Developing a change plan:
Every stage of the change process raises issues of control.
One of the reasons why managers are sometimes reluctant to call in external
consultants is the fear that they may be difficult to control. This chapter
focuses attention on the issues of control associated with the implementation
stage of the change process.
Beckhard and Harris (1987) define the period of time between
the identification of the need for change and the achievement of the desired
future state as the transition state. Often key phases of this state are unique
and different from either the state that exists before the change or the state
that will exist after it. For example, if an organization recognizes that it
needs to improve the way it manages information and, after exploring a number
of possibilities, decides to move to an enterprise resource planning(ERP)
integrated information system it will experience a period of transition. There
will come a point when the organization continues to rely on the old system
while the new one is being developed, installed and debugged. During this
period people affected by the change will have to (a) keep the old system going
while learning how to work with the new system and (b) develop the work roles
and relationships that will have to be in place when the new system is up and
running.
It is not unusual for many types of change to disrupt normal
work practices and undermine existing systems of management. Nadler (1993)
argues that during this period one of the major challenges facing management is
one of control. To abandon previous management systems before new ones have
been developed can frustrate any attempt to manage the change unless some form
of the temporary management system is put in place. Nadler refers to the need
for ‘transition devices’. These include the appointment of a transition
manager; the development of a plan for the period of transition between the old
state and the proposed future state; the allocation of specific transition
resources such as budgets, time and staff; and the development of feedback
mechanisms to facilitate monitoring and control. This chapter highlights seven
steps that the change manager can take to help maintain control during the
transition state.
Reflect on some of the changes that you have been
responsible for managing at work or elsewhere:
1.) Did you have an implementation plan that actually
worked?
2.) Why was this?
3.) Could you have done anything to improve the
implementation plan?
