Chapter 15 Change Management
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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).
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Refreezing
Changing
Unfreering
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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.
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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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