Organizational change management and managing workplace transitions

Change Management

Change is one of the aspects of human life that are certainly going to take place at some point in time. Change interferes with people's social life, emotional life, and professional life. Even more, change affects people by affecting the organizations in which they activate professionally.

Sometimes, change is absolutely required by the environment in which it produces itself. In such cases, if change does not emerge by itself, it means change must be induced, it must be manipulated and directed towards a specific area affected by problems. This is where change management interferes.

But sometimes change does not happen for the best. In certain cases, the effects of changes are quite negative. However, change cannot be avoided indefinitely. In cases in which the consequences of change create serious disadvantages, it happens so because the players involved in that certain situation did not anticipate any emerging changes, as this is not always something in people's power. Furthermore, change brings negative outcomes in the cases in which change is not managed adequately for the situation in case. Again, this is why change management is important. Anyone should have at least basic knowledge of change management in order to counteract negative consequences of change and to exploit the benefits of change as much as possible. Change management can be successfully applied in any aspects of people's lives, especially if people treat the aspect in case in managerial, organizational terms. Of course, change management is mostly applied in the business environment, since nowadays macroeconomic and micro-economic environment changes so rapidly, affecting all types of companies, whether they are small companies or large conglomerates.

Organizational Change Management

In order to understand change management one must understand what change management specifically aims at. The most common definitions on change management are related to the following ideas:

The task of managing change

Refreezing

As shown above, the first stage is the unfreezing, and it consists in "overcoming inertia and dismantling the existing mindset" (Wikipedia, 2008). The actual change is produced in the second stage. The second stage is characterized by confusion and transition. The third stage is called freezing, or refreezing, and is characterized by the establishment of the new mindset and the reinstallation of comfort levels. However, Lewin's theory was criticized for its simplicity.

Prosci developed another change management model, the ADKAR, based on input from more than 1000 organizations. ADKAR consists in:

Awareness: of why the change is needed

Desire: of supporting and participating in the change process

Knowledge: on how to manage change

Ability: of applying new skills and behaviors

Reinforcement: for sustaining the effects of change

However, in the case of organizations, the process of change management is more complicated. On an organizational level, change management basically means that the organization is dealing with a problem that needs to be solved. In other words, change management can equal problem solving. The planned change model for organizations consists in the following steps: the process begins with a problem diagnosis or analysis, as this is the starting point that determines the course of action. It is important to establish objectives and goals for any section of the organization, in order to observe which part of the organization encounters any problems in achieving these goals and objectives.

The reason for which organizations need to change the way certain processes are performed relies on the fact that these processes include costs that are too high and they also involved extended amounts of time. In other words, organizations need to change these things in order to be more effective, by cutting costs and reducing time.

Production costs are usually high because the company in case pays higher wages for its employees that its competitors do. These higher wages are meant to determine higher productivity. This happens up to a point, for a short period of time. On a medium and long period of time, paying high wages turn out not to be profitable and productive.

As a consequence, productivity must be constantly improved in order to increase profits. This eventually leads to attracting additional capital for the company. This additional capital is further needed for investing it into research and development for new and innovative products and services. No matter what the domain a company is activating in, it must continuously invest in research and development for new products, because this is what competitors are doing. Therefore, the company in case must do it faster.

Principles of Change Management

In order to be applied successfully, change management must be applied in accordance with the following principles:

People that are part of the environment subjected to change must be involved at all times in the change management process, as their support is clearly required

Understanding where the organization is situated at the time when the change is emerging, which must be accomplished by the diagnosis and analysis previously mentioned

Understanding where the organization must arrive through the change management process, when is the best timing for accomplishing this, why the changes in case are required, and what means must be employed in order to manage change successfully

Planning development in achievable measurable stages

Communicating and involving the people that are part of the environment in which change produces

The first principle refers to human resources, which must be involved from the beginning of the change management process. The reason for this relies on the fact that any important change determines negative aspects related to the organization's employees. For example, old managers can be replaced by new ones, certain jobs can be changed, new skills and capabilities may be required by these changes, while employees can become uncertain and resistant. As a consequence, "dealing with these issues on a reactive, case-by-case basis puts speed, morale and results at risk. A formal approach to managing change - beginning with the leadership team and then engaging key stakeholders and leaders - should be developed early, and adapted often as change moves through the organization" (Jones et. all, 2004).

This is why data collection, analysis, planning, and implementation discipline are important. Even more, the change management process must be integrated into program design and decision making, as part of the strategic decision.

In order for the change management process to be successful, leaders and top managers must set an example for the rest of the employees. They are the ones that must follow first these new directions, and then challenge and motivate their subordinates.

But the change management process does not stop here. The transformation process affects all the levels of the organization. Therefore, specific plans must be designed for each level in particular. Also, for each level, there must be a leader that sets the new direction that must be followed by subordinates.

Other principles of change management include: making the formal case, creating ownership, assessing the cultural landscape, addressing culture explicitly, preparing for the unexpected, and speaking to the individual.

Regarding the principle of making the formal case, "individuals are inherently rational and will question to what extent change is needed, whether the company is headed in the right direction, and whether they want to commit personally to making change happen. They will look to the leadership for answers. The articulation of a formal case for change and the creation of a written vision statement are invaluable opportunities to create or compel leadership team alignment" (Jones et. all, 2004).

Furthermore, there are three steps that must be followed in order to be successful with applying this principle:

Confronting reality and articulating the need for change, in order to convince each individual that change is necessary and that it will attract positive aspects for the organization and its employees

Demonstrating the belief that the company has a viable future and the leadership to get there, so that it accentuates the need for the specific changes in case, on the one hand, and to boost employees' morale through the change management process, on the other hand

Providing a map to guide behavior and decision making, because these changes must be kept under control at all times, in order to implement a successful change management program

The above mentioned steps must take the form of a unitary message. This message must be carried by the organization's leaders. However, even if the general idea of the message must be a unitary one, the form of the message must be adapted by each leader for each division it is addressed to, in order to be clearly understood and to avoid any misunderstandings that might sabotage the success of the change management program.

Regarding the principle of creating ownership, "leaders of large change programs must overperform during the transformation and be the zealots who create a critical mass among the workforce in favor of change. This requires more than mere buy-in or passive agreement that the direction of change is acceptable. It demands ownership by leaders willing to accept responsibility for making change happen in all of the areas they influence or control" (Jones et. all, 2004).

Change Management Benefits

Although dealing with change management can be a very difficult process, the benefits that derive from this process make worth the trouble. For example, it has been proven that change management helps diminishing risks that are usually associated with change, eliminating resource conflicts and redundancies, and reducing costs.

Also, there are several strategic benefits involved. For example, the change management process can help to determine the real impact that change would have on the organization as a whole and on each of its divisions. Furthermore, this would help the organization's managers to make contingency plans that would be based on verified information (Koch, 2007).

In addition to this, change management can also determine increased internal teamwork and external customer satisfaction. Given the fact that change management is time consuming and that it also involves key employees in the process, it should only be performed under strict conditions, when change is absolutely necessary. Therefore, any change request proposal must follow certain aspects:

It must present the risk level that is associated with the change in cause, so that the organization's leaders take the suitable decision

The change in case must be presented in detail, and so should be the tests associated with it

The change request should also provide a second plan and reversing course in case the process does not go according to plan

All the prerequisites and other inherent changes must be clearly presented

Technical information must also be provided in detail

As mentioned above, change management is quite a difficult process to deal with, especially where large organizations are concerned, and success is not guaranteed. One cannot generalize and determine theoretical key aspects that would ensure success in all the cases in which change management is applied. It all depends on the industry in which the organization activates, the market, the size of the organization, and corporate culture. There are other significant factors involved.

However, there are certain aspects that must be taken into consideration in order to ensure the best outcomes from such a process. For example, the organization in case must be characterized by a culture that acknowledges the need to change and adapt and that is also able to commit to the entire process of change management, even when things do not seem that they are heading for the established direction. This is where top management becomes very important. Employees must be guided and supported by the organization's leaders, which must establish an example that their subordinated can follow.

But not only internal actors must be supported. External players, like suppliers or customers must also be guided through this process, as they are also affected. They should also be involved in the change management process. In such cases, communication is very important.

As mentioned above, the change management process can turn out to be a very difficult one, but it can also become extremely beneficial for any organization that applies. However, change management should only be applied in cases where it is absolutely necessary. Also, the process should follow a very well established plan.

Reference List

Nickols, Fred (2006). Change management 101: A Primer. Retrieved July 9, 2008 at http://home.att.net/~nickols/change.htm.

Change management (2008). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved July 9, 2008 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management_%28people%29.

Jones, J. et. all (2004). 10 Principles of Change Management. Strategy & Business Magazine online. Retrieved July 9, 2008 at http://www.strategy-business.com/resilience/rr00006.

Koch, Geoff (2007). ABC: An Introduction to Change Management. CIO Magazine online. Retrieved July 9, 2008 at http://www.cio.com/article/102902/ABC_An_Introduction_to_Change_Management/1.