Rosabeth Moss Kanter: Change Management

Rosabeth Moss Kanter: Change Management

Rosabeth Kanter and Change Management: Teach the Elephant to Dance or Eat it One Bite at a Time?

One of the harsh realities of living and working in an organization is the inevitability of change. Many people absolutely hate change and will go to great lengths to avoid having to alter their daily routines and learn new processes and procedures. In this regard, Rosabeth Kanter, a leading authority on change, stated that trying to change an organization is like trying to teach an elephant to dance. Because change is inevitable, though, identifying ways to facilitate organizational change represents a timely and valuable endeavor. To this end, this paper provides a discussion of Dr. Kanter's views on change management, followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Background and Overview.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter certainly has the credentials to advice industry and government leaders on change management issues. According to one of her biographers, Kanter was born in 1943 and is the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (Kermally, 2005). In 1985, Kanter joined the Harvard Business School faculty from Yale University and has received numerous leadership awards for her work (Kermally). In addition, Kanter's online biography from Harvard Business School also notes that she has received 22 honorary doctoral degrees and her book, the Change Masters, was listed among the most influential business books of the 20th century (Rosabeth M. Kanter, 2008). Moreover, Kanter has been listed among the top "50 most in-uential business thinkers in the world," among the top 20 business gurus and 50th most powerful women in the world (Kermally). Kanter also notes that her business management concepts draw on the work of Mary Parker Follett, a pioneer theorist on management theory (Austin, 2002). Not surprisingly, Kanter's insights and advice are highly valued by major corporations and various governments around the world (Kermally). While Kanter's areas of interests include general management, innovation, and leadership, she also specializes in strategic change organizational change and transformation (Rosebeth Moss Kanter) which are discussed further below.

Kanter's Views on Teamwork.

One of the hallmarks of many organizations today is the emphasis on promoting teamwork among employees to help develop the maximum potential available from everyone involved. Kanter, though, suggests that not every task or project is necessarily amenable to a teamwork approach and can be better accomplished by an individual working alone. For instance, in her book, the Changemasters, Kanter (1983) advises that, "There are times when autonomy and individual responsibility, are more important than participation and team responsibility... invention and innovation are often not democratic processes" (p. 410). As Kanter cautions, though, managers are faced with some difficult choices when it comes to implementing and administering change initiatives in many organizational environments and determining whether a teamwork approach or an individual can accomplish the task at hand can be a challenging but essential component of the change management process which is discussed further below.

Kanter's Views on Change Management.

Whatever approach is used, Kanter is well-known for emphasizing the fact that corporate managers can be viewed as being comparable to orchestra conductors; for example, in her work, When Giants Learn to Dance, Kanter notes that, "In the orchestra, performers with different skills concentrate on perfecting their professional competence, while a single conductor coordinates the overall performance; performers with similar specialties form self-managed work teams, operating without a bureaucratic hierarchy above them" (p. 116). Just as everyone wears a number of "hats" throughout their lives - and indeed, during each day - Kanter suggests that it is important for all members of an organization to work together towards a common goal

But for corporate players to make beautiful music together they must achieve a balance between concentrating on their own areas of skill and responsibility and working together with others. They need to do their own jobs well while keeping one eye on what might be useful for someone else" (p. 116). When it comes time for change, and the time will come, these issues assume new importance and relevance for managers because they will be dealing with people wearing a number of different hats: "They need to understand enough about the company's other areas to identify possibilities for joint action and mutual enhancement. They need to simultaneously focus and collaborate. They must function in many roles: as soloist, ensemble players, and member of the orchestra" (Kanter, 1989, p. 116).

Notwithstanding Kanter's guidance concerning when and where teams can be used to good effect, a common theme that runs throughout her guidance concerning change management is the need for a collaborative approach. In this regard, Kezar (2006) reports that, "Organizations are realizing the need to redesign for collaborative work based both on external challenges and pressure and on the documented benefits of working in this manner. External challenges such as difficult financial times, changing demographics, globalization, and increasing complexity create an atmosphere in which organizations must rethink their work" (p. 804). The growing body of research concerning change management indicates that primary strategy for success in this environment is the formation of collaborations or partnerships. As Kezar notes, "For example, partnerships help to combine resources and help to identify new solutions to problems by combining expertise. Rosabeth Moss Kanter (1994) coined the term 'collaborative advantage' to describe the way that private sector organizations engage in strategic alliances and partnerships that enhance institutional capacity to meet the demands of the new environment" (quoted in Kezar at p. 805). While the 21st century has in fact introduced a number of innovations in technology and telecommunications that have altered the workplace in important ways, many things remain substantially the same when it comes to trying to effect change in an unwieldy organization, and these issues are discussed further below.

Kanter's Views on Gender and Its Impact on Change Management.

Despite substantive legislative and social gains as a result of the women's movement for the past several decades, there are also gender-related issue involved in organizational change that remain firmly in place in many American organizations. For example, as recently as 1993, Kanter wrote that, "Managers, secretaries, and wives all must choose a stance that solves the problems created by their position in the network of organizational relationships, but the roles come to serve organizational functions that make change difficult" (Kanter, 1993, p. 5). Consequently, turf battles over personnel (executives want to keep secretarial staff and build loyalty among them) can erupt that can sabotage a change initiative before it ever has a chance to get off the ground. In this regard, Kanter emphasizes that, "Change agents must argue the case for women's equality armed with statistics that could have been collected, with minor modifications, thirty years earlier, and they must address themselves to the same myths and over-generalizations. In fact, there is some evidence that occupational segregation has been increasing" (p. 261). Similarly, in her book, Change is Everyone's Job, Kanter (1999) recommends that companies develop high-potential change agents who can champion a change initiative.

In a more recent book entitled Evolve, Kanter (2001) suggests that while the Age of Information and so-called "e-cultures" have revolutionized the manner in which organizations pursue their goals, many aspects of organizational life have remained virtually unaltered when it comes to attempting to effect change. In his review of Kanter's book, Johnson (2001) writes that, "Kanter makes the point early in her book to debunk some of the common myths of the internet in general and an E-culture in particular. For example, she observes that the internet economy tends to exaggerates anti-historical tendencies, favoring instead new ventures and new ideas detached from tradition" (p. 126). Notwithstanding these erstwhile breaks with tradition, though, and the emerging new business forms that take advantage of them, organizational change and management remains as problematic as ever. In this regard, Johnson notes that, "However, upon completing the research for her book she concludes that even though the technology is revolutionary and network economics are different, 'cyberspace is full of reinvented wheels,' where the problems of leadership, organization, and change are similar to those experienced in the past" (p. 126). Because organizational change is inevitable and the challenges involved remain substantially the same as they always have, identifying effective ways to manage change continues to be a timely subject of study and these issues are discussed further below.

Kanter's Views on Taking Action.

Unfortunately, many change agents come to their task ill-equipped for the job. According to Kanter, in some cases, "The task of conceiving, designing, and implementing constructive organizational change strategies falls to persons with limited training, experience, and capabilities in the requisite fields" (1979, p. 55). Beyond these constraints to taking effective action to implement change, there are some other profound constraints involved as well. For instance, in her book, Rosabeth Kanter on the Frontiers of Management, Kanter (1997) reports that in a world of uncertainties, leaders can reasonably expect to encounter at least six certainties: (a) keeping learning; (b) focus on processes - not products; - maintain standards of excellence; (d) understand the politics of business; (e) develop interdependent and intercompany relationships; and (f) be prepared for rising levels of discomfort.

Taken together, the foregoing factors confirm that organizational change can be difficult or even impossible to achieve unless certain steps are followed. In this regard, in her book, When Giants Learn to Dance, Kanter recommends using the following steps to motivate and sustain superior performance among workers which can reasonably be extended to change initiative efforts:

Principle 1: Emphasize success rather than failure. You tend to miss the positives if you are busily searching for the negatives.

Principle 2: Deliver recognition and reward in an open and publicized way. If not made public, recognition loses much of its impact and defeats much of the purpose for which it is provided.

Principle 3: Deliver recognition in a personal and honest manner. Avoid providing recognition that is too 'slick' or overproduced.

Principle 4: Tailor your recognition and reward to the unique needs of the people involved. Having many recognition and reward options will enable managers to acknowledge accomplishment in ways appropriate to the particulars of a given situation, selecting from a large menu of possibilities.

Principle 5: Timing is crucial. Recognize contribution throughout a project. Reward contribution close to the time an achievement is realized. Time delays weaken the impact of most rewards.

Principle 6: Strive for a clear, unambiguous and well-communicated connection between accomplishments and rewards. Be sure people understand why they receive awards and the criteria used to determine rewards.

Principle 7: Recognize recognition. That is, recognize people who recognize others for doing what is best for the company (p. 356).