Potential Errors Committed by Organisation on the Path to Successful Change

1. TRANSFORMING ORGANIZATIONS:
WHY FIRMS FAIL?
DIXON D. PALETT (M-14-04)
ISHAN PARASHAR (M-14-
06)
FACULTY :
DR . JAYA SRIVASTAVA

2. INTRODUCTION
 Amount of significant, often traumatic, change in
organizations increasing.
 Trend of changes likely to continue.
 To an extent downside of change is inevitable.
 Significant amount of waste and anguish witnessed
recently is avoidable

3. ERROR #1:-
ALLOWING TOO MUCH COMPLACENCY

4. What causes complacency?
 Too much past success
 Lack of visible crises
 Low performance standards
 Insufficient feedback from
external constituencies
What causes this error?
 Overestimation of one’s
capability to change the
organization
 Underestimation of inertia of
people in comfort zone
 Not recognizing actions that
can reinforce status quo
 Lack of patience
Example:-
Adrien thought he could get the people in the
company “induced, pushed or replaced” to
implement change but saw a host of quality
initiatives fail due this error.

5. ERROR #2:-
FAILING TO CREATE A SUFFICIENTLY
POWERFUL GUIDING COALITION

6. Why coalition is needed?
 “One man army” doesn’t
work.
 Most successful cases,
coalition is always powerful
 Weak committee efforts
and initiatives get
undermined
What causes this error?
 Underestimating difficulties
of changing.
 Little history of
transformation
 Low knowledge about the
influencers in an
organization
Example:-
Claire was aware of the change needed and knew
urgency needed but the initiatives faded into
oblivion within two years as the task force selected
wasn’t proper.

7. ERROR #3:-
UNDERESTIMATING THE POWER OF
VISION

8. Why is it needed?
 Vision helps to direct, align
and inspire action
 Needed to stir up the right
kind of energy needed
 Behind scene manipulation
and avoiding discussions
lead to chaos and
confusion
What causes this error?
 Underestimating the value
of a proper vision
 Insufficient communication
of the vision
 “Whenever you can’t
describe it in 5 mins and get
a reaction of understanding
and interest, you’re in
trouble”
Example:-
Conrad made and distributed 4 inch thick notebook
detailing procedures, goals, methods and deadlines
but without telling where it was leading and as result
could neither rally them together nor inspire change.

9. ERROR #4:-
UNDER COMMUNICATING THE VISION

10. Why is it important?
 Short term sacrifices needed
for change
 No sacrifice till people know
the end result and benefits
thereof
 Communication = word +
deed
What causes this error?
 Good vision but only few
meetings or memos
 Many speeches by head
but managers silent
 Not adhering to “walk the
talk”
Example:-
1980 CEO earlier though communication done was plenty
but realized later it was short by miles and many decisions
appeared inconsistent with their communication
(hypocritical jerks)

11. ERROR #5:-
PERMITTING OBSTACLES TO BLOCK THE
NEW VISION

12. Why is it important?
 Implementation of change
requires action from a large
number of people
 Avoiding obstacles ,
disempowers employees
and undermine the change
What causes this error?
 Refusal to adapt to new
circumstances
 Demands that are
inconsistent with
transformation
 Concern that one cannot
blend in with the change
and achieve expected
operating results
 Narrow job categories –
undermines efforts to
increase productivity
 Compensation or
performance appraisal s/m
can force to choose b/w
new vision and their self
interest.
Example:-
Ralph – HR s/m ( inconsistent )
-Din’t believe in need for
change
-concerned he could produce
change
- Expected operating results

13. ERROR #6:-
FAILING TO CREATE SHORT-TERM WINS

14. Why is it important?
 Momentum of efforts to
change is lost if there are no
short term goals to meet
and celebrate.
 People expect evidence of
results within 6 – 18 months
 Urgency level drop – when
knowing it takes long time
 Might give up / join
resistance
What causes this error?
 Assumption that good things
will happen
 focusing grand vision
forgetting short-term
Example:-
Nelson – big ideas person + 2 colleagues
Inventory control – to reduce inventory cost w/o stock outages
Divisional controller – needed to see immediate result ( ans : time)
IC model = new s/w + h/w

15. ERROR #7:-
DECLARING VICTORY TOO SOON

16. Why is it important?
 Risk until changes sink down
deep into culture ( 3-10yrs)
 Useful changes disappear
 Premature victory
celebration stops
momentum
What causes this error?
 Urgency level is not intense
enough
 Guiding coalition is not
powerful enough
 Idealistic change initiators
 Self serving change resisters
 War is over and troops
should be sent home (Once
sent home , reluctant to
return )
Reengineering theme – consultants were paid and thanked
with first major project completion w/o checking if original
goals were accomplished / acceptance by employees
Example:-

17. ERROR #8:-
NEGLECTING TO ANCHOR
CHANGES FIRMLY IN THE
CORPORATE CULTURE

18. Why is it important?
 Change sticks only when it
becomes “ the way we do
things around here “
 Root in as social norms and
shared values
 Degradation if pressure
associated is removed
 If employees are left on their
own , inaccurate links are
created
What causes this error?
 Linking performance
improvements with
flamboyant style instead of
strategy
 Choice of successors (less
seasoned candidates)
 Insensitivity / ignorance to
culture
 Economic orientation
 Analytic orientation
Example:-
Charismatic Coleen’s lesson imbedded in cluture as “
value extroverted managers “ instead of “ love thy
customer”

19. SUMMARY : COMMON ERRORS
 Allowing too much complacency
 Failing to create a powerful guiding
coalition
 Underestimating the power of vision
 Under communicating the vision by a
factor of 10 ( or 100 or even 1000)
 Permitting obstacles to block the new
vision
 Failing to create short-term wins
 Declaring victory too soon
 Neglecting to anchor changes firmly in the

20. SUMMARY : CONSEQUENCES
 New strategies aren’t implemented well
 Acquisitions don’t achieve expected
synergies
 Reengineering takes too long and costs
too much
 Downsizing doesn’t get costs under control
 Quality programs don’t deliver expected
results
 Frustration in employees
 Slow down on implementation
 Unnecessary resistance

21. CONCLUSION
 Errors are not inevitable
 Awareness and skill can avoid errors to a
large extend
 Understand why organizations resist
needed change
 Find appropriate multistage process to
overcome destructive inertia
 Leadership is required in a socially healthy
way more than just good management.

22. REFERENCE
 Reading material : Transforming Organizations : Why firms
fail (John P. Kotter )

23. THANK YOU