The Sequential Model for Effective Change Implementation

QUESTION

The Sequential Model for Effective Change Implementation will be written as a research paper.

You are to follow the Sequential Model four-step process as a roadmap in developing your model for change implementation. This Project requires you to design the process of change implementation to a trigger event you have identified. When selecting the trigger event, consider the research component and scope of the event. If the event is broad in nature, ex: a company decision to “Go Green”, it may be difficult to narrow down the vast amount of information/research you gather. Conversely, selecting a trigger event which does not produce enough information, may make it difficult to design the process for implementation.

In the research paper:

• provide an introduction.

• identify the trigger event in detail.

• explain each of the four phases in your implementation design, paying particular attention to the components embedded within each phase.

• incorporate mutual engagement to the design, which is at the center of the Sequential Model.

• summarize the design and provide insight of your experience with the project.

The design of your paper should include:

• Title Page (1 page)

• Implementation design/research (at least 1200 words)

• Bibliography [citations] (1+ pages, depending on the number of sources)

you are tasked to write in a scholarly tone, using third person. You should follow APA format with regard to margins, font, and spacing (1” margin, Times New Roman 12, and double-spacing) including page header, page numbering, title page, and correct citations, in-text citations. Use headings, sub-level headings where appropriate. The bibliography should be formatted using APA style and sources formatted correctly. It is important to cite appropriately and paraphrase when needed. Plagiarism is a serious infraction and should be avoided at all cost.

Acceptable sources of scholarly material include peer-reviewed journal articles. Wikipedia is not an acceptable source however can be used to aid in your search. Textbooks should be of minimal use and keep direct quotations to only two per page. Government-based Web sites can be included if providing statistical information. All citations should be no older than five years however I do understand historical context and will allow older citations. Eighty (80) percent of the citations should be from peer-reviewed sources and the remaining 20 percent can come from other sources such as documents, Web sites, etc. For additional help, please refer to the APA Manual.

ANSWER

Introduction

Organizational change refers to a company or organization going through a transformation (Argyris, 1993). Organization change usually occurs when business strategies or major sections in an organization are altered or modified. Organizational change is also known as reorganization, restructuring and turnaround. The process of calling on new technologies to improve services or products requires organizational change. Offering new products in new markets also requires organizational change (Spector, 2007).

There are mostly two forms of organizational changes: the first is content-drive change, which refers to a programmatic change in which specific programs, balanced scorecard, customer relationship and lean enterprise are used as the centrepiece and driver for the change implementation. The second approach is process-driven change, which emphasizes methods of innovating, introducing and institutionalizing new behaviour, then uses content to reinforce the changes (Spector, 2007).

Trigger event

Organizational change is usually initiated in response to some trigger event. A trigger event is a shift in the environment, which creates need for altered strategies and new patterns of employee behaviour (Isabella, 1992).

The implementation of new technologies is an example of a trigger event, in an organization. In a tea processing industry, for example, the introduction of mechanized tea harvesting will be a major trigger event. An implementation design has to be put in place for effective implementation of the change.

This trigger event will require or result in:

• The purchase or acquisition of tea plucking machines
• Some employees losing jobs, due to mechanisation of processes that were done manually before
• Employees will require training so as to understand the operations of the machines
• It may require the restructuring of the workforce and working hours, or shifts

All employees do not greet change efforts with enthusiasm. The resistance arises from various sources, some internal to individual employees. Others are externally located in the implementation processes of change leaders. Allowing employees to be involved in the formulation of change plans increases employee acceptance, ownership over and support for those change efforts (Greenwood, 1996).

Implementation design

A change implementation model shown below shows an integrated implementation design. This model shows both what tools can be applied and the most effective sequence for the application (Spector, 2007).

Shared diagnosis

The implementation starts with shared diagnosis. Starting change implementation with shared diagnosis results in the building up of both dissatisfaction with the current status and a commitment to enact new behaviours. Organizational change usually requires the commitment of employees. Participative diagnostic processes can be used to build the commitment. Employee participation helps overcome their usual defensiveness and resistance to changes (Armenakis & Bedeian, 1999).

In the tea industry’s implementation of mechanised harvesting, shared diagnosis identifies that there is low production and slow operation at the tea reception points, hence the need for a faster method of tea harvesting. Machines are the perfect method of boosting production of the tea leaves from farms.

Step 1: Redesign

Redesign refers to an alteration or change in the employee roles, responsibilities and relationships (Weick & Quinn, 1999). The employees in an organization can participate in redesigning the behavioural patterns that support strategic renewal and outstanding performance. The employees look for answers to questions such as what they can do to contribute to the company’s achievement, what are the performance outcomes that they should strive to achieve, with whom they must work so as to meet the expected outcomes and what the nature of those interactions is i.e. their roles, responsibilities and relationships. The employees identify these specifically, that is, I am a machine operator, I am a mechanic, I am a supervisor etc. I need to work with the mechanic to ensure effective operation of the machines etc.

Step 2: Help

The organizations facing the changes should then offer employees help with enacting the desired new behaviours. Employees that are required to operate the tea plucking machines for the first time, or change their working works and periods, will need to learn the skills of operations and teamwork. The supervisors being asked to work as facilitators with work teams will also require to learn a new set of skills (Tenkasi & Chesmore, 2003).

This training can be used most effectively where it follows a participative process of redesigning roles, responsibilities, and relationships. Employee commitment to enact new behaviour drives the required desire to learn the skills required for the change.

Step 3: People change

This refers to the process of matching the individual attributes of employees with the strategic requirements of the company or organization (Spector, 2007). The attributes include personal skills, motivation, attitudes, and behaviours of the employees. This step is important so as to acquire the best suited employees for specific positions and roles, and do away with the unqualified/unfit. It is done by various methods, which include:

• Individual assessment of employees. This assessment should reflect the new set of required qualifications and competencies.
• This process aims at attracting and acquiring new employees, based on the need for new competencies, required by the redesigned organization.
• Promotion usually identifies the existing employees whose personal and work skills make them effective enablers of the intended change.
• Removal and replacement, for the employees who cannot change their patterns of behaviour to suit the newly defined roles, responsibilities and relationships (Van de Ven & Poole, 1995).

Step 4: Systems and structures

This forms the final step, where leaders reinforce altered patterns of behaviour through new structures, systems, and technologies. Roles, responsibilities, and relationships have already been redesigned, the employees have been offered the opportunity to learn and enact new behavioural patterns and competencies and the best suited individuals are in place (Spector, 2007).

This altering of the formal organizational systems and structures should always come at the end of a change implementation strategy so as to institutionalize new patterns of behaviour. It is here that the compensation and evaluation of employees performing the new roles is discussed. The machine operators at the tea industry will have new payment schemes formulated, and the evaluation of their work and output will be done at this stage. Measurement of the effectiveness of the new systems and behaviour will also be done.

Mutual Engagement

Mutual engagement involves participation in decision making. This helps build commitment to the outcomes of that decision‐making process. The change implementation cycle should create opportunities for dialogue, discussion, communication and also participation, as a way of building commitment to these changes. Mutual engagement is built on the assumption that all employees, at all organizational levels, whose behaviours have to change, need to be committed to the change (Spector, 2007).

Important knowledge on the current state of the company’s operations, the expectations of customers, the required interface with suppliers, emerging technological trends and developments in the larger industry is usually embedded deeply in and widely across the firm. The employees have a very unique perspective on how best their organization is meeting set strategic goals. Mutual engagement therefore ensures that critical knowledge is constantly considered in the change process, by full employee involvement (Hannan & Freeman, 1984).

In the tea industry’s organizational change, employees should be allowed to communicate their views and suggest improvements on the implementation of the new machines. They should also feel free to criticize anything that they do not agree with or support.

Citations

• Argyris, C. (1993). Knowledge for action: A guide to overcoming barriers to organizational change. Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.
• Spector, B. (2007). Implementing organizational change: Theory and practice. Prentice Hall.
• Isabella, L. A. (1992). Managing the challenges of trigger events: The mind-sets governing adaptation to change. Business Horizons, 35(5), 59-66.
• Greenwood, R., & Hinings, C. R. (1996). Understanding radical organizational change: Bringing together the old and the new institutionalism. Academy of management review, 21(4), 1022-1054.
• Weick, K. E., & Quinn, R. E. (1999). Organizational change and development. Annual review of psychology, 50(1), 361-386.
• Van de Ven, A. H., & Poole, M. S. (1995). Explaining development and change in organizations. Academy of management review, 20(3), 510-540.
• Hannan, M. T., & Freeman, J. (1984). Structural inertia and organizational change. American sociological review, 149-164.
• Tenkasi, R. V., & Chesmore, M. C. (2003). Social networks and planned organizational change the impact of strong network ties on effective change implementation and use. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 39(3), 281-300.
• Armenakis, A. A., & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational change: A review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of management, 25(3), 293-315.
• Novelli, L., Kirkman, B. L., & Shapiro, D. L. (1995). Effective implementation of organizational change: An organizational justice perspective. Trends in organizational behavior, 2, 15-36.
• Keen, P. G. (1981). Information systems and organizational change. Communications of the ACM, 24(1), 24-33.
• Fernandez, S., & Rainey, H. G. (2006). Managing successful organizational change in the public sector. Public administration review, 66(2), 168-176.