Organizational Change: Chapter 7 - Hard Systems Models PDF

Chapter 7: Hard systems models of change Situations of change Characteris$cs of unitary, pluralist and coercive rela$onships. Unitary People rela$ng to each other from a unitary perspec$ve: - Share common interests. Have values and beliefs that are highly compa$ble. Largely agree upon ends and mean...

Chapter 7: Hard systems models of change Situations of change Characteris$cs of unitary, pluralist and coercive rela$onships. Unitary People rela$ng to each other from a unitary perspec$ve: - Share common interests. Have values and beliefs that are highly compa$ble. Largely agree upon ends and means. All par$cipate in decision making. Act in accordance with agreed objec$ves. 54 Pluralist People rela$ng to each other from a pluralist perspec$ve: - Have a basic compa$bility of interest. Have values and beliefs that diverge to some extent. Do not necessarily agree upon ends and means, but compromise is possible. All par$cipate in decision making. Act in accordance with agreed objec$ves. Coercive People rela$ng to each other from a coercive perspec$ve: - Do not share common interests. Have values and beliefs that are likely to con8ict. Do not agree upon ends and means and ‘genuine’ compromise is not possible. Coerce others to accept decisions. The hard systems model of change The HSMC is a method that has been developed for designing and managing change. The HSMC is especially useful when dealing with situa$ons that lie towards the ‘hard’ end of the hard-so> con$nuum of change situa$ons. It provides a rigorous and systema$c way of determining objec$ves (or goals) for change; this is followed by the genera$on of a range of op$ons for ac$on; the last step is tes$ng those op$ons against a set of explicit criteria. The process can be thought of as falling into three overlapping phases: 1. The descripon phase – describing and diagnosing the situa$on, understanding what is involved, seLng the objec$ves for the change. 2. The opons phase – genera$ng op$ons for change, selec$ng the most appropriate op$on, thinking about what might be done. 3. The implementaon phase – puLng feasible plans into prac$ce and monitoring the results. Stages within the hard systems model of change 55 Stuvia - Koop en Verkoop de Beste Samenvattingen Phase 1: Description Stage 1: situaon summary. The basic idea in stage 1 is to start by describing the system within which change is going to be made. This is an important stage in the change process and should not be rushed. People who are centrally concerned with the change should be consulted. Unless the speci=ca$on the problem and descrip$on of the situa$on are done carefully, the subsequent change objec$ves and process will be 8awed. This stage includes the following: - Sta$ng the commitment to the analysis and the reason for doing it. Describing, in words and with diagrams, the situa$on within which changes will be set. At the end of this stage the scope of the study will be de=ned, as will the range of problems and issues to be addressed. Stage 2: Iden'caon of objecves and constraints. An objec$ve can be de=ned as something that is desired; a constraint is something which inhibits or prevents achievement of an objec$ve. This stage involves being clear about where the decision makers want to go and which ways might be impassable or perhaps temporarily blocked. This stage involves the following: - Lis$ng objec$ves that are consistent with the themes which emerged from the diagnos$c stage. Arranging the objec$ves into hierarchy of objec$ves. Lis$ng constraints in terms of those that are inviable and may be modi=ed. Stage 3: Iden'caon of performance measures This stage includes the following: - Formula$ng measures of performance, which can be put against the objec$ves on the objec$ves tree. 56 It is possible that some objec$ves cannot be quan$=ed. In this case, some form of ra$ng or ranking can be used as a measure of performance. Phase 2: options Stage 4: Generaon of opons (routes to objecves) The genera$on of op$ons stage is the stage of =nding out how to achieve the objec$ves. If the objec$ves tree is well developed, some of the lower-level objec$ves may actually be op$ons. This stage involves the following: - Drawing up a list of op$ons. This can be done by making use of any number of crea$ve thinking techniques such as: Brainstorming, ideas wri$ng, ques$oning others, focus groups, interviews, research, mee$ngs, organiza$onal comparisons/benchmarking, gap analysis. At the end of this stage a set of speci=c ideas should have been generated which will help the problem or opportunity – in the sense that they will further the achievement of the objec$ve(s), rather than that they will break the constraints, and lead to bene=cial changes to the situa$on described in stage 1. Stage 5: Eding and detailing selected opons At the stage of edi$ng and detailing some op$ons, it may be necessary to sort the op$ons, in terms of those that are likely to be feasible given the par$cular situa$on described in stage 1 and the constraints iden$=ed in stage 2. The selected op$ons should then be described in more detail – or ‘modelled’ – in terms of what is involved, who is involved and how it will work. There are many ways of tes$ng how an op$on might work. It is at this stage of the HSMC that each of the op$ons generated for the objec$ves would be explored in more detail, using the ques$ons listed earlier about who would be involved, how it would work and what =nancial and other resources would be required for it to work. Stage 6: Evaluang opons against measures The evalua$on stage of the change process is a decision area. It allows choices of op$ons to be made against the criteria iden$=ed in stage 3. Before making your recommenda$on, you should complete the following: - Consider whether the model seems to contain any bias or mistaken assump$ons. Evaluate each op$on, or combina$on of op$ons, according to how well it meets the performance measures. Ra$ng the op$ons overall on a scale is a useful guide. Phase 3: The implementation phase Stage 7: Implementaon In problems of a de=nite ‘hard’ nature, implementa$on will rarely be a problem. With problems tending towards ‘so>ness’, implementa$on will be a test of how much people involved in the change have par$cipated in its design. There are three strategies for implementa$on: 1. Pilot studies leading to eventual change – help sort out any problems before more extensive change is ins$tuted, but they can cause delay – a factor that is par$cularly important in a fast-moving, dynamic situa$on. 2. Parallel running – applies most frequently to the implementa$on of new computer systems, but can be applied to other kinds of change. The new system is run, for a $me, alongside the old system, un$l con=dence is gained that the new system is reliable and e:ec$ve. 57 3. Big bang – maximizes the speed of change, but can generate the greatest resistance. Big bang implementa$ons carry a high risk of failure unless planned very carefully. Implementa$on o>en involves a blend of all three strategies. Stage 8: Consolidaon – ‘carry through’ At this stage, there tends to be a decline in concentra$on on the need to support the change, and nurture both it and the people involved. Yet this is one of the most crucial stages if the change is to be accepted and successful. Even a>er the implementa$on process further changes can be forced on the situa$on at any $me if the imbalance between the system and the environment becomes too great. There is no jus$=ca$on for ‘siLng back’. Chapter 8: Soft systems models for change Managing change in situations of soft complexity Acko: (1993) iden$=es three di:erent ‘kinds of things’ that can be done about problems. He says: ‘They can be resolved, solved or dissolved’. To resolve a problem is to select a course of ac$on that yields an outcome that is good enough, that sa$s=ces and suJces. People who use this approach do not pretend to be objec$ve in their decision making and use liCle especially collected data, jus$fying their conclusions by saying ‘lack of $me’ or ‘lack of informa$on’ or ‘it’s too complex a situa$on’. Solvers of problems use approaches to problems that are much more heavily reliant on researchbased scien$=c methods, techniques and tools. Acko: calls this the ‘research’ approach to mess management. The third approach is dissolving. To dissolve a problem is to change the nature, and/or the environment, of the en$ty in which it is embedded so as to remove the problem. He calls this approach the ‘design’ approach in that problem dissolvers, in addi$on to using the methods and techniques of problem resolvers and problem solvers, seek to redesign the characteris$cs of the larger system containing the problem. Organizational development – philosophy and underlying assumptions According to French and Bell organizaon development is: a long-term e:ort, led and supported by top management, to improve an organiza$on’s visioning, empowerment, learning and problemsolving processes, through an ongoing, collabora$ve management of organiza$on culture – with special emphasis on the culture of intact work teams and other team con=gura$ons – using the consultant-facilitator role and the theory and technology of applied behavioural science, including ac$on research. Characteris$cs of the OD approach to change: - It emphasizes goals and processes but with a par$cular emphasis on processes – the no$on of organiza$onal learning as a means of improving an organiza$on’s capacity to change. It deals with change over the medium to long term, that is, change that needs to be sustained over a signi=cant period of $me. It involves the organiza$on as a whole as well as its parts. It is par$cipa$ve, drawing on the theory and prac$ces of the behavioural science. 58