Factors Influencing Organizational Readiness For Change

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

In today’s society, more than ever, businesses are encountering numerous rapidly changing settings and they are trying to keep up with these changes. Managers are tasked to meet these organizational variations head on with the intent to assist and conform to the new environments. Organizational change is a constant process that has significant implications for organizational efficiency. An organization and its associates must pay a lot of attention and be on constant alerts for changes coming from within the organization and from any outside environments. Managers must learn how to adjust to change quickly and efficiently. A blueprint for change must be developed and administrated effectively, which is essential for an organization’s success.

Organizational change typically includes a large or wide range of changes within a company. Examples may include restructuring operations, layoffs or downsizing and reorganizing teams. Many organizations even include mergers, new technologies and reengineering into their organizational change. All of these changes reorient the way an organization does business. According to author Gareth Jones (2010), the goal of planned organizational change is to find new or improved ways of using resources and capabilities in order to increase an organization’s ability to create value and improve returns to its stakeholders. No matter what the change is, the new process is incorporated to help everyone in an organization do their jobs and better contribute to their company's current needs.

Why does an organization need change and why is it important? In today’s fast moving markets, any business that moves too slowly will be left behind. Businesses should welcome change as a way to better themselves. Change is very important to a business because without change, a business can lose their competitive edge and fail to meet the needs of their customers and stakeholders.

There are many internal and external factors that influence change within an organization. The economy can have a huge impact on an organization. With a strong economy, companies might want to increase production of products and services along with possible expansion that might include hiring new employees. However, a slowing economy might force a business to make difficult decisions and downsize. This includes freezing salaries and even laying off employees.

Change that results from the adoption of new technology is common in most organizations and while it can be disruptive at first, ultimately the change tends to increase productivity and service Technology also has affected how we communicate (Richards, L., 2013). Businesses understand that with updated technology, they can explore new markets and have better opportunities. They have the ability to modify, enhance or create new products that will keep their customer base loyal.

Sometimes change results from within the organization. This may be due to growth pressures, identity pressures or power or political pressures. Some companies might go through an identity change due to the hiring of a new CEO. New ideas and concepts might be incorporated with new leadership. This can lead to new ideas and innovative concepts being generated.

Most people who have been in the workforce long enough understand that change is inevitable. However, when it does come time for change, there is still a resistance to it. Many employees will comment on how they like the way things are now. They want to keep the status quo the way it is. Change effects people emotionally and physically. Mangers need to show how change can be helpful to the organization as well as the employee.

Resistance to change is sometimes referred to as tridimensional, involving affective, behavioral and cognitive components (Palmer, 2009, p.161). This relates to how a person actually feels about change. It is very common for employees to dislike change within the comfortable environments. There is much uncertainty, negative perceptions, certain attachments and a perceived breach of psychological contract. Sometimes employees will even bring up an experience with a previous change that went bad. No mater the reason, it is up to the manager to become the change resistor.

Managers must learn how to manage resistance and one great way is to use Kotter and Schlesinger’s approach. Kotter and Schlesinger have established six change approaches to deal with change resistance (Toolkit, 2013).

Education and Communication. Sometimes there is an absence of information or erroneous information. The best way to overcome this is to inform and educate employees about the change in advance. Communication and education will benefit employees and reduce unsupported rumors concerning the effects of change in the organization.

Participation and Involvement. It is very important to get the employees involved in the change effort. Employees will be more accepting to change when they become a part of it.

Facilitation and Support. Mangers should be supportive of employees during these difficult times. Managerial support helps employees to deal with their fear and anxiety during a transition period. Mangers can set up special training classes as well as counseling to help employees through the transition.

Negotiation and Agreement. Managers will be able to reduce resistance by offering incentives to employees. For example, the employees who are resisting change can be offered incentives to leave the company through early buyouts or through retirements in order to avoid the change effort.

Manipulation and Co-option. Kotter and Schlesinger propose that an effective manipulation technique is to co-opt with employees who are resisting the change. This option brings a person into a change management planning group for the sake of appearances rather than their substantive contribution. This often involves selecting leaders of the people who are resisting the change, to participate in the change effort. These leaders can be given a symbolic role in decision making, without threatening the change effort. However, if these leaders feel that they are being tricked, they are likely to push resistance even further than if they were never included in the change effort leadership.

Explicit and Implicit Coercion. This generally happens when survival of the company depends on speed. It should only be used only as last resort. Managers can explicitly or implicitly force employees into accepting change, by making clear that resistance to change can lead to jobs losses, dismissals, employee transfers, or not promoting employees.

Another analysis that is helpful in employee resistance is Force Field Analysis, created

by Kurt Lewin (Mind Tools, 2013). This kind of analysis is great when analyzing the forces for and against a change and it helps you communicate the reasoning behind your decision. Although it was created in the 1940’s for social psychologists, force field analysis is used in businesses across the United States as a way to make decisions. Managers make a list of all the factors for and against the change. They will then score each factor based on its influence and add up the scores for and against change to find out which of these wins. Managers then look at all the supporting forces that promote the change and control the forces against the change so you have a successful outcome.

Organizational change is often met with resistance. This process is called Lewin’s Force Field Analysis Model. In this model driving forces for change create the change process and restraining forces push back on the change. This process also has unfreezing where the first part of the change process the change agent produces disequilibrium between the driving and restraining forces. And refreezing: the latter part of the change processes in which systems and conditions are introduced that reinforce and maintain he desired behaviors. (McShane, S., Von Glinow, M. 2009)

Unfreezing is the first stage of the change process and consists of unlearning past behaviors. Once a potential problem surfaces an information search begins to determine what action is required to resolve the issue. If a problem exists, creative solutions are developed. Support for unlearning develops when existing systems are challenged. Unfreezing involves dismantling past learning.

The second stage of the change process consists of incorporating new behaviors into organizational processes. Behavior and ideas that are embedded in the corporate culture must be replaced. Redirecting people’s attention is an essential part of change. The development of skills to enable people to do things differently is required. Training must be provided to ensure that employees understand their roles in making change happen. Processes and people must be aligned to support change. Skills and competencies to enable people to do things differently must be developed. Employees must understand the dynamics of the change process and also the functional requirements of the job. (Van de Ven, A., Kangyong, S. Aug 2011)

Refreezing is the final stage of the change process. It is comprised of reinforcing and measuring behavior change. After the training requirements are defined, the reward system, reporting relationships and other systems can be designed to reinforce the new behavior. If the change process requires certain behaviors from employees, then performance appraisals, promotions and bonuses should be based on the desired performance outcomes. (McShane, S., Von Glinow, M. 2009) This creates objective measures for performance to demonstrate the commitment to the change initiative.

End: These changes that have been discussed will have to be implemented in the most efficient, effective way to ensure a positive impact, as appose to causing more damage to this division. Change starts with coming up with realistic goals that include the employees that will be effected by these goals. By including employees they are more willing to change and feel there input matters, they also can be helpful in the assessment of what needs to be changed. New goals and changes must then be well written, so they are clear to employees, leaving no room for confusion or potential conflict. Matrix structure changes in the organizational structure must be implemented and managed; training and support will be offered to help the transition process to become a success. Resist from employees is not uncommon when it comes to change in their work place, by including employees as much as possible and sharing knowledge about changes, they’ll feel included and empowered, encouraging them to understand and embrace these future changes. The last step in this process is to thoroughly evaluate its progression while making corrections when needed.

Changes to this divisions organizational structure, will lead this division into a new time where, product lines create high sales, communication is an advocate, and competition for internal resources no longer exists. By allowing employees to have more say in decisions while creating strong well trained groups of specialists that work together, a matrix structure can be achieved well turning this failing organization into a business that consumers and competitors are well aware of.

scenario planning: One dispute process mechanism (In dictionary, 2009) that can be utilized to solve competition for internal resources is scenario planning. Specialist groups along with their functional managers will come together as a whole to analyze all possible internal and external factors as well as past endeavors to create future resource scenarios. These different scenarios will show where and how internal resources should be dived up and used among departments in order to meet the companies’ goal as a whole. This will also help create a plan for when uncertainties occur and show where there may be unknown opportunities for resources.

resist change: Why do people resist change? Most people understand change is inevitable, especially in the work environment. Yet most times when there is discussion on organizational change, knee jerk reactions of how things are working fine or need to be adjusted to individual specific demands are all employees want to discuss. Change affects us emotionally. There are some people if you ask them what they think of change; surprisingly they say that change is good. This is because organizational change is usually presented as a mean of improving something. In fact in many cases even layoffs can turn out good. (Ashkenas, R., Francis, S., Heinick, R. Jul/Aug 2011) I know that this might seem like a stretch, especially with the financial crises that we have in the world today. But for some people the layoff can be the driving force they need to create a personal change in their life.

Organizational change is often met with resistance. This process is called Lewin’s Force Field Analysis Model. In this model driving forces for change create the change process and restraining forces push back on the change. This process also has unfreezing where the first part of the change process the change agent produces disequilibrium between the driving and restraining forces. And refreezing: the latter part of the change processes in which systems and conditions are introduced that reinforce and maintain he desired behaviors. (McShane, S., Von Glinow, M. 2009)

Unfreezing is the first stage of the change process and consists of unlearning past behaviors. Once a potential problem surfaces an information search begins to determine what action is required to resolve the issue. If a problem exists, creative solutions are developed. Support for unlearning develops when existing systems are challenged. Unfreezing involves dismantling past learning.

The second stage of the change process consists of incorporating new behaviors into organizational processes. Behavior and ideas that are embedded in the corporate culture must be replaced. Redirecting people’s attention is an essential part of change. The development of skills to enable people to do things differently is required. Training must be provided to ensure that employees understand their roles in making change happen. Processes and people must be aligned to support change. Skills and competencies to enable people to do things differently must be developed. Employees must understand the dynamics of the change process and also the functional requirements of the job. (Van de Ven, A., Kangyong, S. Aug 2011)

Refreezing is the final stage of the change process. It is comprised of reinforcing and measuring behavior change. After the training requirements are defined, the reward system, reporting relationships and other systems can be designed to reinforce the new behavior. If the change process requires certain behaviors from employees, then performance appraisals, promotions and bonuses should be based on the desired performance outcomes. (McShane, S., Von Glinow, M. 2009) This creates objective measures for performance to demonstrate the commitment to the change initiative.

Factors influencing Change

Some factors that may influence the proposed changes are organizational culture, employee’s perception of change, effective leadership and motivational readiness. There is a strong internally consistent culture that exists within our hospital, it may resist change. Employees may also perceive the proposed change as a "High Threat Level," given that it initially will take some out of their comfort zones. Another factor is effective leadership - leadership must be confident about the change taking place and vested in its success. Motivational readiness is the final factor; this is the employee’s perception of current state, with regard to change, if they are satisfied with the current process (status quo), they will resist change (Walker, 2007).

Factors influencing organizational readiness for change

Dynamics within an organization can support or suppress change readiness. For change to occur leaders must define clearly important conditions. "Motivational forces need to be present for change success. However, even if participants are motivated, adequate resources are required to allow and support the change process. The organizational climate must also be change-oriented. If staff do not possess attributes necessary for change, such as adaptability and growth, the change process is less likely to proceed" (Lehman, 2002, pp. 197-209).

Motivation Theory

The Expectancy Theory suggests that for any given situation, the level of a person’s motivation with respect to performance is dependent upon three items 1) his or her desire for an outcome 2) that the individual’s job performance is perceived to be related to obtaining other desired outcomes 3) the perceived probability that his or her effort will lead to the required performance. He expressed the theory through M=V*I*E. Vroom explains that the force that drives a person to perform is dependent upon three factors: valence- the strength of an individuals want or need, or dislike for a particular outcome. Instrumentality is an individual’s perception that his or her performance is related to other outcomes. An individual will perform in a certain manner because he or she believes that behavior will be rewarded with something that has value to the individual. Expectancy is an individual’s perception that his or her effort will influence positively his or her performance" (Borkowski, 2005, pp. 140-141). Employing this theory we are looking at an effort- performance relationship, with the hope of increasing productivity. Employees are encouraged to expect that improved efforts will produce improved performance.

Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model

Types of changes: Middle One of the big changes that create this need for transformation is technology. Technology creates a huge opportunity for change. In this age of technology, organizations feel a lot of pressure to keep up with the technological advances. Today, technology is involved in nearly every aspect of a business, from business transactions, to conferencing, to ordering supplies. Often times training is necessary to keep up with these advances and organization have to provide this type of training if they wish to keep their employees.

Another change-taking place in today’s organizations is customer service. More and more people desire one on one quality customer service. In transformed organizations, this is an important way to excel and expand ones business. Such businesses like Dell are finding that by bypassing the "reseller channel" they provide a higher quality of customer service. While Dell is one of the most successful computer sales corporations, they strive to please their customers by providing them with quality products at affordable pricing, while allowing them to deal directly with Dell.

Globalization is another aspect of transformed organizations. Globalization is becoming quite important in the business world. Corporations are finding that in order to succeed they must get on board the global train. By involving companies worldwide, the reach of the company expands significantly. Dell has firsthand knowledge about globalization, with their outside suppliers. Globalization provides opportunities for companies to do business with many other countries, dealing with many other cultures, all while building a trust and partnership. Dells reach extends to 35 different countries. Due to the increase in globalization and its impact on the society and marketplace, the need to keep up with technology becomes even more important. Without technology, globalization would be near impossible. So keeping employees up to date on the advances in technology, keeps them informed, which keeps them productive. Globalization is especially important for companies such as Dell, they produce such mass amounts of product and rely on such a vast amount of suppliers that having such a wide reach proves that they are successful and efficient business people.

Job training: Middle Job training is another way that businesses have transformed from traditional organizations. Many organizations now train employees on site, to ensure their performance. Organizations want to give employees the self-esteem and motivation to do their job efficiently. More and more businesses are realizing that a happy, self-assured employee works harder, and more resourcefully, and stays longer. Some businesses even hire in an outside organization to come in to train, and or speak to the staff, teaching them how to deal with one another. Since a large part of the success of the business is its employees, some businesses need to have an outside professional counsel teach the employees how to create change. Often these professionals come into an organization and analyze how the employees work with one another and the management, how they appear to enjoy their job, how they contribute to the overall outcome of the organization, and how things could be different. They teach the employees and management communications skills, leadership skills, and problem solving skills. These changes create more unified organizations, when all people are working together towards a common goal, the organization, as a whole is significantly more effective and successful.

Future decisions Middle of paper: It is important for organizations to have the ability to decide on where it needs to be in the future, and how to manage the changes required getting there. Conceptual distinctions are necessary for judging which organization development interventions were most appropriate for the circumstances and for assessing their impact and success (Golembiewski et al., cited in Chapman 2002). In order for organizations to move towards sustainability, sometimes they should have change in company’s values and strategies using transformational change which from strong leadership that identifies new pathways for organizations to follow. The change is also corporate-wide and is radical altered in the business strategy, then according to Dunphy and Stace (cited in By 2005) is described as corporate transformation. Corporations that want to take an environmental approach are, in fact, going through discontinuous change, which is according to Grundy (cited in By 2005) ‘is marked by rapid shifts in either strategy, structure or culture, or in all three’. Even though this kind of change is fast, it should be planned. When planning a new strategy for having a greener environment, alteration to the framework is required, which is called second-order change (Bartunek & Moch, cited in Chapman 2002). For a long-term transformation, there should be a great understanding of how each step in the change process interact with the others (By 2005), and adoption of a new paradigm is one element in this process. Human resources play a major role in shaping the way any organization operates. That is why employees should be prepared for any kind of change, under a competent leadership. Change has to happen if corporations want to be sustainable, and that is why they should form an understanding of change to go through with it, in the most efficient way.

Middle of paper: We all react when affected by organizational change, but not in the same way or at the same time. Most people don’t realize that managers also go through the same process as the employees go through with handling change when it comes down on them. And managers don’t particularly enjoy upsetting their employees. The usual order of change structure is that the organization does not hear about the change until top management has been through their reaction phase. There is a problem with this approach. Many times, top management does not realize that the rest of the organization is starting from zero. This is what is called the motivational gap, and it is one of the biggest communication challenges in organizational change process. (Whelan-Berry, K., Somerville, K. Jun2010)

A problem that top management has to solve is how to handle middle management in the process. Since middle management are the change agents, meaning that they are the ones who posses enough knowledge and power to guide and facilitate the change effort. (Whelan-Berry, K., Somerville, K. Jun2010) They must be on board enough to keep morale from slipping and ensuring the change process is executed fully. To keep them fully engaged they need extra support, and information to answer questions from employees and keep the change process on track. Change agents need to know when dealing with organizational change it is important to understand the most important messages so they can communicate these messages to the target group. They do not need to one-way channels, such as bulletin board posting or e-mail to first announce the change.

When working with organizational change an effective communication system needs to be in place. There needs to be regular meetings in the change process. People will react to the change; the best way to control the reaction is by using face to face meetings. Dialogue in the meetings will help ease concerns around the change process. This gives employees a chance to react with others. This will allow the group to have consensus around the organizational change. Make sure that the dialogue is focused. If the discussion is not focused or in a set order then time is usually wasted by people going around and around on the same topics. When dialogue has the goal of finding new knowledge or solutions, discussions usually lead to consensus, which in practice is a way of finding a compromise. Dialogue might end up with something that is not the best solution for the individuals but for the group. (Michel, A., Stegmaier, R., Sonntag, K. Mar 2010)

A good way of using dialogue in an organizational change process is to find the "hows". Meaning, the overall message is the "what" the change is and "why" the change is necessary. The "how" is a way of finding solutions, and the perfect way to raise knowledge of the change and to gain commitment to the change. People are more likely to be committed to something they are part of creating rather than just being told. (Michel, A., Stegmaier, R., Sonntag, K. Mar 2010)

In most changes, there are always people who see themselves as the loser. One of the most important things to consider is to meet and handle their arguments. Address them proactively, don’t wait until they raise their voice and disrupt the process. People need answers to their questions. Sometimes the answer is not to have an answer for the moment. The important component is to communicate with the concerned individuals. If communication is delayed, rumors can develop and cause more damage control in the change process.

One of the most important roles that managers have is the role of change agent. This is an important role because the local manager is the only one that can properly change employee behavior and attitudes. Why? Well, because the local manager knows about the local situation and understands the language of the group, which means that the manager can translate the messages to "What’s in it for me?" and creates a common picture of the change and its consequences to the employees. Being a change agent includes actions like: creating buy-in to the change objectives and goals, creating a sense of security and a will to change, having a dialogue about consequences of the change, and leading by example.

A big problem is that most managers do not have sufficient experience or training to handle change. Some have natural talents to manage change, but most managers are uncomfortable with these issues because it affects people’s lives. The change agent is one of the strategic roles a manager has. Managers do need more training in this area. Most of the manager’s time is spent on issues that are about solving problems in daily work and coaching staff to perform better. Managers need support in communication, planning, understanding and prioritizing messages, knowledge on how to handle reactions and how to create an appropriate arena for reaction. They need help with messages targeting people that are the "losers" in the change process. (Van de Ven, A., Kangyong, S. Aug 2011)

Organizational change must be continually managed to yield sustained results. Measurements provide a way to track progress. An effective measurement system must be specific, simple to understand, creative and involve both managers and employees. The results should be visually displayed so that employees can track their progress. A consistent process of measuring the results of the change initiative combined with a rewards program that reinforces the desired behavior is a great approach to an effective change program. (Whelan-Berry, K., Somerville, K. Jun2010)

My personal experience with organizational change is limited, but I do acknowledge that the process goes more uncomplicated when there is an easy to understand process that explains how the change will affect my position. This helps me understand what I can do to help initiate the change with the least amount of disruptions to my current and or future duties in the position. Like most projects, the manager’s ability to lead is key to a successful organizational change. If the manager is trying to please everyone and not lead the group in the direction of change, there will likely be a lot of unneeded effort to bring the group into consensus.

Separate paper on orgzationn:::

2.1. Targets of Change

There can be named a few targets of change: human resources, functional resources, technological capabilities and organizational capabilities. When it comes to planned organizational changes it is usually hard to change one without altering another.

An organization’s most important asset is the department of Human resources. In the end, an organization’s distinguishing competences consist in the skills and abilities of its employees. Typical types of change efforts intended for human resources comprise:

• New investment in training and development activities, so employee obtain new knowledge and expertise;

• Socializing employees into the organizational culture so that they adjust to the new routines, on which organizational performance depends;

• Changing organizational norms and values to stimulate and inspire an international and diverse workforce;

• Constant assessment of the approach, in which promotion and rewards system function in a diverse workforce;

• Varying the composition of the top management team to enhance organizational learning and decision making.

Functional resources are the skills possessed by an organization’s functional personnel. The change from a functional to a product team structure, for instance, may accelerate the new product development process. An organization can boost the value that its functions generate by changing its structure, culture and technology. Alteration in functional structure facilitates in creating necessary settings, in which people are encouraged to perform. The shift from traditional mass production to a manufacturing operation based on self-managed work teams often enables organizations to enhance product quality and output if workers can share in the gain from the new work system.

Technological Capabilities provide an organization with a colossal capacity to change itself in order to exploit market prospects and opportunities. The ability to develop a continuous flow of new products or to modify existing products so that they keep on attracting customers is one of an organization’s core competences. Likewise, the ability to advance the way goods and services are produced so as to increase their quality and reliability is a fundamental organizational capability. At the organizational level, an organization has to present with the context that allows it to translate its technological competences into value for its shareholders. This task is often involves the redesign of organizational activities.

Organizational Capabilities are vital for a company’s success. Through the design of organizational structure and culture, an organization can exploit its human and functional resources to take advantage of technological opportunities. Organizational change frequently involves changing the relationships among people and functions to boost their ability to generate value. Changes in structure and culture take place at each level of the organization and include changing the routine an individual utilizes, for instance, to greet clients, changing work group relationships, improving integration between divisions, and changing corporate culture by changing the top management.

2.2 Forces for and Resistance to Organizational changes

The organizational environment is constantly changing, and an organization must adapt to these changes in order to survive (Argyris, Putman, Smith 1985). In the Figure 1 it is featured the most substantial forces for and obstacles to change (pros and cons) that confront an organization and its managers.

Forces Pushing for Change or Driving Forces (pros)

Driving forces are those forces affecting a situation that are pushing in a particular direction. They tend to initiate a change and keep it going. In terms of improving productivity in a work group, pressure from a supervisor, incentive earnings, and competition may be examples of driving forces (Accel-Team 2007).

Restraining Forces (cons)

Restraining forces are forces acting to restrain or decrease the driving forces. Apathy, hostility, and poor maintenance of equipment may be examples of restraining forces against increased production (Accel-Team 2007).

Figure 1. Forces for and Resistances to change (Jones 2007).

Forces for Change Resistances for Change

Competitive forces

Economic Forces

Political Forces

Global Forces

Demographic Forces

Social Forces

Ethical Forces

Organizational Level

• Structure

• Culture

• Strategy

Functional Level

• Differences in Subunit Orientation

• Power and Conflict

Group Level

• Norms

• Cohesiveness

• Groupthink

Individual Level

• Cognitive Bias

• Uncertainty and Insecurity

• Selective Perception and Retention

• Habit

Kurt Lewin

2.3. Kurt Lewin’s Force-Field Theory of change

Force field analysis is a management technique devised by a social psychologist, Kurt Lewin in 1951, a pioneer in the field of social sciences, for analyzing situations.

Force Field Analysis is a method for listing, discussing, and evaluating the various forces for and against a proposed change. When a change is planned, Force Field Analysis helps you look at the big picture by analyzing all of the forces impacting the change and weighing the pros and cons. By knowing the pros and cons, you can develop strategies to reduce the impact of the opposing forces and strengthen the supporting forces.

According to Lewin’s force-field theory of change, organizations are balanced between forces pushing for change and forces resistant to change. To get an organization to change managers must find a way to increase the forces for change, reduce resistance to change, or do both simultaneously.

Force-Field Analysis can be used to develop an action plan to implement a change. Specifically it can:

1. Determine if a proposed change can get needed support;

2. Identify obstacles to successful solutions;

3. Suggest actions to reduce the strength of the obstacles.

Application of the Force-Field Analysis Model

In order to successfully utilize the before-mentioned Force-Field Analysis a few steps should be considered:

1. Once it has been determined what the desired outcome is, it is necessary to describe the plan or the proposal for change;

2. Then all the forces for change (pros) have to be written down, followed by listing all the resistances to a future change (cons);

3. To organize all of the data mentioned in the previous two paragraphs it is useful to apply the Force-Field Model (see Figure 2), where the desirable change as described in paragraph 1 is inserted in the middle column. Then the recorded in the paragraph 2 pros go into the left column of the model and cons into the right one.

Figure 2. Force-Field Model

Forces

AGAINST

change Score

TOTAL

Forces

FOR

change Score

TOTAL

Change Proposal

… … … …

… … … …

4. After that it is needed to assign a score to each force based on its strength or importance from 1 (weak) to 5 (strong).

5. Then at the bottom of the model calculate a total score for both, the pros and the cons.

In order to decide if the goals or changes are realistic it is needed to compare the scores. In case when the cons outnumber the pros, it is necessary:

• to strengthen positives forces;

• to weaken negative forces;

• to create new positives forces.

3. Theory application on the example of the Icelandic Branch of DHL International

DHL International

DHL (originally standing for Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a Deutsche Post company that provides international shipping of documents and freight as well as contract logistics (Wikipedia 2007).

DHL's international network links more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. Around 285,000 employees are dedicated to providing fast and reliable services that exceed customers' expectations in 120,000 destinations in all continents (DHL 2007).

Speed and reliability are of critical importance for DHL. To maintain its lead in a very competitive market place the company focused on quality and speed of delivery.

The DHL courier service is generated by complex process. The range of core and supplementary services, which constitutes the DHL service chain comprises: order taking, pick-up, documentation, tracing of the supplies when information is needed, billing, packaging, transportation and delivery, and problem solving, as well as advice and information to the client and to the partners.

As any other progressive organization DHL is in need to constantly improve and advance in its practices. The company’s managers carefully plan and analyze probable changes and only after that they come to a decision to realize what was devised.

The before-described model of the Force-Field analysis can be of a useful tool to the DHL management. The following Table 1 represents how decisions could be carried out when it is planned to introduce, for instance, new accounting software.

Table 1. Force-Field Analysis for Icelandic Branch of DHL International

Score Forces FOR Change Plan

Introduce new accounting software for DHL Express Iceland Forces AGAINST Change Score

3 Customers need more complete information about the services they purchase

Staff frightening of new technology 5

5 The same accounting system for all of the branches of DHL will simplify the DHL International joint effort High cost of implementation of a new software 2

1 To ease controlling within the company in daily operations it is needed to generate more demonstrative financial reports Loss of staff overtime due to unwillingness to adjust to new software 3

2 Trouble-free cost control for each department and therefore, for each branch of the DHL International Disruption 3

11 TOTAL TOTAL 13

According to the DHL analysis in the Table 1 the score for the forces against change is higher than the score for the forces for change. In order to proceed with the plan, a few changes to the initial plan must be done:

• It could be suggested to train staff in order to eliminate fear of technology. This will increase cost by 1 and reduce fear by 2;

• It would be useful for DHL to show to its staff that change is essential for business progress. This will introduce another force in favor and, therefore, add 2;

• In order to reduce loss of staff overtime, the wages could be raised, which will result in additional cost by 1 and reduction of loss of overtime by 2;

• Moreover, DHL’s management could show employees that new software will introduce variety and interest to their jobs. Result is acquiring of a new force for change, which gives 1 more point.

Thus, the score for the forces for change will swing the balance from 11:13 to 14:11 in favor of the plan. Now, with the shift in scored numbers, the positive forces outnumber the negative ones and, therefore, it is recommended to proceed with the plan.

4. Conclusion

In this work were discussed several aspects of organizational change. There has been named four targets for changes, such as human resources, functional resources, technical capabilities and organizational capabilities.

Change within an organization is a complicated process demanding a lot of effort. Managers need to do much better job of managing the process of change. Fortunately, there are some techniques that can aid immensely.

One of those techniques is the Force-Field Analysis, which is a useful method for looking at all forces for and against planned changes. It helps to weigh the importance of these factors and decide whether a plan is worth implementing.

Before a manager decides to carry out a plan, the Force-Field Analysis helps him or her to identify changes that could be made to improve it. It has been shown on the example of DHL how the given technique can be applied on a specific task and can be used each time when changes being planned.

Jones, G., (2010). Organizational Theory, Design, and Change. Pearson-Prentice Hall Publishers. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Retrieved February 2013 from http://www.slideshare.net/anky123/ch10-organisation-theory-design-and-change-gareth-jones

Mind Tools, (2013). Force Field Analysis. Retrieved February 2013 from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm

Palmer……….

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