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Executive Summary
Change management is the process of dealing with needed adjustments to make a business more competitive, effective and efficient. Change does not occur automatically and as with many other business needs change has to be addressed through careful planning, training and execution. Information Technology is the backbone of business and as IT is increasingly making business more efficient it is also demanding change management to become a familiar and important business competency. The inadequate implementation of change management will cause project failure and can have devastating effects on a business's stability, budget and human resource assets. .
Introduction
Change management is best defined by being broken down into two separate definitions. We must first define change as the altering of behavior. Secondly we define management much like we would define project management. Management in this instance is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. (Definition of Change Management. 2013) Change can occur in processes, systems, organizational structure and job roles especially as new projects are being created.
Change management is not the same as project management because of few key elements. The goal of project management is to effectively deploy resources in a structured manner to develop and implement the solution - in terms of what needs to be done to processes, systems, organization structure and job roles. The goal of change management is to help each individual impacted by the change to make a successful transition, given what is required by the solution. Currently, the PMBOK (Project Management Institute Official guidance) does not provide a knowledge area that reflects change activities to include change control and change leadership.. (Griffith-Cooper & King 2007).
Change management is a complicated science However, if we consider Business Process Reengineering (BPR) we can make a correlation with change management and Information Technology. BPR is a method which fundamentally redesigns a business process for the sake of improvements. During the BPR project managers will be concerned with creating and implementing the new solution while change managers will be tasked to ensure that the new solution is integrated correctly. Both teams will work simultaneously. Please see illustration below:
Reasons for Change and Change Management
Change management is necessary to ensure productivity, efficiency and continued profitability of business. During times of change it is crucial for continued operations to be aware of the new demands that will emerge. Lack of a proper change management plan can lead to chaos, misappropriation of funds and a weakened workforce. Constantly changing industry trends, technology and economic climates are a few reasons that businesses have to change to remain competitive
Shanley 2007 conducted a study of middle managers of residential facilities for the elderly in Australia. The study found that because change management had not been openly and effectively handled in the industry, many of the managers suffered from both physical and emotional stress. A number of the managers interviewed were planning on an early retirement or were leaving the industry to take up less stressful positions. Many reported that junior staff members were reluctant to work towards a management position because they could see the difficulties the current managers were enduring. (Shanley 2007) Poor change management weakened their workforce making it difficult to retain top talent and recruit prospective leaders.
In another study a group of Research & Development personnel were asked to use communications as a method to deal with change. The study illustrated development and application of an intervention protocol where differences in perceptual location among members were used as a springboard for inducing them to talk more openly about their differences and to help them see how change could be constructed through communication as a medium. Communication as a solution for change management enhanced their understanding of the sorts of issues that are impeding their ability to perform. The team worked and communicated better having created a technique to foster change in a positive environment. (Jabri 2004) Prior to this solution the miscommunication was costing both monetary and time wastage.
In a final study conducted in the United Kingdom of a public sector organization it was found that change is often viewed as threatening. There is a direct correlation between change and trust and as the organization underwent more change there was less trust among employees. The question of the organizations stability had a direct effect on the employees. It was concluded that there is a need to enable trust especially during times of organizational change to avoid chaos. Saunders & Thornhill (2003)
Change Management and Information Technology
Change management is an important control in Information Technology. It is required to support the business functions of any enterprise. While change control is conceptually simple, the mechanics of implementation and monitoring require attention to detail as well as support from IT, users, and business unit management. At its most basic level, change management is a control system that ensures programs, systems, and infrastructure modifications are authorized, tested, documented, and monitored. Yarberry (2007)
Implementation of effective change management is part of the worldwide movement towards improved IT governance and transparency. An effective change management system requires just enough approval, testing, documentation, and review. The classical focus of change management includes lines of code, objects, schemas, and other components of the organization's core applications. Most developers learn programming basics either formally, in technology classes, or informally via on- the-job training. Yarberry (2007)
An effective change management system requires just enough approval, testing, documentation, and review. It needs to specify who has what authority and make allowance for deviations to the norm in urgent circumstances. The best change management plan is one that will allow for changes to the plan.
Conclusion
Change management is an important business process. Change management deals with the people, products, processes and services being altered many times during the implementation of a new project. Change management is important to ensure that all stakeholders can properly handle the transition period between the old and new solution. The best course of action in creating a change management plan is to create one alongside the project management plan and to ensure that both plans are implemented simultaneously.
Reference
Griffith-Cooper, B., & King, K. (2007). The partnership between project management and organizational change: Integrating change management with change leadership. Performance Improvement, 46(1), 14-20.
Definition of Change Management.
Jabri, M. (2004). Team feedback based on dialogue: Implications for change management. The Journal of Management Development, 23(2), 141-151.
Saunders, M. N. K., & Thornhill, A. (2003). Organisational justice, trust and the management of change: An exploration. Personnel Review, 32(3), 360-375.
Shanley, C. (2007). Managing change through management development: An industry case study. The Journal of Management Development, 26(10), 962-979.
Yarberry,William A.,,Jr. (2007). Effective change management: Ensuring alignment of IT and business functions. Information Systems Security, 16(2), 80-89.
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