Managing change and change process

• Change management is a structured approach

to transitioning individuals, teams, and
organizations from a current state to a desired
future state, to fulfill or implement a vision and
strategy.
• It is an organizational process aimed at
empowering employees to accept and embrace
changes in their current environment.
 Change
• is a phenomenon faced by all organizations
directed at
• organizational restructuring
• quality improvement and
• employee empowerment
 Three major drivers of change are
• Technology advancement
• information availability (impact of
globalization) and
• growing population
 Types of organizational change
• routine versus non-routine change
• strategic versus operational change
• change in structure, technology and people.
2.1. Routine versus non-routine change
• Routine changes are frequent changes that are
expected by employees.
 Examples include
• changes in HR guidelines and procedures,
reshuffling of staff or changes in ways of providing
services.
• People accept that when some staff are away on
holiday or at a training
• they may be expected to cover some of their
activities for instance.
 None routine changes
• changes are unique changes that are
unexpected by employees,
 for instance
• announcements about projected redundancies.
 major structural change in the organization
may cause anxiety about job security among
employees.
 In such cases,
• employees will resist efforts for change.
2.2. Strategic versus operational change
• involves a major readjustment in the organization's
overall activities.
• occur in order to respond to the changing
environment in which the organization is operating.
• Strategic changes may involve a change of
• mission or
• engaging in a new purpose,
• a change of clients,
• a change of values or changes in technology.
Requirements for strategic change
• Analyzing of the strengths and weaknesses
• Analyzing of opportunities and threats.
 for example;
 the decision to centralise patient data on
computers requires a staff training programme
not only to show staff how to input data correctly
 but also to understand data protection laws in
order to address the threat of public concern
about patient confidentiality
 Operational change
• operational change focuses on changes that
have an immediate effect.
• For example adopting new financial or drug
procurement procedures.
 2.3. Change in structure, technology and
people
• Structural change involves adjustment or
modifications to the organizational structure,
such as
 a change in hierarchal relationships among
employees
 a change in the span of management
 a change in the levels of organisational structure
such as a move from pyramidal structures to
teams and redesigning jobs.
 Technological change
• occurs when organisations change their
approach and methods of how the work is
done or change the equipment they use to
perform work.
 usually involve computerisation of work,
introducing new relevant methods or
equipment.
 very important focus of managers, in order to
increase efficiency and effectiveness
 Changing people
• refers to changes in
the attitudes,
expectations,
perceptions and
behaviour of individuals or groups.
3. Organisational environment and change

• Understanding an organization's relationship

with factors in the environment is the key to
understanding organisational change
• Change is not a one off activity.
 It is a process.
• The concern of change management is not on
individual activities alone, but relates to the
organisation as a whole
 4. Methods of change management
• One of the common methods managers use
widely in change processes is the PEST
analysis.
 PEST stands for Political, Economic, Socio-
Cultural and Technological environment.
 Selected PEST factors
Political Economic
· Government type and stability · State of economic growth, inflation
· Health policy · Unemployment
· Levels of bureaucracy · Labour supply
· Regulation trends · Labour costs.
· Social and employment legislation · Levels of income and income distribution
· Tax policy · Impact of globalization
· Environmental policy and legislation · Impact of technological change on the
economy
· Likely changes in the economic environment
Socio-cultural Technological
· Population growth rate and age profile · Impact of emerging technologies
· Population health, education · Impact of internet
and social mobility · Research and development activity
· Population employment patterns · Impact of technology transfer
· Social attitudes and social taboos
· Lifestyle choices and attitudes to these
· Socio-cultural changes
 Stages of change
• Unfreezing stage
• Movement stage
• Refreezing stage
Unfreezing:-
Five approaches to overcome
resistance:-
a) Education / communication
b) Participation and involvement
c) Facilitation and support
d) Negotiation and agreement
e) Manipulation / co-option / coercion
Moving:-
Factors to consider:-
 Make staff know what is required.
 Provide training and support
 Provide adequate resources
 Ensure conflict does not arise with
providers or users.
 Maintain motivation
Refreezing:-
 A time of consolidation
 Recognise and give praise
 Learn – as individuals and as a
department
 Change strategies
• Rational empirical strategy
• Normative reductive strategy
• power coercive strategy
 Change management process
• an effective change management process has
to be based on addressing the following basic
issues:
 Where are we now?
 Where do we want to be?
 How are we going to get there?
 Steps In Planned Change
• Once managers and an organization commit to
planned change, they need to create a logical
step-by step approach in order to accomplish
the objectives.
• Planned change requires managers to follow an
eight-step process for successful
implementations,
 1. Recognize the need for change
• Recognition of the need for change may occur
at the top management level or in peripheral
parts of the organization.
• The change may be due to either internal or
external forces.
2. Develop the goals of the change
• before any action is taken, it is necessary to
determine why the change is necessary.
• Both problems and opportunities must be
evaluated.
• Then it is important to define the needed
changes in terms of products, technology,
structure, and culture.
 3. Select a change agent
• The change agent is the person who takes
leadership responsibility to implement
planned change.
• The change agent must be alert to things that
need revamp, open to good ideas, and
supportive of the implementation of those
ideas into actual practice.
 4.Diagnose the current climate
• In this step, the change agent sets about
gathering data about the climate of the
organization in order to help employees
prepare for change.
• Preparing people for change requires direct and
forceful feedback about the negatives of the
present situation, as compared to the desired
future state, and sensitizing people to the
forces of change that exist in their environment
 5. Select an implementation method
• .This step requires a decision on the best way to
bring about the change.
• Managers can make themselves more sensitive to
pressures for change by using
• networks of people and organizations with different
perspectives and views,
• visiting other organizations exposed to new ideas,
and
• using external standards of performance, such as
competitor’s progress.
 6. Develop a plan
• This step involves actually putting together the
plan, or the “what” information.
• This phase also determines the when, where,
and how of the plan.
• The plan is like a road map.
• It notes specific events and activities that must
be timed and integrated to produce the change.
• It also delegates responsibility for each of the
goals and objectives.
 7. Implement the plan
• After all the questions have been answered, the
plan is put into operation.
• Once a change has begun, initial excitement can
dissipate in the face of everyday problems.
• Managers can maintain the momentum for
change by providing resources, developing new
competencies and skills, reinforcing new
behaviors, and building a support system for
those initiating the change.
 8. Follow the plan and evaluate it
• During this step, managers must compare the
actual results to the goals established in Step 4.
• It is important to determine whether the goals
were met, and a complete follow-up and
evaluation of the results aids this determination
• Change should produce positive results and not
be undertaken for its own sake
Stages of planned change
 Steps of change management
 process has to follow these six steps
1. establish a clear direction – a compelling case and a
sense of urgency
2. clear ownership and leadership of the change process
3. communicate the case for change early and often
4. create and maintain a workable change plan
5. empower broad-based action (maintain and measure
progress)
6. anchor new approaches to achieve organisational goal
 5. Organizational culture
• is an organization's personality. OR
• the shared assumptions, values and beliefs
that guide the actions of employees
• The culture of an organisation distinguishes it
from others and shapes the actions of its
members.
Elements of organizational culture
1. Values
 are the basic beliefs that define employees’ success
in an organisation.
 If an employee does not share the values espoused
by those they work with they are likely to leave to
find a more compatible set of workmates, or
otherwise may be excluded.
 For instance, a doctor who puts profit before
patient care may be looked at with suspicion by
colleagues
 2. Heroes and heroines
• are exemplary employees who in some way
embody and model those values,
 such as the founder of the organisation or a
person who has a powerful influence through
their actions.
 3. Rites and rituals
• like social culture, are the symbolic qualities of
an organisational culture.
• For instance annual award ceremonies for
outstanding employees, meetings, and formal
social gatherings are examples of rites and
rituals..
 4. Social network/ culture network
• refers to the informal communication system or
hidden hierarchy of power in the organisation.
• As an informal means of communication, the
social network is the main channel for
spreading stories about past failures and
successes in the organisation.
• Note that social networks are also important
for employees to learn about the organization's
culture and values.
 6 . Globlisation driving change
• creates unique challenges for organisations
1. dealings with each other,
2. internally, as many big organisations have
employees from different cultures
 6.1. Resistance to change
• resistance is the excepected response to
change
 Reasons to resist change
• most common reasons to resist change include:
1. suspicions that the change will mean that
established routines, methods of working or
conditions of employment that they are
comfortable with will be affected adversely
2. economic fears such as loss of financial benefits
and fear of the possibility of upcoming threats to
job security
 Resistance reasons
3. inconvenience change could make the
workplace environment unpleasant and difficult
4. uncertainty about the impact of the change can
feel threatening
5. concerns that change may cause loss of personal
status or benefits such as a separate office
 Resistance reasons
6. concerns that change will disrupt established
social relationships and standards of the group
7. change is perceived as reducing the status of
individuals if it means their skill is being
displaced
8. fear of coping with new tasks or worry about
the potential to learn the skill required for
the tasks can undermine confidence
 Roles of human resource managers in
change management
Gathering data
 Accurately diagnosing the problem
 Deciding if change is needed
 Making others aware of the need for change
Identifying , plans and implements
appropriate strategies
assisting in stabilizing the system change so it
becomes integrated in to the status quo.
 7.1. The keys to success in managing
change
• success in managing change are directly or indirectly
related with the extent and degree of communication.
• The following is a quick checklist of the key factors in
managing change.
1. Clarity: Clear communication on the benefits of the
change decreases resistance and motivates
participation
2. Engagement: Involving employees throughout the
change process will strengthen support for the change
 Quick checklists in managing change
3. Supervision: continuous support and
encouragement will help employees to adopt new
practices and do the new tasks effectively
4. Leadership: Managers must be the role models in
implementing change
5. Transparency: Providing clear messages on every
stage of change implementation and on the degree
of success increases commitment.
Note : communicating clear, quantifiable measures of
success is an essential task in order to show the
progress of the change effort.
 8. The use of action research as a tool for
implanting change
• Action research involves the following steps:
1. identify the problem you want to solve
2. define the purpose and clarify the form of the
intervention
3. plan an intervention designed to tackle the problem
4. collect empirical data and analyse it to see the
effect of the intervention.
5. plan another intervention based on experience
 makes change both acceptable and sustainable.
 Summary
• Change is making a difference/acting differently
• Change is a process/ has to occur gradually
• Change has driving force
• Change is inevitable
• Resistance to change is inevitable
• change resistance is usually ignited from
communication difficulty .