The dictionary meaning of change as a noun is making or becoming different, difference from previous state, substitution of one for another variation, etc. Change as a verb means to undergo change, to make or become different. Change essentially implies dissatisfaction with the old and urge for the new. It may be perceived in two ways:
• Change as continuous and intrinsic to an organisation: There are changes in an organisation that are minute in nature but take place continuously. An organisation may be perceived as being in a state of flux(like the universe) and the elements of its systems and sub-systems always undergo subtle changes (incremental changes).
• Change as extrinsic and discontinuous: Organisations are perceived as normally stable and change is perceived as disruptive, forcing organisations to modify, restructure or reconfigure. Certain changes occurring inside the organisation are very minute and their impact is hardly felt. But a few changes are cataclysmic in nature, giving the organisation barely any time to cope with them. These are almost like natural calamities such as earthquake, cyclone, etc. in their impact. Some organisations may handle changes in a creative manner or make drastic changes in their strategy and direction to emerge out of this turbulence whereas others may get lost in it.
We have tried to summarise the understanding of change in Box.
Box: What is Change?
• Change underlies a qualitatively different way of perceiving, thinking and behaving to improve over the past and existing practices.
• Change can be seen as continuous and intrinsic to an organisation or as extrinsic and discontinuous.
• Change can be patterned and predictable or complex and unpredictable.
• Change is dual or bipolar. Continuity without change leads to stagnation,frustration and boredom in individuals and ambiguity, conflict and degenerative pathology in individuals and organisations.
• Many a times, the rate of change is faster than our ability to comprehend and cope with it.
We are familiar with changes brought about by the twin phenomena of liberalisation and globalisation in all walks of life. The banking sector has adapted to the emerging scenario very fast. And the power sector is now beginning to respond to these trends (Box).
Box: Turnaround of a State Electricity Board
GUJARAT ELECTRICITY BOARD MAKES A TURNAROUND WIPING OUT RS. 2,542-CRORE LOSS (the Board announces a net profit of Rs. 200 crore
for 2005-2006).
• Change as continuous and intrinsic to an organisation: There are changes in an organisation that are minute in nature but take place continuously. An organisation may be perceived as being in a state of flux(like the universe) and the elements of its systems and sub-systems always undergo subtle changes (incremental changes).
• Change as extrinsic and discontinuous: Organisations are perceived as normally stable and change is perceived as disruptive, forcing organisations to modify, restructure or reconfigure. Certain changes occurring inside the organisation are very minute and their impact is hardly felt. But a few changes are cataclysmic in nature, giving the organisation barely any time to cope with them. These are almost like natural calamities such as earthquake, cyclone, etc. in their impact. Some organisations may handle changes in a creative manner or make drastic changes in their strategy and direction to emerge out of this turbulence whereas others may get lost in it.
We have tried to summarise the understanding of change in Box.
Box: What is Change?
• Change underlies a qualitatively different way of perceiving, thinking and behaving to improve over the past and existing practices.
• Change can be seen as continuous and intrinsic to an organisation or as extrinsic and discontinuous.
• Change can be patterned and predictable or complex and unpredictable.
• Change is dual or bipolar. Continuity without change leads to stagnation,frustration and boredom in individuals and ambiguity, conflict and degenerative pathology in individuals and organisations.
• Many a times, the rate of change is faster than our ability to comprehend and cope with it.
We are familiar with changes brought about by the twin phenomena of liberalisation and globalisation in all walks of life. The banking sector has adapted to the emerging scenario very fast. And the power sector is now beginning to respond to these trends (Box).
Box: Turnaround of a State Electricity Board
GUJARAT ELECTRICITY BOARD MAKES A TURNAROUND WIPING OUT RS. 2,542-CRORE LOSS (the Board announces a net profit of Rs. 200 crore
for 2005-2006).
The state government split the Gujarat Electricity Board into four regional power generation companies, four regional power distribution companies, one transmission company and a parent company. GEB restructured loans worth Rs. 4,130 crore and brought down the interest rates from 9.51% to 8.6%. It liquidated accumulated losses of Rs. 2,542 crore and announced a net profit of Rs. 200 crore for 2005-2006 by managing to increase its revenues through strict supervision of power distribution.
Some Key Change Themes
The winds of change today bring with them the inklings of happenings tomorrow, though many-a-times it is difficult to tell whether there are storms in the offing or pleasant breezes to soothe our lives. Predicting future is indeed a tricky business. However, we need to have a futuristic perspective to be able to introduce constructive change in our businesses. We should also havesome broad understanding of what factors bring about change in a society.Needless to say, in the present times, one such important factor is the availability of high quality services/products at affordable costs any place, any time. In fact, early providers are invariably the leaders and reap benefits if they maintain customer satisfaction on these counts.
Changes in businesses are being brought about by the following key concerns(Fig.):
Some Key Change Themes
The winds of change today bring with them the inklings of happenings tomorrow, though many-a-times it is difficult to tell whether there are storms in the offing or pleasant breezes to soothe our lives. Predicting future is indeed a tricky business. However, we need to have a futuristic perspective to be able to introduce constructive change in our businesses. We should also havesome broad understanding of what factors bring about change in a society.Needless to say, in the present times, one such important factor is the availability of high quality services/products at affordable costs any place, any time. In fact, early providers are invariably the leaders and reap benefits if they maintain customer satisfaction on these counts.
Changes in businesses are being brought about by the following key concerns(Fig.):
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| Key Change Themes |
• Customers’ demand to provide them with products and services as per their requirements, in the shortest possible time and at their convenience, i.e., at any time and at any place. There are many examples of this kind of change, ranging from pocket calculators, mobile phones to computers. Whereas in the 1960s, computers occupied big buildings, the same capabilities are now available in laptop and palmtop computers and indeed on some models of mobile telephones.
• Growing customer awareness and their desire for associated intangible benefits, e.g., peace of mind, a life free of hassles and tensions stemming from the purchase of products and services. For example, a company which provides prompt complaint grievance redress also provides the customer some peace of mind, which is valued equally by him/her.
• The enterprise providing the value is able to share economics with the customer by using as little matter as possible in the preparation of the goods or services. Today, the use of automation and materials technology has reduced the amount of processing and actual material required fornproviding goods and services. These are being produced more quickly and cheaply, and with less final bulk and weight. All this competitive advantage is encapsulated in the phrase ‘no matter’.‘No matter’ as a concept also includes the role of the disposable, though we have to watch its impact on the environment. There are throwaway razors, diapers, cameras, pens, etc. The idea of no matter also covers the idea of the invisible purpose behind a sale. Perceiving it opens up opportunities of lateral thinking and further beneficial change. It is all a question of tangible products fulfilling intangible needs. Such ideas can transform a business as these emphasise on the effectiveness of outcomes in addition to the efficiency of inputs.
• Mass customization implies providing the customer with precisely what s/he requires – something that is non-standard, yet can be produced on the standard line (which produces goods of standard size, weight or other requirement). Technology now permits this – it requires just a change in computerised instructions.
• Growing customer awareness and their desire for associated intangible benefits, e.g., peace of mind, a life free of hassles and tensions stemming from the purchase of products and services. For example, a company which provides prompt complaint grievance redress also provides the customer some peace of mind, which is valued equally by him/her.
• The enterprise providing the value is able to share economics with the customer by using as little matter as possible in the preparation of the goods or services. Today, the use of automation and materials technology has reduced the amount of processing and actual material required fornproviding goods and services. These are being produced more quickly and cheaply, and with less final bulk and weight. All this competitive advantage is encapsulated in the phrase ‘no matter’.‘No matter’ as a concept also includes the role of the disposable, though we have to watch its impact on the environment. There are throwaway razors, diapers, cameras, pens, etc. The idea of no matter also covers the idea of the invisible purpose behind a sale. Perceiving it opens up opportunities of lateral thinking and further beneficial change. It is all a question of tangible products fulfilling intangible needs. Such ideas can transform a business as these emphasise on the effectiveness of outcomes in addition to the efficiency of inputs.
• Mass customization implies providing the customer with precisely what s/he requires – something that is non-standard, yet can be produced on the standard line (which produces goods of standard size, weight or other requirement). Technology now permits this – it requires just a change in computerised instructions.
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| Changes at the Work-place |
• Improvement in quality and reduction in cost are important drivers of change. For an organisation, productivity has meaning if people value its products. And people support the product if they get value for their money.
• Our concern for the environment has also driven change in the way we conduct our business. In this context, power produced by renewable sources is certainly better than that produced by fossil or nuclear fuels.However, switching over completely to these resources may not bepossible in the near future. But the governments and power utilities the world over are aware of these concerns and trying to switch over to cleaner technologies.
•Invention and use of newer technologies has the biggest impact on business, industry and society in determining the pace and nature of change. We have mentioned here some factors and the changes likely to take place in future.We would also like to provide you a glimpse of the changes expected in future in the world of work.
A Glimpse into the Future
The world of work is being affected by the way in which technology and socio- economic changes act together to create an information society: Here information not only keeps us informed to an unparalleled degree, but also actually tells inanimate things what to do! This drastically reduces the need for human beings to mind machines and perform basic processes.We are into the age of what is called the ‘shamrock organisation’. Such organisations are employing three categories of workers:
• core employees who constitute permanent staff, performing the central activity;
• contractors either as individuals or as companies who perform specialist functions; and
• casual or part-time workers, who carry out seasonal or variable tasks.At different times of their lives, people may find that different work styles suit them better and switch over from one category to another. People may actually have a portfolio of approaches to work from which they may invoke the element which suits a particular part of their life cycle (Fig. 5.2). The portfolio may include wage work, field work, home work, (domestic, do-it-yourself, etc.), gift work (for charity or the community) and study work (self-education). Thus, as the pattern of work changes, lifetime work for one employer will become increasingly rare, and wider opportunities will emerge.
The implications of all this are vast both for the business and the individual. If society can get it right, it may mean more leisure and freedom. It will also have a bearing on the concept of career for life, which is also creating problems for many companies where the career ladder has fewer rungs to climb.In addition, the requirements for various kinds of work skills and capabilities are undergoing a radical change. Now-a-days, the services sector has become as important as the manufacturing sector. It requires more mental and interpersonal than manual skills. Most of these brain workers will require higher education, which enough of them are certainly not getting in most countries.
As managers, you should be aware of the factors that are bringing about change in your own business and should be able to cope with them. You will also need to educate your workforce to appreciate the nature of these changes for creating a better world of work and life. A proper understanding of the changes in working methods and their impact on careers and employment patterns can help people to be less anxious about the apparent insecurity caused by changing technology, methods and external market forces.If all employees could understand these trends and regard them as a bandwagon to be jumped on rather than as a threat to be resisted, and if you can help trade unions to see them as opportunities, the resistance to beneficial change would be diminished to the advantage of all. Understanding and anticipating changes in the offing will make it possible to introduce change incrementally on a ‘win-win’ basis instead of by the process of conflict.In the world of work, the need for a change mindset (which does not assume the permanence of the status quo), and of a future mindset (which projects itself into the future and sees new possibilities) is going to be vital. There are revolutionary trends at work. It will not be wise to ignore them.
The recent literature on change management reveals that organisations are undergoing continuous and increasingly rapid and dramatic changes. We need to understand the need to change in the wake of changes in external environment like globalisation, and advancements in information technology as well as inherent challenges in managing these changes. In this context, you need to learn about the forces of change.
Forces of Change Any factor in the environment (both internal and external) that interferes with the organisation’s ability to attract human, financial and material resources it needs, or to produce and market its services/products becomes a force of change. There are numerous visible and invisible forces, which are constantly affecting changes in organisations. Some of the important ones are described in Table .
Force of Change
• Our concern for the environment has also driven change in the way we conduct our business. In this context, power produced by renewable sources is certainly better than that produced by fossil or nuclear fuels.However, switching over completely to these resources may not bepossible in the near future. But the governments and power utilities the world over are aware of these concerns and trying to switch over to cleaner technologies.
•Invention and use of newer technologies has the biggest impact on business, industry and society in determining the pace and nature of change. We have mentioned here some factors and the changes likely to take place in future.We would also like to provide you a glimpse of the changes expected in future in the world of work.
A Glimpse into the Future
The world of work is being affected by the way in which technology and socio- economic changes act together to create an information society: Here information not only keeps us informed to an unparalleled degree, but also actually tells inanimate things what to do! This drastically reduces the need for human beings to mind machines and perform basic processes.We are into the age of what is called the ‘shamrock organisation’. Such organisations are employing three categories of workers:
• core employees who constitute permanent staff, performing the central activity;
• contractors either as individuals or as companies who perform specialist functions; and
• casual or part-time workers, who carry out seasonal or variable tasks.At different times of their lives, people may find that different work styles suit them better and switch over from one category to another. People may actually have a portfolio of approaches to work from which they may invoke the element which suits a particular part of their life cycle (Fig. 5.2). The portfolio may include wage work, field work, home work, (domestic, do-it-yourself, etc.), gift work (for charity or the community) and study work (self-education). Thus, as the pattern of work changes, lifetime work for one employer will become increasingly rare, and wider opportunities will emerge.
The implications of all this are vast both for the business and the individual. If society can get it right, it may mean more leisure and freedom. It will also have a bearing on the concept of career for life, which is also creating problems for many companies where the career ladder has fewer rungs to climb.In addition, the requirements for various kinds of work skills and capabilities are undergoing a radical change. Now-a-days, the services sector has become as important as the manufacturing sector. It requires more mental and interpersonal than manual skills. Most of these brain workers will require higher education, which enough of them are certainly not getting in most countries.
As managers, you should be aware of the factors that are bringing about change in your own business and should be able to cope with them. You will also need to educate your workforce to appreciate the nature of these changes for creating a better world of work and life. A proper understanding of the changes in working methods and their impact on careers and employment patterns can help people to be less anxious about the apparent insecurity caused by changing technology, methods and external market forces.If all employees could understand these trends and regard them as a bandwagon to be jumped on rather than as a threat to be resisted, and if you can help trade unions to see them as opportunities, the resistance to beneficial change would be diminished to the advantage of all. Understanding and anticipating changes in the offing will make it possible to introduce change incrementally on a ‘win-win’ basis instead of by the process of conflict.In the world of work, the need for a change mindset (which does not assume the permanence of the status quo), and of a future mindset (which projects itself into the future and sees new possibilities) is going to be vital. There are revolutionary trends at work. It will not be wise to ignore them.
The recent literature on change management reveals that organisations are undergoing continuous and increasingly rapid and dramatic changes. We need to understand the need to change in the wake of changes in external environment like globalisation, and advancements in information technology as well as inherent challenges in managing these changes. In this context, you need to learn about the forces of change.
Forces of Change Any factor in the environment (both internal and external) that interferes with the organisation’s ability to attract human, financial and material resources it needs, or to produce and market its services/products becomes a force of change. There are numerous visible and invisible forces, which are constantly affecting changes in organisations. Some of the important ones are described in Table .
Force of Change
Technology Tools, techniques, instruments, methods, procedures Workforce Knowledge, skills, ambitions, expectations, needs Economy Liberalisation, globalisation, privatisation, breaking the barriers, resource imbalance Competition Mergers, acquisitions, entry of new organisations,new products, lowering prices, better services Social Trends Nuclear families, working couples, late marriages, one child norm Political Factors Warring ideologies, new equations, transitory relationships, coalition Governments, single
superpower, etc.
superpower, etc.
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| Important Forces of Change |
Types of Change
All changes are not similar in nature. Some changes keep on happening on their own and some are planned. Three types of change (Fig) may be identified:
• Evolution
• Revolution
• Planned change
All changes are not similar in nature. Some changes keep on happening on their own and some are planned. Three types of change (Fig) may be identified:
• Evolution
• Revolution
• Planned change
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| Types of Change |
These may briefly be described as follows:
• Evolution is the kind of change that comes as a natural process, in small adjustments or shifts in response to emerging problems.
• Revolution is the kind of change brought about by applying force on others to comply through coercion or suppression to resolve conflicts.
•Planned change takes place when efforts are made to make others feel the need for change, determine the ideal or desired situation and strive to achieve the ideal or desired state through planned actions.
Social and behavioural scientists have advocated diverse approaches to understand the change process and described the following four kinds of change:
A. Exceptional Change: A particular change is accepted as an exception if there is otherwise no change in the ongoing aspects. The existing beliefs are not changed but specific change is introduced separately, as an exception. For example, introduction of flexi-time in one division of an organisation could be termed as an exception if all other divisions continue with the existing system.
B. Incremental Change: A gradual change which is not even felt initially by those who experience it is said to be incremental change.Computerisation in offices has been introduced as an incremental change in most of the organisations.
C. Pendulum Change: Change from one extreme point of view to the opposite is said to be pendulum change. The shift from open tendering process to single tender on negotiation basis in a company is an example of pendulum change.
D. Paradigm Change: When new information about an event, object, behaviour, and image is integrated and leads to the emergence of a new belief, the change is called paradigm change. A paradigm in simple words may be understood as a cognitive model of how things are or a standard for how things should be. A familiar example is change in the power sector in perceiving electricity as a business and the notion of ‘profit centres’.
The No Change Position indicates the zero condition of inertia – sticking to traditional view, valuing the past conservative thinking that new is definitely bad. Any change or deviation from the past is perceived as a threat – a threat to beliefs, habits, preferences, norms and prevailing order. When performance management system is being evolved, constantly sticking to the previous method (where boss does it alone) becomes an example of the no change position.
The major benefits of this position are stability, less effort, comfort, less risk but it also brings no growth, boredom, dissatisfaction, conformity and stagnation.
The major benefits of this position are stability, less effort, comfort, less risk but it also brings no growth, boredom, dissatisfaction, conformity and stagnation.
Constant Change, at the other extreme, is a dynamic approach with continuous focus on future. In this approach, new is taken as always good.Any change is seen as positive; resistance is seen as bad and equated with not moving with times and as an opposition to the norms, values and progress. While implementing changes with this kind of an approach, not much regard is given to the opinion of the affected people.
The Productive (pragmatic) Approach to Change lies between these two extremes and focuses on the existing state (what is happening). Change is seen as inevitable in this approach. The emphasis is on explaining the need for change and making a conscious choice without having a fascination or inertia for the past or a compulsion for rapid change.
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