Chapter 7: Managing Change

1. Chapter 7: Managing Change

2. Introduction Change management as a discipline has grown tremendously over the last five years, and today, change is occurring at an incredible pace in organizations. Thus, the quantity of changes is increasing, and changes are happening more frequently and faster than ever before. With such large amounts of change happening, organizations need a better and more structured way to manage the individuals in the organization impacted by all of these changes Strong change management competencies within an organization are a key source of competitive advantage in coming years

3. Why Do Employees Resist Change? Employees and organizations have reciprocal obligations and mutual commitments. Those agreements is called personal compacts. An employment relationship has three dimensions: • The formal dimension • The most familiar aspect of the employment compact • Includes documents such as job descriptions and performance agreements that capture the basic job requirements • Answers the fundamental questions about a position • The psychological dimension • The implicit elements of trust, dependence and respect that affect employees’ behavior • Their energy, focus, creativity and willingness to go the extra mile • An employee’s commitment to company objectives • The social dimension • Employees turn their perception about a company’s practices into beliefs about how the company really works – the unwritten rules about decision

4. Why Do Employees Resist Change? The revision of personal compacts occurs in three phases: • Leaders draw attention to the need to change and establish the context for revising compacts • They initiate a process in which employees are able to revise and buy into new compact terms • They lock in commitments with new formal and informal rules

5. Optimizing Organizational Change In order to effectively mange change, it is important to first understand why individuals typically are resistant to change. Typically, people resist change as a defense mechanism derived from anxiety. The Kotter model for change management breaks managing change down into three steps: • Create a climate for change • Establish a sense of urgency • Create the guiding coalition • Develop a change vision • Engaging and enabling the organization • Communicate the vision for buy-in • Empower broad-based action • Generate short-term wins • Implementing and sustaining the change • Never give up • Incorporate changes into the culture

6. Change Management– Or Change Leadership? A new integrative model of leadership for successful change that includes: • Vision • Values • Strategy • Empowerment • Motivation

7. Change Management – Or Change Leadership? In order to overcome resistance, the following dimensions and requirements of leadership should be taken in consideration: • Intellectual/cognitive – “thinking” • Spiritual dimension – “meaning” • Emotional dimension – “feeling” • Behavioral dimension – “doing”

8. Exercise “How Does It Make You Feel?” List the 12 things you value most about your job. Be as broad in your thinking as possible, and do also choose the most critically important factors. Prioritize the "job satisfiers" into three groups: • Important • Very Important • Critically Important Write the lists in a concentric circle with the "Critically Important" factors in the core circle. Play out the scenario of a new management team in the organization Sit quietly and think about what you are feeling (How would it actually feel to come into work every day if that list of satisfiers was taken away?)

9. Bibliography Gill, Roger. (2003). Change Management – Or Change Leadership? Journal of Change Management. 3(4), pp. 307-318. Staren, Edgar D. & Eckes, Chad A. (2013). Optimizing Organizational Change. Physician Executive. Maj/June 2013, pp. 58-63. Strebel, Paul. (2000). Why Do Employees Resist Change? Harvard Business Review. 74(3), pp. 86-93.