Comparing Change Management and Integrated Change Management

Projects are means through which change strategies are realized. However, less than 3% of overall projects fully succeed and more than 50% are total failures (PWC, 2005). According to Jick and Peiperl, 2002, Globalization, Technology and Customer Focus are the main forces that contribute to changes in strategy as these form the man parameters on which business strategy is based. Business Architects conducted a customer research study in 2006 and concluded that: 1. Projects majorly fail when they are not aligned with the business strategy. In fact, projects are aligned with the strategy in only 13% of the cases. 2. Project success (PS), is seen by only 2.5% of the cases and every project failure has costs associated with it, which were around $450 billion in 2001. The focus of the study was to: 1. To assess if there existed any relationship success(PS) and the two change processes managers a. Traditional change management process (CMP) b. Integrated change management process (ICMP) While a CMP is a standalone process used to manage changes, ICMP is a change management process that is institutionalized in the company's organization, processes, and policies. 2. To examine the outcome differences in project success (PS) between companies whose managers implement CMP and companies whose managers implement Statement of research/study: When dealing with change, managers use either CMP or ICMP to align strategies and projects. However, there does not appear to be any viable evidence that confirms or rejects the hypotheses that there exists a relationship between PS and CMP or ICMP and that there is a difference in PS outcomes between the use of CMP and ICMP. This information is vital for managers as it helps them to reduce project failure costs. Each dollar recovered would add to the company's bottom line. Research Questions The main two purposes of this quantitative co-relational and comparative study were to examine two principle factors: (a) the relationships between the use of CMP or ICMP and PS, and (b) the differences in between project implemented by

PS outcomes, if any, being used to as a possible indicator of improved alignment of strategy and projects. To achieve these purposes, the researcher needed to answer the following questions: Q1: What is the degree of the relationship, if any, between CMP and PS? Q2: What is the degree of the relationship, if any, between ICMP and PS? Q3: To what extent, if any, is there a difference in PS values between the use of CMP and ICMP?

From resistance to acceptance: How to implement change management

Executives must acknowledge the human resistance to change before change management can be effective. While other strategies analyze the effects of change on the bottom line, change management focuses on people and how they resist, cope up with and ultimately accept change in the workplace. Executive leaders use change management initiatives to create a culture that embraces change, and often find that these strategies make the difference between success and failure of new management processes and system implementations. Integrating change management with personalized training helps in addressing user anxiety, provided a realistic plan, and gives every employee the opportunity to learn the new system. There are 3 critical steps that executives must follow to implement change in the workplace a) Focus on people: Employees opinions should be heard by involving them in the change management process. This helps in bringing in varied ideas and experiences. Therefore, managers need to start at the top and speak to every level of the organization about the change so that the employees know what to expect and are much more likely to accept and support the change. b) Communicate strategic messages: Once employees understand the reason for a change, managers must reinforce cooperation with timely, practical and inspirational messages. Appropriate communication ensures that employees are able to see the rationale behind the change, realize what effect it will have on them and what they need to do differently. c) Combine communication and training: New company management, systems, and processes affect how people perform on the job. Therefore, it is advisable to incorporate training within the change management strategy. The basic measures managers can adopt in managing change are:

1) 2) 3) 4)

Interviews with stakeholders and end users at all levels Clear definition of success and how will you measure it Definition of the baseline as it relates to tour objectives Measurement interviews and techniques such as survey, performance productivity and adoption along with defined intervals for measurement 5) Communication plan to support project objectives 6) Training delivery as needed to support project objectives With the Rise campaign, Mahindra wished to realize its employees dream of becoming the company responsible for bringing about the second green revolution in India. It had involved stakeholders in the process because Anand Mahindra had left it to employees to choose where they wanted to see the company in 10 years. With the support from the employees, Mahindra was able to successfully roll- out the change initiative earlier this year in January. Also, with Spark the Rise campaign, the company involved the end users and entrepreneurs by funding new ventures which could bring about change in the way people live and supported ideas which had long term potential and benefits for a greater set of people. This properly amalgamated the companys change initiative with its corporate social responsibility measures and laid the foundation for a successfully implemented change management initiative. Mahindra was able to achieve the employees support and collaboration because it managed to keep its focus on the people who would be affected by the change. Involving them and empowering them in the change management process with clear communication of strategies and long term vision helped them overcome the resistances and make employees accept and value the change.