3.10.1 Managin Change

Question 1

What is the value of change for a business

Answer 1

Allows number of opputunites to be created for a business

• also allows for a business to understand if they need to improve productivity, efficiency, quality and perhaps profitability

Question 2

Different types of change and how they need to be managed?

Answer 2

Internal or external? - change driven by internal factors such as management and strategic direction or change driven by external forces, such as economic conditions

Rapid and unexpected

Long term - steady planned and gradual

Disruptive - adapting to external forces that change the nature of the industry

Question 3

What is Lewis’s force field analysis? How may managers use it?

Answer 3

Business presented with opportunity to determine forces driving change vs those resisting change. Managers ca use model to identify resitance and develop strategies to remove them

Question 4

Forces for change

Answer 4

• high number of customer complaints
• productivity falling
• significant investment in new technology

Question 5

Forces resisting change

Answer 5

Lack of funding
Limited understating or appreciation of what change is needs
No strategic direction to drive the change

Question 6

What organisations may find it more difficult to adapt to change

Answer 6

Rigid organisations may find it difficult to adapt to a changing enviroment or the internal pressure of change. The more agile a business is, the easier and faster it will be able to manage the change process

Question 7

What approaches can businesses use to add flexibility

Answer 7

• restructuring
• flexible contracts and flexible teams
• delayering / removing unnessecary levels of hierarchy
• organic structures - ogranisations where Teams evolve depending on the needs of the task. Teams based around projects not functions

Question 8

Reasons for resistance to change?

Answer 8

Self interest - individuals may lose out in terms of pay, status or anticipating harder work

Prefer present state - some employees may be very comfortable with the current situation

Different assessment - some employees may simply disagree and believe that change will not be necessary or that a different approach may be more successful

Misunderstanding - employees may not see the need for change or may not understand what the change process will involve

Question 9

What types of change may occur in an organisation

Answer 9

New technology 
New ways of working
New products 
New structures 
New processes and regulation 
New members of staff

Question 10

Approaches used to overcome resistance to change

Answer 10

Facilitate and support - give employees what they need to accomplish the change along with encouragement and support

Negotiation and bargaining - compromise may involve employees receiving higher wages or better working conditions

Manipulation and co-option - involve and influence key people - get individuals with influence on board and use them to drive change