Understanding Change
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WHY organization must be
change?
ORDINARY SUPER
Two categories of change
Mandated change/ Self-initiated
Top to Down (no or change (high
low autonomy) autonomy)
“The Leader’s relationship and attitude to change
plays a key part in the way that change is managed
within the organization”
“Understanding your organization makes easy to make
changes”
CONCEPT 1 :
Lewin (1947) : 3 stage
model of Attitude
Change
Unfreezing - strategies for
gaining support for change
Moving - reducing
resistance, motivating,
cultural change
Refreezing - evaluating and
anchoring change in
organization
Unfreezi
ng
Breaking down existing ways of
doing things
Discarding conventional methods &
behavioral patterns
Introduce new methods & behavior
Techniques:
Education,
Communication,
Participation in decision-
making, etc.
Changing or Moving
Move towards proposed
change
New learning
It is a time of trial & error
Careful guidance – problems
arise – tackled efficiently
New beliefs, attitudes gained, behavior learnt are implemented
Manager – Change agent’s role
Reinforcement
Refreezi
ng
CONCEPT 2 :
Kotter (1996) : Change
Management Process
• Establish a sense of urgency
• Create a Guiding Coalition (a critical mass to drive change)
• Develop a Vision and Strategy
• Communicate the Change Vision
• Empower Action
• Generate Short Term Wins
• Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change
• Anchor New Approaches in Culture
CONCEPT 3 :
Morgan (1986) : 8 Core Metaphors
Machines (Efficiency, waste, maintenance, order, clockwork, cogs in a wheel, programs, inputs and
outputs, standardization, production, measurement and control, design)
Organisms (Living systems, environmental conditions, adaptation, life cycles, recycling, needs,
homeostasis, evolution, survival of the fittest, health, illness)
Brains (Learning, parallel information processing, distributed control, mindsets, intelligence, feedback,
requisite variety, knowledge, networks)
Cultures (Society, values, beliefs, laws, ideology, rituals, diversity, traditions, history, service, shared
vision and mission, understanding, qualities, families)
Political Systems (Interests and rights, power, hidden agendas and back room deals, authority,
alliances, party-line, censorship, gatekeepers, leaders, conflict management)
Psychic Prisons (Conscious & unconscious processes, repression & regression, ego, denial, projection,
coping & defence mechanisms, pain & pleasure principle, dysfunction, workaholics)
Flux and Transformation (Constant change, dynamic equilibrium, flow, self-organization, systemic
wisdom, attractors, chaos, complexity, butterfly effect, emergent properties, dialectics, paradox)
Instruments of Domination (Alienation, repression, imposing values, compliance, charisma,
maintenance of power, force, exploitation, divide and rule, discrimination, corporate interest)
Using CONCEPT to help understand
your organization
What personal CONCEPT would you use to
describe your organization?
What does the CONCEPT that you chose to
describe your organization say about your
relationship with it?
Do you have any control or power, or are
you ‘powerless’? Do you want to bring
about any change? Do you stand a
chance?
The Organisational Iceberg
(based on Hellreigel, Slocum and Woodman (1998)
Overt Procedures
Formal Organization Organizational Structure
Technology Financial Resources
Policies and Objectives
Formal Roles / Job Descriptions and Titles
Formal Communication Structures
Rules and Regulations ‘Public Culture’
Hidden Ethos ‘Private Culture’ Values Norms
Organization Attitudes towards one another Loyalties
Personal Aspirations and Goals Power Networks
Management Styles and Values Motivations and Commitment
Rumour machine Fairness in the Reward Systems Cliques
Threats Bullying Hidden Rules The Silent Majority
Success and rewards for those ‘in the know’ Psychological Safety
Reasons for Change
Factors may lead to a necessity for change
To improve performance
To reduce waste and inefficiency
To improve management control and satisfaction of the employees
To improve the quality and productivity of an organization
To compete in the changing market environment
To achieve the desired business results as early as possible
Making Change Happen
Two Approaches to Organizational Change
Organization Development (OD)
● Formal top-down approach
Grassroots Change
● An unofficial and informal bottom-up approach.
Change that is spontaneous, informal, experimental,
and driven from within.
Barriers to Change - identifying
the root causes
Its only by
analyzing where the
problem lies that
you can decide what
to do, and work out
what strategies to
put in place -
strategies should be
context specific
Understanding the
barriers to change
Individual Resistance
• Lack of trust in those leading process of change
Confusion about purpose of change
Lack of consultation and involvement in process of change
Loss of personal power or freedom
Loss of identity/status - where identity is tied into position or title
Fear of the unknown or future
Loss of skills and the need to retrain, so loss of expertise
Life
Where is the Individual on the ‘ Change Transition’ curve?
Institutional Resistance
Change not locked into strategic development
‘Wrong’ timeframe
Organizational culture has an in-built inflexibility (new titles but same
old systems and structures beneath)
Inexperienced and inflexible managers who lack charisma, leading
change
Threats to existing power holders
Lacks a ‘fresh’ view of situation
Carries a history of poor change management
Poor people management
Kinchington (2004)
Overcoming Resistance
to Change
Education and communication
Participation and involvement
Facilitation and support
Negotiation and agreement
Leadership
Change Agents
n Change Agents
q Persons who act as catalysts and assume
the responsibility for managing the change
process.
n Types of Change Agents
q Managers: internal entrepreneurs
q Non-managers: change specialists
q Outside consultants: change
implementation experts
Personal Responses
to Change
(Lewis-Parker 7 stage ‘Transition
Curve’, 1981)
1. Immobilization +
shock (mismatch
between expectations v
reality)
2. Denial of Change
3. Incompetence (resulting
in increased awareness and
frustration)
4. Acceptance of Reality
(willing to let go)
5. Testing (working out
ways of dealing with the
6. Search for Meaning
(internalizing the
situation and trying to
make sense of it)
7. Integration (leading to
changing viewpoint and
Managing Stress on
Change
1. Individual
Approaches
Implementing time management
Increasing physical exercise
Relaxation training
Expanding social support network
2. Organizational
Approaches
Improved personnel
selection and job
placement
Training
Use of realistic goal
setting
Redesigning of jobs
Increased employee
involvement
Improved organizational
communication
Offering employee
sabbaticals
Strategies normally used by
managers to Handle
Resistance: Avoidance
Providing Information
Participation
Manipulation
Negotiation
Power/Force
What Can a Manager Do?
1. Do not ignore the
people side of “change
Management”
The practice of Change Management is a combination of
the methods used by people (usually management
teams) within organizations to ensure organizational
transition is completed efficiently and effectively.
2. Interpersonal and
communication skills
Their interpersonal and communication skills so that they could help their staff
overcome the pains associated with change.
3. Stop thinking of change
management as a stand-
alone initiative and start
accepting it as an everyday
reality
4. Anticipate what and where the
resistance will be and plan for it
accordingly
All managers need to realize that resistance to
change is normal. Given that change is an ever-
present reality in today’s work place, it is safe to say
that resistant behavior is inevitable in most
organizations. Managers need to identify this
behavior and help staff manage it by utilizing the
proper interpersonal and communications skills.
Lessons from School Leaders
Flintham (2005)
1. Heroic Head - rescues school from
failure
2. Consolidator
Head - steady
hand on tiller
3. Nurturing Head
Rebuilds fractured relationships and bruised
morale in schools that have been through crisis
or tragedy
4.
Pruner
Head -
cuts away
dead
wood to
make
room for
new
5. Visionary Head - sees
long term potential and
has extended plan for its
achievement
But what if
there is a
mismatch?
…..
So, where are the ‘sticking points’
in your organization?
Do they lie?
Where do you
need to start?
SWOT?
How urgent is the
need to change?
Is the change Self-
Initiated or
Let’s Start the Change
…