Change management

When I went to see Prof RM on the 6th of July, she mentioned about change management. Since I do not have enough data so far, she asked me to shift the angle of my study. Since I focused so much on implementing my strategies in motivating teachers to participate in the online forum, she said I should look into change management. I was unsure what she meant but I did not want to look or sound stupid so I told her I would look into that matter and review my literature review. Two things that she asked me to change. First, my problem statement and second my research questions.

Now, let me focus on change management first. What it really meant.

According to wikipedia, Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. The current definition of Change Management includes both organizational change management processes and individual change management models, which together are used to manage the people side of change.

PCI (People Centered Implementation)

PCI is a change management methodology developed by Changefirst, which has been continuously improved since the 1990s. It has been applied in the field of people change management by organizations and their change agents in over 35 countries around the world.

PCI describes the six critical success factors that must be managed to build commitment to change initiatives and create behavior change.

1. Shared Change Purpose - create and share a powerful case for change in the organization
2. Effective Change Leadership - develop strong change leadership for the initiative
3. Powerful Engagement Processes - build and deliver plans to engage people in the change
4. Committed Local Sponsors - build understanding and commitment of middle and front-line managers
5. Strong Personal Connection - create commitment and behaviour changing actions for front-line people
6. Sustained Personal Performance - support people as they learn to adapt, managing their resistance sensitively and empathetically.

[edit] ADKAR

The ADKAR model for individual and organizational change management was developed by Prosci with input from more than 1000 organizations from 59 countries. This model describes five required building blocks for change to be realized successfully on an individual level. The building blocks of the ADKAR Model include:

1. Awareness – of why the change is needed
2. Desire – to support and participate in the change
3. Knowledge – of how to change
4. Ability – to implement new skills and behaviors
5. Reinforcement – to sustain the change

The role of the management

Management's responsibility (and that of administration in case of political changes) is to detect trends in the macro environment as well as in the micro environment so as to be able to identify changes and initiate programs. It is also important to estimate what impact a change will likely have on employee behavior patterns, work processes, technological requirements, and motivation. Management must assess what employee reactions will be and craft a change program that will provide support as workers go through the process of accepting change. The program must then be implemented, disseminated throughout the organization, monitored for effectiveness, and adjusted where necessary. Organizations exist within a dynamic environment that is subject to change due to the impact of various change "triggers", such as evolving technologies. To continue to operate effectively within this environmental turbulence, organizations must be able to change themselves in response to internally and externally initiated change. However, change will also impact upon the individuals within the organization. Effective change management requires an understanding of the possible effects of change upon people, and how to manage potential sources of resistance to that change. Change can be said to occur where there is an imbalance between the current state and the environment.