Change Management

Types of Change
 Types of change

 ‘Change is inevitable in a progressive country. Change is constant’ or ‘the

only constant is change’(former British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–
81).

 His remark is true, yet it is important for organizations to strike a balance

between both the forces for stability and the forces for change.

 Where the right balance lies, however, will vary from situation to situation and
is up to people at work to figure out.

 Change is not homogeneous – it comes in many forms.

 Grundy’s three ‘varieties of change’
 The first, ‘smooth incremental change’, is change that
evolves slowly in a systematic and predictable way.
 The second variety, ‘bumpy incremental change’, is
characterized by periods of relative tranquility
punctuated by acceleration in the pace of change.
 Triggers for this type of change are from both the environment and
internal initiatives such as the periodic reorganizations that
organizations go through to improve efficiency.
 Third type is ‘discontinuous change’ which he defines as
‘change which is marked by rapid shifts in strategy,
structure or culture, or in all three’
Grundy’s major types of change..
Tushman, Newman and Romanelli

 Two forms of organizational changes: fine-tuning and incremental

adaptation
 Both these types of change have the common aim of maintaining the fit
between organizational strategy, structure and processes.
 However, whereas fine-tuning is aimed at doing better what is already
done well,
 incremental adaptation involves small changes in response to minor shifts in
the environment.
Tushman, Newman and Romanelli
(1988, p. 707)
 Balogun and Hope Hailey’s (2008)
Four types of change mapped on two dimensions: scope (incremental or big-bang), and
scale (realignment or transformation).
 Adaption: Change undertaken to readjust the way in which the organization operates
and implemented in a series of steps. It can be adapted within the existing culture and
can occur incrementally.
 Evolution: Transformational change implemented gradually through inter-related
initiatives. It is where cultural change is required but this can be accomplished over
time.
 Revolution: Transformational change that occurs via simultaneous initiatives on many
fronts. It is more likely to be forced and reactive and involves fundamental changes in
both strategy and culture.
 Reconstruction: Change undertaken to realign the way in which the organization
operates with many initiatives implemented simultaneously. It involves rapid change
but without fundamentally changing the culture.
The pace and scope of change
(Balogun and Hope Hailey)
Plowman et al. 2007
Plowman et al. 2007
 Complexity Theory

 Complexity theory is a set of ideas stemming from the study of natural systems such as
weather patterns and animal behaviour and which draws on mathematical principles
to help explain how organizations behave.

 “Like natural systems, organizations are highly complex entities where a natural order
comes to exist through the process of self-organization where some form of overall
order or coordination arises out of the local interactions between the components of
an initially disordered system”.
 Complexity Theory…

 Complex system and complicated System:

 However, whilst complicated systems can have very many elements and interactions
between them, theoretically, they can all be known. For instance, a computer is a
complicated system, but not a complex one; an airplane is a highly complicated
vehicle, but given sufficient skilled designers, builders and maintenance staff, all its
parts and how they operate can be described and understood.

 Complicated systems, although often difficult to understand, are ordered systems.

 By contrast, a complex system, as mentioned above, is disordered in the sense that it
is unpredictable.
Complexity Theory (cont…)
 Complexity Theory…

Three implications of applying complexity theory to organizations:

1. There is a need to move beyond ‘narrow employee participation in change’
towards much more democracy and equalization of power. This gives
employees the scope to act.
2. The extremes of incremental change and large-scale transformation are not
realistic and rarely work. Between the two extremes lies a continuous approach
based on self-organization to improving products and processes.
3. To fuel the continuous change ideal, self-organization needs the presence of
‘order-generating rules’. These rules evolve and are part of the processes of self-
organization.
 Complexity Theory…

 The implications of considering organizations as complex

entities, and in particular complex adaptive systems, is that any
type of change can happen at any time, whether planned or
not, with unpredictable results.

 However, that is not to say that no change can be planned,

but, by being aware of the nature of these organizational
systems, appropriate types of change can be made, whilst
always remaining aware that the unexpected probably will
happen.