Organizational Change Discussion paper

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Transforming managers for organizational change
Author: Paul E. O’Neill
Date: July 1990
From: Training & Development Journal(Vol. 44, Issue 7)
Publisher: Association for Talent Development (ATD)
Document Type: Article
Length: 2,752 words
Abstract:
A study was conducted to examine the change processes of the management groups within three mechanical shops of a railroad
company. Results of the study reveal that any change in an organization’s culture must be accompanied by a corresponding change
in the culture of its managers, and that the managers must accept the norms and values of the new culture. Within the company’s
quality-control program, each shop expressed commitment to quality goals that included job enrichment, teamwork, and continual
improvement. The steps of the change processes include: letting go of the old culture; learning the new culture; and adopting the new
culture. The guidelines for cultural change revealed by the study include: explaining the necessity of the change; identifying the
operational goals of the change; and defining management’s role in the new culture.
Full Text:
Transforming Managers for Organizational Change
Technological change. Deregulation. Changing markets. Demographic shifts. New legislation.
Today’s business world is increasingly turbulent and uncertain. As a result, many organizations are reviewing and adjusting their
corporate missions and strategies through planned change efforts. If those efforts are not linked with corresponding changes in
organizational culture, they can create great frustration that may cause the change efforts to fail.
Any change in an organization’s culture requires that each organizational group learn the behaviors, norms, values, and basic
assumptions of the new culture. It is particularly critical for members of management to learn all facets of the new culture effectively
and efficiently. Management is the one group that must buy in to the need for a culture change, actually go through the culture
change, and lead the change efforts of all other groups in the organization.
Too often, change within a management group occurs haphazardly. Trial-and-error learning among managers can seriously hinder
the needed organizational transformation. What’s needed is a more systematic learning process that can facilitate effective cultural
change among managers, who then can influence the rest of the organization.
The management groups
The study described here examined the change processes of three management groups within three semi-independent mechanical
shops. The shops were part of an Iowa-based railroad company that was trying to forge a new relationship with its customers.
Traditional railroad practices emphasized cost-driven operating efficiencies; the new relationship was to be driven by the needs of
customers.
The railroad company realized that the transformation would require a new organizational culture. The new culture would have to
foster collaborative relationships within the overall railroad and within the shops themselves–a car shop, an engine shop, and a
caboose shop, each with 100 to 300 employees. The three management groups had some success at changing the organizational
culture, but each group used different change processes and achieved different results.
The results of the study may provide a better understanding of the patterns, processes, and learning involved in an organizational
culture change among management groups.
Research results
The study first examined the company’s Total Quality Improvement System (TQIS) and the process by which the three shops set
goals. The goal-setting process was found to have a critical impact on the success of the overall change effort. Each shop was at
least nominally committed to attaining these four corporate TQIS goals:
* to give all employees the freedom necessary to meet the needs of their internal customers (job enrichment)
* to encourage and recognize coopeative efforts (teamwork)
* to encourage and recognize innovation (continuous improvement)
* to address employees’ problems and concerns through open communication and attentive listening (problem solving).
In-depth interviews with shop management revealed that not all shops consciously pursued all four corporate TQIS goals. Only two of
the shops pursued goals that included changing the management group’s basic assumptions.
Achieving the goals of the engine and caboose shops would force shop managers to make complex changes in their philosophies of
how people should be supervised. In contrast, the car shop pursued goals that required managers to make only simple changes in
supervisory behaviors and norms. The car shop’s goals stopped at the value level of culture change. (The figure compares the shoplevel change goals and the corporate TQIS goals.e
The next step in the study was to determine the success of each shop in meeting the corporate change goals. Researchers used
document review, observation, and interviews.
Job enrichment
The first corporate goal dealt with job enrichment, including giving all employees more authority and responsibility. Both the engine
and caboose shops managed to expand and enrich most employee jobs, which often resulted in direct improvement of both quality
and productivity.
In two cases, engine-shop employees traveled independently to suppliers to participate in equipment-buying decisions. One
employee became so involved that he designed a special machine for his work area. Never before had anyone on the shop floor
exercised such independence; never before had management trusted the employees to handle such responsibilities.
Naturally, other employees reacted positively to the new display of trust. According to the shop superintendent, “Once our people got
a taste of putting their own ideas to work, then they generated a lot more ideas. Unless there was a good reason we couldn’t do
something, they were given the liberty to change and to do what was necessary to make the change.”
Meanwhile, the car shop showed no evidence of substantial job enrichment.
Teamwork
The second corporate goal suggested more emphasis on both formal and informal teamwork. The caboose shop made strides toward
the teamwork goal; eventually large groups of employees became nearly autonomous work units.
Prior to the change effort, the caboose shop had experienced sharp conflicts between its machinists and pipefitters. During complex
inspection operations, the two shopcrafts sometimes had to work in the same area at the same time. Clashes tended to erupt,
reducing efficiency as well as morale.
Spurred by the new emphasis on shop teamwork, representatives of each shopcraft asked management if the employees themselves
could develop procedures and schedules for their own operations. After securing management’s approval, the employees set up
more effective schedules and developed special tools and handling techniques that worked to everyone’s benefit. Another result was
as much as a 50 percent reduction in the time required to do many jobs.
The engine shop did not consciously pursue the teamwork goal, but did have great success with a project that involved subgroups of
employees from the entire shop. The engine shop had been needing a better way of installing parts-cleaning equipment–a way that
would not disrupt the workflow and shop layout.
In the past, shop management would have asked headquarters staff to design the new layout. This time, in support of the change
effort, management asked subgroups of employees to develop new layouts for their own work areas. After a series of meetings with
each subgroup, management was able to use nearly all of the employee-suggested layouts.
The car shop did not consciously pursue the teamwork goal; in fact, it had mixed success with its limited use of project teams.
Continuous improvement
and problem solving
The third corporate goal suggested that managers take an active role in encouraging employee input on ways to improve shop
operations. All three shops consciously pursued this goal. The engine- and caboose-shop managers began aggressively seeking
employee input and reacting more positively to it. In fact, both shop superintendents started spending up to 25 percent of their time
soliciting employee input.
The car shop also developed better ways of reacting to employee ideas, but there was little evidence of car-shop management
proactively seeking employee input. The managers preferred to wait for employees to surface their own complaints and suggestions.
The fourth corporate goal implied a need for a systematic means of identifying and handling barriers to effective employee
performance. All three shops successfully achieved that goal by establishing interactive problem-solving meetings with employees.
Another result of those meetings was that the shops were cleaned and painted, needed tools were bought, and equipment began to
be maintained on a more timely basis.
In summary, the engine shop and the caboose shop have had considerable success in meeting the corporate TQIS change goals.
The car shop has had limited success in meeting the goals.
The “unfreezing” phase
The study next examined the specific change processes of the management groups. A comparative analysis of the implementation
activities at the shops revealed a strong link between a change process based on the (see the box) and
the transformation success of each management group. The three phases of change: unfreezing,
changing, and refreezing. It seems that the closer a change process follows Schein’s change phases, the more successful the culture
change is.
During the unfreezing phase of the railroad company’s change process, it became clear that the shopcraft managers first had to
realize the need to alter substantially their traditional roles. One way to open their eyes was to make them aware of the severe
consequences of inaction, such as the possible closing of their facilities. Another possibility was to replace each shop superintendent
with a person whose operating philosophy was consistent with the needed changes.
Once the managers understood the absolute necessity for change, they had to be convinced that the proposed new relationships
with employees were workable and doable. Successful pilot projects, which involved virtually every employee in the work unit,
showed them that the basic assumptions underlying the change effort were indeed valid. That gave them a comforting sense of
psychological safety. With the perceived barriers to the change effort considerably lower, it seemed safer to consider making
personal changes. In short, the pilot projects were critical to the success of the change effort.
The “changing” phase
Once the culture of the management group was “unfrozen,” it was time to learn the new culture. The Lewin-Schein role-model
mechanism helped facilitate the changing phase. In both of the more successful changes, the management groups observed the
shopcraft superintendents modeling with their employees critical attitudes and behaviors in support of the change effort.
The modeling of new attitudes and behaviors based on the basic assumptions and values inherent in the culture change had a
powerful impact on the overall transformation process. Being able to see what the new culture “looked like” in their own work areas
with their own people greatly aided the managers in changing their thinking and in learning the new culture.
The “refreezing” phase
At this point, the management groups were ready to “refreeze” the organizational culture and to try out activities consistent with the
espoused new culture. In this phase, the two more successful management groups experienced both of Schein’s reinforcing
mechanisms.
The managers had several opportunities to test new approaches on employees, such as leading formal project teams that involved all
employee levels, soliciting informal suggestions from employees, and involving employees in highly interactive meetings. It appeared
that the more opportunities there were for practicing the new approaches, the more effective the transformation effort.
The second reinforcement mechanism in the refreezing phase involved “significant others,” who confirmed the initial successes of the
transformation effort. In one example, the railroad’s board of directors visited a shop that was experiencing early success with the
change effort. Shop managers later said that the visit signified the company’s renewed confidence in the shop’s capabilities.
Throughout the study, it appeared that the change. Managers said that implementing activities
associated with the new culture often made their jobs easier. Thus, they began building the new activities into their everyday
behaviors. The management groups clearly associated the effective use of reinforcement mechanisms with “refreezing” the culture
change.
Breaking with the past
The study also isolated several variables that seem critical to the success of any culture change. The first variable is the degree to
which a management group can make a clean break with the past. Perhaps the cleanest break occurs when a new organizational
head is appointed, particularly when that person is from outside the organization and has a management style philosophically
consistent with the proposed organizational change.
A second critical variable is the comprehensiveness of the initial change project within the organization. The project should involve as
much of the organization as possible, should reflect the principles underlying the culture change, and should have a high potential for
success.
A third critical variable is the extent of the proactive involvement of the head of the organization in all aspects of the change. It is not
sufficient for the company leader merely to reward a management group for taking the right actions. Nor is it sufficient to use the
chain of command to implement the culture change. The organizational head must interact with people from as many levels as
possible, all the while modeling the new relationship between management and those being managed.
Culture-change guidelines
Based on the results of the study, the following guidelines may help change agents who are responsible for the intentional culture
changes of management groups:
* Explain to all organization members the absolute necessity of the culture change. In an official organizational meeting, the head of
the organization should discuss first the environmental changes precipitating the culture change and then the likely, but undesirable,
consequences of organizational inaction. Next, that person should describe the corporate vision and how the organization must
successfully operate in the near future.
* Clearly define the operational goals of the change effort. Show the management group how each goal relates to the assumptions,
values, norms, and behaviors that are the basis for the new culture.
This step is best done at a meeting that includes all members of the management group. You should first provide an analysis of the
current culture to the management group and then indicate which assumptions, values, norms, and behaviors need to be modified to
create the new culture. Finally, outline the operational goals for the change effort.
* In meetings with each management subgroup, clearly define management’s new roles under the new culture. Set specific
expectations for each management level, and schedule follow-up meetings for reviewing the group’s progress in attaining the new
expectations.
* Provide a common experience that demonstrates to all the feasibility of the proposed changes. A good example is a project that
affects the daily work of all members of the organization. All management and operational employees should be involved in the
activity, either directly or indirectly. Indirect involvement could be accomplished by having representatives of employee groups
interact with their groups; then they could meet with other group representatives to address the project directly.
* Have the senior managers spend substantial time proactively modeling the expected behaviors involved in the change. This
suggests that managers ignore conventional wisdom by “jumping” the chain of command and working directly with employees at least
two levels below their level. The managers can meet individually with employees at their workplaces and ask them for their ideas.
Managers can also meet with those who are addressing issues related to the change effort and show support for their work. As
appropriate, the managers should then meet with area superintendents or supervisors to discuss the outcomes of the meetings with
employees.
* Provide opportunities for the management group to practice the new behaviors. Managers can practice the new behaviors either by
participating in or leading interdepartmental teams that address change-related issues. They can also hold interactive meetings with
their own employees to discuss concerns of an entire work unit.
* Follow up the successful change effort with meaningful recognition for all participants. Managers may feel threatened or insecure by
events preceding the change. Assure them that their efforts mean a more stable outlook for the organization. For managers who are
interested in promotional opportunities, provide additional responsibilities that are clearly associated with preparing for higher-level
positions.
HRD implications
This study suggests that intentional organizational culture change is manageable. In particular, the study indicates that change
agents can transform members of a management group by applying the Lewin-Schein model to the organizational culture-change
process. The guidelines can be expanded and refined to help increase the effectiveness of intentional organizational change efforts.
Many of these guidelines and activities include education or training. The advice of an experienced HRD professional is critical to
successful implementation of each change step. Ideally, the HRD professional will have expertise in both training and organization
development and will be able to design an effective means of accomplishing the needed learning at each step of the change effort.
O’Neill is manager of human resource development for Chemical Waste Management, 3001 Butterfield Road, Oak Brook, IL 60521.
This article summarizes the dissertation that won the 1989 ASTD Donald Bullock Award.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 1990 Association for Talent Development (ATD)
http://www.magazine/current/crntmag.html
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
O’Neill, Paul E. “Transforming managers for organizational change.” Training & Development Journal, vol. 44, no. 7, July 1990, p.
87+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A8629480/AONE?u=udel_main&sid=AONE&xid=35cde455.
Accessed 20 Apr. 2020.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A8629480

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