Course Name: Managing change in organizations

Faculty Name: KBL Srivastava

Department: Humanities and Social Sciences

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Topic: Nature of Change Management (1)

 Concepts Covered: Introduction to change

management

 Nature of organizational change

Change managers and their image

 Perspective of organizational change

Incremental and transformational change

Organizations and their subsystems

Main Text: Font Size -24; bold; Font: Calibri ; Color: Black

Respected Sir/Madam;
kindly use three/four points for each slide.
The nature of change
Meaning of change

To transform or convert

Change is the law of nature

Nothing is permanent except change

Make or become different

What we feel like

Today The
New
World
 We Always Seek Change
It is not the strongest who have survived, nor the most intelligent, It
was those who were most responsive to Change

• Development of new product

• Entry of new competition
• Change in consumer taste and preference
• Shifting in socio- political, environment and cultural framework
• Advancement in technology
• New emergent Market
WE ALWAYS SEEK CHANGE

Change a job

Change in behavior Try a new product

Go on a vacation Workout
Change careers
Organizational change
Defining organizational change

Organizational change: The process by which

organizations move from their present state to some
desired future state to increase their effectiveness

to find improved ways of using resources

and capabilities

to increase an organization’s ability to create value

 Organizational Change
Organizational change can be represented as
three states of change

Current Transition Future

state state state

How things How to move How things will

are done today from current be done
to future tomorrow
Managing Change

Source: readytomanage.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/change-management-
cartoon.jpg
 Management of Change
Defining Management of Change
A conscious and concerted initiative by those who are in-charge
of the destiny of the business undertaking or firm

– to keep a constant and intelligent watch over the behaviour of

uncontrollable forces

– to assess their impact and influence of the controllable forces,

– to evolve appropriate strategies and action programmes to

maintain a dynamic equilibrium between the controllable and
uncontrollable forces
.
 Why change is important?
Phenomenal growth of the worldwide web and associated
technologies

Climate change impact on social and organizational processes

Growth and establishment of new economic and global forces (China

and India)

War on terror and its aftermath

Corporate social responsibility

 Impact of change
Change impact on our life ,work and organization

• technology used
• customer expectations or tastes
• Competition
• government legislation
• alterations in the economy, at home or abroad
• communications media
• societies’ value systems
• Supply and distribution chain
 The case of dotcom
Rise and fall of the dotcom

Even in short periods, organizations have to cope with very different types of
challenges

rapid growth, mergers and acquisitions,

the emergence of new technologies and new competitors,
falling markets, depressed economies, de-mergers and consolidations,
the collapse of some customers, suppliers and competitors.
Course Name: Managing change in organizations

Faculty Name: KBL Srivastava

Department: Humanities and Social Sciences

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Topic: Nature of Change Management (2)

Understanding Change management : Reflections
from the past
Age of Discontinuity Future Shock

1968 1970
• Peter Drucker • Alvin Toffler
• Described the way change • Accelerating speed of
forces disruptions in our change and how it is
routine life affecting technology and
culture
Understanding Change management : Reflections
from the past
Strategic Windows Beings of Habit

1978 1983
• Derek Abell • Noel Tichy
• Importance of Entry and • We all have habit and we
Exit of a given strategy tend to repeat the same no
matter what ever changes
Understanding Change management : Reflections
from the past
Nothing fails like Occurrence Evaluation
success

1990 1991
• R. Pascale • Peter Schwartz
• Business needs to • Strategic Planning cannot
continuously invent be done in advance. We
something new to be tend to change or act based
successful. Hence changes on situations
are inevitable
Understanding Change management : Reflections
from the past
Strategic Anticipations Disruptive Technology

1996 1997
• Slywotzky • Christensen
• We can predict the future by • People tend to adopt
evaluating the current change when they adopt
situations and can change disruptive technology and
our self based on that try to adopt a technology
which makes their life
simple
Understanding Change management : Reflections
from the past
Strategic Decay Complexity Theory

2000 Present
• Gary Hamel • Some Business Planners
• No matter how brilliant the • Multiple agents interact
idea is it is old after some together.
time
Managing Change: Examples success and failures

Change can be interpreted in different ways

Using the examples of change we can see how change means

different things to different people

Using the stories of change we can see a wide range of issues

that affect why and how change occurs
Examples of Change success and failures
NOKIA
Evolved into an industrial conglomerate producing rubber boots,
cables, generators, military communications equipment in 1992

Changed strategy, focusing on telecommunications,

Turnover increased from €6.5 to €31 billion and the growth in

sales and profitability continued until 2008

Completion from apple and Samsung

Adopted Windows Phone operating system

Examples of Change success and failures
Titan Vs HMT

Losing market share due to mechanical and quartz Watches

Watch becoming a fashion accessory for both men and women

Aesthetics played an important role in marketing

Diversified product range from Tata in association with quartz

Innovation is the key to success

 Examples of Change success and failures
Hewlett Packard: Change issues
– Organizational politics and lobbying
– Merging of cultures as a form of change
– Communicating change to internal employees and
company stakeholders
– Restructuring the organization as a common type of
change
 Examples of Change success and failures
Hewlett Packard:The key lessons learned

Different interests need to be recognized and addressed

Negotiation and persuasion are key communication skills

successful communication strategies touching people

Pressures to change come from both outside and inside organizations

Restructuring
 Examples of Change success and failures
The case of IBM: Key change issues
• Change can come from top and down

• transformational changes being instigated by the CEO

• Innovative changes often emerge from below in organizations

• Change needs appropriately placed champions to gain support

• Change requires marshalling of appropriate resources

• Incremental and transformational changes

Examples of Change success and failures
Kodak: The key change issues

• Internal and external stakeholders interpret and react to change

differently
• Communication strategies need to be directed at both groups of
stakeholders
• History of past changes influence the reactions and the way
managers deal
• Mmanagers of change need to address the question for staff of
“How will I be affected?”

• Downsizing strategy
Examples of Change success and failures
McDonald: The change issues

– The external environment can lead to organizational

changes
– Organizations may consider that they have a social
responsibility to the external community, and this can
lead to pressures for change
– Not all planned changes come to fruition
– Movie: Supersize me
 Examples of Change success and failures
McDonald: The key lessons learned
Changes occur in a competitive, international business environment

Organizations face external pressures to change such as providing

socially responsible products and services

Some changes fail to deliver on their intended outcomes

Showed significant changes in line with environmental pressures

realigning their focus to the long term health and wellbeing

Course Name: Managing change in organizations

Faculty Name: KBL Srivastava

Department: Humanities and Social Sciences

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Topic: Change managers and their image

Change managers and their role
Change managers initiate the change process in the organization
to increase organizational effectiveness

Helps an organization transform by focusing on such matters as

improvement and development.

Acts as a facilitator, consultant and counsellor

Act as catalyst and assume the responsibility to manage change

Internal (Within) and External change agents (Outside the

organization)
 Skills of Change managers
Understand the business environment

Vertical to horizontal functioning

Leadership at all levels

Maximizing the information flow

Shorter time frame Horizon

Balancing work and family life

 Internal and External Change managers

Internal Change Managers External change managers

Belong to the organization only Are generally the behavioral
and depending on the need scientists who specialize in
where the change is required, human behavior.
they are selected from different They work as consultants for the
levels and departments company and devise its change
strategy
 Internal and External Change managers
Internal Change managers External change managers
Apply change practices suitable to the Take total view of the organization as a
needs of the organization within the system.
organizational norms. Not much affected by norms of the
View change as an on-going process .They organization.
use problem-solving skills to deal with Use diagnostic skills to diagnose the
problems problem and plan the overall strategy for
Their role is primarily of implementing change.
the change process. Act as process consultant, by deciding
the process to introducing change.
Help the organization move towards self-
renewal and growth
 Advantage and Disadvantage of having internal Change
managers
Advantage Disadvantage
Time saving Lack of objectivity
Ready access to the organization More cautions while dealing with
Knowledge of organization, its integral power structure
culture and dynamics May lack certain skills and
Access to information experience to facilitate
Less threatening than an outsiders organizational change
 Advantage and Disadvantage of having External Change
Managers
Advantage Disadvantage
Expertise that is not available Extra time required to get
internally familiar with the organization
More objective perspective to Organization may be wary of
the development process of the outsiders
organization Perception of outsider within
Ability to probe difficult issues the organization for investing
Ability to challenge and raise time and effort
questions about the status quo
Image of change managers

Each change manager

 Operates with an image or mental model of what s/he
thinks is achievable.
 Has a different management style and image.

Images
 Illuminate certain aspects of change.
 Take us away from paying attention to certain aspects.
 Objectives of understanding the image of change
mangers
Understand the importance of organizational images and mental models

Identify different images of managing and of change outcomes

Different images of managing change

Identify the theoretical underpinnings of these change

management images

Understand the practical implications of the images and how to use

them.
 Images of managing change
• Controlling (Source: Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009)Managing
organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach)
– Top-down view of management
– It is based on controlling the activities in the organization
– Fayol’s theory of management: planning, organizing, commanding,
coordinating and controlling.
• Shaping
– Participative style of management
– attempts to mold change outcomes through encouraging a variety of
players within the organization to be involved in the various stages
of change.
– Improving the capabilities of people within the organization
 Image of change outcomes (Source: Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009)Managing
organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach)
• Intended Change:
– change as a result of planned action instigated and influenced by
a change manager
– Partially Intended Change:
– a discrepancy between the change that is planned and that which
occurred
– Change may need to be re-modified after it is initially
implemented
• Unintended Change:
– Forces beyond the control of the change manager
Images of change managers by Palmer et.al, 2009
Images of Managing
6 images of change
managers
Controlling . . . Shaping . . .
(activities) (capabilities)

Intended DIRECTOR COACH

Images of
Partially NAVIGATOR INTERPRETER
Change
Intended
Outcomes
Unintended CARETAKER NURTURER
(Source: Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009)Managing organizational
change: A multiple perspectives approach)
 Images of change managers
Director Coach
Based on an image of Relies upon building in the right
management as control and of set of values, skills and “drills”
change outcomes as being required to achieve desired
achievable. organizational outcomes.
Supported by the n-step models Related to OD approaches
and contingency theory

Source: Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009)Managing

organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach
 Images of change managers
Navigator Interpreter
Control is still seen as at the heart of manager creates meaning for
management action other organizational members
Variety of external factor mean that  helping them to make sense of
some intended change (within various organizational events and
control)and some unintended change actions
(no control) will occur Only some of these meanings are
supported by the contextual and realized as change outcomes
process theories of change must be legitimized by the change
manager
Source: Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009)Managing organizational change: A
multiple perspectives approach
 Images of change managers
Caretaker Nurturer
The
Mainmanagement
Text: Font Size -24; bold; is
action Font: ; Color:
stillCalibriEven Black
small changes may have a
focused on control , but severely large impact on organizations
impeded by a variety of internal managers are not able to
and external forces beyond the control the outcome of these
scope of the manager changes but may nurture their
seen as directing their organizations.
organizations along as best they This facilitates organizational
can qualities that enable positive
self-organizing to occur
Source: Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009)Managing organizational change:
A multiple perspectives approach
Uses of these images

1. Highlight a variety of assumptions change managers make

about change
2. Increase the awareness of different interpretations of change.
3. Draw attention to the dominant images of change within an
organization.
4. Highlight a range of perspectives available to change managers.

(Source: Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Akin, G. (2009)Managing organizational

change: A multiple perspectives approach)
Course Name: Managing change in organizations

Faculty Name: KBL Srivastava

Department: Humanities and Social Sciences

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Topic: Type of Change: Incremental and

Transformational
 Incremental and Transformational Change
Incremental Transformational
Continuous progression Frame-breaking burst
Maintain equilibrium Reach new equilibrium
Affect organizational part Transform entire organization
Through normal structure and Create new structure and
management processes management
New technology Breakthrough technology
Product improvement New products create new markets
The rate of change is not constant

Activity
SLOW

FAST
•industry evolution
•diffusion of innovation
SLOW

Time
tipping points
Continuous and discontinuous change

Discontinuous change

Degree of change

time
Gradualist Paradigm

The gradualist paradigm posits that an organization:

 changes and develops though a continuous process of
incremental adjustment,
 these adjustments (changes) accumulate over time to ensure
that the organisation is always aligned with its external
environment.
 Continuous and discontinuous change
Viewed from the perspective of the intensity of change

Intensity of
change

Discontinuous
time
Intensity of
change

Continuous
time
The concept of Punctuated equilibrium
A process of continuous gradual adjustment might be the ideal. Evidence
suggests that most organisations experience change as a discontinuous
process often referred to as a pattern of punctuated equilibrium

Discontinuous change

Degree of
change
Punctuated by short
periods of radical
(discontinuous) change

Long periods of
time
equilibrium during which
there is little change
 Punctuated equilibrium
Involves long periods of low intensity incremental changes punctuated by short
bursts of high intensity discontinuous change

Incremental Discontinuous change involves

change ‘doing things differently or
involves doing different things’
‘doing
Intensity of things
better’
change

Dropouts Dropouts Dropouts

Punctuated equilibrium is the dominant
pattern of change

equilibrium : periods of low intensity change

This is the dominant pattern of change because a

number of factors act to limit the degree of change
that occurs in the periods of low intensity change
 A fear of change

Many people are reluctant to change because:

 they prefer the status quo to an uncertain future
 they anticipate that the cost of changing might outweigh the
benefits
 Persistent ‘deep structures’
Deep structures are the fundamental choices that determine an
organization’s pattern of activity.
Football analogy
The rules of the game represent deep structures – taken for granted and
difficult to change.
The game-in-play
Respected describes activity in periods of equilibrium when the
Sir/Madam;
coach and players cankindly
makeuse
changes that will
three/four affect
points team
for each performance
slide.
but not the rules of the game.

Deep structures act as forces for inertia that work to maintain the status
quo
Strategy, leadership and culture at Brompton Bikes
 Deep structures & tight and loose coupling
Deep structures are difficult to change
Football analogy
It would be difficult for one team to modify
the rules. A football club is tightly coupled with
the other clubs that play in the same league

Forces for inertia are strongest when a group,

department or organisation is part of a network of
tightly coupled mutual dependencies
Pressure to deliver short term results
This pressure:
 directs managers’ attention towards improving
structure
internal alignment in order to increase efficiency.
technology systems
 diverts their attention away from external
alignment. people

All three factors (fear of change, persistent deep structures and

the pressure to deliver short term results) combine to inhibit
change and promote strategic drift.
The organization does not change fast enough or in the ways that
will ensure that it remains aligned with its external environment.
 The trigger for discontinuous change
Eventually this misalignment with the external environment
reaches a point where major change (radical transformation) is
caused.
 Evidence supporting the theory of punctuated
equilibrium
Romanelli and Tushman examined the life histories of 25
minicomputer producers and found a pattern of discontinuous,
episodic change

changes in strategy, structure and power-distribution were

clustered in time - the pattern of change predicted by the
punctuated equilibrium model
changes were not spread over relatively long periods of time as
predicted by the gradualist paradigm.
Course Name: Managing change in organizations

Faculty Name: KBL Srivastava

Department: Humanities and Social Sciences

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

Topic: Types of Change: Incremental and

Transformational (2)
Breaking the Equilibrium

Can managers break out of this

pattern of punctuated equilibrium
and avoid the need to react quickly to
radically transform their business?

They can, but only by making their

organisations continuously adaptive
over the longer term.
 Conditions for continuous adaptation
continuously adaptive organizations
experience the kind of continuous change
described by the gradualist paradigm

This requires organizations to engage in repeated patterns of:

 Improvisation that leads to a continuous modification of existing work
practices
 Translation that involves the editing and imitation of ideas as they
travel through the organization
 Learning and new insights which facilitate changes in the way the
organization responds to problems and opportunities
Exceptions for Punctuated Equilibrium

1. The small minority of “learning organizations” that

do manage to continuously adapt through ongoing
processes of improvisation and learning
Exceptions for Punctuated Equilibrium

2. Companies operating in niche markets or in slow moving sectors

Did not encounter the kind of environmental change that requires

them to transform their deep structures
Exceptions for Punctuated Equilibrium
3. Organizations that are able to continue functioning without
transforming themselves
they have sufficient ‘fat’ to absorb the inefficiencies associated
with misalignment.
 Strategic Drift usually occurs when organizations are unable to
Strategic drift keep pace with the changes that happen in their immediate
environment which in turn leads to their slow and gradual
demise. ..
Firms cannot ignore changes in their external
environment for ever.
Eventually they have to adapt if they are to
survive.
Some firms are slower than others to recognise
the need for change or slower than others to
take action.
Their response is reactive rather than
proactive.
 Example of a strategic drift
My Space: An online social networking company

Initially was a successful company even surpassed Google as most

visited site

Failed to accurately assess the changes happening in the

environment with regards to the expectation of tech savvy new
generation youngsters and emergence of potential customers

Lost its market share

Facebook overtook it
Lead times and time pressures
It is more difficult to manage change when the need for change is urgent.

 There is less time for planning

 It is more difficult to involve people in

the process
There is less time to experiment and
search for creative solutions
 A typology of change
Combining notions of continuous and discontinuous change with the way an
organisation responds to change (proactive or reactive) provides a useful
typology Transformational/discontinuous
Incremental
(doing things better) (doing things differently or doing different things)

1. Fine Tuning 3. Re-orientation

Proactive
Anticipatory Citibank Nestle – 1980s

2. Adaptation
4. Re-creation
Other banks reaction
Reactive to Citibank’s move Asda – 1990s
Implications of these different types of change
for change management practice

1. Focus for change effort

2. Locus for change: who will manage the process?

3. Sequence of steps in the change process
4. Role of change agent
1. Focus for change efforts
With incremental change the aim is to improve the alignment Task
between existing organizational components in order to ‘do Structure Culture
things better’ People
With discontinuous/transformational change the aim is to seek a new
configuration of organizational components that are aligned to external
circumstances. The outcome may be that the firm ‘does things differently’
or ‘does different things’

INPUTS Task OUTPUTS

required to
required by
support the Structure Culture external
transformed
stakeholders
business
People
2. Locus for change
The intensity of change (indicated by the stress, dislocation and trauma
associate with change) affects the point in the organization where the
leadership for change is located.
Discontinuous change is more
intense than incremental change, Most intense Re-creation
and reactive change tends to be Re-orientation
more intense than anticipatory Adaptation
change Tuning
Least intense
3. Locus of change
High intensity change

Executive led change

Change through delegation

(Project managers and
external consultants)

Change through normal

management processes

Low intensity change

3. Sequence of change
Change typically involves a three step process that
follows the sequence
UNFREEZE

1.Unfreezing the restraining forces that maintain the

status quo MOVE

2.Moving the organisation to a new state

REFREEZE

3.Refreezing to consolidate the change

Sequence of change
Firms operating in high velocity environments: The key problem is not
overcoming inertia and unfreezing the organization, but redirecting the
continuous process of change that is already underway.

This may require the following sequence FREEZE

Freezing in order to take stock, identify patterns

and highlight what is happening REBALANCE

Rebalancing – reinterpreting history, identifying

and amplifying best practice and re-sequencing UNFREEZE
patterns
Unfreezing to enable patterns of activity to
resume with fewer blockages
4. Role of change agent

With discontinuous/transformational change the role of the

change agent is to be the prime mover who initiates and
manages a process of planned change

With rapid continuous change the role of the change agent

is to help others make sense of the change dynamics
already under way
Conclusion

1. Discussion about the nature of change

2. Various perspectives on change and image of

change managers

3. Different type of changes

Text Books followed:
1. Ian Palmer; Richard Dunford; David Buchanan (2009)
Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple
Perspectives Approach: McGraw-Hill: New York
2. John Hays (2002). Theory and Practice of Change
Management. Palgrave Mcmilan: UK.
3. Mills, J H; Dye, K; & Mills, AJ (2009). Understanding
organizational change. Routledge: New York