Chapter 15 Change Management 409 have been in their positions for years, there might be a need to restructure jobs to retain more ambitious employees, affording them more scheduling flexibility and possibly some upward mobility. The compensation and benefits systems might also need to be reworked to reflect the needs of a diverse workforce—and market forces where certain skills are in short supply, Where change is happening, the largest differences are in atti- tudes toward company leadership and company image. A recent survey revealed that the attitudes of employees at organizations going through significant changes tend to be less favorable than at more stable companies. Employee attitudes such as increased job dissatisfaction may lead to increased absenteeism, more voluntary resignations, and even Strikes. Such events will, in turn, often lead to changes in company policies and practices. OBJECTIVE 15.1 Describe the traditional and contempo- rary views of change. change agent A person who acts as a catalyst and assumes the responsibility for oversee- ing the change process. HOW CAN SUPERVISORS SERVE AS CHANGE AGENTS? Changes within an organization need a catalyst. People who act as catalysts and assume the responsibility for overseeing the change process are called change agents. They do so in a process called organization development (OD). Anyone can be a change agent-for example, an internal staff specialist or out- side consultant whose expertise is in change implementation. For major system-wide changes, company officials often hire outside consultants to provide advice and assis- tance. Because they are from the outside, they often can offer an objective perspective usually lacking from insiders. However, outside consultants may be at a disadvantage because they have an inadequate understanding of the organization's history, culture, operating procedures, and personnel. Outside consultants are also prone to initiate more drastic changes than insiders are because they do not have to live with the repercussions after the change is implemented. In contrast, supervisors who act as change agents may be more thoughtful because they must live with the consequences of their actions. organization development (OD) The process of making systematic change in an organization. change process A model that allows for successful change by requiring unfreezing of the status quo (equilibrium state), chang- ing to a new state, and refreezing the new change to make it permanent. Unfreezing the equilibrium state is achieved by (1) increasing driving forces, (2) decreasing restraining forces, or (3) combining these two approaches. Two Views of the Change Process There are different ways to view the change process. The traditional way is to view the organization as a large ship crossing a calm sea. The ship's captain and crew know exactly where they're going because they've made the trip many times before. Change sur- faces as the occasional storm-a brief distraction in an otherwise calm and predictable trip. The contempo- rary view sees the organization as a small raft, with an inexperienced crew, navigating a raging river with uninterrupted whitewater rapids, unsure of the desti- nation and ... traveling in the dark of night. In the contemporary view, change is a natural state, and directing change is a continual process. These two ways of viewing change present different approaches to understanding and responding to change. Let's take a closer look at each one. Ammit Jack/Shutterstoc WHAT IS THE TRADITIONAL VIEW OF CHANGE? The traditional view of change is best illustrated in Kurt Lewin's three-step description of the change process (see Exhibit 15-2). His model indicates that successful change requires unfreezing the status quo, changing to a new state, and refreezing the new state to make it permanent. The status Change in a dynamic environ- ment is typically filled with uncertainty. Just as these white- water rafters have to deal with “rapid” changes, so too must supervisors as they react to unexpected events. 32 Tiind Theory in Social Science (New York: Harper & Row, 1951). resis jing Refreezing Changing Unfreering ora diat resi acti ma resi mi ch O sre quo can be considered an equilibrium state. To move from this equilibrium, unfreezing is necessary. It can be achieved in one of three ways: 1. The driving forces, which direct behavior 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. Once unfreezing has been accomplished, the change itself can be implemented. However, mere introduction of change does not ensure that it will take hold. The new situation needs to be refrozen so it can be sustained over time. Unless this last step is tended to, there is a strong chance that the change will be short-lived, and employees will revert to the previous equilibrium state. The objective of refreezing is to stabilize the new situation by balancing the driving and restraining forces. 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. This view might have been appropriate to the relatively calm environ- ment that most organizations faced in the late twentieth century, but it is increasingly obsolete as a way to describe the situation managers currently face. in На co W re 11 es T SO f WHAT IS THE CONTEMPORARY VIEW OF CHANGE? The contemporary view of change realizes environments are both uncertain and dynamic. To get a feeling for what directing change might be like when you have to continually maneuver in uncertain situations, consider going on a ski trip and facing the following: Ski slopes that are open vary in length and difficulty. Unfortunately, when you start a "run," you don't know what the ski course will be. It might be a simple course, or one that is challenging. Furthermore, you've planned your ski vacation assuming the slopes will be open. After all, it's January-and that is prime ski time at the resort. But the course does not always open. If that is not bad enough, on some days, the slopes are closed for no apparent reason at all. Oh yes, there is one more thing: Lift ticket prices can change dramatically on the hour. And there is no apparent pattern to the price fluc- tuations. To succeed under these conditions, you would have to be incredibly flexible and be able to respond quickly to every changing condition. Those who are too low or too structured will have difficulty-and clearly no fun! A growing number of supervisors are coming to accept that their job is much like what one might face on such a ski vacation. The stability and predictability of the traditional view of change may not exist. Disruptions in the status quo are not occasional and tem- porary, followed by a return to calm waters. Many of today's supervisors face constant change, bordering on chaos. These supervisors are being forced to play a game they've never played before, which is governed by rules that are created as the game progresses. WILL YOU FACE A WORLD OF CONSTANT AND CHAOTIC CHANGE? . Few supervisors today can treat change as an occasional disturbance in an otherwise anyone to be complacent. As business writer Tom Peters aptly noted, the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" no longer applies. In its place, he suggested, “If it ain't »4 broke, you just haven't looked hard enough. Fix it anyway. "T. Peters, Thriving on Chaos (New York: Knopf, 1987).
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