Planned Change Process
Change process is also known as planned intervention. As noted earlier, to implement change is a challenging task. It needs overall considerations and requires not only arrangements/provisions of resources and facilities, but also preparing employees to welcome change wholeheartedly. A manager has to take into account a number of issues relating to individuals, groups and organization while inviting and imparting any change. Further, time factor is very critical aspect in implementing the change. In fact, it is not possible to suggest a uniform change process. Change process-consists of number of steps and types of process that depends upon resistance analysis of large number of factors, like types of change, expected outcomes, purpose, degree of resistance to change, resource ability of the organisation. Experience level of managers, time pressure and so on. However, Lewin suggests three phases of change process, unfreezing, changing and refreezing. With a little improvement following steps may be included in a planned change process.
1. Identifying need for change
The first basic step in planned change is to identify when change in the organization is required because change for the sake of change may produce stronger resistance while useful and necessary changes may get support from people. Identification of need for change depends on gap analysis, that is, the gap between desired state of affairs and actual state of affairs: the difference between what the organization is achieving and what it should achieve. However, this gap analysis should be seen on progression basis because desired state of affairs is not a fixed concept. The organisation may go on changing its objectives over the period of time.
2. Elements to be changed
While the process of identification of change will provide clue why change should take place, this stage takes the analysis further by diagnosing the problems caused because of which the change is necessary. What elements of the organization should be changed will largely be decided by need and objectives of change. Usually change is required in three major elements of the organization: organizational structure, technology and people. The nature and extent of change in these elements will depend on the type of problems being faced by the organisation.
i. Structural changes include change in :
a) Job design
b) Job definitions
c) Basis of departmentation
d) Span of control
e) Organisational policies and procedures
f) Coordination mechanism
g) Power structure
h) Flow of task etc.
ii. Technological changes include changes in :
a) Changes in plant and equipment
b) Techniques for doing work
c) Production methods
d) Engineering processes etc.
iii. Changes in People includes change in:
a) Behavior
b) Interaction pattern
c) Informal grouping skills
d) Attitudes etc.
Some changes may affect the organization on all these dimensions while others may affect only limited aspect.
3. Planning for Change
Planning for change includes :
i. Who will bring change?
It relates to the persons who will act as change agent. Though every manager is change agent as he brings occasional changes in his area of operation, major changes require that some persons are specified for the purpose.
ii. When to bring change?
It is related to the time dimension of change. While deciding time element of change, many factors have to be considered , such as nature of forces which are likely to resist the change and the time taken to bring them to accept change, time taken to train and develop people to make them more suitable for the changed situation, time required to make resources available for the change etc.
iii. How to bring change?
It requires drawing up of procedure, that is chronological ordering of various events of the change. Normally, change, expanding over a long period of time, requires continuous process of putting change effort in one aspect, measuring its impact and correcting dysfunctional aspects resulting form change, putting change in another aspect etc.
4. Assessing change Forces
There are many forces in individuals, groups and even in the organisation which resist such change. Management has to create an environment in which change will be accepted by the people. In any situation there are both driving and restraining forces which influence any change that may occur. These forces are referred as ‘field of forces’ by Kurt Lewin. Driving forces initiate a change and keep it going. Restraining forces act to restrain change or decrease the driving forces. Equilibrium is reached when the sum of driving forces equals the sum of restraining forces.
Management has to push driving forces and/ or converting or immobilizing restraining forces so that people accept the change. If the driving forces exist or management’s efforts have brought the equilibrium of driving and restraining forces at a desired level, it can go for the change. It can take necessary actions for change.
5. Actions for Change
Action for change comprises three stages:
i. Unfreezing
ii. Changing
iii. Refreezing
i. Unfreezing
Unfreezing means making the people to forget, forgo or unlearn the established or old behavior to learn a new one. Employees are requires to forget old skills, patterns and tools to learn the new one. Kurt Lewin has suggested certain ways to make people unfreeze the established way of working.
a) Physical removal of individuals being changed from accustomed routines, places, sources of information and social relations.
b) Undermining and destructing (cutting off) of all social support.
c) Demeaning and humiliating experience to help individuals see that old attitudes and behaviour are unworthy, and think to be motivated to change.
d) Consistent linking of rewards with willingness to change and punishment with unwillingness to change.
e) To make individuals feel that they have to forget useless things to accept a useful new one.
f) To make them aware of the need for the change.
g) To convince them that the change is inevitable and can fetch benefits to both employees and organization.
ii. Changing
The step is concerned with preparing people for implementation of change. Here, change agent (internal or external) plays an important role. Smith has provided guidelines for effective change which are as follows:
a) Recognize that the primary purpose of change is to improve performance results.
b) Make individuals responsible for their own change.
c) Encourage improvisation, team performance and coordinated initiative.
d) Use positive energy, meaningful language, and courageous leadership to drive change relentlessly.
iii. Refreezing
Refreezing implies monitoring the change so implemented. It is concerned with undertaking the post-change actions. Refreezing is an act of stabilizing the change. It implies the new things which have been learned are integrated into the actual work practice. Often there is a tendency that individuals revert back gradually to their old behavior in the absence of suitable reinforcement. There reinforcement is necessary for the internalization of new balance.
6. Feedback
Management of change requires feedback and follow-up actions to ensure that change programme is progressing in right direction without producing any dysfunctional effect. Problems created by the change should be tackled immediately. Feedback received from the initial attempt of change programme may be used to modify the subsequent programme. Normally, the impact of the change programme is measured in terms of its objectives. Therefore, objectives of the change should be defined operationally so that measurement is easier.