Chapter 11: Change management - the role of the leader in managing change

Question 1

Who is the change leader?

Answer 1

Key figure within the organisation who take overall responsibility and control for the proposed change within the organisation

Question 2

What does the change leader do?

Answer 2

Responsible for articulating what change is needed and why, acting as a figurehead for the change process, as well as helping to deal with any problems or conflicts that arise during the process

Question 3

What is the 8 step process of change leadership according to Kotter?

Answer 3

Establish a sense of urgency
Creating the guiding coalition
Developing a change vision
Communicating the vision
Empowering broad based action
Generating short-term wins
Never letting up
Incorporating changes into the culture

Question 4

What is a team?

Answer 4

A set of individuals who must work together in order to accomplish shared objectives

They usually:
Share a common goal
Enjoy working together
are committed to achieving certain goals

Question 5

What is team building based around?

Answer 5

Developing team in areas such as improved communication, building trust, social interaction

Question 6

What are the benefits of teams?

Answer 6

Mixture of skills and abilities within the team
Better control
Improved communication

Question 7

What are the problems with the use of teams?

Answer 7

Slower decision making
Decisions may be compromises
Pressure to conform may lead to teams members agreeing to decisions that they know are wrong
Teams may have a lack of individual responsibility

Question 8

What are the change approaches to deal with resistance according to Kotter and Schlesinger?

Answer 8

Participation
Education and communication
Power/coercion
Facilitation and support
Manipulation and co-optation
Negotiation

Question 9

What are the key considerations when deciding upon a leadership style?

Answer 9

Speed at which change must be introduced
Strength of the pressure for change
Level of resistance expected
Amount of power you hold
How much information is needed before change can be implemented and how long it will take to get the information

Question 10

What is Lewin’s three-stage (ice cube) model?

Answer 10

Unfreeze existing behaviour
Change behaviour/attitudes
Refreeze new behaviour

Process includes unfreezing habit or procedures, changing to new patterns and refreezing to ensure lasting effects

Question 11

What happens in the unfreezing stage of the ice cube model?

Answer 11

Managers need to make the need for change obvious so people easily understand and accept it.
Involves creating the inititial motivation to change by convincing staff of the undesirability of the present situation

Question 12

What are some ways of destabilising the present stability?

Answer 12

Identifying and exploiting exisiting areas of stress or dissatisfaction
Creating or introducing additional forces for change
Increasing employee knowledge about markets, competitors and the need for change

Question 13

What is included in the change process of the ice cube model?

Answer 13

Concerned with identifying what the new behaviour or norm should be.

Involve:
Establishing new patterns of behaviour
Setting up new reporting relationships
Creating new reward/incentive schemes
Introducing a new style of management

Question 14

What happens in the refreezing stage of the ice cube model?

Answer 14

Involves ensuring that people do not slips back into old ways.

Involves reinforcement of the new pattern of work by:
Large rewards for those who have embraced the new culture
Publicity of success stories and new ‘heroes’

Question 15

If we want to bring about change what must we do?

Answer 15

Change the equilibrium by:
Strengthening the driving forces
Weakening the restraining forces
Or both

Question 16

What are the two variants that Beer and Nohria indentified that every organisational change conforms to?

Answer 16

Theory E Strategies
Theory O Strategies

Question 17

What is the Theory E strategy?

Answer 17

Based on measures where shareholder value is the main concern. Change usually involves incentives, layoffs, downsizing and restructuring.

Question 18

What is the Theory O strategy?

Answer 18

Softer approaches to change, often involving cultural adjustment or enhancing employee capabilities through individual and organisational learning. Involved changing, obtaining feedback, reflecting and then making futher changes. Requires employees in the change process.

Question 19

What are the drawbacks of the Theory E approach?

Answer 19

Ignore feelings and attitudes of employees
Lead to a loss of motivation and commitment from staff
Damage competitive advantage of the organisation

Question 20

What is the drawback of Theory O?

Answer 20

Often fail to take the ‘tough’ decisions that may be needed

Question 21

Why is the change agent useful in helping the organisation?

Answer 21

Define the problem and its cause
Diagnose solutions and select appropriate courses of action
Implement change
Transmit the learning process to others and the organisation overall

Question 22

What are the skills and attributes of change agents?

Answer 22

Goals - clarity in defining the achievable, flexibility to adapt to internal and external triggers
Roles - team-building skills to establish work groups, networking skills
Communication - skills with colleagues and subordinates
Negotiation - creating vision and selling plans, resolving conflict
Managing up - political awareness and influencing skills, helicopter perspective

Question 23

What are the seven power skills that Kanter identified is required for a change agent?

Answer 23

Ability to work idependently
Ability to collaborate
Ability to develope relationships based on trust
Self confidence, tempered with humility
Being respectful of the process of change
Ability to work across different BU’s
Willingness to stake personal rewards on results

Question 24

What are the advantages of using external consultants as change agents?

Answer 24

Bring fresh perspective to the problem
May have state-of-the-art knowledge of the required change
Being a dedicated resource that may be able to give it more time and energy
May have more experience
Greater objectivity as they have no personal stake in the outcomes of the change

Question 25

What is mentoring?

Answer 25

Process where a manager offers help, guidance, advice and support to facilitate the learning and development of another.

Question 26

What is a mentor?

Answer 26

Skilled, senior member of staff who:
Offers practical advice and support
Can give technical and general guidance
Can help with the development of key work skills
Can act as a role model

Question 27

What are the key features of mentoring?

Answer 27

Has no specific period
Does not have to be a formal process
Seeks to build wisdom

Question 28

What is coaching?

Answer 28

Developing a person’s skills and knowledge so that their job performance improves, hopefully leading to the achievement of organisational objectives. It targets high performance and improvement as work. It usually lasts for a short period and focuses on specific skills and goals.

Question 29

What are the key features of coaching?

Answer 29

Takes place on a one-to-one basis
It has a specific purpose and therefor tends to have a planned ‘programme’ that is followed over a set time period to help the individual being coached meet pre-set objectives

Question 30

What are the similarities between coaching and mentoring?

Answer 30

Neither is about teaching, instruction or telling someone what to do
Both are flexible and evolutionary approaches
They require similar skills from the individual acting as the coach or mentor

Question 31

When attempting to help a business recover from a period of decline, what are the manager’s strategic priorities likely to be?

Answer 31

Reducing costs to improve efficiency
Improving competitiveness in order to increase revenue

Question 32

What fundamental changes to the business strategy must managers consider during a period of decline?

Answer 32

Retrenchment - doing same as before but cutting costs
Turnaround - org repositions itself within the market for competitive advantage
Divestment - involves the external sale of part of the organisation, of the internal closure of units as part of a rationalisation process
Liquidation - organisation is sold to one or more buyerss

Question 33

Within any change process what are the potential ethical dilemmas that need managing?

Answer 33

Whether the change is justified
Management approach used
Managers may seek to exploit change to ensure they benefit personally from new power structures and reward schemes
Similarly some may resist change to protect their own interests
Extent to which plans are made available or if a ‘need to know’ culture is adopted
Whether ‘misinformation’ is used to drive certain phases of the change process
Accountants may be asked to manipulate figures to exaggerate the case for change

Question 34

What are the three attributes of companies that manage change successfully according to Kanter?

Answer 34

Imagination to innovate
Professionalism to perform
Openness to collaborate

Question 35

What are the seven key sills for leaders in change-adept organisations?

Answer 35

Communicating a compelling aspiration
Building coalitions
Transferring ownership to the work team
Making everyone a hero
Learning to persevere
Challenging the prevailing organisational wisdom
Tuning in to the environment

Question 36

What does Peters suggest when he talks about ‘thriving on chaos’?

Answer 36

Incremental change is the enemy of true innovation
Excellent firms don’t believe in excellence, only in constant improvement and constant change
A constantly changing environment does not necessarily mean chaos

Question 37

What are the advantages that Peters suggests are of having a climate of change?

Answer 37

Innovation and the introduction of new products and new methods are actively sought and welcomed
People who are used to change tend to accept it without resistance
Employees develop and external viewpoint, and are less insular and defensive in their outlook

Question 38

What are the disadvantages of Peter’s ‘thriving on chaos’?

Answer 38

Climate of change morale might be damaged
Staff might become involved in office politics because of their concerns about the possible changes that might occur

Question 39

When is change more likely to succeed?

Answer 39

Clearly understandable goals
Realistic time frames
Clear guidance as to how each individual’s behaviour needs to change
Clear, unified leadership with no conflict between managers
Management support for training and other necessary investment