Key factors in change 3.6.2

Question 1

What is change management?

Answer 1

Change management is the process of organising and introducing new methods of working in a business. These changes can be driven from within the business, or as a result of responding to external factors (PESTLE)

Question 2

What are the key factors of change?

Answer 2

• Organisational culture
• Size of organisation
• Time/speed of change
• Managing resistance to change

Question 3

How does organisational structure contribute to change?

Answer 3

In its simplest form, this is described as ‘the way things are done around here’. Customs and practices are embedded in systems that reflect the norms, values and beliefs of the organisations. Although this might give stability, it also gives problems with rigidity when a business needs to change.

Question 4

How does the size of the organisation contribute to change?

Answer 4

Growth is a key objective of most businesses and organisational change comes about as businesses merge or grow. However, the size of a business can significantly affect its ability to manage successful change.
Generally the larger the business the harder it is to be adaptable and flexible. This is quite often because there is more to change to manage change, or because it takes longer to make the changes happen. Also, decision-making in a big firm takes longer and the number of people needed to make the change happens is bigger so it slows the process. Contrary to this, in a small business changes can happen quickly, and with fewer stakeholders.

Question 5

How does the speed of change contribute to change?

Answer 5

Size is one factor that can determine the speed of change in a business. There are other factors: Natural progression with the success of the business.

• New products
• Technology
• New processes
• All of these factors can affect the speed of change in a business

Question 6

How does the resistance of change contribute to change?

Answer 6

Businesses are likely to experience resistance to change from different parts of the workforce.
– Employees:
- Fear of the unknown – people feel safer with what they know.
- Changes to employees’ job roles – new tasks
– Redundancies:
- Changes to colleagues so working with people they dislike owners
- They may have similar fears to employees,
– Customers and suppliers:
- They might not want to change their own practices - for example, moving stock management online. If the supplier is not prepared to work this way then the business would need to change suppliers.

Question 7

How does the general resistance to change contribute to change?

Answer 7

1. Disagreements with the reasons for change
2. Fear of the impact of change
3. Lack of understanding of change
4. General Inertia – happy with the way things are

Question 8

What are the 4 main reasons a business may resist change?

Answer 8

• Self- interest.
• Misinformation and misunderstanding.
• Different assessment of the situation.
• Low tolerance and inertia.

Question 9

What’s the role of self-interest?

Answer 9

• Interest is a powerful motivator.
• Arises from a perceived threat to job security, status and financial position.
• Understandable – why would you want to lose something you believe to be so valuable?
• Individuals often place their own interests ahead of those of the organisation, particularly if they don’t feel a strong loyalty to it.

Question 10

What is the role of misunderstanding ad misinformation?

Answer 10

• People don’t understand why changes are needed, perhaps because they are misinformed about the real strategic position of the business.
• Perception may be widespread that there is no compelling reason for the change.
• Perhaps even an element of people falling that things are better than they really are.

Question 11

What is the role in different assessment of the situation?

Answer 11

• Here there is a disagreement about the need for change or what the change needs to be.
• Some people may disagree with the change proposed, or they may feel that they have a better solution.
• This is different from self-interest – the resistance here is based on disagreement about what is best for the business.

Question 12

What is the role of low tolerance in inertia?

Answer 12

• Many people suffer from inertia or reluctance to change, preferring things to say the way they are.
• Many people need security, predictability and stability in their work.
• If there is a low tolerance of change then resistance to change may grow.

Question 13

What are the key factors in overcoming change?

Answer 13

• Education and communication
• Participation and involvement
• Facilitation and support
• Manipulation and co-option
• Negotiation and bargaining
• Explicit and implicit coercion

Question 14

How does Education & Communication lead to change?

Answer 14

• The starting point for successful change is to communicate effectively the reasons why change is needed!
• Honest communication about the issues and the proposed action helps people see the logic of change.
• Effective education helps address misconceptions about the change, including misinformation or inaccuracies.
• Education and communication are unlikely to achieve very short-term effects. They need to be delivered consistently and over a long period for maximum impact.

Question 15

How do participation and involvement lead to change?

Answer 15

• Involvement in a change programme can be an effective way of bringing “on-board” people who would otherwise resist.
• Participation often leads to commitment, not just compliance.
• A common issue in any change programme is just how much involvement should be permitted. Delays and obstacles need to be avoided.

Question 16

How do facilitation and support lead to change?

Answer 16

• Kotter & Schlesinger identified what they called “adjustment problems” during change programmes.
• Most people (though not all) will need support to help them cope with change.
• Key elements of facilitation and support might include additional training, counselling and mentoring as well as simply listening to the concerns of people affected.
• If fear and anxiety are at the heart of resistance to change, then facilitation and support become particularly important.

Question 17

How do co-option and manipulation lead to change?

Answer 17

• Co-option involves bringing specific individuals into roles that are part of change management (perhaps managers who are likely to be otherwise resistant to change).
• Manipulation involves the selective use of information to encourage people to behave in a particular way.
• Whilst the use of manipulation might be seen as unethical, it might be the only option if other methods of overcoming resistance to change prove ineffective.

Question 18

How do negotiation and bargaining lead to change?

Answer 18

• The idea here is to give people who resist an incentive to change – or leave.
• Negotiation and bargaining might involve offering better financial rewards for those who accept the requirements of the change programme.
• Alternatively, enhanced rewards for leaving might also be offered.
• This approach is commonly used when a business needs to restructure the organisation (e.g. by delayering).

Question 19

How does explicit and implicit coercion lead to change?

Answer 19

• This approach is very much the “last resort” if other methods of overcoming resistance to change fail
• Explicit coercion involves people being told exactly what the implications of resisting change will be
• Implicit coercion involves suggesting the likely negative consequences for the business of failing to change, without making explicit threats
• The big issue with using coercion is that it almost inevitably damages trust between people in a business and can lead to damaged morale (in the short term)