Managing change

Q1. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT PRESSURES THAT FORCES ORGANIZATION TO CHANGE?

A1. The different pressures that force an organization to change are of two types namely:

- Environmental Pressures and

- Organizational Pressures

Environmental Pressures for change: (Also known as external pressures)

It often occurs when an organization’s resource base decreases as a result of reduced demand for products and sales, decrease in market and bad investment decisions. It also turns around negative cash flow and avoids bankruptcy and organizational death.

The environmental pressures for change are of six types:

1. Fashion Pressures:Organizational change can occur in response to the latest management fashion. In order to be seen as professional, modern or progressive managers may change their organizations in line with the latest innovation in management practices. Although some fads may assist organizations, other does not deliver their promise of better organizational performance. Fashionable management practices can go from “boom to bust”. Also, there is influence of market forces: firstly, companies enter new markets up to a point where competitive effects on the market take hold and entry become less attractive. Secondly, it is unlikely that managers will succumb continually to pressures to conduct fashionable changes that do not have positive performance outcomes. Example: Nokia, Apple – innovate new features to an existing products to meet the demands of customers.

2. Mandated Pressures:Change is forced in to the organization through formally mandated requirements. Organizations are forced to take on activities similar to those of other organizations because of outside demands placed on them to do so. Mandated pressures are of two types i.e. formal coercive pressures and informal coercive pressures. Example: Government rules on export and import trade, inflation, interest and tax rates etc

o Formal Coercive Pressure -

It includes government mandates such as new laws and policies. Organization is forced to change to meet the new legal or other legislative requirements (pollution requirements, tax laws). Subsidiary organizations may be forced to adopt accounting standards, performance criteria and other practices to suit the parent company.

Managing change

o Informal Coercive Pressure –

It includes commitment to certain types of organizational changes such as empowerment in order to get the support of other organizations also committed to such programs.

3. Geopolitical Pressures:These may be in the form of immediate crises or long term geographic realignment. The 4 global environmental forced for change by Kotter are:

- Technological – require more globally connected people, faster communication and transportation.

- Greater economic integration of currencies and international capital flows.

- Maturation and slowdown – of domestic market leading of greater emphasis on exports and deregulation.

- Fall of socialist countries and their reorientation toward capitalist economies.

4. Market Decline Pressures :The declining market for products and services places organizations under pressure to remain relevant in the competitive market. When current market that the organization operates in begin to decline there is a pressure to find newer and more viable markets.Example: Intel Case Study- Barrett CEO of Intel, the demand was weak and there was overcapacity in semi conductor industry with some researchers expecting a 34% fall in global sales of chips.

5. Hyper competition Pressures:This affects the way organizations respond to their consumers and their competitors to cater for the increasingly rapid pace of business. New hyper competition pressures for change may not always be easy to anticipate. Example: Intel Case Study- Barrett CEO of Intel, Intel’s rival i.e Advanced Micro Devices produced Athlon processor which turned out to be faster than Intel’s Pentium III chip.

6. Reputation and Creditability Pressures:In the light of recent corporate governance scandals in organization, the pressure to maintain a good reputation and high level of creditability has increased. Change is associated with maintaining proper corporate governance mechanisms to ensure a positive corporate reputation. Maintaining and enhancing corporate reputation is an important part of managing firm survival.

Managing change

Example: Intel Case Study- Barrett CEO of Intel, Intel’s case, this had been compounded with problems such as product delays and shortages, recalls, overpricing and even bugs in its systems.

Organizational Pressures for change: (Also known as internal pressures)

The pressures related to organizational growth, pressures related to the need for integration and collaboration, pressures around establishing and reestablishing organizational identities in the new eras, new broom pressures associated with the appointment of new CEOs and a variety of power and political pressures.

The organizational pressures for change are of five types:

1. Growth Pressures:The existing systems and processes in a smaller organization may no longer be applicable went the size of the organization increases. Mostly, not all organizations continue to grow. Some decide not to grow because they are afraid that they might lose personal control of day to day operations.

2. Integration & Collaboration Pressures:Integration and creating economies of scale can lead to pressure for change in organizations. Better coordination and collaboration across the multiple business units of the company in order to produce a customer oriented culture.Example: Intel Case Study- Barrett CEO of Intel, they needed to be reorganized to avoid duplication and create better coordination i.e. the network operations and communication unit sometimes were in competition with each other selling similar products to same customers.

3. Identity Pressures:A common organizational identity and the unified commitment of staff in different areas departments of an organization can be difficult to manage and may encourage change. An organizational change to assist in achieving this includes promoting people development and employee recognition schemes in order to enhance job satisfaction.Example: Intel Case Study- Barrett CEO of Intel, the chip managers were being in charge of new markets and products. During 2001, there was 5000 jobs cuts.

4. New Broom Pressures:New authority figures in an organization can herald a new era and often signal significant changes in an organization.Example: When a new CEO arrives, it can act as a signal that the old ways are about to change. The new CEO has advantages over their predecessors in the following ways:

- They are likely to be able to create energy for change within the organization.

Managing change

- They are unhampered by adherence to past organizational practices.

- They can focus on problems that may have been known but not able to named in the past as they were organizational sacred cows that could not be brought in to question.

- They are likely to be able to tackle customer problems with credibility since they are not associated with previous problems that may have been part of the relationship the company had with its clients.

5. Power & Political Pressures:Power relationships and politicking can change internal processes and decision making. This has significant flow of effects within the organization. Some changes are made to alter traditional internal power relationships in order to speed up decision making and allow others access to engaging in it. Some power pressures leading to change relate to internal conflicts.

Managing change

Q2. FIRST ORDER AND SECOND ORDER CHANGE AND ITS CHALLENGES

Today, teams and organizations face rapid change like never before. Different kinds of change require different strategies and plans to effectively gain employee engagement and acceptance of change. The two types of change that occur most frequently in organizations are first order and second order change. Change management theories effectively support how to deal with the first order change, but are less effective at dealing with successfully implementing second order change. A critical step in determining which approach to use in overcoming resistance to implementing organization change is to determine which type of change the organization is experiencing.

First order change is doing more – or less – of something we are already doing. First-order change is always reversible. First order change occurs when a company makes an improvement to their current business. If a company decided to improve their processes, methods or performance standards this would be considered developmental change. These changes many also involve adjustments in systems, processes, or structures, but do not involve fundamental change in the strategy core values or corporate identity. First order change also known as transactional change is small scale, incremental and adaptive in nature. . It is change that enhances or corrects existing aspects of an organization, often focusing on the improvement of a skill or process.

Companies are continually process first order change to some degree in order to stay competitive. This type of change causes little stress to current employees as long as the rationale for the new process is clearly conveyed and the employees are educated on the new techniques.

Characteristics of First order change

Adjustments within the existing structure

Doing more or less of something

Reversible

Restoration of balance

Non-transformational

New learning is not required

Old story can still be told

Examples of incremental change might include continuous improvement as a quality management process or implementation of new computer system to increase efficiencies. Many times, organizations experience incremental change and its leaders do not recognize the change as such.

Managing change

Second-order change is deciding – or being forced – to do something significantly or fundamentally different from what we have done before. The process is irreversible: once you begin, it is impossible to return to the way you were doing before. It requires a shift in assumptions made by the organization and its members.

Second order change can result in an organization that differs significantly in terms of structure, processes, culture and strategy. It may, therefore, result in the creation of an organization that operates in developmental mode – one that continuously learns, adapts and improves.

The second order change is designed to fundamentally alter the basic nature of the organization. Some of the major second order changes are delayering, networks/alliances, outsourcing, disaggregation, empowerment, flexible work groups, short term staffing, reduction of internal and external boundaries and downsizing

Characteristics of second order change

New way of seeing things

Shifting gears

Irreversible

Often begins through the informal system

Transformation to something quite different

Requires new learning

New story is told

An example of second order change might be changing an organization’s structure and culture from the traditional top-down, hierarchical structure to a large amount of self-directing teams. Another example might be Business Process Re-engineering, which tries to take apart (at least on paper, at first) the major parts and processes of the organization and then put them back together in a more optimal fashion. Transformational change is sometimes referred to as quantum change.

The challenges faced while implementing the second order change are:

They are highly complex Traditional approaches offer limited value Require shifts in mental methods and behavior Require different change management approaches

Managing change

Q3. WHY EMPLOYEES AND MANAGERS RESIST CHANGING?

A3. Employees and managers resist change due to the following reasons mentioned below:

a) Lack of understanding of the need for change:- Worker’s job does not include conceptual thinking about the organization.

- May fail to perceive connection between their observations of the environment and the organization’s financial health.

- Only upper level management may have access to information indicating the need for change such as financial or productivity records.

b) Lack of understanding of, or a different sense of, the context or environment:- Employee’s viewpoint and manager’s may greatly differ

- Example: WIC during recession. Dietician think program should be expanded in response to more eligible clients with increased needs and managers think program must reduce expenses in response to cuts in finding.

c) Belief that the proposed change violates the core values of the organization:- Organization’s mission is subject to interpretation

- Example: CSR of McDonald’s talks about funding homes, or opening up an education center instead they can focus on food nutrition which is related to their core values.

d) Misunderstanding of the change and its implications:- Workers perceive change as pointless extra work because they don’t understand its

purpose.- Example: Work given during free time is done is less stressful manner.

e) Belief that the change is not in the best interests of the organization:- Example: Purchase of new uniforms after layoffs

- Managers think one time expenses of uniforms will serve to unify staff

- Workers think money should be sued to re-hire the former staff (long term expense)

f) Lack of trust in those introducing the change:- Workers who distrust management may not believe in the stated reasons for change

- Workers may resist because of what they consider the true motivation

g) Lack of belief that the leadership is serious about making changes:- If manager’s words and actions are inconsistent, workers question sincerity of order to

change- Manager’s who seldom follow through are expected to repeat this pattern.

Managing change

h) Lack of belief that the leadership is capable of making the change happen:- Failure of previous attempts to change

- Perceived weakness of manager

- Change extends beyond manager’s authority and span of control

i) Perception that change is unfairly selective:- Example: Layoffs among certain classes of workers but not others.

Other reasons for resistance to change are:

a) Dislike of Change:- It is unwise to assume that dislike of change is an innate of human characteristics

- Individuals vary considerably in their dispositional resistance to change. People that are high on dispositional resistance to change, which is conceptualized as a stable personality trait, are less likely to voluntarily corporate changes in their lives – if still imposed, negative emotional reactions.

b) Discomfort with Uncertainty:- Individuals tend to vary in terms of how comfortable we are with ambiguity. For some,

the uncertainty is magnified by a lack of confidence that they have the skills/ capabilities needed in the post change situation.

- The lack of supporting action is not due to over resistance or even apathy; it is due to the lack of a clear understanding of what such supportive action would “look like”.

c) Perceived Negative Effect on Interests:- The change might affect their interests a term that can cover a wide range of factors

including their authority, status, rewards, opportunity to apply expertise, autonomy and security.

- People find it easier to be supportive of changes that they see as not threatening such interests and ma resist those that are seen as damaging to these interests.

d) Attachment to the Established Organizational Culture/Identity:- Beliefs, values and Artifacts

e) Perceived Breach of Psychological Contract:- Employees form beliefs as to the nature of the reciprocal relationship between them and

their employer.- A breach or violation of this contract occurs when employees believe that the employer is

no longer honoring its part of the deal.

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- Employees and the organization for which they work can be seen as involved in a personal compact.

f) Lack of Conviction that change is needed:- People are likely to react negatively to change when they feel that there is no need for the

change.

g) Lack of clarity as to what is expected:- Lack of clear information as to the specific implications at the level of action by

individuals.- The chances increase that employees will fail to convert a change initiative into

supporting action at their level of the organization.

h) Belief that the specific change being proposed is inappropriate:- Those affected by the change will either think that it is good or a bad idea.

- This will affect their readiness to change.

Managing change

Q4. HOW TO TURN AROUND RESISTANCE

Resistance is an inevitable response to any major change. Resistance to change is the action taken by individuals and groups when they perceive that a change that is occurring as a threat to them. Resistance to change takes many forms. The more obvious forms consist of active resistance, where people will object, or refuse to cooperate with the change. Other, more subtle forms of resistance, however, are more difficult to deal with.

Resistance to change occurs when an organization is pursuing several change initiatives at once and these are perceived by people in the organization as unrelated or even worse, in conflict. It also occurs when an organization introduces series of change and people in the organization feel that resources are being reassigned to new initiatives before the earlier ones are given sufficient attention for them to be effectively implemented.

If management does not understand, accept and make an effort to work with resistance, it can undermine even the most well-intentioned and well-conceived change efforts. Any management's ability to achieve maximum benefits from change depends in part of how effectively they create and maintain a climate that minimizes resistant behavior and encourages acceptance and support.

Some of the reasons why employees resist change are:

(From slides)

Dislike of change Discomfort with uncertainty Perceived negative effect on interest Attachment to the established organizational culture/identity Perceived breach of psychological contracti Lack of conviction that change is needed Lack of clarity as to what is expected Belief that specific change being proposed is inappropriate

OR Lack of understanding of the need for change Lack of understanding of, or different sense of, the context of environment Belief that proposed change violates the core values of the organization Misunderstanding of the change and its implications

Managing change

AND

(From websites)

A lack of awareness about the change. Comfort with the ways things are and fear of the unknown. The individual's personal predisposition to change. Fear of failure. Loss of status and/or job security or loss of authority or control. Lack of trust in or dislike of managers. Peer pressure. Disruption of cultural traditions and/or group relationships. Personality conflicts. Lack of tact and/or poor timing. Not seeing the benefits. Fear they lack the competence to change. Feel overloaded and overwhelmed.

For some people resisting change, there may be multiple reasons. Adding to this complexity is the fact that sometimes the stated reason hides the real, more deeply personal reason.

It is very important that the change manager anticipate, and plan strategies for dealing with resistance. This applies not only at the introduction of the change, but there must be follow-through, so that the change manager monitors the change over the long-term, being alert for difficulties as they appear. It is helpful to have an understanding of why people resist change, because understanding this allows us to plan strategies to reduce resistance from the beginning.

Tactics to overcome resistance to change

Provide time for the employees to become aware of this change, understand it, support it, become actively involved and committed to the change. Introduce to the staff the problem as soon as it is identified. Group participation in planning change can help the employees to suggest their own ways to manage the change. To manage the employee resistance managers should offer an adjustment time either before or after the change.

Communicate the change to the employees in a positive manner. Provide clear and correct information and avoid sharing information prematurely and before the decisions are finalized. All members of management must be aware of the vision for development changes in the organization. Upper management, middle management and lower management must receive the same messages in written and verbal meetings and correspondence. Sending mixed messages leads to poor communication, this causes problems within management.

Managing change

Minimize the stress during the change. The management should make sure that there is a trustworthy relation with the employees. Encourage two way communications among the employee and the management. Autocratic leadership style may work better if multiple changes re introduced at once and participative leadership style works better if there is a series of sequential changes.

According to Kotter and Schlesinger, the 6 situational approach to change are:

1. Education and communication: Where there is a lack of information or inaccurate information and analysis. One of the best ways to overcome resistance to change is to educate people about the change effort beforehand. Up-front communication and education helps employees see the logic in the change effort. this reduces unfounded and incorrect rumors concerning the effects of change in the organization.

2. Participation and involvement: Where the initiators do not have all the information they need to design the change and where others have considerable power to resist. When employees are involved in the change effort they are more likely to buy into change rather than resist it. This approach is likely to lower resistance and those who merely acquiesce to change.

3. Facilitation and Support: Where people are resisting change due to adjustment problems. Managers can head-off potential resistance by being supportive of employees during difficult times. Managerial support helps employees deal with fear and anxiety during a transition period. The basis of resistance to change is likely to be the perception that there some form of detrimental effect occasioned by the change in the organization. This approach is concerned with provision of special training, counseling, time off work.

4. Negotiation and Agreement: Where someone or some group may lose out in a change and where that individual or group has considerable power to resist. Managers can combat resistance by offering incentives to employees not to resist change. This can be done by allowing change resistors to veto elements of change that are threatening, or change resistors can be offered incentives to leave the company through early buyouts or retirements in order to avoid having to experience the change effort. This approach will be appropriate where those resisting change are in a position of power.

5. Manipulation and Co-option: Where other tactics will not work or are too expensive. Kotter and Schlesinger suggest that an effective manipulation technique is to co-opt with resisters. Co-option involves the patronizing gesture in bringing a person into a change management planning group for the sake of appearances rather than their substantive contribution. This often involves selecting leaders of the resisters to participate in the change effort. These leaders can be given a symbolic role in decision making without threatening the change effort. Still, if these leaders feel they are being tricked they are likely to push resistance even further than if they were never included in the change effort leadership.

Managing change

6. Explicit and implicit coercion: Where speed is essential and to be used only as last resort. Managers can explicitly or implicitly force employees into accepting change by making clear that resisting to change can lead to losing jobs, firing, transferring or not promoting employees.

Managing change

Q5. EXPLAIN THE DIAGNOSIS MODEL, BY UNDERSTANDING THE MODEL AND APPLY TO AN ORGANIZATION OF YOUR CHOICE.

A5. There are six types of diagnosis model namely:

a) The Six Box Organizational Modelb) The 7S Frameworkc) The Star Modeld) The Four Frame Modele) The Congruence Model andf) The Component Analysis

The two models will be explained with an example of the organization

The Component Analysis:

The component analysis includes the PESTEL framework, scenario analysis and gap analysis.

a) The PESTEL framework -It includes Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal factors.

b) Scenario Analysis – A scenario is a description of some future state based on a set of assumptions about what is likely to happen in regard to a number of key factors believed to be key drivers of that future state.

c) Gap Analysis – A very basic tool for reviewing an organization’s position based on the following three questions. Where are we now? Where do we want to get? How can we get there?

Example: Starbucks Corporation

Political

In Malaysia, competition of the food and beverage industries between local and international industries are high. The Malaysian government are now trying to encourage more local food and beverage industries and thus does not support Starbucks since it is a US based company and in addition to that owns each outlet outright by having a central office in Asia Pacific. Thus, no

Managing change

subsidies are given to Starbucks. However, as an international company, Starbucks have no problem financially to stand on its own having many outlets in the entire world and never failing to become a local favorite. The political factor does not really have much influence on the company but Starbucks are known to open outlets at more politically stabled countries.

Legal

All businesses have to abide the laws of the country which includes Starbucks in Malaysia. They have the obligation to submit their annual report of their financial statements in order to pay tax which comes under the Sales Tax Act 1972. Besides that, they also are ordered to follow the laws within the Employment Act 1981 which includes rights of employees, contract issues as well as working hours. The law shapes the management of Starbucks in Malaysia. The other laws that applies to Starbucks can be found in Laws of Malaysia, 2007.

In order to become a local favorite, the halal status is needed because the majority of the people of Malaysia are Due to this social factor, the legal factor is influenced where obtaining the halal status would greatly affect the business which it can expand their target market of young adults and adults of any religion.

Cleanliness Policy

As part of the food and beverage industry and running as a café, Starbucks has to submit to being inspected for cleanliness of their premises. This part of the legal factor does influence the consumer’s point of view of the company which affects Starbucks’ sales. The cleanliness certificate grading is done by each health department of every city council, presented by several guidelines and points granted.

Economy Economic is the activities related to the production and distribution of goods and services in a particular geographical region. The man who built the chain, Howard D. Schultz, retook the reins in effort to revive the corporation during global economic crisis in 2008. He focused efforts on customer experience, recapturing some of the magic of the chain’s early years.

In early 2009, Starbucks announced it would cut thousands of jobs and close 300 stores due to the low sales and demand due to reduce of share price in the economy crisis .But the fortunes of the chain and founder have improved greatly since then

Research and Development department of Starbucks has come to a promotional strategy to help them to fight in the economic crisis. From 2008 onwards, Starbucks releases seasonal beverages that will be released every year on the particular season. Beyond that, they are playing a role as a responsible company, to spread the news of importance of recycle

Managing change

Social Social environment is affected by consumers’ and society’s culture, believes and religions. It influences their decision and buying power. Most of Starbucks customers are coffee addicts, businessman and white collars workers. The main attracting point of Starbucks is the free unlimited WIFI or WLAN service in any outlets. Students and businessman have stable internet connection, and thus, they can have discussions or meeting in Starbucks. The age group is between 15 to 64 years old.

Technology

The improvement of technology that is updated at a fast pace, it becomes an external factor to Starbucks. In order to meet up the expectations of their customers, Starbucks is required to create changes in its services.

Coffee Machines

Through the years, Starbucks have replaced their coffee machines to more modern ones. One of them is the introducing of the Clover® Brewing System that uses the Clover® Coffee. Since its introduction in 2007, better quality coffee was able to be produced and the method of brewing coffee changed with this new technology.

Internet

In this era where the internet is an essential part of a business, Starbucks has also taken steps towards using the internet to its full potential. Starbucks have successfully utilized the use of the internet by having websites about their company and services. They have a website for each country that has its outlets.

WIFI

Also due to the use of the internet, Starbucks has also developed itself with the technology by providing wireless internet connection (WIFI) at the majority of its branches in Malaysia. This is also in conjunction with the consumers that go there are mostly students and businessmen that use the internet to do their work. This facility has attracted more customers as it is more convenient and they can still do their work while having a nice cup of coffee.

Drive-Thru

Drive-thrus have been around in Malaysia and are especially done by McDonalds). For Starbucks however, they have only recently started adapting drive thru technology in Malaysia. They just opened the first Starbucks drive- thru in Klang Valley. This service increases the number of sales as the branch does not only have customers having their orders at the location

Managing change

itself but added with customers from the drive thru, the sales can be increased by 50%. In addition to that, it also reduces hassle in the branch and parking problems during peak time.

The Congruence Model

David Nadler & Michael Tushman have developed an open systems model of organizations based on the proposition that the effectiveness of an organization is determined by the consistency between the various elements that comprise the organization. This model sees organization as comprising four components

i) Tasksii) Individualsiii) Formal Organizational Arrangementsiv) Informal Organization

This model is based on the conceptualization of the organization as a transformation process.

Example: Google

Brainstorming session is done once is a week in Google. Employee from different departments and areas sit in a big room and write down ideas on the wall or the post it notes. They discuss the pros and cons of the each and every idea. The idea which seems to be attractive is chosen and implemented. Individuals work on their tasks, communicate and work with their team through formal and informal ways of communication. This helps them to achieve good outcomes. By using this model, employee productivity will improve and they will be satisfied with their job.

The 7 –S Frameworks:

They characterize the factors into 7 categories:

a) Structure: functional /divisionalb) Strategy – to achieve short and long term objectives c) Systems – technology usedd) Style – Leadership & Management stylee) Staff – Number of stafff) Skills – Staff skills and experienceg) Super ordinate Goals - Current Mission and Objectives

Example: APITT

Managing change

Q6. HOW TO CHANGE COMPANY MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE

In an ever fluctuating market an organization needs to change in order stay competitive. Organizational change occurs when a company makes a transition from its current state to some desired future state. Managing organizational change is the process of planning and implementing change in organizations in such a way as to minimize employee resistance and cost to the organization, while also maximizing the effectiveness of the change effort. But when approaching any organizational change, there are steps that must be taken to ensure success. Change has truly become an inherent and integral part of organizational life. Today's business environment requires companies to undergo changes almost constantly if they are to remain competitive.

To change company management and structure that can help a company remain competitive, a good change management practice should be emphasized. The main 4 principles of change management are:

Urgency.

An organization should inform employees on a continuous basis of its plans for the future, the competitive market pressure it faces, customer requirements and the performance of its key competitors. Through this, members of the organization come to appreciate that change is not only inevitable but is being undertaken to safeguard rather than threaten their future.

Vision

The creation of a vision should be an iterative process whereby options are identified, an initial vision is created and the gap between this and the present circumstances is identified. Then the organization considers its strategy options to bridge the gap and in so doing refines the vision itself.

Empowerment

Employees should be provided with skills and knowledge so that they are able to act correctly.

Execution

This involves alignment of systems and structures around the customers. Coca Cola had to introduce production of Novida into the production schedule/line and other departments that had to deal with marketing, procurement of raw materials, budgeting etc of the same.

Managing change

If the change that the company was undergoing was an emergent change that required alignment of the company’s strategy and resources in order to incorporate production of a new product, then the change was seen as a continuous process that required management of it to be seen as a core capability that needed to be developed and all staff to be competent. Change management practice comprised three interlinked elements;

Objectives and outcomes For a change to be successful its original objectives should be properly thought out and consistent. Openness and rigor in development of objectives not only makes it harder to disguise political considerations, they also allow assumptions regarding the merits. This element encompasses four factors;

1 The trigger

Organizations should only investigate change for one of the following reasons:-

The companies’ vision/ strategy highlight the need for change or improved performance.

Current performance or operation indicates severe problems or concerns exist

Suggestions or opportunities arise that potentially offer significant benefits to the organization

If one or more of the above arise, then this should trigger the organization to assess the case for change which leads to the next phase.

2 The remit

This should state clearly the reasons for the assessment, its objective and time scale and who should be involved and consulted .The remit should stress the need to focus as much on the people aspects as the technical consideration involved. In addition, must make it clear that those who will carry out the assessment must look at all options rather than merely considering one or two alternatives. There must be clarity and agreement about who has the responsibility and authority to initiate change before an assessment begins.

3 The assessment team

This is the body that assesses the need for change. In most cases this is a multi-disciplinary team consisting of representatives from the area affected (both the manager and staff) and specialist staff (e.g. finance, innovations technical). It may also require the involvement of senior managers

4 The assessment

This comprises of the following four steps:-

Managing change

Clarification of the problem or opportunity by gathering information especially from those involved. The information was gathered from the customers and members of staff.

Investigation of alternative solutions through wide range examination to establish the range of possible solutions to the problem. These was tested against an agreed list of criteria covering cost and benefits in order to eliminate those solutions that were clearly inapplicable and to highlight those that appeared to offer the greatest benefit.

Feed back: The definition of the problem or opportunity and the range of possible solutions was discussed with interested or affected parties, particularly those from whom information was collected in the first place. This helped to counter the tendency to fit solutions to problem.

Recommendations and decisions were presented in a form that clearly defined the problem/ opportunity, identified the range of solutions and established the criteria for selection. These recommendations included not only the type of change but also the mechanics and timescale of making the changes and the resource implications, as well as performance targets for the new operation.

This then left the ones responsible for making the final decision in a position to assess, modify, defer or reject the assessment team’s recommendations in the light of the vision and strategic objectives of the organization.

The decision being to proceed with the proposed change, then it became necessary to begin planning the implementation process.

Planning the changeWhether the need for change arises from an organization’s strategy or emerges in some other ways, once it has been established that it should take place and what form it should take, it is then necessary to plan how this will be achieved and then to implement the plan. The following six interrelated activities were considered during planning and change process.

Establishment of a change management team Management structure Activity planning Commitment planning Audits and post audits Training and development

Though planning change was in some ways a ‘technical’ issue, it was also very much a people issue.

Managing change

PeopleFor the change to be successful willingness to change should be created. Even when the change is purely of technical or structural form, there has to be willingness amongst those concerned to change. It is vital to have effective two way flow of information.

Appropriateness of involvement strategy needs to be judged less by the type of change being considered and more by how people will react to it. Communication and involving were essential to gain people’s understanding of the need for change.

Even the best run organizations, it sometimes happens that initial enthusiasm for change wanes and in the face of normal day-to-day pressure to meet customer needs and progress becomes slower.

6) How to change company management and structure to remain competitive

While going through a strategic change it is important to have a leadership and management style that can help the organization remain competitive.

The leadership should be able to determine the organization’s vision and purpose.