Change Management Enhances Business Results

Posted by Laurus Nobilis on June 14, 2009 under Human Resources | Be the First to Comment

Change Management deals with the implementation of change within an organisation in a systematic and planned manner. The main objective of Change Management is to: reduce the probability of change implementation failure; reduce resistance to change; and obtain maximum benefit from the implementation.

To understand Change Management it is essential to understand the concept of change. “We must always change, renew, and rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden,” said Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe. And change applies not only to individuals but to organizations as well. Change is inevitable and is imperative for the success of a firm. An organisation needs to change constantly, adapting to changing external circumstances, otherwise they risk becoming obsolete.

However, the introduction of changes is not a laughing matter. It is human psychology to resist change. There can be several reasons for resistance to change in an organisation: the uncertainty involved; inefficient communication of the changes needed; lack of courage; lack of the necessary skills; lack of communication of the purpose of the change; lack of support and motivation on the part of the management. This is one of the areas where Change Management plays a significant role.

According to Wikipedia, Change Management is “a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state.” Individual and organizational Change Management refers to the process of understanding and implementing changes at the level of singular staff members and groups of individuals respectively.

Individual Change Management and organizational Change Management are the two major aspects of the processes of Change Management. Experts have come up with several models for Change Management at both these levels. Lewin developed a 3-stage model for individual Change Management, called the Unfreeze-Change-Re-freeze model. In the first stage, Unfreezing, an attempt is made to ‘unfreeze’ or question existing beliefs, policies and procedures, and realizing the need for change. In the second stage, Change, the necessary changes are implemented. The third stage, Re-freezing, attempts to ‘re-freeze’ or create acceptance for the recently incorporated changes, to replace the old beliefs with new ones.

Hughes also uses a similar 3-stage approach in his model for individual Change Management. The 3 stages developed by him are Exit, Transit and Entry. According to Judson, the implementation of change includes 5 major steps: analysis of the existing situation and determining the changes to be made; providing information about the required changes; motivation and creating awareness and acceptance for the changes; actual implementation of the changes; evaluation of the changed situation, making modifications wherever necessary, and replacing the old system with the new one.

Similarly, the Change Management formula developed by Prosci, known as the ADKAR Model, also uses 5 steps. As per this model, the steps in Change Management are: Awareness of the necessity for change; creating Desire for the changes needed; sharing Knowledge on how the changes would be implemented; creating Ability for changes to be implemented; and Reinforcement for maintaining the changes in the long run.

Regarding organizational Change Management, the theory of Donald Schön is quite well known. He said organizations usually have the tendency of being closed to change, and do not accept change easily. However, if firms develop themselves as ‘learning organizations’ all staff would be constantly learning, changing and growing and thus change would be easier to implement.

In conclusion, Change Management benefits both businesses and individuals alike. The process takes time and effort but the results are beneficial for every one involved. Change Management is an on-going process and the effectiveness of the process can be increased when individual and organizational methods are used in conjunction with each other.

Sandra Goode wrote the Article ‘Change Management Enhances Business’ and recommends you visit http://www.afaprojects.com for more information on strategic change management training

Four Attitudes Towards Change Management

Posted by Laurus Nobilis on under Human Resources | 3 Comments to Read

There are four attitudes toward change, created by leaders, with which an organization can be managed. They run the gamut from maintaining control (Old Age management) to distributing control (New Age management). Four points can be designated to demark four attitudes about control.

1) Pummel. Terror. “Do what I say or you will die.” The bad old days. This time-honored method seeks control at any cost and can be used to force either change or non-change. The worker is a slave. The leader says, “My way or the highway”. It’s a very tense and stressful environment…and it’s created solely by the leader.

2) Push. Distress. “Do what you must do or the enterprise will die.” This is conventional motivation, the deliberate use of fear to galvanize positive action - the burning platform from which people must jump (change) or perish. Push uses force, like Pummel, but it is not brutal force. It encourages people to act by loading them up with negative information. In the hands of some, this is the big lie. The worker is a rat in a Skinner Box. The environment is just as tense and stressful as under Pummel, but the pressure is now not created by the boss, but by the information the boss is providing. Kind of like hitting people with bricks.

3) Pull. Eustress. “Do what you must do to achieve the future you dream of.” Imagination, inspiration. It is less control than a willingness to lead coupled with a willingness to follow. Pull is Push plus empowerment - workers motivate (scare) themselves. The manager is a human being with no power to coerce; the worker is a human being with free will. A kind of fear is involved. Urgency might be a better word for it. This is the hardest way to achieve change, but the way with the best long-term results. It combines both the tension of a perceived threat combined with an exit strategy…a way out of the stress. A step by step process towards a future positive state.

4) Pamper. Torpor. “Do what you feel like doing.” This is the realm of entitlement, the supposedly good new days. Pamper is Pull minus accountability. Zero fear, maximum empowerment, slack performance, scant measurement and evaluation. The worker is a child. The first two are related, characterized by fear, manipulation, and disrespect for the worker. The second two are also related, characterized by an acknowledgment of the worker’s humanity. The first and last categories are the extremes, but these extremes are common. Anyone who has been in many different organizations knows that a lot of them operate on these extremes of sadism and permissiveness.

The best hope organizations have for making successful change lies in utilizing a balanced combination of the middle, more temperate two - Push and Pull. Push to get people’s attention and start them thinking. It gets their attention, like the impact of a two by four to the forehead. Then it is combined with the Pull where people are rallied to follow the escape plan out of the pain. Pull to leverage people’s knowledge and creativity to put the change over.

A world class speaker, author, and educator, Dr. Robbins focuses on transformational leadership by providing leadership skill training, team building / team leadership training, management development training, and executive coaching. See more on http://www.harveyrobbins.com