The Transition

State
CMOD – Week 3

PRESENTER: Dr Sisi Wang

Success of Change
How successful are change initiatives?

▪Think of change cases that you were involved in and

note down the instances that were
successful/unsuccessful.
▪ Discuss these and see where the similarities and
differences of experiences lie.
▪ What did shape them? Were there any patterns to
actions and/or behaviours?
Organisational Change Means
Individual Change
Current Future
Transition
state state

Organisational perspective
▪ Existing process. ▪ Process improvement or elimination.
▪ Legacy technology. ▪ Enhanced capabilities.
▪ Separate organisations. ▪ Merged operations and culture.
▪ In-house capability. ▪ Outsourcing.

Individual perspective
▪ How do I do my job today? ▪ How will I do my job after the change?
▪ How do I sustain success? Will I have a job?
▪ Do I fit in to the new way?
Recognizing Types of Change

Change Type Scope Scale of Change

People Portfolio Transformational

Process
Program
Technology Operational
Project
Policy

Process Improvement Transactional

Physical Infrastructure
Methodology for Change
PLAN IMPLEMENT OPERATE IMPROVE
 Define  Training  Metrics  Change the
Change Change
 Sponsorship  Monitoring
 Assess  Knowledge
Readiness  Communication  Feedback Capture
and Culture
 Coaching  Remediation  Best Practices
 Design
Strategy  Advising  Rewards  Industry
Leadership
 Resistance  Sustainment
Management

Transformation Methodology
Project Management (PM) and
Change Management (CM)

▪ On the technical side, PM represents the

application of knowledge, process, skills,
Project Management tools and techniques to project activities with
the purpose of meeting requirements.
▪ ‘The change’ — with the intent of improving
Current Future organisational performance, migrating
Transition people/processes/technologies from a
state state
current state to a future state.
▪ On the people side, CM represents the
application of knowledge, process, skills,
Change Management
tools and techniques to manage human
engagement and performance to achieve the
expected business outcome.
HR’s Role? Making Change Happen
▪ Organisation Development (OD) encompasses a huge area of
management theory and practice.
▪ Defined as:
– “an integrated framework of theories and practices capable of solving
most of the most important problems confronting the human side of
organisations” (Burnes, 2004).
– “a set of behavioural science-based theories, values, strategies and
techniques aimed at the planned change of organisational setting for the
purpose of enhancing individual development and improving
organisational performance through the alteration of organisational
members’ on-the-job behaviours” (Porras & Robertson, 1992).
Characteristics of OD

Takes a longer-term
Takes a holistic perspective Is concerned with people
perspective

Works with organisations as a

Is concerned with Sees organisations as inter-
whole, not just individuals &
organisational health related systems and processes
their development

Helps organisations learn

from past change & Focuses on culture & (Balogun & Hope-Hailey,
development, thereby structure 2008)
increasing change capability
Planned Change Management Tactic

Organisation Development (OD)

▪Planned change programs intended to help people and
organisations function more effectively.
– Applying behavioural science principles, methods and theories to
create and cope with change.
– OD creates fundamental change in the organisation, as opposed to
fixing a problem or improving a procedure.

▪ OD programs are generally facilitated by hired

consultants.
Integrating Project Management and
Change Management
PM Activities CM Activities
Initiate project Define change
Scope project Assess readiness
Design change mgmt strategy
Plan project
Build sponsorship
Design solution Prepare change mgmt team
Develop solution Communicate change purpose
Implement solution Equip managers/supervisors
Evaluate solution Provide coaching
Final acceptance Reinforce key messages via sponsors
Design and deliver education
Address resistance
Measure and evaluate
Reward
The Transition State:
Reasons for Possible Failures
▪Same as the view of Balogun and Hope-Hailey
(2008) that:
– “change is about changing people, not organisations.”
– “organisations change when the managers and
employees change their way of doing business.”

▪ Change needs to be compatible with the

organisation’s culture. If it is not, the likelihood of
success is low (Barnett, 2014).
What Do We Mean by Culture?

▪How would you define it?

▪ How is it defined in literature?

Definitions of Organisational Culture

▪The collection of traditional values, policies, beliefs and

attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for
everything we do and think in an organisation (Mullins,
2016).

▪ Organisational culture is usually defined in terms of the

shared assumptions learned in the course of problem
solving and deemed to be have sufficient general validity
to be passed on to new members (Moran, 2015).
Organisational Culture

Organizational culture is the collection of values, behaviours,

beliefs, expectations, and practices that guide and inform the
actions of people working in an organization.
According to Edgar Schein - Organizations do not adopt a
culture in a single day, instead it is formed in due course of
time as the employees go through various changes, adapt to
the external environment and solve problems.

An organization's culture defines the proper way to behave

within the organization. This culture consists of shared
beliefs and values established by leaders and then
communicated and reinforced through various methods,
ultimately shaping employee perceptions, behaviours and
understanding (Society for HRM, 2020).
Ways of Analysing Organisational Culture
Human Impacts of Change: The Literature

▪ Change is a profoundly a human process

(Holbeche, 2005), and continuous change has
often had the effect of fracturing the trust that
underlies the psychological contract.

▪ Low trust levels are one of the greatest barriers

to effective organisational change.
Human Impacts of Change: The Impact

▪ The most critical factor leading to successful organisational change

is the effective management of the human resource system
(Goulding, 1996; Imran 2016).

▪ Emotions have a legitimate role in the implementation of change

(Eriksson, 2004; Bonn, 2014).

▪ ‘Organisations do not change; people do (Mckinsey, 2014; Adenle,

2014).

▪ Change is perceived as exhilarating when done by us, and

disturbing when done to us (Kanter, 1983).
Management’s Reaction to Change
Dr Andrew Day (2007)

Note down the main points from Day’s article titled “living
in uncertain times: organisation dynamics in response to
uncertainty” (included within week3’s lecture materials on LSST Portal).
– How, according to his research, do managers react to
uncertainty?
– What managers should do in a time of change?
Management’s Reaction to Change
Andrew Day article: some answers to questions!

Management’s reaction to uncertainty:

– Feelings of disorientation and loss of identity.
– Tensions between groups: ‘Reformists’ vs. ‘Traditionalists’.
– Blurring of boundaries and fragmentation.
– Painful emotions: hostility, anger and fear (activates defences).
– Heightened political behaviour (Front Stage vs. Back Stage).
– Manic activity and ‘firefighting’.
– Heightened energy, creativity and personal development: this is healthy dynamics
as people struggle with the process of finding new meaning in their organisation.
Management’s Reaction to Change
Andrew Day’s article: some answers (cont.):

What managers should do in a time of change?

i. Accept that anger and similar responses are natural responses to complex
change.
ii. The leader/follower relationship needs to shift from command and control to a
more negotiated activity relationship. Managers need to trust their workers.
iii. Encourage and lead the development of plans that provide a sense of
direction.
iv. Help contain the group’s anxieties and develop a sense of confidence.
v. Engage with people and talk to them about their hopes, fears and doubts.
Management’s Reaction to Change

Andrew Day’s article: some

answers (cont.):

What managers should do

in a time of change?
vi. Encourage risk-taking and avoid punishing people for
making mistakes.
vii. Provide autonomy for people to self-organise.
Business that have Failed to Adapt
Thank You!!