Change Though Painful yet all Embrace :

A Case Study
Ms. Mrinalini Pandey

ABSTRACT
Change can be seen as inevitable and constant, unpredictable and sometimes alarming and yet to stand
still risks decay and stagnation. Only those organizations will prosper in the long run which are
adaptive and willing to change according to the environmental demands and is ready to make changes
of their own to adjust to the new realities of competition. It is with this capability and quest to compete,
two of worlds renowned scientific research institutes in India namely CMRI and CFRI have been
merged to form a new entity CIMFR. This paper attempts to examine the various issues relating to
change management process in these two Institutes. The purpose of this research is to examine the
factors affecting change interventions and organizational learning. For the purpose of study nondirective interviews were conducted to get insights about the effect of change on employees. Findings
indicate that for an effective transition from an old order to new, a proper well devised people strategy is
a must.
Key Terms : Change, strategy, employee psyche, competencies

1. Introduction
Greater competition, rapid technological and
social changes in an emerging market economy
have made efficiency improvement a crucial
managerial challenge for firms to remain
competitive in the marketplace. The
organizations that will prosper in the long run
are the ones that are adaptive and willing to
change according to the environmental
demands. Organizations with a capacity for
change have increased organization capability,
have the know-how to diagnose and manage
change, and develop the competencies to build
flexible organizational arrangements (Dave
Ulrich and Dale Lake,1990) Organizational
changes is an intermittent activity, that is to say,
it starts at some point, proceeds through a series
of steps, and culminates in some outcome.
Every growing organization goes through a

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continual process of transition. At various levels

of the growth cycle, organizations have to
appraise, ascertain or reinstate their process
standards. This transition could sometimes be
just a minor change or at times a complex
revamp. A change in one variable triggers a
chain of events that requires adjustments in the
other variables to achieve a new state of
equilibrium. Before launching the new
beginnings. and for an effective transition from
an old order to new, a proper well devised people
strategy is a must.
Change can be seen as inevitable and constant,
unpredictable and sometimes alarming and yet
to stand still risks decay and stagnation. All
organizations therefore need to be able to
change and adapt to internal and external
forces. Several researchers (Dent and Goldberg

BVIMR Management Edge, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2012) PP 20-26

1999; Mabin, Forgeson and Green 2001) have

begun to place substantial emphasis on various
factors that can influence employee reactions to
change that occur in different contexts. In broad
terms, employee reaction to change has been
tied to a wide range of factors, from prevailing
change process conditions to specific employee
perceptions. Given that importance of these
factors, it is not surprising that Kotter (1995)
suggests that managers should attempt to
investigate and understand the factors that lie
behind observed differences in the levels of
resistance to change and support for change in
order to have successful change initiatives. It is
indeed a very well established and understood
that successful change management requires
welcoming arms and open minds. But
nevertheless cynicism always exists therefore the
best practice then is to understand the various
facets and components of change and
accordingly device a strategy to accommodate
it.
Some experts have argued that organizational
change should be thought of as balancing a
system made up of five interacting variables
within the organization-people, tasks,
technology, structure, and strategy. Developing
an understanding of these interacting variables
is necessary for effective change management.
Further, the ability of the individual to embrace
such change is in part due to the way change is
managed, with this management approach
often a reflection of the institutions culture.
(Page M, Wallace I, McFarlane W C, Law J,
2008) Using a case study of CMFRI, this article
explores the tensions found between
professional autonomy and managerial control
during the application of a change initiative
taken by Council of Scientific Research, India
to merge two of the worlds renowned scientific
institutions with the objective to become more
competitive. The successful realization of the
goal depends on the employees and this study is
a modest attempt to understand the factors that
affect change process. The two studies found a
number of interrelated factors that affect the
effectiveness of change implementation

namely; the level of management commitment,

and the personal and positional role
characteristics of the employees. There are
several issues that run in the minds of
employees; like apprehensions about
adjustments, resettlement plans etc which needs
to be addressed substantially if change has to be
carried out effectively. The purpose of this
research is to examine the relationship between
change interventions and organizational
learning. It seeks to identify the process,
through which team learning is developed, the
factors that affect organizational learning and its
influences on organizational effectiveness.

2. Building A Conceptual Framework

Workplaces are faced with endless change
(Herscovitch and Meyer, 2002), and effective
management of that change is an important
competency currently required by an organization
(Paton and McCalman, 2000). The growing
frequency and complexity of workplace change
requires employees to adapt to change without
disruption; however, resistance to change is the more
common reaction (Caldwell et al., 2004). As managers
make decisions for coping with change, they must
consider not only how firm performance will be
affected but also how employees will be affected. Can
commitment to change be obtained and, if so, will that
help the implementation efforts? This issue warrants
research attention. As Herscovitch and Meyer (2002,
p. 474) stated: Given the accelerated rate and
complexity of changes in the workplace, it is not
surprising that there is a large and growing literature
on the causes, consequences, and strategies of
organizational change. What is surprising, however, is
the paucity of research on employee reactions to
change. There is a growing interest in understanding
how change is experienced by individual employees
(Judge et al., 1999) and researchers are beginning to
investigate the role of employee commitment in
organizational change situations (Herscovitch and
Meyer, 2002; Noble and Mokwa, 1999). Recent
research in the field of change management has raised
interest in the extent to which employees can be
motivated to perform their jobs and in the way of how
firms can motivate employees (e.g., Herzberg 1968;
Kanfer 1990; Vroom, 1964). When employees have
high job motivation, they are likely to show better
adaptive responses to any change in the organization.

BVIMR Management Edge, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2012) PP 20-26

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Herscovitch and Meyer (2002) introduced a threecomponent model of commitment to organizational

change (based on Meyer and Allen, 1991) and
demonstrated that employee commitment to a change
is a better predictor of behavioral support for a change
than is organizational commitment. The three
components are: affective, normative, and
continuance. Noble and Mokwa (1999) also studied
multiple dimensions of commitment: organizational,
role, and strategy. Though a broader concept,
commitment to a strategy is conceptually similar to
commitment to organizational change. Strategy
commitment is defined as managements
understanding and support of goals and objectives
(Noble and Mokwa, 1999). Implementing change is a
strategic decision. Noble and Mokwas (1999) model
considered strategy factors and role factors as
antecedents of commitment. Their key outcome was
the success of managerial implementation of
initiatives.
Further, an important development in academic
research is the recognition that employees can be
committed to many different work-related foci.
Recent work suggests the importance of considering
objects of commitment in addition to the organization
itself, such as supervisors or change initiatives
(Herscovitch and Meyer, 2002). Noble and Mokwa
(1999) defined organizational commitment as the
extent to which a person identifies with and works
toward organization-related goals and values.
Herscovitch and Meyer (2002) defined Commitment
to change as a force that binds an individual to a
course of action deemed necessary for the successful
implementation of a change initiative. Affective,
continuance, and normative commitment to better
understand organizational commitment, Meyer and
Allen (1991) proposed a three-component model
comprising affective, continuance, and normative
commitment. According to Meyer and Allen (1991),
affective commitment refers to the employees
emotional attachment to, identification with, and
involvement in the organization (employees stay with
a firm because they want to); continuance
commitment refers to an awareness of the costs
associated with leaving the organization (employees
stay with a firm because they need to); and normative
commitment reflects a feeling of obligation to
continue employment (employees stay with a firm
because they ought to). Drawing on this model in an
effort to study a context-specific type of commitment,
Herscovitch and Meyer (2002) proposed a threecomponent model of commitment to organizational

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change and suggested that it has advantages similar to

those demonstrated in the organizational
commitment literature. Therefore, affective
commitment to change refers to a desire to support a
change, continuance commitment to change is based
on recognition that there are costs associated with
resisting change, and normative commitment to
change reflects a sense of obligation to be supportive
(Herscovitch and Meyer, 2002).

3. Case Study
3.1 CFRI
Central Fuel Research Institute under the Council of
Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), is a premier
research organization of international repute devoted
to R&D work - both fundamental and applied on
Indian fuel resources, especially coal and lignite.
Central Fuel Research Institute, Dhanbad conceived
in 1946, has grown along with the independent India,
concomitant with the beginning of industrialization
and the attendant energy management. Over this
period of over five decades, the nation has come a long
way in increasing the utilization of coal from around
25 million to 240 million tonnes and reducing the
share of non-commercial sources of energy from 79
percent to 49 percent. Accredited with ISO 9001
Certification, the first in the CSIR chain of
laboratories, the Institute, since its inception in 1946
has made noteworthy contributions to the industrial
growth of the nation through resolute research efforts
towards the utilization of coal. Engaged in R&D on
coal, CFRI has developed itself as the largest repository
of knowledge base of coal science and technology in
the country.
With nearly 300 well trained scientific and technical
manpower and assets worth Rs.100 million, CFRI is
professionally competent to provide the research,
development and engineering support as well as
human resource development needed to evolve
environment friendly energy management systems for
the coal, power, steel, cement, chemical and other
industrial and domestic sectors both within the
country and outside.
The aim of the Institute is to develop the institute
towards a user responsive, credible and self sustaining
R&D center for technology development and transfer
through participative interaction of the customer in
the area of fuel utilization with professional
competence, compliance and dynamism. It aims to
help the country become an energy efficient nation
and thus has substantially contributed to the goal by

BVIMR Management Edge, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2012) PP 20-26

undertaking quality assessment of coal resources,

generation of the basic process know-how for the
operating coking coal washeries built for the
processing of 36 mtpa of coal, prescribing blends for
the coal for coke making in the steel industry,
designing non-recovery coke ovens for foundry and
domestic coke, processing of coal tar, and utilization of
fly ash generated at the power plants for building
bricks and also as a soil conditioner in agriculture.
CFRI plays a participating role in guiding the Bureau
of Indian Standards (BIS) in drawing national level
standards relating to the area of Coal Science and
technology.
3.2 CMRI
Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI), Dhanbad
is one of the national laboratories of Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of
India established on May10, 1956 for carrying out
Research & Development work in the field of mining
and cognate subjects to make mining safe, productive,
environment friendly and economical. The primary
mission of the Institute is to provide scientific and
technical input to mineral industry with a view to
optimize mining technology for better safety
economy, conservation and environmental
management. Apart from mining and allied fields, the
Institute has diversified and extended its activities in
the areas of development of underground space
technology and technology for the construction of
caverns, hydel projects, dams and tunnels. Due to the
infrastructural facilities, knowledge base and expertise
which have been developed by the institute during the
course of time, this institute is gaining continuous
momentum in various fields of activities because of its
other increasing demand which gearing up day by day.
3.3 NEW Entity CIMFR
CMRI and CFRI, both headed by the Council of
Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and both of
international repute have been merged to form a new
entity Central Institute for Mining and Fuel Research
(CIMFR) which has become functional from 2nd
April, 2007. This is a policy decision of Government
of India which feels that the best scientists can work
better if they work together. According to sources in
the 11th Five Year Plan, 30% of the Budget will be
reserved for Energy Sector. Energy is the thrust area
worldwide and therefore the Indian Government too
is making all possible moves towards making India a
super power in this sector by facilitating research. This
consolidation is a move to realize this vision.

As per the new system, CIMFRs head quarter is at

erstwhile CMRI and CFRI is functional only as a lab.
The strength of employees is around 1000
approximately, and the Organization structure will
undergo a sea change.

4. Objectives
The objective of the study is to
1. To understand and evaluating employee
reactions to change.
2. To understand the Employees commitment to
change.
3. To develop insights about the specific problem
areas hinders a smooth transition and to help
uncover ways to improve the success of change
initiatives.

5. Methodology
Non directive interviews were conducted on the
employee of the Institute at two points in time, first at
the time when the proposal was accepted in April 2007
and the administrative merger was started; and second
after one and a half years when the change intervention
was implemented. Owing to the serious and sensitive
nature of study, qualitative data from the employees
was collected using the non-directive interviewing
technique. In non directive interview, there are no predetermined questions or even pattern of interview
process. Questions emerge out of the interaction
between the interviewer and the candidate. This type
of interview becomes more like an informal talk. Even
the candidate is allowed to ask questions about the
various aspects of the organization concerned. Since
the candidate feels more at ease, he can give full
information about himself more elaborately which
helps the interviewer to evaluate a candidate in a more
comprehensive way. The sampling method was
convenience sampling. On the basis of responses made
certain inferences were made.

6. Findings
Changes to organizational systems and structure have
led to a state of not-knowing which contributes to
defensive dynamics. Learning begins with the
unlearning of old habits by encouraging new thinking
patterns through rigorous feedback loops.
Expectations of leaders should also be redistributed to
facilitate and integrate the various aspects of learning.
On the basis of the first interview, certain inferences
were drawn as follows :

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1.

Employees had a feeling of insecurity and are

unhappy as they felt their seniority will be lost.
2. There were apprehensions about the
resettlement plan as the Residential Quarters at
CMRI (Proposed headquarters) were limited
and employees felt that there would be a shifting
of base.
3. The employees were still unclear about the exact
nature of merger; some felt that it was only an
administrative merger and not a research merger
whereas others felt that only purchase and
accounts sections would be merged.
4. The resistance was from erstwhile CFRI
employees mainly as they were the ones who
would have to do major adjustments. But
nevertheless they were committed to change
On the basis of second interview the inferences drawn
are as follows :
1. Though painful and uncomfortable at the first
instance, but employees accepted the new order.
2. The employees believed that this was a necessary
move as it would help the Organization gain
competitive advantage.
3. The employees commitment to change could be
classified as follows :
a. Affective : Some of the employees were
emotionally attached to the organization since it
is the only one in its kind in the status and
reputation.
b. Continuous commitment : Some employees
felt that there was cost associated with leaving the
organization and therefore decided to accept
change.
The overall findings of the study indicate that though
change is a time taking and pain staking process but
people do change and evolve. Change of any kind at
first instance is always undesired but the worth can
only be assessed after the change process is culminated.
Management has successfully overcome the resistance
and made this a successful venture. There are mainly
two levels at which people resist; first any idea of
change of any nature is not acceptable at the face value
and secondly there are certain deeper issues
concerning heart and gut which culminate in personal
fear and threat of loss of some kind. An understanding
of the level of resistance can solve the problem as
proper strategies can be devised to tackle the problem
at that level. It helps employees and the organization
grows and survives in competitive market scenario.

24

Top management commitment is one of the most

critical factors of success of any change process.
It is seen that resistance to change is basically a human
problem which if dealt with patience and
understanding, could be tackled in a human and social
manner. Handling of resistance to change is far more
important factor than resistance itself. Understanding
the psychology of employees is the key determinant of
successful change management. Listening to common
fears and anxieties help in getting a glimpse of the
strength of resistance. Therefore, knowledge of
employees feelings is warranted because it helps in
strategically approaching resistance to change and
consequently to transform it into support for change.

7. Research Limitations
Change interventions have led organizational learning
to develop in reciprocal directions where the initial
top-down approach is subsequently supported and
driven by a bottom-up approach. The strategy is to
engage employees in joint decision making set in
constant dialogue and reflection. Limitations that
could lead to future research include
1. First, the data were collected from the
organization was through a non directive
interview.
2. Second, interpretation of the data can have
limitations as it depends upon the researchers
capability.
3. Third, the sample size was small and the results
cannot be generalized. Further the study is
needed to substantiate the findings.

8. Managerial Implications
The study is important for two major reasons, first that
it is a study wherein employees reaction to pre- change
and post change is studied; and secondly the study
highlights the key success factors which is
commitment and confidence of top management for
effective management of change.

9. Conclusions
Enterprise change hugging should be done with the
same level of care as swimming with sharks or playing
with porcupines: its going to hurt no matter what you
do. Someone has rightly pointed that change
management is pain management. But then as the
dictum goes no pain, no gain. Therefore before
embarking and implementing a new order, a detailed
analysis has to be carried out as the employees of

BVIMR Management Edge, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2012) PP 20-26

CIMFR were not completely comfortable with the

new order and somewhere there were some sparks of
fire because of the perception that adequate care was
not being taken in the process and may prove to be
disastrous for the health of the organization.
Committed management, stress of the Management
on complete implementation as soon as possible and
adhering to time limit and an encouraging
environment where employees felt involved and
empowered may be the reasons for successful
implementation of change.

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