Chapter 2 Change

Objectives External Forces that Drive Change Effects of Change on the Project Manager Individual Responses to Change Professional Survival in the Face of Change Organizational Approaches to Change

External Forces that Drive Change Expansion of economies to include global markets – we sell jeans to Japan and cars to Mexico. We contract clothes manufacturing to other countries. Abundance of easily accessible information and markets – anyone can put a page on the Internet and market goods or services. Rapid technological growth and obsolescence – sales life of software is 90 days. Gap between skill requirements of companies and skill of employees. Constant mergers, downsizing, and buyouts. Fluctuating availability and prices of resources. Increasing interdependence of systems.

Effects of Change on the Project Manager Project mangers have to adapt constantly to variations in schedule, supplies, specifications on a daily basis as part of their job. The project manager must balance many role, including technical expert in the area of the required change, visionary who can connect the change to individual employee success, expert communicator, conflict manager, influence master, team builder, process analyst, and/or designer.

Individual Responses to Change Tolerance of ambiguity is the degree to which a person gets upset or stressed when faced with change. Novelty describes new or unexpected things and includes things we choose to experience (example – taking different road back home - less stressful) and things that come at us without warning (example – detour due to gas leak - more stressful). Complexity has to do with an environment or problem with unrelated or disconnected elements – example, a job in a small company where employees seem to do everything without a job description. Insolubility is a form of ambiguity associated with seemingly unsolvable problems. Project managers and their employees are faced with high degrees of novelty, complexity, and insolubility, as they carry out their projects. Project managers must develop a positive approach to handling situations of this nature.

Professional Survival in the Face of Change Rapid and dramatic changes are becoming characteristic of the workplace in many industries. For the project manager to survive, he/she must adopt several behaviors: 1. Develop awareness of external factors: The more employees understand about the competitive world in which their companies operate and the economic challenges, the better able they are to prepare for and adapt to changes. 2. Recognize cause and effect relationships: Understanding and fostering relationships between department and functions help the employee or manager ensure his or her central role in whatever happens in the change process within the company. 3. Take creative action: build structures and processes that will allow you to capitalize on the change. 4. View change as positive: embrace change as necessary and valuable. Change is difficult to accept, but can change life for the better.

Organizational approach to change 1. Slash and Burn: You have to fire enough managers, then hire people who think like you want. 2. Support and Nurture: We try to hasten the process of change (denial, anger/sadness, deal making, acceptance). 3. Inspire and Motivate: These are visionaries with a lot of credibility due to past successes and a lot of charisma to really inspire people. Example Lee Iacocca. Although a project manager seldom makes the change decisions, the project manager is responsible for implementation of those decisions.

Urgent Change Management Urgent change management relates to upheavals that dramatically affect operations including buyouts, mergers, downsizing, bankruptcy, market (competitive) threats, and change in senior management. 1. Challenge #1 – Bailout: Uncertainty about the future an cause many talented employees to bail out. You (project manager)can show the employees how finishing major projects can enhance their value to the company and possibly help them be the ones that are kept. 2. Challenge # 2 – Poor Morale: Keep people focused on their tasks and continue to reward those who demonstrate commitment and achievement.

Ongoing Change Management A high tolerance for flux and a real skill at adaptation are necessities for a project manager. 1. Set the example: Show employees how they should behave in the face of ongoing change. Approach tentative and ambiguous situations calmly. 2. Behave consistently: You send an alarm to employees when you are cheerful one day and ill tempered the next. 3. Recognize employees: improvement is expected and rewarded. 4. Nurture growth in employees: Constant change requires constant skills upgrade. Cross train employees. 5. Involve employees: Hold improvement meetings – how can we grow the organization? Managing change has to become a way of life in any company that wants to stay competitive. The better you teach your people to be adaptive and positive, the easier your job will be.

Summary Project mangers have to adapt constantly to variations in schedule, supplies, specifications on a daily basis as part of their job. Project managers and their employees are faced with high degrees of novelty, complexity, and insolubility, as they carry out their projects. Professional survival in the face of change:1. Develop awareness of external factors 2. Recognize cause and effect relationships 3. Take creative action 4. View change as positive. Organizational approaches to change: 1. Slash and Burn 2. Support and Nurture 3. Inspire and Motivate. Urgent change management relates to upheavals that dramatically affect operations including buyouts, mergers, downsizing, bankruptcy, market (competitive) threats, and change in senior management. 5 skills for ongoing change management: 1. Set the example 2. Behave consistently 3. Recognize employees 4. Nurture growth in employees 5. Involve employees.

Home Work 1. Name the 4 factors that a project manager must adopt for professional survival in the face of change. 2. Name the 3 organizational approaches to change. 3. What is urgent change management? 4. Name 5 skills for ongoing change management.