Page 41 - DMGT520_ORGANIZATION_CHANGE_AND_DEVELOPMENT

Organization Change and Development

Notes Beckhard (1992) suggest ten organisational prerequisites, which must exist before
transformational change can be achieved in an organisation. These are summarized in Table 3.2.

Table 3.2: Beckhard’s Ten Organisational prerequisites for
Transformational Change
Priority Prerequisites
1. Ensuring senior management commitment to the imposed changes, which needs to be
visible to all participants throughout the organization.
2. Producing a written statement about the future direction of the organization that
makes clear its new objectives, values and policies.
3. Creating a shared awareness of condition to produce a common perception that
change must be implemented.
4. Assembling a body of key managers and other important opinion formers to gain
their commitment t o the change process so that this may be disseminated more
widely.
5. Generating an acceptance that this type of change will require a long time to
implement fully even though there may be short-term, dramatic changes as part of the
overall process of transformation.
6. Recognising that resistance to change is part of the normal process of adaptation, so
that manager can be effective to be aware of this and equipped to manage this
reaction.
7. Educating participants about the need for change and training them with the
necessary competence to be effective to overcome resistance and gain commitment.
8. Preserving with the change process and avoiding blame where an attempt to
implement a facet of this process fails. Such negative action will generate resistance
and reduce necessary risk- taking behaviour.
9. Facilitating the change process with necessary resources.
10. Maintaining open communication about process, mistake and subsequent learning.

3.2.4 Change and Transition Management

If the concept of change can be examined from an internal, external or proactive set of viewpoints,
then the response of managers has to be equally as widespread. Buchanan & McCalman (1989)
suggest that this requires a framework of ‘perpetual transition management’. Following from
Lawler’s (1986) concept of the lack of a visionary end state, what appears to be required is the
ability within managers to deal with constant change. This transition management model,
although specifically related to large-scale organisational change, has some interesting insights
into what triggers change in organisation and how they respond. It suggests that four interlocking
management processes must take place both to implement and sustain major organisational
changes. These processes operate at different levels, and may involve different actors in the
organisational hierarchy. The four layers are:
 Trigger Layer: Concerning the identification of needs and openings for major change
deliberately formulated in the form of opportunities rather than threats or crises.
 Vision Layer: Establishing the future development of the organisation by articulating a
vision and communicating this effectively in terms of where the organisation is heading.

 Conversion Longer: Setting out to mobilise support in the organisation for the new vision
as the most appropriate method for dealing with the triggers of change.

 Maintenance and Renewal Layer: Identifying ways in which changes are sustained and
enhanced through alterations in the attitude, values and behaviours, and regression back
to tradition is avoided.

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