UNITY UNIVERSITY

MBA
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

PREPARED BY: AYNALEM GETACHEW SEID: 0052/11

SUBMITTED TO: DR. HABTAMU DADI

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 Concepts of Change (The Two Metaphors)

1. “Calm waters” metaphor

Envisions the organization as a large ship crossing a calm sea and experiencing an occasional storm. This metaphor is
best illustrated by Kurt Lewin’s three-step description of the change process. According to Lewin, successful change
requires unfreezing the status quo, changing to a new state, and then refreezing the new change to make it
permanent.

This three-step process treats change as a break in the organization’s equilibrium state. The status quo has been
disturbed, and change is necessary to establish a new equilibrium state. The “calm waters” metaphor is increasingly
obsolete as a description of the kind of seas that current managers have to navigate today.

Dominated the thinking of practicing managers and academics. The prevailing model for handling change in
calm waters is best illustrated in Kurt Lewin’s three step description of the change process.

According to Lewin, successful change requires unfreezing the status quo, changing to a new sate, and
freezing the new change to make it permanent. The status quo can be considered an equilibrium state.
Unfreezing is necessary to move from this equilibrium. It can be achieved in one of three ways:

1) The driving forces, which direct behaviour away from the status quo, can be increased.
2) The restraining forces, which hinder movement from the existing equilibrium, can be decreased.
3) The two approaches can be combined.

 Exhibit The change Process

 Unfreezing Changing Refreezing

Once unfreezing has been accomplished the change itself can be implemented. However, the mere
introduction of change does not ensure that it take hold. The new situation, therefore, needs to be refrozen so
that it can be sustained over time. Unless this last step is attended to, it is likely that the change will be short
lived and employees will revert to the previous equilibrium state. The objective of refreezing the entire
equilibrium state, then, is to stabilize the new situation by balancing the driving and restraining forces.

Note how Lewin’s three step process treats change as a break in the organization’s equilibrium state. The status quo
has been distributed, and change is necessary to establish a new equilibrium state. This view might have been
appropriate to the relatively calm waters metaphor is increasingly obsolete as a description of the kinds of seas that
current managers have to navigate.

2. “White-water rapids” metaphor.

In this metaphor the organization is seen as a small raft navigating a raging river with uninterrupted white-water
rapids. Thus change is a natural state and managing change is a continual process. It takes into consideration that
environments are both uncertain and dynamic. Since managers face constant change, bordering on chaos, the
stability and predictability of the calm waters does not exist, disruptions in the status quo are usually continual and
permanent rather than occasional and temporary, and there is not a return to calm waters. Most organizations can
ill-afford to treat change as an occasional disturbance in a peaceful business world. To do so would put them at
great risk as most competitive advantage lasts less than 18 months.
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 Entrepreneurs must also deal with dynamic change. One of the many duties that an entrepreneur must accept is
one of change agent. Since changes are needed in entrepreneurial ventures, the entrepreneur is often the first to
identify the need for change and thus must act as the catalyst, coach, cheerleader, and chief change consultant.
They also may have to guide the actual change process as changes in strategy, technology, products, structure or
people are being implemented.

This metaphor takes into consideration the fact environments are both uncertain and dynamic. To get a feeling for
what managing change might be like when you have to continually maneuver in uninterrupted rapids, imagine
attending a college in which courses vary in length so when you sign up, you don’t know whether a course will last
for 2 weeks or 30 weeks. Furthermore, the instructor can end a course any time he or she wants, with no prior
warning. If that isn’t bad enough the length of the class session changes each time – sometimes it lasts 20 minutes,
other times it runs for 3 hours and the time of the next class meeting is set by the instructor during the previous

A growing number of managers are coming to accept that their job is much like what a student would face in
such a college. The stability and predictability of the claim waters do not exist. Disruptions in the status quo
are not occasional and temporary, to be followed by a return to calm waters. Many of today’s managers
never get out of the rapids. They face constant change, bordering on chaos. These managers are being forced
to play a game they have never played before, which is governed by rules created as the game progresses.

What parallel can you draw with organizational life?

a) Sniff is an Innovator style.

He’s got the ability to sense and respond to changes happening in the environment much more quickly
than the other styles. He gets excited about creating new things and likes you to get excited with him.

b) Scurry is a Producer style.

He’s got the ability to run, run, run and do the work from early to late. He gets frustrated when there are
obstacles in his path and seeks to run around them or punch through them.

c) Hem is a Stabilizer style.

He’s got the ability to make things systematized and controllable. In the story, it is Hem who gets left
behind because change can be seen as a really big threat to someone who excels at control and stability.

d) Haw is a Unifier style.

He’s got the ability to empathize and connect well with others. In the story, it is Haw who follows Sniff
and Scurry but all the while is concerned about where Hem is and how Hem is doing. Ultimately, Haw
leaves the writing on the wall for others like Hem to follow.

What does this tells about the attitude to change?

A. Change will happen:

Anticipate it and monitor the situation. The responses of our mice, Sniff and Scurry, and our “little people”, Hem and
Haw, illustrate the differing strategies for surviving and flourishing in uncertain and fluctuating situations. (The
names of the little people are taken from the phrase “hem and haw”, a term for indecisiveness.) Both parties

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eventually manage to locate a supply of cheese in the maze at “Cheese Station C”, although their approaches to the
search and their responses to their successes vary significantly.

Hem and Haw (with their “complex” brains) demonstrate the limitations and anxieties that can result from
overly analytical strategic planning. They set out to secure success and happiness in the shape of cheese, but
instead become depressed during a frustrating, intricately planned search. Once they have managed to locate
the cheese, they believe they have worked hard for the victory and earned it. Their fixed preconceptions
mean that they begin to take their successes for granted. They fail to identify the changing circumstances
that result in the cheese supply eventually disappearing (Hem’s response in: “Who moved my cheese?”),
leaving them unprepared and empty handed.

Meanwhile, the more freethinking (“brainless”) mice appear to find the cheese with greater ease, although
relying on a degree of luck to do so. They demonstrate that acting without thinking can save time and
energy. However, they are able to observe and respond to the changes in their circumstances. Having
noticed their dwindling cheese supply, they are better prepared to take constructive action

B. Adapt to change quickly,

Change yourself and enjoy it: Sniff and Scurry set out before their supply of cheese runs out, and are rewarded
when they find another huge stash of cheese at “Cheese Station N”. However, Hem and Haw demonstrate that a
reluctance to respond to change can make life much more painful. The two “little people”, driven by fear, disbelief
and a misplaced hope, keep returning to Cheese Station C, growing increasingly hungry, depressed and weak.

Change requires you to cope with a new situation and grapple with a new set of rules, however frightening
that may be. Eventually, Haw begins to fantasize about a huge mound of brie, his favourite cheese. The
process of visualization helps him to increase his desire, and find the courage and energy to renew his
search. After slowly overcoming his fears and growing in confidence, Haw eventually finds Cheese Station
N (where Sniff and Scurry have been all along) and his circumstances improve significantly.

Before he re-entered the maze, Haw chiselled on the wall of Cheese Station C: “If you do not change, you
can become extinct.” Hem, however, is too afraid to take the advice and search for more cheese. He remains
behind, growing increasingly angry and emaciated. While there is a “happy” ending, when Hem eventually
manages to follow his friend’s tracks and find both Haw and the cheese, Hem’s long, difficult experience is
a clear lesson that we need to be ready to adapt to change and embrace it, if we are to succeed.

The primary takeaway from the book is learning how to overcome fear, handle life changes gracefully and
find a path to realize your dream in a less stressful manner. Fear is what makes confronting change so
difficult, but as long as you are afraid of leaving your comfort zone, things will never get better. In difficult
times, when you do not have everything you need or enjoy happiness, you have to look for something new
and be prepared to fill the voids with an alternative. As your environment changes, your responses need to
change to – or you will be left behind and empty handed. Remember, of course, that Who Moved My
Cheese? is a parable. Your new “cheese” could be a new job, a new love, a new way of doing business: all
you need to do is step outside your comfort zone and begin the search. In short, it offers you a way to find
happiness and success by adopting a simple, straightforward approach to overcoming whatever problems life
may throw at you.

 What are Lessons Learned from movie “Who moved my Cheese”?

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 I. Stop thinking too much about your cheese and start chasing it.

The two mice inside of our maze are called Sniff and Scurry. They spend most of their time running up and
down the corridors of the maze, looking for cheese. Turn a corner, run to the end, see if there’s any cheese,
and if not, turn around and go back. That’s their pattern, and, while it seems kind of mindless and
unstructured, it actually saves them a lot of time and energy.

Hem and Haw, two little people, also spend their days in the maze looking for cheese, but not because
they’re hungry – they think finding it will make them feel happy and Successful. However, because of their
complex brains, they think a lot about

 how they can find the cheese the fastest

 which strategies will work best in getting through the maze
 how to keep track of those strategies
 what finding the cheese will feel like
 when they’ll finally find it

And of course, they wonder if there even is any cheese in the maze at all every time they turn another empty
corner. Life is the same. Every minute you spend wondering what success looks like, how to get it, whether
it’s possible and how you’ll feel in the future is a minute not spend working towards it. Humans are
complicated beings, but that doesn’t mean we have to make everything complicated.

II. Even the biggest cheese doesn’t last forever, so try to see change coming.

Sniff and Scurry soon found a big stash of cheese at Station C, and even though they enjoyed snacking a bit
of it every day, they kept paying attention. The amount of cheese kept declining, slowly, but steadily, every
day. Once they realized they were about to run out, they decided to move on of their own accord and soon
found another huge cheese at Station N.

Hem and Haw found station C, however, they settled there, and quickly grew accustomed to the new
status quo. The cheese fest they indulged in every day soon became the center of their lives, as they thought
it was the fair reward for all their hard work. They were so preoccupied with the cheese that they didn’t
notice how it was disappearing, one piece at a time, and how some corners of it even got moldy. One
morning, they woke up, only to find someone had moved their cheese.

This left Hem and Haw sad, depressed, feeling treated unfairly and in denial. Instead of venturing out to find
new cheese, they kept returning to Station C, getting ever hungrier and weaker.

 No supply of cheese can last forever. Change is always bound to happen, sooner or later. Instead
of fooling yourself that things will stay the same forever, always keep an eye open for change.

III. Don’t worry, there’s always new cheese to be found. The minute you start moving things will
improve.

The best part about cheese isn’t that once you’ve found it you’re set for life. It’s that there’s always more
cheese to be found. Haw eventually got sick of sitting around, so he decided to go looking for new cheese all
by himself.

Once he started moving, his situation instantly got better. Yes, he just found a few bits and pieces of cheese
here and there at first, but this was a lot better than doing nothing and being paralyzed by fear. After having
found the courage to move on despite your fears once, fear’s grip on you will never be as strong as it
used to

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 Haw realized the accumulated fears in his mind were a lot worse than even the biggest challenges he encountered.
Full of confidence, he kept exploring the maze, until he eventually found Sniff and Scurry at Station N, where the
three of them shared the new cheese they had found.

IV. When you stop being afraid you feel good

Face your fears! Our fears often make a situation undergoing change appear to be worse than it really is.
Johnson’s book teaches you to take stock of each scenario and helps you to put your fears aside in order to
look to the future. Conquering your fear and approaching ‘change situations’ with the right attitude can put
an entirely new (and positive) spin on things, allowing you to navigate the event in a logical and rational
manner.

It describes a simple pattern of embracing change, finding success, looking out for more change and then
embracing it again, which will help you cultivate a much more optimistic attitude about life.

V. Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old

Monitor change! We often get comfortable in situations and tend to avoid new ones due to fear of the
unknown. We are often oblivious to the small changes that are being made because we are so caught up in
our comfort zone. Be wary of all that is going on rather than sitting back and letting life pass you by.

VI. Imagining yourself with new cheese leads you to it

Look to the future! Sometimes we’re so focused on what we’re leaving behind; we don’t realize that what
we’re looking for is actually just ahead of us. Let go of the past by setting new goals and imagine yourself
achieving those goals. When you start envisioning yourself in new, positive situations and opening yourself
up to new ideas, only then will you start heading in the right direction.

VII. The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese

Adapt to change quickly! Despite your fears and apprehensions, it’s important to embrace inevitable change
and acknowledge it as an opportunity for growth and development. Dwelling in the past will only lead to
misery and frustration, so instead focus your energy on adjusting your lifestyle and mindset to the new order
of things.

VIII. Move with the cheese and enjoy it

Change and enjoy change! According to Dr. Johnson, “That what you are afraid of is never as bad as you
imagine. The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists.” So let go
and give in to the alterations taking place in your life. Focus on the good in these new experiences instead of
dwelling on what you might be losing and you will find many new doors opening up!

If you’re dealing with change in your life or maybe even just looking for a new book to read have a go at
this one. It’s definitely a great read that I’d suggest to anyone.

 This is a Movie. I love stories like these. It is a management movie, and many a manager has told this
story to his team to inspire them, but it’s just as valuable for any one as an individual.

 How will this change helps you the way you manage change in the future?

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 These changes are more often than not, fast to happen. For instance, most of the core business functions in
the small business sector are now getting digitized. Be it accounting or marketing, companies are forced to
take it online in order to outdo their competition and carry on.

While a few thrive on change, many adapt slowly, reluctantly and sometimes do not adapt to the changes at
all! At a time when a company’s very survival depends on its ability to not reactively adapt but proactively
go after change, Who Moved My Cheese? Is a resourceful read on organizational change management?

The movie sums up the universal laws for tackling change with “The Handwriting on the Wall,” where one
of the characters writes messages as he cautiously changes his habits and thought process:

i. Change Happens This literally means change is the only permanent thing, so one might as well start
looking forward to it! For a small business it is important to understand this and be flexible.

ii. Anticipate Change Instead of waiting of a wave of change to come and hit when you least expect it;
keep a keen eye out for change. Follow industry trends both locally and globally. Make sure you start
innovating systems and processes that are in place.

iii. Monitor Change Anticipating change gives you an insight into exactly when you need to abandon the
old and switch to the new. This will help you realize when your goals, way of working and
communicating and your technology have become obsolete or stale.

iv. Adapt to Change Quickly The quicker you adapt to change and stop missing an old habit, the more
effective you can get in a newer arena.

v. Change Once you move on to a fresher way of doing things, you can leave any insecurity behind and
have fun staying ahead of the pack. This way make you can beat the competitors and get there first.

vi. Enjoy Change This message urges one to enjoy the process of change and the place where you have
reached now. This positivity will increase the effectiveness of you, your employees and your entire
organization.

vii. Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again never get too comfortable and complacent about
anything. Repeat the entire exercise, since change is permanent!

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