CHAPTER THREE

OVERVIEW OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT

3.1. Meaning of Change Management

Organizations and their leaders have to learn how to anticipate and implement change
effectively. Significant organizational change can be challenging. It often requires many levels of
cooperation and may involve different independent entities within an organization. Developing a
structured approach to change is critical to help ensure a beneficial transition while mitigating
disruption. Changes usually fail for human reasons: the promoters of the change did not attend to
the healthy, real and predictable reactions of normal people to disturbance of their routines.
Effective communication is one of the most important success factors for effective change
management. The first step in managing change effectively is to understand what change is and
where it comes from.

What is change?
Change" is to:
 give a different position, course, or direction to
 make a shift from one to another
 undergo a modification
 undergo transformation, transition or substitution
What is management?
To manage" is:
• to handle or direct with a degree of skill or address
• to exercise executive, administrative and supervisory direction
Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with the transition or transformation of
an organization's goals, processes or technologies. The purpose of change management is to
implement strategies for effecting change, controlling change and helping people to adapt to
change. Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with the transition or
transformation of an organization's goals, processes or technologies. The purpose of change
management is to implement strategies for effecting change, controlling change and helping
people to adapt to change.Organizational Change: Any alterations in the people, structure, or
technology of an organization. Managing is an integral part of every employee’s job.
Organizational change refers broadly to the actions a business takes to change or adjust a

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significant component of its organization. This may include company culture, internal processes,
underlying technology or infrastructure, corporate hierarchy, or another critical aspect. Change
management is the process of guiding organizational change to fruition, from the earliest stages
of conception and preparation, through implementation and, finally, to resolution. An effective
management strategy is crucial to ensure businesses successfully transition and adapt to any
changes that may occur.

Organizational change is the transformation or adjustment to the way an organization functions.

Organizations adjust to small changes all the time, possibly looking to improve productivity,
responding to a new regulation, hiring a new employee, or something similar. But on top of these
little adjustments we make at work all the time, there are larger pressures that loom over us, like
competition, technology, or customer demands. Those larger pressures sometimes require larger
responses.
Organizational change is necessary for companies to succeed and grow. Change management
drives the successful adoption and usage of change within the business. It allows employees to
understand and commit to the shift and work effectively during it. Without effective
organizational change management, company transitions can be unpredictable and expensive in
terms of both time and resources. They can also result in lower employee morale and skill
development. In general, without change, your company will lose its competitive edge. It will
also fail to meet the requirements of what most of us hope will be a growing base of loyal
customers.
Change management doesn’t stop once you’ve successfully executed an organizational
transition. Both during and after the process, you need to continuously assess outcomes, track
performance to goals, train employees on new methodologies and business practices, and
readjust goals as necessary to increase the likelihood of success.
Characteristics of Change
 Is inevitable/constant yet varies in degree and direction
 Produces uncertainty yet is not completely unpredictable
 Creates both threats and opportunities
 Change is a part of life and provides opportunity for growth.
When do change?
(A+B+D)>X = c
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When your Level of Dissatisfaction with the Present State (A) + Your Need for a Desired Future
State (B) + Your Knowledge of Practical First Steps (D) > Cost of Change (X)
= Make Changes (C)
What to change?
• Structure – Change agents can alter one or more of the key elements in an organization’s
design. The change can include: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of
command, span of control, centralization, job redesign, etc.
• Technology – Competitive factors or innovations within an organization often require change
agents to introduce new equipment, tools, or methods. It includes work process, methods and
equipment.
• People – Change agents help individuals and groups within the organization work more
effectively together. The change can be attitude, expectation, perception and behavior.
• Physical Settings – Change agents can affect their environment.

3.2. Kurt Lewin’s Change Management Model: The Planned Approach to Organizational

Change
Kurt Lewin’s Three Stages model or the Planned Approach to Organizational change is one of
the cornerstone models of change management. Lewin, a social scientist and a physicist, during
early 1950s propounded a simple framework for understanding the process of organizational
change known as the Three-Stage Theory which he referred as Unfreeze, Change (Transition)
and Freeze (Refreeze).

According to Lewin, Change for any individual or an organization is a complicated journey

which may not be very simple and mostly involves several stages of transitions or
misunderstandings before attaining the stage of equilibrium or stability. For explaining the
process of organizational change, he used the analogy of how an ice block changes its shape to
transform into a cone of ice through the process of unfreezing.

Stage 1 - Unfreezing: This is the first stage of transition and one of the most critical stages in
the entire process of change management. It involves improving the readiness as well as the
willingness of people to change by fostering a realization for moving from the existing comfort
zone to a transformed situation. It involves making people aware of the need for change and
improving their motivation for accepting the new ways of working for better results. During this
stage, effective communication plays a vital role in getting the desired support and involvement
of the people in the change process.
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The following activities under the ‘unfreeze’ stage will help you embrace change better:

 Conduct a needs analysis by surveying your organization to understand the current gaps
in the business processes.
 Obtain organizational buy-in.
 Create a strategic change vision and change strategy.
 Communicate in a compelling way about why change has to occur.
 Address employee concerns with honesty and transparency.

Stage 2 - Change: This stage can also be regarded as the stage of Transition or the stage of
actual implementation of change. It involves the acceptance of the new ways of doing things.
This is the stage in which the people are unfrozen, and the actual change is implemented. During
this stage, careful planning, effective communication and encouraging the involvement of
individuals for endorsing the change is necessary. It is believed that this stage of transition is not
that easy due to the uncertainties or people are fearful of the consequences of adopting a change
process.

The following actions can be used to deal uncertainty:

 Ensure a continuous flow of information to obtain the support of your team members
 Organize change management workshops and sessions for change management
 Empower employees to deal with the change proactively
 Generate easy wins as visible results will motivate your team

Stage 3 - Freeze (Refreezing): During this stage, the people move from the stage of transition
(change) to a much more stable state which we can regard as the state of equilibrium. The stage
of Refreezing is the ultimate stage in which people accept or internalize the new ways of
working or change, accept it as a part of their life and establish new relationships. For
strengthening and reinforcing the new behaviour or changes in the way of working, the
employees should be rewarded, recognized and provided positive reinforcements, supporting
policies or structures can help in reinforcing the transformed ways of working.

The Lewin’s change management model can be implemented in an organization through the use
of three ways. These are:

1. Changing the Behaviour/attitude and Skills of a Workforce: More often than not, every
change initiative requires behavior modification and continuous upskilling of employees.
Building on an existing skillset allows employees to take over more responsibilities.
Therefore, it’s crucial to offer continuous employee training until the change is second
nature.
2. Changing the Processes, Structures, and Systems in an Organization: Successful change
initiative requires a balanced approach to changing the business processes, structures, and
systems.
3. Changing the Culture and interpersonal style of an Organization: To reap the long-term
benefits of any change initiative, you must anchor the changes in organization culture.

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3.3. Forces for Organizational Change
Change is inevitable in the life of an individual or organisation. In today’s business world, most
of the organisations are facing a dynamic and changing business environment. They should
either change or die, there is no third alternative. Organisations that learn and cope with change
will thrive and flourish and others who fail to do so will be wiped out. The major forces
which make the changes not only desirable but inevitable are technological, economic, political,
social, legal, international and labor market environments. Recent surveys of some major
organisations around the world have shown that all successful organisations are continuously
interacting with the environment and making changes in their structural design or philosophy or
policies or strategies as the need be.

All business organizations establish, operate, and grow within a wide range of changing
environments. All such forces affecting the survival and growth of business organizations are
known as forces of organizational change. There are two types of forces that lead to change in an
organization consisting of internal and external forces.

Thus, there are a number of factors both internal and external which affect organisational
functioning. Any change in these factors necessitates changes in an organisation. The more
important factors are as follows:

External Forces for Organizational Change

External environment affects the organisations both directly and indirectly. The organisations do
not have any control over the variables in such an environment. Accordingly, the organisation
cannot change the environment but must change themselves to align with the environment. A
few of these factors are:

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1. Technology: Technology is the major external force which calls for change. The adoption of
new technology such as computers, telecommunication systems and flexible manufacturing
operations has profound impact on the organisations that adopt them. The substitution of
computer control for direct supervision is resulting in wider spans of control for managers and
flatter organisations. Sophisticated information technology is also making organisations more
responsive. Both the organisations and their employees will have to become more adaptable.
Many jobs will be reshaped. Individuals, who do routine, specialized and narrow jobs will be
replaced by workers who can perform multiple in decision making. Managements will have to
increase their investment in training and education of the employees because employee’s skills
are becoming obsolete more quickly.
2. Marketing Conditions: Marketing conditions are no more static. They are in the process of
rapid change as the needs, desires and expectations of the customers change rapidly and
frequently. Moreover, there is tough competition in the market as the market is flooded with new
products and innovations every day. New methods of advertising are used to influence the
customers. Today the concept of consumerism has gained considerable importance and thus, the
consumers are treated as the kings. Moreover, the competition today has some significant new
twists. Most markets will soon be international because of decreasing transportation and
communication costs and the increasing export orientation of business. The global economy will
make sure that competitors are likely to come across the ocean as well as from across town.
Successful organisations will be those who can change in response to the competition.
Organisations that is not ready for these new sources of competition in the next decade may not
exist for long.
3. Demographic. A changing work demographic might require an organizational change in culture.
This may include: population size, distribution, age composition, sex composition, etc.
4. Social Changes: Social and cultural environment also suggest some changes that the
organisations have to adjust for. There are a lot of social changes due to spread of education,
knowledge and a lot of government efforts. Social equality e.g. equal opportunities to women,
equal pay for equal work, has posed new challenges for the management. The management has
to follow certain social norms in shaping its employment, marketing and other policies.
5. Political Forces: Political environment within and outside the country have an important impact
on business especially the transnational corporations. The interference of the government in

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 business has increased tremendously in most of the countries. The corporate sector is regulated
by a lot of laws and regulations. The organisations do not have any control over the political and
legal forces, but they have to adapt to meet the pressure of these forces. In our country,
the economic policy has liberalized the economy to a large extent. Many of the regulatory laws
have been amended to reduce the interference of the Government in business. An organisation is
also affected by the world politics. Some of the changes in the world politics which have affected
business all over the world are e.g. the reunification of Germany, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, the
break of Soviet Union etc.
6. Globalization: The concept of globalization outlines that in the global economy competitors are
likely to come from across the ocean. The multinational and trans-national organizations are the
power players in the global market. This has challenged organizations to think globally. Domestic
and foreign operations have no mental distinction. Globalization, for an organization, means
rethinking the most efficient ways to use resources, disseminate and gather information and develop
people. It requires not only structural changes but also changes in the minds of employees.

2. Internal Forces for Organizational Change

Internal forces for organizational change are too many and it is very difficult to list them
comprehensively. However, major internal causes are explained as follows:
1. Nature of the Work Force: The nature of work force has changed over a passage of time.
Different work values have been expressed by different generations. Workers who are in the age
group of 50 plus value loyalty to their employers. Workers in their mid-thirties to mid-forties are
loyal to themselves only. The youngest generation of workers is loyal to their careers. The
profile of the workforce is also changing fast. The new generation of workers have better
educational qualifications; they place greater emphasis on human values and question authority
of managers. Then behavior has also become very complex and leading them towards
organisational goals is a challenge for the managers. The employee turnover is also very high
which again puts strain on the management. The work force is changing, with a rapid increase in
the percentage of women employees, which in turn means, more dual career couples.
Organisations have to modify transfer and promotion policies as well as make child care and
elder care available, in order to respond to the needs of two career couple.
2. Change in Managerial Personnel: Change in managerial personnel is another force which
brings about change in organisation. Old managers are replaced by new managers which are
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 necessitated because of promotion, retirement, transfer or dismissal. Each manager brings his
own ideas and way of working in the organisation. The informal relationships change because of
changes in managerial personnel. Sometimes, even though there is no change in personnel, but
their attitudes change. As a result, the organisation has to change accordingly. Changes in the
organisation are more fast when top executives change. Change in top executives will lead to
important changes in the organisation in terms of organisation design, allocation of work to
individuals, delegation of authority, installation of controls etc. All these changes will be
necessitated because every top executive will have his own style and he will like to use his own
ideas and philosophies.
3. Deficiencies in Existing Management Structure: Sometimes changes are necessary because of
some deficiencies in the existing organisational structure, arrangement and processes. These
deficiencies may be in the form of unmanageable span of management, larger number of
managerial levels, lack of coordination among various departments, obstacles in
communication, multiplicity of committees, lack of uniformity in policy decisions, lack of
cooperation between line and staff and so on. However, the need for change in such cases goes
un-recognised until some major crisis occurs.
4. Low performance within an organization must obviously be addressed with change that facilitates higher
performance. When low performance yields low quality or inefficiencies, customers complain and
organizations need to change.
5. Low satisfaction, conflict, etc.

3.4. Process of Organizational Change

In order to grow, an organization needs to go through several changes. These shifts may be in
response to marketplace changes, or they can be planned as a result of taking the company in a
new direction. Regardless, it’s critical to follow a change management strategy and ensure all
stakeholders are kept up to date. The five steps in the change management process are:

1. Planning: Prepare an organization for change. For an organization to successfully pursue and
implement change, it must be prepared both logistically and culturally. In the planning phase, the
manager is focused on helping employees recognize and understand the need for change. They
raise awareness of the various challenges or problems facing the organization that are acting as
forces of change and generating dissatisfaction with the status quo. Gaining this initial buy-in
from employees who will help implement the change can remove friction and resistance later on.
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While it’s important to have a structured approach, the plan should also account for any
unknowns or roadblocks that could arise during the implementation process and would require
agility and flexibility to overcome.

2. Align changes with the goals of an organization: Be sure to coordinate the changes you
are making with the larger goals of the company. Is one of your objectives this fiscal year to
increase profitability by 5%? How will the changes you’re proposing help you do that? Will the
changes get you closer to your company goal or further away from it? It’s critical to ensure that
your changes and your organizational goals are aligned; otherwise you may not be able to
achieve either initiative successfully. This will help you to create a strategy and process to
achieve your goals.

3. Implement the Changes: After the plan has been created, all that remains is to follow the
steps outlined within it to implement the required change. Whether that involves changes to the
company’s structure, strategy, systems, processes, employee behaviors, or other aspects will
depend on the specifics of the initiative.
During the implementation process, change managers must be focused on empowering their
employees to take the necessary steps to achieve the goals of the initiative and celebrate any
short-term wins. They should also do their best to anticipate roadblocks and prevent, remove, or
mitigate them once identified. Repeated communication of the organization’s vision is critical
throughout the implementation process to remind team members why change is being pursued.

4. Sustain the change: Embed Changes within Company Culture and Practices: Once the
change initiative has been completed, change managers must prevent a reversion to the prior
state or status quo. This is particularly important for organizational change related to business
processes such as workflows, culture, and strategy formulation. Without an adequate plan,
employees may backslide into the “old way” of doing things, particularly during the transitory
period. By embedding changes within the company’s culture and practices, it becomes more
difficult for backsliding to occur. New organizational structures, controls, and reward systems
should all be considered as tools to help change stick.
5. Monitor the change: Review Progress and Analyse Results. Just because a change initiative
is complete doesn’t mean it was successful. Conducting analysis and review, or a “project post
mortem,” can help business leaders understand whether a change initiative was a success, failure,
or mixed result. It can also offer valuable insights and lessons that can be leveraged in future
change efforts.

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3.5. Resistance to Change
Despite the presence of change all around us, organizational change does not come easy. In fact,
many organizations fail to make the changes that are necessary for their survival. Senior
sponsors of organizational change often blame implementation failures on employee and middle
manager resistance to change. At times, this is true. More often, however, senior leaders and
managers over-estimate how much change they can force on the organization. Some also do not
understand how difficult it is to lead and implement change effectively. Leading and
implementing change requires people skills. Both employees and managers may resist the
change.

Resistance to change is common and can come in many forms. It can be understated or
overt, and it can be seen in both individuals and groups of people. Some examples might be
missed meetings, criticism, or even disrupt. The good news is, no matter what form it
manifests, overcoming resistance to change is possible. However, organizations need to first
understand the causes of resistance to more effectively address it. Some of the cause of
resistance to change are:

1. Lack of trust: One reason for resistance to change is a lack of trust in the leadership team
or the company as a whole. A lack of trust can have implications for turnover as well as
employees giving leadership the benefit of the doubt when issues do arise.

Employees who resist a change initiative are often responding more to the person in the
leadership position rather than the change itself. This comes about if those in leadership
positions have not yet earned the trust of the employees, like when there is a new leader
within the organization. It can also come about as a result of previous experiences that have
caused employees to distrust leadership.

Distrust of the organization as a whole can also occur if employees feel their organization
does not do as they say they will, changes too frequently, or employees generally don’t feel
valued. The most highly rated and financially successful companies are those that have the
trust of their employees.

2. Poor communication: Lack of communication can greatly impact even the most well-
thought-out and planned organizational changes. It is important to cultivate a culture of
transparency whenever feasible and to share information as often as possible with
employees, especially when trying to navigate a change. Without it, employees can become
defensive, lack trust in leadership, and not have adequate time to process the information,
which leads to further pushback.

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If employees are not given information in a timely manner, especially in the fast-paced
world of social media, misinformation and discontent can quickly spread through a
workforce.

3. Emotional response: Emotions are a part of any organization and those that are employed
in them. Ignoring or avoiding emotions does not make them go away. In fact, they are sure
to surface in other (often confusing or overwhelming) ways if not addressed proactively.

Common emotional responses to change are fear, uncertainty, and worry. Employees might
not be able to articulate how they are feeling. Or, they may not want to say it to leadership.
But we get a sense of more negative emotions may be seen through comments they make or
nonverbal cues. These signs of resistance might include eye-rolling or disengaging from
conversations.

4. Fear of failure and job loss: Change can bring about a fear that it will be unsuccessful or
that the individuals involved will personally fail as a result of the changes that were made.
Employees often worry this will negatively impact their performance reviews, their job
security, and even have implications for pay. In turn, this can lead to poorer outcomes at
work, in both output and the quality of the work being completed.

Our minds are amazingly adaptive, but an individual’s brain can have a hard time focusing
if fear of failure is a concern. This is because while some parts of the brain are actively
engaging with the new information, other parts of the mind are shutting down. Fear has both
physical and mental implications.

Sweeping changes on the job can cause your team members to doubt their capabilities to
perform their duties. What is known is comfortable! Your team members may be resisting these
changes because they are worried that they cannot adapt to new work requirements.

Fear is a powerful motivator that can harden people’s intent to resist your efforts to implement
change. If you want your change effort to be successful, you’ll need to help your team
members move beyond these fears. Most employees have families and responsibilities outside
of work that they have to manage in addition to their jobs. How will this change impact their
lives both at work and outside of it? Are the deadlines or timelines for change manageable?
Does it require a new skill set? Are they in danger of losing their job ?

5. Surprise and fear of the unknown: The less your team members know about the change and
its impact on them, the more fearful they will become. Leading change also requires not
springing surprises on the organization! Your organization needs to be prepared for the change.
In the absence of continuing two-way communication with you, grapevine rumors fill the void
and sabotage the change effort. In fact, ongoing communication is one of your most critical tools
for handling resistance to change. But, it’s not just telling! The neglected part of two-way
communication — listening — is just as powerful.

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Some people like to be surprised, but many do not — particularly when it comes to work.
They want predictability, including the ability to schedule their time accordingly. There is a
natural law that explains this called homeostasis. It is the concept that there is a drive to get
to a neutral or stable place. Implementing change can disrupt this potential homeostasis,
causing alarm bells to go off.

6. Poor timing/Constant change: Organizations can sometimes overlook the need to space
multiple changes out. If you are constantly changing programs, leadership, or systems,
employees are less likely to fully adapt to and accept future change. Furthermore, in
a study that looked at change management in organizations, employees who were going
through changes currently or within the previous year were more likely to feel stressed
out, have less trust in their senior leaders , planned to find new jobs, and reported more
health concerns. Timing of changes is important in order to minimize resistance to them.

7. Loss of status or power in the organization: It is not our nature to make changes that we
view as harmful to our current situation. In an organizational setting, this means employees,
peers, and managers will resist administrative and technological changes that result in their
role being eliminated or reduced. From their perspective, your change is harmful to their
place in the organization.
Forcing a change on others has its place. Over time, however, when this is the only approach that
you use to make change, you’ll find that your change results suffer. If you overuse this approach,
you will harm your effectiveness over the long term as others will find direct and indirect
ways to resist you. Without a thoughtful change strategy to address resistance to change, you will
trigger strong resistance and organizational turnover.

8. Poorly aligned (non-reinforcing) reward systems: There is a common business saying that
managers get what they reward. Organizational stakeholders will resist change when they do
not see any rewards. When working with managers, ask employees, where is the reward to
employees for implementing your change? Without a reward, there is no motivation for your
team to support your change over the long term. This often means that organizational reward
systems must be altered in some way to support the change that you want to implement. The
change does not have to always be major or costly. Intrinsic rewards are very powerful
motivators in the workplace that are non-monetary.
9. Peer pressure: Whether we are introverted or extroverted, we are still social creatures.
Organizational stakeholders will resist change to protect the interests of a group. You might
see this among some of your team members who feel compelled to resist your change to
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 protect their co-workers. If you’re a senior executive or middle manager, your managers who
report to you may resist your change effort to protect their work groups. As the psychologist
Abraham Maslow discussed, the need to belong to a group is a powerful need in the
workplace. If your change effort threatens these workplace social bonds, some of your team
members may resist your change effort.
10. Organizational politics: Some resist change as a political strategy to “prove” that the
decision is wrong. They may also resist showing that the person leading the change is not up
to the task. Others may resist because they will lose some power in the organizational. In
these instances, these individuals are committed to seeing the change effort fail. Sometimes
when one work with managers they become frustrated with the political resistance that they
encounter from others. Political obstacles are frustrating when you are trying to implement
needed change. Politics in organizations are a fact of life!

3.6. Managing Resistance to Change

Resistance to change is normal and expected, but what if we could eliminate at least half of the
resistance encountered on a change initiative? The issue is not whether we will encounter
resistance to change. We must understand how we will support impacted people and groups
through the change process and manage resistance to minimize the impacts. Thus, managing
resistance effectively is critical to success with organizational change. There some strategies to
manage resistance to change. The strategies are grouped into three major approaches. These are:
 Analysis of resistance through the force field technique.

 Use of selective implementation tactics to overcome resistance.

 Consensus building

a. Force Field Analysis: Lewin’s Force Field Analysis is a well-established model used to
analyse a situation and identify the forces that drive and resist change. Developed by Kurt
Lewin, a psychologist and pioneer in the field of social psychology. The purpose of Lewin’s
Force Field Analysis is to help individuals and organizations understand the dynamics of a
situation or problem and determine the best approach to making changes. Force Field
Analysis is a simple and practical tool used for organizational change management. It is for
change leaders to map and analyse the different factors which are influencing a change
initiative. Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Theory states that restraining forces influence the
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 behavior of both the group and individuals, ultimately deciding the fate of change. The
driving forces motivate & steer employees towards the new state. The restraining forces
highlight potential resistance to change, acting as the prime barriers to change initiatives.
Lewin suggests that it is crucial to balance these forces through effective change communication
and employee involvement, by providing employee training to bridge the skill gap. Change
agents must implement stress management techniques, ensure compliance is met, and use
convincing change reasoning.

In general, change is a result of competition between driving and restraining forces. Some forces
drive it, while others resist. Selectively removing the restraining forces enables driving force to
implement the innovation. Thus, three options are used to bring about the desired change in an
organization:
 Increase the driving forces.
 Decrease the restraining forces.
 Do a combination of the two approaches.

b. Use Implementation tactics:

 Communicate and educate people: Let employees know about changes to the status
quo as soon as possible. Do you have an employee that others gravitate to, or
whose opinions seem to carry more weight with their colleagues? Get buy-in from
them and help them lead the changes you are hoping for. This helps to build a

bridge between employees and management. If people don’t understand why change
is needed, they will question why you are changing something that they believe works
well. Thus, communication and education about the change should begin before it is
initiated. This will help your people to rationalize the change, and ensure that individuals
and teams receive adequate information to make positive judgements. There is no
denying the fact that communication is important in change management. There are more
chances of success if change is efficiently presented and effectively communicated to
employees and stakeholder. It’s always recommended by experts that two-way
communication works wonders in change. When employees are involved in change
management, they’re more likely to understand the rationale behind the changes and be
able to effectively communicate that to others.

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 Listen to employees: Listen to employees’ concerns, as there is a good chance that they
are more in harmony with a plan. This also lets them know their opinions are valued by
the company. While you do not have to incorporate all their ideas, listening will help
you identify what sources of resistance are coming up and address the root causes. For
example, perhaps employees are concerned about the timeline of the proposed changes.
This is often a valid concern. If you can, explain your decision-making processes .
Looking at ways to address this with their buy-in, or more clearly articulating the
rationale for that timeline, can save time and money in the long run.

 Provide on-going support: Once a change has been made, make sure to follow up with
employees as those changes roll out. Let them know that they continue to be important
partners in making effective changes that will stand the test of time. Provide training for
any new skills needed to make the change successful. Recognizing both privately and
publicly those that are helping facilitate the change or adapting to it, even in small ways,
can further create employee satisfaction with the changes. Visible support symbolizes
importance of the change. It is necessary taking people out of (long-established) comfort
zones. Offering adequate support is also time-consuming, requiring trained managers and
leaders to employ coaching tactics to be most effective when managing change in an
organization. Without this support change will probably not happen.
 Coercion: Formal power is applied to force employees to change. Resisters told to accept or
lose job. If speed of change is critical, coercion may be the only viable option.
 Participation: Involves potential resisters in designing change. Invite the stakeholders and
listen them. Helps managers determine potential problems and differences in perceptions
among employees. Participation of employee in change means when change leaders and
managers consciously provide opportunities to all of employees to have a greater voice and
their input in organizational change process. When employees take part in change
management, it means that they’re more than just passively accepting of the changes
happening in their workplace. Instead, they’re actively involved in the process, providing
input and feedback at every stage. Participation has its own benefits. The benefits of
employee participation in change management can be seen in both the short- and long-term.

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Specifically, there are many benefits of employee participation in change management. Some
of the most important benefits include:
 Buy-in of change idea: Employee participation can help to get buy-in of proposed change
idea. When employees are involved in change management, they’re more likely to
understand and accept the changes. They become more familiar with new roles and
responsibilities. They feel like they’ve had a say in the decisions being made, and they
understand the rationale behind the changes. They start believing in change idea and
vision of change. And ultimately this leads to overcoming resistance towards change.
 Create Sense of ownership: Employee participation fosters a sense of ownership over
the change process. When employees feel like they’re a part of the decision-making
process, they’re more likely to be committed to making the changes successful.
Ownership of change helps employees to be proactive towards taking up new roles,
responsibilities and changing old ways of doing work. With a sense of ownership of
desired change, employees are motivated to accomplish their tasks and hold themselves
accountable for their work.
 Increased Productivity: Employee participation in change management can help to
improve productivity in the workplace. When employees are involved in the process,
they’re more likely to be engaged and motivated, which can lead to increased
productivity. It’s quite natural that when employees are involved in change process then
they will be seeking knowledge and skilled that are necessary to implement change
 Flexibility: Flexibility is one of most important values of team members working on
change. Rigidity can spoil change idea. It’s the ability to adapt quickly to unknown,
unforeseen and unexpected situation defines success of change initiative. So, flexibility is
a pre-requisite for every member of change management. Employee participation can
also help to create a more adaptable and flexible team.
 Improved morale: Involving employees in decisions also boost their morale. Change is
never an easy undertaking. They have fears and doubts about the future and outcome of
proposed change. And also nobody wants to leave his/her comfort zone and accept
challenges of new roles and responsibilities. As a result, people don’t embrace change
and resist it. And they become demotivated. But if they are actively engaged in change
process and involved in decision making then they start feeling positive about change
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 process and their new roles and responsibilities. Therefore, this engagement and
involvement of employees in change process boost their morale.
 Reduced stress: Change process can be a major source of stress for employees. To
minimize the negative impact of change, it’s important to encourage employee
participation in change management. Employees are good at handling their stress if they
are allowed to participate in change process and they know they’re a part of the process
and their voices are being heard.
 Strong relationships: Involving employees in change management can also lead to
healthier relationships between employees and management. Employees who feel like
they have a voice in the decision-making process are more likely to trust and respect their
managers. As a result, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated at work.
Ultimately, employee participation in change management can lead to a more positive
work environment and better business results.
c. Consensus building: Group decision-making process. Everyone's opinion is encouraged and
valued. Differences are viewed as helpful rather than hindering. Thus, all voices are heard
and understood before an effort to finalize a decision is made. All members share in final
decision-making.
Advantages of group consensus building
 Can follow informal or use formal procedures
 Encourage the morale of employees: Members are more likely to support the decision
 Provides for a win-win solution
 Facilitates open communication
 Requires members to listen and understand all sides of the issue
 Sets the stage for action - who, what, where, when, how & why

Disadvantages of group consensus building

 Trust may not be build: Trust is needed among members of group to encourage sharing.
 Leaders’ control: Group leaders must use facilitation rather than control.
 Wastage of time: Takes more time to reach consensus, especially in larger groups.
 Dominance of few individuals: One or two people tend to dominate larger groups.

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Steps in facilitating group consensus building
1. Identify and define problem, situation, or issue.
2. Brainstorm list of alternatives –suspend judgment; do not discuss or reject any ideas.
3. Review, change, consolidate, rewrite and set priorities as a group through discussion.
4. Make a decision and put in writing.
5. Later, review and evaluate results; revise as needed.

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