MGMT Ch 12: Managing Change

org change

* movement of an org away from its present state and toward some desired future state to increase its efficiency and effectiveness
* must alter policies, structures, behaviours, and beliefs in order to move forward
* implementing change is often met with resistance

change agents

* people who take responsibility for managing change initiatives

induced change

planned new institutional arrangements and policies made in response to changes in the task specific or general environment to gain a comp advantage

* ex: mergers and acquisitions

imposed change

new institutional arrangements made in response to changes in legislation, law or shareholder activism

* ex: response to legal challenges

aspects of org change

* cultural changes
* strategic changes
* tech changes
* structural changes

structural changes

* any change in design and management of an org

tech changes

* operational processes and methods are redesigned to be more efficient

strategic changes

* new ideas are developed, and innovation occurs
* change in products and services

cultural changes

* shifts in shared set of beliefs, expectations, values, norms and work routines

steps in managing org change

1. __**Assess**__ the need for change


1. recognize there is a problem
2. identify the source of problem
2. Decide on the change to make


1. decide what org’s ideal future state would be
2. identify obstacles to change
3. Implement the change


1. decide whether change will occur from top down or bottom up
2. introduce and manage change
4. Evaluate the change


1. compare prechange performance with postchange
2. use benchmarking

assessing the need for change

* assessing the need for change calls for 2 activities
* recognizing problem
* identifying its source
* performance gap: disparity between desired and actual performance signals there is a problem
* new goals: may require changes
* enviornmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals
* diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals

introducing the change

* top down change
* implemented quickly
* top managers identify the need for change, decide what to do, and then introduce changes throughout org
* emphasis on making changes quickly and dealing with problems as they arise
* bottom up change
* more gradual
* involves consultation with managers and employees at all levels of an org
* reduces uncertainty and resistance to change

evaluating the change

* using measures
* market share, profits, ability to meet goals, compare performance before and after
* benchmarking: comparing performance on specific dimensions with the performance of other high performing orgs to determine success of change effort

organizational control and change

* managers must balance between need to improve operations and need to respond to new events

Lewin’s Three Stage Model of Chang

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A framework for understanding change

* Stage 1: Unfreeze the status quo - create motivation for change
* Stage 2: Change / move to a new state - implement new practices
* Stage 3: Refreeze - solidify new practices as the norm

resistance to change

* people resist change for two reasons
* fear
* doubt

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how can managers break down resistance

* clearly communicate future state and seek input
* increase the driving forces
* remove some of the restraining forces
* when resistant extremely high, use both driving and restraining forces for unfreezing
* use formal power to withhold rewards (last resort)

Kotter’s Eight step Model

1. create a sense of urgency
2. build a guiding coalition
3. form a strategic vision
4. enlist a volunteer army
5. enable action by removing barriers
6. generate short term wins
7. sustain acceleration
8. institute change

4 Ds of appreciative inquiry

* discovery
* determining the “best of what is”
* dreaming
* visualizing “what might be”
* design
* developing “what should be”
* destiny
* implementing “what will be”

discovery

* identify what is good about their jobs, the strengths of the org and the positive aspects of their work group

deraming

* envision possible futures for the org over time

design

* develop common vision of what qualities the org will have and how it will be structured

destiny

* discuss how to implement the dream and design
* write and implementation plans

complexity theory

* orgs respond best to fundamental change if they are on the “edge of chaos”
* to achieve this state:
* increase channels of comms
* not dictate agendas
* rotate people regularly
* avoid overreliance on an incumbent management team
* tolerate parallel developments
* avoid excessive “fit”
* try to reduce anxiety

innovative vs conservative cultures

innovative (adaptive) culture:

* encourages positive attitudes and behaviours
* fosters creativity and innovation
* values and norms help org to grow and change

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Conservative (inert) culture:

* leads to values and norms that fail to motivate or inspire employees
* leads to stagnation and often failure over time
* inspires higher resistance to change

innovation

implementation of creative ideas in an org

entreprenuers

notice opportunities and take responsibility for mobilizing resources to produce new goods and services

social innovation

finding new ways to solve social problems

intrapreneurs

employees who notice opportunities for improvements and mange the development process

process of innovation

product champion + skunkworks = innovation

product champion

manager who takes “ownership” of a project and provides the leadership to take product from idea stage to final customer

skunkworks

group of intrapreneurs deliberately separated from normal operations to encourage development of new products

managing change in a unionized environment

* 4 essential elements to managing change in a unionized environment
* an effective system for resolving day to day issues
* a jointly administered business education process
* a jointly developed strategic vision for the org
* a nontraditional, problem solving method of negotiating collective agreements