Relevance and need


Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Setting the research focus
What do we want to study, what is the problem?
The failure to implement lasting change frequently occurs because senior leaders underestimate the difficulty of changing an organization’s culture. As anyone knows who has lived through a merger, changing an organizational culture is a long and difficult process. The eighth and last step of John Kotter’s, Eight Steps for Leading Change Model, is a critical activity for making sure that the new changes the organization has achieved are lasting. Step eight anchors change in the organizational culture.

During this phase you should be focused on:
 
  • Persisting, monitoring and measuring progress and not declaring victory prematurely
  • Recognising, rewarding and modelling the new behaviour
  • Using champions of the change to tell their story


Smart people miss the mark here when they are insensitive to cultural issues. Economically oriented finance people and analytically oriented engineers can find the topic of social norms and values too soft for their tastes. So they ignore culture—at their peril.
 

    Research gap


    Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Setting the research focus
    What is the gap in the current body of knowledge we need to address?

    Tips for incorporating changes into the culture

    • Cultural change comes last, not first
    • You must be able to prove that the new way is superior to the old
    • The success must be visible and well communicated
    • You must reinforce new norms and values with incentives and rewards – including promotions
    • Reinforce the culture with every new employee


    Two factors are particularly important in anchoring new approaches in an organization'sculture. The first is a conscious attempt to show people how specific behaviorsand attitudes have helped improve performance. When people are left on their own to make the connections, as is often the case, they can easily create inaccurate links.
     
    Anchoring change also requires that sufficient time be taken to ensure that the next generation of management really does personify the new approach. If promotion criteria are not reshaped, another common error, transformations rarely last. One bad succession decision at the top of an organization can undermine a decade of hard work.
     
    Finally, anchoring change in the culture may require employee and managerial turnover or reassignment to remove individuals who are barriers to progress. With the evidence of the value of the change effort now so apparent to the organization, it is unlikely that those who are still resisting the change will actually alter their ways.  Turnover or reassignment is an unfortunate result but sometimes it is needed if senior leadership wants to ensure that “the changes stick” in the organization.
     

      Research question


      Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Setting the research focus
      What is the research question?

      Key questions

      • What are you doing to keep old behaviour from creeping back?
      • What are the key aspects of the UQ culture that should reinforce your change?
      • What policies, procedures and systems do you need to build your change into in order to make it part of standard practice?
      • What will you (or others) do to ensure the change you have delivered takes root and becomes part of the new culture?
      • Are you and your guiding teams modelling the new behaviour and reinforcing/recognising others?


       

        Literature


        Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Preparation
        Identify key literature on the topic

         

          Theoretical framework


          Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Preparation
          Elaborate on the role of theory, theoretical framework, related models and methods.

           

            Prepare instruments


            Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Data Collection
            Define and prepare your research instruments, operationalization etc.

            *Assess behavioural change

            Assess behavioural change

            Is the change sticking? Determine the extent to which the new behaviour is sticking and, as a result, the probability that the new culture will emerge.
              
                                                
            Indicators of a behavioural shift
                                                
            Indicators that behaviour is not changing 
                                                                
            Change leaders are sought for advice and input
                                                
            Change leaders are criticised
                                                                
            Results of the changes are used to evaluate how best to continue or improve
                                                
            Benefits of the change are challenged, questioned or discounted
                                                                
            Emphasis is on what needs to be adjusted, revised or improved
                                                
            Emphasis is on what can be maintained or kept
                                                                
            More decisions are made consistent with the vision and the marketplace
                                                
            More decisions are made consistent with the historical success and past practices
                                                                
            People seek to understand what they need to do and what is expected of them to be successful in the new environment
                                                
            People act consistently with the way they (or others) have been successful in the past
                                                                
            People begin to leave because they acknowledge they don't fit in anymore
                                                
            People leave because they are frustrated with the lack of take up with the new way of doing things
                                                                
            Change leaders are finding support and resources for more changes
                                                
            Change resisters continue to block resources and support
                                    
             
             

              Prepare data


              Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Data Analysis
              Prepare the data and distribute roles for data analysis

              Some information and key topics can be found HERE in this presentation:
                  
                   http://idea-space.eu:19001/up/03902a183c5a71ed36986af15302bed6.ppt 
               

                Analyze, Elaborate, iterate


                Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Data Analysis
                Analyse and elaborate on the findings, iterate and reach the key results of your research effort

                 

                  Distribute tasks and roles


                  Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Article writing
                  Distribute tasks and roles for the presentation material

                   

                    Submit


                    Posted by raimund.hudak in category: Feedback and next steps
                    Submit your documents and presentation HERE:

                    The following paper is the project work of students in the 5th semester - course International Business.
                    The topic - Change Management - Anchoring and incorporating changes into culture