Chapter 2
Images of Managing Change
Learning Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
Understand the importance of organizational
images and mental models.
Identify different images of managing and of
change outcomes.
Outline six different images of managing change.
Identify the theoretical underpinnings of these six
change management images.
Understand the practical implications of the six
images and how to use them.
Images of Managing Change
Images of
Managing
Change

◦ Top-down view of management
◦ Fayol’s theory of management:
planning, organizing, commanding,
coordinating and controlling.
Images of
Change
Outcomes
Images of
Change
Managers:
-Director
-Coach
-Navigator
-Interpreter
-Caretaker
-Nurturer
Three Core
Uses of the
Images
Controlling…

Shaping…
◦ Participative style of management
◦ Improving the capabilities of people
within the organization
Images of Change Outcomes
Images of
Managing
Change
Images of
Change
Outcomes
Images of
Change
Managers:
-Director
-Coach
-Navigator
-Interpreter
-Caretaker
-Nurturer
Three Core
Uses of the
Images

Intended Change:
◦ Change is a result of planned action

Partially Intended Change:
◦ Change may need to be re-modified
after it is initially implemented

Unintended Change:
◦ Forces beyond the control of the
change manager
Images of Change Managers
Images of
Managing
Change
Images of Managing
Images of
Change
Outcomes
Images of
Change
Managers:
-Director
-Coach
-Navigator
-Interpreter
-Caretaker
-Nurturer
Three Core
Uses of the
Images
Intended
Images of
Partially
Change
Intended
Outcomes
Unintended
Controlling . . .
(activities)
Shaping . . .
(capabilities)
DIRECTOR
COACH
NAVIGATOR
INTERPRETER
CARETAKER
NURTURER
Images of Change Managers
Images of
Managing
Change
Images of
Change
Outcomes
Images of
Change
Managers:
-Director
-Coach
-Navigator
-Interpreter
-Caretaker
-Nurturer
Three Core
Uses of the
Images
Director
 Based on an
image of
management as
control and of
change outcomes
as being
achievable.
 Supported by the
n-step models and
contingency
theory.
Coach
 Relies upon building
in the right set of
values, skills and
“drills” that are
deemed to be the
best ones to be
drawn upon in order
to achieve desired
organizational
outcomes.
 Related to OD
approaches.
Images of Change Managers
Images of
Managing
Change
Images of
Change
Outcomes
Images of
Change
Managers:
-Director
-Coach
-Navigator
-Interpreter
-Caretaker
-Nurturer
Three Core
Uses of the
Images
Navigator
 Control is the heart of
management action,
although a variety of
external factors mean
that managers may
achieve some intended
change outcomes and
others will occur over
which they have little
control.
 Supported by the
contextualist and
processual theories of
change.
Interpreter
 The manager
creates meaning for
other organizational
members, helping
them to make sense
of various
organizational
events and actions.
 Supported by the
sense-making
theory of
organizational
change
Images of Change Managers
Images of
Managing
Change
Images of
Change
Outcomes
Images of
Change
Managers:
-Director
-Coach
-Navigator
-Interpreter
-Caretaker
-Nurturer
Three Core
Uses of the
Images
Nurturer
Caretaker
 The manager’s control  Even small changes may
have a large impact on
is severely impeded by
organizations and
a variety of internal
managers are not able to
and external forces
control the outcome of
beyond their scope.
these changes but may
The caretaker
nurture their organizations.
shepherds their
This facilitates
organizations along as
organizational qualities
best they can.
that enable positive self Supported by lifeorganizing to occur.
cycle, population Related to chaos and
ecology and
Confucian/ Taoist theories.
institutional theories.
Three Core Uses of the Images
Images of
Managing
Change
Images of
Change
Outcomes
Images of
Change
Managers:
-Director
-Coach
-Navigator
-Interpreter
-Caretaker
-Nurturer
Three Core
Uses of the
Images

These six images of change
managers have three core uses:
1) They highlight a variety of assumptions
that change managers make about change
and increase the awareness of different
interpretations of change.
2) They draw attention to the dominant
images of change within an organization.
3) They highlight a range of perspectives
available to change managers.
Table 2.5
Chapter Reflections for the Practicing
Change Manager
Chapter 3
Why Organizations Change
Why Change?
Why Change?
External Pressures
-Fashion
-Mandated
-Geopolitical
-Market decline
-Hyper- competition
-Reputation &
credibility
Role of the
Environment
Internal Pressures
-Growth
-Integration &
collaboration
-Identity
-New broom
-Power & political
Change is a risky activity – many
organizational changes fail or do
not realize their intended
outcomes. This raises the
question: why is change so
prevalent?
 Pressure to change comes from:

◦ External, environmental pressures
◦ Internal, organizational pressures
Environmental Pressures
Why Change?
External Pressures
-Fashion
-Mandated
-Geopolitical
-Market decline
-Hyper- competition
-Reputation &
credibility
Pressure
Fashion
pressures
Examples
Description
Boeing
Co.
Neo-institutionalism: mimetic
isomorphism. Managers imitate
practices associated with successful
organizations
Chevron
Texaco
Neo-institutionalism: coercive
isomorphism. An organization
changes through formally or
informally mandated requirements.
Role of the
Environment
Internal Pressures
-Growth
-Integration &
collaboration
-Identity
-New broom
-Power & political
Mandated
pressures
Geopolitica
l pressures
3M
Macroeconomic changes (or crises)
place pressure on organizations to
change the way they operate.
Environmental Pressures
Why Change?
External Pressures
-Fashion
-Mandated
-Geopolitical
-Market decline
-Hyper- competition
-Reputation &
credibility
Role of the
Environment
Internal Pressures
-Growth
-Integration &
collaboration
-Identity
-New broom
-Power & political
Pressure
Examples
Description
Market
decline
pressures
AOL Time
Warner
When current markets begin to
decline there is pressure to find
newer, more viable markets.
Gateway
The highly intensified rate of
business – including shortened
product life cycles and rapid
responses by competitors –
produces pressure for change at
the organizational level.
Walt Disney
Company
In light of recent corporate
governance scandals, the
pressure to maintain a good
reputation and high level of
credibility has increased.
Hypercompetition
pressures
Reputation
and credibility
pressures
Debate: Role of the Environment
Why Change?
External Pressures
-Fashion
-Mandated
-Geopolitical
-Market decline
-Hyper-competition
-Reputation & credibility

◦ whether external pressures facilitate or inhibit the process of change.

-Growth
-Integration &
collaboration
-Identity
-New broom
-Power & political
Environment as an objective entity vs. environment as a cognitive
construction
◦ The former treats the environment as an objective entity to which
managers must respond. The latter emphasizes the centrality of
managers’ interpretations of environmental conditions as the key
determinant of behavior.
Role of the
Environment
Internal Pressures
Organizational learning vs. threat-rigidity

Forces for change vs. forces for stability:
◦ External forces can vary; they either promote change or promote stability.

Bridging (adapting) vs buffering (shielding):
◦ These represent either strategies that can maintain effectiveness by
adapting parts of the organization to changes happening in the outside
environment (bridging) or focusing on efficiency by avoiding change
through shielding parts of it from the effects of the environment
(buffering).
Internal Pressures
Why Change?
External Pressures
-Fashion
-Mandated
-Geopolitical
-Market decline
-Hyper-competition
-Reputation &
credibility
Role of the
Environment
Internal Pressures
-Growth
-Integration &
collaboration
-Identity
-New broom
-Power & political
Pressure
Growth
pressures
Integration
and
collaboration
pressures
Identity
pressures
Examples
Description
Microsoft
Existing systems and processes in
an organization may no longer be
applicable when the size of the
organization increases.
EDS
Integration and creating
economies of scale can lead to
pressure for change in
organizations.
Forte
Hotel
A common organizational identity
and the unified commitment of
staff in different
areas/departments of an
organization can be difficult to
manage and may encourage
change.
Internal Pressures
Why Change?
External Pressures
-Fashion
-Mandated
-Geopolitical
-Market decline
-Hyper-competition
-Reputation &
credibility
Role of the
Environment
Pressure
Examples
Description
New
broom
pressures
Bank of
America
Change at the senior
management level – particularly of
CEO - can often be a catalyst for
significant changes in an
organization.
Power and
political
pressures
Morgan
Stanley
Power relationships and
politicking can change internal
processes and decision making.
Internal Pressures
-Growth
-Integration &
collaboration
-Identity
-New broom
-Power & political
Exercise 3.2
Public Change Rationales
More on the why of change…
Theories of Organizational Change
• Life cycle theories: linear and irreversible
sequence of prescribed change
• Organizations go through different stages: birth, youth,
midlife, maturity,…. When reached maturity,
revitalization is needed.
• Teleological theories: recurrent and discontinuous
sequence of goal setting, implementation, and
adaptation
• Dialectic theories: recurrent and discontinuous
sequence of confrontation, conflict, and synthesis
• Evolutionary theories: recurrent, cumulative and
probabilistic sequence of variation, selection, and
retention
Economic Pressures
• globalization: Deregulation, opening of national
economies
• Unpredictable and Rapidly changing markets
• Service and knowledge base business
• profitability based on machine power to profitability
based on intelligence and skills
Social Pressures
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Flexible working arrangements
Women in management
Educated workforce/society
Demographics
Immigrations
People more independent, questioning
Lack of loyalty between the workers and
companies
Technological Pressures
• Information and Communication
Technology
•
•
•
•
•
High performance work systems
Integrated information systems
Access to information
Global networking
New media
• Shortening product life cycles
• High quality
Sustainable Development Pressures
SD Elements:
Social
1. Employee Well-Being
2. Quality of Life
3. Business Ethics
Economic
4. Shareholder Value Creation
5. Economic Development
Environmental
6. Environmental Impact Minimization
7. Natural Resource Protection
Organizational Self-renewal
• Challenging old assumptions
• Understanding the new rules of competition
• Capturing the potential of new paradigms by
rethinking business processes
• Constant innovation
• Improving continually as part of normal functioning
• Transforming while keeping purpose and direction
Continuous learning
Organic type of organizations, adopted to
unstable conditions
• continual new and unfamiliar problems cannot be
broken down and distributed among the existing
specialists roles
• continual adjustment and redefinition of individual
tasks is needed
• Interactions and communication may occur at any
level as required by the process
• organization charts are not always useful
Emerging Mindset
• Industrial mindset:
• Invalidity of the internal reality of human
consciousness
• Scarcity of resources
• Separate parts
• Discrete events
• emerging mindset:
•
•
•
•
Consciousness is causative
Abundance
Relationships and Wholeness
Continuous Process
parts are connected and they are connected to the
whole,
change is a continuous process, and
the internal and external dynamics are both
important.