making-sense-of-change-management

Emerging inquiriesConclusionsWhat conclusions can be drawn from this pool of research data? Control andstructure comes up again and again. The need for excellent plans, goodsystems and processes and a clear vision are all repeating themes. Our reflectionis that an optimal amount of structure is beneficial to change, whereastoo much creates organization sclerosis, or ‘stuckness’. It’s not as easy assaying ‘be brilliantly organized and you will succeed’. Energy, passion andcontinuous communication are all seen as essentials. But as we review thisinformation, we notice that energy, passion and communication are the stuffof life itself. Organizations that lack these things, and have to legislate forthem, or coerce people into giving them, are probably in trouble at the core.Maybe it’s the jointly held sense of purpose that gives an organization its life.DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO GETTING READYFOR CHANGEHow do organizations get ready for change? In Readinessfor Organizational Change (2007) Aremenakis et al suggestthat the degree to which employees are prepared forchange is influenced by the degree to which they areconvinced that ‘a change is necessary… the change couldbe implemented… the change would be organizationallybeneficial… the organizational leaders were committed tothe change… and the change would be personally beneficial.’Todnem (2007) found that there is indeed a correlation between the levelof change readiness and the successful management of change. His researchadded an additional communication strategy – the implicit communicationthat management are also in the same situation as the rest of the staff andshould benefit (and suffer) from the effects of change in the same way,whether it be provision of facilities or sharing in the rewards of change. Thelack of change readiness is an indicator of unsuccessful change management;other contributory factors are lack of communication, changemanagement experience, support mechanisms and resources. As we sawearlier, staff want and need ongoing communications around current andfuture changes. They see ongoing change management and ongoing readinessfor change as more important than the notion of ongoing change:338