Change Management Principles Research Articles

Change management and outsourcing in information technology-intensive organisations

The practice of outsourcing Information Technology (IT) is relatively commonplace as a business best practice strategy can be a very viable alternative for almost any company, but has lead to much criticism as well. As the practice is increasing rapidly in popularity, management must take proactive policies and procedures to deal directly with these criticisms in a positive manner and reduce the negative aspects of IT outsourcing. It is recommended that a change-management process is actively pursued by management in order that it becomes a critical element in IT-intensive organisations. The major goals of this paper are to document these positive and negative aspects of IT outsourcing and suggest corrective steps to minimise the negative impacts of such practices through the synergies associated with change management principles.

Change management: setting up an asthma camp for children

This article discusses the process and principles of change management using the example of setting up an asthma camp for children in south Wales. It focuses on the development of an innovative method of educating and caring for children with asthma. The planning, co-ordination, implementation and monitoring of this project through change management are examined, and the importance of evaluation is shown. The article highlights how service delivery evolved through assessment of the health and wellbeing needs of children with asthma.

IT-based approach for effective management of project changes: A change management system (CMS)

In a perfect world, changes will be confined to the planning stages. However, late changes often occur during construction, and frequently cause serious disruption to the project. The need to make changes in a construction project is a matter of practical reality. Even the most thoughtfully planned project may necessitate changes due to various factors. The fundamental idea of any variation management system in a building project is to anticipate, recognize, evaluate, resolve, control, document, and learn from past variations in ways that support the overall viability of the project. Learning from past variations is imperative because the professionals can then improve and apply their experience in the future. Primarily, the study proposes six principles of change management. Based on these principles, a theoretical model for change management system (CMS) is developed. The theoretical model consists of six fundamental stages linked to two main components, i.e., a knowledge-base and a controls selection shell for making more informed decisions for effective management of variations. This paper argues that the information technology can be effectively used for providing an excellent opportunity for the professionals to learn from similar past projects and to better control project variations. Finally, the study briefly presents a knowledge-based decision support system (KBDSS) for the management of variations in educational building projects in Singapore. The KBDSS consists of two main components, i.e., a knowledge-base and a controls selection shell for selecting appropriate controls. The KBDSS is able to assist project managers by providing accurate and timely information for decision making, and a user-friendly system for analyzing and selecting the controls for variation orders for educational buildings. The CMS will enable the project team to take advantage of beneficial variations when the opportunity arises without an inordinate fear of the negative impacts. By having a systematic way to manage variations, the efficiency of project work and the likelihood of project success should increase. The study would assist building professionals in developing an effective variation management system. The system would be helpful for them to take proactive measures for reducing variation orders. Furthermore, with further generic enhancement and modification, the KBDSS will also be useful for the management of variations in other types of building projects, thus helping to raise the overall level of productivity in the construction industry. Hence, the system developed and the findings from this study would also be valuable for all building professionals in general.

A change management framework for macroergonomic field research

With the proliferation of macroergonomic field research, it is time to carefully examine how such research should be managed and implemented. We argue that the importance of attending to high-quality implementation of field research is equal to that of methodological rigor. One way to systematically manage the implementation process is to adopt a change management framework, wherein the research project is conceptualized as an instance of organization-level change. Consequently, principles for successful organization-level change from the literature on change management can be used to guide successful field research implementation. This paper briefly reviews that literature, deriving 30 principles of successful change management, covering topics such as political awareness, assembling the change team, generating buy-in, and management support. For each principle, corresponding suggestions for macroergonomic field research practice are presented. We urge other researchers to further develop and adopt frameworks that guide the implementation of field research.

Managing change in the Hong Kong library environment

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to employ four library case studies to determine how changes can be made more successfully.Design/methodology/approachThe article employs a list of five basic change management principles suggested by Team Technology to measure the effectiveness of what happened in our library.Research limitations/implicationsThe principles themselves are fairly simple and are not meant to be either qualitative or quantitative research tools.Practical implicationsIt would seem that if the five basic change management principles were followed, libraries would be more successful in the management of those changes that they must pursue to keep vibrant and alive.Originality/valueThis paper is a personal view of the four changes which were successfully implemented but which did cause angst among staff members. The value of managers paying attention to the list of change management principles is demonstrated.

BPR through ERP: Avoiding change management pitfalls

ERP-led BPR implementation often leads to fundamental changes within an organization's structure, culture and management process. Literature cites that a fragmented approach to change management practices is the major reason for BPR failures. The purpose of this paper is to look at the change management process in companies where BPR was implemented through ERP, and thereby obtain some insight into the dynamics of this change process. Many ERP implementers are finding themselves in a position to re-engineer their existing processes to fit the software they are implementing. The paper uses a case study approach that investigates six change management issues at three diverse companies where ERP-led BPR was implemented. The paper shows that through close attention to the change management principles the ERP implementers must integrate the changes with company strategic objectives, and through detailed planning and workforce cultural changes navigate the new system.

Applying principles of change management in ergonomic projects: A case study

The authors describe a project aimed at structuring the actions and clarifying the role of an ergonomist in large, political, multiclient projects in sectors with high physical workload. A general change management model (model of planned change; L. de Caluwé & H. Vermaak, 1999) was used as a starting point. Its applicability to the ergonomists' work within the noted context was checked through interviews with five project managers. The conclusion was that ergonomists can't apply the model as a whole, as they're not managing the change process. Parts of the model, however, were regarded helpful to structure the ergonomists' actions and attune these to the change process of the sector. Discussion sessions and interviews with ergonomists were then organized to incorporate the useful parts of the model into a practical framework: the change management in ergonomics framework. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 16: 195–223, 2006.

The journey of a teaching hospital to becomea learning organisation

This paper describes how an acute tertiary referral hospital moved away from a "culture of blame", using change management principles aligned with the concept of the learning organisation. I outline the process of change, and describe its outcomes. The result is summarised as an improvement in desired attributes of the organisation's culture, as evidenced by consistent improvement in the results of a proprietary staff survey. I conclude that the concept of the learning organisation is a useful one for hospitals that seek to improve the organisational culture.

Mergers And Change Management At The Micro Level: A Case Study

The transformation of the South African higher education landscape resulted in, among other things, the merger of three distance education institutions: Unisa, VUDEC and TSA. The macro level of the merger will no doubt be studied in detail. This article explores a micro level process for two departments merged by a top-down decision that did not take cognisance of their dissimilar functions and structures. The result was both a merger and a demerging process. The two departments first had to confront the realities of their different functions and structures before a reconfiguration could occur, including the emergence of a strategic plan focusing on aspects such as specific contribution, drivers, objectives and structure. The change management principles adopted to ensure the success of the process are outlined, analysed and reflected upon.

Bridging the communication gap in the operating room with medical team training

Background In the operating room (OR), poor communication among the surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses may lead to adverse events that can compromise patient safety. A survey performed at our institution showed low communication ratings from surgeons, anesthesiologists, and OR nursing staff. Our objective was to determine if communication in the operating room could be improved through medical team training (MTT). Methods A dedicated training session (didactic instruction, interactive participation, role-play, training films, and clinical vignettes) was offered to the entire surgical service using crew resource management principles. Attendees also were instructed in the principles of change management. A change team was formed to drive the implementation of the principles reviewed through a preoperative briefing conducted among the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and OR nurse. A validated Likert scale survey with questions specific to effective communication was administered to the nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgeons 2 months after the MTT to determine the impact on communication. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. Results There was a significant increase in the anesthesiologist and surgeon communication composite score after medical team training (anesthesia pre-MTT = 2.0 ± .3, anesthesia post-MTT = 4.5 ± .6, P <.0008; surgeons pre-MTT = 5.2 ± .2, surgeons post-MTT = 6.6±.3, P <.0004; nurses pre-MTT = 4.3 ± .3, nurses post-MTT = 4.2 ± .4, P = .7). Conclusions Medical team training using crew resource management principles can improve communication in the OR, ensuring a safer environment that leads to decreased adverse events.

Copying patient letters – making it work

PurposeThat patients should be able to receive a copy of any letter written about them is part of the British Government's policy to increase patients' involvement in their care and treatment. All National Health Service (NHS) organisations are expected to implement this by April 2005. This paper aims to describe how one acute Trust has used basic change management principles to implement the initiative.Design/methodology/approachExamines the approach of the Salisbury Health Care NHS Trust, where initially a survey of all consultants, senior nurses and allied health professionals was carried out.FindingsInitial concerns that patients would not understand the letter were generally unfounded with 98.9 per cent of patients saying that they understood their letter. Of patients, 96.9 per cent said that they found receiving a copy letter useful.Originality/valueThe research demonstrated a high percentage of patients wanting a copy letter, which has huge resource implications in terms of secretarial time, additional stationery and postage costs. Change is difficult and an emotionally charged issue however, using examples of good practice and taking a multi‐faceted approach to the change process the initiative has been successfully implemented.

Global Improvement Initiatives

Executives of a multinational company were looking for ways to spread improvements made at one location to other locations throughout the world. Their initial approach of sharing examples and case studies had proven ineffective. In addition, the localized improvements were having little impact on the worldwide corporate business measures. The principles of quality management and change management added little insight. Frustration with their lack of success had given way to an interest in an approach developed by the Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI) for the health care industry (Kilo, 1998). The concept of an “improvement collaborative” provided the framework for developing their global improvement initiatives.

Developing effective clinical practice: preventing hospital-acquired, catheter-associated urinary tract infections — a step-by-step approach

E fforts to establish evidence-based, clinically effective practice are central to the quality improvement programmes of most NHS organisations. In spite of this, there appears to be widespread recognition that practice change is complex and notoriously difficult to bring about. This article describes one organisation's attempt to prevent hospital-acquired, catheter-associated urinary tract infections and the framework used to facilitate successful Trust-wide changes in practice. The framework, which takes the form of a practical eight-step approach based on the principles of audit, surveillance and effective change management, is offered as a tool to assist other organisations in their pursuit of clinical excellence.

Bottom-up or top-down? Evolutionary change management in NPD processes

This paper presents theoretical evolutionary change management principles and a simulation game based business process development method, built upon these principles. The authors applied the method in two NPD process development projects in Finland. Results from the case projects and conclusions to the management of change are presented. The projects differed markedly in their initial change approach. The bottom-up initiated change project of the pharmaceutical company and the top-down initiated project of the telecommunication company, however, both achieved good results in process development. Drawing from the theory of evolution management, we can hypothesise that this success can be credited in both cases to the dialogue between strategy and operation, which was created during the change projects. This dialogue was achieved through the method that was applied, i.e. successive simulation games. The cases also suggest that the management of process development greatly benefits from a project portfolio and systematic project management, which help to implement the dynamic and learning umbrella strategy.

Implementing NAGPRA: the effective management of legislated change in museums

A survey of 19 museums across the USA sought to identify the change processes associated with the effective management of a specific case of legislated change imposed by The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 1990 (NAGPRA). Interviews were also conducted with a sample of these museums to understand further the change process adopted. It was hypothesised that those organisations which were perceived by respondents to have achieved successful change outcomes, would have managed the change transition in accordance with generic change principles in the change literature, regardless of the legislated nature of the change. The findings provided strong support for these general principles of effective change management in situations where the organisation has little choice about the change initiative. However the legislated nature of the change and the initial lack of understanding of its scope and implications produced some deviations from these general principles, particularly with respect to the dimensions of visioning, participation and allocation of resources to the change program.

Integrating Project Management and Change Management in an IS Curriculum

Because many new information systems (IS) projects involve business process reengineering, project managers need the necessary skills to manage development projects and organizational change. These concepts are inter-related. The MIS 2000 curriculum calls for them to be taught as a single course. The purpose of this paper is review the fundamental principles of project management and change management and show how these concepts can be integrated and taught in this IS course. The paper first presents a broad overview of current project management and change management trends and practices and then provides guidance for developing an integrated IS project and change management course.

Organisation change and management decision in museums

A survey of 24 museums of various kinds in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA sought to identify the processes that these organisations used to manage change. It was hypothesised that those organisations which were assessed by respondents to have achieved successful change outcomes would also have managed the change process in accordance with general guidelines on effective change in the change literature. The general guidelines largely recommend a consultative or participative style of leadership as being most effective for leading change. Recent contingency models relating change leadership style to change strategy predict that participative leadership styles are not always appropriate or effective for leading change, and that under circumstances, exceptions to the general guidelines would apply. However, it was argued that due to the nature of museums as professional bureaucracies, such exceptions are unlikely to occur for the organisations studied in this paper. The findings provided strong support for these general principles of effective change management.

The dynamics of introducing performance metrics into an organization

AbstractImplementation of performance measurement systems is traditionally viewed as a way for public‐ and private‐sector organizations to improve accountability, boost efficiency, and create organizational focus. These systems are also useful in managing organizational change, as they provide a framework for setting goals, driving alignment of people and processes, and chronicling progress in achieving objectives.This article describes a case study of a state government agency that used performance measurement to improve service and customer relations, then explores how the use of certain change management principles can enhance and accelerate the introduction of performance measurement into any organization.

Increasing the Human Operators' Acceptance of Automation

The paper makes a contribution towards softening the shock caused by the introduction of any new technology, including automation and information systems. The authors propose to apply the principles of change management dealing with specific human behaviour, organisational culture and quality of work life in the presence of change. The hypothesis of the work is that these, slightly adapted change-management principles, can increase the acceptance of any new and complex technology. The paper focuses on the introduction of automation as a representative new technology that is today mostly complex enough to justify a more comprehensive approach.

The Involvement Approach

Tremendous challenges face those charged with reconstructing the economies and workforces of the formerly Communist Eastern European nations. The temptation is great to apply proven Western European and American models to the problem. There are clear dangers in doing so if an attempt is made to “force‐fit” such models on economies and enterprises very different from those in the West. Research and practice in change management principles clearly point to practices, such as high involvement and participation by local workers and managers in rebuilding their own companies, that are essential to success. These may be overlooked, or ignored, in the rush to “fix” Eastern European economies. A balance between a sense of urgency and sound management and leadership practices must be taken. Most important, nothing must be done that undermines Eastern Europeans′ opportunity to practise democratic ideals and be directly in charge of their own density.