Managing Change

Managing change is important in seeking the final component of successfully managing strategy, process, people and culture in most modern organizations. More and more, staying competitive in the face of demographic trends, technological innovations, and globalization requires organizations to change at much higher rates than ever before. Few people will argue with this statement, but fewer still will say their organization does a good job at managing those changes. Managing change well is a continuous and ongoing combination of art and science that assures alignment of an organizationÐŽ¦s strategies, structures, and processes (Worley & Vick, 2005).

Theories of Change Management

LewinÐŽ¦s Change Model

Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) was a social psychologist whose extensive work covered studies of leadership styles and their effects, work on group decision-making, the development of force field theory, the unfreeze/change/refreeze change management model, the ÐŽ§action researchЎЁ approach to research, and the group dynamics approach to training (Mark, 1999).

Kurt Lewin's three step change model is applied to the implementation of organizational change. If change is needed in an organization and the individuals affected by this change are asked to participate in the implementation of it, the change has a greater chance of being not only implemented but also successful. The first step of Lewin's model tells us how to minimize barriers to change and increase the odds of a successful change effort. The second step is the movement that takes place after people have bought into the need for change. The final or refreezing step of Lewin's model calls for the change agents to work actively with the people in the organization to install, test, debug, use, measure, and enhance the new system (Levasseur, 2001).

Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) developed by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva is an approach to organizational change that engages the entire system in a discovery process about what works well within the organization (www.new-paradigm.co.uk, 2005). AI brings to light an appreciation of the organization, by focusing on values, assets, strengths, best practices, successes and innovations that give life to the organization. AI is a tool for discovering the best of what an organization wants to preserve and carry into the future, while expanding the possibilities for the future, and envisioning what might be the desired future (Szecsey, 2005).

The tangible results of the inquiry process are a series of statements that describe where the organization wants to be, based on the high moments of where they have been. Because the statements are grounded in real experience and history, people know how to repeat their success and envision a future based on the reality of the actual past. The entire system maintains the best of the past by discovering what it is and stretching it into future possibilities (Szecsey, 2005).

Action Research

Action research, which entails the application of the scientific method to real-world participation in processes being researched, is often used for affecting corporate cultural change programs. The collaborative nature of action research allows researchers the advantage of assessing an organization's culture from the perspective of the people who will be affected by the process of change. Policy changes are based on the observations of researchers and feedback is used to diagnose the effect of changes to establish corrections. The action research approach is good for those trainers favoring student participation in the learning process and allows trainers to overcome the constraints training packages which leave no space for participants to influence course content (Lee, 1990).

Action research has also been presented as a promising approach for academic inquiry because of its focus on ÐŽ§real worldЎЁ problems and its ability to provide researchers with data for knowledge building (Kock, 2003). It is an established research method used in the social and medical sciences and can be linked to early work by Lewin (Baskerville, 1999).

Internal & External Drivers of Change

„X Marketplace Requirements for Success ÐŽV A set of customer requirements will help Synergetic Solutions Inc. determine what it will take to succeed in the computer network marketplace. This includes not only the actual product or service needs, but also requirements like speed of delivery, customization capability, level of quality, need for innovation, level of customer service, etc.

„X Business Imperatives ÐŽV Business imperatives outline what Synergetic Solutions Inc. must do to strategically to be successful, given its customersÐŽ¦ changing requirements. This can require systematic rethinking and change to the mission, strategy, goals, products and services, pricing or branding.

„X Organizational Imperatives ÐŽV Organizational imperatives specify what must change in the organizationÐŽ¦s structure, systems, processes, technology, resources, skill base or staffing to successfully realize its strategic business imperatives.

„X Cultural Imperatives ÐŽV Cultural imperatives denote how the norms, or collective way of being, working and relating at Synergetic Solutions Inc. must change to support and drive the organizationÐŽ¦s new design, strategy and operations.

„X Leader and Employee Behavior ÐŽV Collective behavior creates and expresses an organizationÐŽ¦s culture. Behavior describes the style, tone or character that permeates what people do, and how their way of being must change to create the new culture. Leaders and employees must choose to behave differently to recreate the organizationÐŽ¦s culture.

„X Leader and Employee Mindset ÐŽV Mindset encompasses the worldview, assumptions, beliefs or mental models that will cause people to behave in ways that will drive a sustained change in behavior and culture. Becoming aware that each employee has a mindset, and that it directly impacts their feelings, decisions, actions and results, is often the critical first step in building individual and organizational capacity to change. A shift of mindset is often required for organizational leaders to recognize changes in the environmental forces and marketplace requirements, thereby being able to determine the best new strategic business direction, structure or operation for the organization. Mindset change in employees is often required for them to understand the rationale for the changes being asked of them (Ackerman & Anderson, 2005).

Factors for a