Professional Documents
Culture Documents
di SO
bin p . S . fA. di Banja.megm-a a., -.. a.Tengah. Kemudian
:m eianjutkan.sh.ti.ti Sltahun IWl da.nS1 tahun1956 di
Uni tMG dj,al d Sedarngge1M Pb ..D did p an.
diUiXaitimtal Centrat U:llivetsil T . an tahun2013 Pem
. eqa di PT f ' · Ind.on sia seb g4i m
fMilitatnt / traitte'I, kemudian Direlktur L"au dMit 1,
and Comrnunlca 1ol!'l1 Te. h lo,gy Researo.n, based, or1 'Dem;jl'lld: lmprovtng Sustama bl· Synergv of
Ata:derni , lll'lldus:try, ,and Gw emni1. 11 dlan pro tll;!e din g., Koown'Si a:slorui1I Pen s1dika _ lndonlesia "11
2'12.. Proee.edilng nternational f yrgu _ Oz -al l C-0ngress an Bustnesisj EcoruJmJcs and PolWeal Sc enw,
Sremnar l"i!temestonal; t d011 - •a labor Economic Development to.vard the mplem.en a on o _ AFTA
and AEC 2015" Vogyai ·iairta s: a· U111ver:s
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Manajemen Perubahan
by: Setyabudi Indartono, Ph.D @ 2014
Email: setyabudi_indartono@uny.c.id
i
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
DAFTAR ISI
PENGANTAR...................................................................................................................................iv
Skema pembelajaran......................................................................................................................v
The nature of dynamic behaviors*..............................................................................................vii
Bab 1 Pedahuluan..........................................................................................................................1
Soal Latihan................................................................................................................................6
bab 2 Manajemen dan perubahan................................................................................................7
The nature of change.................................................................................................................7
Image of Managing change.......................................................................................................8
Soal Latihan..............................................................................................................................10
bab 3 Perubahan dalam Organisasi.............................................................................................11
Why organizations change?.....................................................................................................11
What changes in organizations...............................................................................................12
Soal Latihan..............................................................................................................................12
bab 4 Analisis perubahan.............................................................................................................14
Diagnosis for change................................................................................................................14
Resistant to change.................................................................................................................17
Artikel pendukung analisa perubahan diantaranya adalah....................................................19
Soal Latihan..............................................................................................................................20
bab 5 Implementasi Manajemen Perubahan..............................................................................21
Organizational Development...................................................................................................21
Appreciative Inquiry.................................................................................................................23
Positive organizational scholarship.........................................................................................24
Sensemaking approach............................................................................................................24
Mengelola Perubahan..............................................................................................................25
Pendekatan Kontinjensi dan proses........................................................................................27
Menghubungkan Visi dan Perubahan.....................................................................................28
ii
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
ii
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
PENGANTAR
i
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
SKEMA PEMBELAJARAN
KompetensiDasar MateriPokok SumberBahan
v
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
v
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Researchers (Desarbo and Grewal, 2008; Schalk and Freese, 1997; White, 2008)
propose the dynamic viewpoint to analyze organizations and employees because they
tend to adjust their strategies and haviors at anytime to maximize their best interests.
At the organization level, firms try to apply unique rategic postures so as to reach a
better position in the market structure (Cool and Schendel, 1987). They change,
expand, and blend their strategies from more than one pure strategic group to gain
the competitive advantage (Desarbo and Grewal, 2008). For example, firms at the
beginning stage may apply the defensive strategy and then opt for the offensive
strategy as they move to the next stage (Land, 2004). Following Hunt’s (1972) theory
of firm strategies, Porter (1980) develops the concept and applies it to his overall
system of strategic analysis. Hodgkinson (1997) analyzes the intra-industry
variations in the competition and performance of firms. A firm switching its strategy
may cause business environment pressure or the demand of firm accelerations
because such change of policies could be rather dynamic.
At the individual level, the way employees change their behavior is contingent on the
short-term opportunities exposed in the environment (Perish et al., 2008). Employees
would look for fair treatment by comparing the compensation offered by their
organization and its competitors (Milcovich and Newman, 1999; Rhoades et al.,
2001). Being directed by their needs, they would respond to external offering
defensively, reactively, or protectively to avoid actions, blaming, or changes
(Ashforth and Lee, 1990). Thus, employees’ behavior might change accordingly when
they feel unfairly treated (Hochwarter et al., 2000; Valle and Perewe, 2000).
v
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
BAB 1 PEDAHULUAN
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
karyawan memahami dan termotivasi untuk bergerak menuju arah baru. Re-
engineeringharus fokus pada cross functional untuk membentuk teams yang
terdiri dari representatif dari tiap bidang terlibat dalam proses. Pimpin teams
tersebut dengan change agents yang antusias, open minded ,dan
konsentrasi pada member motivasi proses. Re-engineering harus didorong
oleh apa keinginan customers dan bukan oleh perspektif -perspektif internal.
Oleh karena itu, salah satu kunci bagi keberhasilan re-engineeringadalah
untuk fokus pada proses - proses yang memiliki dampak tertinggi pada
customer service. Membangun kredibilitas secara internal dan eksternal
dengan mendemonstrasikan respon atau tanggapan awal yang substansial.
Mengembangkan teknologi untuk mempermudah. Teknologi baru seharusnya
tidak digunakan hanya untuk mekanisasi dan mempercepat cara -cara lama
melakukan bisnis. Keberhasilan re-engineering mempengaruhi teknologi
inovatif sebenarnya untuk memformulasikan kembali proses bisnis.
4
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
5
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Soal Latihan
6
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
7
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
8
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
9
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Soal Latihan
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Soal Latihan
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
yang ada dalam organisasi dan dimiliki oleh para anggota organisasi.
Sehingga kejelasan orientasi perlu dipersiapkan untuk mengantisipasi
berbagai persepsi yang berbeda dengan yang telah ditentukan. Demikian
pula perilaku politik organisasi menjadi bahan pertimbangan bagi institusi
yang rentan dengan berbagai perbedaan orientasi dan interes.
Resistant to change
Tidak semua rencana perubahan organisasi dapat berjalan dengan
baik. Sering terjadi proses pengelolaan perubahan organisasi terkendala
karena munculnya berbagai hambatan untuk berubah baik dari individu
anggota organisasi hingga system organisasi yang sedang berjalan.
Diantara hambatan yang sering muncul adalah karena ketidaktahuan dan
kekhawatiran tentang proses dari perubahan yang akan dan sedang
dilakukan sebagaimana tergambar dalam bagan dibawah. Sehingga agen
perubah perlu melakukan antisipasi dalam menghadapi resistensi yang
muncul dalam perubahan tersebut seperti perlunya dilakukan komunikasi
secara intensif ketika sedang dilakukan perencanaan perubahan, persiapan
perubahan, saat perubahaan hingga saat akhir proses perubahan. Hal ini
untuk mendukung proses unfreezing, proses perubahan, dan re-freezing.
Dengan adanya komunikasi yang intensif diharapkan berbagai kendala
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
.
Keterlibatan seluruh level karyawan sesuai persinya juga dibutuhkan
dalam mengelola sebuah perubahan organisasi, sehingga mampu
mengurangi ketegangan dalam pengelolaan perubahan ini. Jikapun terjadi
perbedaan yang lebih prinsipil proses negosiasi hingga paksaan bisa
dilakukan jika diperlukan.
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
1
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Soal Latihan
2. Sebutkan dan jelaskan batasa etis apa saja yang perlu diperhatikan
dalam mengelola perubahan organisasi
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Organizational Development
Pengembangan organisasi (OD) adalah sebuah pendekatan untuk
perubahan organisasi dimana para pegawai menentukan sendiri sebuah
perubahan serta mengimplementasikannya yang biasanya dilakukan dengan
pelatihan dan arahan konsultan. Pengembangan organisasi (OD) adalah,
upaya organisasi yang direncanakan untuk meningkatkan efektivitas dan /
atau efisiensi organisasi dan / atau untuk memungkinkan organisasi untuk
mencapai tujuan strategisnya. Para ahli dan praktisi OD mendefinisikannya
dalam berbagai cara. Berbagai definisi OD mencerminkan kompleksitas
disiplin dan tanggung jawab pemahaman terhadap OD. Sebagai contoh,
Vasudevan menjadikan OD sebagai promosi kesiapan organisasi dalam
memenuhi tuntutan perubahan, dan OD disebut sebagai pembelajaran dan
pengembangan strategi yang sistemik untuk mengubah dasar-dasar
keyakinan, sikap dan nilai-nilai yang relevansi, dan mengubah struktur
organisasi agar lebih mampu menyerap teknologi,menangkap peluang pasar
dan tantangannya. OD bukanlah sebuah aktivitas pelatihan, pengembangan
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Appreciative Inquiry
Albert Einstein pernah berkata:
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that
created it. We must learn to see the world anew.”
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a
miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Sensemaking approach
Sensemaking organisasi adalah pertama dan terutama tentang
pertanyaan: Bagaimana sesuatu menjadi bagian dari agenda anggota
organisasi? Kedua, sensemaking adalah tentang pertanyaan: Apa sebauh
agenda memberi arti? Sensemaking dan organisasi merupakan upaya untuk
mengalirkan pesan intrinsik tindakan manusia, menghubungan kea rah
tertentu, memberikan bentuk tertentu, melalui pendekatan generalisasi dan
pelembagaan sebuah makna dan aturan tertentu. Dalam proses manajemen
perubahan perlu diketahuai sejauhmana sensemaking anggota organisasi
memberikan pengaruh terhadap capaian implementasi perubahan. Hal ini
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Mengelola Perubahan
Manajemen perubahan adalah sebuah perubahan organisasi
lingkungan, struktur, budaya, teknologi, atau orang-orang dalam menghadapi
sebuah tuntutan, realitas organisasi, dan kesempatan atau ancaman. Cara
pandang terhadap perubahan adalah misalnya dengan pendekatan metafora
air Tenang yaitu penjelasan praktek-praktek tradisional dan teori tentang
organisasi yang menyamakan organisasi pada sebuah kapal besar yang
berlayar di laut yang tenang yang kadang terkadang terkena badai, dan cara
pandang metafora Arung jeram yaitu menganggap bahwa organisasi sebagai
rakit kecil yang berjalan di sungai berarus deras. Perubahan organisasi di
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
2
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
10. Naeem, A., Khan, M. F. A., Orakzai, H., Shah, D., & Hussain, S. T. (2013).
Change Management Process And Activities Impacts On Organizational
Performance: A Case In Perspective Of Organizational Culture. Far East
Journal of Psychology and Business, 10(2), 10-24.
11. Husain and Khan, 2010, Clarifying spiritual values among organizational
development personnel, African Journal of Business Management Vol.4
(2), pp. 278-281
12. Knoff, 2009, Best Practices in Strategic Planning, Organizational
Development, and School Effectiveness, pp 1-33
13. Hermundsgard and Hansson, 2010, Assessment of HSE aspects by
employees’ participation in organizational development processes:” What
you ask is what you get
14. Korsvold, Hansson, and Lauvness, 2010, Job satisfaction and extensive
participation processes in organizational development-A case study from
the Norwegian petroleum industry
Soal Latihan
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Strategi Komunikasi
Dalam mengelola perubahan strategi mengelola komunikasi sangat
penting dalam rangka mencapai target perubahan. Manajemen komunikasi
adalah perencanaan yang sistematis, pelaksanaan, pemantauan, dan revisi
semua saluran komunikasi dalam sebuah organisasi, dan antara organisasi;
juga termasuk organisasi dan penyebaran arahan komunikasi baru yang
berhubungan dengan organisasi, jaringan, atau teknologi komunikasi. Aspek
manajemen komunikasi meliputi pengembangan strategi komunikasi
perusahaan, merancang arahan komunikasi internal dan eksternal, dan
mengelola arus informasi, termasuk komunikasi online. Teknologi baru
memaksa inovasi terus-menerus pada bagian dari manajer komunikasi.
Sebagai manajer, kita harus mengambil pendekatan kontingensi untuk
berkomunikasi dengan karyawan mereka dan berkomunikasi secara pribadi.
Itu tanggung jawab manajer untuk menentukan apakah kepribadian karyawan
mereka berada di bawah berikut: Reaktor, gila kerja, Persisters, Dreamers,
Pemberontak, atau Promotor
Strategi komunikasi merupakan salah satu cara untuk memastikan
bahwa proses komunikasi yang dilakukan sesuai dengan tujuan komunikasi
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
dan target obyek komunikasi. Dalam komunikasi sosial proses dialog ada
tuntutan bahwa masyarakat sendiri yang akan mendefinisikan siapa mereka,
apa yang mereka butuhkan, dan bagaimana mereka akan bekerja sama
untuk mendapatkan apa yang mereka inginkan dan butuhkan untuk
memperbaiki kehidupan mereka dan komunitas mereka. Oleh karena itu
keberhasilan dalam komunikasi dapat dicapai melalui keterlibatan yang
berarti dari para pemangku kepentingan utama suara begitu lokal didengar
dan ditindaklanjuti. Dalam strategi komunikasi, praktek taktik komunikasi
perlu dibedakan untuk tiap fase perubahan organisasi yang berbeda
sehingga akan memiliki dampak penting pada tingkat penerimaan dari
perubahan anggota organisasi. Dengan berpedoman pada prinsip-prinsip
komunikasi yang efektif , penerapan strategi komunikasi akan memberikan
efek yang tepat pada beberapa tahapan perubahan organisasi. Sehingga
pihak-pihak yang terlibat perlu memperhatikan strategi komunikasi dalam
tahap sosialisasi perubahan, dalam menciptakan keterlibatan anggota
organisasi, dan menghasilkan perbedaan dalam proses perubahan.
Dalam manajemen perubahan komunkasi dilakukan dan diawali dengan
perencanaan proyek perubahan, dilakukan diawal bukan diakhir, dan berisi
muatan anggaran. Proses komunikasi ini harus didasari oleh pemikiran
analisis, fokus pada gambaran besar perubahan, pelibatan berbagai saluran
komunikasi, dan menentukan pemangku kepentingan kunci. Beberapa
elemen kunci dari komunikasi dalam strategi komunikasi manajemen
perubahan adalah terkait dengan konteks perubahan dan komunikasinya,
pertimbangan strategis perubahan dan komunikasinya, tujuan perubahan dan
komunikasinya, sasaran perubahan dan obyek komunikasi, pesan perubahan
dan bahasa komunikasiny, taktik dan alat-alat manajemen perubahan, dan
evaluasi proses komunikasi perubahan yang dilakukan.
Cakupan komunikasi yang dilakukan dalam manajemen perubahan
diantaranya adalah terkait dengan konteks perubahan, kondisi ekonomi,
sosial, dan lingkungan politik, Media observasi, tren opini publik, konteks
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
historis, dan budaya dan tujuan perusahaan. Oleh karena itu dalam
komunikasi ini strategi yang dipertimbangkan diantaranya adalah
mengantisipasi perubahan yang akan dilakukan, analisa resiko dan
melakukan analisa SWOT. Misalnya dengan cara penentuan tujuan dengan
jelas, dan cerdas, realistis, dan berusaha tidak melakukan langkah mundur.
Perlu diperhatikan juga obyek komunikasi yang perlu menimbang target
peserta, dengan siapa kita perlu bicara, memulai dengan yang terbatas/lokal
kemudian dilanjutkan yang lebih luas/global, serta memahami siapa audience
yang diajak bicara. Untuk itu pesan yang disampaikan harus dikemas dengan
meninjau ulang tujuan, siapkan riga sampai lima pesan/kata kunci, ringkas
dan sederhana, dan pesan yang melengket. Taktik dan alat komunikasi yang
digunakan harus sesuai dengan tujuan, selaras dengan audience, dan
bersifat jangka pendek dan jangka panjang.
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
sebagai cara untuk melindungi orang lain dari dampak negatif perubahan.
(Frost & Robinson, 1999)
Perubahan berkelanjutan
Setelah diimplementasikan, perubahan tidak selalu berjalan lancar
dalam sebuah organisasi. Kemampuan untuk membuat perubahan
menunjukkan keberhasilan jangka panjang dari perubahan. Sehingga ada
beberapa tindakan yang dapat membantu mempertahankan perubahan.
Untuk mempertahankan proses perubahan perlu dilakukan beberapa hal
seperti :
Mendesain ulang peran: Ini adalah hasil yang umum dari sebuah
perubahan dan merupakan tanda bahwa perubahan adalah cukup
penting.
Merancang ulang sistem penghargaan: sistem penghargaan merupakan
bagian dari budaya, dan mengubah sistem penghargaan adalah cara
yang secara langsung mempengaruhi nilai-nilai inti organisasi.
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Soal Latihan
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
REFERENSI
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Kramer, J., & Magee, J. (1990). The evolving philosophers problem: Dynamic
change management. Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on,
16(11), 1293-1306.
Mereles, Montoya, Lane and Dandy, 2009, Customer service in
Organizational Development, Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing
Studies, Volume 14, Number 2
Naeem, A., Khan, M. F. A., Orakzai, H., Shah, D., & Hussain, S. T. (2013).
Change Management Process And Activities Impacts On Organizational
Performance: A Case In Perspective Of Organizational Culture. Far East
Journal of Psychology and Business, 10(2), 10-24.
Osibanjo, O. A., Adeniji, A. A., & Abiodun, J. A. (2013). Organizational
Change and Human Resource Management Interventions: An
Investigation of the Nigerian Banking Industry. Serbian Journal of
Management, 8(2).
Parish, J. T., Cadwallader, S., & Busch, P. (2008). Want to, need to, ought to:
employee commitment to organizational change. Journal of
Organizational Change Management, 21(1), 32-52.
Parker, D., Charlton, J., Ribeiro, A., & Pathak, R. D. (2013). Integration of
project-based management and change management: Intervention
methodology. International Journal of Productivity and Performance
Management, 62(5), 534-544.
Parker, D., Verlinden, A., Nussey, R., Ford, M., & Pathak, R. D. (2013).
Critical evaluation of project-based performance management: Change
intervention integration. International Journal of Productivity and
Performance Management, 62(4), 407-419.
Pearce, C. L., & Sims Jr, H. P. (2002). Vertical versus shared leadership as
predictors of the effectiveness of change management teams: An
examination of aversive, directive, transactional, transformational, and
empowering leader behaviors. Group dynamics: Theory, research, and
practice, 6(2), 172.
Ramos and Chesler, 2010, Reflections on a Cross-Cultural Partnership in
Multicultural Organizational Development Efforts, OD PRACTITIONER
Vol. 42 No. 2, pp. 4-9
S Basamh, S., Huq, M., Dahlan, A., & Rahman, A. (2013). Empirical research
on project implementation success and change management practices
in Malaysian Government-Linked Companies (GLCs). International
Journal of Information and Communication Technology Research, 3(5),
714-180.
Samuel, K. (2013). THE EFFECTS OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN AN
ORGANISATION: A CASE STUDY OF NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF
RWANDA (NUR).
Sari, F. M., & Ibrahim, M. (2013). PENERAPAN MANAJEMEN PERUBAHAN
DAN INOVASI. Jurnal Administrasi Pembangunan, 2(2), 161-164.
3
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
4
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
SILABI
A. Wajib:
a. Palmer, I., Dunford,
change 2nd edition,RMcGrawHill
dan Akin, G (2009), Managing organizational
B. Pendukung:
a. Indartono (2014) Modul Mata Kuliah: Change Management
b. Senior and Swailes (2010), Organizational change 4th edition,
Prentice Hall
c. Cumming, T, 2006,Hall
edition, Prentice Organizational Development and change, 8th
EVALUASI
No Komponen Evaluasi Bobot (%)
1. Partisipasi Kuliah 20
2. Tugas-tugas 30
3. Ujian Tengah Semester 20
4. Ujian Akhir Semester 30
Jumlah 100
4
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
CURRICULUM VITAE
Setyabudi Indartono, Ph.D
4
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Journal Publication
1. Indartono & chen, 2008, Glocalization of Personal Ethical Threshold,
Journal of Education, Vol. 1. No. 1, pg. 39
2. Indartono & chen, 2008, Perception of direct and indirect compensations
fulfillment on hazardous work environment The relationship with age,
tenure, employee’s rank and work status, Jurnal Siasat Bisnis, Vol. 12
No.1, pg. 13
3. Indartono, Chou & chen, 2008, The Knowledge Characteriscs Work
Design Analysis of Job Fit Influence on Role Performance, Journal of
Human Capital, Vol 1 No 1 pg. 81
4. Indartono, 2008, Pengaruh personal job fit terhadap hubungan desain
kerja dan kinerja pengajar, Jurnal Humaniora, Vol. 13 no. 2, pg. 33
5. Indartono et al, 2009, The knowledge characteristics work design:
Analysis of job fit influence on role performance, Usahawan, No. 01 vol.
38, pg. 33
6. Indartono & chen, 2009, Articulating strategic human resources
management: Concept perspective to practice of managing human
resources, Journal of Human Capital, Vol 1 No 3., pg.227
7. Indartono , 2009, Contribution of different organizational politics
perceptions: Study on interaction among perception organizational
politics, performance and trust on the role of compensation, Integritas
Jurnal Manajemen Bisnis, Vol 2 no 1., pg 13
8. Indartono, 2009, Mediation effect of trust on the relationship between
perception of organization politics and commitment, Jurnal Administrasi
Bisnis, Vol. 5 no. 2., pg.160
9. Indartono, 2009, Different effect of Task Characteristics requirement on
Job satisfaction: Gender analysis of teacher occupation on WDQ, Jurnal
Ekonomika Madani,Vol 1, no. 2., pg.20
10. Indartono, Setyabudi and Vivian Chen, Chun-Hsi , 2010, Moderation of
Gender on the relationship between task characteristics and performance,
4
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Conference Proceeding
1. Indartono, Setyabudi, 2009, Measuring the behavior of individual and
group performance: Hierarchical linier modeling approach”, proceeding
“Doctoral Program National Qolloquium” Gadjahmada University
Indonesia
2. Indartono, Setyabudi, 2010, from statisc to dynamic perspective of
behavior: case of organizational commitment”, proceeding “the First
Annual Indonesia Scholars Conference in Taiwan: improving nation
competitiveness by strengthening and accelerating independent
reseearch”, Vol. 1 no. 1, Tainan Taiwan
3. Indartono, Setyabudi, 2011, “Effect of Servant Leadership on Knowledge
characteristics”, proceeding “the Second Annual Indonesia Scholars
Conference in Taiwan: Becoming “Asian Tiger” through modern agriculture-
based Industry : revitalization and modernization of education,
4
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
Tinggal dengan seorang Istri, dr. Yayuk Soraya, AAK, dan tiga anak laki-
lakinya, Aiman Hilmi Asaduddin (1999), Rofiq Wafi’ Muhammad (2001), dan
4
Setyabudi Indartono, 20
4
Integration of project-based management and change management: Intervention methodology
1#
Parker, D.W., 1Charlton, J., 1Ribeiro, A., 2Pathak, R.D.
1
The University of Queensland Business School, Queensland 4072 Australia.
2
The Graduate School of Business, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji.
David Parker is a senior lecturer with a research focus in project-based management. He is a senior lecturer in
the Strategy Group at UQ Business School. He has taught and carried out research in India, PNG, Fiji, Cook
Islands, China and Europe. d.parker@business.uq.edu.au
Joshua Charlton is a postgraduate researcher in project management. Josh seeks to apply the skills and
knowledge gained through research as a professional project manager and consultant. joshcharlton@gmail.com
Ana Ribeiro is a postdoctoral student. She worked on change management in Brazil at Dataprev, a social
security company of Brazil Government; and did 6 months internship in planning and control at Vale Australia,
a mining company located in Brisbane, Australia. Ana.ribeiromvilar@uconnect.edu.au
Raghuvar D. Pathak is Head of the Graduate School of Business and Director of MBA programme at the
University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji. He has more than 25 years of postgraduate (MBA) teaching
experience and has published numerous research-based papers. Raghuvar.pathak@usp.ac.fj
1
Corresponding author: d.parker@business.uq.edu.au
Integration of project-based management and change management:
Intervention methodology
Abstract
The successful management of change using a project-based intervention is crucial for any
organization to succeed in the highly competitive and continuously evolving global business
literature suggests they are falling short of their endeavors as a result of the theories lacking a
useful framework to successfully plan, implement and manage change. This article critically
argues the value of project-based management in the change management process with
particular focus on PRINCE2 and PMBoK. As such, change management can be considered
PMBoK, PRINCE2
1.0. Introduction
Demand from the business field for change management (CM) literature and techniques is
increasing as managers seek new processes and tools for implementing a perfect change
(Paton & McCalman, 2008). Many managers are in awe over the reported failure rates for
change initiatives as high as 70 per cent (Balogun and Hope Hailey, 2004).
others. No matter what term is used to describe the management of the change, the
underlying objective is to make fundamental improvement in how business is undertaken in
order to meet the demands of a changing market environment (Kotter, 2007). Kotter (1990)
stresses the importance of change management as a process and not a single event, and that
continually renewing organisations direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever
changing needs of external and internal customers” (Moran and Brightman, 2001, p. 111).
This view is shared across the majority of accepted CM models in use today, which identify
CM as either a process or set of steps. It should be noted however, the sequence of actions an
organisation should apply to accomplish change initiatives can be quite abstract and hard to
apply (Bridges, 1991). Below is a brief summary of key authors that explore CM and are able
change project.
Kanter (1992) proposes the Ten Commandments for Executing Change – see table 1. Kanter
argues that analyzing the organisation and its need for change is the first step in the change
process, followed by the creation of a common vision and direction. From this point,
separating the organisation from the past should be undertaken and to create a sense of
urgency. In this model, to establish strong leadership and political sponsorship are also
crucial steps prior to crafting the implementation plan. It is then important to develop
enabling structures, followed by communicating, involving people and being transparent. The
The second notable CM model is Kotter`s Eight-Stage Process for Successful Organisational
Transformation (1996). This process commences with the need for stating a sense of urgency
and creating a guiding coalition. Communicating a vision and strategy is the next process
followed by developing a broad-based action plan to empower those involved. The next
process involves generating short-term wins which can be celebrated to enhance motivation.
In Kotter’s (1996) model, consolidating gains prior to progressing to produce more change is
required so the final process of anchoring new approaches in the culture can be achieved.
The third CM model is Luecke`s Seven Steps (2003) which commences by recommending
mobilizing energy and commitment through joint identification of business problems and
their solutions. Next is developing a shared vision of how to organize and manage for
competiveness. Leadership should be identified to guide teams towards results. This model
espouses starting change at the periphery and not letting it spread throughout the organisation
without it being directed from the top. Once results are achieved, changes should be
formalized into policies, systems and structures. Whilst the process of change is being
implemented, Luecke (2003) highlights the importance of monitoring and adapting strategies
change effort. Whilst the CM literature articulates processes for managing change, these are
largely focused on the people-issues (‘soft’) of change to achieve the required business
outcomes.
From a historic perspective, emphasis on CM has developed progressively over the last 50
years, after initially being mistrusted (Turner, 2009). The reasoning for this undervaluing has
been attributed to the necessity of stability and certainty for highly structured businesses to
operate. However, mass production in the 1960s followed by rapid changes in technology,
and the integration of global business, has demanded these highly-structured organisations
change or be left behind (Turner, 2009). It is argued that winners are the ones able to respond
better to “the conditions actually encountered” (Turner, 2009, p. 24). As external change is
not under control of the organisation, an understanding of the processes of change combined
with tools and techniques can be regarded as an approach to tackle changing business reality.
Hughes (2007) stresses that academics developing mainstream CM theory, have not
prioritized on adequate tools and techniques to apply in the dynamic business environment.
Such tools and techniques may vary, but there is a tendency to utilize models from (Kotter,
Kanter, Luecke, ibid). However, even these models fail to a degree in clearly interpreting the
techniques or tools to accomplish each step. One could argue this shortfall in appropriate
tools and techniques would be a significant challenge to implementing change initiatives, and
quite possibly is related to the significant failure rate of interventions to bring about change.
Hughes (2007) points out some possible reasons for the academic negligence towards CM
tools and techniques, starting from the lack of a common definition of what would be a CM
tool. Conversely, there appears to be a need for building a framework of what is meant by
CM practice. This could be achieved by developing a body of knowledge for the CM field
similar to that of the Project Management Body of Knowledge for professional project
effectiveness in implementation could strengthen the CM identity. Baca (2005, p.4), for
example, considers CM by its applicability: “change management is just that – a tool that you
use to manage change”. In addition, Baca (ibid, p. 4) associates CM to “an integral part of the
generally accepted principles covered in the PMBOK Guide (PMI, 2004)” and in this sense
2011). Turner (2009) argues that continuous change in organisations nowadays requires
project-oriented management as the control and monitor model is no longer sufficient for
environment to operate, companies seek tools that enable them to maintain the required
flexibility and adaptability they need to answer in a timely manner to the market’s volatility
Approximately thirty per cent of the global economy now utilizes project-based management
(Anbari et al, 2008), which underscores the continual creation of temporary project-based
endeavours that are becoming more common and valued by organisations. Whilst there are an
abundance of definitions of the term ‘project’, The Definition Guide to Project Management
defined beginning and end (usually constrained by date, but can be by funding or
deliverables) undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, usually to bring about
beneficial change or added value”. Of particular interest within this definition is the
concluding statement: to bring about beneficial change or added value. Clearly, projects are
The Project Management Institute describes a project within the Guide to Project
The UK Government developed PRINCE2 (OGC, 2005, p.21) has two definitions of a project
which are largely aligned with the PMBoK definition, namely: “a management environment
that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to a
specified business case”; and “a temporary organisation that is needed to produce a unique
All these definitions identify a project as being temporary in nature, with the project structure
being established for the sole purpose of accomplishing some clearly defined changed
outcome. Resources are assembled and coordinated to achieve this new desired state. Once
the change outcome is accomplished, projects are disbanded. Therefore projects are a vehicle
of change to take the organisation from an existing state to a planned future state.
Whilst one cannot devalue the importance in appropriately defining what a project is, it is
essentially a vision to reach some desired future state. It is management of the project which
is critical above all (Kotter, 2011; Lewin, 1947). The management of the project converts the
project vision for change into a reality (Rankins, 2007). PM is the disciplined application of
knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements
(PMI 2008; Turner & Muller, 2005). PM is accomplished through the application of
of actions bringing about a defined result (PMI, 2008). Both the leading project management
structured methods, PMBoK and PRINCE2 consider processes vital to the project’s success.
PMBoK incorporates the five process groups of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring,
controlling, and closing of projects. These process groups encompass thirty seven other
processes (PMI, 2008). Each process involves detailing the inputs, outputs, tools and
techniques to meet the objective of the process. PRINCE2 is a process based methodology to
be applied to projects, and essentially gives guidance in the execution and monitoring of a
project. The processes of Prince2 define the management activities to be undertaken during
the project. PRINCE2 describes eight high-level management processes which are used for
managing the project from end to end, covering the activities from initiating a project,
through controlling and managing progress, through to project completion and closure. These
eight processes are: Starting Up a Project, Initiating a Project, Planning, Directing a Project,
Managing a Stage Boundary, Controlling a Stage, Managing Project Delivery and Closing a
Project.
However, Todnem (ibid) details three models which offer practical guidance to organisations
in terms of processes, tools and techniques for change implementation. It is suggested there
are some possibilities to improve CM practices as well as links with PM processes to build a
process for CM that is more comprehensive to the reality of continuing business change. In
order to demonstrate this, the CM process models proposed by Kotter (1996), Kanter et al.
(1992) and Luecke (2003) have been be reproduced in Table 1, with a fourth column
detailing possible contributions from PM which could add value to the CM process.
Todnem (2005), in his critical review of organisational CM, argues that there is a
fundamental lack of a valid framework for organisational CM. Whilst leading CM theorists
Kanter (ibid), Kotter (ibid), and Loecke (ibid) highlight the importance of creating a vision
and strategic intent for implementing change, Todnem (2005) argues that the literature lacks
sufficient methodology for measuring the success of organisational CM. PM processes could
be utilized in this instance should the CM be treated as a project. Both the PRINCE2 and
PMBoK resources have a process to capture the results of the project and confirm the desired
outcome. The PRINCE2 process “Closing a Project” ensures that all planned outcomes have
been delivered to the customer’s required parameters, as specified in the project brief and
business case contained within the ‘Starting up a Project’ process. In addition to the “Closing
a Project Stage,” an “End Project Report” is prepared to detail the outcome of the project.
PMBoK also has a specific process for measuring the success of a project which could be
implemented in the CM field. The PMBok “Closing Process” provides a formal process for
measuring success by evaluating the project against clearly defined goals. The process also
ensures acceptance by customers and stakeholders of the project (PMI, 2008). With the high
failure rate of change projects appearing to fail (Hughes, 2011), this closing process could be
incorporated into the CM project to review what has been delivered against what the
Another important process that both PRINCE2 and PMBoK utilize is the capturing and
documenting of lessons learned over the duration of the project, including both positive and
negative experiences. PRINCE2 has a mechanism in the form of a ‘Lessons Log’ to capture
knowledge gained throughout the project (Pincemaille, 2008). Lessons are logged and then a
lessons report is compiled at the end of each stage to document and build a knowledge bank
of lessons. PMBoK also values the importance of lessons learned; with processes adopted for
Also forming part of the lesson learned process is identification of actions taken as a result of
the lesson learned and subsequent follow-up to ensure the required action had been taken.
Whilst performance of any current project cannot be changed at the conclusion, the
performance of future projects can be improved by documenting lessons learned for future
review. Significantly, leading CM process models fail to appropriately consider lessons
learned from previous CM processes. In the rapidly changing business environment this
would appear to be a shortfall of CM. Capturing lessons learned, both positive and negative,
would assist in planning future change-projects and be a useful process to incorporate into the
CM framework.
Projects are often used to implement a strategy. The implementation of a strategy involves a
change process and this change process invokes uncertainty. Whilst the leading theorists on
change articulate communicating the change vision to all affected, Verwey and Comninos
(BFPM) to deal with uncertainty and constant change through ‘progressive elaboration’ of a
project. In BFPM, each functional group in an organisation interprets a strategy and develops
a business plan independently, from which a portfolio of projects are reviewed and
subsequently resourced. This process is proposed to effectively manage the change associated
functional units to be involved and be integral to the change. Such projects include business
(Verwey and Comninos, 2002), where there is a need to address changes in the organisational
culture and stakeholder perceptions. This process of empowering individual functional units
resource utilized in PRINCE2 which could be applied in CM. PRINCE2 utilizes work
objectives; and then accepted by the project manager once accomplished (OGC, 2005). This
process of delegation and subsequent acceptance of work packages could be utilized in the
CM arena to delegate tasks and responsibilities to individuals or business units. This would
improve the leading CM models which do not adequately address this concept of delegation
There is a well-known phrase, “if you fail to plan, then plan to fail”. This phrase captures the
implementing the project, including the activities of the people involved or affected by the
change, stakeholders, the finances, and competencies applied in the project. PRINCE2
utilizes a process to effectively manage execution of the initial plan of the project which the
Whilst a project plan is prepared in the initial planning, which sets out how and when the
project will be delivered, the project is divided into a number of clearly defined and
controllable stages which PRINCE2 refers to as a the process of “Manage by Stages” (OCG,
2005). Utilizing this PM process, detailed planning of succeeding stages is only undertaken
upon nearing completion of the current stage. Once a stage is approaching completion, the
work for the succeeding stage is planned in detail by the Project Manager and then
subsequently approved by the authority for the project (Project Board in PRINCE2
terminology).
PRINCE2 also utilises the “Managing a Stage Boundary” which is a decision point in the
continuity of the project. This process provides a decision point on whether the project will
be continued as planned, adjusted or stopped. The process involves reviewing the current
stage and determining whether the business case is still valid, and if the project can proceed
to the next stage. The process is managed by the Project Manager, who informs the Project
Board of the likelihood of success in attaining the project business objectives, project plan,
together with associated risks and issues. If the Project Board is satisfied with the current
stage-end and the next stage plan, the project is permitted to continue. Therefore the
This process is well suited to CM implementation. This process of separating the project into
stages and managing stage boundaries, is ideally suited to change-projects where there is a
The literature largely fails to consider the likelihood of changes to the plan. Resistance to
change is one scenario where the initial plan of the change-project needs to be altered
although there is an array of possibilities for deviation from the initial plan. Kanter (1992),
emphasises the need for “crafting an implementation plan”, although within his “Ten
Commandments for Executing Change” he fails to identify the need to monitor and adjust the
strategy in response to problems in the change process. Kotter (2003) discusses developing a
vision and strategy which identifies the desired outcome, however this does not lay out the
steps to achieving the objective. Utilising a stage approach and planning the detail of each
stage once progress of the current stage is accomplished would strengthen the CM process by
appropriately dealing with amendments. Kotter & Rathgeber (2006) argue that one clear
lesson learned from successful change initiatives is that change goes through a series of
phases. Therefore, phases are ideally suited to a staged approach. This is reinforced by “7
Steps to Change Management” (Luecke, 2003), which identifies the need to “monitor and
PRINCE2, risk can be defined as uncertainty of outcome (Pincemaille, 2008). The goal of
risk management is to manage the exposure and militate against risks. The project leadership
or ‘Project Board’ in PRINCE2 has to promote risk management, build up adapted policies,
and assess projects status related to their risks. In the PRINCE2 processes, risk management
is addressed from the conceptual development of a project. Commencing with the ‘Initiating
a project’ process, there is a prevailing insistence on the importance to assess risks. Then, in
the project process ‘Planning’, risk management is utilized again. For each stage of the
project, risk analysis has to be undertaken, to determine whether or not the new plan is
compliant with project constraints, and identified risks; without changing the criticality, the
priority, importance, or the action plan taken to avoid the risk (Pincemaille, 2008). PMBoK
considers risk management integral to the project life cycle, with the six clearly defined
processes of: risk management planning, risk identification, qualitative risk analysis,
quantitative risk analysis, risk response planning, risk monitoring and control (PMI, 2008).
This consideration in PMBoK and PRINCE2 to identify and plan for risks is ideally suited to
the CM process where any number of risks could be encountered over the change process.
Whilst it has been argued that many of the PM processes and techniques are well suited to
CM, the PM field has traditionally placed a strong emphasis on the management of tasks. The
PM methodologies largely avoid many of the softer issues related to projects: such as the
human, political and organisational change implications. Some of these issues which the PM
professional has traditionally unheeded could be translated into, but not limited to, company
politics and power struggles, stakeholder management, hidden agendas, cultural barriers,
(Turner and Muller, 2005; Toor and Ogunlana, 2009; Levasseeur, 2001). This arguable
backgrounds, where focus has been enshrined in tactics and results; or even a gender issue
backgrounds and have a tendency to avoid the task and process orientated approach by
placing a much stricter emphasis on the human, political and organisational change
considerations Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008). The CM professional has traditionally lacked the
technical know-how, and has a restricted focus on project objectives - whilst pursuing softer
objectives around those people affected by the change. It is a common theme throughout the
CM literature to adequately build an individual’s awareness and desire for change. However,
implementing and coordinating the logistics of a complex change project requires PM skills
to plan and execute the change initiative (Kotter & Cohne, 2002). Therefore, whilst PM
processes and techniques are ideally suited to CM, its techniques are also valuable to
effective PM. Therefore, it is considered that the two fields should not be viewed as mutually
exclusive. The goals and objectives of CM which are largely focused on organisational
support and adoption are also aligned with those of PM, since the objective of any project
requires the willingness of the organisation to implement; and both are aligned with the
organisational strategy.
(HR) department for implementation; often with the assistance of third-party advisors. This is
because of the ongoing presumption that CM is about people and the associated soft skills;
and as such CM should be in the HR area of an organisation. Whilst it has been argued above
6.0. Conclusion
The rapidly changing business environment has required organisations to seek out effective
processes, tools and techniques to implement successful change. Whilst there is a significant
body of literature surrounding CM, the high failure rate of change interventions suggests
improvements could be made to its management, monitoring and control. The analytical
focus of this research was in how the common and most utilised CM models could be
PMBoK and PRINCE2 as a reference, a number of PM processes and techniques have been
CM initiatives.
The lack of a suitable guiding framework for CM suggests the creation of a CM body of
encompasses a broad range of possible change models, the attempts by CM theorists to apply
a formal structure to the change process have been scant. Treating change initiatives as a
temporary project and subsequently integrating CM with PM processes will capture synergies
between the two areas. The social science background of CM professionals and the tendency
for HR to deliver change initiatives has contributed to the lack of appreciation for formal
dimensions over all other issues. Further research into specific integrated techniques and
tools for delivering change would be valuable with particular focus on technical contributions
to CM. Moreover, the PM field could gain from utilizing CM processes in implementation of
projects. It was purported the technical background of traditional project managers has
resulted in a focus on tasks and results rather than the human aspects and softer skills of CM,
which are equally valuable to project success. Bridging these two gaps could increase the
Anbari, F.N., Bredillet, C.N. & Turner, J.R. (2008).“Exploring research in project management: the
nine schools of project management,” paper in production.
Anderson, L. A. and Anderson, D. (2001) The Change Leaders Roadmap. San Francisco: Jossey
Bass/Pfeiffer.
Baca, C. (2005). Project Management Spotlight on Change Management. London: Harbor Light
Press.
Balogun, J. and Hope Hailey, V. (2004) Exploring Strategic Change. London: Prentice Hall.
Bridges, W. (1991). Managing transitions: Making the most of change. Cambridge, MA: Perseus
Books.
Hughes, M. (2007). “The Tools and Techniques of Change Management”. Journal of Change
Management, 7:1, pp. 37-49.
Hughes, M. (2011). “Do 70 Per Cent of All Organizational Change Initiatives Really Fail?” Journal
of Change Management, 11:4, pp. 451-464.
Jarocki, T. L. (2011). Enhancing and Unifying Project and Change Management. San
Francisco:Princeton.
Kanter, R. M., Stein, B. A. & Jick, T. D. (1992) The Challenge of Organisational Change. New York:
The Tree Press.
Kotter, J. P. (1990). A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management. New York:
Free Press.
Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Kotter, J. (2011). Change Management vs. Change Leadership - What's the Difference? Forbes
online. Retrieved 12/21/11 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2011/07/12/change-
management-vs-change-leadership-whats-the-difference
Kotter, John P. & Dan S. Cohen (2002). The Heart of Change. Boston: Harvard Business School
Press.
Kotter, J. P. & Rathgeber, H. (2006). Our Iceberg Is Melting. St. Martin's Press.
Kotter, J. P. (2007). Leading Change. Harvard Business Review, 85(1), 96-103.
Kotter, J. P. & Schlesinger, L A. (2008). “Choosing strategies to change”. Harvard Business Review
ISSN 0017-8012, 07/2008, Volume 86, Issue 7,8, p. 130.
Levasseur, R. E. (2001). “People skills: Change Management Tools – Lewin’s Change Model”.
Interfaces, Jul/Aug; 31, 4, p. 71.
Lewin, K. (1947). “Frontiers in group dynamics”. Resolving social conflicts and field theory in social
science Washington: American Psychological Association.
Luecke, R. (2003). Managing Change and Transition. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Moran, J. W. and Brightman, B. K. (2001) “Leading organisational change”. Career Development
International, 6(2), pp. 111–118.
OGC: Office of Government Commerce, (2005). Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2, 4th
ed., London: The Stationery Office.
Paton, R.A. & MCCalman, J. (2008). “Change Management – A guide to effective implementation”.
Sage Publications.
Paton, R. & Dempster, L. (2002). “Managing change from a gender perspective”, European
Management Journal, 20 (5), pp. 539–548.
Pincemaille, C. (2008). Prince2: A methodology of project management. Cork Institute of
Technology.
PMI: Project Management Institute, (2004). The Project Management Body of Knowledge, version 3.
PMI Project Management Institute (2008) A guide to the project management body of knowledge
(PMBOK® Guide). Newtown Square, Pa. Project Management Institute, Inc.
Rankins,G. J. (2007). The Ying and Yang of Project Management AIPM.
Todnem, R. (2005). Organisational Change Management: a Critical Review. Journal of
Change Management. Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 369–380, December.
Toor, S. & Ogunlana, S. (2009). Ineffective Leadership: Investigating the negative attributes of
leaders and organisational neutralisers, Engineering, Construction, Architectural
Management, 16(3), pp. 254-272.
Turner, J. R. (2009). Handbook of Project-Based Management. (3rd Edition). McGraw-Hill.
Turner, J. R. & Muller, R (2005). The project manager’s leadership style as a success factor on
projects: a literature review. Project Management Journal, 36(2), pp. 49-61.
Verwey, A. & Comninos, D. (2002). Business Focussed Project Management. Institute of
Management Services.
Table I – PM Methodologies and CM Models
Abstract
The objective of this paper was to study the relationship between human resource management
interventionist strategies and organizational change; and flexibility that can make employees more
adaptive and receptive to changes. Out of one hundred and sixty copies of questionnaire
administered, one hundred and twenty three (123) were collected and analyzed. Structural Equation
Modelling (SEM), a hypothesized relationship was tested using Amos 18 that allows test of complex
relationships between variables. Our model shows that relationship exists among human resource
management interventionist strategies and was consistent with organizational change in the studied
industry. However, the study can be extended to other industries, for example manufacturing industry
as well as industry within the merger and acquisition of companies.
DOI: 10.5937/sjm8-3712
140 A.A. Adeniji / SJM 8 (2) (2013) 139 - 154
that banking industry are more responsive to this study views transformational
environmental factors and instilling organizational change regarding the recent
customer service cum commercially focused past acquisition of Intercontinental Bank by
ethos are characteristics of new approaches Access Bank Plc (Nigeria). This
to the banking sector of the Nigeria fundamental change tends to affect the
economy. With rapid changes in emphasis, organizational culture and its operations that
the banking sector is now examining its call for reengineering of processes,
internal structure and reviewing the roles and structures, roles and even underlying
responsibilities of employees and managers assumptions.
so as to deliver the top quality services
demanded by the stakeholders.
More than decades ago, mergers and 2. ACCESS BANK PLC
acquisitions in the banking industry have
become the dominant mode of growth The transformation of Access Bank Plc as
(Arquilera & Dencker, 2004). Human a small Nigerian Bank into an African
resource management has the potential to financial institution has made it to be listed
play important role in mergers and as one of the top 10 largest banks in Nigeria
acquisition integration by reinforcing the in terms of asset base. Access Bank was
new human resource management system issued a banking license in December, 1988
and corporate culture and providing and was incorporated as a privately owned
leadership and communication to reduce commercial bank in February, 1989. After
turnover. the commencement of operation, in March
When an organization is undergoing 1998 to be precised, Access Bank became a
change, what role does human resource Public Limited Liability Company; and
plays? Organizational changes are driven top listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange same
down and initiated largely due to strategic year. In the year 2001, Access Bank obtained
business goals which the company needs to a Universal Banking License from the
achieve. The human resource function is to Central Bank of Nigeria, which made it
anchor the change management process and possible for the bank to operate in over 310
facilitate the transformation across all teams branches and service outlets located in major
and work dimensions. Each change throws cities and towns across Nigeria, Sub Saharan
up unique challenges and the details which Africa and the United Kingdom.In the year
need to be addressed are diverse in each 2012, Access Bank is said to be one of the
instance. The aim of this paper is to explore Africa’s most successful banks, and was
how human resource management could play ranked amongst Africa’s top
effective role in increasing individual and 20 banks by total assets
organizational effectiveness during (http://www.accessbankplc.com/pages/Page.
organizational change by implementing aspx?Value=3&ln=Gy7UlI4cSJE94Wa2qud
progressive human resource processes. The bFQ%3d%3d).
term “Organizational Change” connotes However, in 2009 the storm of global
significant change in the organization, which financial crisis affected the Nigerian banking
could either be reorganization; adding; or industry, which resulted into some banks
removing new product/service. However, merged and some acquired. In the year 2012,
A.A. Adeniji / SJM 8 (2) (2013) 139 - 154
141
the Group Managing Director/Chief organizational changes in an attempt to adapt
Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc and respond to the changing economic
announced the completion of its acquisition conditions, technological innovations,
of Intercontinental Bank, and stated that the customer and client expectations and a
transaction is significant in the Nigerian shifting workforce. It was estimated that
banking industry, because it preserves 56% of organizations are undergoing three or
hundreds of Nigerian jobs and protects the more complex changes at one time or
savings of millions of Nigerian citizens. another (Barell et al., 2007).
Organizations also, are changing the way
they implement and manage change. Change
management in organizations are now
3. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK shifted from being the responsibility of an
internal or external change agent dedicated
3.1. Overview of Change Management to its implementation and management to
increasingly being identified as a core
Organizational change is seen as a competency for most organizational leaders
necessary concept for organizations to (Doyle, 2002). The human resource function
compete in the ever changing and in increasingly seen as one of the key
competitive business environment. The rapid functions in thedevelopment and
development of information and implementation of strategic responses to
communication technology have prompted increasing competitive pressure as both
many organizations to actively seek for new public and private organizations are forced to
ways, ideas and creative solutions in adapt to domestic and international
improving their current product, process, competition, technological advancements,
system and technology which is referred to slower growth and declining markets
as organizational change, and it had been (Buyens & DeVos, 2001). Such strategic
accepted widely that effective and efficient responses involve effective communication
human management resource practices are of the importance of human resource across
important in extracting positive work the organization and a reconsideration of the
behaviours among employees which role of line managers in human resource
invariably will lead to organization change delivery. As such, the skills required to lead,
(Tan & Nasurdin, 2010). No one would manage and implement change are being
dispute that every organization has incorporated into the existing expectations,
experienced change. Yet despite roles and responsibilities of human resource
organization’s familiarity with change, manager and other employees, (Doyle,
success in implementation is relatively rare. 2002).
It was estimated that 70% of organizational Therefore, it is not surprising that in an
change initiatives fail completely (Bear & environment where the magnitude of change,
Nohria, 2000). Among those deemed its complexity and its frequency are
successful, 75% of them fail to achieve their increasing, the human resource persons and
intended result (Nikolaou et al., 2007). leaders have begun to focus their attention on
Despite these low success rates, the adoption of change management best
organizations still continue with the practices.
142 A.A. Adeniji / SJM 8 (2) (2013) 139 - 154
Abstract: This paper proposes a performance and change management model for institutions for collaboration (IFCs) in
industrial clusters to assist them while planning, conducting and evaluating joint actions. A three-stage implementation
scheme and a self-assessment tool that helps an IFC determine its compliance with the proposed model are also
introduced. The self-assessment tool was applied in three Brazilian IFCs from different clusters. It was found that the IFCs
researched face major difficulties in designing and implementing performance measures to evaluate the results and impacts
of joint actions. However, IFCs have been successful in identifying local infrastructure and devising informal strategic plans.
Key words: industrial clusters, performance management, collaborative networks, institutions for collaboration.
https://ojs.upv.es/index.php/IJPME
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Spain
Int. J. Prod. Manag. Eng. (2013) 1(1), 13-26
13
Carpinetti, Luiz C.R., & Lima, Rafael H.P.
14 Int. J. Prod. Manag. Eng. (2013) 1(1), 13-26 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Spain
Institutions for collaboration in industrial clusters:
proposal of a performance and change management model
by the Brazilian Ministry for Development, Industry their performance measurement systems (PMS)
and Foreign Trade (MDIC, 2010). (Neely, 1995; 2005; Kaplan, 1996; Kennerley,
The fundamentals that seek to explain the 2002; Radnor and Barnes, 2007). As pointed out by
competitive advantages of industrial clusters were Neely (1998), a PMS can be used to four purposes:
set out in the 19th century by Alfred Marshal, check current position, communicate performance,
who noted that geographical agglomerations of confirm priorities and compel progress. This
firms might ultimately result in three types of reinforce the role of performance management in
externalities – pool of specialized workers, strategic issues, such as setting priorities, targets
specialized providers of inputs and services, and the and deploying strategies by cascading down actions
technological spillovers that flow easily among co- that will ultimately make the company achieve its
located firms (Krugman, 1991; Plummer and planned objectives. Due to the apparent importance
Taylor, 2001; Cortright, 2006). These externalities of performance management to individual
are called by Marshal as external economies. organizations, many authors have tried to apply this
Schmitz and Nadvi (1999) added that, aside of theory to measure multi-firm relationships as supply
the unplanned benefits of external economies, chains (Chow et al., 1994), organizational networks
companies in industrial clusters may gain (Camarinha-Matos and Affsarmanesh, 2007) and
competitive advantage through planned joint industrial clusters (Carpinetti et al., 2008).
actions, which are enabled by cooperation and
Indeed, performance management in industrial
collaboration among firms. Two topics are often
clusters has drawn considerable attention from
associated with collaboration in industrial clusters:
several authors and has been viewed as a basis for
- Social capital: refers to the set of intangible the management of a cluster (Sölvell et al. 2003;
factors that exist in a community, such as DTI, 2005; Gerolamo et al., 2008; Carpinetti et al.,
values, norms, attitudes, trust and networks that 2008). Furthermore, the use of numerical means
facilitate coordination and collaboration for the to demonstrate the benefits of collaboration in
common good (Cohen and Prusak, 2001); organizational networks would motivate companies
- Collective efficiency: competitive advantage to collaborate more and establish new partnerships
gained through external economies and joint (Camarinha-Matos and Affsarmanesh, 2007).
actions (Schmitz, 1995). According to a report written to the English
Department of Trade and Industry, measuring a
Some authors contend that concentrations of firms cluster’s performance may be useful to evaluate
foster network formation, since companies can take the appropriateness, effectiveness and efficiency
advantage of the proximity to strengthen the bonds of interventions (DTI, 2005). Collaboration, on
with local firms and establish new partnerships its turn, can be viewed as a metric composed of
(Camarinha-Matos and Affsarmanesh, 2005). There three measurable dimensions: information sharing,
is some empirical evidence in the literature linking decision synchronization and incentive alignment
social networks and the knowledge exchange (Simatupang and Sridharan, 2005). It is thus clear
among co-located firms, which in turn may that, for companies to collaborate with each other in
facilitate innovation among companies (Morosini, joint initiatives, it becomes necessary a coordination
2004; Steiner and Hartmann, 2006). For example, mechanism that balances the interests and serves as
Baptista and Swann (1998) found that the a communication channel among the parties
concentration of specialized workers of a given involved. This means communicating the status of
sector facilitate knowledge spillovers, which in turn ongoing activities and the impacts of joint
may lead to increased levels of innovation. Steinle initiatives, which should be done by means of
and Schiele (2002) argue that companies must performance measures.
interact with each other in order to benefit from
locating within a cluster, which in turn requires a There does not seem to be a sound approach or
climate that stimulates cooperation and intensive framework in the literature that fulfils the need
knowledge exchange. of a performance management model to facilitate
the conduction and assessment of collaborative
initiatives in industrial clusters. There are though
3.2. Performance management in industrial some contributions that try to fill this gap. Sölvell
clusters et al. (2003) developed the Cluster Initiative
Performance management has been a central topic Performance Model (CIPM), in which the
in organizational and operations management performance of a cluster initiative is measured in
(Neely, 2005). This has led many authors to terms of innovation, international competitiveness,
develop frameworks that assist companies in cluster growth, and achievement of goals.
designing According
15
Carpinetti, Luiz C.R., & Lima, Rafael H.P.
to the authors, cluster’s performance is ultimately - Step 2 – Strategic orientation and definition of
affected by three elements: the social, political and objectives: formulation of a strategic plan that
economic setting within the nation; the objectives balances the interests of local companies as
of the cluster initiative; and the processes by well as other interested parties, such as local
which the cluster initiative develops. Carpinetti authorities and the community.
et al. (2008) proposed a framework to design
- Step 3 – Implementation of improvement and
performance measurement systems for industrial innovation projects: based on the elements
clusters. The authors divided performance measures formulated in Steps 1 and 2, a series of joint
into four perspectives: economic and social results; initiatives should be developed to take
company’s performance; collective efficiency; and advantage each partner’s capabilities as well as
social capital. A similar contribution was made by to increase trust among companies;
Bortolotti and Amato Neto (2006), who developed a - Step 4 – Performance evaluation and
6-dimension framework to characterize and measurement: definition of a process to measure
evaluate industrial clusters. The six dimensions and evaluate the performance and impact of
included in the framework were related to joint actions;
geographic, economic, institutional, social,
- Step 5 – Supporting infrastructure for the
technological and environmental aspects of the
management process: establishment of the
industrial cluster as a whole. The European
infrastructure necessary to support cooperation
Commission carried out seven case studies in
projects, such as a regional office or a regional
networks from the automotive sector and proposed
development agency.
a five-step method to the management of networks
(EC, 2001):
3.3. Institutions for collaboration
- Step 1 – Goal, potential and strategy: consists
Besides the external economies that naturally
of drawing together the key stakeholders of the
emerge in agglomerations, companies my benefit
network;
greatly from local supporting institutions oriented
- Step 2 – Starting the network: setting of
towards satisfying specific needs of the cluster
rules between partners and preparation of the
participants (Karaev et al., 2007). As pointed by
operational background;
Seliger et al. (2008), such institutions are vital for
- Step 3 – Implementation of the network:
the coordination of joint actions and diffusion of
establishment of an appropriate information and
specific knowledge inside the cluster. Schmitz and
communication platform to connect all network
Nadvi (1999) contend that local agencies should
participants;
mediate conflicts of interest that may arise
- Step 4 – Management of the network: between companies within the cluster. The
management of the network activities by existence of local coordination may differentiate a
focusing on information and communication, mere agglomeration of companies from a
training, innovative projects, comprehensive local innovation system that aims to
internationalization, and marketing and improve local competitiveness through joint actions
advertising; and network formation (Gerolamo et al., 2008).
- Step 5 – Evaluation of the network: consists
of auditing the network actions and gathering Several terms can be found in the literature to refer
feedback from network members to to these supporting institutions, such as cluster
continuously improve the management of the initiatives (Sölvell et al., 2003; Ketels and Sölvell,
network; 2006), institutions for collaboration (Sölvell et al.,
2003; 2008), industry associations (ITD, 2009),
An analogous contribution was made by Gerolamo
regional development agencies (Seliger et al., 2008)
et al. (2008), who developed a performance
or institutional thickening (Andriani et al., 2005). In
management model for industrial clusters and
this paper we refer to local supporting institutions in
cooperation networks. Their model is divided into
clusters as institutions for collaboration (IFC).
five steps:
These institutions may assume a variety of forms,
- Step 1 – Identification of the stakeholders: the
such as private organizations, public agencies or
first step is to identify the stakeholders directly
industry associations. The literature reports a
or indirectly related to the cluster activities
number of cases concerning institutions for
(large enterprises, SMEs, local partners, local
collaboration (see some examples in Schmitz, 1998;
associations, the local chamber of commerce
Sölvell et al., 2003; Gerolamo et al., 2008). It
and industry, universities, public authorities,
seems that cultural
financial institutions and so forth;
16 Int. J. Prod. Manag. Eng. (2013) 1(1), 13-26 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Spain
Institutions for collaboration in industrial clusters:
proposal of a performance and change management model
issues, the type of business, the economic setting, three dimensions – infrastructure, strategic planning
and the existing social capital may influence the and implementation and assessment. The model
form of local IFCs. In spite of that, it seems to be emphasizes the implementation of joint actions
consensus in the literature that regardless of the way that seek to improve some aspect of the industrial
the IFC comes about in a cluster, it plays a vital role cluster’s performance. It does not necessarily mean
in managing interactions, sharing of knowledge and that all companies in the cluster should be involved
in providing a cognitive framework for in every joint action supported by the institution,
transforming information into useful knowledge but rather that each joint action should benefit at
(Audretsch and Lehmann, 2006; Steiner and Ploder, least a subset of the local companies. The execution
2008). of these actions requires strong coordination,
As to the emergence of these institutions, Sölvell especially due to their collective nature. At this
et al. (2003) argue that after a cluster’s formation, point, the support provided by institutions becomes
the region tends to accumulate resources and crucial, since they can serve as mediators between
commitment of its participants, which may the several parties involved in the joint action.
culminate in the establishment of local IFCs. The
authors describe IFCs as formal institutions
4.1. Infrastructure
maintained with fees paid by local firms that seek
to balance the interests of the different actors The model in Figure 2 suggests that the IFC
involved with the industrial cluster. IFCs may act should identify the existing infrastructure prior to
upon several issues by coordinating joint actions the definition and execution of joint actions. By
concerning quality of life, education, infrastructure identifying the local infrastructure, the institution
(transportation, energy, and communication), tax will be able to put forth joint actions that optimize
regulation, export strategy, quality standards, infrastructure utilization and improve existing
research and training, and so forth (Sölvell, 2008; facilities.
ITD, 2009).
Local infrastructure can be analyzed at two major
levels – institutional and regional. At the
4. The performance and change institutional level, the model points to the
management model establishment of a statute to formalize its
management hierarchy and the roles assigned to
The model described in this section aims to help each member. A local office should also be set up
IFCs in industrial clusters in the planning, with the management tools and information systems
implementation and evaluation of joint actions. One necessary for the institution to conduct its activities
such institution may encompass representatives and manage joint actions. Additionally, a
from the various cluster actors, such as the coordinator or a coordination team should be
companies, the government, research centres, chosen to act directly upon the joint actions and
universities and so forth. Figure 2 shows the innovation programs supported by the institutions.
proposed model, which is divided into The role of
this coordination body is to mediate the interests of local firms about them. On the other hand,
and assignments between the parties involved with the institution may act as a representative of
a given joint action. companies before the governmental agencies to
The infrastructure elements at the regional level suggest policies that would incentive the local
refer to cluster actors and facilities that can economic activities;
contribute to the execution of joint actions. For - Existing infrastructure: the diagnosis conducted
example, cluster actors such as technical schools, in the first dimension of the model can
specialized service providers and universities can reveal opportunities with respect to the use
provide specific knowledge to the coordination and improvement of the local infrastructure.
team and to the companies involved in a joint Moreover, joint actions may combine the skills
action. Besides these actors, the institution should of a subset of the actors in the cluster to promote
identify the local facilities that could be exploited innovation among businesses.
by local companies. Examples of such In order to formulate the strategic planning, the
infrastructure elements are roads, railroads, model also suggests that the institution should
warehouses, intermodal ports, communication lines, characterize the local productive system and
power supplies, sources of raw material and so identify ongoing joint actions, so that their goals
forth. These need to be mapped by the institution so can be reassessed for the next management cycle.
that actions can be taken, both to use and to With all this information in hand, the institution will
improve the existing infrastructure. be able to determine more appropriate short and
long term goals and set out the joint actions to help
4.2. Strategic planning achieve these goals. Later on, these actions will
have to be deployed to all the parties involved to
From the standpoint of individual firms, strategic determine their roles and activities. The institution
planning is the process by which leaders formulate can refer to the hoshin kanri technique to this end
their vision of future and develop the procedures (Akao, 2004). Finally, three additional aspects
and operations to achieve such vision (Goodstein should be taken into account when formulating the
et al, 1993). In this sense, strategic planning can be institution’s strategic planning:
viewed as a tool to help organizations set priorities
and allocate resources to achieve them (Allison and - The sources of funding for implementing joint
Kaye, 2006). From the perspective of an institution actions;
promoting joint actions in industrial clusters, the - The means by which the results of actions
main strategic objectives differ from the traditional will be communicated to businesses and other
profit and productivity objectives of regular stakeholders;
organizations. The strategic objectives of an IFC - The performance measures that need to be
should be related to the improvement of the various implemented to evaluate the results of actions in
performance dimensions of the industrial cluster. numerical terms.
Hence, the objective of the second dimension of the
4.3. Implementation and assessment
model is to motivate the institution to formulate its
strategic planning. However, the plurality of actors The third dimension of the model consists of
involved with the cluster raises several challenges implementing the items designed in the strategic
to the formulation of short and long term goals that plan.
balance the desires of local businesses that often
compete with each other. For that reason, joint
actions need not necessarily involve all firms, but
rather those whose goals match the purpose of the
initiative being planned. The following sources can
be used to inspire the formulation of joint actions:
- Needs of businesses: the institution may conduct
a diagnosis of local businesses needs and devise
joint actions based upon the needs common to
certain groups of firms;
- Public policies: On the one hand, the institution
may search for public policies that favour local
economic activities and increase awareness Figure 3. The proposed model and the PDCA cycle.
18 Int. J. Prod. Manag. Eng. (2013) 1(1), 13-26 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Spain
Institutions for collaboration in industrial clusters:
proposal of a performance and change management model
In other words, the institution should execute the it into four stages, by which the institution should
joint actions foreseen in the strategic plan and gradually implement and improve its management
gather data to calculate performance measures as a practices. The dynamics proposed in Figure 4
means of assessing the impacts of such actions. It enables the institution to learn from experience and
becomes now clear that the model is strongly encourages continuous improvement of its planning,
influenced by continuous improvement principles execution and assessment capabilities.
and the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check and Act) cycle.
Figure 3 illustrates this by associating the The stages in Figure 4 are associated with the
dimensions of the model with the phases of the operation of each dimension of the management
PDCA cycle. model. Stage zero (S-0) is the initial stage of
implementation and corresponds to an IFC that
As depicted in Figure 3, the first two dimensions of has no formal planning and control capabilities
the model correspond to the Plan phase of the in place to manage joint actions. The first stage (S-
PDCA cycle, during which the institution should 1) encompasses the characterization of the regional
characterize the local infrastructure, set short and infrastructure and the establishment of the
long term objectives, devise the joint actions to be management tools, information systems and
implemented and define the performance supporting facilities to coordinate joint actions. The
measurement system to be used in the remainder of second stage (S-2) covers the strategic planning and
the cycle. The third dimension of the model the implementation and assessment dimensions.
stretches across the Do, Check and Act phases of It does not regard both dimensions separately, but
the PDCA cycle. During the Do phase, joint actions rather the closed planning, execution and
should be implemented as planned and data for assessment loop, which was depicted in Figure 3.
performance measures should be collected. During Thus, when the institution reaches this stage, it will
the Check phase, performance measures and the have successfully developed practices to formulate
results of joint actions need to be assessed in order strategic plans, design performance measures,
to determine the degree to which the objectives execute joint actions and assess its results and
have been achieved. The last phase of the PDCA outcomes. Stage three (S-3) is achieved when the
cycle corresponds to the communication of IFC has put in place a mature management system
performance and action results, benchmarking with that fully covers the practices from the three
other clusters and the identification of further dimensions of the model. At this stage the
opportunities for improvement. institution will have learned from experience and
improved its managerial capabilities in a way that
4.4. Model implementation future joint actions will be better coordinated
The implementation of the proposed model will between the companies, the institution and other
hardly occur at once. Instead, it is expected that cluster actors. Additionally, the experience gained
institutions will develop some of the practices after several management cycles may teach the
concurrently, regardless of the dimension to institution how to better choose and formulate joint
which they belong. It is thus pointless to devise a actions that will ultimately meet the real needs of
series of steps to implement the model, because local companies and actors. These aspects together
each institution will choose different paths to may increase the success rate of actions and hence
implement it. It is however necessary to understand increase trust between companies and the
the dynamics of the model, that is the structure institution.
required so that continuous improvement may flow
throughout the model. Figure 4 illustrates the 4.5. Self-assessment tool
dynamics of the model by dividing As mentioned earlier, it is very unlikely that an IFC
will implement the management model at once.
Moreover, even though institutions may not be
aware of the model proposed in this paper, many of
them have already implemented managerial
practices that satisfy some of the model
requirements. It becomes thus necessary a tool to
help such institutions evaluate their management
practices in relation to those required by the model
as a way to determine what areas need
improvement. To this end, a set of requirements
were devised to characterize each stage of the
Figure 4. Dynamics between the dimensions of the model management model and organized as a
19
Carpinetti, Luiz C.R., & Lima, Rafael H.P.
Requirement Question
R1 – Establishment of the local office Does the institution have a local office that allows its operation?
R2 – Management tools and Are there appropriate management tools and information systems in place to
information systems assist the institution in its operation and in the coordination of joint actions?
R3 – Coordination Does the institution have a coordinator or a coordination team to manage joint
actions and innovation programs?
R4 – Identification of the Has the local infrastructure (facilities, communication, transportation and so
local infrastructure forth) been formally identified?
R5 – Identification of the cluster actors Have the actors involved with the cluster been formally identified?
20 Int. J. Prod. Manag. Eng. (2013) 1(1), 13-26 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Spain
Institutions for collaboration in industrial clusters:
proposal of a performance and change management model
Requirement Question
R6 – Characterization of the local Has the institution carried out a diagnosis of the local productive system?
productive system
R7 – Awareness of local companies How effective has the work of the institution been towards the awareness of
and other local actors companies and other local actors with respect to collaboration as a means of
improvement and innovation?
R8 – Formulation of the strategic plan Does the institution periodically formulate its strategic plan with short and long
term objectives that aim to improve the cluster’s performance as a whole?
R9 – Formulation of joint actions Are joint actions derived from the strategic plan and appropriately formulated?
(that is with an execution team, determination of responsibilities, associated
performance measures, sources of funding and the like)
R10 – Existence of a PMS Is there a PMS in place that covers all the performance dimensions of the
cluster and that enables the institution to assess the impacts of joint actions?
R11 – Assessment of joint actions Does the institution periodically assess the results of joint actions as a way to:
(i) determine the level of compliance with predetermined goals, (ii) readjust
the plan if necessary or (iii) identify new opportunities for improvement?
R12 – Performance communication Are the results of joint actions and performance measures communicated to all
cluster stakeholders?
R13 – Benchmarking Has the institution implemented mechanisms to benchmark its performance
measures and practices against those from other industrial clusters?
coordinator and vice coordinator of the initiatives software developers, automation firms and a range
are local entrepreneurs who dedicate part of their of other ICT service providers. According to the
time to the management of the cluster’s joint coordinator of the ICT APL of Londrina, the city
actions. They operate from within SIMA by using has approximately 140 ICT companies, among
its infrastructure to promote meetings among which 60 have signed the participation agreement
companies and seminars about subjects of interest so far. The ICT APL of Londrina was started off in
to local firms. Among the ongoing joint actions are 2006 as a joint initiative of local entrepreneurs and
the annual furniture trade fair, business missions to the state government. Joint actions are managed by
international fairs as a way of bringing new ideas a coordinator, a vice coordinator and a secretary,
to local designers, the construction of a quality lab who are also company owners in the city. They
to measure the quality of local products as well as dedicate part of their time to hold meetings with
courses to improve local managers’ capabilities. local companies in order to identify their needs and
suggest actions that should be taken to improve
The information and communication technology
competitiveness and performance of local firms.
(ICT) cluster found in the city of Londrina (C3)
Noteworthy joint actions are the identification of
was identified by IPARDES (2006b) and comprises
Requirement Question
R14 – Existence of a mature PMS Is there a stable and mature PMS with historical data stored for at least two
years?
R15 – Learning from experience Has the institution learned from experience with past joint actions so that the
formulation and implementation of new actions that involve local companies
and actors is facilitated?
R16 – Long term initiatives Has the institution formulated and conducted long term initiatives that aim to
improve local infrastructure, both at the regional and institutional levels?
R17 – Involvement of small, medium Have the initiatives started off by the institution drawn interest from small,
and large firms medium and large firms?
R18 – Impact on performance Have the joint actions conducted by the institution been successful in improving
the overall cluster’s performance?
common training needs to specialize local intermediate classification of variability when the
workforce and the establishment of a local business range is equal to 3. By using these criteria, the
centre that can be used both for joint purchasing and requirements R5, R6, R9, R10, R11, R12, R13 and
for selling local products and services to private and R18 showed low variation, whereas the
public organizations. requirements R4, R8, R15, R16 and R17 showed
The self-assessment was conducted with assistance high variation between the cases. Requirements R1,
of the researchers, who used the questions from R2, R3 and R7 fell in the intermediate group.
Table 1, 2 and 3 to interview the coordinators of The observation of the means obtained for each
each institution. The responses given to each question requirement allows the determination of the overall
were transcribed to determine the level of level of compliance with the practices specified in
compliance to each of the requirements. Table 5 the management model. The scale described in
presents the scores obtained after the interviews. Section
The scores in each requirement, as shown in Table 4.5 was used to classify and discuss the means
5, were grouped to determine the average score in observed. However, relying solely on the means or
relation to the three implementation stages. These on the ranges may lead to wrong conclusions. For
results are shown in Table 6. example, if a given requirement showed a low
mean, it does not necessarily mean that all the three
clusters did not perform the practices specified for
6. Discussion that requirement, because there may be high
variability between the cases, which is indicated by
The use of three cases of industrial clusters enabled the range. In order to reach more precise
not only an evaluation of the management practices conclusions with respect to each requirement, it is
at the cluster level, but also a cross-case necessary to analyze
investigation of the practices to establish similarities
and differences between them. The line graph in Table 5. Scores obtained in eah cluster.
Figure 5 shows the scores for each of the 18
requirements in the three clusters researched and the Scores (0 to 10)
mean score for each requirement. Req. C1 C2 C3 Avg. Range
R1
R3 710 107 77 8,0
8,0 33
It is visually noticeable in the line graph that the lines R2
R4 55 59 26 4,0
6,7 34
for each cluster tend to follow the mean line, which R5 9 9 10 9,3 1
indicates little variation in many of the requirements. R6 6 5 7 6,0 2
There is though great variety between the scores of R7 6 9 6 7,0 3
some other requirements. A better measure to quantify R8 3 6 10 6,3 7
this variation is the column Range in Table 5. A great R9 6 7 6 6,3 1
range between the scores of a certain requirement R10 1 3 2 2,0 2
indicates that there is significant difference between R11 4 4 5 4,3 1
the management practices adopted in the three cases. R12 5 6 5 5,3 1
The average range observed is 2,67. We will thus R13 1 1 3 1,7 2
consider that a requirement has little variation in the R14 0 0 0 0,0 0
cross-case analysis if its range is lower or equal to R15 3 6 7 5,3 4
2. Great variation in a requirement is characterized R16 3 6 7 5,3 4
by a range equal or greater than 4. Because scores R17 3 5 8 5,3 5
were defined in integer numbers, we defined an R18 3 5 5 4,3 2
22 Int. J. Prod. Manag. Eng. (2013) 1(1), 13-26 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Spain
Institutions for collaboration in industrial clusters:
proposal of a performance and change management model
24 Int. J. Prod. Manag. Eng. (2013) 1(1), 13-26 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Spain
Institutions for collaboration in industrial clusters:
proposal of a performance and change management model
Acknowledgements: This should always be a run-in heading and not a section or subsection heading. It should not be
assigned a number. The acknowledgements may include reference to grants or supports received in relation to the work
presented in the paper.
References
Akao, Y. (2004). Hoshin Kanri: Policy deployment for successful TQM. New York: Productivity Press.
Allison, M., & Kaye, J. (2005). Strategic planning for non-profit organizations: a practical guide and workbook. New Jersey: John Wiley &
Sons.
Andriani, P., Jones, C., Perkmann, M., Propris, L., Sena, V., Delbridge, R., Möslein, K. M., & Neely, A. (2005). Challenging clusters – the
prospects and pitfalls of clustering for innovation and economic development. Summary Report from an AIM Management Research
Forum in Cooperation with the Welsh Economy Research Unit, Advanced Institute of Management Research, June.
Audretsch, D., & Lehmann, E. (2006). The role of clusters in knowledge creation and diffusion: an institutional perspective, in Asheim,
B., Cooke, P., & Martin, R. (eds). Clusters and Regional Development: Critical Reflections and Explorations, (pp. 188-198). Abingdon:
Routledge.
Baptista, R., & Swann, P. (1998). Do firms in clusters innovate more? Research Policy, 27(1), 535-540.
Bititci, U., Martinez, V., Albores, P., & Parung, J. (2004). Creating and managing value in collaborative networks. International Journal of
Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 34(3/4), 251-268. doi:10.1108/09600030410533574
Bortolotti, F., Amato Neto, J. (2006). Development of a set of matrices for the evaluation and classification of regional clusters, in: Proceedings
of the Euroma Conference, Glasgow, Scotland.
Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service - SEBRAE (2007). Perfil econômico municipal. http://www.sebraesp.com.br/
conhecendo_mpe/setoriais_regionais/perfil_economico
Camarinha-Matos, L., & Afsarmanesh, H. (2005). Collaborative networks: a new scientific discipline. Journal of intelligent manufacturing,
16(1), 439-452. doi:10.1007/s10845-005-1656-3
Camarinha-Matos, L., & Afsarmanesh, H. (2007). Performance indicators for collaborative networks based on collaboration benefits.
Production Planning and Control, 18(7), 592-609. doi:10.1080/09537280701546880
Capó-Vicedo, J., Expósito-Langa, M., & Molina-Morales, F. X. (2008). Improving SME competitiveness reinforcing interorganisational
networks in industrial clusters. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 4(2), 147-169. doi:10.1007/s11365-007-
0059-7
Carpinetti, L., Cardoza, E., & Gerolamo, M. (2008). A measurement system for managing performance of industrial clusters: A
conceptual model and research cases. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 57(5), 405-419.
doi:10.1108/17410400810881854
Chow, D., Heaver, T., & Henriksson, L. (1994). Logistics Performance: Definition and Measurement. International Journal of Physical
Distribution & Logistics Management, 24(1), 17-28. doi:10.1108/09600039410055981
Cohen, D., & Prusak, L. (2001). In Good Company: How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Cortright, J. (2006). Making Sense of Clusters: Regional Competitiveness and Economic Development. Washington: The Brookings Institution.
English Department of Trade and Industry - DTI (2005). A Practical Guide to Cluster Development: Report to the Department of Trade and
Industry and the English RDAs by Ecotec Research & Consulting.
European Commission - EC (2001). Methodology for regional and transnational clusters: learning with European best practices – promotion
of entrepreneurship and SMEs. Enterprise Directorate General, Promotion of Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Business Co-operation and
Community Business Support Network Development, March.
Gerolamo, M., Carpinetti, L., Seliger, G., & Galdamez, E. (2008). Performance management of regional clusters and SME cooperation
networks. International Journal of Business Excellence, 1(4), 457-483. doi:10.1504/IJBEX.2008.018844
Goodstein, L., Nolan, T., & Pfeiffer, J. (1993). Applied strategic planning: how to develop a plan that really works. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Institute for Economic and Social Development of Paraná – IPARDES (2006a). Arranjo produtivo local de móveis de Arapongas – Nota
técnica, Curitiba, Brasil.
Institute for Economic and Social Development of Paraná - IPARDES (2006b). Arranjo produtivo local de software de Londrina – Estudo de
caso, Curitiba, Brasil.
International Trade Department - ITD (2009). Clusters for competitiveness – a practical guide & policy implications for developing cluster
initiatives. The World Bank.
Kaplan, R., & Norton, D. (1996). The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Spain Int. J. Prod. Manag. Eng. (2013) 1(1), 13-26 25
Carpinetti, Luiz C.R., & Lima, Rafael H.P.
Karaev, A., Koh, S., & Szamosi, L. (2007) The cluster approach and SME competitiveness: a review. Journal of Manufacturing Technology
Management, 18(7), 818-835. doi:10.1108/17410380710817273
Kennerley, M., & Neely, A. (2002). A framework of the factors affecting the evolution of performance measurement systems. International
Journal of Operations and Production Management, 22(11), 1222-1245. doi:10.1108/01443570210450293
Ketels, C., & Sölvel, Ö. (2006). Clusters in the EU-10 new member countries. Europe Innova Cluster Mapping.
Krugman, P. (1991). Geography and Trade. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade - MDIC (2010). Arranjos produtivos locais. http://www2.desenvolvimento.gov.br/sitio/
sdp/proAcao/arrProLocais/arrProLocais.php
Morosini, P. (2004). Industrial Clusters, Knowledge Integration and Performance. World Development, 32(2), 305-326. doi:10.1016/j.
worlddev.2002.12.001
Mytelka, L., & Farinelli, F. (2000). Local clusters, innovation systems and sustained competitiveness, Discussion Paper, United Nations
University, The Netherlands.
Neely, A., Gregory, M., & Platts, K. (1995). Performance measurement system design: a literature review and research agenda. International
Journal of Operations and production Management, 15(4), 80-116. doi:10.1108/01443579510083622
Neely, A. (1998). Measuring business performance. London: The Economist.
Neely, A. (2005). The evolution of performance measurement research - developments in the last decade and a research agenda for the
next. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 25(12), 1264-1277. doi:10.1108/01443570510633648
Plummer, P., & Taylor, M. (2001). Theories of local economic growth (part 1): concepts, models, and measurement. Environment and
Planning, 33(2), 219-236. doi:10.1068/a339a
Porter, M. (1998). Clusters and the new economics of competition. Harvard Business Review, nov-dec, 77-90.
Radnor, Z., & Barnes, D. (2007). Historical analysis of performance measurement and management in operations management. International
Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 56(5/6), 384-396. doi:10.1108/17410400710757105
Schmitz, H. (1995). Collective Efficiency: Growth path for small-scale Industry. Journal of Development Studies, 31(4), 529-566.
doi:10.1080/00220389508422377
Schmitz, H. (1998). Responding to global competitive pressure: local cooperation and upgrading in the Sinos Valey, Brazil. Institute of
Development Studies, Working Paper, 82.
Schmitz, H., & Nadvi, K. (1999). Clustering and industrialization: introduction. World Development, 27(9), 1503-1514. doi:10.1016/S0305-
750X(99)00072-8
Seliger, G., Carpinetti, L., & Gerolamo, M. (2008). Promoting innovative clusters and cooperation networks: the European Commission
observatories of SMEs and the context of Berlin-Brandenburg. International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organizations, 5(2), 204-
223. doi:10.1504/IJNVO.2008.017011
Simatupang, T., & Sridharan, R. (2005). The collaboration index: a measure for supply chain collaboration. International Journal of Physical
Distribution and Logistics Management, 35(1), 44-62. doi:10.1108/09600030510577421
Sölvell, Ö., Lindqvist, G., & Ketels, C. (2003). The Cluster Initiative Greenbook. Stockholm: Bromma Tryck AB.
Sölvell, Ö. (2008). Clusters – balancing evolutionary and constructive forces. Stockholm: Ivory Tower Publishers.
Steiner, M., & Hartmann, C. (2006). Organizational Learning in Clusters: A Case Study on Material and Immaterial Dimensions of Cooperation.
Regional Studies, 40(5), 493-506. doi:10.1080/00343400600757494
Steiner, M., & Ploder, M. (2008). Structure and strategy within heterogeneity: multiple dimensions of regional networking. Regional Studies,
42(6), 793-815. doi:10.1080/00343400701861310
Steinle, C., & Schiele, H. (2002). When do industries cluster? A proposal on how to assess an industry’s propensity concentrate at a single
region or nation. Research policy, 31(6), 849-858. doi:10.1016/S0048-7333(01)00151-2
United Nations Industrial Development Organization - UNIDO (2001). Development of clusters and networks of SMEs, Vienna.
26 Int. J. Prod. Manag. Eng. (2013) 1(1), 13-26 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Spain
Wyno Journal of Management & Business Studies
Vol. 1(1), PP. 1-18 April, 2013
Available Online at http://www.wynoacademicjournals.org/management_biz.html
©2013 Wynoacademic Journals
Kamugisha Samuel
MBA Coordinating Secretary
National University of Rwanda, Faculty of Economics and Management
P.O Box 117 Butare, Rwanda. Email: samkamugisha@gmail.com
Tel: +250788845648 Rwanda
ABSTRACT
Change has become a constant phenomenon which must be managed properly for an organization to survive.
Knowledge and awareness about many of the critical issues involved in the management of such change is often
lacking.
This study sought to find out the effects of change management in National University of Rwanda. It was guided by the
following specific objectives: to analyze the effect of change management on organization culture at National
University of Rwanda; to determine the effect of change management on Organization structure at National University
of Rwanda; and to investigate the effect of change management on leadership at National University of Rwanda. This
study used a descriptive case study approach.
A purposive sample of 57 senior staff members directly involved in managing organizational change participated. Data
collection was based on secondary and primary sources. The data collected from questionnaires and secondary sources
was summarized according to the study themes; being change management and its effects on organizational structure,
culture and leadership. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics like mean, mode, median and
frequencies.
Results were presented inform of charts and tables for quantitative data and in prose for qualitative data. This study
found that there are changes in the management of faculties. There are also changes in the requirements and
performance of the staff, where administrative staffs are now to have at least a bachelor’s degree in relation to the
positions they occupy. Previously, there were no such restrictions and conditions to occupy such slots. The University
Administration has introduced the idea of performance contracting; where employees are required to set targets from
which they are evaluated. Module system was introduced to replace classical way of teaching. These changes were
found to affect the organization human resources in terms of downsizing, outsourcing and recruiting more staff to fill
some new posts. Technological changes in terms of enhanced internet bandwidth in the university have considerably
had a significant impact on the operations of the university both in Academic and administration.
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Many organizations are occasionally faced with challenges that force them to adjust or change (Burnes, 2004).
Development organizations, in particular, regularly have to go through change processes when having to respond to
new development scenarios or simply as part of their expansion or restructuring processes. The implications of change
processes are regularly under-estimated by senior management and not managed adequately. Ansoff (1987) asserts that
it’s known that leadership can make a great difference, and that its importance for organizational success is
intensifying. Yet we still know too little about the qualities and practice of effective organizational leadership and change
management.
Universities are a major sector which has significant contribution to socio-economic development. The external
changes that have been facing the organizations provide an avenue for thinking. Managers have adopted change
practices with varying levels of success. While studies on change have been done on manufacturing, (Shem, 2005)
public sector (Nyamache, 2003) International Development organizations (Muturi, 2006) and in other corporations, none
has been done on the education sector and Public Universities as well in Rwanda. This study will therefore provide
insights on change practices in these organizations.
1
2. Mgt. & Bus. Stu.
Most organizational managers today would agree that change has become a constant phenomenon which must be
attended to and managed properly if an organization is to survive. Changes in technology, the marketplace, information
systems, the global economy, social values, workforce demographics, and the political environment all have a
significant effect on the processes, products and services produced. The culmination of these forces has resulted in an
external environment that is dynamic, unpredictable, demanding and often devastating to those organizations which are
unprepared or unable to respond (Burnes, 2004).
According to Schaffer (1992), those organizations which do survive are often relegated to the role of playing “catch up” to
their competitors, while others are either absorbed into larger entities via mergers or acquisitions or simply dissolved into
a collection of corporate assets and liabilities. In fact, many of the popular trends in management and organizational
consulting such as business process re-engineering, total quality management and the learning organization, represent
systematic methods for responding to and channeling effectively the forces of change. Unfortunately, the vast majority
of improvement initiatives undertaken by organizations, even with the best of intentions, are destined to have little impact.
While organizational change is a constant experience, knowledge and awareness about many of the critical issues
involved in the management of such change is often lacking in those responsible for its progress. Clearly, if
organizations are ever to experience a greater level of success in their development efforts, managers and executives
need to have a better framework for thinking about change and an understanding of the key issues which accompany
change management. Change management has been linked to the organization's competitiveness and response to
changes in the environment. Ansoff and McDonnell (1990), state that changes arise out of the need for organizations to
exploit existing or emerging opportunities and deal with threats in the market. It is crucial that organizations seek to
create a competitive advantage and wherever possible innovate to improve their competitive positions. This implies the
readiness to change within the organization and the ability to implement the proposed change.
A host of external factors influence an organization's choice of direction and action and ultimately, its organizational
structure and internal processes. These factors, which constitute the external environment, can be divided into three
interrelated Strategy categories; that is factors in the remote environment, factors in the industry environment and
factors in the operating environment (Pearce and Robinson, 1991). Organizations manage change directly. Balogun and
Hailey (1999) identify important contextual features that should be taken into account when designing change
programs. These include the scope, institutional memory, diversity of experience within an organization, the capability of
managing change and the readiness for change throughout the different levels in the organization.
There are different approaches to managing change; some are sudden, planned and incremental. Kazmi (2002) says that
change is not linear and therefore cannot be worked on a mathematical formula basis with a set of variables that will
yield a fixed answer for their combination. Aosa (1996) points out the necessity of carrying out change within the
context of unique environmental challenges within Africa. Therefore change is context and environmental dependent,
and there is no one best way.
2
3. Samuel
Programs. The medium of teaching and learning is English. The current staff is around 1035 including Academic,
Administrative and Technical.
Between April and July 1994, the University community lost a good number of its staff and students who were killed
during the genocide. The University suffered a great loss; laboratory equipment, the computer equipment and academic
infrastructure were destroyed or taken away. NUR was closed because of the prevailing war in the country, those who
were not killed had to hide themselves, and others fled in exile. In 1995 the university reopened. The campus of
Ruhengeri and the Kigali Faculty of Law shifted and became part of the campus of Butare. The main change was that
all the faculties and schools were regrouped in Butare Campus for security and administrative reasons. The beginning
was not easy but the government decided the smooth running of NUR at all costs. The Campus that was supposed to
cater for 1,600 students now lodged more than 4,500. NUR took off smoothly but surely despite the wounds to dress,
the buildings to repair and English became a new language of teaching (National University of Rwanda website:
http://www.nur.ac.rw). The National University of Rwanda is committed to building an institution whose motto is
‘Excellence in Education and Service to the People.’ As it is vivid no country can develop without adequate knowledge
institutions supplying relevant expertise and skills for social and economic transformation. In all successful nations, the
role of the university has gone beyond the traditional missions of teaching and research. NUR is as a matter of fact the
“engine of social and economic development” in terms of innovations and the commercialization of ideas that lead to
entrepreneurial activities and the formation of business enterprises. The university, above all, provides the bulk of the
required skills and knowledge for the national labour market to meet both public as well as private sector demands. In
Rwanda, Vision 2020 recognizes the need for a critical mass of skills in all areas of national life. As the premier
knowledge institution in Rwanda, the National University of Rwanda is repositioning itself so that it can play a
developmental role and thereby assist the country to realize its vision (National University of Rwanda website:
http://www.nur.ac.rw).
According to Aosa (1998), organizations being environmental dependent have to constantly adapt their activities and
internal configurations to reflect the new external realities and failure to do so may put the future success of an
organization in jeopardy. Rwandan environment is not isolated from happenings on the global scene. National
University of Rwanda is facing several challenges and how to manage their effects, including inadequate resources,
rapid technological changes, growing number of students as a result of increasing demand for higher education, the
changing of the medium of instruction from French to English, and the introduction of the Bologna system of education
based on student centered learning (National University of Rwanda: Strategic Plan 2008-2012).
Change has become a constant phenomenon which must be attended to and managed properly if an organization is to
survive. Changes in technology, the marketplace, information systems, the global economy, social values, workforce
demographics and the political environment have a significant effect on the processes, products and services produced.
The culmination of these forces has resulted in an external environment that is dynamic, unpredictable, demanding and
often devastating to those organizations which are unprepared or unable to respond (Burnes 2000). While
organizational change is a constant experience, knowledge and awareness about many of the critical issues involved in
the management of such change is often lacking in those responsible for its progress. Clearly if organizations are ever
to experience a greater level of success in their development efforts, managers and program officers need to have a
better framework for thinking about change and an understanding of the key issues which accompany change
management. Change management has been linked to the organization’s competitiveness and response to changes in
the environment (Ansoff and McDonnell, 1990). This implies the readiness to change within an organization and the
ability to implement the proposed changes.
According to Pearce and Robinson (1991) a host of external factors influence an organization’s choice of direction, action
and ultimately, its organizational structures and internal processes. These factors, which constitute the external
environment, can be divided into three interrelated strategy categories that are factors in the remote, industry and
operating environment. National University of Rwanda is one of the institutions that has tried to implement changes
over a number of years in order to deliver its services to the ever growing population of students.
Though change management is a subject studied extensively in Kenya, the subject is least if not at all studied in
Rwanda. Most studies in this area have embarked on the process of change management. Rukunga (2003), studied
strategic change management at the Nairobi Bottlers Ltd and found out that Nairobi Bottlers Ltd had successfully
embraced change management as a strategy and that it had positively affected their operations. Ongaro (2004),
conducted a study on strategic change management practices at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), he concluded that
change management were needed in service industries and that implementation of reforms was successful at KNH.
These studies have all been carried out in Kenya and none has crossed or tackled a Rwandan context. It is therefore
imperative to note that there is a need for this research to be undertaken to investigate and establish the effects of
change management in organizations in Rwanda. The problem of this study therefore was to find out the effects of
change management in National University of Rwanda.
3
4. Mgt. & Bus. Stu.
4
5. Samuel
themselves see no other solution anymore than to change. An allegedly “much more challenging business
environment” and a “vision” of a “more business-like” organization are definitely not enough to convince employees to
change their daily routines at their desks.
Another issue people are quite sensitive about is the “technical” aspects of change initiatives, i.e. how change is
introduced, communicated and discussed, if and how their viewpoints are not only being heard but seriously taking into
account. Many people are (still) of the opinion that an organization is or should be much more than a profit-generating,
efficiency-improving machinery. Such values and convictions can be quite deeply embedded in an organization’s
culture and people’s attitudes (Kirkpatrick and Ackroyd, 2000). Any change initiative has to take this into account:
There is a significant body of literature that draws attention to the difficulty of changing organizational culture on the
grounds of that culture is deeply ingrained in the underlying norms and values of an organization and cannot be imposed
from above (Parker and Bradley, 2000).
In this sense, many people seem to be against top-down and paternalistic approaches of leadership and centralization of
power and control (Diefenbach, 2006). But what many people perhaps resist the most is the cynical use and misuse of
“grand” ideas for personal and group interests. People resist ambitious senior managers who join organizations they do
not know, who are only interested in furthering their own career and market-value, mess with several change management
initiatives, and then leave the organization in a state worse than before for good and with a golden handshake. People
resist managers who have only little understanding of the business, who do not care for the ideas and needs of their
employees, and the organizational necessities and opportunities, with managers who pretend to be busy and important,
even crucial for the sake and survival of the unit but at the end of the day are only interested in their career and the
increase in their market value, in strengthening their position and securing their pension scheme. Therefore, people are
not against change per se, but these specific tendencies. Managerialism produces resistance (Kirkpatrick and Ackroyd,
2000)
– and other negative outcomes. It is often the cause of the problem and not the cure.
There are those who perceive change management as a systemic process incorporating systems of interpretation and
meaning (Hassard, 1991; Knights and Willmott, 1995). This view is particularly important, as it emphasizes the social
aspects of exchange through which the locus of knowledge and the understanding of “real” things is subjectively
shared and shaped by individuals through conversation and dialogue. What is seen as real is made real through sense-
making processes (Weick, 1995), and “the social world is best understood from the viewpoint of the participant-in-
action” (Hassard (1991, p. 277). In an empirical sense, this perception of change management reflects the management
of processes through liberal exchange of knowledge, building of trust and acknowledgement of the heterogeneity in
values, preferences and interests. In spite of the attention that the management of change has received, organizations
continue to have problems in managing organizational change and “the search for generalized laws of change still
pervades the discipline” (Wilson, 1992). There is a gap between what the rational-linear change management approach
prescribes and what change agents do.
5
change initiatives.
6
6. Mgt. & Bus. Stu.
It is claimed that change regarding a tangible output, such as a capital investment or a new building, is easier to bring
about than change concerning an intangible output, such as the degree of learning. This is because procedures that
guide actions in the case of tangible product changes are seen as more codifiable than those for tangible outputs
(Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). There is an extensive difference in the way change management is perceived between
managers having administrator roles and engineers reflecting the non-linear, quasi-rational nature of change.
Administrators are seen by some of the engineers as heavily embedded in politics and detached from actual change.
7
7. Samuel
third step is to reinforce new patterns and institutionalize them through formal and informal mechanisms including
policies and procedures (Robbins 564-65). Therefore, Lewin’s model illustrates the effects of forces that either promote
or inhibit change. Specifically, driving forces promote change while restraining forces oppose change. Hence, change
will occur when the combined strength of one force is greater than the combined strength of the opposing set of forces
(Robbins 564-65).
2.1 METHODOLOGY
This is a case study that has utilized a descriptive case study approach to achieve the set objectives. According to
Yazici (2009), a case study places more emphasis on a full contextual analysis of fewer events or conditions and their
interrelations. This design was suitable because the study requires an accurate examination of the effects of change
management; whereby in-depth, insightful and unique information on the effect of change management at National
University of Rwanda can be obtained best through a descriptive case study method.
A purposive sample of 57 staff members who were senior staff and are directly involved in managing organizational
change were involved in the study. According to Winter et al. (2009), a purposive sample is a non-probability sample that
conforms to a certain criteria. The research took purposively 57 staff members who are at the top management of the
University.
8
8. Mgt. & Bus. Stu.
It was realised that 56.25% of the respondents in this study were male while 43.75% were female. This clearly shows
that majority of the respondents in this study were male.
On the respondents age bracket, the study found that majority of the respondents (50.02%) were aged between 31 and
45 years, 28.57% were aged between 46 and 60 years and 20.40% were aged between 18 and 30 years. This shows that
majority of the respondents were aged between 31 and 45 years.
9
9. Samuel
On their level of education, 46.94% of the respondents indicated that they had masters’ degree, 38.78% had
postgraduate diploma and 14.29% had PhDs. This shows that majority of the respondents had masters degree.
In an effort to determine the respondents work experience the researcher requested them to indicate the number of
years they had been working at National University of Rwanda. From the findings 35% of the respondents indicated
that they had been working in the university of Rwanda for between 5 and 10 years, 24% had been working there for
between 10 and 20 years, 16% had been working there for between 3 and 5 years, 14% had been working there for more
than 20 years and 11% had been working there for between 1 and 3 years. This clearly shows that majority of the
respondents had a working experience of between 5 and 10 years.
1
10. Mgt. & Bus. Stu.
On the number of staffs the respondents were supervising, 44% indicated that they were supervising more than 20
staffs, 21% were supervising 10 to 20 staffs, 19% were supervising 5 to 10staffs, 11% were supervising 4 to 5 staffs
and 5% were supervising 1 to 3 staffs. From these findings we can deduce that majority of the respondents were
supervising more than 20 staffs.
1
11. Samuel
1
12. Mgt. & Bus. Stu.
The study sought to determine who in the University was directly impacted by the change. From the findings as shown by
figure 3.6 above the study found that senior employees were impacted most (32%). These were followed by junior
employees (31%), managers (20%) and senior mangers (17%). This clear shows that the change was directly impacting
the low level management most.
On whether there was a dedicated team of members that were having the sole responsibility to monitor the impact of
the change, 71.43% of the respondents indicated there was while 28.57% indicated that there wasn’t. This clearly
shows that there was a dedicated team of members that were having the sole responsibility to monitor the impact of the
change.
The respondents further added that the university Management through Board of Directors has established a new
Directorate of Monitoring and Evaluation. It’s headed by a director with 4 other staff members. The Directorate is
responsible for following up, monitoring and evaluating the University decisions, resolutions and projects. This
Directorate gathers information from departments, centers, schools and other units which are then evaluated to advice
on the implementation of different projects in those units.
1
13. Samuel
Table 3.1 shows the findings on the main important problem during change implementation phase. A five point Likert
scale was used to interpret the respondent’s responses. According to the scale, those problems which were considered
very important were awarded 1 while those which were considered not important were awarded 5. Within the
continuum are 2 for less important, 3 for not sure and 4 for less important. Mean (weighted average) and standard
deviation were used to analyze the data.
According to the researcher those problems with a mean less than 3.5 were rated as important while those with a mean
less than 3.5 were rated as not important. On the same note the higher the standard deviation the higher the level of
dispersion among the respondents.
From the findings, the study found that all the listed problems were important problem during change implementation
phase. The problems that were rated as important include Barriers between departments (M=4.23, SD=0.725), Not enough
support from senior management (M=4.00, 1.080), Resistance of middle management to change (M=4.00, SD=.739),
Focus too much on technological aspects, too less on people (M=3.92, .760), Scope not well defined, project is
oversized (M=3.85 .555), resistance of users to change (M=3.92, SD=.641), Project does not have appropriate priority
(M=3.85, SD=.899), Not enough resources available (M=3.77, SD=.599), Budget needed, higher than expected
(M=3.54, .967), Organization and procedures are not adapted to the new situation (technological and organizational
integration on different levels) (M=3.92, SD=1.15), No transparent goals/objectives (M=3.85, SD=.689), Time for
implementation needed, longer than expected (M=3.73 SD=.599), Goals are to aggressive, organization is not capable
to cope (M=3.59, SD=.961), Availability of people from implementation team (M=4.64, SD=.519), Technological
limitations (performance/missing functionality) (M=4.58, SD=.506), Barriers to external stakeholders
(customers/supplier...) (M=3.72, SD=.768) and Intercultural problems (i.e. language barriers (M=3.58, SD=.519).
1
14. Mgt. & Bus. Stu.
On whether the implementation approach depended on the organization culture, 41% of the respondents indicated that
it sometimes depended on the organizational culture, 23% indicated that it depended on organizational culture and 12%
indicated that it did not depend on organizational culture.
1
15. Samuel
1
16. Mgt. & Bus. Stu.
salaries and wages, inadequate infrastructure, and strong resistance from the staff due to the organizational culture. On
how the change was dealt with the respondents indicated that a consultative way of handling and implementing change
should be adopted in the University, otherwise there will always be resistance to change initiatives by some members
of the staff who also would like to be part and parcel of the change initiators and implementers.
The study also sought to determine the kind of effect change had on an organization. From the findings the study found
that one of the greatest challenges the University faces today is helping their workers deal with change. It is important that
you are prepared to help your workers navigate this complex and often emotional process. Understanding how people deal
with change will help you manage a successful transition. Change affects workers in different ways. Some common
responses that were observed are: conflict, confusion and loss of confidence. Other kind of impact that change has on
the University are; university restructuring, expansion and introduction of new programs especially at post graduate level.
The respondents also agreed that organizational change was experienced. They further added that there have been
several changes all over the institution which amounts to organizational change. Most of the changes have had a
fundamental impact on the whole University. From the respondents who indicated that organizational change was
being experienced, the study also sought to know there was a need for organizational change to be frequently
experienced. The respondents indicated that there was need for frequent organizational change to be able to cope with
the ever turbulent environment in which the University operates. Failure to adapt and adopt change in the organization
would lead to stagnation and therefore unfit to compete favorably with other actors in the industry.
The study also realized that change was directly impacting the low level management most and there were dedicated team
of members that were having the sole responsibility to monitor the impact of the change. The respondents further added
that the university Management through Board of Directors has established a new Directorate of Monitoring and
Evaluation. It’s headed by a director with 4 other staff members. The Directorate is responsible for following up,
monitoring and evaluating the University decisions, resolutions and projects. This Directorate gathers information from
departments, centers, schools and other units which are then evaluated to advice on the implementation of different
projects in those units.
On the main important problem during change implementation phase, the study found that all the listed problems were
important problem during change implementation phase. The problems that were rated as important include Barriers
between departments, Not enough support from senior management, Resistance of middle management to change,
Focus too much on technological aspects, too less on people, Scope not well defined, project is oversized, resistance of
users to change, Project does not have appropriate priority, Not enough resources available, Budget needed, higher than
expected, Organization and procedures are not adapted to the new situation (technological and organizational
integration on different levels), No transparent goals/objectives, Time for implementation needed, longer than
expected, Goals are too aggressive, organization is not capable to cope, Availability of people from implementation
team, Technological limitations (performance/missing functionality), Barriers to external stakeholders
(customers/supplier) and Intercultural problems (i.e. language barriers).
The study also found that when they were leading and managing change they were creating a sense of urgency to
reinforce the need for change, providing people with facts, figures and evidence to persuade them for change, selecting
the right people to form the guiding coalition, getting the guiding coalition to work together as a team, creating clear
and tangible vision for change, constructing effective strategies to deliver the vision, changing systems that get on the
way of the changed vision, recruiting, promote and develop the right people to promote change and ensuring the right
people are chosen for the role of change development.
4.3 CONCLUSIONS
On the effects of change management on organization culture at National University of Rwanda the study concludes that
the staffs were overseeing change in line with their responsibilities in Academics, Administration and Management of
the Faculty. Regarding administration, there are changes in the requirements and performance of the staff.
Administrative staffs are now supposed to have at least a bachelor’s degree in relation to the positions they occupy, this
affects the existing culture where for administrative staff there were no such restrictions and conditions to occupy such
slots. Module system was introduced and it replaced the classical way of teaching by course units, now similar/related units
are grouped into one module and taught one after the other, in a logical and chronological order. The University
Administration has introduced the idea of performance contracting. Here all employees are required to set targets from
which they are evaluated and/or appraised. The influence of culture is an impediment since it affects a lot the
implementation of performance contracting. This is because, employees are required to deliver and perform effectively
compared to the previous way of how things were done. The study also concludes that there was need for frequent
organizational change to cope with the ever turbulent environment in which the University operates. Failure to adapt
and adopt change in the organization would lead to stagnation and therefore unfit to compete favorably with other actors
in the industry.
The study also concludes that when they were leading and managing change they were creating a sense of urgency to
reinforce the need for change, providing people with facts, figures and evidence to persuade them for change, selecting
the right people to form the guiding coalition, getting the guiding coalition to work together as a team, creating clear and
1
17. Samuel
tangible vision for change, constructing effective strategies to deliver the vision, changing systems that get on the way
of the changed vision, recruiting promote and develop the right people to promote change and ensuring the right people
are chosen for the role of change development.
4.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
The study found that one of the main problems the University was facing in the implementation of change was barriers
between departments. This study therefore recommends that the management should ensure that teamwork is enhanced
in order to get rid of conflict of interest between departments. This will also help to curb resistance of middle level
management to change.
The study also found that there were no transparent goals/objectives. The study therefore recommends that the
university management should ensure that organizational goals, objectives, vision and mission are clear. From the study
and related conclusions, the researcher recommends further research in the area of the role of organizational culture in
strategic change implementation.
REFERENCES
Ansoff, H. Igor and McDonnell E., (1990), Implanting Strategic Management, 2nd
Edition, Prentice Hall, Cambridge UK
Ansoff, H.I., (1987), Corporate Strategy, McGraw – New York, Hill-USA.
Aosa, E. (1996), “Management in Africa: Contextual Factors and their Influence”
The Nairobi Journal of Management Role, 1st July 1996
Balogun, J. and Hailey H. V (1999), Exploring Strategic Change, Prentice Hall,
London
Beer, M., Eisenstat, R.A. and Spector, B. “Why Change Programs Don’t
Produce Change”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68 No.6
Brooks, I. and Bate, P. (1994), “The Problems of Effecting Change within the
British Civil Service: a Cultural Perspective”, British Journal of Management, Vol. 5
Burnes, B. (2000), Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational
Dynamics, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall
Burnes, B. (2004), Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisation
Dynamics, 4th edition, Pitman Publishing
Burns, T. and Stalker, G.M. (1961), The Management of Innovation, Tavistock,
London
Darwin, C. (1864), On the Origin of Species – by Means of Natural
Selection, Harvard College Library, New York, NY
Dawson, S. (1996), Analysing Organisations, 3rd ed., Macmillan Education,
London
Diefenbach, T. (2006), Competing Perceptions and Business Models of Senior
Managers in a Higher Education Institution, International Journal of Knowledge, Culture and Change,
Management, forthcoming
Donald R., Cooper and Pamela S., Schindler (2011), Business Research
Methods, 11th edirion, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York.
1
18. Mgt. & Bus. Stu.
McAuley, J., Duberly, J. and Cohen, L. (2000), “The Meaning Professionals Give
to Management and Strategy”, Human Relations, Vol. 53 No. 1
Mumby, D. K. (2004), Discourse, Power and Ideology: Unpacking the Critical
Approach, In D. Grant, C. Hardy, C. Oswick, and L. Putnam (Eds), The Sage Handbook of Organizational
Discourse: 237-258. London: Sage
Muturi, S.N., (2006), Management of Strategic Change at Plan International Inc-
Kenya, Unpublished MBA Research Project, School of Business, University of Nairobi
Nonaka, I. and Takeuchi, H. (1995), The Knowledge-creating Company: How
Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, New York, NY
Nyamache, M.N, (2003), Strategic Change Management process in the Public
Sector: A Survey of Civil Service Reform Program in Kenya; 1993-2003, Unpublished MBA Research Project,
School of Business, University of Nairobi
Ongaro, K. (2004), Strategic Change Management in Kenya, The case of Nairobi
Bottlers Ltd, Unpublished MBA Research Project, School of Business, University of Nairobi
Parker, R. and Bradley, L. (2000), “Organizational Culture in the Public Sector:
Evidence from Six Organizations”, International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 13 No. 21
Pearce, J.A. and Robinson, R.B. (1991), Strategic Management: Strategy
Formulation and Implementation, 3rd edition, Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin Inc. Relations, Vol. 46 No. 8
Robbins, Stephen. Organizational Behavior. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 2003.
1
35
Challenges in Change Management in Central Banks
Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice, 2013, 1, pp. 35-49 UDK: 336.71:005.6
Received: 28 March 2013; accepted: 19 April 2013
features that are characteristic of a central bank are primarily determined with the importance
this supreme monetary authority has not only in the financial system of a country, but also in
the entire society. The main task of a central bank is the preservation of price and financial
stability, and indirectly and keeping in mind the global interconnections, even broader than
that. Acceleration of changes in all spheres of social life calls for not only the need to question
the traditional understanding of change management in central banks, but also to redesign and
innovate the existing models thereof. If central banks change following the principles of qual-
ity management and if they successfully manage risks and become more committed, powerful
and transparent in strengthened their role in the area of social responsibility, they will have the
opportunity to go down the road of success, regardless of all temptations that will be waiting
for them on this road.
Key words: change management, systemic approach, process approach, total quality manage-
ment, operational risk management, financial and banking system, central banks
1.Introduction
Although central banks are conservative institutions by nature and not prone
to rapid changes, we cannot say that these are not dynamic systems that do not
change to the extent inherent to their purpose of existence. Those who work
in these institutions for a long time consider this to be an advantage not a
handi- cap because they have seen in practice that any accelerated change, and in
par- ticular radical ones in conservative organisations such as a central bank
entail a big risk. Fast-paced and extensive changes can cause functional
disturbances in
37
Challenges in Change Management in Central Banks
its numerous and diversified subsystems that would not change synchronously.
Practice has shown that too rapid changes greatly reduce the possibility of syn-
chronous effectiveness and efficiency. All this could lead to some disintegration
of the system, and this means many different problems and conflicts. This, how-
ever, should not be an excuse to the financial and banking sectors to fail in timely
anticipation of changes, their creation, improvement of their work processes; in
other words, failure to give full and ongoing attention to changes. This sector, as
one of the most important subsystems in the social and governmental system and
its bloodstream, should have to be more aware and up to date with changes
in the environment, and in certain segments to be changing faster than the
system itself.
Let us remember the financial crisis that erupted in late 2008 and is still ongoing,
and which consequences will be long felt. The financial, and especially the bank-
ing sector, have been blinded by enormous profits and failed to timely anticipate,
create and innovate; simply put, they did not adequately manage changes. When
the crisis already emerged, stereotypical contingency plans were being prepared
but without any significant results. Many early warning mechanisms that had
already been in place failed to detect danger in timely manner. Moreover, they
proved to be insufficiently functional and ineffective, which means that change
management was unsuccessful. Joseph Stiglitz links the causes of the crisis to
untimely and inadequate change management, defining them as follows: “Sins of
both commission and omission – most notably, excessive deregulation, a failure
to effectively enforce the regulations that existed, and the failure to adopt new
regulations reflecting changes in financial markets – made the economies of the
United States and, to some extent, Europe vulnerable to collapse. These failures
led to the crisis and have continued in its wake” (Blanchard, Romer, Spence
& Stiglitz 2012, p. 31).
Although the creators of the financial boom at the beginning of this century have
been identified as the main culprits of the current economic and financial crisis,
its severe consequences have been suffered by everybody else other than those
who caused it. Paul Krugman believes that “the fundamentals of the world econ-
omy aren’t, in themselves, all that scary; it’s the almost universal abdication of
responsibility that fills me, and many other economists, with a growing sense of
dread” (Krugman, 2012). Such an approach to the rapidly changing world should
be changed everywhere, even in these institutions, but this will not be easy be-
cause it is necessary to change the awareness and it is most difficult to change.
All the aforesaid could apply to any organisation, but here we focus on the
financial and banking sector, including central banks, as in these turbulent times
of crisis, much greater social responsibility for overcoming the crisis is expected
from cen-
38
Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice
tral banks as well as financially (and not just financially) powerful institutions
than from other institutions. We have often witnessed that these institutions are
the ones that are often the target of numerous discontent people worldwide. And
if life problems of people are not quickly and adequately addressed, such occur-
rences may be more frequent and more dramatic as time goes on and people find
it increasingly difficult to get by. But `profit and profit only` are the words that
are often heard in the business world. Ichak Adizes worryingly notes: “Profits
should not be the goal. They should be the constraint: Of course we do not want
to go bankrupt, but the goal should be to make a better world. The benefit must
be higher than the cost –– and I’m talking about the cost not just to the company
but also to the world, to society, to our children” (Adižes 2011a, p. 155).
Accelerating changes and the current economic and financial crisis have made all
advantages and disadvantages of the global society whose backbone is the “digital
world” come to surface more clearly than ever. Another issue has also emerged
here and it is not exactly encouraging: How come that in the informational, tech-
nological and in every other sense we are more developed than we have ever been,
yet we are not able to successfully cope with many nowadays problems? Many
have lived in the illusion that the “digital world” can solve everything quickly
and efficiently. Such thinking is very dangerous for young people but also to all
others who think alike and are addicted to it. The virtual world can be intoxicat-
ingly imaginary, yet the life is inevitably realistic. Economic problems will not be
solved either by the “virtual consciousness” dictated by the information capital
or by economic theories offered by “virtual economy”. People need fast, clear
and concrete solutions from a real human and not from some “virtual”
character. Something they will truly believe.
Someone has wittily said that there is no difference between theory and practice
- except in practice. Theory is necessary, but it predominantly remains in the
sphere of imagination. If it were only to theory and theoretical
considerations, there would never be a crisis because everything is mostly
thought out in theory. Life, however, is different. We should learn lessons from
life, and not just those of yesterday but those experienced by many generations
before us and which we call historical lessons. Have the institutions in the
financial and banking sector, including central banks, drawn lessons from the
recent crisis? Even in the full swing of the crisis, Krugman viewed this
through the prism of preventive ac- tions “Everything that needs to be
regulated in a financial crisis, because it plays the key role in financial
mechanisms, should be subject to regulations in normal times with a view to
preventing excessive risk-taking” (Krugman 2010, p. 200). The philosophy of
change management, as well as risk management, should pri- marily aim at
preventive acting. In order to successfully manage both changes
39
Challenges in Change Management in Central Banks
and risks in crisis times, these should be much better managed in normal times.
As vividly noted by R. S. Kaplan and A. Mikes, “A firm’s ability to weather
storms depends on how seriously executives take risk management when the sun
is shin- ing and no clouds are on the horizon” (Kaplan & Mikes 2012, p. 58).
It may sound paradoxical, but while on one hand we develop owing to changes,
on the other hand, the very same or new changes will make us stagnate sooner
or later. And so this goes on forever because this is the road that has no end.
John Harold Johnson was obviously right when he said: “Whatever has made
you successful in the past, won’t in the future” 1.While it is necessary and cannot
be stopped, any change ultimately leads to both integration and disintegration
as the respective roots of every success and every failure. Why is this so? Because
a lot of things change before people realize that benefits brought by the old
changes have well worn. And despite all kinds of progress, not only that the
problems have not disappeared but they have merely changed appearance,
becoming more complicated to deal with and expanding their range
substantially.
From one reason or the other, neither people nor organisations are eager to make
changes. Why is the resistance to change so deeply rooted in people’s minds so
they feign them rather than truly implement them? A funny yet insightful
answer to this question was given by Peter Michael Senge: “People don’t resist
change.
1
John Harold Johnson is an American business and publicist.
40
Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice
They resist being changed!”(Sengi, 2003). However, if they must change, people
rather choose small over big changes. Small changes require less effort, entail
fewer problems, speed of change is less conspicuous, expectations are low, and
everything is much easier to be “put under control”, including trials and surpris-
es. Big changes, however, represent big challenges to any system, its
management and employees. Nevertheless, they also represent a great
opportunity and entail a big risk.
Peter Drucker warned that before you go on with a change you take a good look
at the steps you can take “in order to change and to stabilize the change.” When
you make a decision or implement the change, ask yourself “Who should be
informed about it?” He says: “For me the tension between the need for continuity
and the need for innovation and change was central to society and civilization”
(Draker 2006, p. 40, 45). What does this mean? It means that there is no point in
starting everything all over again like nothing has existed or has been good
before you, which, unfortunately, often happens in this region. Where executives
are alter- nating per political or any other directive, discontinuing practices of the
previous management in all aspects and at all costs can be detrimental to
successful man- agement of changes. Precious time can be wasted on
experimenting with what in general should not have been experimented with. It
is necessary to change only what is not good and continuously improve and
innovate everything else. And not to forget that after the occurrence of the
change it has to be incorporated into the system to avoid system disintegration
process instead of integration.
41
Challenges in Change Management in Central Banks
In order for both people and organisations to become more sustainably success-
ful, they must build their own system of success and continuously improve and
innovate it, especially its weakest parts because the system is only as strong as its
weakest link. Brian Tracy believes that you cannot reach the results you want if
you think like a layman so he says: ”You must have a system. Without a system
that will enable you to integrate ideas that you’ve learned, you are like a person
trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle without having seen the picture of what it
represents. Any system or blueprint for success is better than none at all” (Trejsi
2005, p. 36).
In addition to this, there are no changes that are linear and that progress in a
straight line, especially those that are rapid and radical. Even if they are skilfully
managed, you cannot go only straight forward, but you must also go backwards.
Usually you must take a few steps forward and at least one step back. As
time passes by, the distance between these steps reduces, leading to the
escalation of problems as well as conflicts. Constructive conflicts do not
represent problems because they are unavoidable in the process of change
management and can often be beneficial, unlike destructive conflicts that may
occur if there is insufficient mutual trust and respect for proper conflict
resolution in an organisation. Full
42
Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice
Talented persons, that is, leaders of changes are crucial for the successful changes
in all organizations, in particular in central banks (Peter F. Drucker). They have a
43
Challenges in Change Management in Central Banks
chance to survive in times of fast structural changes, precisely due to their capa-
bility to see the chances and possibilities and not only threats and danger. To the
leaders of changes, as well as to those who are not leaders, Peter F. Drucker sent
the following message: “Do not “master” people. People should be guided. The
goal is to make special virtues and knowledge of each individual productive”. In
particular, Peter F. Drucker thought that managers, in general, make bad deci-
sions related to the promotion of employees: “Percentage of good decisions does
not exceed one-third. In the best case, one-third of decisions turn to be good,
one-third is very efficient while one third is completely wrong. Other
manage- ment areas do not have that bad result”. In addition, Drucker claims
that the most important decision is in relation to the top position, which is the
most difficult decision to be cancelled: “If we do not spend four hours on
appointing a person, we will spend four hundred hours on correcting our own
mistake”. Drucker was amazed how “completely innocent” people, become
bosses: “The largest waste of resources I have ever seen in all organizations was
wrong decision on promotion” (Draker 2003, p. 68).
Team work and team leadership play special roles in change management in cen-
tral banks. Top management has critical responsibility, while activities of middle
and lower management, including all employees, play very important roles.
Team work in change management in central banks is not only a
precondition for its establishment and development but also for its survival.
Managers and people we work with represent the key to our success or our
failure. According to many management theoreticians, the most important
decision is the decision on staff selection, which is confirmed in practice.
Management is a very complicated pro- cess – it represents skills, science,
privilege, profession, knowledge and talent. In reality, it represents managerial
skills. Ability to engage staff for different tasks
44
Journal of Central Banking Theory and Practice
Focus should always be on people. Search for the best among them, which
primarily refers to honest, competent and hard working ones. Haters
and schemers are not welcome especially as associates or, even worse, as
friends.
Make an effort to make good decisions regarding staff, otherwise you will
take risk of generating worse results. You are risking your reputation as
well as the reputation of your institution.
45
Challenges in Change Management in Central Banks
Set very high standards and introduce a quality system. Cheap quality is
expensive, good quality is cheap.
Improvement, improvement, improvement (this refers to the entire or-
ganization). You cannot improve your products if you do not improve
yourself.
Use benefits of the digital technology – but keep your soul. In the digital
world, information flow is your bloodstream. Not only that the big eat
the small, but in many cases, the fast eat the slow.
Always have time for your family, especially for your children. They rep-
resent the measure of your success and they will be your future judges.
Preserve health. A healthy person has thousand wishes, and a sick person
only one – to get well. Therefore, keep smiling – smile heals soul and fol-
lows success.
Whenever you reach success celebrate it with your family, co-workers
and friends.
Find the measure of perfection if you can as nobody has found it yet.
If you don’t succeed, always strive for perfection. This means you should
make and effort to be as perfect as possible. Perfection represents an at-
tempt to be better than others. Therefore, in order to become successful,
work hard and in order to stay successful, work even harder!
Finally, try not to miss the goal when you get so close to it; so, be as
careful at the end as at the beginning. Don’t forget your failures in the
moments of success or your benefactors. And pray that success does not
come be- fore you are ready to deal with it.
Conclusion
References
Mark J. Dunne
Ramkhamhaeng University, Institute of International Studies,
Ramkhamhaeng Road, Huamark, Bangkok 10240, Thailand
Email: mjadunne@yahoo.com
INTRODUCTION
Change is an inevitable and constant feature of modern corporate life. Whether the process is called ‘re-
engineering’, ‘downsizing’, ‘rightsizing’ or ‘strategising for efficiencies’ it can be a very expensive
undertaking, and not only in monetary terms: traumatic for employees, demanding and difficult for
management and disruptive to company productivity. Most employees tend to react with resistance rather
than seeing change as an opportunity to initiate improvements. The legacy of a difficult Change Management
process can linger long after the actual programme has been completed and can adversely affect employees’
sense of job security, satisfaction, trust and can lead to issues with staff retention. However, change
processes conducted in an open and inclusive manner can facilitate new thinking, enhance efficiencies,
improve innovation, inspire all employees to work at higher levels of self-awareness and should lead to a
greater degree of commitment to the organisation.
This study investigates the relationship between the level of an employee’s commitment to his/her
employer organisation and the environment in which change management programmes are implemented
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
within that organisation. Does an open and inclusive change management climate engender greater
commitment from employees? ‘Commitment’ is seen according to Allen and Meyer’s (1991) three-
component model: Affective, Continuance and Normative.
Furthermore, it attempts to identify if there is a significant difference in the nature of this
relationship between European and South-East Asian work cultures, specifically Ireland in the former
category and Thailand in the latter category.
LITERATURE REVIEW
In today’s fast-moving and increasingly globalised business world ‘change’ is not the exception but rather a
steady, relentless process. This is evident in the inexorable move from legacy, top-down, value creation
models to more horizontal models that necessitate collaboration across different work groups, departments,
companies, cultures and even countries. The cultural and business revolution initiated by invention of the
Internet, the creation of the World Wide Web and the mass availability of open source software to leverage
the power of both has had profound effects on companies and countries. An increasingly interconnected,
multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society is in evidence all across the developing and developed worlds. To operate
in this new world and profitably engage with it organisations require confidence, structural agility, flexibility
of thought and, critically, an ability to welcome change and see the opportunities it presents. Change is an
unavoidable process in modern business life and, if handled insensitively, it can have an insidious effect on
the level of employee commitment to his/her company. On the other hand it can provide benefits for all
stakeholders if the ‘Change Management’ process is transparent and inclusive.
Change requires the continuous adaption of corporate strategies, and consequent changes in
company structures, as well as innovation in business processes to respond to changes in the external and
internal environments. In this context change may be concerned with a wide variety of issues, from
introducing a new product line to implementing a completely new corporate strategy. Organisational change
can be described as a way of altering the structure and/or processes of an existing company in order to
increase its effectiveness in pursuit of its strategic objectives.
Change management means to plan, initiate, realise, control, and finally stabilise change processes
on a corporate and personal level. Change management comprises both, revolutionary one-off projects and
evolutionary transformations (Frans, 2010).
In a business environment where change is unrelenting, and its rate increasing, organisational
structures must be nimble enough to support change and empower their people, not only embrace change but,
to drive it also. Burke and Cooper (2009, p.XXI) state that there is increasing evidence that people, their
management and their organisational culture are the only really unique source of competitive advantage
available to companies today.
It has been widely known that high levels of organisational commitment from employees lead to
higher productivity, reduced levels of staff turnover, lower rates of absenteeism and the urge to ‘go the extra
mile’ in seeing a job done well. How is it possible to maintain such high levels of commitment from people in
the face of constant change and uncertainties about their futures? Worley and Lawler (2006, p.4) contend
“built-to-change firms are anxious about being caught off-guard, so they place everyone close to customers
and the environment…That way, when the time comes to alter the direction of the organisation, everyone
2
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
moves together based on a common understanding and felt need for the change.” Additionally they state
that ‘shared leadership’ facilitates effective change management but requires constant input from
employees to develop business strategy (p.7).
Conger and Pearce (2003, p.1) offer the following definition of ‘shared leadership’: “A dynamic,
interactive influence process among individuals in groups for which the objective is to lead one another to
the achievement of group or organisational goals or both”. They continue, “This influence process often
involves peer, or lateral, influence and at other times involves upward or downward hierarchical influence”.
According to Duck (2001), the four main reasons for people’s resistance to change are as follows:
Parochial self-interest – people are fearful of the potential losses as a result of the change,
Misunderstanding and lack of trust – people misunderstand the drivers and objectives of the
Different assessments – people’s (managers and employees) decision-making abilities are based on
different knowledge sets, even within these groups there can be a broad spectrum of opinion;
Low tolerance for change – people may be fearful that their present skills and competencies do not
equip them to perform well when the changes are implemented, others may be reluctant to expend
The difficulty lies in motivating people to accept change, embrace it and leverage it to produce new
opportunities for growth for themselves and for their organisations. People typically perceive change in
seven stages (Recklies, 2001):
(1) Shock – faced with an unexpected situation people can suffer a loss of self-confidence;
(2) Denial – people believe change is unnecessary, ‘if it’s not broken don’t fix it’;
(3) Rational Understanding – realise that change is necessary but personal behaviour patterns remain
embedded;
3
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
(4) Emotional Acceptance – management need to influence people to change personal habits, beliefs
(5) Exercising and Learning – change champion needs to implement new processes and encourage new
behaviours;
(6) Realisation – positive feedback from new behaviours encourages new thinking patterns;
Lewin (1947) contended that most people are fearful of change and are more confortable in a stable,
unchanging environment. In order to overcome this fear-driven mindset he proposed a three stage model
involving (1) ‘unfreezing’ old ways and attitudes, (2) establishing a new vision and learning through
inclusion, training and empowerment, and (3) ‘refreezing’ this new behaviour, through support,
reinforcement and feedback, so that it becomes the new norm. This process was to be repeated each time a
new change is required.
Burke and Fiksenbaum (2009, p.23) states “emotions that work against change include anxiety, fear,
insecurity, fatigue, cynicism, pessimism, arrogance and anger. Emotions that support change include
optimism, urgency, trust, passions, hope enthusiasm and excitement”. Senge (2006, p.18) observes that
many see themselves as working in a system over which they have no control. They do what is expected of
them and go home – their responsibilities end at the boundaries of their roles. So it is essential that people
are motivated to act for the right reasons; the ability to tap into the emotions associated with employee-
supported change are powerful enablers towards enhanced performance at a personal and organisational level.
For managers to perform this task they must have finely honed ‘soft skills’, excellent interpersonal
communication, empathy and political skills, as well as more traditional management skills such as business
and analytical skills. Fullan (2002, p.8) states that,
Leaders must be consummate relationship builders with diverse people and groups —
especially with people different than themselves. This is why emotional intelligence is
equal to or more important than having the best ideas. In complex times, emotional
intelligence is a must.
Managers must get the ‘buy-in’ of all stakeholders involved in the change in order for that change to be
successful. Employees, particularly, need to understand the objective of the change, must see the benefit for
them and must be active in the implementation, if not the development, of the change so that they can bring
all their skills, experience and enthusiasm to bear to change ingrained habits and work towards new goals.
4
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
Organisational managers with responsibility for implementing change need to create an open,
accommodating and inclusive climate in which to engage with their employees. Clear communication is
critical to all such undertakings. Managers need to employ a number of influencing techniques to establish a
trusting environment, throughout the organisation, within which to elicit the best from their staff. For
example, Vengel (2000) identified two types of energy that can be used to influence people: ‘push’ energy
which is forceful, persuasive and ‘pull’ energy which is involving, inclusive (Mujtaba, 2014). Other
techniques include building rapport, consultation and, importantly, appeals based on friendship. All these
techniques illustrate that building and maintaining relationships are the keys to successful change
management. Employees need to believe that they are included in the process, their opinions have value and
their voices are heard.
The organisational structure must facilitate unleashing the creative forces within employees to
harness and direct those energies towards achieving corporate objectives. Senge (2006, p. 7) describes the
concept of ‘personal mastery’ as “the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision,
of focusing our energies, of developing patience and of seeing reality objectively”. He says that this is a
cornerstone of a learning organisation but that few such organisations exist and the vast majority of
organisations do not encourage the personal growth of their staff. Senge goes on to state that employees
with high levels of mastery are highly committed, learn fast, take responsibility and work under their own
initiative (p.133). Bill O’Brien (as cited in Senge 2006, p.134) said “to seek personal fulfilment only outside
of work and to ignore the significant portion of our lives which we spend working, would be to limit our
opportunities to be happy and complete human beings.”
If the premise is accepted that, in response to the increasing pace of globalisation and business
innovation, all organisations’ new modus operandi in dealing with a never-ending series of change processes
then it is essential to include employees in the shared leadership process, motivate them towards continued
self-development and leverage their intellectual capital in responding to developing business challenges.
Senior management need to demonstrate that tacit knowledge is valued for the asset it really is and
organisational memory is recognised and utilised for its ability for comparing past outcomes and making
inferences about what actions will improve future results.
Mahler and Casamayou state “it is not enough that information exists somewhere in the
organization. It must be shared, interpreted, argued over, and reinterpreted to tease out trends and understand
the link between actions and results” (2009, p.203).
This concept is of such critical importance that the US Army even has an office called the ‘Center
for Army Lessons Learned’ located in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Here the Army tries to learn from
encounters with the enemy and then incorporate these lessons into its training manoeuvres (Ricks, 2006,
p.193). Kanter (1979, p.72) argues that,
Powerless people are usually the last ones to whom anyone wants to entrust more power,
for fear of its dissipation or abuse. But those people are precisely the ones who might
benefit most from an injection of power and whose behaviour is likely to change as new
options open up to them.
5
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
He goes on to explain that the reasons that most organisation’s are not inclusive and do not empower
employees are mundane: current managers will feel threatened, the existing hierarchy will not be respected,
less skilled people should not be opining on management issues, and that predictability is rated more highly
than flexibility(p.74).
Conger and Kanungo (1988, p.476) believe that “empowerment processes may allow leaders to
lessen the emotional impact of demoralising change or to mobilise organisational members in the face of
difficult competitive challenges”.
Eisenberger et al. (1986, p.501) defined an employee concept of ‘perceived organisational support’
and noted that employees “develop global beliefs concerning the extent to which organisations value their
contributions and cares about their well-being”. Furthermore they state that, assuming expectations for praise
and reward for extra effort are met, employees would identify themselves with the organisation and develop a
positive affective attachment. Thus there would be an increase in the employee’s efforts to achieve
organisational objectives.
The concept of ‘organisational commitment’ and its relationship to job satisfaction, innate employee
beliefs and behaviours has been widely researched and documented in the public, private and not-for-profit
sectors (Porter et al., 1974, 1976; Mowday et al., 1979; Vandenberg and Lance, 1992; Haluk, 2008).
Organisational commitment is defined as acceptance as well as a strong belief in the organisation’s
goals and values, a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organisation, and a desire to
maintain organisational membership (Mowday et al., 1979).
Furthermore, Allen and Meyer (1990, p.1) defined three distinct components of organisational
commitment as:
Continuance commitment – ‘based on the costs the employee associates with leaving the
organisation’;
In addition, research (Allen & Meyer, 1990) has also investigated the antecedents of commitment, including
work experience (affective commitment), perceived lack of alternatives & magnitude of side-bets
(continuance commitment) and family and cultural socialisation experiences (normative commitment).
The rise of interest in this concept is due to the increased dislocation of the world of work and its
perceived effects on the output and efficiency of employees. Due to the rapid changes in business over the
last thirty years employees in modern organisations are expected to be more proactive than ever before. The
expectation from management is for employees to show more flexibility, initiative, motivation, and
commitment while the employees may be inclined to display less of these qualities due to a perceived lack
6
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
of reciprocal commitment from their managers. The success of any organisation depends, not only on how
it leverages its human capital and organisational memory but also, on how it encourages further
commitment and innovation from its employees in the face of market pressures, rapid market changes and
increased pressure on existing corporate structures and processes.
Organisational leaders need to create a coherent overview of the change they are seeking,
communicate this vision to all employees and invest resources into building and maintaining the processes
required to embed these practices and engage their staff in a consistent, meaningful and rewarding manner.
Real inclusion must mean more than rhetoric.
Ackoff (2006) defined two types of mistakes that organisations could and should learn from: (1)
errors of commission – something that should not have been done, (2) errors of omission – something that
should have been done. According to Ackoff, the latter are not recorded, are unacknowledged and there is
no accountability for them. He states,
In such a situation a manager who wants to invoke as little disapproval as possible must
try either to minimize errors of commission or transfer to others responsibility for those
he or she makes. The best way to do this is to do nothing, or as little as one can get away
with. This is a major reason that organizations do not make radical changes (2006, p.4).
Many studies have been undertaken to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and
organisational commitment, and these have shown that there is a positive correlation between the two. The
focus of this study is on the influence of change management culture on all three elements of organisational
commitment. However, if we assume that if an organisation fosters a more open and inclusive change
management policy, and this leads to increased levels of job satisfaction for employees, then we would
expect such a policy to also lead to greater levels of commitment to one’s organisation.
HYPOTHESES
This study focuses on the potential relationships between an organisation’s change management philosophy
or climate and the degree of commitment to that organisation experienced by its employees. As stated
previously today’s increasingly globalised business world is characterised by ‘change’ being the norm rather
than the exception. If it could be demonstrated that an inclusive company-wide change management climate
leads to higher levels of employee engagement and commitment then there are significant implications for
senior management teams regarding organisational strategy, and therefore structure, as well as middle
managers, coaches and mentors.
7
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
This is a quantitative study where the data was gathered by using a Web-based questionnaire survey
instrument. The unit of analysis is the individual respondent who completed the survey. The six hypotheses
that were tested are:
1. Irish employee’s organisational commitment (affective, continuance and normative) will be higher
if the organisation in which he/she works employs a more inclusive type of change management
style.
2. Irish employees with longer company service have a greater degree of continuance commitment.
3. Irish employees with higher educational qualifications have a greater degree of affective
commitment.
8
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
5. Thai employees with longer company service have a greater degree of normative commitment.
6. Thai employees with higher educational qualifications have a greater degree of affective
commitment.
METHODOLOGY
The dependent variables are ‘Organisational Climate for Change’ and ‘Organisational Commitment’. The
latter is sub-divided into ‘Affective Commitment’, ‘Continuance Commitment’ and ‘Normative
Commitment’, as identified by Allen and Meyer (1991). The independent variables are the demographic
information comprising the respondents’ nationality, gender, age, education, number of service years, and
occupation grade.
The survey was targeted at a population sample of two hundred (200) Irish nationals working
mainly, but not exclusively in the Republic of Ireland, and two hundred (200) Thai nationals working mainly,
but not exclusively in Thailand. The population was aimed at employees working in full-time employment in
companies, from small- to large-scale enterprises. No industries were deemed as excludable.
In actuality 131 responses were collected, of which 121 were valid for the purposes of this project.
Fifty-three (53) were from Irish respondents (43.8% of total) and sixty-eight (68) were from Thai respondents
(56.2% of total). In addition six (6) responses were collected from nationals outside these target populations.
This latter category was not considered for data analysis.
The survey instrument used in the collection of data for this research consists of forty (40)
statements divided into four sections:
Section 1 - consists of seventeen (17) statements that comprise the ‘Survey of Organisational
Section 2 - consists of eight (8) statements that comprise the ‘Affective Commitment’ component
Section 3 - consists of nine (9) statements that comprise the ‘Continuance Commitment’
Section 4 - consists of six (6) statements that comprise the ‘Normative Commitment’ component
9
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
The final section consists of the six (6) categories that describe the demographic data of the sampled
population.
The respondents were asked to consider each statement in turn and indicate their level of agreement
by placing a checkmark on a five-level Likert scale: (1) Strongly Disagreeing, (2) Disagreeing, (3) Neutral,
(4) Agreeing, (5) Strongly Agreeing.
The survey was prepared in English, however considerable efforts were made to ensure the survey
introductory statement, instructions and research statements were accurately translated into Thai and back-
translated into English language by another person who spoke both languages fluently to make sure there is
equivalency in the meaning. As a result, minor adjustments were made prior to implementation.
The decision to expend efforts in translation was driven by the need to make the survey instrument
as accessible as possible to potential Thai respondents. The aim is that the survey would be answered by
Thais not normally exposed to non-Thai nationals or non-Thai work cultures. The survey instrument was bi-
lingual (English and Thai).
The survey was initially sent to Thai students of the part-time MBA programme at the Institute of
International Studies, Ramkhamhaeng University who were engaged in full-time employment, as well as
professional contacts in Thailand’s telecommunications industry.
Similarly, the survey was initially sent to friends, former colleagues and professional contacts in
Ireland’s telecommunications industry. In both cases it was requested of the initial respondents that they
forward the survey to friends and colleagues employed full-time in as wide a spectrum of industries as
possible in order to obtain a more representative population sample. The survey instrument was distributed as
a unique weblink through e-mail.
Data analysis
Frequency analysis was used to indicate the respondent’s opinions on each of the survey statements. Then,
as the aim of the study was to determine the relationship between employees’ organisational commitment
and their perception of change management climate, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used. The
hypotheses were tested using one-way ANOVA, mean, standard deviation, t-test and F-test.
Using the online survey collection method a total of 131 responses were collected, of which 121
were deemed valid for the purposes of this project. 53 were from Irish respondents (43.8% of total) and 68
were from Thai respondents (56.2% of total).
Reliability analysis was conducted using SPSS for Windows Version 16 statistical analysis
programme and this resulted in the calculation of an overall Cronbach's α co-efficient of 0.902 for the 46
items that constituted the survey instrument.
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
the age profile of the first author’s peer group in Ireland’s telecommunication industry;
the suspected lack of success in circulating the survey instrument beyond the initial target group;
the significant age spectrum that existed in the researcher’s MBA programme class;
the age profile of the peer group of the MBA programme respondents who participated in the
survey.
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
Education. One very noticeable feature of the education profile is that all Thai respondents
were qualified to a minimum of Bachelor’s degree level and about 46% had attained a Master’s
degree or above.
In stark contrast 45% of Irish respondents had attained a Bachelor’s qualification and only 26% had
a Master’s degree or above. A further 9.4% had a diploma. Surprisingly, nearly 19% had no qualification
beyond a high school education. Without having specific knowledge of the industry background of the
respondents it is impossible to draw any kind of conclusion from this statistic, beyond stating that it does
seem high given the profile of the population sample.
A discussion with one Thai respondent on this issue prompted them to say that a minimum of a
Bachelor’s degree qualification was required to secure any kind of decent job, regardless of its specification
or responsibilities, in the Thai labour market. This seems to result in academic inflation but, as a result,
Thai society places great store on achievement of a tertiary level qualification.
Service Years. In this category the results showed similar percentages for Thai and Irish in
each of the four categories. The majority of respondents of both nationalities were in the sub-10 year,
at over 60%. There were three Irish respondents in the 31-40 year service category and two Thais,
accounting for 4% of the total.
The large number of Irish respondents in the sub-10 year category may be accounted for by the economic
boom that occurred in that country between 1998 and 2007. Many new technology companies, in particular,
were established during that period, the labour market was very vibrant and the economy effectively had
full employment. There was much fluidity in the job market for suitably qualified personnel, leading to
frequent job changes, increased salaries and accelerated advancement up the managerial ladder. It is
interesting to note that, although 66% of total Irish respondents were between 36-50 years old, 62% of total
respondents had less than 10 years service in their present companies. One would normally expect
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
The first-line management grade shows comparable percentages between the two nationalities, 20.59% and
20.75% respectively.
The mid-level management category accounts for 13% of Thais but 30% of Irish respondents. This
may be explained by the different age profiles discussed previously, as could the percentages in the senior
management categories.
Hypotheses Testing
The hypotheses were tested using one-way ANOVA, mean, standard deviation, t-test and F-test. A
significance level of 0.05 was selected to determine if a hypothesis was supported by the collected data or
not.
Hypothesis 1. Irish employee’s organisational commitment (affective, continuance and
normative) will be higher if the organisation in which he/she works employs a more inclusive type of
change management style.
One-way ANOVA was used to test this hypothesis, with the dependent variable being the degree of
organisational commitment (affective, continuance and normative). This resulted in a calculated
significance level or p-value = 0.527. As this number is greater than 0.05 it means that there is a 'difference'
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
but this difference is 'Not Significant', therefore the research hypothesis is not supported. The measured
value obtained in the sample is not consistent with that implied in the hypothesis.
This implies that an organisation with a more inclusive type of change management style does not
cause an Irish employee's organisational commitment (OC) to be higher. The ‘mean’ data does show that
Irish employees that work in organisations with more inclusive style of change management will have a
higher level of organisational commitment, however the difference across the five groups of the Likert
scale is such that this ‘difference’ is not deemed to be statistically significant. There is a steady rise
visible in the mean commitment level until that category of employee who perceives that that change
management climate was most inclusive (group 5), where a drop in commitment was recorded.
This is an interesting result – intuitively one would have expected the hypothesis to hold true. Any
organisation that actively engages its employees in decision-making, shared leadership and empowerment
should engender greater levels of commitment. It is possible the result for group 5 is an anomaly since the
number of respondents in this group is quite small and other, more transitory or superficial (for example a
negative performance review), factors may be involved that served to reduce overall commitment level at
the time of the survey. Maybe a larger sample would provide more conclusive evidence in this regard.
It is interesting to note that no Irish respondents chose Option 1 (Strongly Disagree) for the
statements relating to change management style and only one Thai respondent chose this option. The three
middle options (Disagree, Neutral and Agree) accounted for 96% of Irish respondents’ and 94% of Thai
respondents’ opinion.
Hypothesis 2. Irish employees with longer company service have a greater degree of
continuance commitment.
The dependent variable is the degree of organisational continuance commitment. This resulted in a
calculated significance level or p-value = 0.078. As this number is greater than 0.05 it means that the
research hypothesis is not supported. The measured value obtained in the sample is not consistent with that
implied in the hypothesis.
This implies that, overall, Irish employees with longer company service do not have a greater
degree of continuance commitment, i.e. employees will not stay with the organisation just because they feel
they have to. Closer examination of the ‘mean’ data does show that employees with 21-30 years service
show an increased level of continuance commitment but this is at odds with reduced level of commitment
in the 11-20 years service category. It is interesting that the mean continuance commitment should reduce
after the first decade in an organisation increase and then fall off in the 31-40 years service category.
There are so many factors that may play a role in this, such as cultural, societal and economic. As
discussed previously the dramatic change in Ireland’s economic fortunes, and hence its labour market and
work attitudes, over the last 30 years may help explain this. For example, because of the world economic
crash in 2008 and its consequences for the Irish economy, those employees with relatively short service
who retained their jobs were probably more inclined to feel that they had to stay in their jobs as they
provided a degree of financial security. Those with 11-20 years service, having lived through a period of
unprecedented growth and prosperity, may have felt that opportunities would always exist for people (like
them) of talent and experience. Employees with 21-30 years service would have lived through a period of
economic stagnation and mass unemployment so they would place great store on a job, continuance
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
commitment and the security they provided. It is difficult to explain the mean in the last service year
category with only three respondents. It is possible that employees so close to retirement may have other
priorities that impact negatively on their continuance commitment.
Hypothesis 3. Irish employees with higher educational qualifications have a greater degree
of affective commitment.
The dependent variable is the degree of organisational affective commitment. This resulted in a calculated
significance level or p-value = 0.05. In itself this result is insufficient to prove that the data supports the
hypothesis or not. By using Scheffe’s Theory (as the samples are of unequal sizes) as a secondary test, the p-
values calculated range from 0.085 to 0.973. As these numbers are greater than 0.05, therefore the research
hypothesis is not supported. The measured value obtained in the sample is not consistent with that implied in
the hypothesis.
This implies that, overall, Irish employees with higher educational qualifications do not have a
greater degree of affective commitment, i.e. employees will not stay with the organisation just because they
want to continue work there – they could be easily tempted by other offers of higher salaries or better working
conditions. This indicates that the social aspect of work, for example esprit de corps, workplace friendships
and a mutually supportive and comfortable environment, become less important as employees attain higher
levels of education. Maybe this is because, with better education, career advancement and managerial
aspirations become more important than the social aspect of the workplace. A senior manager interviewed
remarked, “I didn’t earn an MBA and become a manager to make friends” (John Cusack, personal
communications, 17th March 2012).
Additionally, during the boom years in Ireland there were significant shifts in societal priorities and
a boom in the middle-class (and the extent of their aspirations). Greater emphasis was placed on attaining
higher levels of education and post-graduate degrees as these were seen as the way to corporate respectability
and managerial (and therefore financial) success. As a result there was fluid labour market for qualified staff
and opportunities for advancement were in abundance. This led to wage inflation and an increased emphasis
on financial incentives as the main arbiter of job satisfaction and commitment, with a reduced emphasis on
the, heretofore, valued social aspects of work and the workplace.
Hypothesis 4. Thai employee’s organisational commitment (affective, continuance and
normative) is unaffected by the climate for change applied in his/her company.
The dependent variable is the degree of organisational commitment (affective, continuance and normative).
This resulted in a calculated significance level or p-value = 0.92. As this number is greater than 0.05,
therefore the research hypothesis is not supported. The measured value obtained in the sample is not
consistent with that implied in the hypothesis.
This implies that an organisation with a more inclusive type of change management style does
cause a change in Thai employee's organisational commitment (OC). The ‘mean’ data seems to show that
Thai employees that work in organisations with more inclusive style of change management will have a
higher level of organisational commitment up to a certain point, however the difference is not deemed to be
statistically significant.
What is interesting is that there seems to be a positive correlation between an open change climate
and organisational commitment and then a decrease in the level of the latter before it rises again as the
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
change management climate tends towards the most inclusive. The mean result for category 5 may be an
anomaly as a result of the small number of respondents (there were only 3 in this category). A larger
sample would probably provide more conclusive evidence in this regard.
In the cases of both Hypotheses 1 and 4 there does seem to be a positive correlation at the lower
end of the change management climate scale but the higher end of the scale produced contrary results. In
both cases the number of respondents was quite small and therefore may provide false readings.
The intention of Hypothesis 4 was to see if Thai employees were ‘immune’ to change management
climate as a result of inherent cultural mores and the data seems to show that this is not the case. Has this
always been the case or is a result of attitudinal shifts in the workplace amongst the younger generation of
Thai employees? This is an area ripe for further research.
Another observation is that in both Thailand and Ireland the change management climate is
unremarkable, i.e. opinion of the vast majority of both nationalities was that their respective companies’
practices were average. This would indicate that there is much room for improvement in the need for
perception-shift on the part of senior managers to fully appreciate the value of organisational memory and
employee empowerment.
Hypothesis 5. Thai employees with longer company service have a greater degree of
normative commitment.
The dependent variable is the degree of organisational normative commitment. This resulted in a calculated
significance level or p-value = 0.007. As this number is less than 0.05 it means that there is a 'significant
difference', therefore the research hypothesis is supported. The measured value obtained in the sample is
consistent with that implied in the hypothesis.
Thai employees with higher educational qualifications have a greater degree of normative
commitment. The increase in the value of the 'mean' from the <10 years service group 1 (2.7889) to the 31-
40 year service group (3.9167) shows a large increase in normative commitment in the groups with more
years of service. However, as commented on previously, with the small number of respondents in the latter
group this high ‘mean’ level could be anomalous – a re-test with a larger sample would probably provide
more conclusive evidence in this regard.
This result complies with earlier studies and highlights the importance of loyalty to older
employees with long service to one company. This is also probably true in Ireland but there are also
specific cultural dimensions to be considered in Thailand. Relationships and hierarchy are fundamentally
important concepts in Thai culture and they both take time to build. In Thailand, there are some norms
which can be said to exist:
Thais work hard to build and maintain relationships among a wide and complex network of people;
Thais’ interactions are more or less controlled within the context of a strong hierarchical system
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
It would seem logical that to function effectively in an organisation is predicated on one’s success in building
and developing personal networks throughout the organisation. Once an employee leaves the organisation the
network ceases to provide the advantage it once did. In addition older people generally feel more loyalty to
their employers, particularly if they have long service.
In more developed Western countries, this sentiment has changed amongst the younger generation as
a result of the restructuring of labour markets and increased globalisation over the last twenty years. It will be
interesting to see if similar cultural changes occur amongst Thailand’s educated younger population in light
of the country’s flourishing economy and advent of the ASEAN Free Trade Area in 2015.
Hypothesis 6. Thai employees with higher educational qualifications have a greater degree of
affective commitment.
The dependent variable is the degree of organisational affective commitment. This resulted in a calculated
significance level or p-value = 0.306. As this number is greater than 0.05 it means that the research
hypothesis is not supported. The measured value obtained in the sample is not consistent with that implied
in the hypothesis.
This indicates that Thai employees with higher educational qualifications do not have a greater
degree of affective commitment, i.e. employees will not stay with the organisation just because they want to
continue work there – they could be easily tempted by other offers of higher salaries or better working
conditions. This indicates that the social aspect of work has become less important. This is an interesting
finding, as it seems to be contrary to the value that most Thai’s find in workplace relationships. According to
Holmes and Tantongtavy (2000, p.76), Thais feel that the ultimate workplace is where he or she feels at
home. For most Thais the workplace should have ‘gan eng’, a pleasant and friendly atmosphere.
Another perspective on this issue is that maybe modern day workplaces in Thailand no longer have
these attributes due, as in the Irish case (Hypothesis 3), to a burgeoning economy, fluid labour market and a
cultural shift (however slight) away from group orientation towards individual self-realisation.
There are an increasing number of Thais who are receiving tertiary, and some receiving secondary
and tertiary, education in the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand over the last 10 – 20 years. This must be
having an effect on their career expectations and managerial performance on returning to Thailand. This
‘Westernisation’ of work attitudes, in conjunction with an increasingly globalised business environment, may
have an effect on the traditional social norms of individual and group behaviour.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this research project was to investigate if there was a positive correlation between an open and
inclusive change management climate and an increased level of organisational commitment from employees.
Furthermore, a nationality dimension was added to see if there was any difference in the nature of this
relationship between Irish and Thai employees.
The data showed there was a positive correlation between change management style and levels of
organisational commitments for both Thais and Irish employees, however at the more inclusive end of the
change management scale the survey showed contrary results. The Irish respondents’ commitment dropped
sharply while the Thais’ commitment rose. What caused this?
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
It may be an error due to the small sample sizes for both nationalities in this category. It would seem
that few companies in either country provide truly open and inclusive change management climates. For
Hypothesis 1 (Irish) and Hypothesis 4 (Thai) over 90% of all respondents selected statements characterising
their change management climate in the ‘Disagree’, ‘Neutral’ or ‘Agree’ categories. This indicates that the
majority of organisations are still being driven in a top-down style of management. In light of the
fundamental changes in the business environment over the last 15 years it is questionable as to where this
style of management in still appropriate for companies as the 21st century lies ahead of them.
In the case of Hypothesis 1 (Irish), it is surprising that there were not more instances of higher
ratings for open change management climate. The Irish economic boom of the last 15 years certainly
improved salaries, facilitated accelerated career mobility but, on the basis of this research data, has done little
to improve the application and practice of advanced management techniques such as empowerment,
distributed leadership and the learning organisation. Anecdotal evidence points to an increase in the
availability and uptake of post-graduate management studies and yet there seems to be little evidence of the
active application of these management theories in the workplaces of those surveyed.
It is possible that it will take time for such practices to ‘trickle up’, either by the senior management
teams being convinced of their merits or by the promotion of the technique practitioners into influential
positions such that they are able to implement new policies, change structures and evolve strategy in a
direction more congruent with the requirements for business survival and prosperity in the globalised
business world.
In the case of Hypothesis 4 (Thai), we found the results were also surprising but for a different
reason. Thai cultural traits are generally believed to include risk avoidance, an ingrained respect for
hierarchy, non-questioning of the ‘normal’ way of doing things and a generally conservative outlook. All of
which leave employees with little chance to try new ideas or questions old ways. Knowledge of these traits
informed the construction of Hypothesis 4. The data did not support this hypothesis – there does seem to be
evidence of a positive correlation between the two. Why is this the case as it seems to contradict accepted
Thai traits?
It is difficult to provide a definitive answer. Also more detailed enquiries need to be made into the
backgrounds of the Thai respondents to determine if the results are related to:
1. age;
3. education in a foreign university (UK, Australia, USA, Canada, India, New Zealand etc.);
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
Are these changes a result of direct foreign education and/or work experience? Are they locally-driven
changes as a result of years of Western teaching methods and textbooks filtered through the prism of local
cultural sensibilities and nuances? This is a topic that invites further research. The findings indicate that,
1. practised change management styles show room for improvement in both countries;
2. Thai respondents are open to fuller engagement with inclusive change management styles if given
the opportunity;
3. Irish respondents are in a similar position, but it is surprising that inclusive change management
styles are not more widespread given the recent period of unprecedented economic growth, labour
In the cases of Hypotheses 3 and 6 the findings indicate that personal motivation and the desire for self-
realisation might become more important in both Thai and Irish society – the root causes are unknown and
would provide another interesting topic for research.
1
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
a consistent, meaningful and rewarding manner: reward success and tolerate failure. There has to be goal
congruence, follow-through and a willingness to amend or scrap change programmes that are judged to be
defective or unworkable. Openness, mutual respect and communication are critical to greater openness:
clarify expectations, dispel rumours, harness creativity and focus enthusiasm towards realising corporate
objectives.
Among the recommendations for organisations and managers are the needs to facilitate job
enrichment, empower employees, optimise knowledge management and harness organisational memory.
Charles Handy said “trust, like learning, requires unconditional support, and forgiveness for mistakes,
provided always that the mistakes are learnt from” (1997, p.190).
Retention of qualified and experienced staff needs to become a strategic goal of the organisation.
Only by valuing employees, promoting their self-development, actively seeking their opinions and
facilitating them in participating in developing and achieving strategic goals can an organisation hope to
maintain competitive edge in the 21st century business world.
Thomas Friedman in his award-winning book, ‘The World Is Flat’, which examined the
implications of the globalised world for people and businesses in the 21 st century, states that “the great
challenge for our time will be to absorb these changes in ways that do not overwhelm people or leave them
behind. None of this will be easy...It is inevitable and unavoidable” (2006, p.49).
CONCLUSIONS
Charles Franklin Kettering, inventor and businessman, said “the world hates change, yet it is the only thing
that has brought progress” (as cited in Bateman and Snell, 2010, p.321).
Too often change is presented in a negative light and, for many employees, experience has taught
them to engage with it in a circumspect manner due to the dichotomy between the words and deeds of their
company’s management with respect to planning and implementing it.
Amongst the findings the data indicates that change management styles in use in both countries
show room for improvement. The implication for managers in both countries is that the appetite for more
active participation in change management programmes exists and will be embraced if employees are
provided with the appropriate support and structures.
Senior management need to create a coherent overview of the change they are seeking and engage
their staff in a consistent, meaningful and rewarding manner: reward success and tolerate failure. Jack Welch,
former CEO of General Electric, said “I’ve learned that mistakes can often be as good a teacher as success”
(as cited in Bateman and Snell, 2010, p.313).
Change is unavoidable in the modern business world and needs to be embraced fully and
implemented inclusively for all its benefits to be realised. Ricks (2006, p. 194) states that “…all big
organisations tend to do what they know how to do, rather than what they need to do differently to address the
situation they face.” This strategy is no longer commensurate with survival, never mind success, in the
globalised world in which we now live. The key to understanding the ‘situation’ is to engage fully with the
people who deal with the daily realities of the business, the employees.
2
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
REFERENCES
Ackoff, Russell L. 2006. Why Few Organizations Adopt Systems Thinking. Systems Research and
Behavioral Science. 23, pp. 705–708. Retrieved 29th May 2012 from:
http://ackoffcenter.blogs.com/ackoff_center_weblog/files/Why_few_aopt_ST.pdf
Allen, N. J. and John P. Meyer. 1990. The Measurement and Antecedents of Affective, Continuance, and
Normative Commitment to the Organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, Vol.63, pp.1-18.
Allen, N. J. and John P. Meyer. 1991. A Three-Component Conceptualization of Organizational
Commitment. Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 61-89.
Bateman, T. and Scott Snell. 2010. M: Management, 2nd edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Burke, R. J. and Cary L. Cooper, eds. 2009. The Peak Performing Organisation. New York, NY: Routledge.
Burke, R. J. and Lisa Fiksenbaum. 2009. The Peak Performing Organisation – An Overview. In Burke, R. J.
and Cary L. Cooper, eds. The Peak Performing Organisation. New York, NY: Routledge.
Conger, J. A. and Rabindra Nath Kanungo. 1988. The Empowerment Process: Integrating Theory and
Practice. Academy of Management Review, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 471-482.
Conger, J. A. and Craig L. Pearce. 2003. A Landscape of Opportunities: Future Research in Shared
Leadership. In C. L. Pearce & J. A. Conger, eds. Shared Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Duck, Jeanie D. 2001. The Change Monster: The Human Forces That Foil Corporate Transformations and
Change. New York, NY: Crown Business.
Eisenberger, R., Robin Huntington, Steven Hutchison and Debora Sowa. 1986. Perceived Organizational
Support. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 71, No. 3, pp. 500-507.
Frans, Peter. 2010. Phases in Change Processes. Trimitra Consultants. Retrieved 1st July 2011 from
http://www.trimitra.com/articles/change_02.html
Friedman, Thomas. 2006. The World is Flat – the Globalised World in the 21 st Century. London: Penguin
Books.
Fullan, Michael. 2002. Principals as Leaders in a Culture of Change. Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education, University of Toronto. Retrieved 10th April 2012 from
http://www.michaelfullan.ca/Articles_02/03_02.pdf
Haluk, T. 2008. Worker’s Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment: Mediator Variable
Relationships of Organizational Commitment Factors. Journal of American Academy of Business,
Vol. 14 (1), pp. 152-163.
Handy, Charles. 1997. The Hungry Spirit: Beyond Capitalism – A Quest for Purpose in the Modern World.
London: Hutchinson.
Holmes, H. & Suchada Tangtongtavy. 2000. Working With The Thais: A Guide To Managing In Thailand.
Bangkok: White Lotus Press.
Kanter, R.M. 1979. Power Failure in Management Circuits. Harvard Business Review 57, no. 4, pp. 65-75.
Lewin, Kurt. 1947. Frontiers in Group Dynamics: II. Channels of Group Life; Social Planning and Action
Research. Human Relations, November 1947, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 143-153.
Mahler, J. and Maureen Casamayou. 2009. Organizational Learning at NASA: The Challenger & Columbia
Accidents. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
2
International Affairs and Global Strategy www.iiste.o
ISSN 2224-574X (Paper) ISSN 2224-8951
(Online) Vol.9, 2013
Mowday, R., Richard Steers and Lyman W. Porter. 1979. The Measurement of Organizational
Commitment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Vol. 14, pp. 224-247.
Mujtaba, B. G. 2014. Managerial Skills and Practices for Global Leadership. ILEAD Academy: Florida.
Mujtaba, B. G. and Timothy McCartney. 2010. Managing Workplace Stress and Conflict amid Change,
Porter, L. W., William Crampon and Frank Smith. 1976. Organizational Commitment and Managerial
Turnover: A Longitudinal Study. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, Vol. 15, pp.
87-98.
Porter, L.W., Richard Steers, Richard Mowday and Paul Boulian. 1974. Organizational Commitment, Job
Satisfaction and Turnover Among Psychiatric Technicians. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol.
59, pp. 603-609.
Recklies, Oliver. 2001. Managing Change – Definition and Phases in Change Processes. Recklies
Management Project GmbH. Retrieved 22nd June 2011 from
http://www.themanager.org/pdf/Change_Phases.PDF
Ricks, Thomas E. 2006. Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. London: Penguin Books.
Senge, Peter. 2006. The Fifth Discipline. London, UK: Random House Business Books.
Vandenberg, R. J. and Charles E. Lance. 1992. Examining the Causal Order of Job Satisfaction and
Organizational Commitment. Journal of Management, Vol. 18, pp. 153-167.
Vengel, Alan A. 2000. The Influence Edge: How to Persuade Others to Help You Achieve Your Goals. San
Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Communications.
Worley, C.G. and Edward E. Lawler. 2006. Designing Organizations That Are Built to Change. Center for
Effective Organizations (CEO), University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.
CEO Publication: G 06-6 (495).
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:
Mark J. Dunne is a project manager, telecommunications consultant and an MBA graduate from
the Institute of International Studies, Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok, Thailand. His areas of business
research interests include leadership, change management, motivation, and cross-cultural management.
Mark can be reached through e-mail at: mjadunne@yahoo.com
Bahaudin G. Mujtaba is Professor of Management and Human Resources at the Huizenga School
of Business and Entrepreneurship; Nova Southeastern University, Florida, U.S.A. Bahaudin has worked as an
internal consultant, trainer, and teacher. His areas of research include business ethics, diversity management,
change management, and cross-cultural management. Bahaudin can be reached through e-mail at:
mujtaba@nova.edu
2
This academic article was published by The International Institute for Science,
Technology and Education (IISTE). The IISTE is a pioneer in the Open Access
Publishing service based in the U.S. and Europe. The aim of the institute is
Accelerating Global Knowledge Sharing.
More information about the publisher can be found in the IISTE’s homepage:
http://www.iiste.org
The IISTE is currently hosting more than 30 peer-reviewed academic journals and
collaborating with academic institutions around the world. There’s no deadline for
submission. Prospective authors of IISTE journals can find the submission
instruction on the following page: http://www.iiste.org/Journals/
The IISTE editorial team promises to the review and publish all the qualified
submissions in a fast manner. All the journals articles are available online to the
readers all over the world without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than
those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. Printed version of the
journals is also available upon request of readers and authors.
Change Management
Jeff Slattery
Azusa Pacific Online University
The ubiquitous nature of change seems to imply that change comes easily, but this is certainly not the
case in most instances. The world of business and information technology requires frequent, and at times
significant, change initiatives. Successful change appears even more elusive, and thus, the following
information strives to address the major factors that aid in change management. The paper describes the
technical and human elements of change and includes components of change management that relate to
the field of information system management. The results provide guidelines and processes for
successfully implementing change initiatives.
The level of global competition, corporate scandals, and continually changing governmental
regulations and standards requires that firms of all sizes implement change initiatives in order to
survive, remain competitive, and be in compliance with laws and standards. The changes range
from minute to enterprise-wide and bring many challenges and benefits. Firms that embrace
change and utilize it to their advantage receive a comparative advantage that increases their
ability to compete and remain efficient in the marketplace. Due to the critical nature of change,
the following information describes the role of change management in organizations, discusses
the key factors of change, the potential impact, leadership characteristics, common barriers to
change, and offers guidelines to aid in the successful implementation of change initiatives.
Gans (2011) states that 80% of firms polled reported experiencing “some” confusion with the
concept of change management and another 57% indicated that they “often” experienced
confusion during the process of change. These statistics clearly indicate the necessity to
implement a clear, consistent, and comprehensive change management strategy (p. 48).
Information technology projects are not devoid of change issues, as well. In fact, as Flynn, Pan,
Keil, and Mahring (2009) state, IT projects at times “grossly exceed their planned budget and
schedules, often by a factor of 2-3 fold or greater”; again these instances emphasize the need to
focus on key initiatives and the process of change management (p. 131). The stakes are simply
too high; firms must take change management seriously and dedicate the time and resources
necessary to effectively implement the initiates. The very survival of a firm often depends on
their ability to adapt and effectively change with the quickly adapting global business
marketplace.
As stated prior, change in business remains a constant and continual process. Firms need to
manage changes and, at times, seek to limit the degree of change while at the same time
aggressively forging forward with changes, prioritizing becomes a key point.
Change creates a sense of uncertainty, stress, and anxiety for employees, which is often
interpreted as resistance by change agents who are already aware of the change and the end
results or ramifications. The change agents have spent countless hours developing, revising, and
strategizing about how the change will improve business operations or advance the firm, but
when the information is presented to frontline employees, they are often surprised and upset by
the suggested or required changes. Balestracci (2003) states that firms and individuals in our
technological age are “ expected to absorb in 10 years what used to be assimilated in two or three
generations,” which creates untold stress and has been identified as “ corporate craziness” (p.
39). This same author goes on to cite the 85/15 rule: 85% of the problems in an organization
derive from faulty process while only 15% or fewer are related to employees, and thus,
management should take the stance to “ blame the process, not the person” (Balestracci, 2003, p.
40). For some firms this may be a major cultural shift, but doing so decreases defensiveness,
makes the actual problem the problem, and enables employees to unite against the problem in
creating a solution. Depersonalizing the problem decreases the emotional reactivity to the
situation, which allows for, and even encourages, change. Once the emotional reactivity has
dissipated, the firm and employees are able to move into the change mode. The ability to
respond appropriately requires five essential skills:
1. Self-awareness
2. Emotional maturity
3. Self-motivation
5. The ability to develop and maintain positive relationships (Balestracci, 2003 p. 42)
Displaying these skills and abilities makes the change process much easier and flow more
smoothly, but there are leadership and corporate cultural characteristics and factors that are also
essential for a success change process.
Bejestani (2011) states that, “management is partly science and partly art” (p. 302). The human-
side or soft-skills account for a major element of change, even with regard to the technical
aspects of change. IT systems or applications do not develop, install, and maintain themselves.
People are at the center of change, and the successful implementation of change requires
leadership and management acumen. Great leaders and managers are able to overcome
resistance, unite employees, create a shared vision, and motivate employees or a team to
implement change and accomplish tasks. Bejestani (2011) lists the following leadership
characteristics:
Problem solving—to make right decisions and solve problems, especially in critical
situations
Training friendly—to believe in the necessity of training and provide resources for
training
In addition, Bluestone (2011) notes the difficulties associated with change and states that leaders
should work to create a culture where mistakes are allowed and discussed in a positive light,
using the mistakes and failures as learning opportunity. Employees should not be afraid to report
mistakes and failures. The corporate culture should encourage a sense of forgiveness and
restoration; employees should not obsess on making the right and perfect decision at the expense
of actually implementing a decision and experiencing an error or setback. Bluestone (2011) ends
by stating that “cultural change is evolution, not revolution”; this speaks to the continual process
of organizational change and change management (p. 21).
Gee and Gee (2011) continue with the same line of thinking by stating the firms should work to “
create a culture of change and innovation…which is one the best ways to build organizations that
can respond to change in a positive and proactive manner” (p. 31). The actions and behaviors of
managers account for up to 50% of how employees view a firm. Managers who encourage the
following behaviors and attitudes are working to instill a culture of creativity, innovation, and
change, which again provides a competitive advantage for their firm:
Nurture risk taking as opposed to being risky (Gee & Gee, 2011, p. 31)
Similarly, firms that primarily operate from a top-down mentality are punitive, allow silos to
exist, fail to communicate decisions, are overly controlling and fail to see the value of their
employees, severely limit or hinder their ability to react quickly to market trends and implement
creative and innovative change initiates. Although the soft-side of change requires extensive
management and interaction, the technical aspects remain and are vital to the process.
Hayes (2010) notes that IT projects are vital for all firms but the role of many IT professionals
has changed. IT managers and even frontline staff are not simply able to maintain and interact
with IT systems; they are being required more and more to collaborate and negotiate with other
functional areas of the business. Hayes (2010) goes on to state that, “the change from
provisioning physical IT assets and virtual IT assets is changing the relationship between IT and
business units inside and organization” (p. 54). IT professionals are being pushed to not only
upgrade existing skills and competencies but to learn, acquire, and utilize a whole new set of
skills beyond specific IT skills (Hayes, 2010).
Firms must move beyond utilizing standard management and IT-related change management
software and applications, such as SWOT analysis or Balanced Scorecards (Barraso, 2011).
Firms that embrace and utilize project management techniques in addition to the standard
techniques in developing and designing change management systems and protocols will become
much more efficient and innovative in implementing changes that will serve to advance their
firms. The time of being able to set back and rely upon prior successful change initiatives and
practices has past. Firms must take advanced of their employees’ enthusiasm, creativity, and
innovative spirit when diving into major change initiates. The results will be astonishing;
successful, innovative, and creative change projects will become the norm as opposed to the
dreaded.
Jeff Slattery, MA., DBA., is the discipline chair for management at Azusa Pacific Online
University. He can be reached for questions regarding this article at jslattery@apou.net.
References
Balestracci, D. (2003). Handling the human side of change. Quality Progress, 36(11), 38-45.
Barroso, B., H. (2011). The balanced scorecard: The evolution of the concept and its effects on
change in organizational management. EBS Review, 28, 53-66.
Bejestani, H. (2011). Improving project change management using leadership spirit. iBusiness, 3,
302-306.
Bluestone, A. (2003, July). Process of change: What it really takes. Practice Management
Solutions, 21.
Flynn, D., Pan, G., Keil, M., & Mahring, M. (2009). De-escalating IT projects: The DMM
model. Communications of the ACM, 52(10), 131-134.
Gans, K. (2011, October). Should you change your thinking about change management?
Strategic Finance 48-50.
Gee, V., & Gee, S. (2011, October). Business improve creates a culture of change and
innovation. The Journal for Quality & Participation, 30-33.
Hayes, J. (2010, September 24). Virtual impacts. Engineering & Technology, 54-55.
configuration / change uration management can exploit para llelism for implementing
specification
changes. Declarative specificati ons leave such decisions to the
im plementation mechanisms .
::.i"!.t .u .,..:·t.-.J t I
Df Jrl l _(I UM ..r.,!] !; Change specifications should be independent of the algorithm s,
/i prvtv cvls, and state!; of the appli cution.
£: -'.D S H ! :a r n e
In order to provide generic configuration management , the
configurati on management system which carries out the changes
should be independent of the application. Since changes are to
;-:-·; f i'1 J1:◊ n·!f l
.;\ )) j:l'lJce iJ'l l0 Jl be specified in terms of the configu ration s t ructure, the paper
'.,j c,.'.d Y <): i'J'. .l (.;$ will demonstrate that dependenc e on aspec ts such as application
state can be abstracted to a general requirement for application
quiescence, and dependence on application algorithm to a need
for co mp onent connection initialization /fina lization actions.
Fig. I. System configur at ion and change management. Changes should leave the system in a consistent state.
Informally, a consistent application state is one from which the
system can continue processing no rmally rather than progressing
configuration
changes towards an error state. It is usually ex presse d in terms of some
global sys tem invariant. A system is viewed as moving from
Fig. 2. Evolution of a sys tem by incremental changes. one consistent state to the next. In fact, application transactions
modify the state of the appl ic ation, and, while in progress, have
transient sta te distributed in the system. While transactions are
phcrs problem. The concluding section of the paper discusses in prog ress the internal states of nodes may be mutually incon
othe r approaches to dynamic change management which range sis tent. In order to avoid the loss of application transactions and
from pragmatic support for procedure replacement to the more ac h ieve a consistent state after change, a consistent application
formal transformational approach. The conclusions also examine state is required in the affected part of the system before the
the adequacy of our approach and discuss its implications. change.
Changes should minimize the disruption to the application
II. DYNAMIC CHANGE MANAGEMENT
system.
It should not be necessary to stop the whole of a running
This section identifies the objectives of change management, application sys te m to modify part of it. The management system
and defines more precisely the distributed system environment shoul d, from the chang e specification, be able to determine a
in which it is expected to operate. These objectives represent an minimal set of nodes which are affected hy the change. The rest
approach which clearly separates application specific functions of the sys tem should be able to continue its execution normally.
from structural configuration functions. As mentioned , the These objectives have a number of consequences for both
intention is to provide an application independent configuration the application and the configuration management system. In
management facility. particular, the management system must give the affected part
of a system the opportunity to reach a consistent state before
A. Objectives a change is performed. The managem ent system does not force
Changes should be specified in terms of the system structure. changes but waits for the application to reach a consistent state.
Systems, and in particular distributed systems, are constructed This consistent state requires that there is no communication in
in a modular way consisting of a configuration of software nodes. progress between the affected nodes nor with their environment.
We propose that system evolution at the level of programming Each node is said to be in a quiescent state. Further, the nodes
in the small (6] is at too low a level, being both too detailed must remain quiescent while the change is execute d. This gives
and impractical due to the tight coupling of program elements. newly created nodes the opportunity to he initialized in a state
Instead, change should be supported at a component node level which is consistent with the res t of the sys tem and nodes which
(or levels) where the possibility exists for understanding the arc being removed the opportunity to leave the system in a
effects of change and where the internode coupling is such that consistent state. Later sections will describe how the affected
change is both possible and pragmatic. nodes are identified and controlled by management, and discuss
Change specifications should be declarative. the application level responsibilities.
By this we mean that it should be the responsibility of the
configuration management system, not the user, to determine
the specific ordering of actual change operations applied to the 8. Distributed System Model
system. This clearly separates the change required (which is In order to provide a sound basis for a discussion on change
application specific) from how it is to he executed. Config- manag eme nt, we first describe the environment and the assump
tions made. We also briefly define the terms used.
• System: A system is ass ume d to consist of a set of processing
nodes with directed connec tion s indi ca ting the communica tion
paths between the nodes.
• Node: A node is a processing entity which can initiate and
service transactions.
• Connection: A connection is a directed communication path
from the initiator of the communication exchange to the
recipient (Fig. 3).
KRAMER AND MAGEE: EVOLVING PHILOSOPHERS 1
Initiator
Recipient
(a)
complete
initiate and receive transactions with both of N2 and N4. Fig. 4. Examples of (two-party) transactions.
N2 may only initiate transactions with Nl, but may receive
transactions from nodes Nl and N3. The next section describes the interface between management
• Transaction: A transaction is an exchange of information and the application nodes and refines the notion of quiescence.
between two and only two nodes, initiated by one of the
nodes. Transactions are the means by which the state of a III. APPLICATION-MANAGEMENT INTERACTION
node is affected by other connected nodes in the system.
Transactions consist of a sequence of one or more message When performing configuration changes it is important that
exchanges between the two connected nodes. It is assumed application information is not lost and that the application is left
that transactions complete in bounded time and that the in a consistent state. To do this, the management system should
initiator of a transaction is aware of its completion. have an interface with the application which allows it lo direct
Fig. 4 illustrates valid examples of transactions. In prac the application towards an appropriate state for reconfiguration.
tice they may consist of a remote procedure call (rpc) or Further, the management system must be able to confirm that
request-reply message exchange as in (a), or some sequence the application has reached this state. The interface between
or combination of rpc's or message passing as shown in application and management system must be a generic one which
(b). The only requirement is that one of the two parties makes management independent of the particular application. To
is identifiable as the initiator of the transaction and is meet this objective, application state is abstracted into a set of
informed of the completion of the transaction. Completion configuration management states for each node. This set of states
of transactions at the initiator is required to ensure correct provides sufficient information about application slate to allow
termination of the management protocol described later. We the management system to perform changes which leave the
assume only independent transactions, where completion of application in a consistent state. These configuration states and
a transaction does not depend on any other (possibly nested) the transitions between them arc outlined below.
transactions with other nodes. Section VI discusses the A. Node Configuration States and Transitions
implication of relaxing this restriction to permit dependent
transactions, where completion is dependent on consequent The state transition diagram of Fig. 5 specifies the possible
transactions with other nodes. states for an application node from the configuration viewpoint
• Change: A change is described in terms of modifications (cf. process states from an operating system viewpoint). The
to the structure (configuration) of the application system. interaction between configuration management and the node
Changes take the form of node creation and deletion, and are indicated as transitions. These transitions are instigated by
connection establishment and removal. Changes are effected configuration management (cf. "control actions" [8)) and should
by a Configuration Manager. Previous work [14), [19) has be distinguished from the normal application level transactions
identified a set of management primitives for both specifying ("basic communications").
and modifying the structure of systems. In abstract form
B. Transitions
these arc:
create N:T [at L) Each transition depicted in Fig. 5 represents the management
Create node N of type T, optionally specify at action which initiates the transition. Node application actions are
physical location L. required to reach the destination management state (Fig. 6).
The name N must be unique within the system. The temporary state involved in each transition gives a node
(For simplicity, Tis omitted in later examples where the opportunity to perform the initialization and finalization
the type is obvious.) actions necessary to preserve application consistency when it is
remove N created/removed and when connections are linked/unlinked.
Remove node N The application indicates that these actions are complete by
link Nl to N2 asserting the destination state of the transition to the change
Create a connection from node Nl to node N2. management system. Activate and passivate (Fig. 5) are the
(For simplicity, we omit the detail of multiple con transitions between the active and passive states described below.
nections between nodes since this docs not alter the
algorithms presented in the following.) C. States
unlink Nl from N2 • A node in the active state can initiate, accept, and service
Remove a connection between node Nl and node N2. transactions.
• Consistency: This is determined by the relationship between • A node in the passive state must continue to accept and
node application states and is usually described by some service transactions, but
global invariant (constraint) which must be preserved. For 1) it is not currently engaged in a transaction that it
local consistency of a node, it is necessary that there arc no initiated, and
partially complete transactions at the node. 2) it will not initiate new transactions.
1296 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, VOL. 16, NO. II, NOVEMBER 1990
link
produce further output. Our notion is stronger in the sense that
the trace produced by a quiescent node will not be extended by
activate any further output.
ACTIVE
E. Resultant Properties for Systems Using
Independent Transactions
passivate Given that the passive and quiescent states are desirable node
management states, we now show how they can be achieved
for systems constructed from independent transactions. From
Section II, an independent transaction is a two party transaction
Fig. 5. Node state transitions. whose completion does not depend on any other transaction. In
these systems, a transaction serviced by a node may cause that
management action node to initiate transactions to other nodes, however, completion
of the service may not depend on completion of any transaction
which the node may initiate. Section VI discusses the extensions
required for dependent transactions.
The following propositions and justifications demonstrate the
Fig. 6. Node transitions.
reachability of the passive state, the relationship between passive
and quiescent states and the reachability of the quiescent state.
The particular state identified as necessary for reconfiguration Proposition 1: Reachability of the Passive state.
is the passive state. A node in the passive state must continue to In independent systems, a node can move from the active to the
accept and service transactions while it is in the passive state, but passive state in bounded time, irrespective of the configuration
it must not initiate any new transactions as a result of accepting state (active or passive) of the nodes to which it is connected.
or servicing transactions. This passive state is so defined as to Justification 1:
permit connected nodes to progress towards a passive state by To be passive, the node must satisfy two conditions:
completing outstanding transactions. In addition it contributes i) it is not currently engaged in a transaction that it initiated:
to system consistency by completing transactions. However, the A node will complete in bounded time any transaction
passive state is not sufficient for reconfiguration as it may still which it initiated since transactions complete in bounded
be processing transactions initiated by other nodes. time and completion is independent of the completion
of transactions at other nodes. Transactions complete in
D. Node Quiescence
bounded time even if the recipient node is in the passive
For consistency during change we require, a stronger property, state since passive nodes accept and service transactions.
viz. that the node is not within a transaction and will neither ii) it will not initiate new transactions.
receive nor initiate any new transactions. This property is called This property can be immediately satisfied by the ap
quiescence of a node and is that state in which the node is both plication.
passive and has no outstanding transactions which it must accept For systems using independent transactions, we define the
and service. Such a state depends not only on the node itself, but passive set PS of a node Q, denoted PS(Q), to consist of:
on the connected nodes.
1) the node Q
Consequently, a node is quiescent if:
2) all nodes which can directly initiate transactions on Q, i.e.,
1) it is not currently engaged in a transaction all nodes with connection arcs directed towards Q.
that it initiated, }passive
Proposition 2: Passive requirements for the Quiescent state.
2) it will not initiate new transactions, }properties
In systems using independent transactions, Q is quiescent if
3) it is not currently engaged in servicing a transaction, and
all nodes in PS(Q) are in the passive state.
4) no transactions have been or will be initiated by other nodes
Justification 2:
which require service from this node.
A node is quiescent if:
In the quiescent configuration state, the application state of
i) it is not currently engaged in a transaction that it initiated,
a node is both consistent and frozen. It is consistent in that
ii) it will not initiate new transactions,
the application state does not contain the results of partially
iii) it is not currently engaged in servicing a transaction, and
completed transactions, and is frozen in that the application state
iv) no transactions have been or will be initiated by other
will not change as a result of new transactions. Quiescence is
nodes which require service from this node.
significant for dynamic configuration changes since, in cases
such as unlinking, it permits a node to make decisions based Conditions i) and ii) follow from the passive state of Q, i.e.,
on a stable and consistent state regarding the particular actions Q is in PS(Q).
it should take before it is unlinked. For instance, the node may Conditions iii) and iv) follow from the passive states of the
pass a consistent uptodate version of its application state to its nodes in PS(Q), i.e., if all nodes which can initiate transactions on
environment before it is unlinked. Q are also passive, then all transactions involving Q are complete
Our notion of quiescence is loosely based on earlier work and no new ones will be initiated.
[13] which specified node behavior using a "quiescent invariant": Hence Q is in a quiescent state.
the stable, steady properties of a node characterized by a local Proposition 3: Reachability of the Quiescent state.
invariant preserved by the node. Quiescence is also related to that In systems using independent transactions, a node Q can move
defined by Misra [20], except that the discussion there focuses from the active to the quiescent state in bounded time if all the
on traces and termination, whereas we focus on node state and nodes in PS(Q) are directed to move into the passive state.
consistency. Misra defines a node as quiescent if it may not Justification 3:
KRAMER AND MAGEE: EVOLVING PHILOSOPHERS PROBLEM 1297
Since all nodes will achieve the passive state in bounded this can be achieved by requiring that all nodes in PS(N) are in
time (Proposition 1), and the passive state of all nodes in PS(Q) the passive state.)
imply quiescence of Q (Proposition 2), then Q will achieve the Justification: Quiescence of the initiator node ensures that its
quiescent state in bounded time. state is consistent and frozen with respect to that connection,
This section has defined an interface through which a config thereby enabling connection initialization/finalization to occur in
uration manager communicates with and controls an application a stable environment.
node. Communication between configuration maqagement and iii) Node Creation---<:reate.
the node is synchronous in the sense that a management action is Rule: The precondition is trivially true.
always confirmed by the node. (For pragmatic reasons, it may be Justification: When a node is created it is initially isolated and
necessary to support the forced removal of "rogue" nodes which consequently must be in the quiescent state since it can neither
do not obey or react correctly to configuration commands. These respond to nor initiate transactions on other nodes.
can be added as remove transitions from the active state.) Note 2) Change Transactions: A change transaction consists of a
that the node configuration state is the only way that configuration set of partially ordered configuration actions (or commands),
management can affect the application state. The passive state which is derived from the structural change so as to satisfy the
has been carefully defined to be readily achievable by a node preconditions outlined above. One possible algorithm for deriving
by completion of any transactions which it initiated. Since change transactions is outlined below.
transactions complete in bounded time, the passive state can Step I: Determine the set of connections CS which must be
be achieved in bounded time. Similarly, since the passive state unlinked to isolate nodes to be removed [to satisfy i)]. From this,
permits servicing of transactions initiated by connected nodes, together with the set of connections LS directly specified in link
they too will be permitted to progress to a passive state. However, or unlink directives, determine the set of nodes QS (quiescent
for the configuration manager to achieve quiescence of some set) which must be made quiescent to satisfy i) and ii) above,
target node, it is necessary to make the target node passive and i.e.,
also to create a region of passive nodes (the passive set) around it. CS = { connections c I c is a connection to/from a node to be
This will achieve a stable situation where there are no incomplete removed}
or active transactions. This together with the abstraction of LS = {connections l I l is a connection in a link/unlink
application state into configuration management states forms the directive}
basis of the change protocol outlined in the next section. QS = { nodes n I n is the initiator node on a connection in
(CS U LS) or n is to be removed}.
Step 2: Form the change passive set CPS as the union of
IV. CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL passive sets PS of each node in QS, i.e.,
A. Management View
CPS= u PS(i) forall i in QS.
V. EVOLVING PHILOSOPHERS
/ P1"' 4 / P1 '
In the following we consider the creation of a ring (com
; 2p \ ;2
munity) of philosophers, addition of a new philosopher (birth),
activate=> assert(active)
receive(reqtoken f) => reqf(f) := true
(R9) Active to passive management transition:
and if PS does not have the fork shared with P4, then it will Fig. 10. Addition of a philosopher. (a) Before addition. (b) After addition
of P6.
allocate the other shared dirty fork to P6 (Fig. 10). This clearly
preserves the acyclic graph.
4) Death of a Philosopher: Removal of a philosopher x with
neighbors u and v (where the opposite neighbors of u and v are
t and w, respectively) is specified by the following program:
remove x P4 .P3
l
This results in the following change transaction:
passivate t, u, v, w, x
RING(pa,N) RING(pb,M)
unlink u from x; unlink v from x link
remove x I M
link v to u; link u to v
activate t, u, v, w -1-
- 1
2
- 5
4
I 3
This transaction ensures that u, v, and x will be in the quiescent Fig. 12. Merging philosopher rings.
state before x is unlinked and removed. Consequently, on linking,
u and v can make decisions based on the state of their forks which
will not change. As before, allocation will ensure that one of the
pair ends up with two or no forks. For example, if in Fig. 11 we link pa[l] to pb[l], pb[l] to pa[l],
removed philosopher Pl, P2 would retain the dirty fork shared pa[2] to pb[2], pb[2] to pb[2]
with PS as it has the fork shared with P3, thereby preserving
acyclic precedence. activate pa[N], pa[l], pa[2], pa[3], pb[M], pb[l], pb[2],
5) Merging Two Communities of Philosophers: Given two pb[3];
communities (rings) of philosophers, called pa of size N and pb
of size M, respectively, Fig. 12 shows which connections must To justify that this change maintains an acyclic precedence
be unlinked and which must be linked to merge the two rings of graph we need only be concerned with the connection between
philosophers. The shaded nodes indicate the change passive set. philosophers which completes the ring. In Fig. 12, this is per
The change is specified as follows: formed between pa[l] and pb[l] or between pa[2] and pb[2].
Rules (Rl2) and (R13), defined for the linking and unlinking
MERGE:: of philosophers, ensure that the philosopher which allocates the
fork on that connection retains the fork if it has the other shared
unlinkpa[l] from pa[(l mod N)) + 1],pa[(l mod N)) + 1] fork, otherwise it allocates the fork to its neighbor. In the former
from pa[l], case, the allocating philosopher will have two dirty forks, in the
pb[l] from pb[(l mod M)) + l],pb[(l mod M)) + 1] latter no forks. In fact, in the situation where neither the allocating
philosopher nor its newly connected neighbor has another fork, it
from pb[l]; does not matter where the new fork is allocated since some other
link pa[l] to pb[l],pb[l] to pa[l]; philosopher must have two forks. This can be easily argued as
follows:
pa[(l mod N)) + 1] to pb[(l mod M)) + 1], There are n philosophers and n forks; the two philosophers
pb[(l mod M)) + 1] to pa[(l mod M)) + 1]; being connected have 1 fork, consequently the remaining n-2
philosophers have n-1 forks. Therefore, one of these n-2 philoso
The corresponding change transaction is: phers must have 2 forks. The original algorithm ensures that a
philosopher cannot hold a clean and a dirty fork simultaneously;
MERGE_TRANSACTION :: consequently, the precedence graph must be acyclic.
passivate pa[N], pa[l], pa[2], pa[3], pb[M], pb[l], pb[2], Note that inserting a new philosopher into an existing ring of
pb[3]; philosophers is equivalent to merging a ring of one philosopher.
RING(newphil,1), with an existing ring. Splitting a ring into two
unlinkpa[l] frompa[2],pa[2] frompa[l], smaller rings requires a change specification opposite to that of
pb[l] frompb[2],pb[2] frompb[l]; MERGE. As before, the connection which completes each ring
preserves the global invariant.
1 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, VOL. 16, NO. 11, NOVEMBER
G
s1/r1
change passive set are affected by the change allowing the rest
of the system to proceed with its normal execution. Changes
can be carded out in parallel as the stable states ensured by node
e
s21r2
a/b blc
• Fig. 14. A system with cyclic dependencies. Fig. 16. Independent and dependent transactions on node N.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1743445
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited wit
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproducti
Electronic copy available at: http://ssr
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited wit
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproducti
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited wit
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproducti
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited wit
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproducti
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited wit
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproducti
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited wit
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproducti
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited wit
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproducti
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited wit
African Journal of Business Management Vol.4 (2), pp. 278-281, February, 2010
Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBM
ISSN 1993-8233 © 2010 Academic Journals
Values lie at the core of all human behavior. Initially, it was believed that human behavior could be best
explained in terms of one’s personality system, including needs, motives, beliefs, goals and attitudes.
But eventually, the emphasis shifted towards values, as there are many aspects of human behavior that
cannot be attributed to the former concepts, but where values play an important role. The authors
believe that values make personnel life more meaningful and give them a sense of direction for
organizational performance and development. In this article, the authors have discussed the sources of
values, early assumptions about values, a value based approach to organizations and value
assessment. Recommendations have also been offered for the human resource managers to inculcate
spiritual values among personnel that may in turn be fruitful for organizational development.
INTRODUCTION
Industrial organizations are mainly concerned for produc- Spiritual leadership and values
tivity and quality by personnel. Spiritual values of the
personnel are the prerequisites for the organizational Earlier studies has established link between spiritual
health and development. Surprisingly, spiritual values of values and leadership. For example, Fry (2003) defines
the personnel are treated casually in organizations. This spiritual leadership as “the values, attitudes, and
fact has made many organizations to think that person- behaviors necessary to intrinsically motivate one's self
nel’s spiritual values should be viewed as a potential and others so that they have a sense of spiritual survival
resource in organization rather than as something to be through calling and membership” (p. 694-695). He says
ignored. According to Mohamed et al. (2001), organiza- that spiritual leadership is treated more as an observable
tional theories and models that ignore the spiritual phenomenon occurring when a person in a leadership
dimension will remain deficient. They said in this context: position embodies spiritual values such as integrity,
“our current models of micro and macro behavior do not honesty and humility, creating the self as an example of
account for spirituality and its effects and, as such, some someone who can be trusted, relied upon and admired.
of these models may be misleading or incomplete” (p. A research on effective leadership traits and behaviors
647). Values of the personnel may improve quality of pro- (Den Hartog et al., 1999) claims that attributes and
ducts and services and a better workplace. To achieve practices widely associated with spirituality have been
the organizational goal, that is, a satisfied workforce, found to have a global appeal. More than half of the
spiritual values must be owned and practiced by all the universally endorsed leader attributes (14 out of 22) may
personnel. be considered to be associated with spirituality, values
and ethics: “positive, trustworthy, just, win-win problem
solver, encouraging motive arouser, communicative,
excellence-oriented, confidence builder, honest, dynamic,
*Corresponding author. E-mail: draqeelkhan@gmail.com. team builder, motivational and dependable” (Den Hartog
Husain and Khan 279
et al., 1999, p. 239). Leaders who view their own work as world (Richards and Bergin, 1997). The following
a means of spiritual growth have also been shown to assumptions about values, particularly naturalism, ethical
increase organizational performance (Himmelfarb, 1994). relativism, ethical hedonism and positivism seem to be
Mitroff and Denton (1999) found that many individuals are closely linked to the organizational development.
looking for ways to express their spirituality in their work.
Workers who are able to express their spirituality through
their work, find work more satisfying. Early assumptions about values
Realizing the importance of incorporating spiritual
values in the workplace and the possession of spiritual Naturalism
values in spiritual leaders and workers, we considered
that organizations should consider the value system, par- It is the belief that the “universe is self-sufficient, without
ticularly the spiritual ones, among personnel to facilitate supernatural cause or control” (Honer and Hunt, 1987,
their job performance and productivity that in turn may be p.225). Naturalists assume that human beings and the
important for organizational development in a number of universe can be understood without restoring to spiritual
ways. This article also discuss sources of values, some explanations and that “the explanation of the world given
early assumptions about values, value based approach to by the sciences is the only satisfactory explanation of
organizations and value assessment. reality” (Honer and Hunt, 1987, p.225). This assumption
led many behavioral scientists to conclude that all moral
values are ephemeral and of human origin.
The sources of values
9. Do you feel that your values and behavior are Fry LW (2003). Toward a theory of spiritual leadership, The Leadership
Quarterly 14(6): 693-727.
congruent?
Ganguli HC (1989). Development of a moral order. Indian J. Soc. Work
10. What other personal, moral or ethical values are most 50: 293-302.
important? Hillner KP (1984). History and systems of modern psychology: A
conceptual approach.
Himmelfarb G (1994). On looking into the abyss: Untimely thoughts on
These questions can give organizations considerable
culture and society, Knopf, New York .
insight into their personnel’s worldviews and spiritual Honer SM, Hunt TC (1987). Invitation to philosophy: Issues and options
values, and whether their values are healthy for the (5th ed.). Belmont CA: Wadsworth.
organizational development. Organizations can ask Kakar S (1978). The inner world: A psychoanalytic study of childhood
personnel to explore how these values are expressed or and society in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Lundin RW (1985). Theories and systems of psychology (3rd ed.).
manifested in their family and work lives. Once personnel Lexington, M.A Heath.
have identified their spiritual values, it then becomes Miller WR, C’de Baca J (1994). Quantum change: Toward a
more feasible for them to set long and short term goals psychology of transformation. In Heatherton T, Weinberger J (Eds.),
that will help them regulate their behavior in harmony with Can personality change? (pp. 253-280). Washington DC: American
Psychological Association.
their values and the organizational development. Mitroff II, Denton EA (1999). A spiritual audit of corporate America,
Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
Mohamed AA, Hassan AM, Wisnieski JM (2001). Spirituality in the
Recommendations workplace: A literature review. Global Competitiveness. 9: 644-652.
Mukerjee R (1949). The social structure of values. London: Macmillan.
Nehru J (1946/1981). The Discovery of India. Bombay: Oxford
When working with personnel who are spiritually inclined, University Press.
human resource managers may promote better function- Percesepe G (1991). Philosophy: An introduction to the labor of reason.
ing by appealing to adopt more spiritually oriented values New York: Macmillan.
Putnam H (1993). Objectivity and the science-ethics distinction. In M.
to guide their work and productivity. Spiritual practices Nussbaum & A.
such as praying, meditating, reciting Holy Books and Radhakrishnan S (1968). Hindu view of life. London: Allen Unwin.
scriptures, performing yoga, making pilgrimages to Holy Richards PS, Bergin AE (1997). A spiritual strategy for counseling and
Shrines, attending religious services, reading books of psychotherapy. Washington DC: American Psychological
Association.
poetry and philosophy and seeking direction from spiritual
Roy R, Srivastava RK (1986). Dialogues and development. New Delhi:
leaders can also be valuable interventions for helping Sage.
spiritually oriented personnel clarify and affirm their Sen A (Eds.). The quality of life. (pp. 143-157). England: Oxford
spiritual values. University Press.
Sinha D (1972). The Mughal syndrome: A psychological study of inter-
Organizations should make greater efforts to use
generational differences. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill.
spiritual values to bring organizational change. Organiza- Sinha D (1988). Basic Indian values and behavior dispositions in the context
tions can facilitate spirituality into organizational change of national development: An appraisal. In Sinha D, Kao HSR (Eds.),
and development by asking personnel whether they can Social values and development: Asian perspectives. New Delhi: Sage.
think of ways that their spiritual beliefs and values might Sinha JBP (1982). The Hindu (Indian) identity. Dynamic Psychiatry, 15:
148-160.
help them cope with their organizational and extraorga- Solomon RC (1990). The big questions: A short introduction to
nizational stressors. It would be of practical interest for philosophy (3rd ed.). San Diego CA: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
organizations to examine the ways in which spiritual Tandon T (1981). Process of transmission of values in the Indian child.
values influence personnel’s activity directly and have In Sinha D (Ed.), Socialization of the Indian child. New Delhi:
Concept.
wider impact on family and social life. Toulmin S, Leary DE (1992). The cult of empiricism and beyond. In
Organizations would need to do this in a way that Koch S, Leary DE (Eds.), A century of psychology as science.
guarantees freedom of thought to everyone, whether they Washington DC: Am. Psychol. Assoc. pp. 594-617.
are Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, Jewish, Christian, Tripathi RC (1988). Aligning development to values in India. In Sinha D,
Kao HSR (Eds.), Social values and development: Asian
secular humanist, ethical hedonist, positivist, etc. perspectives. New Delhi: Sage.
Verma J (1987). Some observations by an Indian visitor to the United
States. Int. J. Intercult. Relat. 11: 327-335.
REFERENCES Watson JB (1983). Psychology from the standpoint of a behaviorist.
Dover, NH: Frances Pinter (original work published, 1924).
Angyal A (1956). A theoretical model for personality studies. In
Moustakas C (Ed.), The self. New York: Harper & Row.
Bechtel W (1988). Philosophy of science: An overview of cognitive
science. Hillsdale, NJ: Earlbaum.
Den Hartog DN, House RJ, Hanges PJ, Ruiz-Quintanilla SA, Dorfman
PW (1999). Culture specific and cross-culturally generalizable
implicit leadership theories: Are attributes of charismatic/
transformational leadership universally endorsed?, The Leadership
Quarterly 10(2): 219-256.
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page 1
1
This chapter is based on previous material and published works copyrighted by Project
ACHIEVE Incorporated Press, Little Rock, AR 72212. As such, the material in this chapter is
covered under those previous copyrights.
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
Overview
Over at least the past twenty-five years, virtually every state and school district in the country
has worked in the area of school improvement in order to improve the academic and social-
behavioral outcomes of all students. Prompted in the 1980s by the business community’s
demand for a more prepared workforce, in the 1990s by eight National Education Goals
(National Education Goals Panel, 1999), and in the new millennium by the No Child Left Behind
legislation, school-wide efforts to hold educators accountable for student outcomes are now
required, continuously monitored, and reported annually. And while a number of school
improvement models exist, their outcomes have varied (Comprehensive School Reform Quality
Center, 2006), largely due to the interdependency between these models’ ability to adapt and
respond to local school and district conditions, and the local acceptance of a particular model
along with a commitment to its sound implementation. In the end, schools and districts should
focus first on the evidence- or research-based blueprints that can help guide their school
improvement efforts. Using these blueprints as a foundation for all school-based initiatives,
strategies, and activities, schools should be able to individualize their school improvement efforts
This chapter will integrate a number of evidence-based blueprints to provide schools and
development, and school effectiveness. Focused ultimately on students’ academic and social-
emotional progress and success, the blueprints also will address school management, classroom
instruction, and professional development. As a first pragmatic step, however, schools need to
improvement journey:
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
1. How do we design and deliver an evidence-based academic and instruction system that
successfully addresses the differentiated needs of all students while improving their rate of
learning such that they progress through the grade levels and graduate from high school with
functional and extended skills; and how do we create functional assessment and monitoring
approaches that are curriculum-based and that are used to evaluate the impact of this
instructional system and guide development of successful, strategic interventions when students
2. How do we design and deliver an evidence-based positive behavioral support system that
increases all students’ interpersonal, problem-solving, and conflict resolution (i.e., social) skills;
that creates safe and connected classroom and school environments; and that maximizes
students’ motivation and their academic engagement, independence, and confidence; and how do
we create functional assessment and monitoring approaches that are ecologically-based and
culturally-sensitive, and that are used to evaluate these school-wide efforts and guide the
development of successful strategic and/or intensive interventions when students do not respond?
3. How do we increase our parent outreach and involvement so that all parents are motivated,
capable, and involved in activities that support and reinforce the education of all students? To
complement this, how do we increase our community outreach and involvement so that real
interagency and community collaboration occurs resulting in effective, efficient, and integrated
services to all students at needed prevention, strategic intervention, and intensive service levels?
4. Finally, how do we design and deliver this integrated, unified educational system through a
functional assessment and problem-solving to guide decision making and provide ongoing
formative and summative evaluation? Moreover, how do we institutionalize this process such
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
that it becomes self-generating, self-replicating, and responsive to current and future student
needs?
All of these needs and questions are essential to ongoing school improvement and success.
But one “common denominator” determines all levels of improvement and success: the positive,
planned evidence-based initiative. That is, any school can choose and plan to implement an
consistency, the “evidence base” becomes irrelevant and insignificant. School improvement and
success is “all about the people.” And the process needed for success involves “Seven C’s”:
Celebration.
On a more formal level, we have known, figuratively, about the Seven C’s for over a decade.
For example, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (1995) sponsored a 5-year, five community New
Futures grant program to prepare disadvantaged urban youth for successful lives as adults. After
investing an average of $10 million in each community over 5 years, the foundation evaluated
the implementation and planned change process to help future initiatives to be more efficient and
effective. In the end, the key lesson was that, in the low-income communities involved, systems-
level initiatives, by themselves, could not transform poor educational, school, and health
outcomes for vulnerable children and families. That is, institutional change was not enough; the
comprehensive change process required home school and community collaboration that included
neighborhoods. Among the other lessons described in this report were the following:
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
1. Comprehensive reforms are very difficult and involve, at times, the path of most
resistance. True integration at the service-delivery level requires collective decision making
across budgeting, staffing, and resource allocation; good communication and clear program
planning, purpose, design, and expectations; attention to issues of power, race, and ethnicity; and
that are committed to long-term efforts, to strategic planning, and to the development of systems
that can sustain the change process over time and through changes in leadership.
readiness level to begin this process. Comprehensive reform efforts must be planned, public,
realistic, and shared; and they need core leadership, management systems and skills, conviction
and momentum, and credibility and legitimacy to have any hope of success.
commitment, leadership, planning, funding, and evaluation that results in local ownership and
self-renewal.
6. Comprehensive reform often requires the development of entirely new systems and
ways of being. The alteration of existing systems or the implementation of new systems built
alongside old systems often will not lead to real change and enduring outcomes.
And so, with the focus on people, process, and the Seven C’s as a given, the remainder of this
chapter will describe some essential evidence-based blueprints outlining a “road-map” toward
Basic Considerations
process, school psychologists must have expertise and skills in four primary areas: (a) the
including the planning and development cycles, of schools and districts from an organizational
perspective; (c) how to guide or support strategic planning processes such that effective,
functional school improvement plans are written and executed; and (d) the consultation skills to
instructional and behavioral skills and mastery, functional assessment, and strategic and
intensive interventions. Among the more specific skills needed to succeed in these primary areas
are the following: effective functional assessment and data-based problem solving skills;
system, school, and classroom ecological or environmental assessment and intervention skills;
system, staff, and student instructional, academic, and behavioral intervention skills at the
prevention, strategic intervention, and intensive need levels; and action research and program
evaluation skills. Among the beliefs needed to succeed in these primary areas, school
psychologists need to: accept responsibility for all systems, staff, and students while
differentially evaluating and attending to their respective strengths and needs, weaknesses and
limitations, history and experiences, and opportunities and potential; deliver services based on
functional needs and not perceptions or labels; commit themselves to continuous growth,
viewing all challenges as professional development opportunities; and recognize that people, not
Best Practices
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
In the context of continuous school improvement (or any other planned change process), it is
important to note that organizational change and strategic planning should be natural, necessary,
and ongoing components of any healthy, evolving school. Indeed, as schools focus on student
outcomes, they must attend to these organizational change and strategic planning processes to
build the “infrastructures”—at the staff, school, system, and community levels—that coordinate
resources, build capacity, support school-wide programs, and maximize success. As with most
Volume). But this process is facilitated by understanding (a) the components of an effective
school; (b) how strategic planning fits into these components; and (c) how the school
improvement process is organized through the committee structure of the school and the
Plan (SIP) is the public “document of accountability,” and it synthesizes all of these planning and
implementation processes. And yet, an essential question is, “Is the SIP a piece of paper written
document that guides the monthly, weekly, and daily operation of the entire staff in the school?”
The Components of an Effective School. While their specific titles may vary slightly across
components has been consistently used to organize organizational development and strategic
planning processes and procedures. Using Project ACHIEVE’s evidence-based model as a guide
(e.g., Knoff, Finch, & Carlyon, 2004), seven interdependent components are described briefly—
Strategic Planning and Organizational Analysis and Development; (b) Problem Solving,
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
Teaming, and Consultation Processes; (c) Effective School, Schooling, and Professional
Self-Management; (f) Parent and Community Training, Support, and Outreach; and (g) Data
Effective School,
Schooling, and
Strategic Planning and Professional
Organizational Development
Development
Academic Instruction
linked to Academic
Problem Solving, Assessment, Intervention,
Teaming, and and Achievement
Consultation Processes
Behavioral Instruction
linked to Behavioral
Assessment, Intervention,
Parent and Community and Self-Management
Training, Support, and
Outreach
Data Management,
Evaluation, and
Accountability
assessing the organizational climate, administrative style, staff decision-making, and other
interactive and interpersonal processes in a school. Activities then move into identifying and
cyclical approaches that support the academic and social-emotional/ behavioral success of all
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
students. While this process is outlined in more detail below, the ultimate “product” of this
component are three- and one-year School Improvement Plans that help schools build capacity
and autonomy, identify and focus resources, facilitate stability and sustainability, and realize
staff learn and use when developing effective instructional processes and then addressing
students who are not responding to this instruction and the next “level” of evidence- or research-
contrasts with past “wait-to-fail” and “refer-test-place” approaches, and it is applied with
students experiencing academic and/or behavioral concerns. As such, this component provides a
reflected in the academic and behavioral components below. And, as noted earlier, it recognizes
that problem solving and intervention processes involve teams that work collaboratively for the
school’s “greater good,” and professionals who work, as colleagues and consultants, to share
knowledge, skill, expertise, and experience for the benefit of all students.
processes that ensure that effective and differentiated instruction and effective and positive
behavior management exists in every classroom for every student, and that involve all teachers,
administrators, related service professionals, and others. To support this, effective schools
recognize that professional development occurs, formally and informally, every day for every
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
staff person, and they systematically plan and implement ongoing professional development
programs and processes resulting in increased knowledge, enhanced skills, and emerging
confidence and autonomy. This occurs through in-service instruction and a clinical supervision
approach that involves modeling, guided practice, informed feedback, planned applications, and
the transfer of training. Ultimately, as with other components, the primary goal is to maximize
students' attention to task, academic engaged time, positive practice repetitions, and academic
classroom, of the Teacher-Instructional process, the Student, and the Curriculum. Expanding
briefly, the Instructional Environment involves (a) the different curricula being taught, as well as
their respective standards, benchmarks, and scope and sequence objectives (i.e., “What needs to
be learned?”); (b) the teachers who are teaching, and how they organize and execute their
classroom instruction (i.e., “Are appropriate instructional and management strategies being
used?”); and (c) the students who are engage in learning, and their capacity to master the
instructional material, along with their response to effective instruction and sound curricula (i.e.,
Is each student capable, prepared, and able to learn, and are they learning?”).
school and schooling practices, described in earlier components, are implicit in this component
as the three facets of the Instructional Environment are analyzed continually to determine how
students can be most academically and behaviorally successful, and what is happening when
success is not occurring to the degree desired. When the latter occurs, a functional, curriculum-
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
based assessment and intervention approach to student achievement that uses, as much as
recommended (e.g., Shapiro, 2004). This involves teaching teachers how to identify and analyze
curricular and instructional variables and their relationship to student achievement outcomes,
how to assess curricular (i.e., scope and sequence) placement and performance expectations, and
how to complete curricular task analyses such that assessment is functionally linked to
intervention in the classroom. Additionally, research results from learning theory and practice
are integrated into the classroom to enhance the learning environment and process and to
facilitate more positive outcomes (e.g., Stoner, Shinn, & Walker, 2002).
systems across schools. Again using Project ACHIEVE and its evidence-based Positive
Behavioral Self-Management System (PBSS), this whole school approach involves students,
staff, administration, and parents building and reinforcing (a) students’ interpersonal, problem-
solving, and conflict resolution skills and interactions; (b) positive, safe, supportive, and
consistent school climates and settings; and (c) school and district capacity such that the entire
process becomes self-sustaining. Thus, “Self-Management” occurs at three levels: student, staff
and school, and system and district. This is accomplished through six domains at the primary,
secondary, and tertiary prevention levels. The first three domains include: (a) the direct
instruction of social skills for all students in the classroom by general education teachers with the
support of other mental health professionals for more challenging students (e.g., Knoff, 2001);
(b) the development and use of school-wide accountability systems that specify expected student
behavior, connected with positive responses, incentives, and rewards, and “intensity levels” of
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
inappropriate behaviors, connected with evidence-based responses and interventions that help
decrease or eliminate these behaviors while establishing and increasing appropriate behaviors;
(c) staff, setting, situations, system, and strategic consistency relative to social skills instruction
and student accountability. The latter three domains include: (d) analyses and interventions, as
needed, for a school’s “setting and student special situations”, which involves the common areas
of the school (i.e., setting) and incidents of teasing, taunting, bullying, harassment, and fighting
(i.e., student); (e) crisis prevention, intervention, and response; and (f) community and parent
outreach and involvement, which should occur within all five of the domains noted above.
When students do not respond, behaviorally, to the preventative strategies within the six
interventions that are designed to resolve identified behavioral problems and/or to improve
staff’s related instructional and classroom management procedures (Kerr & Nelson, 2002;
Stoner, Shinn, & Walker, 2002). These interventions focus, for example, on specific referred
threatening others) or specific behaviors that, inappropriately, are or are not exhibited by
teachers as part of the instructional process (e.g., not providing advanced organizers or
discipline inconsistently). In this context, staff need to have skills in behavioral observation, data
Interventions here typically address the direct instruction of specific behavioral skills, stimulus
maintenance approaches, and behavioral generalization approaches (Kerr & Nelson, 2002;
6. The Parent and Community Training, Support, and Outreach Component focuses on
increasing the involvement of all parents, but especially the involvement of the parents of at-risk,
underachieving, and students with disabilities (Raffaele & Knoff, 1999). Parental involvement
in the school and educational process often occurs less in the homes of these latter students, and
it often discriminates achieving from underachieving students (Christensen, Rounds, & Franklin,
1992; Dunst, Trivette, & Johanson, 1994). Relative to community involvement, many schools
do not use, much less know, the expertise and resources available to them that can help their
mission and the progress of their students. For students with significant academic or behavioral
Among the activities that schools may consider here are: (a) conducting needs assessments to
look at the current and desired state of parent involvement and home-school-community
collaboration; (b) organizing building staff around collaboration and community outreach
through the school improvement process and plan; (c) teaching parents about the school’s
academic program and how to support students at home relative to study skills, homework, and
literacy; (d) directly training parents to transfer critical school academic and behavioral
interventions into the home; (e) creating Parent Drop-In Centers to encourage parent
participation in school activities and parent access to training and learning materials; (f)
agency, and professional programs, skills, and expertise in areas relevant to the school, staff, and
students; and (g) reaching out to these community resources, formally and informally, to
establish communication, collaboration, and coordination, especially relative to services for at-
evaluating, formatively and summatively, the status and progress of students’ academic and
behavioral mastery of skills and concepts, as well as the processes and activities inherent in all of
the other supportive components (see above) of an effective school. Part of this process involves
collecting formative and summative data that validate the impact of a school’s strategic planning
and school improvement efforts; its professional development and capacity-building efforts
relative to the staff; its selection, training and implementation of academic and behavioral
curricula and, later, interventions; and its effectiveness relative to the functional assessment,
strategic intervention, and response to intervention services for students not making appropriate
academic and behavioral progress. Another part of this process involves evaluating the
consultative success of related service and support personnel with classroom teachers, as well as
the interpersonal interactions that address the other process-oriented parts of the Seven C’s that
influence system, staff, and student success. Critically, this latter evaluation should evaluate
“staff to staff, staff to parent and community, staff to student, and student and student
interactions. All of these interactions collectively determine the climate and functioning of a
school.
The Strategic Planning Process. Strategic planning is a continuous, systematic process that
helps schools and districts to anticipate and plan their annual and multi-year goals and activities
those of their communities. Designed to increase organizational and staff capacity and resources
while facilitating outcomes, strategic planning involves ongoing activities whereby schools and
districts (a) develop, implement, and evaluate programs and activities designed to meet their
mission, goals, and student-related outcomes; (b) track their needs, plans, and progress over time,
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
(c) analyze and decide what programs, curricula, or interventions to add, delete, substitute, or
supplement to existing programs, while determining when and how to make the “mid-course
adjustments” to maximize these programs’ success; and (d) anticipate and respond to upcoming
or future events that may affect them in their pursuit of educational excellence. Ultimately,
strategic planning uses a systems perspective to the organization and execution of the
educational process emphasizing effective and efficient data-based planning and decision-
making, personnel and resource development and management, fiscal and technological
integrity, and school and community integration. While virtually every school and district is
now mandated to have a School/District Improvement Plan, the “public” outcome of strategic
planning, this does not mean that they have been trained in or have engaged in effective or
Cook (1990) and Valentine (1991) provide two complementary perspectives as to how
strategic planning should occur. Cook divides strategic planning into five phases: Phase I--
Preparing for Planning and Change; Phase II-- Developing the Goals and Outcomes of the
Strategic (or School Improvement) Plan; Phase III-- Outlining the Strategic Plan’s
Implementation Process; Phase IV-- Implementing and Monitoring the Plan; and Phase V--
social, political, and education trends are analyzed; (b) national, state, regional, and local patterns
in the trend areas above are evaluated; (c) scenarios that predict future environmental events and
their impact on the school are created; and (d) school-based responses to the most likely
scenarios, within the resources and the school’s capabilities, are generated.
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
2. An Internal Organizational Scan and Analysis where the strengths (or assets),
weaknesses (or limitations), resources (or opportunities), and barriers within the school are
identified, guided by the components of an effective school described above (see again Figure 1).
3. An Analysis of Stakeholder Perceptions and Expectations, where the needs and goals of
the staff and students are identified and analyzed, along with those of critical stakeholders (e.g.,
4. A Community Education Process that ties the entire process together (a) by helping all
internal and external stakeholders understand the data that have been collected, the trends and
scenarios identified, and how these data will be utilized during the next strategic planning
phases, and (b) by involving these stakeholders as equal partners in the change process to come.
In Phase II, the foundation to the strategic (or school improvement) plan is drafted by taking
the results of the external and internal scans and sequentially developing a vision statement, a
mission statement, strategic goals and desired outcomes. Consistent with the previous section,
the strategic plan should have prominent sections focusing on the each of the components of
school effectiveness. That is, sections of the plan should describe the annual goals and
outcomes for the school or district’s (a) strategic planning and organizational development
processes; (b) early intervention, problem solving, teaming, consultation, and response to
intervention processes; (c) effective school, schooling, and professional development processes;
(d) student-focused academic achievement, and curriculum and instruction processes; (e)
student-focused behavioral outcome and positive behavioral support processes; and (f) parent
and community training, support, and outreach processes. Beyond this, each section of the plan
should have its own data management, evaluation, and accountability activities built in to
determine the whether the specified goals and outcomes have been attained.
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
Once drafted, this foundation to the strategic plan is reviewed by members of the planning
team, by critical client and stakeholder groups, and by others who might be either politically or
functionally important to the implementation process. Ultimately, the feedback from this review
process is synthesized and evaluated, and revised goals and outcomes are finalized. According
to Cook (1990), when first engaging in the strategic planning process or when a strategic plan is
being changed in comprehensive ways, the Phase II process may take a school or district up to 3
months. Even then, the strategic plan’s goals and outcomes still may be adapted in Phase III.
In Phase III, all of the strategic (or improvement) plan’s implementation steps and processes
are written and formalized at the school and/or district levels. Thus, in each of the six
components noted, the objectives, activities, timelines, resources, and evaluation tools and
procedures needed to attain the previously identified goals and outcomes are specified. In
addition, the strategic planning process now must be coordinated with the district’s budgeting
cycle. More specifically, most districts finalize their budgets each new school year (typically
beginning on July 1st), during the prior spring. This provides the district, and its schools, with
operating funds to, for example, hire new staff, purchase new equipment and curricula, and
initiate needed construction projects. Given this, most schools complete their strategic plans
with budget requests by early February. Most districts present these plans and budgets to their
school boards by March. And, most school boards approve these plans and pass their budgets by
May. Once these activities are completed, the district and its schools know what financial,
personnel, and material resources will be available to support strategically planned activities.
At times, school districts write 3- to 5-year “Strategic Operation Plans” (SOPs) to guide the
development of their annual district improvement plans. These strategic operation plans most
often contain a series of operational goals and objectives for each of the district’s organizational
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
units or departments (e.g., Administration, Leadership, and Human Resources; Financial and
Legal; Transportation, Maintenance, and Food Services; Curriculum and Instruction; Personnel
and Professional Development; Public Relations and Community and Family Outreach,
Accountability and Evaluation), along with a prioritization of these goals, and the activities,
resources, and budget needed to accomplish these goals. These operational plans work
symbiotically with the district and its schools’ annual school improvement planning process and
eventual plans, providing structure and direction for their Phase III planning.
In Phase IV, the strategic (or school improvement) plan is implemented and evaluated
formatively and summatively. While the SIP guides all school, staff, and student activities, it is
Performance Plan for every staff person in a school. The PDP documents each staff member’s
professional goals, objectives, and responsibilities for the school year, and it identifies the
outcomes and procedures needed to evaluate every staff member’s year-long performance and
accomplishments. Significantly, PDPs are based on the activities outlined in the district’s
strategic operation plan and the school’s individual strategic plan. In fact, PDP goals and
outcomes directly assist the school and district to accomplish SIP goals and outcomes. Thus, an
important interdependence exists across SOPs, SIPs, and PDPs, and across the entire strategic
planning process.
Finally, after implementing a strategic (or school improvement) plan for almost a year, it is
reviewed and renewed during Phase V. At this point, the school typically has accomplished a
great deal, and yet it must determine if its strategic direction and activities are still valid. To do
this, the strategic planning team should re-evaluate the school’s external and internal
environmental conditions since the writing of the original plan, re-visit the mission statement and
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
strategic goals, review the district’s SOP, and re-focus the strategic plan as necessary, assessing
the organization’s commitment, resources, and energies toward the next level of
accomplishment.
Valentine (1991) organizes her strategic planning process into five levels: Level 1-- The Pre-
Planning Stage of the Planning Process; Level 2-- Re-Defining the Organization’s Direction;
Level 3-- Developing the Strategic Mind-Set; Level 4-- Implementing Goals, Objectives, and
Strategies; and Level 5-- Reassessing and Institutionalizing the Change Process (see Figure 2).
While Valentine’s strategic planning process appears more complex and comprehensive than
Cook’s (1990), hers is actually just a more descriptive expansion. Thus, it is instructive to review
her process and compare it to Cook’s approach above. In the end, every facet of Valentine’s
model has already been described. It does, however, provide a good summary to this section of
the chapter.
The Committee Structure of a School. The SIP, which operationally reflects the
school committee structure that maintains the same consistent organization. To this end, the
committees. The suggested structure is a flexible blueprint that should be adapted to fit a
school’s strategic needs, organizational realities (e.g., state statutes, school size, local politics),
and desired outcomes. But, the premise behind this structure is that, just like a business, an
effective school must have committees and people to take responsibility—in organized, planful,
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
and coordinated ways—for the goals, activities, and outcomes of its SIP using shared leadership
approaches.
Briefly, the committee structure recommended above has six primary committees. The
committee that coordinates and guides all of the strategic plan and implementation processes in a
school is the School Improvement Team. This committee is made up of the chairs of all of the
other school-wide committees and a representational sample of teachers, related service staff,
support staff, school administrators, parent and/or community leaders, and sometimes students.
This committee is primarily responsible for overseeing the Strategic Planning and Organizational
Analysis and Development component and activities of the SIP, for most site-based management
and related fiscal decisions, and for evaluating all school-level and student-specific outcomes. It
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
is significant to note that the School Improvement Team is the super-ordinate committee to
which all other committees report. The remaining five committees include:
The Curriculum and Instruction Committee looks at the most effective ways to implement
new and existing district- and building-level curricula into the classroom such that they are most
effectively taught to all students. This committee is largely responsible for the school and SIP’s
oversees the implementation of the school’s positive behavioral support system consisting of the
social skills, accountability system, special situation analyses, crisis prevention and management,
and related parent and community outreach programs. Thus, this committee is largely
responsible for the school and SIP’s Behavioral Instruction linked to Behavioral Assessment,
and oversees the school’s professional development and peer-supervision activities to ensure that
all teachers and staff are teaching and interacting with students at the highest levels of
effectiveness and professionalism. This committee is largely responsible for the school and
SIP’s Effective School, Schooling, and Professional Development component and activities.
The SPRINT (School Prevention, Review, and Intervention Team) Committee (Knoff, 2005)
with the teachers teaching there—the data-based problem-solving and intervention process that
addresses the academic and/or behavioral needs of students who are not responding to effective
instruction. The SPRINT team is composed of the strongest academic and behavioral
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
intervention specialists in and available to the school, and it is also responsible for determining a
student’s eligibility for more intensive special education services if strategic interventions, over
time and consistent with IDEA, are not successful. Given this, this committee is largely
responsible for the school and SIP’s Problem Solving, Teaming, and Consultation Processes
component and activities, but this committee’s activities clearly overlap with other committees,
especially those focused on the school’s academic and behavioral programming for all students.
involving parents in school activities and in supporting the educational process for all students at
home. It also helps to coordinate community resources such that needed and effective home-
school-community partnerships are created to address the needs of all students, parents, and
others. Thus, this committee is largely responsible for the school and SIP’s Parent and
Beyond the best practices already discussed, five practical “bonus best practices” are
recommended to complement the broader, more systemic strategies above. These best practices
emphasize the importance of effective team functioning, resource recognition, periodic reviews
of consultation and intervention activities, and the need to transfer the “student lessons learned”
in effective ways.
recommended that every instructional staff member be on at least one school-level committee
(some staff, due to their leadership positions either at a grade level or of a committee, also may
be on the School Improvement Team). If a grade level has, for example, four teachers, a sound
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
approach to committee membership would have one teacher on a separate committee (e.g., on
Outreach Committee, respectfully). Beyond this, it is recommended that the teachers on each
committee serve a three-year term (that may be renewed once), and that the committee terms be
staggered so that only one-third of a committee rotates off a committee in any one year. All of
this ensures that school-level committees have appropriate grade-level teacher representation
(related service and other non-instructional specialists are assigned to committees more in line
with their skills and potential contribution to the committee), continuity, and yet, that their
and informal consultation for teachers who have students with academic or behavioral
school’s entire staff has completed a brief two-page questionnaire, this Directory identifies staff
member’s formal degrees and areas of certification or specialization, formal areas of in-service
training and professional development, academic and/or behavioral areas of expertise, and
special skills or talents or hobbies. The front section of the Directory is organized by grade level
and teacher, while the back section is organized across specific skill areas, listing all of the
teachers who feel comfortable being formal or informal consultants to another colleague in each
area.
Completing Report Card Scans. Given the primary focus on students’ academic and
progress over time. While this is best done by classroom teachers who continuously monitor the
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
evaluation “layers” help to confirm and extend teacher-generated data. One layer involves the
It is recommended that schools’ SPRINT teams complete a “report card” scan, after each
marking period, of every students’ academic grades, behavior ratings (if documented), and
attendance. Usually done electronically (or by teacher report), students can be “red-flagged” if
there are significant (downward) changes in grades or classroom behavior from one quarter to
the next, and/or significant problems with attendance, including school tardiness or requests to
visit the nurse’s office. By creating decision rules (e.g., a drop of three total grade blocks in
more than one academic subject—say, three courses dropping from Bs to Cs—or a drop of two
grade blocks in any one academic subject; being absent from 10% or more of the instructional
days in the quarter), teachers and other professionals can be consulted regarding red-flagged
students to determine the need for further problem solving, functional assessment, and
interventions.
Conducting a Year-End Consultation Referral Audit. In order to analyze the referral patterns
for early intervention services at any level of the SPRINT process (i.e., grade-level or building-
level SPRINT requests for consultation), it is essential that SPRINT teams conduct at least an
annual Consultation Referral Audit. Typically done in April or May, this audit involves
summarizing all of the SPRINT referrals for the past year across the following dimensions: (a)
student age and grade; (b) time of year when referred; (c) specific presenting problem(s) (e.g.,
engagement); and (d) specific interventions identified, implemented, and successful. With this
information, the SPRINT team can identify referral trends and patterns; “early warning”
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
indicators so that younger students, who may eventually experience similar concerns, can receive
early, preventative interventions; and professional development needs so that teachers, who will
likely need more intensive interventions for underachieving and challenging students, can be
trained before actually needed these interventions—thus facilitating the consultation and
intervention process. In this way, past referrals result in future effective and preventative
practices, allowing students to receive strategic intervention services, earlier, more quickly, and
more successfully, from more prepared general education teachers with or without the need for
Identifying “Get-Go’ Students for the New Year. Too often, teachers and SPRINT teams or
consultants spend a lot of time completing functional analyses of students experiencing academic
have all of these processes discontinued with the end of the school year. That is, many schools
do not strategically plan a transition process for student interventions from one school year to the
next. Using the belief that “the new school year begins in April,” it is recommended that the
SPRINT team, with relevant classroom teachers, complete a review of all students who have
received pre-referral or early intervention services, at any level of intensity, during April. Thus,
the review should include all students on IEPs, 504, or state-required Academic Intervention (or
Behavioral) Plans. During this review, three groups of students are identified: (a) “Get-Go”
students who need immediate academic or behavioral interventions on Day 1 of the new school
year, (b) “At-Risk” students, who have enough intervention needs that their new teacher(s) need
a systematic briefing from the previous year’s teacher(s) and consultant(s) before the next school
year begins; and (c) “Check-In” students, who need someone from the SPRINT team to check in
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
with their teacher(s) approximately 2 to 4 weeks into the new school year. Medically fragile and
students with attendance problems should also be “challenges” that the SPRINT team considers.
By completing this “Get-Go” process, the probability that the functional assessment,
consultation, and intervention “lessons learned” will be effectively transferred from one school
year to the next is increased. Moreover, this process may help determine how students will be
functionally grouped the next year, and what teachers will have the greatest potential for success.
And, finally, this process can ensure that the “next year” teachers will receive the needed
intervention information, training, and support before the new school year begins so that the
services and strategies needed by the selected students are delivered in timely and effective
ways.
Summary
This chapter has focused on the important processes and procedures that relate to school
success, four fundamental questions—addressing academics and instruction, behavior and school
climate, parent and community involvement, and planning and evaluation decisions, were
presented as the core of any school’s continuous improvement journey. To further guide this
journey, three major areas were detailed: (a) the components of an effective school; (b) how
strategic planning fits into these components; and (c) how the school improvement process is
organized through the committee structure of the school and the activities of school-level
committees. The school or district School Improvement Plan (SIP) was identified as the public
processes. During this discussion, two complementary strategic planning models were presented
by highlighting their most important elements across five sequential phases: Phase I--Creating a
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
Base for Planning and Change; Phase II--Developing the Strategic Plan; Phase III--Developing
the Implementation Plan; Phase IV-- Implementing and Monitoring the Plan; and Phase V--
Renewing the Plan. The chapter concluded by briefly describing five “bonus best practices”
related to choosing and rotating committee members, publishing a School Resource Directory,
completing report card scans and year-end Consultation Referral Audits, and identifying “Get-
Today’s children are coming to the schoolhouse door significantly at-risk for both educational
and social failure. Schools and districts must use systematic and strategic planning and
implementation processes so that they build the “infrastructures”—at the staff, school, system,
and community levels—that help to coordinate resources, build capacity, support school-wide
programs, and maximize the academic and social-emotional/behavioral success of all students.
With this success, current and future generations of students will more quickly and readily
demonstrate the independent learning and behavioral self-management skills that they need—not
just when they are in school, but when they return to their homes, when they enter the workforce,
and when they progress beyond to lead their communities and our country.
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
References
Annie E. Casey Foundation. (1995). The path of most resistance: Reflections on lessons learned
Enhancing
children's academic and social competence. Silver Spring, MD: National Association of
School Psychologists.
Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center. (2006). CSRQ Center Report on Elementary
School Comprehensive School Reform Models. Washington, DC: American Institutes for
Research.
Cook, W. J. (1990). The planning discipline. Cambridge, MA: The Cambridge Management
Group.
Dunst, C. J., Trivette, C. M., & Johanson, C. (1994). Parent-professional collaboration and
families (Volume 1): Methods, strategies, and practices (pp. 197-211). Cambridge, MA:
Brookline Books.
Kerr, M. M., & Nelson, C. M. (2002). Strategies for managing behavior problems in the
Knoff, H. H. (2005). Building strong schools to strengthen student outcomes: The DVD Series.
Knoff, H. M. (2001). The Stop & Think Social Skills Program (Preschool – Grade 1, Grades
2/3, Grades 4/5, Middle School 6-8). Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
Knoff, H. M., & Batsche, G. M. (1995). Project ACHIEVE: Analyzing a school reform process
for at-risk and underachieving students. School Psychology Review, 24, 579–603.
Knoff, H. M., Finch, C., & Carlyon, W. (2004). Inside Project ACHIEVE: A comprehensive,
practices and program models (pp. 19-1 to 19-28). Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute,
Inc.
National Education Goals Panel. (1999). The National Education Goals report: Building
Raffaele, L., & Knoff, H. M. (1999). Improving home-school collaboration with parents of
Stoner, G., Shinn, M. R., & Walker, H. M. (Eds.). (2002). Interventions for achievement and
Annotated Bibliography
Blankstein, A. M. (2006). Failure is not an option: Six principles that guide student
Based on fifteen years of practical research on what is working in schools, this book
emphasizes the importance of professional learning communities as the center of school reform.
In this context, six guiding principles are described for creating and sustaining a high performing
Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and School Page
school: (a) a common mission, vision, values, and goals: (b) systems for prevention and
intervention; (c) collaborative teaming for teaching and learning; (d) data-driven decision-
making and continuous improvement; (d) active engagement from family and community; and
perspective, and provides a number of case studies or vignette that help to concretize its points.
It also looks at ways that schools have been both successful and unsuccessful so that schools can
Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center. (2006). CSRQ Center Report on Elementary
School Comprehensive School Reform Models. Washington, DC: American Institutes for
Research.
This updated guide reviews and evaluates 22 comprehensive school reform models relative
process, first-year adoption costs, and effects on student achievement, this guide also lists papers,
articles, and books about each model and their documented effectiveness. While the guide does
not endorse or discredit any of the approaches—trying, instead, to describe and objectively
evaluate—this resource provides a good overview of many of the school reform approaches used
nationwide with decision-making guidelines on how to evaluate school reform and improvement
efforts.
Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). The right to learn: A blueprint for creating schools that work.
An important work by an educator and researcher who began her work as a public school
teacher and has been involved in the policy and practice of school reform for many years.
Darling-Hammond’s book describes ways to significantly improve not only individual schools
but the overall system of education. Focusing especially on the needs and diversity of students,
this book addresses such topics as how to structure “learner-centered” schools, to staff schools
for teaching and learning, to reinforce teaching as a profession, and to respond to standards
Hirsch, E. D., Jr. (2006). The knowledge deficit: Closing the shocking education gap for
Authored by the founder of the Core Knowledge, this book provides a roadmap toward closing
the achievement gap in our country’s schools. Recognizing that many students, even those who
have mastered reading skills during the early elementary school years, begin to slide after fourth
grade and fail at more difficult comprehension tasks, this book advocates the use of core
curricula that are explicitly outlined, focused on content and comprehension, and that provide
students the foundational knowledge and context that they need to understand concepts,
constructs, and areas requiring higher ordered thinking skills. This book is the culmination of
Hirsh’s many years implementing the school reform principles and practices of Core Knowledge,
one of the long-recognized national school reform models that has been implemented in
hundreds of schools across the country. It integrates the latest scientific thinking on neurological
development and applies it to instruction that must meet state, national, and international
standards. And, it takes a preschool through high school perspective that is specific, practical,
This “book” (which is actually sold in a three-ring binder) provides a comprehensive strategic
management model that is designed to assist the reader in guiding a school district through the
strategic planning process. Supported by case studies and citations from the management
literature, the book has three parts: Strategic Management—Its Role in Education; Planning for
Strategic Change; and Creating Strategic Change Within the Organization. In addition, the book
has over 30 step-by-step worksheets that operationalize the process and make the author’s
approach an easy one for anyone who understands the interdependent components of the school
system to implement. This is a useful book that can help a reader to more completely understand
ABSTRACT: This paper discusses from a discourse study perspective how HSE (health, safety and environ
ment) aspects can be taken care of in large change processes together with the role of the employees in these
processes. The development process related to implementation of Integrated Operations (10) in the oil- and gas
industry on the Norwegian continental shelf represents the case studies in this paper.
Employee participation is important in implementation processes in Norway, and interviews are well suited
for engaging employees in the process and for gathering of data. But an interview still has its strength and
weakness regarding the quality of the participation processes. On one hand, it involves the employees directly
in the project, and exploits their knowledge about their own working day, functions and work place. On the
other hand, you are dependent on the interviewee's ability to identify the HSE implications. To understand and
assessing the influence on HSE from a change process such as IO, an understanding of the quite complicated
concept of HSE is mandatory.
Viewing the methods used in the organizational development processes as communicative activities can make
us capable of recognizing the factors we need to be aware of as facilitators and researchers.
7
Inthe RNNP casestudy,employees are not
involved in an organizational development, but
give input to a description of an overall picture
for the HSE level in the petroleum industry.
Tounderstand andassess the influence on HSE
from a change process such as IO, an
understanding of the quite complicated concept
of HSE is mandatory. The IO impact on HSE will
be quite differently dependent on the elements
we are studying.
The strengths and weaknesses with qualitative
HSE assessment are discussed in this paper. The
two case studies are described and the results are
discussed based on theory on employees'
involvement and the qualitative interview method
as a communicative activity.
2 THEORY
7
The main objective for HSE assessments or risk anal Likewise when choosing to answer from a labour
ysis on technical safety is to calculate an overall risk union representative
factor or to ensure a safe design. It has, however,
been considered that the involvement of the
operational personnel given input to the failure rates
or expert judgments has a value in itself. The
involvement in a HAZOP, for instance, gives
enhanced risk perception
and important reflection on safety issues.
When the HSE assessment is carried out in the
context of an organizational development process,
qualitative methods such as interviews are important.
The involvement process of the interviews is
essential.
7
perspective. All these positions or roles might give
different answers to the same question.
Acommunicative activity is alsodefined by its main
communicative goal and this might not always be as
clear as the type of situation. What is the overall goal
for that special meeting; is it information sharing or is
it solving a problem? An interview concerning organi
zational change might have several goals. It might be
to collect the employees' stories about the changes, or
ideas on what should be changed.
Without a categorization and definition of the sit
uation it might be difficult to interpret the social
interaction and what is meant in the conversation. Is it
an informal conversation or is it a formal meeting?
Defining a communicative activity as a meeting or an
interview is often done explicitly, often by introducing
and starting the meeting.
Ifthc framings arc not clear, or it is not clear what
the main communicative goal(s) is, the participants
might not know what is expected to be relevant
contri butions (Linell & Tunquist 2003). Another
example is when there is a mix of activities, for
example a meeting and an interview. The overall
communicative goal of the communicative activity
lays the premises for the contributions in the
interview.
3 CASE DESCRIPTIONS
3.1 /11trod11ctio11
The case studies are based on two different interview
methods.The firstcasestudy uses the IO MTOmethod,
while the second case study uses more traditional
semi structured interviews.
The IO MTO method has been used for several off
shoreorganizations on the Norwegian continental
shelf as part of implementing Integrated Operations.
The purposeoftheseinterviews is to involve
theemployees affected by the desired organizational
change directly in the project, and to exploit their
knowledge about their own working day, functions
and work place. The pointof mapping tasksand
functions is to get a realistic picture of what different
job categories are filled with. By mapping all
functions and tasks in the organiza tion it is possible
to develop a new organisation model which fulfils the
visions and strategies of an effective and operational
offshore organisation.
Instead of more traditional interview questions, the
interviewees are asked to construct a normal work ing
day detailed in each task or function. This would be
tasks like attending morning meetings, reporting,
waiting for new work orders, preparing a meeting and
coffee breaks. Each task is written in an excel file,
projected on a screen for all to see.
The RNNP case study is using a more traditional
interview method, called semi structured. Semi struc
tured meansthat theinterviews arc less structuredas an
questionnaire,but more structured than a free conver
sation on one topic. The interviewers use an interview
guide listing topics they want to talk about. For each
topic there are some central questions.
7
dealing with HSE questions within the petroleum
3.2 IO MTO case description industry. The
7
comfortable being the only representative for their
interviews covered many topics, one of them job
being the effect on HSE from the organizational
development processes in Integrated Operations.
Some of the interviews were done face-to-
face, but to save some time and resources most of
them were telephone interviews. All the
interviews were taped to support the
documentation and the use of quota tions in the
report. The interviewees were contacted prior to
the interviews and the interview guide was
distributed. The taping of the interview was
approved by the interviewees prior to the
interviews and the quotations being used in the
report was approved in a written format. The
interviewees had the right to be anonymous.
Two researchers did the interviews, one as the
main interviewer and one as a secretary. Most of
the inter views had a single interviewee; some
were group interviews with twointerviewees.The
interviews were accomplished within I to 2
hours.
The form of the interviews were semi
structured, and even if the interview guide
contained several detailed questions about each
subject, the choice and number of questions used
in each interview depended on the interviewees'
interest and insight in the subject. The following
questions were about IO:
- What is your interpretation about IO?
- What has the safety forum been engaged in
regard- ing IO?
- Has IO contributed to an improved level ofHSE?
- Has IO contributed to the quality of
planning and preparation for work activities?
And has this improved the safety level?
- How has IO influenced the manning level
offshore and the split between the "stable"
personnel and the nomads? What implications
do changes havefor the HSE level?
- What are the parameters used to examine/measure
the effect ofIO?
4 RESULTS
7
category; they were afraid to give a wrong answer or the onshore support. To be available all day long and
be responsible for giving data that might contribute to even during weekends and holidays for key
cuts in personnel. Some employees had a strong wish personnel, is seen as a possible source for stress.
to argue against the organizationalchanges in general. The decision processes are heavily affected by the
When the employees came to the point in the inter implementation of IO. Decisions shall be taken by
view wherethey were asked to thinkhypotheticallyand teams rather than by individuals and these teams may
consider if some of their work tasks might be moved, be distributed on different locations such as for
many thought this wasdifficult. In othermethods exam ple onshore and offshore. More planning
when hypothetical situations are used, the situations activities from onshore are regarded as positive by
are described as scenarios, but this was not the case the intervie wees and the enhanced cooperation
here. This might have contributed to distorting the between onshore and offshore is positively received
evalua tion of theHSE impact on the possible as well.
movingof tasks. One reason for the difficulty of Integrated operations and the consequences for
performing the evaluation of the HSE impact, was HSE had only been discussed on a brief level in the
that the relation was often considered as indirect. safety forum.
When a task is, for example not checking levels on
an indicator has clear negative impact on HSE. But
on work tasks as plan ning a meeting, reading 5 DISCUSSION
reports, attending meetings, the possible HSE impact
is more indirect and might be difficult to point out. 5.1 /11volve111e11t
The answer on the HSE impact therefore was typical The IO MTO interview is a method for mapping
general formulations as "youJose information of job tasks and not the participant's opinion concern ing
theoverall picture"and"looses transfer the organizational changes in general. In other more
of experience".
traditional interviews there is more room for the
representativesto give their viewon aspects of an
orga nizational change. In the IO MTO interview
4.2 Results of the RNNP case study there are no tape recordings, only the excel file.This
The resulting analysis based on the interviews did not means that if participants in the interview want to
give any clear and unambiguous picture of the effects have their views made known, they had to find a way
from IO on the HSE level. The understanding of the to fill it into the Excel table. Thus, a commentary
concept of IO varied widely among the interviewees column was added in the Excel table. This has to do
and influenced their ability to answer. Some thought with the motivation to participate in an interview.
IO is about remote control of offshore installation, Many think that partic ipating in an interview is an
oth ers that it is about improved support from onshore opportunity to give their opinion on the changes. This
to offshore and improved cooperation and other again means that an IO MTO interview has to meet this sort
focused on more use of real time data. As IO is an of expectation.
organizational development process and not primar As the RNNP case study was not a part of the
ily an HSE initiative, it has only an indirect effect on organizational development process itself, the aspect
HSE and is thus more complicated to assess. None of involvement is not applicable for discussion.
the interviewees could give any concrete measures of
the effect; one expressed quite clearly that "There is
no concrete evidence that IO has improved the safety 5.2 lllterviewee roles
level today". In the IO MTO case study the information role was
Remote control of installations from onshore is an clear concerning what aspects they were supposed to
interpretation of IO that gives a negative association, talk about, everything was concerning their normal
but when it comes to safety it is seen as positive as work day.The challenge concerning interviewees
none of the personnel will be directly exposed to the roles were more on whom they represented in the
risks from the plant itself. As long as there are inter view setting. Several of the employees pointed
personnel onboard, it is seen as a major hazard that out that they only could speak for themselves. They
the control room and decision takers will be located were asked to share their data collection with
at another place than the dangerous sources. colleagues after the interviews and some returned
Transportation by helicopter will be reduced and this with additional information.
will directly affect the safety level. In the RNNP case study the expectation was quite
Improved support from onshore was mentioned clear; these senior safety personnel were asked to
as one aspect giving improved operation and hence give their view on the overall development of the
improved HSE. The onshore support will contribute HSE level as a consequence of this new way of
with more continuity as the personnel onshore are on organiz ing the work. Some of the interviewees had
duty every day of the week, while the personnel off however some difficulties in dividing between the
shore work for two weeks and then have 4 weeks off function they had as members of the safety forum
duty. The onshore support should be 24/7 (24 hours a and the posi tion they had within their own
day, 7 days a week) to be optimal. This may, company. They also
however, have some negative HSE effects for those based their view on an experience through many
working in
7
years and this experience could be from several
companies or institutes.
7
In addition to interviewees representing different answer to this question formed the content of the rest
companies within the petroleum industry some inter of the interview. It is of no use to go into details
viewees represented the government and different about HSE consequences of Integrated Operations if
unions. These interviewees can have their own the interviewee is not familiar with the subject.
agenda and politics, and it was a challenge to As the interviews went on the interviewers
penetrate this surface in some of the interviews. The uninten tional started the analysis and this
face to face interviews had an advantage as regards influenced some what on the rest of the interviews. It
the question of "digging behind the surface", it was was observed a tendency to search evidence to this
possible to see the reaction of the interviewees both analysis through the use of leading questions. An
in attitude and body language. example being that onshore support was described as
For the same reason it was a great advantage to be a positive contribu tion to the HSE level and the
two interviewers; one being the secretary while the interviewer "decided" that this was due to the
main interviewer could concentrate fully on the inter continuity this support repre sents. In the following
view. It was possible for the secretary to ask follow interviews it was tempting to ask about the continuity
up questions. on the onshore side. A sort of leading questions can
however be used to ensure that all details
arebeingcovered.Thiscanbea dilemma and the
5.3 Qualitative HSE assessment interviewers should be aware of it and try to bal ance
The HSE assessment in the IO MTO method was between objectivity and the search for a correct
detailed down to single tasks in an hypothetical situa description.
tion where the task might have been moved to
another role in the organization. This gave the
employees an challenge concerning two things, f"rrst 6 CONCLUSION
the vague "hypothetic situation" and second the
estimation of something that often had an indirect "What you ask is what you get" is not always true.
effect. It is impor tant to have the HSE aspect in a As we have discussed in this paper; the situation,
mapping of work tasks, but maybeit should be the framework and the complexity of the question is
considered to find a more direct way of selecting the likewise important to get a good and relevant answer.
most important tasks when it comes to HSE impact.
HSE as such is a complicated notion and to be able
to have opinions about HSE effects, the HSE concept REFERENCES
should be divided into more details. One division
is between major accidents, personal injuries and Goffmann, E. (1974): Frame a11a lys i s. Northeastern Univer
health risk. In the RNNP case study most of the sity Press, Boston.
Gnmhnug, K. & Hanscn,K. (2001): Medvirlmi11g, lreri11g og
intervie wees were, at least in theory, aware of the ko11kummseev11e.Oslo: Fagbokforlagel.
division between these three categories. The opening Sanangi, S. & Coulthard, M. (red.) (2000): Discourse a11d
question in theRNNP study ("What is Social Life. Harlow: Lo11gman.
yourinterpretationabout IO?") wasimportant as the Linell, P.& Tunquist, D. Persson (2003): Moving in and out
interpretation oflntegrated Operations varied a lot of frames: activity contexts in talks with young
between the interviewees. The unemployed peoplewithin a training project. Pragmatics
35 (409-4 34).
7
Reliability, Risk and Safety: Theory and Applications - Bris,
Guedes Soares & Martorell (eds)
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-0-415-55509-8
ABSTRACT: This paper discusses participation and researcher involvement as core components in an organi
zational development (OD) process. The focus is on how broad participation, facilitated through participatory
methods from action research, is crucial to bring the OD process forward towards creating the new work
practices as aimed for. A core principle of action research is to heavily involve personnel affected by the
development processes. Likewise important is the involvement from the researchers. Involvement will if
handled properly, give increased job satisfaction. The case study providing data for this paper is an R&D
project for a company within the oil and gas industry in Norway. The R&D project aims at creating an OD
process to empower both the individual employees and team collaboration in order to increase the ability of the
company in getting the most out of the existing organization and be prepared for growth. Different methods
from action research used during the OD process are described and the experience with these is discussed
related to the aspects of participation and job satisfaction.
INTRODUCTION
2 THEORY
Organizational development (OD) through action
2.1 Action research and orga11izatio11a/
research empowers the organization through involve
deve/opme11t
ment and engages the researchers by close integration
with the client organization. An important OD pro The main perspective in this paper is to view
cess going on in the Norwegian petroleum industry organiza tional development (OD) as a jointly created
is named Integrated Operation (IO). IO implies more learning process constituted by activeparticipation
extensive cooperation between the onshore organiza between the local practitioner and the researcher in a
tion and the operation unit offshore. This enhanced participa tory action research process (Levin & Ravn
cooperation is supported by use of new ICT solu 2007). The local practitioner is defined as the insider
tion both for communication means and for decision of the client organization, e.g. operational
support. management or employees, while the action
The case study providing data for this paper is an researcher (or researcher for short) is defined as the
R&D project for a company within the oil and gas external by having the role as the outsider only. The
industry in Norway. The R&D project aims at creat very aim of the OD process is active problem solving,
ing an OD process in line with the ideas oflntegrated collective reflec tion and knowledge development on
Operations. This will empower both the individual pertinent local problems or challenges at stake as
employees and team collaboration in order to increase experienced by the local practitioner in daily
theability of the company in getting the most outof operation of the organiza tion. The role of the
the existing organization and beprepared for growth. researcher in the OD process is to arrange for
Cen tral in the OD process taking place in this case suitable reflection arenas between the local
study is the rearrangement of the workspace for the practitioner being the insider, and the external
onshore operation centre. This workspace researcher being the outsider, aiming at a continu ous
rearrangement will support more collective work and shared collective learning process between all
practices utilizing and mobilizing knowledge across involved participants in the OD process.A model of
disciplines and locations toward building the IO an OD process viewed as collective learning,
compliant organization. alsolabelled co-generative learning, is illustrated in
Thispaper presents thecasestudy as an OD process, Figure I below (Greenwood & Levin 1998).
its results and discusses the results of the OD process The model represents a framework for integrating
with reference to theory on action research, partici communicative processes on different arenas into one
pation and job satisfaction. Action research was used and the same integrated learning process. As such,
throughout the different phases of the casestudy using the aim is the developmentof solutions on actual
a range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. organiza tional issues. The model has three central
key points.
22
laterexperiences and perceptions of
22
the projects. This cognitive bias may hence influence
the accuracy of the recalled memories (e.g. Scwarz
2007).
22
I
Satisfaction
Job Phase1 Phase2 Phase3 Phase4\
Moderators avoidance,
-
Pe!fonnonaHOY1'8rdo
contlngoncy
Mediators
Job characlorl•tlco
Bohnvforallntentlom,
Need foroehlovumonl
Low performance os
Woilt cuntra&ly
wllhdrawal
A09regation
PosHfVo mood
I Job
Performance
22
individualism (collectivism) and masculinity (femi
ninity).'Power distances' is the extent to which
people within the society accept that power is
distributed unequally, 'uncertainty avoidance' is the
degree to which the member adapt ambiguous and
unsure sit uations by creating more formal rules and
conform their views. Individualism and masculinity
are self explicatory (Jaeger 1986). National culture
may be a predictive, moderating or mediating
variable that influence response and approach to
organizational development (Tsui et al. 2007).
National culture may be more evident in values than
practices and organi zational culture resides more in
practices (Hofstede 1994). The differences in
national culture may thus be of importance when
implementing new technolo gies and work practices
(Krumbholz & Maiden 2001), making it crucial to be
culture specific when doing organizational
development (Jaeger 1986).
3 CASE
22
: Adjacent ;
. - Qui t roorhs
In ul
In proximity
- E/1and
Process Figure 6. Border objects constructed as 3D architect
draw ing.
Figure 4. Generic model.
22
satisfaction a questionnaire was construed using The survey
ques tions from previously published research
concerning distributed team work, customer
satisfaction and tech nology acceptance. The
company's 'people survey' is done annually and will
enable the company to see any changes of the
employees' perception of their work environment.
4 RESULTS
22
provides a measure of the quality of the onshore conditions for the workspace development. One
sup port and by repeating it after the major aspect was that cell offices could only be
implementation of the new workspaces onshore approved in very rare situations. The
the eventual improve ment of this support could
be measured. The quality and relevance of the
survey were validated against personnel in the
onshore organization.
Even if the aim of the survey were
communicated at several occasions in the
onshore organization, it was questioned why we
should bother to involve the off
shoreorganization.They were characterized as a
group thatwould useallsuchopportunities to
complain about the company and the
organisation. The response to the survey
washigh.The possibility to use thisas a channel to
complain was however not conspicuous.
It was hard to convince the onshore management
that this survey represented an important
development tool.The first presentation of the
survey in the onshore leadership meeting was
kept on a superior level to adapt to the arena.
This was however not a success as the response
(maybe influenced by the negative attitude
against the survey in the first hand) was that "this
is nothing new, we !mow this from before". On a
later stage the final report from the survey includ
ing all the details was presented in written form
and the reception was more positive. It was
indicated that there were some interesting
findings within the report. One result mentioned
several times was the fact that the use of
videoconferencing correlated with the satis
faction of the onshore support. This has been
taken as prove that Integrated Operation is
important for the cooperation between onshore
and offshore. The offshore survey report was also
distributed electroni cally to the respondents
offshore. We are not aware of any response from
the offshore personnel at this stage. The negative
attitude to the offshore survey and the result was
experienced as a strain by the researchers
involved.
22
process was also disturbed by som in emal introduction of these had a negative effect on the
organi_sa tional issues addressing the orgamsational process.
belongmg of some of the central persons in the
onshore support group. There was also a competitive
situation around some new positions including
several departments.
5 DISCUSSION
22
The results from phase 2 were based on both a
thor ough review of existing literature on office
design and workspace development partly developed
prior to and after the onshore survey, these results
which were vali dated in thedepartment, wereonly
partly used in phase 4, partly because of the large
action research team, but maybe also due to a fear
with action researchers to be too suggestive and
empirically driven.
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
22
outcomes were imposed on the design-process by the Hofstede, G. 1994.Cultures and Organisations,lntercultum/
corporate guidelines the decision latitude narrowed. Co-opemtion and Its Importance for Survival. London:
This also raises the important point of gathering rele Harper Collins.
vant information about facts and stakeholders, includ Jenso, M. & Blakstad, S.H. 2003. Kunnsknpsarbeidsplassen,
ing the possibility of changed ownership or NTNU, ITEA, Brukerprosesser og sluttrnpport. Trond
existing guidelines that may influence the project heim: SINTEF Bygg og Milje.
prior to initi ating the project. Perception of wider Jaeger, A.M. 1986. Organization development and National
decision latitude could havebeen possible, had the Culture:Where's the fit?.Academy of management review
newguidelines been made known in the organization II: 178-190.
at an earlier stageand feedback from management to Judge, T.A., Bono, J.E.,Thoresen, C.J. & Patton, G.K. 2001.
The job satisfaction-jobperformance relationship: a quali
the organization been more continuous. This could
tative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin
have made it possible to avoid the growing loss of I27: 376-407.
motivation and change cyn icism by a, to some Karasek, R. & Theorell, T. 1990. Healthy work: Stress, pro
extent, unproductive process and 'pseudo- ductivity. and tl,ereco11structionofworA.ing life.NY:Basic
involvement'. Books.
Nevertheless, the methods in this case study such Krumholz, M. & Maiden, N. 200I. The implementation of
as border objects and dialogue conferences used enterprise resource planning packages in different orga
accord ing to the principles of co-generative nizational and national cultures. Information Systems 26:
learning, have in themselves demonstrated their 185-204.
Levin, M. & Ravn, J. 2007. Involved in Praxis and
usefulness in bring ing the OD process forward
Analytical at a Distance. Systemic Pmctice a11d Action
toward creating the new collective work practices as Research 20: 1-13.
aimed for. This is also demonstrated in relation to MacKenzie, S.B., Podsakoff, P.M. & Ahearne, M. 1998.
promoting job satisfac tion both among the Some Possible Antecedents and Consequences of In-Role
employees and management of the client company as and Extra-Role Salesperson Performance. Tl,e Joumal of
well as the involved action researchers. Marketi11g 62: 87-98.
Miller, C.C., Cardinal, L.B. & Glick, W.H. 1997. Retrospec•
tive reports in organizational research: a re-examination
REFERENCES of recent evidence. Academy of management journal 40:
189-204.
Amundsen, 0. & Kongsvik, T. 2008. Endringskynisme (The Miller, K.1. & Monge, P.R. 1986. Participation, Satisfac
Cynicism of change). Oslo: Gyldendal Akademisk tion and productivity: A meta-analytic review. Academy
Blakstad, S.H. 2004. Fra brukerbehov til fysiske lesninger of Management review 4: 727-753.
(From user needs to physical solutions). KUNNEarbeid Scwarz, N. (2007) Cognitive aspects of Survey methodlogy,
splassen. Presentation. Trondheim: SINTEF. Applied cognitive psychology, 21, pp. 277-287.
De Jonge, J., Bosma, H., Peter, R. & Siegrist, J. 2000. Stansfeld, S. & Candy, 8. 2006. Psychosocial work envi
Joh strain, effort-reward imbalance and employee well ronment and mental health - a meta-analytic review.
being: a large-scale cross-sectional study. Social Science Scandinavian Journal of Environme11tal l,ealtlr 32: 443-
& Medicine 50: 1317-1327. 462.
Gutek,8.A.1978. On theaccuracy ofretrospectiveattitudinal Tsui, A.S., Nifndkar, S.S. & Yi Ou, A. 2007. Gaps, and
data. Public Opinion Quarterly 32: 390-400. Recommendations Cross-National, Cross-Cultural Orga
Ewenstein, 8. & Whyte, J. 2009. Knowledge Practices in nizational Behavior Research: Advances. Jo11mal of
Design: The role of visual representations as 'Epistemic Management 33: 426-478.
Objects'. Organization Studies 30: 7-30. Wagner, J.A.III. 1994. Participation's effect on performance
Faragher, E.8.,Cass, M., & Cooper, C.L. 2005.The and satisfaction: A reconsideration of research evidence.
relation Academy of Manageme11t review 19: 312-330.
ship between job satisfaction and health: a meta-analysis. Wright, T.A. & Crapanzano, R. 2000. Psychological well
Occupational and environmental medicine 62: 105-112. being and job satisfaction as predictors of job perfor
Greenwood, D. & Levin, M. 1998. Introduction to Action mance. Journal of Occupatio11al Health Psychology 5:
Research - Social Research for Social Change,Thousand 84-94.
Oaks: Sage
22