Different Approaches to Change Management
For many years now, in the business context, change has become a way of life. This is mainly because organizations are experiencing many different types of change.
One of the causes of this rapid pace of change is due to the rapid development of technology which forces organizations to adopt new technologies, in the same time changing the way they operate internally and externally. Although changes are done in organizations so that they remain competitive, the success rate of change programs is only around 70%, as quoted by many commentators (Balogun & Hailey, 2004).
In other words, it means that different organizations need to exercise different change programs that fit the organization’s situation and needs, and manage them well. According to Balogun and Hailey (2004), how change occurs is suggested in two different forms. The first sees change as continuous, where in order to keep pace with the changing environment, organizations transform on an on-going basis. The other sees change as a process of punctuated equilibrium. According to the second perspective, periods of adaptative and convergent change are interspersed by shorter periods of revolutionary change. Convergent change means it leads to extension and continuity of the past, whereas revolutionary change is a continuous flow of change of strategy, structure, systems and culture of an organization leading to a thoroughly different way of operating (Balogun & Hailey, 2004, quoted in p.3).
Convergent adaptation resists to new ways of doing things. Therefore, an organization will become a victim of its own success as past ways of competing are still applied when they are no longer feasible. A British retailer called Marks and Spencer (M&S), can be taken as a good example as a pattern of change has been seen in this organization. This organization had a particular way of doing things over recent years. It employs the St Michael brand to sell quality merchandise at reasonable prices,
One of the causes of this rapid pace of change is due to the rapid development of technology which forces organizations to adopt new technologies, in the same time changing the way they operate internally and externally. Although changes are done in organizations so that they remain competitive, the success rate of change programs is only around 70%, as quoted by many commentators (Balogun & Hailey, 2004).
In other words, it means that different organizations need to exercise different change programs that fit the organization’s situation and needs, and manage them well. According to Balogun and Hailey (2004), how change occurs is suggested in two different forms. The first sees change as continuous, where in order to keep pace with the changing environment, organizations transform on an on-going basis. The other sees change as a process of punctuated equilibrium. According to the second perspective, periods of adaptative and convergent change are interspersed by shorter periods of revolutionary change. Convergent change means it leads to extension and continuity of the past, whereas revolutionary change is a continuous flow of change of strategy, structure, systems and culture of an organization leading to a thoroughly different way of operating (Balogun & Hailey, 2004, quoted in p.3).
Convergent adaptation resists to new ways of doing things. Therefore, an organization will become a victim of its own success as past ways of competing are still applied when they are no longer feasible. A British retailer called Marks and Spencer (M&S), can be taken as a good example as a pattern of change has been seen in this organization. This organization had a particular way of doing things over recent years. It employs the St Michael brand to sell quality merchandise at reasonable prices,