The Theory and Practice of Change Management

Citation

Hoe, S. (2003), "The Theory and Practice of Change Management", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 54-54. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2003.24.1.54.4

Significant organizational change has been a phenomenon affecting most of our generation of workforce. There is little doubt that the external environment is changing rapidly and few organizations can accurately predict the way things will go in the future. Besides anticipating change, organizations also need to develop strategies to influence how they can change. However, too many organizations fail to commit themselves to any sort of structured approach to managing change beyond the tactical level. Thus, it is doubtful whether organizations are making and implementing changes that are fast enough to ensure the survival of their businesses.

The Theory and Practice of Change Management by John Hayes provides an examination of the key theoretical perspectives on organizational change and how they can be applied within organizations to deal with change management issues. The book consists of 18 chapters that are organized into six main parts – core concepts, recognizing and diagnosing the need for change, managing people issues, shaping implementation strategies and managing the transition, interventions, and keeping the change on track. All the six parts are cleverly woven together by the author to provide an overall conceptual framework on managing organizational change and effectiveness.

Part one is organized around five chapters on the nature of change, organizational effectiveness and the role of change management, systems models, congruency and the concept of “fit”, organizational learning and organizational effectiveness, and process models of change. In this first part, Hayes reviews some of the main theoretical perspectives on the management of organizational change and introduces key organizational behaviour concepts.

Part two focuses on recognizing the need for change and starting the process, diagnostic models, and gathering and interpreting information for diagnosis. In the early stages of the change process, there are many issues that need to be considered. Issues like translating the need to change into a desire for change, diagnosing organizational mis‐alignment, and methods of analysing information. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 address all such issues that are pertinent to the initial stage of the change process, and provide key perspectives and guiding principles in managing them.

People‐related issues form a critical part of change management initiatives. Part three presents chapters on power, leadership and stakeholder management, communicating, motivating others to change, training and development, and managing personal transitions. The main areas discussed include identifying and classifying stakeholders according to their power, communicating from the perspective of the change manager, and deliberate training interventions to help individuals develop new knowledge, skills and attitudes. In addition, identifying common sources of resistance to change, and understanding the way individuals experience change are also discussed.

Part four suggests how the implementation strategy can be shaped, and control can be maintained during the change process as it is not unusual for change programs to go out of control. Chapters 14 and 15 offer ways on how to effectively create change implementation strategies and maintain better overall control. Situational variables that can influence the formulation of strategy are elaborated.

Part five discusses the types of intervention and selection of the appropriate interventions. The four types of intervention are human‐process interventions, techno‐structural interventions, human‐resource management interventions, and strategic interventions. These interventions are classified based on the kinds of issues that they are designed to resolve. According to the author, the key selection criteria on the types of intervention to be applied are based on the level of change target, i.e. individual, group, inter‐group or organization, and depth of intervention required i.e. from shallow to deep. Part six summarizes the various approaches to and processes for managing, reviewing and sustaining change.

The Theory and Practice of Change Management is an easily digestible course textbook for those seeking a deeper understanding of organizational change, and the options available for the effective management of change. A series of useful exercises have been designed in each chapter to reinforce learning by examining the readers’ implicit theories of change management. Overall, it is recommended for practising managers and MBA students who wish to improve their awareness of how people can facilitate change and diagnostic skills in assessing what is going in organizations.