SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT MEMORANDUM

National Certificate: Generic Management

ID 59201 - Level 5 – Credits 162

Unit Standard: 252021

Formulate recommendations for a change process

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Learner Information (Please Complete this Section)

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Declaration

I(Learner)
…………………………………………………………………………………………….herewith declare
that I am ready for the assessment, that we have reviewed the assessment preparation and plan, I
understand the assessment process and I am happy that the assessment will be conducted in a fair manner.
Learner Signature: Date:

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 Assessor Information

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Summative Assessment Information

The purpose of this summative assessment is to award credits to learner achieving the following skills program/unit
standard: FORMULATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A CHANGE PROCESS, and is intended for use by the

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accredited Training Providers, for the following qualification: NATIONAL CERTIFICATE: GENERIC
MANAGEMENT ID 59201   LEVEL 5 – CREDITS 162.
NOTE
The assessment instruments included in this assessment pack are all summative assessment instruments and are to be
read in conjunction with the formative assessment instruments Contained in the learner workbook. Both formative
(workbook) and summative assessments are to be retained as part of the learner’s portfolio of evidence.
 A number of the assessment instruments contained in this assessment are workplace knowledge based
questions.
 This means that you will arrange with the learner, a time that is suitable, during which the learner will
complete each questions.
 Answer all the questions.

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 1
US: 252021, NQF Level 5 Worth 8 Credits
FORMULATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A CHANGE PROCESS
Learning Unit

Unit Standard This Unit Standard is intended for managers in all economic sectors. These managers
Purpose would typically be second level managers such as heads of department, section heads
or divisional heads, who may have more than one team reporting to them.

The qualifying learner is capable of:

 Demonstrating knowledge of and insight into the need for change within the
context of environment change.
 Analysing an area requiring a change process.
 Selecting a model for implementing a change management process.
 Formulating recommendations on implementing the change process.
Learning Assumed to It is assumed that learners are competent in:
be in Place Communication at NQF Level 4.
Mathematical Literacy at NQF Level 4.
 Computer Literacy at NQF Level 4.

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 Session 1 Demonstrate knowledge of and insight into the need for change within the context of
SO 1 environment change.
Learning  The nature of change and its impact on organisational sustainability are explained with
Outcomes reference to internal and external environmental change affecting a specific unit.
(Assessment  The need for change is motivated by identifying the benefits of change for a unit.
Criteria)

Activity
1
Every organization should engage in a periodic needs and assets assessment. Explain the Needs and assets
assessment
Every organization should engage in a periodic needs and assets assessment. This includes a number of steps:
 Annually, management should compare current staff skills to the skills needed to complete the activities
outlined in the operational plan. For example, if the operational plan for the coming year will require that a
particular staff person upgrade and then maintain the Web site, she/he may also need additional and substantive
Web development training. Plans, including the allocation of resources, must be made to acquire this training.
 Periodically, management should also take the “pulse” of the organization. This can be done by sitting down
with each staff member to assess their perception of the health of the organizational culture (is the organization
flexible, does it promote creativity, does it respect and foster diversity and professionalism, is the decision
making process transparent?), the external reputation of the organization (what does staff think the reputation of
the organization is and what components lend to that reputation?); and the satisfaction of each staff member
(does his/her role within the organization advance his/her own career goals?). An organization can always
improve on its culture. However, organizations in which employees feel valued and respected and part of
something bigger than themselves are better situated to become sustainable than are other organizations.

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 Session 2 Analyse an area requiring the implementation of a change process.
SO 2
Learning  The need for change in a unit of an entity is identified in terms of a desired state compared
Outcomes with the current state.
(Assessment  The results of a SWOT or other suitable analysis are presented to substantiate the
Criteria) argument in favour of a change process.

Activity
2
Explain the advantage and disadvantage of SWOT Analysis
Getting an impartial picture of a company or department's operations can be difficult without hiring an outsider to
assess the organization. But there are some analytic methods that can aid managers and employees who wish to
soberly assess their companies' strengths and weaknesses. One such method, SWOT analysis, makes it easier for
employees and managers to identify strengths, weakness, new market opportunities and external threats to company
profits and operations.
Identification
 The name SWOT is an acronym that stands for the four main analytic categories of this model: strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats. SWOT analysis is a type of analytic model used by businesses to
evaluate their operations and the forces at work in their markets. By analyzing how these categories apply
to a company, managers can assess the main aspects of a firm's operations critically and make
improvements over time.
Turning a Critical Eye to a Company's Operations
 SWOT analysis encourages managers and employees to assess a firm critically, including all of the things it
does wrong, under the "Weaknesses" category. By acknowledging fault, enterprising employees and
managers can take weaknesses and convert them to strengths. When combined with an assessment of a
company's strengths, this type of analysis shows where a firm is succeeding and how its operations can
further that success, while pruning the bad practices and failures from the tree.
Responding to the Market
 The second half of SWOT analysis, opportunities and threats, provides companies with an advantage in
their own competitive market. Markets are frequently changing, and larger industry trends can threaten to
send unprepared companies under. By identifying threats to operations and market share, companies can
adapt accordingly. In conjunction with identifying new opportunities, identifying threats allows a company
to perform damage control in a segment of the market if need be, while expanding operations to take
advantage of untapped niches or market trends.

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Disadvantages
 The SWOT analytical model can present several disadvantages. While the model can provide constructive
criticism in theory, in practice the results may be far less reliable. By asking managers and companies to
assess the faults of an operation, a company risks injecting a high degree of subjectivity into the process.
Personnel may find it difficult to assess their faults, and may not have a large enough view of the
company's overall operations to identify macro faults within the firm. Furthermore, even if assessments
using SWOT analysis are accurate, significant initiative is required by managers and employees to actually
correct faults and take advantage of new opportunities. Depending on the company, the personnel might not
have that sort of leeway to capitalize on these criticisms.

Activity
3
Give an explanation on techniques for conducting a SWOT analysis
Conducting a SWOT or (OTSW)
What is it?
The granddaddy of focus group data gathering processes is the traditional SWOT and its updated offspring, OTSW
Analysis. You can SWOT (or OTSW) a concept, a program, a department, a school, or a new initiative. You can
even SWOT a person, although one must be careful when doing so.
When doing SWOT Analysis, remember that the S and the W are INTERNAL and the O and T are external.
Traditionally, facilitators begin with the organization’s Strengths and Weaknesses and then move out to the
external Opportunities and Threats. Recent thinking prompts consideration first of the opportunities and threats
existing in the "outside world" against which the institution can leverage its strengths and find conviction to correct
its weaknesses. We like this reversal of the traditional order because it helps an organization place itself in context.
Method
Group Process Technique: Brainstorming
Purpose: To generate a large quantity of ideas in response to a stated problem or question.
The group is asked to generate as many responses to the following questions within a limited time frame (10-20
minutes per question). All responses are recorded verbatim and ideas are not judged until evaluation time.
Group Size: Can be used with any number of participants (large groups can be broken into smaller groups of 6-10 to
maximize output)
Resources: Flip chart and markers
Procedure
1. Explain basic rules of brainstorming:
a. Don’t evaluate the idea; defer judgment.
b. Quantity is the goal.
c. The wilder the better.

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 d. Record each idea verbatim.
e. Tagging on or combining ideas is okay.
 
2. Begin brainstorming by asking the following questions:
a. What opportunities exist in our external environment?
b. What threats to the institution exist in our external environment?
Brainstorm these along the lines of:
 Political, economic, social, technology
 Market size and behavior
 Constituent behavior
 Benefits sought
 Potential new entrants
 Direct competitors’ performance, strategies, capabilities, intentions
c. What are the strengths of our institution?
d. What are the weaknesses of our institution?
Brainstorm these along the lines of:
 Ability to design/innovate
 Ability to source and produce
 Ability to market and service
 Ability to finance
 Ability to manage
4. Record all ideas verbatim.
5. After all ideas have been storyboarded and the time limit is up, categorize ideas into thematic groupings.

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 Session 3 Select a model for implementing a change management process.
SO 3
Learning  The characteristics of two change models are described with reference to their
Outcomes appropriateness for different change processes.
(Assessment  The reasons for selecting the model are described with reference to the findings of the
Criteria) analysis.

Activity
4
Identify characteristics of models
1. Models are necessarily incomplete.
Because it is a representation, no model includes every aspect of the real world. If it did, it would no longer be a
model. In order to create a model, a scientist must first make some assumptions about the essential structure and
relationships of objects and/or events in the real world. These assumptions are about what is necessary or important
to explain the phenomena.
For example, a behavioral scientist might wish to model the time it takes a rat to run a maze. In creating the model
the scientist might include such factors as how hungry the rat was, how often the rat had previously run the maze,
and the activity level of the rat during the previous day. The model-builder would also have to decide how these
factors interacted when constructing the model. The scientist does not assume that only factors included in the
model affect the behavior. Other factors might be the time-of-day, the experimenter who ran the rat, and the
intelligence of the rat. The scientist might assume that these are not part of the "essential structure" of the time it
takes a rat to run a maze. All the factors that are not included in the model will contribute to error in the predictions
of the model.
2. The model may be changed or manipulated with relative ease.
To be useful it must be easier to manipulate the model than the real world. The scientist or technician changes the
model and observes the result, rather than doing a similar operation in the real world. He or she does this because it
is simpler, more convenient, and/or the results might be catastrophic.
A race car designer, for example, might build a small model of a new design and test the model in a wind tunnel.
Depending upon the results, the designer can then modify the model and retest the design. This process is much
easier than building a complete car for every new design. The usefulness of this technique, however, depends on
whether the essential structure of the wind resistance of the design was captured by the wind tunnel model.
Changing symbolic models is generally much easier than changing physical models. All that is required is rewriting
the model using different symbols. Determining the effects of such models is not always so easily accomplished. In
fact, much of the discipline of mathematics is concerned with the effects of symbolic manipulation.

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If the race car designer was able to capture the essential structure of the wind resistance of the design with a
mathematical model or computer program, he or she would not have to build a physical model every time a new
design was to be tested. All that would be required would be the substitution of different numbers or symbols into
the mathematical model or computer program. As before, to be useful the model must capture the essential structure
of the wind resistance.
The values, which may be changed in a model to create different models, are called parameters. In physical models,
parameters are physical things. In the race car example, the designer might vary the length, degree of curvature, or
weight distribution of the model. In symbolic models parameters are represented by symbols. For example, in
mathematical models parameters are most often represented by variables. Changes in the numbers assigned to the
variables change the model.

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 Session 4 Formulate recommendations on implementing the change process.
SO 4
Learning  The change management plan presented describes the changes to be implemented in
Outcomes relation to the needs identified in the SWOT analysis.
(Assessment  The actions proposed for managing the anticipated human responses to the change process
Criteria) are appropriate to the findings of the SWOT analysis.
 The role and competencies of the change leader responsible for facilitating the dynamics
of the change process are motivated in relation to the proposed change process.

Activity
5
Identify and explain how role and competencies of the change leader responsible for facilitating the dynamics
of the change process are motivated in relation to the proposed change process.
Leading Your Organization through Change
The term “change management plan” means different things to different people.  Technology professionals are
likely to view it as a formal process for tracking and documenting changes to systems and code. Human Resource
professionals may argue that it is an intangible process that deals with how organizations view opportunities
associated with change. At an organizational level, a change management plan means defining and implementing the
best strategic and tactical plans to deal with changes in the business environment and to profit from those
opportunities.  Depending on the situation, any one of these answers can be correct; however, for the purpose of this
article, we will focus on managing organizational change.

Change can be threatening to individuals and organizations. Yet successful adaptation to change is crucial to the
success of any organization. It is common for leadership teams to focus their attention on creating the best strategic
and tactical plans, failing to consider the human side of change management. Failing to address the human side of
change can be costly. Studies show that employee resistance and a lack of proper training are key hindrances to
organizational change. While no single change management plan or methodology fits every organization, there is a
set of best practices that can be adapted to a variety of situations. Here are five best practices you can implement to
create a solid foundation for successful change. 

1. Involvement. Change is inherently unsettling for people at all levels of an organization. All eyes are on the
leadership team for guidance and support when organizational change occurs. For change to be successful, the key
stakeholders must model the way. The senior leadership team must visibly embrace the new approaches to motivate
and challenge the rest of the organization. Change is aborted when leaders do not demonstrate the same commitment
they expect from others.  Equally important is the need for the change efforts to include plans for involving leaders

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throughout the company in order to create a sense of ownership. Pushing responsibility for design and
implementation down so that change “cascades” through the organization helps to ensure that all concerned feel they
have a stake in the plan’s success. 

2. Communicate.  Senior leaders must focus on creating a communication plan that clearly articulates the vision of
where they want to go and the benefits of doing so.  Too often, leaders make the mistake of believing that others
understand their vision as clearly as they do.  Even when employees understand the vision and need for change, they
often resist because change involves loss (loss of control, predictability, and often jobs). Leaders need to listen and
acknowledge these feelings in order to reduce the level of employees’ anxiousness.  The best change programs
reinforce core messages through regular, timely communications that are both practical and inspirational. When
creating a communication strategy, leaders should ensure that it is:

 Timely - Prepare employees well in advance of possible merger, acquisition, downsizing or layoffs.  Employees are
better able to deal with negative information personally from their managers than from the news media.

 Clearly Written - Communicate clearly and honestly with employees throughout the change process. Always keep
the target audience in mind when communicating change information. Messages directed at investors should be
significantly different than those targeted for first-line managers.
 Business Necessity – It is critical that employees understand why the organization needs to make the change(s). In
order for employees to buy into the organization’s change effort, they must understand why the organization is
facing a period of change and potential benefits to them. 

3. Training. Over-train whenever possible prior to start-up (using the new technology and work processes in
simulations). Training early allows employees to build greater skills and confidence which in turn reduces stress and
resistance. In addition to understanding the new technology or process, managers need to be trained on the skills that
will help them manage resistance to the change initiatives.  Skills that can help managers “manage change” include:
team building, coaching, feedback, setting priorities, negotiating priorities, stress management, dealing with conflict,
systematic problem-solving and effective delegation.

4. Feedback & Recognition. While it is always important to “inspect what you expect,” it is equally important to
set up the change effort so that people in the organization experience some early wins.  These early wins increase
individual support for change while also having the benefit of helping to sway the attitudes of change-skeptical
employees. It is also important to communicate how the employees’ work will change and how they will be
measured during and after the change effort. Setting clear expectations and providing frequent informal feedback
will help to build employee confidence and shape the key behaviors needed for positive results. Lastly, it is
important to keep in mind that for recognition to be most effective, it needs to be personal, immediate, sincere and
specific. Highly visible rewards are a great way to reinforce the organization’s commitment to the change.  

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Likewise, disciplining people who stand in the way of change will reinforce the organization’s commitment to the
change effort.

5. Stay the Course. We have found that any new process left unmanaged or improperly measured deteriorates over
time -- there are no exceptions. If leaders wish to institutionalize change, the change must become part of the
organization’s culture. Change cannot be viewed by employees as the “flavor of the month.” Leaders will need to
recognize that change is viewed by many as risky and scary. These emotions make it easy for employees to slip back
into their comfort zones and return to familiar habits and processes. Leaders must make sure they are hypervigilant
to what employees are doing to ensure that follow-through is timely.  
Study after study has shown that successful change demands more than plans and processes; it requires an
understanding of the human side. Plans and processes themselves do not create the change. Organizational change
occurs only through the sustained, collective actions of the employees who are responsible for designing, executing
and living the change. Therefore it is essential that leaders model the way and communicate with exceptional clarity.
Leaders must provide training to build new skills and they must pay greater attention than usual to what employees
are doing.
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