Topic 10.1 - Managing change Flashcards
Internal causes for change
- new growth objectives
- new boss appointed
- decision to open up export markets
- increase shareholder dividends
External causes of change
- rising customer demand
- economic boom benefits
- closure of competitor
- new laws
- social trends
- economic conditions
- technological advances
Incremental change
Change occurs over a period of time in incremental
Small stages
Little resistance
Step change
Significant and occurs rapidly
Dramatic and radical
Strategic drift
Resistance
Disruptive change
Step change that arises from changes to the external environment
Impacts market as a whole
Value of change
- sustain competitive advantage
- changing customer needs and wants
- take advantage of developing technologies
- stakeholders gain from improved productivity and work environment
- change in organisational structure
- being seen to be leading change rather than following it
Lewins force field analysis
- driving forced and restraining forces
- equilibrium means no change
- change to occurs means driving forced must exceed the restraining force
Examples of driving forces
- need for higher profits
- poor efficiency
- lack of innovation
- need to change culture
- change of leadership
- customer demand
- competition
- legislation and taxes
Resistance to change
Self interest
Misunderstanding
Low tolerance of change
Different assessment of the situation
Organic structure
- informal
- flexible and fluid
- verbal communication
- decentralised decision making
- change easier to handle
Mechanistic structure
- formal
- bureaucratic
- formal communication
- centralised
- standardised policies and procedures
- little need to change
Flexible working
Employees have options in terms of working time, working location and the pattern of working
Example of flexible working
- part time working
- term time working
- working from home
- flexitime
- career breaks
- job sharing
- annual hour contracts
- mobile working
- shift swapping
Benefits of flexible working
- cost
- higher job satisfaction and morale
- attract more applicants
- better customer service
Drawbacks of flexible working
- more complex to manage
- invest in technology
- motivate
- loss of capacity
Restructuring
changes to the capital structure of the business
Delayering
Removing one or more layers of the organisational hierarchy
- cheaper
- short chain of command
Information management
How to best cost effectively collect and sift data a firm needs
Knowledge management
Useful information that has been interpreted by others to make it even more valuable
The value of managing information and knowledge
- improve efficiency
- enhance competitiveness
Resistance to change
- self interest
- different assessment of situation
- low tolerance for change and inertia
- misinformation and misunderstanding
Self interest
- job security, status and financial position
- own interests ahead of the company
Low tolerance and inertia
- things to stay the way they are
- need security , predictability and stability
- low tolerance of change
Different assessment of the situation
- disagreement about the need to change
- disagree change or feel they have a better solution
- disagree what is best for the business
Misinformation and misunderstanding
- don’t understand why change is needed
- no compelling reason for change
- may think things are better than they actually are
Overcoming resistance to change
- education and communication
- participation and involvement
- facilitation and support
- manipulation and co option
- negotiation and bargaining
- explicit and implicit coercion
Education and communication
- why change is needed
- help people see logic
- helps address misconceptions
Participation and involvement
- involve people in the change process
- leads to commitment not compliance
Facilitation and support
- support to cope with change
- training, counselling and mentoring
Manipulation and co option
co option - bringing specific individuals into roles that are part of change management
manipulation - selective use of information
Negotiation and bargaining
- incentive to change
- offering financial rewards
- rewards for leaving
Explicit and implicit coercion
- last resort
explicit - told exactly what implications of resisting change will be
implicit - suggesting negative consequences of resisting
