|
Welcome to
Change Management Information - your comprehensive change management training resource.
Below, you'll find extensive information
on change managementarticles and products to help you on your
way to success.
Change Management is defined as processes and tools for managing the people side of the change at an organizational level. These tools include a structured approach that can be used to effectively transition groups or organizations through change. When combined with an understanding of individual change management, these tools provide a framework for managing the people side of change.
The process of change has been characterized as having three stages: unfreezing, changing, and re-freezing. This view draws heavily on Kurt Lewin’s adoption of the systems concept of homeostasis or dynamic stability.
What is useful about this framework is that it gives rise to thinking about a staged approach to changing things. Looking before you leap is usually sound practice.
What is not useful about this framework is that it does not allow for change efforts that begin with the organization in extremis (i.e., already “unfrozen”), nor does it allow for organizations faced with the prospect of having to “hang loose” for extended periods of time (i.e., staying “unfrozen”).
In other words, the beginning and ending point of the unfreeze-change-refreeze model is stability — which, for some people and some organizations, is a luxury. For others, internal stability spells disaster. A tortoise on the move can overtake even the fastest hare if that hare stands still.
In the old business world shareholders wanted little more than predictable earnings growth. Because so many markets were either closed or undeveloped, leaders could deliver on those expectations through annual exercises that offered only modest modifications to the strategic plan. Prices stayed in check; people stayed in their jobs; life was good.
But with a global economony many businesses are constantly on attack and many others must either react or fall to the wayside. The highway of complacency is littered with hundreds of companies that did not follow change management principals and opted to sit still. For successful change management to occur several things must happen.
A company must deal with people involved in the change process with patience, humor, grace, persistence, pragmatism, respect, understanding, and support. They must take a long and broad view of change, and think about the impact of changes over one, three, and five years. Changes must be set up so that people in an organization experience some early wins. Recognize that effective change is usually a realignment of the “world view,” rather than a program or flavor of the month. People involved in change will need to recognize that change is risky; change can be scary; change can often entail the real desire and need to slip back into the comfort zone.
Within most organizations, change management is best accomplished as a team effort. In most instances, companies set up a steering committee to map and manage the process and ensure that workers aren't swamped by too many initiatives, requirements, and details. The group must benchmark progress, obtain feedback, and continually make adjustments.
|
|
We strive to provide only quality articles, so
if there is a specific topic related to change management training that
you would like us to cover, please contact us at any time.
And again, thank you to those contributing daily
to our change management training website.
|
