Good Research Paper On Change Management

Organization Change Management

Organization change management is a framework used to manage the effects of new business processes, cultural changes within any enterprise, or changes in the organizational structure. Change management consists of the processes, techniques, and tools that helps in managing the change that occurs at the people side to achieve the entailed business outcome. There are several types of change management tools and models used for controlling the culture or people of any organization; however, organizations choose one or more kind of models for their operations as according to the requirements and design. The most common types of organization change management models are as follows,

Lewin’s Change Management Model

Kotter’s 8 Step Change Model
McKinsey 7-S Model
Lewin’s Change Management Model
Lewin’s Change Management model was designed by the psychologist Kurt Lewin in 1950s. He observed that most people prefer and operate within the specific regions of safety. Considering it, Lewin proposed the change management model, stating that people should first make up their mind for the upcoming changes, make a plan, and then implement it. For this purpose, Lewin proposed a model with three steps that includes unfreeze, change, and refreeze. He presented an example of ice cube to explain the process of change. He explained that if you have an ice cube, but you want it in the shape of a cone, then you must first unfreeze it, change the shape, and then refreeze it in a form of new shape. Applying these steps to the organization change, first the organization management must prepare for the change and accept it. During this process, the existing quo of the organization would be broken down. The first step of the change management process is usually the most difficult part. The management needs to cut down the way things are done at the organization, and convince the staff members for the new process. In the second step of the change management process, staff members and others start believing on the new processes and act in the same way; however, the transition from the point of unfreezing stage to change does not occur overnight, but it needs time. For this purpose, the top management must be highly interactive with its employees, so that they can explain ambiguities and misunderstandings building up in their mind. In the last step of the change process that is refreeze; the staff members are in stable position to accept and successfully implement the change. They understand the organization requirements and the new design, and the adapt them accordingly .

Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model

The management and leadership guru John Kotter introduced an eight-step change management model in 1995 that are considered as the leading change steps today. The Kotter’s 8-step change management process consists of easy steps. The primary focus of this model is on accepting and preparing the change, but not the actual change. Change is easier to implement with this model. The eight steps are explained as follows,

Create urgency – develop a sense of necessity in the staff member for the need of change in an organization.

Build a powerful coalition – find the effective leaders and supporting staff within the organization to lead the change.
Create a vision for change – build a clear vision that everyone in the organization can understand.
Communicate the vision – communicate the purpose and vision of the change in a powerful manner in front of the staff members every now and then.

Remove obstacles – keep a check on the barriers that resist the change and take action instantly.

Create short-term wins – motivate the staff members by assigning them short-term targets and not just one time long-term goal. Breaking down the long-term goal into small short-term targets ensure the success on the overall change project.
Build on the change – measure each project’s success and evaluate teams’ performance. This will help improving the quality of future projects.
Anchor the changes in corporate culture – make continuous attempts to ensure that change is embedded to the core of the organization culture and structure .
McKinsey 7-S Model
The McKinsey 7-S is a value based management model that explains, how one can organize a company in an effective and holistic manner. The model was designed by the team of scholars that includes Tom Peters, Robert Waterman, Richard Pascale, and Anthony Athos in 1978. The model consists of seven factors that acts as a collective agent of change. These include,

Strategy – the devised plan to build and maintain competitive advantage of the organization

Shared Values – that are also called as subordinate goals. They are at times considered as the core values of the organization.

Systems – the routine tasks and procedures carried out by the staff members to get the job done.

Structure – the formal structure that defines the hierarchy of positions in the organization
Staff – the employees of the organization
Skills – competencies of the employees
McKinsey model categorized these factors as the hard and soft elements. Hard elements are ones that can easily be identified, managed, and can directly be influenced. These include strategy, structure, and system of the organization. In comparison, soft elements are the ones that are difficult to describe, less tangible, and cannot easily be influenced. These include shared values, skills, staff, and style .

References

Mind Tools. (2015a). Lewin's Change Management Model. Retrieved from Mind Tools: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_94.htm
Mind Tools. (2015b). Kotter's 8-Step Change Model. Retrieved from Mind Tools: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm
Mind Tools. (2015c). The McKinsey 7-S Framework. Retrieved from Mind Tools: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_91.htm
Normandin, B. (2012, Aug 28). Three Types of Change Management Models. Retrieved from The Fast Track: http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2012/08/28/three-types-of-change-management-models/