Hello there,
Change management is a huge subject and there are many things written
about it. The foundations however are simple and everything rests on
three stages:
1. Where you are now.
2. Where you want to be.
3. The change process between the two states.
Your client needs to first of all assess what their goals are as a
company. Tools such as 'mission statements' may be helpful, as will
planning a series of targets and goals. Work from the top down - the
client should be aware of what the company is trying to achieve, then
analyse the areas of the firm to decide what needs to change to meet
the overall company goals. The overall goals can then be broken down
into objectives. It is often said that objectives should be 'SMART' -
that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely. See
http://www.wgrange.com/news/smart.html for more information on this.
There are two strong schools of thought in change management. These
are Organisational Development (OD) and Systems Intervention Strategy
(SIS).
SIS is a prescriptive 'Top-Down' method with nine stages. It focuses
on 'Systems Thinking' (http://www.brint.com/papers/change/) - this is
looking at the organisation as a large system made up of smaller
subsystems. These are the stages of the theory:
1. Entry - Recognising that change is complex but is necessary in this
situation.
2. Description - Structuring the 'system' of the organisation - draw
diagrams, map out the company and identify the various departments and
sections involved. At this point, you should gain the opinions of
others who are involved so you can assess support for the changes.
3. Identify Objectives and Constraints - This is where your SMART
objectives come in. You also need to look at what might prevent you
from fulfilling those obejctives - perhaps you don't have access to
accounts information, or there are certain legal procedures which you
must abide by.
4. Formulate Measures for your objectives - Use specific costs if
possible. Make all of your objectives specific with 'real'
measurements.
5. Generate a range of options - At this point, you can brainstorm,
interview, survey and examine other local companies or groups to see
how they handle the situations. Look at all the ways you might be
able to fulfill your objectives.
6. Evaluate options against measurements - Test your options, use
cost-benefir analyses, spreadsheets, simulations and trials. See how
the options perform.
7. Evaluate the options - Make 'tick charts' and matrices to see how
the various options work. Gather opinions and score performances.
8. Design the strategies. Plan out time frames, with a product such
as 'Microsoft Project' or with Gantt charts. Critical Path Analysis
is also a highly effective tool although it takes a little time to
learn.(http://www.mindtools.com/critpath.html)
9. Carry through the change. You will need support with the project,
so the use of team-building and motivating exercises might help.
While the change is being made, you should assess and monitor progress
regularly.
SIS is clearly a top-down method where you, the 'change agent'
performs most of the actions. OD is a more participative philosophy,
drawing in everyone involved in the changes and getting them enthused
to support you.
OD has five major features:
1. It is a broad, sustained, medium to long term approach.
2. It draws on the findings and methods of behavioural science,
focusing heavily on psychology, human resources and marketing.
3. It is process-oriented, rather than goal-oriented. It focuses on
changing the behaviour of the whole organisation, rather than trying
to break it down into specific, one-off goals.
4. It involves a facilitator. Someone has to plan and co-ordinate the
change.
5. It is participative. Everyone in the organisation should be aware
of the plans for change and be supportive of them.
Clearly, there may be some resistance to change and a large part of OD
involves overcoming that resistance. One way to do this is by giving
everyone in the company plenty of opportunity to participate in the
changes, by offering ideas and being made aware of everything going
on.
These are your two primary philosophies for Change Management,
although you don't have to follow either to the letter. It's a huge
subject and there are plenty of alternatives
You might like to investigate Stuart Slatter's 'Eight step recovery
strategy' detailed in his 1984 book 'Corporate Strategy' which is
quite a drastic strategy, involving management changes, financial
control and strong, fast action.
A more gentle alternative is Quinn's Logical Intervention, detailed in
the book 'Managing Change' published by the Open University and
available on www.mazon.co.uk. This is a slow, but steady approach.
I hope I've given you enough ideas to start with. This is a massive
subject and there are many books available on it. Hopefully, this
will give you some ideas.
Gremmy
http://mcs.open.ac.uk/npm2/html/ou_web/b751l.htm |
