Page 43 - DMGT520_ORGANIZATION_CHANGE_AND_DEVELOPMENT

Organization Change and Development

Notes It is necessary for these triggers to be expressed and communicated throughout the organisation
in clear and identifiable terms. For example, the trigger in many organisations is often a crisis,
but it does not necessarily have to be a threat. People will respond to a challenge of a crisis but
may react negatively to a threat. Expressing any potential crises as an opportunity for change
may assist the process itself. In this sense, the language in which the triggering mechanism is
transmitted to the internal organisation has to be clearly expressed as opportunity, and
communicated widely. The chances of successfully implementing change are significantly
improved when everyone concerned has a shared understanding of what may happen and why.
If the trigger for change has been clearly recognized and expressed, it is also a requirement for
management within the organisation to define the future. This does not call for crystal ball
gazing but for the establishment of the vision layer. The requirement here is for definition and
expression of where the organisation intends to go. Just as shared understanding and awareness
of the triggers for change help smooth the process, so do shared awareness and understanding
of the new vision and the desired organisational goals. Management must realise the future in
terms of three criteria. The first is that change is seen to provide an effective response to the
events triggering change. Second, there is identification of the desired future condition of the
organisation in terms of its design, its products and its goals. Finally, it must provide challenge
and stimulation. Change is assisted by a climate of enthusiasm and participation; resistance is
the result of fear, prejudice, anxiety and ignorance.

The third layer of perceptual transition management is related to gaining recruits for change.
By this it is meant that those who have to work through the change process need to be converted
to the ideas and concepts and own them. Defining a future that no one can ‘buy into’ will slow or
hinder the change itself. Everyone involved in making change work has to feel part of it and
accept the reasoning for the vision and how this is to be realized. It is at this point that the vision
has to be detailed and aspects such as future structure and patterns of work explained. There is
need at this point to recruit disciples to the vision. This is time-consuming, as it requires detailed
explanation. Failure to do so results in negotiation, renegotiations or decay. Managers at this
stage need to get involved in two activities. First there is the planning team, the main core
change unit. The most appropriate mechanism here will depend upon the organisation and its
consultation systems. Second, it is also necessary to talk to people about the change at every
opportunity, formal or informal. This establishes a shared understanding the change problem
through debate.
The last question that perpetual transition management attempts to resolve is related to the
decay associated with the management of mid-term change. Maintenance and renewal attempt
to address the ‘moving goalpost’ features of change. There are four main examples of this. First,
the events that triggered change in the first place fade in the memory or lose their relevance
over time. Second, articulation of the vision becomes less expressive when the organisations
move on. Third, replacements feel less committed to the idea and have to be taken through the
reasons for, and responses to, the triggers. Fourth, the change that took place settles down and
becomes the norm in the organisation. To avoid this sort of decay process there is a requirement
for the organisations to allocate resources to maintaining and renewing the original visions in
an evolutionary framework. In this sense, management takes part in a process that is described
as one of permanent transition. It is this point that can be regarded as the crucial concept. Getting
managers to recognize that change is a constant feature in modern organisations, and one which
they have to deal with, goes a long way towards addressing some of the factors, which lead to
resistance to change.

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