ByProf. (Dr.) Vijay Kr Khurana

Change ManagementBuilding Culture and Climate for Change

How organization structure & culture affect the technology absorption? Suggest any one approach of building culture for change.In the context of innovations & change management discuss the following:Ability to create options; b. Capability to move from one options to another; c. Empowerment to decide

Change management refers to the task of managing change.Managing change refers to the making of changes in a planned and managed or systematic fashion.

Following principles:At all times involve and seek support from people within system (system = environment, processes, culture, relationships, behaviours, etc., whether personal or organisational). Understand where you are / the organisation is at the moment.

Contd principles:Understand where you want to be, when, why, and what the measures will be required for reaching / getting there. Plan development towards above step in appropriate achievable measurable stages. Communicate, involve, enable and facilitate involvement of people, as early and openly and as fully as possible.

Successful / proper change management may provide following advantages to business firms :Lower or neglible staff dissatisfactionLower or negligible resistance to change processLesser time and efforts are required for implementing changeLower costs associated with changeParticipation of majority in change, thus leading to increased motivationSuccessful implementation of changeSustainable change with very less probability of rollback

Contd May help the organization to adapt to changes at a faster rate and thus help the organization to survive in the ever-changing environmentEasy integration in the case of merger or amalgamation with lesser time, efforts and costs May lead to increased efficiency, increased productivityMay lead to lower cost of operations i.e. cost reductionMay lead to improvement in qualityMay help in gaining technological leadershipMay lead to more profitability

What can happen if change isEFFECTIVELYmanaged?Employees have a solid understanding of why change is happening.Employees engage in both the solution and the change.Training is used to build knowledge after employees have made the personal decision to support the change.Resistance is identified and dealt with early in the process.Communications are segmented and customized for different audiences, answering the questions that they care about.Momentum is built throughout different areas and levels within the organization.Changes are less painful to the organization and to the employees.Probability of meeting objectives is increased.The organization begins to build a history of successful change, creating a better 'backdrop' for the next change initiative.

What can happen if change isNOTmanaged properly?Productivity declines as people become more consumed with the change being introduced.Valued employees leave the organization, a very costly proposition in terms of the lost contribution and the cost to replace them.Employees become disinterested in the current state and the future state.People are left to wonder why the change is happening.More people begin taking sick leaves or not showing up for work.People find excuses to avoid implementing the new way of doing things.Changes are not fully implemented and are scrapped and cancelled due to the lack of support throughout the organization.Divides are created in the organization between 'us' and 'them'.The organization builds a history of failed and painful changes.Many types of risk are created - risk to the project, to the organization, to the employees involved and to the individuals supporting or opposing the change.

Change management comprises process six main activities. These activities are as under: Identify potential changeAssessPlan changeImplement change Review and Close change.

The biggest challange to any change comes through resistance to change. Change disturbs existing equilibrium, existing procedures, power structures etc within the system or organization, which may not be liked by many persons, thus leading to resistance to change.1. The resistance to change could be (a) Overt or Implicit resistances to change (b) Immediate or Deferred resistances to change2.Resistance to change can come from employees as well as employers or management. 3.Resistance to change can occur at any level i.e. individual level, group level and organization level.

Building culture for change is a time consuming exercise and involves lot of efforts. ????

In general terms, the change program should:Describe the change process to all people involved and explain the reasons why the changes are occurring. The information should be complete, unbiased, reliable, transparent, and timely. Be designed to effectively implement the change while being aligned with organizational objectives, macro environmental trends, and employee perceptions and feelings.

. contd.the change program should:Provide support to employees as they deal with the change, and wherever possible involve the employees directly in the change process itself Be consistently monitored and reviewed for effectiveness. A successful change management program is typically also a flexible project

The ADKAR model developed by Jeff Hiatt (1998, 2006) can be highly helpful for change management. The model presents five building blocks which must be obtained / implemented to realize change successfully. It is management's job to create an environment in which people can go through these five stages as quickly as possible, which include:

contd .ADKAR model 5 stages .Building AWARENESS as to why the change is needed Creating DESIRE to support and participate in the change Developing KNOWLEDGE as to how to change Fostering ABILITY to implement new skills and behaviours Providing REINFORCEMENTS to sustain the change

Organizations examine following factors for formulating strategies:Degree of ResistanceTarget PopulationThe Stakes Involved in the change projectThe Time FrameDegree of Expertise InvolvedDependency on the change project

Strategies are based on 4 basic approaches on the perception about human beingsEmpirical-RationalNormative-ReductivePower-CoerciveEnvironmental-Adaptive

Organizations do not pursue a single strategy. They adopt a suitable mix of strategies.

Some of the strategies are discussed as below :Proper timing / tact Education & communicationSeeking participation Facilitation & support Introducing incentives / rewards Negotiation Manipulation & Co-optationCoercion

Alternatively John P Kotter's eight step change model may be used for effective change management.Create / Increase urgency Build the guiding team - form a powerful coalitionGet the vision right - create the vision for changeCommunicate (very often) for buy-in Empower action - remove obstaclesCreate short-term winsDon't let up - build on the changeMake change stick - anchor it