Web-based Change Management Support Tool
by
James S. Wilson
M.S., Computer Science (1983)
University of California Los Angeles
B.S., Mathematics (1980)
Loma Linda University
Submitted to the System Design and Management Program in Partial Fulfillment
of Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Engineering and
Management
AT THE
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, FEBRUARY 2001.
@ 2001 James S. Wilson, All Rights Reserved
The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and distribute publicly
paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part.
Signature of Author:
James S. Wilson
System Design and Management Program
Certified by:
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. John S. Carroll
Professor of Behavioral and Policy Sciences
Accepted by:
LFM/SD I Co-Director: Stephen C. Graves
Abraham Siegel Pofessor of Management
Accepted by:_____
LFM/SDM C&Director: Paul A. Lagace
Professor of Aeronautics & Astronautics and Engineering Systems
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE
OF TECHNOLOGY
AUG 0 1 2002
LIBRARIES
BARKER
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
2
1. Abstract
Modern organizations are constantly making changes. While some work has
been done in identifying the issues that a change agent should consider when
evaluating change processes, currently no automated tool exists to assist change
agents in organizations to analyze, monitor and benchmark the processes used to
make those changes.
This thesis explores the development of such a tool. The requirements of the tool
are developed by looking first at the existing body of work that is available for use
in evaluating change initiatives. Then a holistic look is taken at the environment in
which such a tool would operate. This is accomplished by conducting a series of
interviews with various levels of management and with senior change
management consultants.
The thesis then proposes the architecture for a tool that will meet both the
management and technical requirements of the system. The design and
implementation of the system is then described. A prototype of the tool was
developed using a combination of Microsoft FrontPage 2000, Microsoft Office
2000 and Microsoft Visual Studio.
The tool is then tested on three change initiatives.
Based on the results it appears that while the tool can identify the significant
obstacles to the implementation of the change initiatives, these were not always
within the change agent's perceived domain of control. Organizational culture also
played a role in obstructing the resolution of some significant impediments to
success. The tool is most useful in helping organizations that have a genuine
interest in improving their change management practices. It would also allow
consultants to quickly identify problems in an organization's change process and
put together a solution that includes their services.
Author James S. Wilson
Subject: Web-based Change Management Support Tool
Thesis Supervisor Dr. John S. Carroll
Professor of Behavioral and Policy Sciences
3
2. Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the support and encouragement of my thesis
supervisor Dr. John Carroll, who made my thesis project an enjoyable and
beneficial experience. His willingness to assist in identifying and contacting
several change management consultants was immeasurably helpful.
I would like to give special thanks to Michael Beer, Professor of Business
Administration at the Harvard Business School. His understanding of how change
initiatives work helped me convert the facts I had gathered into insight.
I would like to thank Joel Yanowitz, Vice President of Arthur D. Little, and Jeff
Clanon of The Society for Organizational Learning for taking the time to share
their knowledge with me.
I would like to thank Joe LaRosa, my manager, and Richard Austin, Executive
vice president of Printing Systems at Xerox, for their patience and support during
my time in the SDM program.
I would like to acknowledge the help and support of my wife, Pat, and my children
Joneen, James & Jodi, during this hectic period in my life.
Most of all I would like to thank God for always being my friend and providing the
help and wisdom I need.
4
3. Table Of Contents
1 . A bs tra ct .....................................................................................................
.......---..... 3
2. Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................
4
3 . Ta ble O f C o ntents ..........................................................................................................
5
4 . Intro d u ctio n .....................................................................................................................
9
M otiva tio n .............................................................................................................
9
4 .1
4 .2 T hesis G oa l.....................................................................................................
.. 9
4.3 Premise Behind The Tool................................................................................9
5. Existing Body Of Knowledge................................................................................
5.1
Management Literature ................................................................................
11
11
13
5.1.1
Establish A Sense Of Urgency......................................................
5.1.2
Forming A Powerful Guiding Coalition......................................... 14
5.1.3
Creating A Vision.............................................................................
14
5.1.4
Communicating The Vision...........................................................
14
5.1.5
Direct Face-To-Face Communication ..........................................
14
5.1.6
Remove Obstacles ..........................................................................
15
5.1.7
Empowering Others To Act On The Vision .................................
15
5.1.8
Incorporate Employees Into Business Challenges ....................
15
5.1.9
Make Connections Between New Behaviors And Success ....... 15
5.1.10
Planning For And Creating Short Term Wins............................. 16
5.1.11
Consolidating Improvements And Producing Still More Change 16
5.1.12
Instilling Mental Disciplines ..........................................................
5.1.13
U nw ritten R ules............................................................................... . 16
5.1.14
Cultural Barriers .............................................................................
5
16
17
5.1.15
Institutionalizing New Approaches ................................................
17
5.1.16
Task Alignment ................................................................................
17
5.1.17
Understanding The Strategy........................................................
17
5.1.18
Alignm ent Of Rewards And Incentives ........................................
18
5.1.19
Resource Allocation ......................................................................
18
5.1.20
Resistance To Loss Of Power Or Influence ...............................
18
5.2 Categorizing Change Initiatives ....................................................................
18
5.2.1
Top-Down Versus Bottom -Up .......................................................
19
5.2.2
Increm ental Versus Radical...........................................................
19
5.2.3
Continuous Versus Discontinuous .................................................
19
5.2.4
Planned Versus Em ergent.............................................................
19
5.3
5.4
Managem ent Interviews ................................................................................
19
5.3.1
Participative Management ............................................................
20
5.3.2
Top-Down Laissez-Faire Management.........................................
21
Consultant Interviews ...................................................................................
23
5.4.1
M ichael Beer ...................................................................................
24
5.4.2
Jeff Clanon ........................................................................................
25
5.4.3
Joel Yanowitz....................................................................................
27
6. Building The Tool.....................................................................................................
28
6.1
Planning ...........................................................................................................
28
6.2
Concept Development ...................................................................................
28
6.2.1
Identifying Customer Needs ..........................................................
29
6.2.2
Concepts...........................................................................................
29
6.3 System Level Design.........................................................................................
30
6
6.4
6.3.1
Use Case: Accept Survey Prediction ...........................................
31
6.3.2
Use Case: Accept Survey Responses .........................................
31
6.3.3
Use Case: Generate Report ..........................................................
32
Detailed Design .............................................................................................
32
6.4.1
Accept Survey Prediction...............................................................
33
6.4.2
Accept Survey Responses.............................................................
33
6.4.3
Generate Report ..............................................................................
34
6.5 The S u rvey ..........................................................................................................
34
7 . T esting T he T ool..........................................................................................................
41
7 .1
N o S h ows.............................................................................................................
41
7.2
The Tests
41
7.2.1tP
7.3
..........................................................................................
.. ................................................
..................................... . 41
IT Change Initiative............................................................................................
45
...... 45
7.3.1
IT SurveyPr..s.mr............................................
7.3 .2
IT Results .. ..............................................
7.3.3
IT Analysiss...................................................................................
.................................... . 45
7.4 Software Process Improvement (SPI) Initiative ................................
52
53
7.4.1
SPI-A Survey .................................................................................
53
7.4.2
SPI-A
s ....................................................................................
53
7.4.3
SPI-A Analysis ............................................................
61
7.4.4
SPI-B Survey ..............................................................
64
7.4.5
SPI-B Results...................................................................................
64
7.4.6
5PI-B Analysis ................................................................................
71
su
8. Feedback On The Tool...........................................................................................73
7
Respondent's Feedback ..............................................................................
73
8.2 A nalysis O f Respondent's Feedback...........................................................
76
M anagers' Feedback ......................................................................................
77
9. Statistical A nalysis O f Data ...................................................................................
78
8.1
8.3
9.1
M eans A nd Standard Deviations ..................................................................
78
9.2
C luster A nalysis.............................................................................................
79
9.3
Bivariate C orrelations ...................................................................................
81
9.4
Principal C om ponent Analysis ....................................................................
83
10. R efinem ent O f The Tool......................................................................................
10.1 Refining The List O f Issues .........................................................................
84
84
10.1.1
Adding Issues.................................................................................
84
10.1.2
D ropping Issues..............................................................................
84
10.2 Refining The Input Page ..............................................................................
86
10.3 Refining The O utput Page ............................................................................
87
11. C onclusions .........................................................................................................
90
11.1 Thesis S um m ary ...........................................................................................
90
90
11.1.1
Technical Aspects O f The Tool...................................................
11.1.2
Functional Aspects O f The Tool................................................... 90
11.2 Further Study ..................................................................................................
92
12. References ...........................................................................................................
93
8
4. Introduction
4.1
Motivation
Modern organizations are constantly making changes. While some work has
been done in identifying the issues that a change agent should consider when
evaluating change processes, currently no automated tool exists to assist change
agents in organizations to analyze, monitor and benchmark the processes used to
make those changes.
4.2
Thesis Goal
The goal of this thesis is to explore the use of a software tool to address a
management problem. This document will examine:
* Issues associated with managing change in an organization.
" How a web-based tool could help managers monitor and measure their
activities while implementing change.
" The development of the tool.
* Testing the tool on real change initiatives.
4.3
Premise Behind The Tool
It was the author's assumption that change agents (those responsible for
orchestrating change) did not have a useful method for identifying the nature of
the problem they were facing and finding the right ways to address the issues.
The tool seeks to identify the problem by surveying the people affected by the
change and comparing their responses with those of the change agent. It then
matches the shortcomings noted with issues identified in the popular management
literature on effective change management.
It uses the web as the vehicle for the survey, which makes the results immediately
available to the change agent in a readable and understandable format. By
9
carefully reviewing the results the change agent can identify where changes can
be made to improve the prospects of the change initiative.
10
5. Existing Body Of Knowledge
5.1
Management Literature
A number of excellent articles have been written covering such topics as how to
implement change in an organization and the common pitfalls to avoid when
making change. Notwithstanding, 50% to 80% of change initiatives will either fail
or not live up to their full expectations.'
There are two distinct classes of issues that prevent the successful
implementation of change. The first are structural problems in the organization,
and the second are tactical problems in the implementation of the change
initiative. The first is like the disease; the second is like the symptoms. While
tactical problems in implementation can exist all by themselves, structural
problems will always lead to tactical problems. Although this tool can be
configured to identify either type of problem, for this prototype the tool was set up
to look for the existence of tactical problems in implementation.
Many organizations have structural problems that inhibit strategy implementation
and learning. These organizations, however, tend mostly to be in denial. They
have difficulty seeing or discussing these problems. That is why these issues are
rightly called "Silent Killers". 2 Discussions of these structural problems are most
likely to occur when the organization has tactical problems that resist resolution.
As such it is most useful to identify the tactical problems first.
There are many tactical problems that inhibit the successful implementation of a
change initiative. Some are more common than others. It would be impractical to
develop a tool that would attempt to identify all possible problems, as the tool
would be too cumbersome to be practical. At the same time if the tool looked for
too small a subset of the possible problems, change agents might find it
ineffective, as it might be incapable of identifying their particular problems. The
right list can best be achieved by the refinement of the tool over time.
11
As a starting point, this tool uses John P. Kotter's list of reasons why
transformation efforts fail 3. In addition problems with change initiatives raised in
the management interviews and the author's own experience were also included.
An attempt was made to strike a balance between not covering enough issues,
which could result in glaring problems not being detected by the survey, and
having a survey that is so long that it becomes a burden to administer.
The following issues list, although incomplete, should be adequate for the
intended purpose.
12
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Establish A Sense Of Urgency
A change effort will not succeed if most managers are not sure that it is
necessary. The change agent must examine the market and competitive realities
13
and identify and discuss crises, potential crises or major opportunities. In short the
change agent must show that the risk involved in change is far outweighed by the
benefits of change or that there is real danger in failing to change.
5.1.2
Forming A Powerful Guiding Coalition
The change agent needs to assemble a group with enough power to lead the
change effort and encourage the group to work together as a team. Without a
strong visible commitment from most of the influential people in the organization,
the change initiative will struggle to get people's attention.
5.1.3
Creating A Vision
The change agent must create a vision to help direct the change effort. He or she
must develop strategies for achieving that vision. Without a coherent and sensible
vision the change effort will disintegrate into a group of confusing and
incompatible projects. If the vision of the change cannot be communicated in five
minutes or less and get a reaction that indicates both understanding and
commitment then the work of creating the vision is not complete.
5.1.4
Communicating The Vision
The change agent must use every vehicle possible to communicate the new
vision and strategy. The vision must be taught not only in words but also in the
actions and practices of the guiding coalition. Holding a few meetings or sending
out memos will not suffice. Communication of the vision must be incorporated into
the routine acts of the business.
5.1.5
Direct Face-To-Face Communication
Mistrust of management runs high among the rank and file, who look instead to
their frontline supervisors for direction. Many studies show that employees are
The studies conducted jointly by the International Association of Business Communicators and
Towers, Perrin, Foster & Crosby in 1980, 1982 and 1984 and by TPF&C in 1990.
14
most receptive in small-group face-to-face meetings with their immediate
supervisors as the source of information. For this to work, the change agent has
to enlist the support of the people closest to the frontline workers - their
supervisors. The best approach is to hold face-to-face meetings with the
supervisors explaining the planned changes, gathering their reactions, and
preparing them to pass the word on the their direct reports.
5.1.6
Remove Obstacles
Change systems or structures that seriously undermine the vision. If the actions of
managers who obstruct or undermine the implementation of the change initiative
are ignored, employees become cynical and doubt the commitment to the change
initiative.
5.1.7 Empowering Others To Act On The Vision
The change agent should encourage risk taking and non-traditional ideas,
activities and actions. Employees should be encouraged to develop new ideas
and to provide leadership. The only constraint is that their actions must fit within
the broad parameters of the overall vision.
5.1.8 Incorporate Employees Into Business Challenges
This is essentially a re-socialization process. Instead of simply rolling out plans
concocted at the top, change agents need to recognize the important
contributions employees make to the organization's principal challenges.
Employees need to be encouraged to foster proactive efforts and imaginative
thinking. They should be encouraged to take an active role in shaping the
implementation of the change initiative.
5.1.9
Make Connections Between New Behaviors And Success
If new behaviors are to become established, the change agent needs to make a
conscious effort to articulate the connections between the new behaviors and
corporate success. With this connection made the new behaviors are then more
15
likely to become embedded in the social norms and shared values of the
corporation.
5.1.10 Planning For And Creating Short Term Wins
Plan for visible performance improvements. Create these improvements.
Recognize and reward employees involved in the improvements. These early
victories will help convince doubters that the effort involved in making the change
is worthwhile.
5.1.11 ConsolidatingImprovements And Producing Still More Change
As progress is made in implementing the change initiative, the change agent
should use increased credibility to change systems, structures and policies that do
not fit the vision. Management will need to reinvigorate the process with new
projects, themes and change agents.
5.1.12 InstillingMental Disciplines
For the change to be lasting the principles, beliefs, values, and attitudes of the
change initiative that shape reactions and govern employee behavior must
become widely adopted and internalized. To make this happen the change agent
must understand the business thoroughly, from detail to big picture. Performance
should be discussed frankly. Setbacks should be viewed as representing
opportunities. Employment should be described as more than making a living; it
should be meaningful and substantive. Employees must be encouraged to always
improve.
5.1.13 Unwritten Rules
Employees and organizations have reciprocal obligations and mutual
commitments. Much of this is implicit - especially the parts having to do with the
psychological and social dimensions of the work relationship. The unspoken
understandings are powerful indeed. Companies that overlook them may find their
change efforts stonewalled. Change agents must insure that these unwritten rules
16
that govern how employees ought to behave and what they can expect from the
company have been changed to be consistent with the change initiative.
5.1.14 Cultural Barriers
One role of the change agent in the change process is to surface and challenge or
re-interpret assumptions (mental models and conceptual schema), and to
recognize and help the organization's members deal with the cognitive, normative
and emotional issues involved in cultural change.
5.1.15 InstitutionalizingNew Approaches
Take sufficient time to ensure that the next generation of top managers really
does personify the new approach. If the requirements for promotions do not
change, the momentum of change may be stopped or even reversed. One bad
top-level management placement decision can undo a decade of hard work.
Hiring, promoting and developing employees who can implement the vision will
help to consolidate the improvements.
5.1.16 Task Alignment
Managers sometimes assume that corporate renewal is the product of company
wide change programs -- and that in order to transform employee behavior, they
must alter a company's formal structure. Formal structure is the last thing a
company should change, not the first. The most effective way to change behavior
is to place people in a new organizational context, one that imposes new roles,
responsibilities and relationships. Once the behaviors have changed then the
structure should be changed accordingly.
5.1.17 Understanding The Strategy
The role of the change agent is that of organizational architect (finding the
appropriate design) and communicator of the strategy (making sure that people
have the information they need to understand the strategy and their role in
implementing it).
17
5.1.18 Alignment Of Rewards And Incentives
Incentives should clearly link performance to pay and should directly link
performance to specific standards and objectives. Rewards should relate directly
to the nature of performance required. Rewards should be directly linked to
objectives that are within the group's or individual's power to control. Match
measurement periods to relevant performance periods. The reward system should
be guided by the principle of equity not equality.
5.1.19 Resource Allocation
Units created by the strategic groupings process must have sufficient resources to
achieve their goals. Sufficient resources to be effective must accompany the
linking mechanisms. Resources here include time, people, money, equipment
and most importantly information and expertise. Often people will need training to
carry out new tasks. It is the role of the change agent to insure that all the
resources needed for success are available.
5.1.20 Resistance To Loss Of Power Or Influence
The change agent must be a negotiator and coalition-builder. The change agent
must:
*
*
*
Identify and map the relationships among the different stakeholders
involved.
Uncover the most salient interests and goals the different stakeholders
bring to the interaction and the extent to which they conflict or are
congruent.
Assess the amount and source of power of the different stakeholders.
With this analysis in mind the change agent can then design and implement group
and organizational processes to produce joint gains or acceptable compromises
among the stakeholders and their interests.
5.2
Categorizing Change Initiatives
Over time a number of models have been developed for categorizing change
initiatives. The following have been singled out because they allow the
18
identification of the source, the scope, and the pacing of the change as well as
process used to rollout the change initiative.
5.2.1
Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up
Top management initiates top-down change and imposed it on the organization.
Front-line employees in the operating units initiate bottom-up change.
5.2.2 Incremental Versus Radical
Incremental change builds from a series of small sequential changes. Radical
change involves simultaneous and significant change in many aspects of the
organization's design, political system, and cultural system.
5.2.3
Continuous Versus Discontinuous
Peter Senge's Learning Organization 1 3 typifies continuous change. These are
organizations change continuously to respond to rapidly changing environments
and to maintain their capacity for change. On the discontinuous end of the
continuum is the "unfreezing-change-refreezing" model of change.
5.2.4
Planned Versus Emergent
Change can be planned, that is, driven by a strategy and a "blueprint" for change.
Emergent change is unpredictable and dependent on circumstances and a variety
of different initiatives.
5.3
Management Interviews
The interviews with the managers proved to be unexpectedly insightful. Some
managers did not feel comfortable going on record with their opinions so the
names of all the individuals and their companies are being kept confidential.
However, the issues seem to be quite common. Two general styles of change
management were observed during the interviews.
The first is a participative style of management. In organizations that practice this
style, top management will bring in the key contributors from the affected areas to
19
discuss the problem and then develop a solution. The other approach observed
was a top-down laissez-faire style of management. In this approach top
management will identify a solution, largely in isolation, and roll it out within the
organization in a hands off manner. The latter approach appears to be the most
popular one.
Both approaches can be used to roll out top management initiated initiatives. They
differ primarily in the timing in which lower levels of management become
involved, and the amount and type of upward communication involved.
5.3.1
ParticipativeManagement
This approach while less common had the advantage of producing more
predictable results. The discussions by top management with knowledgeable
participants tended to prevent embarking on change initiatives that were destined
to fail. It also ensured early buy-in by influential people within the organizations.
Organizations who use this style tend to have lines of communication that allowed
top management to receive feedback from frontline workers and allowed frontline
workers to understand the motivation behind changes. As frontline workers
understand what they are trying to accomplish and agree in principle on how it is
to be accomplished, they can take corrective actions as soon as problems occur.
The reader may be wondering why all organizations would not strive to use this
style. It can best be explained by one of the interview comments made by the
director of an emergency room at a hospital in Southern California.
Not everyone can handle the type of discussion that would result from that
style of management. Our company provides the doctors that staff the
emergency room at this hospital. The administration of the hospital has
installed a new computer system that prompts the emergency room
physicians to contact the on-call physician when certain diagnosis or lab
results are entered into the system. Ostensibly the system will reduce the
risk that a patient is sent home when they should have been admitted to the
hospital. The on-call physicians expect the emergency room physicians to
20
use good professional judgment to determine when a patient needs to be
admitted into the hospital. They become annoyed and sometimes openly
hostile when they believe the emergency room physician is calling them on
marginal cases. While it is true and well understood that increasing the
admission rate will reduce the incidence of patients being sent home
wrongfully, it is also true that this will also increase the number of patients
that are hospitalized unnecessarily. It should be noted that this hospital is
not on a capitation system, so every additional patient admitted increases
the revenue for the hospital.
If the administration were to bring in the emergency room physicians and the
on-call physicians to discuss their plan before implementing it there would
be a lot of venting that they do not care to hear. There would be talk about
greed and unnecessary increases in medical expenses. As it is, they put
pressure on us to improve the quality of service by not sending home
patients who should be admitting. We put pressure on the emergency room
physicians to call unless it is completely unnecessary.
Not all managers have the self-confidence that is required to have their ideas
scrutinized in their presence. In addition, having an open discussion does not
guarantee consensus. The top managers must be prepared to say to the key
practitioners, "We have discussed it, and we disagree, and now let us do our best
to implement it," knowing full well that they have given the dissenters a head start
at stalling the project.
It is the willingness of some management teams to paper over their differences
that prevents commitment and allows irreconcilable differences to go unnoticed.
Managed conflict is healthy and even desirable.14
5.3.2
Top-Down Laissez-Faire Management
All but two of the organizations interviewed use this approach. It allows the top
management of the company to be more focused on problems and to handle
them serially. This technique is typically characterized by top managers who
21
identify a problem in their o rganization and among themselves come up with a
solution or identify a solution from industry best practices. They then customize
the change initiative for their organization by dividing the responsibilities along
organizational lines. Each group manager is then brought in and told what his or
her contribution to the endeavor is, and assured that top managers have
confidence in his or her managerial ability to deliver the appropriate results. They
will also either explicitly or implicitly suggest that if the group manager cannot
deliver the goods they will find someone who will. The initiative is cascaded
through the organization in a similar manner. In this approach very little in the way
of follow-up supervision is required so top managers can go on the next big
problem.
The following example from a corporate vice president of a big multinational
company shows how "efficient" this approach is:
Let us say that we are choosing between one of three options that all require
multi-year implementation plans. And someone comes forward and says,
"Let us go with the first option. If I get the resources I need I can give you the
results you want." So every one goes ahead and picks the first option. If two
years later he comes back and says, "I cannot deliver because I did not get
what I asked for," then it is too bad for him. He has to figure out how to do it.
The other product lines have already been shut down so there is no going
back to any of the other two options. So he will need to use his managerial
expertise to get the job done. If he had good judgment he would not have
asked for things that he could not get.
In these organizations managers who can get results in adverse situations are
highly valued. The emphasis is on strong clear downward communication.
Upward communication is useful primarily for determining how well subordinates
understand what is expected of them.
These organizations tend to have less predictable results, as crucial information
present in lower levels of the organization may not be available when decisions
are being made. This is not to suggest that unexpected results are always worse.
22
A supervising judge in one of the municipalities of New York State gives the
following example that shows that unexpected results can exceed plan:
Our city was having budget overruns because the state only paid a fraction
of the cost of keeping prisoners incarcerated in city jails. Before they were
convicted they would stay in city jails but once they were sentenced they
would go to state facilities where the city did not have to be involved in the
expenses. So for minor offenses our city changed the sentencing guidelines
to a "time plus" arrangement. Whenever a person was convicted for a given
minor offense they got a fixed amount of time plus whatever time they had
already spent in jail waiting for trial. Simultaneously they put in place a fast
track judicial system that allowed people who wanted to plead guilty without
any explanations, to see a judge within days of being arrested.
The expectation was that this would reduce the numbers of prisoners in the
city jails to a manageable level. Instead we are looking to close down some
of the city jails and laying off wardens.
Although when they come before the judge in the fast track system they are
asked to be sure that they are indeed guilty, some people wonder whether the fact
that they will spend less total time if they plead guilty than if they are found
innocent affects their plea. If the wardens had understood the full implications of
the change they most likely would have opposed it. However, the state, which is
saving a significant amount of money, will not consider reverting back to the
previous system.
This style of management is one that reduces the probability of successful
implementation of change initiatives because it is based on the myth that a wellconceived strategy communicated to the organization is equivalent to
implementation. 15
5.4
Consultant Interviews
Three senior change management consultants were also interviewed and asked
to discuss their experiences helping companies manage change. They were
23
Michael Beer, Ph.D., Chairman of the Center for Organizational Fitness and
Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business
School, Jeff Clanon of the Society for Organizational Learning, and Joel Yanowitz,
Vice President of Arthur D. Little.
The interviews confirmed that many of the attitudes expressed in the management
interviews were indeed widespread in business. The following is a summary of the
information gathered during the interviews.
5.4.1
Michael Beer
The central problem in the management of change is that warning signs that a
change effort may not go well are the ones that managers either do not want to
listen to or do not have access to. The problem is that change is determined at the
top with no dialog or conversation with the people who are going to implement it,
the people who know how the organization is supposed to work.
Quite often someone at the top sees a problem, designs a solution for it, creates a
set of objectives that are in line with it, then announces it to the organization and
then expects people to carry it out. What they do not do is to involve people in the
lower levels of the organization in critiquing the solution. They do not tell them
what the objective is, or why the objective is important. They do not pose their
solution as a tentative way of thinking about how to solve the problem and invite
critique, discussion, dialog and resolution of tension about what the lower level
sees and what the higher level sees as the problem.
Many times organizational defensive routines come into play. Top managers do
not want to engage in dialog because the critique is threatening. It threatens their
authority. It opens up the possibility that there is not a clear simple, logical, and
easy to implement solution to the problem. It threatens their understanding of the
problem. It may threaten their role and responsibilities; they may find that part of
the problem comes back to them in the way in which they manage and the
decisions they have made in the past.
24
Another significant factor is speed. Many times top managers think that dialog will
slow down the process. In fact it does not. It prevents unnecessary adjustments
and many times outright failure.
The Center for Organizational Fitness uses a method that is precisely intended to
overcome these problems. Organizations are encouraged to follow a guided
process that involves creating a task force of eight of their best people that
represent one hundred others. They are asked to tell top management what are
the barriers to achieving its goal. The starting point is not a solution instead it is a
goal. Management crafts a solution and takes it to the task force and asks them if
it meets the conditions they outlined as problematic. The task force is given the
opportunity to critique the solution. The people who create the solution and the
people who will implement it are engaged in a substantive dialog. This process
engages the people who know a lot about the organization and what goes on in it
in the building and developing of the solution. Top managers are encouraged to
expose what they are doing, which creates the dialog that creates commitment
and understanding.
There is a small minority who are willing to create this dialog. The majority are not
interested. The question is what to do about it. The best approach is to force a
dialog before and during the time that a solution is being created.
The people who are not inclined to have the dialog are the ones that are not in
touch with their own predisposition to mismanage change. These top managers
do not want to hear, and lower management has been conditioned to understand
that they are not to tell.
5.4.2 Jeff Clanon
Learning, being able to do things or think differently is core to any cha nge
process. Learning is not typically incorporated into work processes.
People are not clear as to what they want, what their aspirations are. While they
may realize that they are not where they want to be, not a lot of energy is directed
to correcting the problems.
25
It is very common for people to run into problems while implementing a change
initiative and not know what to do. As Einstein said, "You can not solve problems
at the level of the thinking that created them." To create change one has to be
able the get at people's mental models and the behaviors that are required to
maintain them.
Organizations develop cultures and tacit ideas about how they operate that may
be useful in some stages but counterproductive in others. People will have a
resistance to top-down roll out of change initiatives because of bad experiences
with previous such endeavors. There seems to be less resistance to grass-roots
change initiatives, where compliant or passive aggressive behavior is less
prevalent. To have sustained change, compliance is not an option. Commitment is
required, otherwise, when the pressure is off people stop.
All the people who can directly affect the outcome have to be involved.
Sometimes the group in question does not realize that they need other group's
involvement before embarking on a change initiative. They have to invite and
involve them not coerce them. The prevailing thinking is top-down. A decade of
data shows that is not the preferred choice. The changes that have the largest
impact and are most sustained are ones that start in the middle; it may connect to
some executive who is at least tolerant. Notwithstanding this, the hierarchical
mental model dominates.
Leaders are needed at all levels in the organization to make changes work. Most
managers in the middle do not have the information on how to manage changes.
There is a lot of information "about" managing change but there is not a lot of
information "how to" implement the change in his or her organization.
Managers tend to approach things in a reductionistic, sequential, prioritizing
manner. Problems are dynamic, holistic and systemic. So the approach does not
fit with the reality.
26
5.4.3
Joel Yanowitz
Organizations try to manage change in a business environment that is very harsh,
one that is not forgiving of any short-term decrease in performance. People are
being asked to do everything they were doing before while they try to adopt new
technology or redesign their process.
Businesses need to monitor existing performance measures while making
changes. In the process they struggle to determine how quickly to react to
changes in their existing performance measures. They endeavor to measure the
activities that are planned in the change initiative to determine if they are on
schedule with their implementation. They also need to monitor the outcome to
determine if they getting the results they are trying to achieve. Most companies
are best at determining existing performance measures; some are good at
managing the activity measures in the change.
Most managers are weak in their understanding of how change management
works. Some think that change management is a waste of time, and that all that is
needed is good project management. Some think that their approach works quite
well. This suggests that the managers have not stuck around long enough to see
the unintended consequences that emerge, or the changes that they have been
doing are more bounded. When they get into more complex changes and their
process starts to break down they do not know what to make of it. They do not
know if their problems arise because they are way in over their heads and do not
know what they are doing and need something more complex or systemic; or if
they need to buckle down and push harder at their old way of doing things.
Two-way communication is a significant issue in change management.
Regrettably, some organizations use it only as a means of understanding how
those below them understand their directions, not as a means of understanding
how the world looks from other people's point of view.
27
6. Building The Tool
The standard product development cycle 16 was used to build the prototype of the
tool used in this study. It consists of the following steps: planning, concept
development, system level design, detailed design, and testing and refinement.
The following sections describe the activities that took place in each of these
phases of the project.
Planning
6.1
In this phase the project objectives were developed.
" Product Description: An easy to use web-based tool for evaluating the
current state of a change initiative.
"
The Target Market: Companies that wished to inspect the state of their
change initiatives.
*
The Key Assumptions: All affected parties have access to the web to fill out
the survey and the change agent has access to the web to review the
results.
" Stakeholders: Change agent/manager and affected parties/group
members.
" Budget Eight months were allocated for the research, design,
implementation, and testing of the tool.
6.2
Concept Development
In this phase the needs of the market were identified, alternate concepts were
generated and evaluated and one concept was selected for further development
and testing.
28
6.2.1
IdentifyingCustomer Needs
A series of interviews were held with managers ranging from Vice-Presidents of a
large multinational organization, middle managers, frontline supervisors, a
supervising judge and the director of an emergency room. They were all asked to
describe how they managed change within their organizations and to discuss their
needs in that area.
Three senior change management consultants were also interviewed and asked
to discuss their experiences helping companies manage change.
From these interview a holistic view of the environment in which the tool would
operate was developed.
6.2.2
Concepts
The initial survey concept had one statement for each issue and asked the user to
choose from a range that started with strongly disagree to strongly agree.
However, because of concerns that the answers could be biased by only having
positive statements, the decision was made to go with a pair of statements for
each issue. It was later observed that using a pair of statements could better
focus the issue and reduce ambiguity.
Figure 1- Initial Survey Concept
0 _) o
For each of the following, check the box that best fits
your view.
1. Most managers are genuinely convinced that the
status quo is more dangerous than launching into the
unknown.
:
> > U)>
D CD
o
CD CD
D D D D D
The initial survey concepts did not explicitly ask the respondents to rank the
importance of the issues. Interviews with the consultants pointed out that some
29
C
issues had more weight than others and that the weight could not be known in
advance as they varied with the details of the change initiative.
The interviews with the managers caused a number of issues to be added to the
survey.
The initial report concept did not include the A indicating the change agent's
expectation of the results. However, this was added to help the change agent
recognize gaps in their perception of what was going on with the change initiative.
1.
This change initiative will
meet all of its stated
objectives.
This change initiative will
not meet one or more major
objective.
50%
40%
30%,
20%
10%
0%
Al
6.3
System Level Design
The system level design was done using use case diagrams17 . Use case
diagrams consist of two parts: the actors and the use cases. The actors are
external sequence of actions that influence the system. A use case is a response
to a stimulus of the actor. This type of modeling shields the external behaviors
from the internal structure in that it describes the system from the viewpoint of the
users.
The following use case diagram was used to characterize the way in which users
of the change management tool will interact with it.
30
Change Management System
Accept
Survey Response
Affected parties
Accept
Survey Prediction
Report
6.3.1
Change agent
Use Case: Accept Survey Prediction
Precondition:
All affected parties must be identified. A clear concise description of the change
initiative must be generated. The change management system must be installed
on the web server and be operational.
Description:
The change agent will be prompted to predict the responses to the survey
questions. The responses will be stored in the system. The change agent will be
notified that the input was stored.
6.3.2
Use Case: Accept Survey Responses
Precondition:
All affected parties must be notified to fill out the survey. The change
management system must be installed on the web server and be operational.
31
Description:
The affected parties will be provided with the description of the change initiative.
They will then be prompted to provide responses to the survey questions. The
responses will be stored in the system. The affected parties will be thanked for
their input.
6.3.3
Use Case: Generate Report
Precondition:
The change management system must be installed on the web server and be
operational. All affected parties have filled out the survey. The change agent has
predicted the responses to the survey questions.
Description:
The report describing the staie of the change initiative will be generated for the
change agent using the responses provided by the change agent and the affected
parties.
Exception:
If either the responses from the change agent or the affected parties are missing,
a report will be generated identifying the missing items.
6.4
Detailed Design
Function flow diagrams
are a graphical representation of the system design
requirements. They illustrate relationships and establish a hierarchy of system
functions.
The following functional flow diagrams were used to characterize the internal
operations of the three major subsystems.
32
6.4.1 Accept Survey Prediction
1. Request
2. Accept
3. Validate
responses
responses
responses
-A4. Save responses
- 5. Thank user
This subsystem is implemented in HTML using Microsoft FrontPage 2000. The
response is stored in a database on the server. This subsystem requires Microsoft
FrontPage 2000 server extensions to be loaded and operational on the server.
6.4.2 Accept Survey Responses
1. Display
2. Save
description
timestamp
3. Request
4. Accept
5. Validate
responses
responses
responses
6. Save responses
-57. Thank user
This subsystem is implemented in HTML using Microsoft FrontPage 2000. The
response is stored in a database on the server. The timestamps, which indicate
that the description of the change initiative was viewed, are stored in a database
on the server. This subsystem requires Microsoft FrontPage 2000 server
extensions to be loaded and operational on the server.
33
6.4.3
Generate Report
1. Check for
or
inputs
2. Generate
error report
3. Compute
4. Compute
5. Compute
distribution data
prediction data
importance data
6. Generate
7. Generate
8. Display
Graphs
Report
Report
Modules one through seven are implemented using Microsoft Visual Studio. They
require Microsoft Active Server Page support to be installed and operational on
the web server. They use server side scripting, Microsoft Excel 2000 and Word
2000 to generate the data used by module eight, which is a HTML page with client
side scripting used to display the report online. Module seven also generates a
printable report. The distribution data is a frequency distribution table that contains
the responses of the affected parties. The importance data summarizes the
importance information provided by the affected parties.
6.5
The Survey
The survey used in this research consists of three web pages. One describes the
change initiative. The following is an example of one of the descriptive pages.
34
u urn
I
.
.
u
--
--
in -rn
r-.
-
-
-
I
Figure 2 - Sample Description Of Change Initiative
Tell Us About This Change Initiative
A pproimately one year ago, the IT De part ment was reconfigured
with a goal of improving internal customer service. Instead of one
group of people working to meet all of the technology needs of the
company, there are now four teams with individual responsibilities.
This allows for specialization and designation of responsibility for
key areas and tasks to ensure proper monitoring, developing and
follow through. Therefore, when an issue comes up, instead of just
anyone handling it, a specific person is responsible so that all the
information related to the issue is collected and not dispersed
among any number people.
Continue
1##Vemtrte
jone
The second web page consists for the most part of pairs of statements. The
respondent is asked to pick one statement and state how strongly he or she
agrees with it. The third page thanked the respondent for filling out the survey.
35
Figure 3 - Start Of Survey
Tell Us About This Change Initiative
Your responses to these questions are confidential. Please be open and
honest.
For each pair of statements, choose the one statement that best reflects
your preference. Then rate how strongly you agree with the statement.
change initiative will not
iThis
1.is cn
OR meonoroemar
This change initiative will meet
oeve.
all of its stated objectives.
objective.
Strongly
Agree
Slightly
Agree
2. This change initiative was
OR
rolled out in a top-down
manner
C
Strongly
Agree
r
Agree
Slightly
Agree
Strongly
Agree
This change initiative was
rolled out in a bottom-up
manner
C
Slightly
Agree
Slightly
g
A
Agree
Strongly
Agree
The following are the twenty-six pairs of statements used in the survey. These
-
statements are based on the literature review and the interviews. Table 5-1
Sources Of Issues lists the origin of each of the issues.
36
1.
This change initiative will meet all of This change initiative will not meet one
or more major objective.
its stated objectives.
2.
This change initiative was rolled out
in a top-down manner
This change initiative was rolled out in
a bottom-up manner
3.
This change initiative was built up
from a series of small, incremental
changes
This change initiative involves many
simultaneous and significant changes
4.
This organization continuously
changes. This is one in a series of
many changes.
This organization is usually in a stable
state. This change will result in a new
stable state.
5.
This change initiative follows a
planned change strategy.
This change initiative emerged from a
variety of circumstances.
6.
Most of the managers are genuinely Most managers believe that change is
convinced that the status quo is more not needed or that it can be
postponed.
dangerous than launching into the
unknown.
7.
Most of the influential people have
developed a shared commitment to
this change initiative.
Fewer than half of the influential
people have developed a shared
commitment to this change initiative.
8.
The vision for the change can be
communicated in five minutes or
less. This communication will result
in both understanding and interest.
Many people affected by the change
either do not understand the change
initiative or cannot succinctly articulate
it.
9.
The vision is communicated only in
Every available communication
vehicle is being used to get the vision meetings or only in memos.
out.
The change initiative was introduced
10. A frontline supervisor in a face-toface meeting introduced the change in a large impersonal meeting.
initiative.
11.
Most obstacles to the implementation Significant obstacles to the
implementation of the vision are being
of the vision (either in the
organizational structure or people in ignored.
the organization) have been
addressed.
12. Most people feel empowered to act
on the vision.
37
Most people do not feel that they can
carry out the vision.
Most people affected by the change
feel that they have a valuable
contribution to make in shaping the
implementation of this change
initiative.
Most people affected by the change
feel that someone else would tell them
how to carry out their role in
implementing this change initiative.
14. Most people affected by the change
believe that the new behaviors and
approaches have improved
performance.
Most people affected by the change
believe that any changes in behaviors
and approaches have not made a
significant difference.
15. Clearly recognizable victories have
been accomplished within the early
part of the change initiative.
There is currently no reason to believe
that this change initiative will make a
difference.
16. Early successes have led to
increased progress.
There is a premature belief that the
change initiative has served its
purpose.
17. The principles, beliefs, values, and
attitudes of the change initiative that
shape reactions and govern behavior
have been widely adopted.
Only the words and phrases used to
describe the old behaviors and values
have changed to match the change
initiative.
18. The unwritten rules that govern how The unwritten rules that govern how
people ought to behave and what they
people ought to behave and what
can expect from the company have
they can expect from the company
have changed to be consistent with not changed; as a result they are
the change initiative.
inconsistent with the change initiative.
19. This change initiative is consistent
with the organization's culture.
The shared assumptions of the
organization's culture are altered by
this change initiative.
20. The next generation of top
management embodies the new
approach.
The next generation of top
management is indifferent to o r
opposes the new approach.
21. This change initiative seeks to
change behavior by changing roles,
responsibilities and relationships.
This change initiative seeks to change
behavior by changing attitudes and
knowledge.
22. Every one has adequate information Some people either do not understand
about the change initiative and each the motivation for the change initiative
individual understands his or her role or their role in its implementation.
in its implementation.
38
123.
Rewards and incentives clearly link
performance to specific change
initiative standards and objectives,
and are within the group's or
individual's power to control.
The reward and incentive programs
were not adjusted to insure alignment
with the change initiative.
24.
Sufficient time, resources and skills
are available to implement the
change initiative.
Insufficient time, resources or skills
are available to insure proper
implementation of the change
initiative.
25. There are no political implications to There are individuals or groups whose
influence or power will be reduced by
this change initiative.
the implementation of this change
initiative
26. This change initiative will succeed or Other activities within this organization
may determine the success or failure
fail on its own merit.
of this initiative.
The first pair of statements is intended to provide an overall indicator of what the
respondent believes is the likelihood of success for the change initiative. This is
the most important question to the respondent and as such is placed first.
Statement pairs two through five are intended to determine the respondent's
understanding of the source of the change initiative and the nature of the
organization. They are not intended to convey anything positive or negative about
the change initiative. They are placed at the beginning to prevent a respondent
from making an extremely negative response on every question because he or
she does not like the change initiative. Most respondents should provide similar
answers to these questions. For example, if the change initiative was clearly rolled
out in a bottom-up manner most people should know that and say so. If, on the
other hand, what should be simple and straightforward questions produce a wide
spectrum of responses, then the change agent can expect to see even more
divergence of opinions in the remainder of the survey. While the sample size was
too small to produce a conclusive result, the statistical analysis of the results
showed that the responses to these questions were largely independent of the
39
-
respondent's view of how likely change initiative was to succeed. Table 9-1
Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Of Questions, questions two through five
had four of the five lowest correlation coefficients when compared to question
one.
Questions 6 through 31 are intended to provide insight into the answer to question
one. These are the most important questions to the change agent. Even if a
change initiative is likely to succeed it is useful to know if bad practices exist in the
organization.
Questions 27 through 30 ask the respondent to identify the two most significant
issues that will cause success or failure. They are used to assign importance
scores to issues 6 through 26.
Question 31 seeks to provide a qualitative look at the impact of the change
initiative.
The system also tracked how many users looked at the descriptive page but did
not complete the survey. Across all the initiatives surveyed, only one individual
looked at the descriptive page but did not immediately go on to complete the
survey.
40
--
II~~.
ElM
I
U
EU~II
IE~II
-
-
-if.
-.
-
-
-
-
~i---:~Lz
- -~
----
-
-
--
--
--- - --
7. Testing The Tool
7.1
No Show
A small liberal arts college in the northeast had agreed to be a test site for the
change tool. However, after the president saw the survey they decided not to
participate. It appears that the change in focus and direction at the college is an
unpopular one with some of the departments. The survey if released might have
encouraged an unwanted dialog.
It appears that some organizations try to avoid situations that present corilict.
They view them as disruptive and a hindrance to conducting business. This
19
incident may be an instance of silent killer #4-poor vertical communication. The
administration chose to avoid potentially threatening or embarrassing issues.
7.2
The Tests
The change initiative analysis tool was then tested on three change initiatives.
Two of the groups were selected based on the author's prior relationships with the
managers of the groups and their willingness to test the tool. The third group
belonged to the same company as one of the other groups and was concurrently
trying to implement the same change initiative.
The first initiative is the restructuring of the information technology group at a
chain of New York hotels. The survey results suggest that this change initiative is
going smoothly. The second and third groups are trying to implement a software
process improvement (SPI) initiative conducted by a large firm. The survey results
showed that these two initiatives were having mixed outcomes.
7.2.1
Process
In all cases the change agent was the manager of the group or responsible for
managing the implementation of the change initiative. The managers were
contacted and asked to have all the members of their groups complete the survey.
None of the managers expected everyone to fill out the survey. However, they
41
expected to have a representative sample of the opinions held by their group. The
following is a sample of the email sent to the managers providing them with the
URL for the survey:
[Managers name]
Please ask every one in your group to fill out this survey.
As I mentioned, I am studying the way changes are implemented at your
company. As you better understand what works and what does not, in
implementing change initiatives you will be able to implement the needed
changes with less pain.
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/jswilsonx/spi.htm
I would like everyone to fill it out this week if possible.
Thanks,
James
Each manager was also given another URL with a similar survey. They were
asked to use this second survey to predict how their group would fill out the group
survey. Each manager forwarded the note they received to their respective group
asking them to fill out the survey. The notes simply asked the group to help by
filling out the survey. The following is an example of the mail notes sent:
Dear IT Department;
James is doing a thesis on organizational behavior at MIT and I volunteered
this department (with the approval of my manager) to fill out a survey on
change.
Please go to the website below to fill out a survey on the changes that took
effect when the department was reorganized last year. There are
approximately 35 questions, which will take about 20 minutes to complete.
Please complete the survey by Friday as he would like to have all the input
in by the end of the week.
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/jswilsonx/itq.htm
42
Thank you for your assistance
At the end of the week the report was generated and sent out. The managers
were called and asked to discuss their understanding of the report.
The followng is the page of the report that explains how the change agent is
expected to interpret the remainder of the report.
43
How To Interpret The Survey Results
First Section (Statement Pairs 1-26)
The first part of the report lists the twenty-six pairs of statements found in the survey with
a graph showing the frequency of each possible response. If the tallest bars are to the
left that indicates that most respondents picked the statement on the left as the one that
best reflects their view. The closer to the left the stronger is the preference indicated.
This graph indicates that 50% strongly agree with the statement on the left, 33% agree
while 17% slightly agree. The A indicates where you expected the response to be.
50
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Statement Pair I
The result of statement pair one provide an overall indicator of what the respondents believe the likelihood of success for
the change initiative will be. If the bars are to the left they think the change initiative will succeed. If they are to the right
they think it will fail. Otherwise it is an indicator that there are mixed opinions on the outcome.
Statement Pairs 2-5
Statement pairs two through five give the respondent's understanding of the source of the change initiative and the nature
of the organization. They are not intended to convey anything positive or negative about the change initiative. If you see
significant divergence here, you can expect to see more of the same throughout the remainder of the survey.
Statement Pairs 6-26
Statement pairs 6 through 26 are the reasons why most change initiatives either succeed or fail. The statement to the left
is more desirable than the statement to the right. Not all of these are equally significant factors in the outcome of the
change initiative.
SignificantFactors
This section list the two most significant factors that affect the failure or success of the change initiative from the
respondents' point of view.
Expected Outcome
This section provides a qualitative view of the respondents' impression of the change initiative. Any corrective action plan
should address these statements in light of the statement pairs 6-26
44
7.3
IT Change Initiative
Approximately one year ago, the IT department at the chain of hotels was
reconfigured with a goal of improving internal customer service. Instead of one
group of people working to meet all of the technology needs of the company,
there are now four teams with individual responsibilities. This allows for
specialization and designation of responsibility for key areas and tasks to ensure
proper monitoring of tasks, developing of personnel and follow through on
reported problems. Therefore, when an issue comes up, instead of just anyone
handling it, a specific person is responsible so that all the information related to
the issue is collected and not dispersed among any number of people.
7.3.1
IT Survey
The survey was conducted over a one-week period. The manager contacted all
members of the IT department with a request to fill out the web survey. In the
request they were informed that their management consented to them providing
the information. Six of the twelve (50%) staff members filled out the survey.
7.3.2
IT Results
The following is the report generated using the data from the IT survey; it includes
both the manager's input and the input of the team.
45
. will
..This change initiative
meet all of its stated
objectives.
not meet one or more major
objective.
50%
30%
30%
"
initiative will
change
This
20%
A
2.
This change initiative was
rolled out in a top-down
manner
k
10% 1
40%
This change initiative was
rolled out in a bottom-up
manner
30%
20%
10%
0%
3.
This change initiative was
built up from a series of
small, incremental
changes
This change initiative
-------involves many simultaneous
and significant changes
30%
20%1
10%It
A
4.
This organization
continuously changes.
This is one in a series of
many changes.
This organization is usually
in a stable state. This
change will result in a new
stable state.
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
5.
This change initiative
follows a planned change
strategy.
This change initiative
emerged from a variety of
circumstances.
40%
30%]
20%-
o
0%_
46
6.
Most of the managers are
genuinely convinced that
the status quo is more
dangerous than launching
into the unknown.
Most managers believe that
change is not needed or
that it can be postponed.
50%
40%
30%
10%
0%
7.
Most of the influential
people have developed a
shared commitment to this
change initiative.
80%
6
0%
Fewer than half of the
influential people have
developed a shared
commitment to this change
40%
initiative.
20%,
0%'
8.
The vision for the change
can be communicated in
five minutes or less. This
communication will result
in both understanding and
interest.
Many people affected by the
change either do not
understand the change
initiative or cannot
succinctly articulate it.
40/
30%
20%
-
10%-
9.
Every available
communication vehicle is
being used to get the
vision out.
The vision is communicated
only in meetings or only in
memos.
100%
80%
60%
40%20%f
0%1
10. A frontline supervisor in a
face-to-face meeting
introduced the change
initiative.
The change initiative was
introduced in a large
impersonal meeting.
60%
40%20%
47
11. Most obstacles to the
implementation of the
vision (either in the
organizational structure or
people in the organization)
have been addressed.
Significant obstacles to the
implementation of the vision
are being ignored.
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%.
12. Most people feel
empowered to act on the
vision.
Most people do not feel that
they can carry out the
vision.
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
13. Most people affected by
the change feel that they
have a valuable
contribution to make in
shaping the
implementation of this
change initiative.
14. Most people affected by
the change believe that
the new behaviors and
approaches have
improved performance.
Most people affected by the
change feel that someone
else would tell them how to
carry out their role in
implementing this change
initiative.
80/......V
60
40%
20%
0
Most people affected by the
change believe that any
changes in behaviors and
approaches have not made
a significant difference.
40%
30%
10%-
0%
15. Clearly recognizable
victories have been
accomplished within the
early part of the change
initiative.
40%
30%
10%
0%-
48
There is currently no reason
to believe that this change
initiative will make a
difference.
16. Early successes have led
to increased progress.
There is a premature belief
that the change initiative
has served its purpose.
%
60%
40%
20%
0%
17. The principles, beliefs,
values, and attitudes of the
change initiative that
shape reactions and
govern behavior have
been widely adopted.
Only the words and phrases
used to describe the old
behaviors and values have
changed to match the
change initiative.
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
18. The unwritten rules that
govern how people ought
to behave and what they
can expect from the
company have changed to
be consistent with the
change initiative.
The unwritten rules that
govern how people ought to
behave and what they can
expect from the company
have not changed; as a
result they are inconsistent
with the change initiative.
60%.
4
0%
.
0%AM
19. This change initiative is
consistent with the
organization's culture.
The shared assumptions of
the organization's culture
are altered by this change
initiative.
40%
30%
20%10%-
0%20. The next generation of top
management embodies
the new approach.
The next generation of top
management is indifferent
to or opposes the new
approach.
80%
60%
40/a
20%
0%-
49
21. This change initiative
seeks to change behavior
by changing roles,
responsibilities and
relationships.
This change initiative seeks
to change behavior by
changing attitudes and
knowledge.
%
30%
10%
10%
A
22. Every one has adequate
information about the
change initiative and each
individual understands his
or her role in its
implementation.
Some people either do not
understand the motivation
for the change initiative or
their role in its
implementation.
80%
60%
40%
20%
23. Rewards and incentives
clearly link performance to
specific change initiative
standards and objectives,
and are within the group's
or individual's power to
control.
40%
30%-
The reward and incentive
programs were not adjusted
to insure alignment with the
change initiative.
20%
0%"
24. Sufficient time, resources
and skills are available to
implement the change
initiative.
Insufficient time, resources
or skills are available to
insure proper
implementation of the
change initiative.
30%
10%4
initiative.
50%
There are individuals or
groups whose influence or
40%
power will be reduced by
30% -the
implementation of this
change initiative
-
25. There are no political
implications to this change
20%
10%
0%-
50
26. This change initiative will
succeed or fail on its own
.
merit
Other activities within this
organization may determine
the success or failure of this
initiative.
60%
40%
20%
0%
Al
Issues most likely to
*
vision. 40% of first place, 0% second place.
cause the initiative
to fail
Most people do not feel that they can carry out the
*
Insufficient time, resources or skills are available
to insure proper implementation of the change
initiative. 20% of first place, 20% second place.
Issues most likely to
*
40% of first place, 0% second place.
cause the initiative
to succeed
Most people feel empowered to act on the vision.
*
Most people affected by the change believe that
the new behaviors and approaches have improved
performance. 20% of first place, 20% second
place.
Expected Outcome [quotes from the final comment question]
*
The reorganization has changed our whole way thinking. With buy in from
other departments, Training and education of our end users we can have a
well run organization. We as a group have to communicate better within
our department as well as with the rest of our colleagues.
*
Continued personal and professional growth. Greater overall departmental
accomplishments. Improved customer service. Improved creativity.
I think everyone involved will have greater responsibility and
empowerment.
*
I expect this change to develop skills in specific areas for individuals to help
them and the company in growing.
51
7.3.3
IT Analysis
This organization puts a lot of effort into planning change initiatives. They use
John Kotter's "Leading Change"
20
as the guide to making organizational changes.
They develop the vision and validate it with the organization and use a group that
they consider to be powerful in "titles, information and expertise, reputations and
relationships, and the capacity for leadership" for rolling out the plan. As a result
the transition to the new structure was smooth. Most of the respondents feel very
positive about the change and all believe that the change will be for the better and
will succeed without any significant problems.
This organization is capable of having the difficult conversations that are required
for meaningful communication within a company. The change agent/managers
explains it this way:
Our top management knows what they are doing and they are comfortable
talking about it even when there is not complete agreement. For example,
top management say that the guests come first. Some of the staff feels that
there are certain items that some guests expect that are not standard items
but should be. While top management will allow the guests who insist to get
these items for free they have so far refused to provide them as standard
items as it would reduce the profitability of the hotels.
It is the ability to have these discussions and to negotiate how things are
done that ensures the best business results as well as customer and
employee satisfaction.
Unlike the administration at the hospital mentioned earlier in the paper these top
managers are willing to be engaged in a discussion about the tradeoffs that they
feel are necessary to maximize profitability.
52
7.4
Software Process Improvement (SPI) Initiative
The second change initiative was a software process improvement (SPI) initiative
conducted by a large firm.
The change initiative is a major undertaking at the company. Millions of dollars
have been spent over a number of years to implement this initiative. It involves the
use of a number of trained consultants and independent certified evaluation
groups. Two different groups were surveyed.
7.4.1
SPI-A Survey
The survey was conducted over a one-week period. The manager contacted all
members of the department with a request to fill out the web survey. Sixteen of
the thirty-five staff members (46%) filled out the survey. The survey was done in
mid December and some staff members were on vacation. The previous week the
group underwent a major external audit of this change initiative. The assessment
indicated that they were making acceptable progress towards their goals.
7.4.2 SPI-A Results
The following is the report generated for the group:
53
will
.
Thisinitiative will 40This change initiative
change
meet all of its stated
objectives.
not meet one or more major
objective.
40%
30%
%
20
10%
A
2.
This change initiative
was rolled out in a topdown manner
This change initiative was
rolled out in a bottom-up
manner
50
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%.
3.
This change initiative
was built up from a
series of small,
incremental changes
This change initiative
involves many simultaneous
and significant changes
80%
60%
40%
20%-.
0%
4.
This organization
continuously changes.
This is one in a series of
many changes.
This organization is usually
in a stable state. This
change will result in a new
stable state.
60%
50%
40%
30%
10%
0%
5.
--
This change initiative
follows a planned
change strategy.
20%
10%
0%_
54
- ----
- -
This change initiative
emerged from a variety of
circumstances.
6.
Most of the managers
are genuinely convinced
that the status quo is
more dangerous than
launching into the
unknown.
Most managers believe that
is not needed or
that it can be postponed.
50%change
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%,
7.
Most of the influential
people have developed
a shared commitment to
this change initiative.
Fewer than half of the
influential people have
developed a shared
commitment to this change
initiative.
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%1
8.
The vision for the
change can be
communicated in five
minutes or less. This
communication will result
in both understanding
and interest.
Many people affected by the
change either do not
understand the change
initiative or cannot
succinctly articulate it.
40%
30
%
20%
10%
0%
9.
Every available
communication vehicle is
being used to get the
vision out.
The vision is communicated
in meetings or only in
memos.
4only
30%
20%
10%
0%
10. A frontline supervisor in
a face-to-face meeting
introduced the change
initiative.
The change initiative was
introduced in a large
impersonal meeting.
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%.
55
11. Most obstacles to the
implementation of the
vision (either in the
organizational structure
or people in the
organization) have been
addressed.
Significant obstacles to the
implementation of the vision
are being ignored.
40%
30%
20%
0%
12. Most people feel
empowered to act on the
vision.
Most people do not feel that
can carry out the
s
4
4ithey
30%
20%
10%
0%,
13. Most people affected by
the change feel that they
have a valuable
contribution to make in
shaping the
implementation of this
change initiative.
Most people affected by the
change feel that someone
else would tell them how to
carry out their role in
implementing this change
initiative.
50%
40%
30%
20%fl
-.
10%
0%14. Most people affected by
the change believe that
the new behaviors and
approaches have
improved performance.
20%
15%
Most people affected by the
change believe that any
changes in behaviors and
approaches have not made
a significant difference.
5%
0%
15. Clearly recognizable
victories have been
accomplished within the
early part of the change
initiative.
There is currently no reason
to believe that this change
initiative will make a
difference.
40%
30%
10%
0%
56
16. Early successes have
led to increased
progress.
is a premature belief
that the change initiative
has served its purpose.
4There
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%.
17. The principles, beliefs,
values, and attitudes of
the change initiative that
shape reactions and
govern behavior have
been widely adopted.
Only the words and phrases
used to describe the old
behaviors and values have
changed to match the
change initiative.
25%
20%
15%
.
5%
0%
LA
18. The unwritten rules that
govern how people
ought to behave and
what they can expect
from the company have
changed to be consistent
with the change
initiative.
19. This change initiative is
consistent with the
organization's culture.
The unwritten rules that
how people ought to
behave and what they can
expect from the company
have not changed; as a
result they are inconsistent
with the change initiative.
4%govern
30%
20%'
0%
The shared assumptions of
the organization's culture
are altered by this change
initiative.
20%
10%-(
5%
%
0
20. The next generation of
top management
embodies the new
approach.
The next generation of top
management is indifferent
to or opposes the new
approach.
30%
20%
10%-
0%
57
21. This change initiative
seeks to change
behavior by changing
roles, responsibilities
and relationships.
40%
30 %
...
This change initiative seeks
to change behavior by
changing attitudes and
knowledge.
20%
10%
0%.
22. Every one has adequate
information about the
change initiative and
each individual
his or her
understands
.
.
role in its
implementation.
IMF-
5
50/
40%
30%
20%
Some people either do not
understand the motivation
for the change initiative or
their role in its
implementation.
10%
0%.
23. Rewards and incentives
clearly link performance
to specific change
initiative standards and
objectives, and are
within the group's or
individual's power to
control.
24. Sufficient time,
resources and skills are
available to implement
the change initiative.
The reward and incentive
programs were not adjusted
to insure alignment with the
change initiative.
40%
30%
20%
0%
Insufficient time, resources
or skills are available to
insure proper
implementation of the
change initiative.
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
There are individuals or
groups whose influence or
power will be reduced by
the implementation of this
change initiative
20%
15% %
10
5
%
25. There are no political
implications to this
change initiative.
0%-
58
26. This change initiative will
succeed or fail on its
own merit.
Other activities within this
organization may determine
50%
the success or failure of this
initiative.
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Issues most likely to
*
Insufficient time, resources or skills are available
cause the initiative to
to insure proper implementation of the change
fail
initiative. 40% of first place, 29% second place.
" Fewer than half of the influential people have
developed a shared commitment to this change
initiative. 20% of first place, 0% second place.
Issues most likely to
*
cause the initiative to
succeed
Most people feel empowered to act on the vision.
27% of first place, 0% second place.
" This change initiative seeks to change behavior
by changing roles, responsibilities and
relationships. 18% of first place, 10% second
place.
Expected Outcome [quotes from the final comment question]
" Either there is heroic behavior of vital few to help it succeed or we would
fail to achieve the goal.
" Process improvement will occur, but at a price to those who believe in it
(time consuming) and to those who don't believe in it. Those that don't
utilize it shall be left behind.
*
Better software quality assurance
*
To have the architect team more involve in implementation of the process
*
There will be continuing friction until everyone is convinced this is a good
direction to take. My attitude is that we are driven to improve based on a
59
cookbook rather that serious inspection of the business and what is takes
to be a high performance team. This is a significant barrier to success.
*
More bureaucracy and little other change
*
This initiative is a monumental waste of time. Currently 65% of
development time is spent on paperwork for this 'process' (and this will
increase in the future) leaving 35% or less for real, productive work. Its just
another in a long line of bureaucrat initiated processes ([list of initiatives
deleted] ad nauseam) that will have no real, positive effect on production.
Fortunately, it, like all the other pointless processes will run its course and
fade away. Unfortunately it will be replaced by the next useless process or
processes thought up by some bureaucrat or 'team' of bureaucrats who
wouldn't know a line of code or piece of hardware if it bit them on the ass.
[Competitor's name deletedidoes not use this crap and is unbelievably
successful. [Company's name deleted] on the other hand buys into every
mindless piece of drivel they can and then wastes millions on it.
[Competitor's name deleted]= SUCCESS!!
[Company's name deleted]=
verge of bankruptcy!! See a pattern???
*
The more management supports, the more success it will be.
" Improved productivity, division self-gratification and a more harmonious
working environment
" It will be successfully internalized in the way we do business.
*
By gathering pertinent data and following consistent procedures we should
be able to do more accurate and realistic schedules which will HAVE to be
used for launch dates rather than a marketing or upper management
promise to an influential customer. This may be a good thing or it may
cause us to miss the window of opportunity and the salesy promises
customer relationships are build on.
*
Many of the questions are poorly written. For example, #25 gives a choice
of little political effect or reduced influence/power. In reality, it increases
the power of some groups and makes the bureaucracy untenable. All of
this is at the cost of customer satisfaction. The entire program has all the
60
evidence of being designed by people who could not complete a project
outside of [Company's name deleted] if their life depended on it and it
doesn't have to be that way.
" Why bother with a survey? Its just more money and time wasted because
of another pointless process. Plus even if all the answers are negative we
are stuck with all the useless processes so why bother. Managements
JOB is dependent on supporting this BS no matter how worthless.
"
Efficient software development practices will have to be adopted for
industry survival. This is a start.
7.4.3
SPI-A Analysis
Although all members of the group did not fill out the survey, there was every
indication that the opinions expressed were representative of the group as a
whole. This is also borne out by the fact that the manager was quite good at
predicting the group's response to the issues.
The results of the survey are typical of what you would expect to see in a change
initiative under a top-down laissez-faire management. In discussing the results it
became apparent that many managers did not believe that this change initiative
was the solution to a clearly defined problem. While the software development
managers knew that their development process needed to be improved they
believed that there were other more efficient approaches available.
The results should be discouraging to top management if they were to see it,
considering the amount of money they put into this initiative. While most of the
group believes that the initiative will succeed, nearly half do not think it will.
Interestingly, the group manager does not hold himself responsible for the
lackluster performance of the change initiative. As far as he is concerned he is
doing a reasonable job under the circumstances. His assessment is based on his
record of meeting or exceeding the company guidelines for progress in this
change initiative.
61
The nature of the survey discourages the change agent/manager from making an
excessively positive projection of their group's view of the issues, as they know
that their responses will be compared to the responses from their group. This
insures that the survey results will highlight the problems encountered by the
change initiative a nd indicate the extent to which management is aware of them.
The manager involved took great pride in his ability to properly assess his group's
position on the issues.
A number of significant issues were uncovered by the survey. For example, most
managers believed that the change initiative was not needed. The change agent's
explanation for this finding is that most managers are promoted to management
for doing what they do well. So they do not like having the rules changed as it may
decrease their overall job performance. However, he does not believe that their
general reluctance to change will inhibit his ability to meet his objectives as far as
the implementation of the change initiative is concerned.
Also troubling was the finding that many people did not understand the change
initiative and could not explain it. The manager believed this to be a very complex
change initiative and did not think it necessary for every one to understand
everything as a prerequisite to carrying out their job. As long as the people with
oversight understood what was going on and kept everyone in line progress would
be made. The results also show the effect of the training programs associated
with the change initiative. The third of the respondents who believe that everyone
should understand the change initiative were probably largely composed of those
who had extensive training on the change initiative. The individuals with
specialized training are responsible for rolling out specific aspects of the change
initiative and are also aware of how they compare to other groups that are also
trying to implement the change initiative. This may account for the bimodal
response on this issue as well as on some of the other issues.
It is not surprising that most of the respondents expected someone else to tell
them how to carry out their role in implementing the change initiative. They did not
understand the change initiative and were not expected to. However, this deprived
62
the company of their creativity and their ability to tune the solution based on their
intimate knowledge of their job.
Based on the previously mentioned statements it was to be expected that most
respondents felt that some people did not understand the motivation for the
change initiative or their role in its implementation.
Most respondents felt that significant obstacles to the implementation of the
change initiative were being ignored. The change agent felt that many if not most
of the perceived obstacles stemmed from the respondent's incomplete
understanding of the change initiative.
It should also be noted that this change initiative clashed with the culture of the
company. No explicit steps were being taken to address this dissonance.
Almost 70% of the respondents felt that inadequate time, resources and skills was
one of the most important barriers to the implementation of this change initiative.
The change agent did not see this as a response peculiar to this change initiative.
Regardless of the task, this group, he claims, always complains about inadequate
time, resources and skills.
The most significant gap between the change agent's expectation and his group's
responses was on the issue of outside interference. The change agent expected
the group to think that the change initiative would succeed or fail on its own merit.
However, after seeing the response from the group, he acknowledged that their
position is that some of the other challenges facing the company are so significant
that their results could inhibit the completion of the change initiative.
Looking at the common threads that run through the results we find:
" The strategy is not clearly understood.
*
A sense of urgency was not created.
" A clear vision for the change was not established.
"
Insufficient time, resources or skills are available to insure proper
implementation of the change initiative.
63
0
Managers seem not to recognize the important contributions employees
can make to address the organization's challenges.
0
Other activities in the organization could prevent this change from
succeeding.
For a top down initiative most of these problems point to sources outside of the
local group. It appears that there is inadequate communication between the lower
levels in the organization and top management. It seems that they would both
benefit from a frank discussion on what the business needs of the company are
and where this change initiative fits into the picture. With a common
understanding they would be both able to move forward and make better
progress.
Interestingly one of the key promises of this change initiative is to insure that
activities have sufficient time, resources or skills available to insure proper
implementation. Clearly, respondents do not perceive that this objective is not
being met.
7.4.4 SPI-B Survey
The survey was conducted over a one-week period. The process-engineering
manager contacted members of the department with a request to fill out the web
survey. Only four staff members filled out the survey. This is probably because the
request was sent with the following note:
Anyone interested in participating in this study regarding change. Please fill
out the survey by accessing the URL.
The survey was done in mid December and some staff members were on
vacation.
7.4.5
SPI-B Results
The following is the report generated for the group:
64
This change initiative will
meet all of its stated
objectives.
This change initiative will
not meet one or more major
50%
40%
objective.
30%
20%
10%
0%
A
2.
This change initiative was
rolled out in a top-down
manner
This change initiative was
rolled out in a bottom-up
manner
%
40%
30%20%10%:
0%.
3.
This change initiative was
built up from a series of
..
small, incremental
40%
changes
30%
This change initiative
involves many simultaneous
and significant changes
20%
10%
0%
4.
This organization
continuously changes.
This is one in a series of
many changes.
This organization is usually
in a stable state. This
change will result in a new
state.
40%
30%stable
20%
10%
0%
5.
This change initiative
follows a planned change
strategy.
This change initiative
emerged from a variety of
circumstances.
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%9
65
6.
Most of the managers are
genuinely convinced that
the status quo is more
dangerous than launching
into the unknown.
Most managers believe that
change is not needed or
that it can be postponed.
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
7.
Most of the influential
people have developed a
shared commitment to this
change initiative.
r1
Fewer than half of the
influential people have
developed a shared
commitment to this change
initiative.
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%1
A
8.
The vision for the change
can be communicated in
five minutes or less. This
communication will result
in both understanding and
interest.
Many people affected by the
change either do not
understand the change
initiative or cannot
succinctly articulate it.
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
9.
Every available
communication vehicle is
being used to get the
vision out.
The vision is communicated
only in meetings or only in
memos.
80%
60%
40%
13
20%
0%
10. A frontline supervisor in a
face-to-face meeting
introduced the change
initiative.
The change initiative was
introduced in a large
impersonal meeting.
20%
15%
10%-
5%-
0%-
66
11. Most obstacles to the
implementation of the
vision (either in the
organizational structure or
people in the organization)
have been addressed.
12. Most people feel
empowered to act on the
vision.
Significant obstacles to the
implementation of the vision
are being ignored.
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Most people do not feel that
they can carry out the
vision.
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
13. Most people affected by
the change feel that they
have a valuable
contribution to make in
shaping the
implementation of this
change initiative.
Most people affected by the
change feel that someone
else would tell them how to
carry out their role in
implementing this change
initiative.
40%
30%
10%
0%-
14. Most people affected by
the change believe that the
new behaviors and
approaches have
improved performance.
Most people affected by the
change believe that any
changes in behaviors and
approaches have not made
a significant difference.
50%
40%
30%
10%
0%0
15. Clearly recognizable
victories have been
accomplished within the
early part of the change
initiative.
There is currently no reason
to believe that this change
initiative will make a
difference.
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
67
There is a premature belief
that the change initiative
has served its purpose.
16. Early successes have led
to increased progress.
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
17. The principles, beliefs,
values, and attitudes of the
change initiative that
shape reactions and
govern behavior have
been widely adopted.
Only the words and phrases
used to describe the old
behaviors and values have
changed to match the
change initiative.
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
18. The unwritten rules that
govern how people ought
to behave and what they
can expect from the
company have changed to
be consistent with the
change initiative.
-. -
220%
15%
10%
The unwritten rules that
govern how people ought to
behave and what they can
expect from the company
have not changed; as a
result they are inconsistent
with the change initiative.
0%.
19. This change initiative is
consistent with the
organization's culture.
The shared assumptions of
the organization's culture
are altered by this change
initiative.
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
20. The next generation of top
management embodies
the new approach.
The next generation of top
management is indifferent
to or opposes the new
approach.
20% -
5%
0%-F
68
21. This change initiative
seeks to change behavior
by changing roles,
responsibilities and
relationships.
This change initiative seeks
to change behavior by
changing attitudes and
knowledge.
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
22. Every one has adequate
information about the
change initiative and each
individual understands his
or her role in its
implementation.
Some people either do not
understand the motivation
for the change initiative or
their role in its
implementation.
40%
30%
20%
10/%
'A
23. Rewards and incentives
clearly link performance to
specific change initiative
standards and objectives,
and are within the group's
or individual's power to
control.
The reward and incentive
programs were not adjusted
to insure alignment with the
change initiative.
60%
20%
0%-
24. Sufficient time, resources
and skills are available to
implement the change
initiative.
80%...... ......
60%
40%
Insufficient time, resources
or skills are available to
insure proper
implementation of the
change initiative.
20%
0%
There are individuals or
groups whose influence or
power will be reduced by
the implementation of this
change initiative
25. There are no political
implications to this change
initiative.
30%
10%
0%-
69
26. This change initiative will
succeed or fail on its own
merit.
100/aOhratvteihnti
80%
60%/
Other activities within this
organization may determine
the success or failure of this
initiative.
40%
20%
0%
Issues most likely to
cause the initiative to
*
Most managers believe that change is not
needed or that it can be postponed.
* Some people either do not understand the
motivation for the change initiative or their role
fail
in its implementation.
cause the initiative to
" A frontline supervisor in a face-to-face meeting
introduced the change initiative.
succeed
" Most of the managers are genuinely convinced
Issues most likely to
that the status quo is more dangerous than
launching into the unknown.
Expected Outcome [quotes from the final comment question]
0
Business as usual with the additional work of trying to look like we are
using SPI. The code is the only deliverable; it contains the requirements
and the design.
*
A lot of hand waving and cool slogans
*
I expect the outcome to be positive. If we continue to pursue the change
initiative, [Company's name deleted]will prevail and become an even
stronger company. But to do so, everybody needs to act.
70
7.4.6
SPI-B Analysis
Although all members of the group did not fill out the survey, the change agent
was just as likely to be more positive as she was to be more negative than the
respondents. So it is likely that the results are somewhat representative of the
group as a whole.
This group tended to be more negative in their responses than the group in SPI-A.
Most of the respondents did not believe that the change initiative would succeed,
as most managers do not think it is needed. They also felt that the motivation for
the change initiative was not clear nor did they think people understood their role
in the change initiative.
A number of significant issues were uncovered by the survey. Like the group in
SPI-A, most managers believed that the change initiative was not needed. This
group also did not feel empowered to help define the implementation of the
change initiative, and instead were waiting to be told what to do. This deprives the
company of their creativity and their ability to tune the solution based on their job
related knowledge.
Unlike the group in SPIA they felt they had already received whatever benefit
was to be gained by the initiative. This group also felt that changes in
management were increasing resistance to the change initiative.
All respondents felt that the rewards and incentives were out of alignment with the
change initiative.
Like the Group in SP A most respondents felt that significant obstacles to the
implementation of the change initiative were being ignored. They also felt that
inadequate time, resources and skills were available to carry out the change.
This group also felt that some of the other challenges facing the company are so
significant that their results could overshadow the effect of the change initiative.
Looking at the common threads that run through the results we find:
0
The strategy is not clearly understood.
71
*
A sense of urgency was not created.
*
A clear vision for the change was not established.
"
Insufficient time, resources or skills are available to insure proper
implementation of the change initiative.
"
Managers seem not to recognize the important contributions employees
can make to address the organization's challenges.
*
Other activities in the organization could prevent this change from
succeeding.
Again these problems point to sources outside of the local group. It appears that
there is inadequate communication between the lower levels in the organization
and top management. It seems that they also would both benefit from a frank
discussion on what the business needs of the company are and where this
change initiative fits into the picture. With a common understanding they would
be both able to move forward and make better progress.
72
8. Feedback On The Tool
Feedback on the tool was obtained from the respondents who filled out the survey
and also from the managers or change agents of the groups. Their feedback is
provided in the following sections.
8.1
Respondent's Feedback
After filling out the survey the respondents were presented with a web page that
asked them to fill out a short survey on the tool itself. This short survey had the
same format as the one used in the tool. It inquired about three issues and asked
a qualitative question on the survey tool. The following is the web page used.
73
Figure 4 - Feedback Survey
Tell Us About This Survey
Help us to improve the survey you just mued out.
For each pair of statements, choose the one statement that best reflects
your preference. Then rate how strongly you agree with the statement.
yorpeec. The
ate ow
1. The survey was easy to
OR The survey was confusing.
understand.
r:
Strongly
Agree
r
r
r
Slightly
Agree
Slightly
Agree
2. The survey allowed me to
provide useful feedback on
the change initiative.
Strongly
Agree
Slightly
Agree
OR
r
r
Strongly
Agree
The survey did not ask the
rit questions.
Slightly
Agree
Agree
Strongly
Agree
I did not lear anything from
3. The survey helped me to
OR
better understand change
out the survey.
proceses.filling
processes.
rc
r
r
c
r
Strongly
Agree
Slightly
Agree
Slightly
Agree
Agree
Strongly
Agree
4. In one or two sentences state your overall reaction to the survey and or
suggestions on how it could be improve d.
11
74
I
-,
U
~I'E
I~E
-
~E
-
~I
Here are the results of that survey:
Figure 5 - Feedback On Survey
1.
The survey was easy
to understand.
The survey was
confusing.
60/
50/
40%
30%
20%
10%
0% 1
2.
The survey allowed
1
1
1
1
= I
The survey did not ask
40%
the right questions.
me to provide useful
feedback on the
30%
change initiative.
20%
10%
3. The survey helped me
to better understand
change processes.
I did not learn anything
from filling out the
survey.
30%
20%
10%
0%
Reactions And Suggestions [quotes from the final comment question]
0 Nice job. Congratulations.
0
*
The first six questions did not have appropriate responses to the situation.
1think that the survey is a good way to identify problems and benefits brought by
the change initiative.
* Good survey, perhaps some more ability for analysis of the outcome of the
change.
* Can it be shorter...?
0 I feel that the survey did not get to some of the heart of the issues. For instance,
guidelines and processes and the bureaucracy drive us rather that a common
view as to what will improve the business. The survey didn't allow me to capture
this.
0 Too many question seemed to be of the, "When did you stop beating your wife?",
variety.
* The last four questions required scrolling up and down earlier questions. Should
think of a way of making it easier.
75
8.2
Analysis Of Respondent's Feedback
From the response to the first issue, it would appear that most people found the
survey easy to fill out and understand.
The response to the second issue suggests that almost half of the people filling
out the survey felt that there were issues about the change initiative that they
were not allowed to comment on. This indicates that some additional issues need
to be added to the survey or some of the issues should be replaced. Alternately,
an open-ended question could be added to the survey simply asking, "Are there
any additional issues with this change initiative you would like to comment on?"
The dissatisfaction with the questions was also echoed in one comment.
There seems to be mixed feelings as to how effective the survey is as an
educational tool.
There were some comments that suggested that the respondents found filling out
the survey a positive experience.
The comment "Too many question seemed to be of the, 'When did you stop
beating your wife?' variety" would suggest that the questions were viewed as
pointing out weaknesses in the change process.
Only one person looked at the description of the change initiative but did not
complete the survey immediately (they may have filled it out later but that is not
clear). This suggests that, although the survey was long it was not long enough to
cause many people to quit in the middle of filling out the survey.
The last fo ur questions required a significant amount of scrolling on the part of the
respondents. From some of the discussions it seemed to take half the time to
answer that group of questions. A solution to this problem is proposed later in this
document.
76
8.3
Managers' Feedback
All the managers found the tool easy to use as far as gathering the information
was concerned. They also found that the report was easy to understand. They
could also readily spot the problem areas.
The more freely communication flowed between top-management, the change
agent/managers and the individuals in their group, the less problematic they found
the survey. This makes sense as the survey produces a report on how well the
manager was doing in implementing the change initiative. Their success at
implementing the change initiative is significantly impacted by the organization's
capacity to communicate.
Most managers who had reports that indicated problems existed within their group
seemed to externalize the problems noted in the report. They seemed to think that
the problems originated outside of their local group and were not within their
domain of control.
Some managers expected the results to include a probability of success.
While the printed version of the report was easy to use, the managers seemed to
find the online report cumbersome to work with, as they had to scroll back and
forth to compare results on different questions. A solution to this problem is
proposed later in this document.
The manager of the IT group thought that the tool might be something they could
use to evaluate progress on their change initiatives if it could be enhanced to
show the results for multiple groups simultaneously. He noted that change
initiatives affect different groups in different ways and the enhancement would
help to highlight those differences. He also felt that the survey should specifically
ask if the change initiative was the right solution to the problem.
77
9. Statistical Analysis Of Data
This tool has the ability to collect the data needed to perform quantitative analysis
of change initiatives. While the sample size gathered in this research is insufficient
to draw definitive conclusions, the following sections are provided to show the
types of analysis that can be performed on the data. It should be noted that about
62% of the responses are from one of the three change initiatives.
9.1
Means And Standard Deviations
The following table lists the means and standard deviations for each question
grouped by the sites. A response of -3 is the most favorable response while a
response of +3 is the most adverse response to an issue.
0
C
CD
0
IT
SPI-A
SPI-B
-2.50
-2.50
0.00
-0.33
-1.50
-1.17
-2.33
-1.33
-1.33
-1.33
-1.67
-1.83
-2.00
-2.50
-2.17
-1.50
0.55
0.55
2.00
2.25
1.38
1.83
0.52
1.37
1.63
1.21
0.52
0.75
0.63
0.55
0.75
0.84
-0.19
-1.75
1.06
-0.88
-0.25
0.63
0.19
1.13
-0.19
0.44
1.00
0.06
0.63
0.50
-0.25
0.19
2.26
1.44
1.73
1.78
1.73
1.93
1.91
1.86
1.83
1.93
2.03
1.95
1.89
2.00
1.69
1.83
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
-2.00
-1.67
-1.67
-2.00
-2.33
-2.00
-1.50
-1.67
-1.83
-2.00
0.63
0.52
0.82
0.63
0.82
0.63
1.87
1.51
0.75
0.63
0.19
0.75
0.38
-0.19
0.13
0.44
0.31
1.00
0.38
0.81
1.87
1.69
1.67
1.64
1.75
1.93
1.85
2.19
1.71
1.91
Issue
a
(7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
_
1.89 Succeed Versus Fail
0.82 Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up
1.73 Incremental Versus Radical
1.26 Continuous Versus Discontinuous
2.22 Planned Versus Emergent
2.45 Establish A Sense Of Urgency
2.06 Forming A Powerful Guiding Coalition
0.96 Creating A Vision
2.00 Communicating The Vision
1.29 Direct Face-To-Face Communication
1.83 Remove Obstacles
2.06 Empowering Others To Act On The Vision
0.96 Incorporate Employees Into Business Challenges
1.73 Make Connections Between New Behaviors And Success
1.15 Planning For And Creating Short Term Wins
0.96 Consolidating Improvements And Producing Still More
Change
0.75 1.50 Instilling Mental Disciplines
0.50 2.38 Unwritten Rules
0.75 1.50 Cultural Barrier
1.00 2.16 Institutionalizing New Approaches
1.25 1.50 Task Alignment
2.50 0.58 Understanding The Strategy
1.75 0.50 Alignment Of Rewards And Incentives
1.25 1.50 Resource Allocation
1.25 2.06 Resistance To Loss Of Power Or Influence
2.00 0.00 Outside Interference
0.75
-2.00
0.50
-0.75
0.25
1.00
0.25
1.25
1.00
-0.50
1.00
1.25
2.25
1.50
2.00
1.25
78
-
I II~II
II'
I
II~
~
~
liii IEIEhIIIEIII~IIEEIIIIIEIEI I
U
--
-
-
~fl~~fl-'~iq--
The data show that the respondents viewed the IT change initiative favorably,
SPI-A change initiative evoked a mixed response while the SPI-B change initiative
was viewed somewhat unfavorably. The standard deviation of the responses
provided by the IT respondents tended to be smaller than those of the other two,
suggesting that there is more agreement among these respondents on the issues.
9.2
Cluster Analysis
Cluster analysis is a technique for grouping rows of data together that shares
similar values across a number of variables. It allows the clumping structure of the
data to become visible. A hierarchical cluster analysis of the data was performed
Wd thk
%A
ar ImI
usngi tL
oI .I
I
'6
0.7
2.5U03201UU
12
2I
23 2.59430716
22 2.65332779
21 2.69202743
20 2.75695372
19 2.87982899
18 2.88044480
17 2.98424009
16 3.20255516
15 3.21042636
14 3.26502763
13 3.29202207
12 3.37305592
11 3.45946210
10 3.68103315
9 3.99753009
8 4.26879463
7 4.57179018
6 4.91029004
5 5.01861803
4 5.55228594
3 5.78361045
2 7.48913323
1 16.79828704
2
3
13
1
3
9
10
17
11
6
13
2
6
9
2
3
1
5
5
1
5
3
1
7
25
15
16
12
14
23
19
20
26
18
4
24
17
13
10
2
6
11
9
8
5
3
Z4
.4
13
-5
117
-17.
254
1
-
----
"20
The clustering history table shows that the data points remain fairly close to each
other up until there are only two clusters, at which point there is a big jump in the
79
-u
distance between the groups of data being joined. This indicates that the data
naturally fall into two clusters.
80%
60%40%
The graph on the left shows the composition of
20%
the two clusters.
0%
1
2
E SPI-A * SPI-B 0 IT
It is interesting to note that all of the IT responses are in cluster two. The
clustering result probably captures the bimodal responses seen in SPI-A. The
following table shows some typical responses.
This change initiative
will not meet one or
This change initiative
will meet all of its
stated objectives.
more major
objective.
There is currently no
Clearly recognizableresntbliv
victories have been
accomplished within
the early part of the
change initiative.
be
that t
that this change
initiative will make a
difference.
This change initiative
seeks to change
behavior by changing
roles, responsibilities
and relationships.
This change initiative
seeks to change
behavior by
changing attitudes
and knowledge.
E Cluster 1
UCluster 2
They show that cluster two has across the board more positive responses than
cluster one.
80
The clustering results suggest that respondents that are negative about one
aspect of the change initiative tend to be negative about many aspects
simultaneously. However, respondents who are generally negative about a
change initiative do not all think that the change initiative will fail. In addition,
individuals who are negative about most aspects of the change initiative seem to
be able to find a few things to be positive about.
9.3
Bivariate Correlations
The data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation. The Pearson
product-moment correlation coefficient measures the strength of the linear
relationship between two variables. If there is an exact linear relationship between
the two variables the correlation is either 1 or -1
depending on whether the
variables are positively or negatively correlated.
It is interesting to note the many high correlations between questions six through
twenty-six. This is consistent with the findings of the principal component analysis
which follows and the cluster analysis which preceded this section.
81
Table 9-1 - Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Of Questions
1 1
.264 .133 -.143 .258 .573 .508 .414 .280 .424 .644 .701 .643 .584 .597 .576 .564 .393 .453 .342 .151 .468 .359 .534 .398 .431
2.264 1
.282 -.227 .157 -.036 .156 .042 .144 .346 .281 .369 .345 .434 .143 .226 .076 Gk .143 00$ -.013
.0149
.259 .
.06
-.002 .429 -.164 .038 .176 .109 .571 .248 .235 .336 .376 .194 .432 .319 .266 .299 -.012 .001 .432 410 .393 .443 .402
3 .133 .282 1
W -. 143 -.227 -.002 1
-. 2 -.390 -.333
U .258 .157 .429 -.226 1
.341 .255 .575 .583 .318 .390 .384 .581 .488 .505 .625 .440 .300 .549 .402 .266 .509 .395 .598 .433 .378
U .573 -.036 -.164 -.390 .341 1
.592 .683 .398 .285 .688 .599 .599 .486 .60.9 .477 .448 .516 .47 ,04- .269 ;.47 -.31 6653 .391 .451
7 .508 .156 .038 -.333 .255 .592 1
.649 .410 .576 .694 .714 .572 .639 .669 .559 .658 .621 .657 .617 .495 .480 .371 .464 .366 .708
.042 .176 -.609 .575 .683 .49
U
1
1
1
1
.280 .144 .109
.424 .346 .571
.644 .281 .248
.701 .369 .235
1
.530 .443~ .770 .640 .714 .696
-.549 .583 .398 .410 .530 1
.247 .511 .403 .408 .402 .559 .468 .437 .409 .518 .544 .353 .458 .117 .323 .395 .275
-.373 .318 .285 .576 .443 .247 1
.568 .582 .551 .619 .470
.783 .819 .745 .713
-.510 .390 .688 .694 .770 .511 .568 1
-.439 .384 .99 .714 .640 .403 .582 .7
1
.843 .779 .825
.855 .770
.643 .345 .336 -.390 .581 .599 .572 .714 .408 .551 .819 .843 1
.575 .429 .323 A.6 .169 .196 .499 384 .516 .246 .529
.668 .619 .700 .788 .674 .409 .695 .591 .712 .600 .681
.769 .77 .607 .A24 .528 .321 3.70363
&62
.581 .4821k
.741 .598 .568 .670 .668 .399 .817 .729 .858 .680 .660
U.584 .434 .376 -.457 .488A.86 .639 .6965 ._40j2 .619 .745 .779 .855 1
1
.597 .143 .194 -.382 .505 .609 .669 .708 .559
.576 .226 .432 -.317 625 .477 .559 .671 .46
.564 .075 .319 -.307 .440 .463 .658 .710 .437
.393 .033 .266 -.446 .300 .516 .621 .754 .40!9
*
.453 .193 .299 -.273 .549 .478 .657 .677
1
1
1
2 .342 .M08
2 .151
2U.468
2 .359
2U.534
E .398
2 *431
-.013
.201
.099
.259
.070
.006
.470 .713 .825 .770 .775 1
.828 .773 .640 .716 .538 .601 .733 .669 .550 .589 .677
.842 W
M .
.547 AN N697 .69 .666 1
.575 .668 769 .741 .787 .828 1
.429 .619 .747 .598 .662 .773 .842 1
.792 .714 .473 .505 .708 .576 .516 .756 .697
AW N!
64
&-132
.4W435i &V78
.3,20 .7N0A67 .568 .585 .640 W5 .712
.518 .436 .788 .624 .670 .713 .716 .787 .714 .628 1
.012 -364 .402 .614 .617 .666 .544 .169 .674 .528 .668 .554 .53*8 .465 .47
.608 .567 .705 .644 .571 .599 .739
,2RI
0Ng,' .4161 596 .48 .&17 .616 .611
.567 .515 .436 .320 .584
.001 -.083 .266 .269 .495 .486 .353 .196 .409 .321 .399 .544 .601 .517 .505 .322 .567 .451 1
.432 -.315 .509 457 AS40
.606 .8
.499 .695 1o3 .817 .790 .733 .806 'f
AN.4 M.F?0 .WI.N2.~8.53.9
.663 .651 .678
.410 -.147 .395 .316 .371 .553 .117 .384 .591 .633 .729 .639 .669 .697 .576 .496 .644 .468 .515 .722 1
6
.51% 4AW
?i .I
A35 -:.7
3
,%.41
I,9
.393 -. 171 .$6W .A3 .464 .5k .323 .516 .712 .662 .858 .705 .55
.680
.591
.651
.641
1
.648
.443 -.276 .433 .391 .366 .621 .395 .246 .600 .581
.589 .656 .756 .787 .599 .618 .320 .783
.402 .181 378 451 .708 .652 275 .529 681 .582 660 .690 677 .708 .697 657 .730 6 .584 7% .678 591 .648 1
82
Principal Component Analysis
9.4
The principal components are derived from an eigenvalue decomposition of the
correlation matrix of the variables. Principal component analysis is a way to
picture the structure of the data as completely as possible by using as few
dimensions or composite variables as possible.
The first principal component accounted for almost 55% of the variation in the
data. The rest of components were insignificant relative to the variation that could
be caused by a single individual's response. This is consistent with the results of
the cluster analysis that there are indeed two major groupings of responses.
0
.
_
___
_Component__
__
__
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
_
Issue
5
6
2
3
4
1
1
0.637 0.015 -0.284 0.422 0.10 -0.228 Succeed Versus Fail
2
0.24 0.431 -0.633 0.011 0.15 0.133 Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up
0.36 0.781 0.050 -0.268 -0.25 -0.058 Incremental Versus Radical
3
4 -0.451 0.324 0.500 0.376 0.27 -0.036 Continuous Versus Discontinuous
0.596 0.166 0.014 -0.531 0.31 -0.025 Planned Versus Emergent
5
0.654 -0.49 -0.152 0.173 0.144 -0.231 Establish A Sense Of Urgency
6
7
0.744 -0.27 -0.113 0.294 -0.13E 0.293 Forming A Powerful Guiding Coalition
8
0.839 -0.28 -0.005 -0.18C -0.11 -0.024 Creating A Vision
0.562 -0.30c -0.205 -0.567 0.09N 0.172 Communicating The Vision
9
10 0.605 0.377 -0.365 0.111 -0.21 0.254 Direct Face-To-Face Communication
11 0.882 -0.11 -0.191 0.091 -0.00 -0.078 Remove Obstacles
12 0.864 0.017 -0.251 0.233 -0.053 -0.087 Empowering Others To Act On The Vision
13 0.901 0.119 -0.120 0.061 0.234 -0.192 Incorporate Employees Into Business Challenges
14 0.881 0.154 -0.147 0.067 0.064 0.133 Make Connections Between New Behaviors And
Success
15 0.876 -0.103 0.027 0.068 0.017 0.149 Planning For And Creating Short Term Wins
16 0.880 0.190 0.068 -0.03C 0.007 0.112 Consolidating Improvements And Producing Still
More Change
17 0.832 -0.027 0.180 0.03 -0.304 0.030 Instilling Mental Disciplines
18 0.759 -0.191 0.113 -0.04 -0.47c -0.190 Unwritten Rules
19 0.839 -0.014 0.140 -0.051 0.027 0.192 Cultural Barrier
20 0.708 -0.389 0.117 -0.10 0.252 -0.149 Institutionalizing New Approaches
21 0.564 -0.141 0.420 0.05 0.235 0.554 Task Alignment
22 0.871 0.187 0.183 -0.05 0.07 -0.030 Understanding The Strategy
23 0.735 0.270 0.341 0.123 0.07 -0.077 Alignment Of Rewards And Incentives
24 0.788 0.230 0.031 0.028 0.36 -0.215 Resource Allocation
25 0.764 0.084 0.297 -0.17E -0.17 -0.392 Resistance To Loss Of Power Or Influence
26 0.813 0.072 0.330 0.156 -0.154 0.132 Outside Interference
83
_
-
--
10. Refinement Of The Tool
10.1 Refining The List Of Issues
Feedback from one of the managers suggested that the survey should specifically
ask if "the change initiative was the right solution to the problem." This is a very
important issue as it is possible for the change agent to be using all the right
techniques only to find the change initiative fails because it was not the right
solution to the problem.
The following techniques can be used to refine the issues monitored with the tool.
10.1.1 Adding Issues
An additional open-ended question should be added to allow users to comment
on issues not covered in the questionnaire. Over time issues that show up very
frequently as responses to this open-ended question should be added to the
questionnaire.
10.1.2 Dropping Issues
Issues of lesser importance can be dropped from the survey to make it less
burdensome to the respondents. The collected data can be used to rank the
relative value of an issue once thirty or more change initiatives have been
surveyed.
The following techniques can be used to evaluate the importance of the issue
presented in the survey.
" How often an issue is listed as important in determining the success or
failure of the change initiative is one measure of its value to the survey.
The more often it is listed the more likely it is to be important.
*
How well it correlates with the answer to question one, which asks about
the respondent's opinion on the likelihood of success of the change
initiative. Questions with higher Pearson Product-Moment Correlations are
84
'~1
-
--
~
--
more likely to be valuable, as they are a better predictor of the success of
the change initiative.
How frequently respondents provide extreme responses to the issue.
*
Questions with more extreme responses are more likely to be valuable, as
respondents are likely to use extreme responses on issues of greater
importance.
The following table shows the corresponding data from the surveys.
_D
0
9 03
C
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0-
0 aM
0.1
0
0.28
oefl udn olto
M
CL
0
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n;aMn
0
4
1
0
=.2
0
D
2
13
14
3 0.643
2 0.584
15
F
3
0L
7 0.573
2n 0.508
6
2 0.414
1 0.280
3 0.424
2 0.644
7 0.701
s
(A
U0
0.58
I.T.
6
7 11
8
9
10
11
12
n
M 0 7E
0
-
10 >
2
0.40
2
1
0
0
0
1
1
Issue
3 Establish A Sense Of Urgency
Reov 0btcA Powerful Guiding Coalition
35n Forming
4 Creating A Vision
0 Communicating The Vision
1 Direct Face-To-Face ommunication
5 Remove Obstacles
4 Empowering Others To Act On The Vision
3
3 Incorporate Employees Into Business Challenges
4 Make Connections Between New Behaviors And Success
2
4 Planning For And Creating Short Term Wins
0
1
0
1
1 Consolidating Improvements And Producing Still More Change
19
6 0.597
0 0.576
410.564
3 0.393
3 0.453
20
3 0.342
2
2 Institutionalizing New Approaches
1
2
1 Task Alignment
3 Understanding The Strategy
1 Alignment Of Rewards And Incentives
7 Resource Allocation
3 Resistance To Loss Of Power Or Influence
1 Outside Interference
16
17
18
21
22
23
24
25
26
3
5
5
131
21
41
0.151
0.468
0.359
0.534
0.398
0.4311
__3
__1
__2
___3
2 Instilling Mental Disciplines
3 Unwritten Rules
1 Cultural Barrier
These data so far indicate that question nine probably has the least value.
Respondents do not seem to perceive a strong association with how the change
initiative was communicated and its overall success.
85
Redundant issues are also candidates for removal. Once enough data are
collected factor analysis may be able to identify redundancy.
"Resource allocation" was one of the more important issues. It was most
frequently listed as important and it also had the most extreme negative
responses. "Empowering others to act on the vision" was another important issue.
It was the second most frequently listed as important, it frequently received
extreme negative responses, and it strongly correlated with the response to the
question on success versus failure. Another important issue was the "Removal of
obstacles". It strongly correlated with the response to the question on success
versus failure and frequently received extreme negative responses.
10.2 Refining The Input Page
The survey could be improved to include the importance ranking alongside each
pair of statements. This would allow the affected parties to make one pass
through the survey and eliminate the excessive scroling that currently takes
place.
86
-
MEM
W
_
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
.' __ -
.
.
-
Mi
-
-
- ___
Tell Us About This Change Initiative
Your responses to these questions are confidential. Please be open and honest.
For each pair of statements, choose the one statement that best reflects your preference. Then
rate how strongly you agree with the statement. Rank the importance of the issue with respect
to the change initiative
Importance
ROR meet
mtonorormjr
one or more major
objective.
v wl mThis change initiative will not
T. i
This change intiative winl meet
all of its stated objectives
Strongly
Agree
Agree
2. This change initiative was
rolled out in a top-down
manner
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Slightly
Agree
Slightly
Agree
OR
Slightly
Agree
This change initiative was
rolled out in a bottom-up
manner
Slightly
Agree
Agree
Strongly
Agree
High
Med
Low
Importance
High
Med
Low
The tool should also be enhanced to make answering all questions mandatory.
The initial tool did not require all respondents to answer questions 27 through 30
and as a result the percentages shown in the importance section seemed
confusing. To further remove the opportunity for bias, the survey should randomly
place some of the positive statements on the left and some on the right, instead of
always placing them on the left. However, for reporting purposes all the positive
statements should be on the same side.
10.3 Refining The Output Page
While the current printed report seems adequate, the online display of results
could be improved to make it more usable to managers. This could be
87
accomplished by modifying it to display all the graphs at the top part of the screen
and the selected graph, statements and issue at the bottom of the screen (as
shown on the following page).
When the cursor is positioned over a graph, the border of the graph would change
to red to show that it is selected and the appropriate statements and issue would
be displayed at the bottom of the screen. This modification will allow visual
comparison of all the results as well as a view of the details of any one result. This
would remove the need for the change agent to scroll excessively while reviewing
the results online.
88
40%
8%60%
40%
40%
40%
30%
20%
40%
100
10%
10%
80%
80%
A
40%
20%
20%
0%0%
20%
80%
40%
2%0%
40%
20%
80%
30%
20%
40%
20%
20%
40-, 40%
40%4%
AA
20%
60%
0%
0%.
0%
0%
A
80%
60%
A
20%
20%%
10%%
20%
A
A
A
23
0%0%
0%
0%
A
A
20%
0%
8020%
80%
0%
0%40%
20%
20%
44
80%
..80%.. . . . . .
80%
20%
80%
40%
20%
40%
0%
.4%
0
60%
0%
20%
0%33%
80%
40%
60%
%%
20%
60%
40%
40%
20%
4% 0%
S0%
10%
0%
30%
3%60%
0
0%
80%
40%
36
Rewards and incen tives
clearly link performnance to
specific change initiative
standards and objectives, and
are Within thegoup s or
individual s power to control
The reward and
mntwe programs
were not adjusted
to insure aligument
with the change
initiative
20%
10%
Alignent Of Rewairds And Incentives Incentives should clearly
link performance to pay and should directly link performance to
specific standards and objectives. Rewards should relate directly to
the nature of performrance require d. Rewards should be directly
linked to objectives thtat are within the group's or individual's
power to control. Match measurement pexiods to relevant
perods The reward system should be guided bythe
of equity not equality.
0performance
__________________
______________________________prnnciple
89
11. Conclusions
11.1 Thesis Summary
11.1.1 TechnicalAspects Of The Tool
Based on the results it would seem that the tool provides a useful mechanism for
investigating change initiatives. Even though some work needs to be done to
refine some aspects of the tool (as noted earlier) the tool proved easy to
administer and the results were easy to understand.
Although the survey period specified was one week, the majority of responses
were received on the first day. This suggests that the survey period should be
shortened to one day. This would dissuade people from putting off doing the
survey and then forgetting about it. As the results can be made available online
immediately, organizations could have an assessment of their change initiative
the same day.
Since the tool presented the results using frequency distribution graphs, it was
easy to spot bimodal responses and other variations in distribution that would not
have been possible if only averages had been reported.
While the tool was designed for measuring and monitoring change initiatives, by
changing the issues presented it could be used to measure and monitor other
activities such as employee or customer satisfaction.
11.1.2 FunctionalAspects Of The Tool
The tool provides a useful mechanism for discussing the progress of the change
and assessing where the problems lie.
Interestingly, managers with problem change initiatives seem to externalize the
problems discovered. They tried to attribute them to sources outside of their
control. While this may be true for some issues such as "establishing a sense of
urgency" and "creating a vision", it would seem that other issues such as
90
"understanding the strategy" and "empowering other to act on the vision" should
be within their control.
It is noteworthy that the managers were aware of the majority of the problems with
their change initiative but did not see a need to address them. This is consistent
with the findings of Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton21 that most organizations
have a gap between what they know and what they do. It is possible that the
exposure of these problems to others in the organization may remove some of the
barriers to action.
The biggest surprise was the findings on the business environments in which
change takes place. Top management faced with the choice of using a
participative management style versus a top-down laissez-faire management
style tended to pick the top-down style because it was more efficient for them.
This choice seemed to discourage certain types of communication within the
organization, which in turn lays the groundwork for the common failures that
plague change initiatives.
Companies that have a genuine interest in improving their change management
capability can use tools like this one to develop the skills they lack to be
successful in managing their changes. However, companies that have limited
upward communications may have difficulty with the discussions that this tool will
foster.
This suggests that the tool should be positioned for use by those companies who
are aware of their need and weakness in the area of change management. It may
be of greatest interest to middle management as they are more likely to be placed
in positions where their need to better handle change can not be denied.
It would also appear that this tool configured with the appropriate issue
statements could be quite useful in the hands of consultants, as it would allow
them to quickly assess the state of a change initiative at a client's site. They coud
use it to gain the information necessary to discuss specific problems and issues.
91
11.2 Further Study
It would be desirable to use this tool to study groups that are actively seeking a
solution to problems in their change initiative. It is possible that the reluctance on
the part of managers to make changes based on the problems noted in their
report was largely due to the fact that they were not actively seeking solutions.
It would be desirable to have a much broader study covering a much larger
number of organizations and change initiatives. This would allow data to be
gathered on the frequency of different types of problems as well as correlations
between problems. It is possible that change problems tend to cluster. Statistical
analysis on the data provided by this tool would be able to detect and identify
these clusters if they indeed exist.
92
12. References
Anonymous; "Business: An inside job"; The Economist, London; Jul 15, 2000;
Vol. 356, Iss. 8179; pg. 61, 1 pgs
2
Michael Beer and Russell A. Eisenstat; "The silent killers of strategy
implementation and learning"; Sloan Management Review, Cambridge;
Summer 2000; Vol. 41, Iss. 4; pg. 29, 12 pgs
3
4
5
John P Kotter; "Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail"; Harvard
Business Review Boston; Mar 1995; Vol. 73, Iss. 2; pg. 59, 9 pgs
John P Kotter; "Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail"; Harvard
Business Review Boston; Mar 1995; Vol. 73, Iss. 2; pg. 59, 9 pgs
T. J. Larkin and Sandar Larkin; "Reaching and changing frontline employees";
Harvard Business Review, Boston; May/Jun 1996; Vol. 74, Iss. 3; pg. 95,10
pgs
6
Richard Pascale; "Changing the way we change"; Harvard Business Review
Boston; Nov/Dec 1997; Vol. 75, Iss. 6; pg. 126,14 pgs
7
Paul Strebel; "Why do employees resist change?"; Harvard Business Review
Boston; May/Jun 1996; Vol. 74, Iss. 3; pg. 86, 7 pgs
8 Michael Beer, Russell A. Eisenstat and Bert A. Spector; "Why Change
Programs Don't Produce Change"; Harvard Business Review Boston;
Nov/Dec 1990; Vol. 68, Iss. 6; 8 pgs
9
Randy G Pennington; "Making changes"; Executive Excellence, Provo; Jun
2000; Vol. 17, Iss. 6; pg. 11, 1 pgs
10 William A. Schiemann; "Why Change Fails"; Across The Board, New York; Apr
1992; Vol. 29, Iss. 4; pg. 53, 2 pgs
93
1
Deborah Ancona, Thomas B. Kochan, Maureen Scully, John Van Maanen,
&
and D. Eleanor Westney; "Managing for the future: organizational behavior
processes"; 2nd ed.; Cincinnati, Ohio: South Western College Pub. @1999.
12
David Nadler, Michael Tushman and Mark B.Nadler; "Competing by design:
the power of organizational architecture"; New York: Oxford University Press,
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13
Peter M Senge; "The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning
organization";
1 st
ed.; New York: Doubleday/Currency, @1990; 424 pages
14
Schiemann(1992)
15
Beer (Summer 2000)
16
Karl T. Ulrich and Steven D Eppinger; "Product Design And Development";
2 nd
ed.; Boston, Massachusetts: McGraw-Hill, @2000.
17
Daryl Kulak & Eamonn Guiney; "Use Cases: Requirements in Context";
Addison-Wesley Pub Co; @ 2000; 329 pages and
Putnam P. Texel & Charles B. Williams; "Use Cases Combined with
Booch/OMT/UML: Process and Products"; Prentice Hall; @ 1997; 512 pages
18
Blanchard & Fabrycky; "System engineering and Analysis"; Prentice-Hall;
@1981.
19
Beer (Summer 2000)
20
John P. Kotter; "Leading Change"; Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business
School Press, @1996.
21
Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton; "The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart
Companies Turn Knowledge into Action"; Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard
Business School Press, @2000.
94