Change Management: Theory and Practice

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Change ManagementTheory and Practice

• Sheila Corrall
• Director of Academic Services
• University of Southampton
• S.M.Corrall_at_soton.ac.uk

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Change managementpresentation outline

• Relevance of change management
• Environmental drivers and context
• Relating change to strategy
• Models for managing change
• Process guidelines and summary
• Suggestions for further reading

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Relevance and importance

• the world is already changing faster than it has
  ever done before, and the pace of change will
  continue to accelerate
• Charles Clarke (Cm 5735, Jan 2003)
• libraries of colleges and universities are
  changing faster than their respective parent
  institutions
• Donald Riggs (JAL 23 (1) 1997, 3-8)

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Relevance and importance

• Information services need to anticipate and
  respond to a rapidly-changing environment
• Information professionals need to develop and
  demonstrate their capacity to handle change
• Line managers and team leaders are often expected
  to act as change facilitators
• Funding patterns are creating project roles which
  include change agent responsibilities
• Everyone will experience change at work and will
  need to manage it!

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Drivers of change

• Political (widening access, partnerships)
• Economic (budget cuts, journal inflation)
• Social (24/7, cultural diversity)
• Technological (VLEs, e-publishing)
• Legal (DDA, Freedom of Information)
• Marketplace (consumerism, globalisation)
• Performance (audit report, user survey)
• Pressures and triggers can come from
• outside or from within the organisation

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Context for change

• Introduction of new products or services
• Implementation of IT-based systems
• Physical relocation or new building
• Organisational restructuring
• Strategic plan or review
• Business process re-engineering
• Continuous quality improvement
• Change initiatives can vary significantly in
• magnitude (depth, breadth) and timescale

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Strategy and change

• Long-range planning (1950s 1960s ) was mainly
  concerned with incremental growth
• Strategic planning (1970s onwards) is more
  concerned with discontinuous change
• Contemporary approaches are less formal and more
  flexible with shorter timeframes
• Change management can be equated just with
  strategy implementation or with the whole process
  of strategic management

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Strategic planning / management

• a continuous process . . . relating an
  organisation and its people to the environment
  and providing unity and direction to its
  activities (Corrall, 1994)
• deciding and refining organisational objectives
  and working persistently and consistently to
  translate them into actions and results
  (Corrall, 2000)

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Strategic management

• Having a vision, knowing your resources,
• understanding the business arena and
• asking the right questions
• environmental appraisal (audit)
• strategic profiling (focus)
• strategy development (plan)
• programme management (change)

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Strategic plan elements

• Mission statement of purpose and functions
• Context summary of current situation,
  assumptions about future and critical issues
• Vision description of desired future state
• Strategy top-level strategic thrusts showing
  major directions in which you intend to move
• Goals key objectives medium-term targets
  explaining change needed and planned approach
• Resources commentary on implications

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Models and tools

• SWOT analysis
• Strategic visioning
• Scenario development
• Force field analysis (equilibrium analysis)
• Seven S framework
• Unfreezing moving refreezing
• Resistance/transition curve (coping cycle)
• immobilisation denial depression acceptance
  testing understanding - internalisation

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Seven S Framework
Cold triangle (the hard Ss)
Strategy
Structure
Systems
Shared Values
Staff
Style
Skills
Warm square (the soft Ss)
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Current thinking

• Managing change as a learning process
• Shift from planned to emergent models
• Use of bottom-up and open-ended approaches
• More attention given to stakeholder concerns
• Focus on managing/defining transition state
• Mixed views on holistic packaged methods
• (eg TQM, Business Process Re-engineering)
• Perpetual change seen as a way of life
• Change agent is essential management role

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Current thinking

• Expert views differ in detail, but there is
• general consensus that successful change
• requires
• pressure for change, to ensure priority
• a shared vision, to sustain momentum
• actionable first steps, to prevent haphazard
  efforts or false starts
• capacity for change, evidenced as leadership and
  learning

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Process guidelines

• 1 Explain the real reason for change and make
  sure that everyone understands
• differentiate triggers and root causes
• create a shared sense of urgency
• eg
• SWOT analysis
• open forum meetings
• circulate questions and answers

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Process guidelines

• 2 Develop an inspiring vision and
• engage stakeholders in debate
• use the present tense to make it vivid
• create a shared sense of direction
• eg
• alternative scenarios
• training hour sessions
• library committee meetings

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Process guidelines

• 3 Involve people at the planning stage and
• invite teams to develop action plans
• set the destination, not the route
• create a shared sense of ownership
• eg
• rolling-wave planning
• middle managers decide teams
• task forces propose structure

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Process guidelines

• 4 Acknowledge that change takes time and
• accept that there are costs involved
• set priorities for projects and services
• create a well-balanced work programme
• eg
• resource allocation
• prioritise development projects
• phase programme of development

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Process guidelines

• 5 Listen to individuals and
• deal with their concerns
• use spokespersons to tap rumours
• create a supportive environment
• eg
• resistance curve
• change advisers group
• brainstorming to refine structure

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Process guidelines

• 6 Communicate quickly and often
• aiming for openness and honesty
• vary style and media to the situation
• create a climate of mutual trust
• eg
• meetings
• email lists
• newsletters
• one-to-one

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Process guidelines

• 7 Promote holistic thinking and
• monitor external developments
• relate changes to wider context
• create an outward-looking service
• eg
• current awareness
• bring in guest speakers
• encourage professional involvement

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Process guidelines

• 8 Provide active leadership and
• promote change as continuous
• enable innovation and risk-taking
• create a change-positive culture
• eg
• develop leaders
• build a strong top team
• empower LMs and supervisors

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Summary critical success factors

• We must have
• a rationale for change -gt urgency
• a vision of the future -gt direction
• involvement of stakeholders -gt ownership
• priorities for action -gt balance
• concern for individuals -gt support
• comprehensive communication -gt trust
• holistic monitoring -gt outward-looking
• all-round leadership -gt change-positive

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Three facts about change

• Resources (time and money)
• everything always takes longer and costs more
  than originally estimated
• Fear of the unknown
• some people welcome change, most are worried by
  it and a few are frightened
• Evolution and revolution
• significant difference between incremental and
  discontinuous change

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Further reading

• Kotter, J. P. Leading change why transformation
  efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, 73 (2)
  1995, 59-67
• Gallacher, C. Managing change in libraries and
  information services. Aslib, 1999
• Penfold, S. Change management for information
  services. Bowker Saur, 1999
• Pugh, L. Change management in information
  services. Gower, 2000

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Further reading case studies

• Whetherly, J. Achieving change through training
  and development. LA Publishing, 1998
• Crook, A. Tough times and a large library
  managing organisational change. Australian
  Library Journal, 39 (1) 1990, 20-30
• (State Library of New South Wales)
• Pateman, John. Cultural revolution. Library
  Information Update, 1 (1) 2002, 42-3
• (Merton Library Heritage)
• Hyams, E. Bringing glamour to Glasgow. Library
  Information Update, 1 (8) 2002, 44-6 (Glasgow
  City Libraries)