10.1 Managing change (Kotter & Shlesinger & types of contracts)

Question 1

What can change be?

Answer 1

• Internal & external
• Rapid & unexpected - sudden bad weather
• Long term - shift in economic power towards economies in India and China or ageing populations in the UK and Japan
• Incremental (step by step change) - improvements over time
• Disruptive - game changing developments in an industry - Netflix, Spotify, Dropbox

Question 2

What can Lewins force field analysis be used to do?

Answer 2

• Investigate the balance of power involved in an issue
• Identify the key stakeholders on the issue
• Identify opponents and allies
• Identify how to influence the target groups

Question 3

Lewins force field analysis

What may be the forces pushing for change (internal)?

Answer 3

• The need to keep up with competitors.
• An increasing number of customer complaints.
• New owners wanting higher returns.
• Poor performance.
• A general sense that the business could “do better”
• Desire to increase profitability and other performance measures.
• The need to reorganise to increase efficiency and competitiveness.
• Natural ageing and decline in a business (e.g. machinery, products)
• Conflict between departments
• The need for greater flexibility in organisational structures.
• Concerns about ineffective communication, de-motivation or poor business relationships

Question 4

What are the external pushes for change?

Answer 4

• Increased demands for higher quality & levels of customer service
• Uncertain economic conditions
• Greater competition
• Higher cost of inputs
• Legislation & taxes
• Political interests
• Ethics & social values
• Technological change
• Globalisation
• Scarcity of natural resources
• Changing nature and composition of the workforce

Question 5

What may the forces resisting change include?

Answer 5

• Lack of finance for investment.
• Reluctance on behalf of existing staff to change the way to do things.
• Resistance from certain stakeholder groups that might be worse off following the change.

Question 6

What are some examples of internal change for a business & how may they have been identified?

Answer 6

Employee attitudes

Change of leadership

Restructuring

SWOT analysis!

Question 7

What are types of external change?

Answer 7

• Changing consumer tastes & fashions.
• Political changes.
• Government Action
• Economic influences- e.g. changes in the business cycle/ exchange rates.
• Competition- due to globalisation.
• Technological changes- greater use of digital technologies.

Question 8

What is Disruptive change?

Answer 8

Involves radical change, often rethinking or redesigning a business or project.

Question 9

What is incramental change?

Answer 9

• Involves introducing many small, gradual changes in a business or project.
• They are unlikely to challenge existing assumptions & culture & will use existing structures and processes & cause little distruption.
• Therefore- incramental change is relatively low risk.

Question 10

What is the value of change for a business?

Answer 10

Flexability: A business that embraces a culture of change- likely to have a more engaged workforce that actively seeks to instigate changes- therefore business is more likely to be flexible & adaptable to new ideas- allowing to maintain a competitive edge.

Progress: Without change- businesses wouldnt be able to take advantage of new technologies.

Opportunities: Change provides opportunities for business growth, not only in new markets or new products- but also in the skills & abilities of the workforce.

Customer needs: Over time- they change and grow- creating demand for new types of products & services. Businesses that embrace change are more able to meet these needs.

Challenging the current situation: Businesses that challenge their current practises are more likely to develop new products & processes & gain a competitive advantage.

Question 11

What is the value of a flexible organisation?

Answer 11

Competitiveness: Able to repond more easily to change as it recognises it as inevitable & uses it to maximise competitiveness.

Efficiency: New approaches are likely to be developed- even when old ones are working fine- therefore over time efficiency improves.

Teambuilding: Where a culture of change exists, the workforce is more likely to be engaged & motivated- which in turn leads to better quality job applicants.

Question 12

What does restructuring involve?

Answer 12

Involves a fundamental internal organisational change that alters the roles & relationships of those involved.

Question 13

What is delayering?

Answer 13

The removal of levels in the hierachal structure in order to create a leaner and more efficient business.

Question 14

What are the benefits of delayering?

Answer 14

• Likely to reduce costs & improve motivation & will imrpove flexability.
• This is because decision making will be quicker & the business as a whole will be better able to respond to changing market conditions because of delegation, a better understanding of customer needs & a generation of ideas.

Question 15

What are some flexible employment contracts?

Answer 15

Part time

Temporary

Zero hours

Flexible hours contracts

Question 16

What are the proposed benefits of flexible contracts?

Answer 16

• Designed to improve the work life balance of employees to improve their motivation.
• Other measures- designed to improve flexability of organisation & make it more adaptable to change- e.g. zero hour contracts, flexible locations & flexibility in terms of skills- all lead to an organisation that is more adaptable to changing demand & needs of the consumer.

Question 17

What is an organic structure?

Answer 17

• Decentralised
• Wider spans of control- info flows seamlessly between functional areas & departments.
• Likely to be more flexible & suited to organisations that operate in unstable dynamic environments & need to adapt quickly to change.

Question 18

What is a mechanistic structure?

Answer 18

• Its bureucratic & based on a formal centralised network within a well defined hierachy.
• Narrow spans of control & communication.
• Decisions flowing from top down.
• Its easy to maintain & rarely needs to be changed when an organisation operates in a stable environment.

Question 19

What is the difference between knowledge & information management?

Answer 19

Information management- focuses on retrieving, organising & analysing data & information.

Knowledge management- focuses on knowledge, understanding & wisdom, and is the process of making effective decisions & taking effective actions

Question 20

What are some examples of barriers to change?

Answer 20

Employee resistance- change means different way of doing things, taking workers out of comfort zone & potentially threatening job security.

Management behaviour- sometimes managament can be resistant to change or there may be lack of clear objectives set.

Inadequate resources- This might be financial in terms of budget or involve human & physical resources such as machinery & equipement.

Organisational culture- The culture may be that it doens’t embrace change easily.

Question 21

Kotter & Schlesingers four reasons for resistance to change

What are they & when can they occur?

Answer 21

Parochial self-interest: People feel they will lose something & focus on their own self interest than the organisations interest.

Misunderstanding & lack of trust: Occur when people don’t fully inderstand the implications of change & perceive it may cost them more than they would gain. Likely to happen if there is poor communication& lack of trust between initiator of change & employees.

Different assessments: Occur when people assess the situation differently to managers & see more costs than benefits, not just to themselves but to the organisation.

Low tolerance of change: Occurs when people feel they will not be able to develop the new skills & behaviour required of them- there is a limit to how much people can change& sometimes it might demand too much of them.

Question 22

What are the 6 ways that Kotter & Schlesinger believed would overcome resistance to change?

Answer 22

Education & communciation.

Facilitation & support

Participation & involvement

Manipulation & co-option

Negotiation & bargaining

Explicit & implicit coercion.

Question 23

Kotter & Schlesinger

What happens in education & communication?

Answer 23

• If resistors to change are told/ educated about it beforehand- it can help them see the logic or need for change.
• This may be good if resistors have a lack of or inadequate info- but it requires a good working relationship between the initiators of change & resistors.

Question 24

What happens within facilitation & support?

Answer 24

• If resistors are given help to cope with change- e.g. training in new skills/ having their problems listened to, they ay be more accpting of it.
• This may be time-consuming & expensive but it works well if fear of change or anxiety are the main barriers.

Question 25

Kotter & Schlesinger

What happens within participation & involvement?

Answer 25

• This is where initiators of change involve the resistors in the process of change, seeking & often acting on their advice.
• Although this method can be time-consuming & sometimes lead to poor decisions, there is no doubt that if it leads to the whole hearted commitment of the workforce, the process of change will be easier.

Question 26

Kotter & Schlesinger

What happens in Manipulation & co-option?

Answer 26

• Manipulation involves selective use of information & careful structuring of events- while co-option is giving a leading member(s) of the resistors a key role in implementing change.
• When co-opting, endorsement not advice is sought in the hope that other resistors can be convinced of the benefits of change. Although manipulation & co-option and relatively inexpensive, they require good relationships & trust as resistors may feel they are being tricked.

Question 27

Kotter & Schlesinger

What is negotiation & bargaining?

Answer 27

Where incentives such as higher pay rates for productivity are offered to resistors. It is a relatively easy but expensive method.

Question 28

Kotter & Schlesinger

What is explicit & implicit coercion?

Answer 28

• If change is always unpopular & if it needs to be implemented quickly, coercion may be the only answer.
• With coercion, the worforce if forced to accept the changes because of threats of e.g. job losses, transfers or actual dismissal.