Ensuring Successful Ensuring Successful Organizational ChangeOrganizational Change

Ronald L. Jacobs, Ph.D.Ronald L. Jacobs, Ph.D.The Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State University

7 June 20087 June 2008

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Where is Columbus, Ohio?

Enrollments, Largest U.S. Universities (Autumn 2007)

The Ohio State University 52,568

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The WDE graduate program seeks to prepare advanced practitioners, leaders, and scholars to address the following societal issues:

Prepare to enter or re-enter the workforce,

Undertake formal, informal, and non-formal learning

opportunities to improve workforce performance,

Adapt to changes that affect workforce competitiveness, and

Undergo life transitions related to workforce participation.

Definition . . . Definition . . .

Human Resource DevelopmentHuman Resource Development is the process of is the process of improving organizational performance and improving organizational performance and workplace learning through employee workplace learning through employee development, organization development, and development, organization development, and career development programs.career development programs.

Ronald L. Jacobs (2008)Ronald L. Jacobs (2008)

Employee Development – training and educational programs that provide the competencies to meet current and future work expectations. Organization Development – human and structural processes to facilitate change among individuals, groups, and organizations.  Career Development – educational and experiential programs to match the needs of organizations and the needs and interests of individuals.

HRD ComponentsHRD Components

HRD Process

Strategic Planning

Needs Assessment

Performance Analysis

Work Analysis

ED Programs

OD Programs

CD Programs

Assess/AnalyzeAssess/Analyze Design/Implement Evaluate/Improve

Results

Behavior

Perceptions

Project ManagementProject Management

Future StateFuture State

Of the OrganizationOf the OrganizationCurrent StateCurrent StateOf the OrganizationOf the Organization

Organizational ChangeOrganizational Change

Most case study reports tend to describe the situation during the initial success period and before the eventual decline and collapse of the program (Mirvis and Berg, 1977).

Goodman and Dean (1983) examined the persistence of change in selected organizations in which change programs had been successfully introduced and where positive benefits had initially been identified. Four to five years later, only one third of the projects remained to any discernible degree, while the others were in decline or non-existent.

Jacobs and Hruby-Moore (1998) reported a failed cost-benefit analysis study. The study showed a negative cost-benefit ratio at the conclusion of the intervention.

A. T. Kearney (1999) reported that managers in 294 European medium-sized companies reported that only one in five change efforts were viewed as being successful. The remaining efforts made some initial improvements, but had failed to sustain them, or made no demonstrable improvements whatsoever. Two-thirds of reengineering efforts in Britain failed and that less than half of the TQM programs showed any demonstrable results at all.

Estimates from lean manufacturing consultants statethat 80 percent of projects fail, requiring companiesto determine whether to begin again or continue using a traditional manufacturing approach.The truth about organizational change – most planned change efforts are not successful.

Institutionalizing Organizational Institutionalizing Organizational Change . . .Change . . .

Having the change become a part of the on-going everyday activities of the

organization.

Institutionalizing Change FrameworkInstitutionalizing Change Framework

Organization Characteristics

• Are the organization’s goals, management, and design aligned?• Are leaders committed to the

change? • Is the organization ready for

change?Institutionalization Outcomes

• Work behaviors• Job outcomes• Process outcomes• Organization norms, values, culture

Institutionalization Processes

• Develop the competence to meet new expectations

• Ensure self-efficacy to carry out the expectations

• Build commitment in terms of words and action

• Connect new processes with existing processes

Change Characteristics

• Do the change goals identify the desired state?

• Has a change management process been identified?

• Are resources available to implement the change?

Cross-Cultural EffectsCross-Cultural Effects

Jacobs (2001) adapted from Cummins and Worley (2004)

HRD ChallengeHRD Challenge

Effective HRD practice must consider Effective HRD practice must consider

institutionalization processes when assisting institutionalization processes when assisting organizations during times of change.organizations during times of change.

Unfreezing Moving Refreezing

HRD programs Institutionalizatio

nprocesses

• Training appears to be a major way for organizations Training appears to be a major way for organizations to institutionalize change.to institutionalize change.

• Organizations are using a wide range of training Organizations are using a wide range of training methods to institutionalize change, but the most methods to institutionalize change, but the most frequent and most effective is reported to be OJT.frequent and most effective is reported to be OJT.

• Organizations should review existing strategies and Organizations should review existing strategies and explore the ways to make HRD strategies more explore the ways to make HRD strategies more integrated with other organizational functions to integrated with other organizational functions to ensure better success in institutionalizing change. ensure better success in institutionalizing change.

• The first empirical research on institutionalizing The first empirical research on institutionalizing organizational change. Findings will hopefully organizational change. Findings will hopefully trigger more research interest on this topic in future.trigger more research interest on this topic in future.

Jacobs, R., & Osman-Gani, A. (2005). Institutionalization of organizational change: An exploratory study of HRD interventions used by Singaporean, US, Japanese, and German companies. Human Resource Development International.

A significant relationship was found between transfer self-efficacy and goal commitment. A significant relationship was found among aspects of the learning transfer climate and goal commitment. A significant relationship was also found between learning transfer climate and transfer self-efficacy.

Washington, C. (2002). The relationships among learning transfer climate, transfer self-efficacy, goal commitment, and sales performance in an organization undergoing planned change. Dissertation: The Ohio State University.

Cascade TrainingCascade Training

““ Cascade training is the process Cascade training is the process of providing the competence of providing the competence necessary to ensure the necessary to ensure the institutionalization of institutionalization of organizational change.”organizational change.”

““Information flows from one Information flows from one group to another until it reaches group to another until it reaches the final destination, similar to the final destination, similar to that of a waterfallthat of a waterfall.”.”

1.1. HierarchicalHierarchical

2.2. ProcessProcess

3.3. RoleRole

4.4. ProjectProject

• Based on the competence needs of each Based on the competence needs of each employee level.employee level.

• Coordinated such that the training Coordinated such that the training outcomes of one group are reconciled outcomes of one group are reconciled with other groups. with other groups.

• Uses an array of training approaches, Uses an array of training approaches, both on the job and off the job. both on the job and off the job.

Hierarchical Hierarchical – The training follows the – The training follows the vertical structure of the vertical structure of the organization. organization.

Ensures that everyone organization-Ensures that everyone organization-wide understands the change and the wide understands the change and the three competence keys:three competence keys:

1. Keep doing this.1. Keep doing this.

2. Stop doing that.2. Stop doing that.

3. Start doing this.3. Start doing this.

Process Process – The training follows the – The training follows the chain of supplier-customer chain of supplier-customer relationships through the relationships through the organization. organization.

Ensures that cross-functional groups Ensures that cross-functional groups connected through work processes connected through work processes understand the change and acquire understand the change and acquire the competence to respond the competence to respond accordingly.accordingly.

C B AD

Role Role – The training follows peer – The training follows peer relationships across the organization. relationships across the organization.

Ensures that individuals understand Ensures that individuals understand changes in expectations and acquire changes in expectations and acquire the competencies from a credible the competencies from a credible source. source.

Project Project – The training follows groups, – The training follows groups, internal and external, engaged in internal and external, engaged in achieving a common goal. achieving a common goal.

Ensures that the various Ensures that the various stakeholders understand the change stakeholders understand the change and its consequences. and its consequences.

Institutionalization Processes

• Develop the competence to meet new expectations

• Ensure self-efficacy to carry out the expectations

• Build commitment in terms of words and action

• Connect new processes with existing processes

Ronald L. Jacobs, Ph.D.

Professor, Workforce Development and Educationhttp://education.osu.edu/rjacobs/

Director, UNEVOC – U.S., Center on Education and Training for Employementhttp://www.cete.org/UNEVOC-US/default.asp

Email: Jacobs.3@osu.edu