layoffs action

may only result in increased levels of mistrustand resistance in the future.

F ili i


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Facilitation Facilitation and support would be welcomed by those

who might not want to go along with the changes but the

costs can be substantial.

For e.g GE hires consultants to help with its workoutprogram, a series of town meetings in which managers

and employees meet for frank discussions of thebusiness and to find solution to key problems

These consultants cost about $5000 to $10000 per dayin fees plus expenses.

At that rate, it doesnt take many days to rack up sizablebill.

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Coercion

Coercion, such as threatening transfer or denyingfuture

promotions, is risky and not design to lessen resistancebut it may overcome resistance in short term.

For this to work, management must have the power to

follow through with threats and the threats must be ofsufficient magnitude to motivate compliance on thepart of employees.

In extreme situations, managers have no other choicebut if this option is chosen, managers need torecognize that it will be highly likely to increasemistrust and resistance to change effort in the future.

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Coercion (means compel or force) A final point to be made about dealing with resistance to change

is that managers should recognize that the amount and nature of

resistance may be very useful diagnostic tools to gauge whetherthe change is appropriate and will actually bring about desiredresults if implemented.

To put this another way, managers need to listen to resistance

and determine whether they have accurately assessed the needfor change and the process of implementation.

Just because resistance arises certainly does not mean that theproposed change must be abandoned or postponed.

Thus understanding the need for change is important.

E l ti f h t


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Evaluation of change outcomes

Once change has been carried out, whether the entire

organization or within one unit, managers need to evaluate theoutcomes.

If the effect of changes are not appraised in some manner,managers have no way of knowing whether additional changes

are needed and also whether the particular approachesimplemented should be use again in similar circumstances.

To carry out the evaluation process, three steps are required:

Data collection. Comparison of outcomes against goals. Feedback of results.

D t ll ti


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Data collection

Data must be collected to evaluate the

outcomes of change essentially come in twoforms:

Objective or quantitative data Subjective or attitude data

Both types can be useful to the manager whohas implemented change.

D t ll ti


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Data collection For e.g after introducing major new information technology, a

manager could evaluate by measuring changes in output per

employee, speed of respond to customers, accuracy in reports,attitudes of employees users within the organization, and attitudesof clients who dealwith employees using the new technology.

It is important to keep in mind that thecollection of different sets of data to measurechange outcomes may well require significantcosts.

Therefore, not every type of data that could becollected should be collected.


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Data collection But the point is that significant sources of data

should not be overlooked.

The more types of data that can be collected,

the more likely the analysis of the effects will beinformative.

Date should be collected at periodical intervalsto measure the lasting power of the change.

C i f t i t


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Comparisons of outcomes againstgoals Collection of data is only a first step in

evaluating outcomes.

The crucial next step is the comparison of

those outcomes against goals and variousbenchmarks or standards set in advance ofthe change.

Without those goals and standards,interpretation of the data will be almostmeaningless.


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Feedback of results


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Feedback of results A final step in evaluating outcomes is communication of the finding

to those who are involved with or affected by the change.

Failure to provide feedback can leave subordinates and otheremployees with a sense of frustration.

They may even question a managers motives for not supplying it.

It can also produce an element of distrust, making it even harder tocarry out successfully changes in future.

Managers can provide feedback to both superiors and subordinatesin a variety of ways:

Written report Direct oral reports Briefings Discussion with small groups

Feedback of results


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Feedback of results

No one method is more effective than others.

The key point is that in nearly all cases, some

feedback about the effects of changes isbetter than no communication at all.


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End of lecture.

4 the change process

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