paula pieniniemi mba (it) dissertation - change management (1)

Strategies for Successful Change Management -

Investigation in to Berkeley Berry Birch Plc

By

Paula Pieniniemi

May 2006

Strategies for Successful Change Management by Paula Pieniniemi

Declaration of Originality

This project is all my own work and has not been copied in part or in whole from any other source except where duly acknowledged. As such, all use of previously published work (from books, journals, magazines, internet etc.) has been acknowledged within the main report to an item in the References or Bibliography lists.

I also agree that an electronic copy of this project may be stored and used for the purposes of plagiarism prevention and detection.

Copyright Acknowledgement

I acknowledge that the copyright of this project report, and any product developed as part of the project, belong to Coventry University.

Signed: Date:

Office Stamp

Coventry University, MBA (IT) Dissertation, 2006 of 115


Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to the people who helped me out during this research project, and to those who made it all possible in the first place. First, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Raouf Naguib, for his guidance and advice during the whole project.

I would not be here without my Mom, so an especially big thank you goes to her. I would also like to thank Mike for his help with resources, knowledge and access to his company.

There are simply no words to express how much all the support you have given means to me. I tried to find the right ones but could not think of any that would be even close enough…All I can say is that I wouldn’t have done this without you.

Thank you for making this possible Holly.



Abstract

Change is an integral aspect of every business and can emerge from a variety of sources. All

businesses experience technological, organisational and business change, and as a result need to

be prepared and respond to the challenges posed by the change process. People are at the core of

the process, acting as both drivers of change and a source of resistance.

This dissertation investigates change management, focusing on the human side of change

management. The research investigates change management in Berkeley Berry Birch Plc,

establishing factors for successful change management. The public financial services company

is compared with a privately owned IT supply company to benchmark and establish differences

between the public and private companies. The research uses questionnaires, semi-structured

interviews and participant observation to collect primary data. The situation in the two

companies is critical analysed determining success factors and providing recommendations for

the companies in terms of a change management strategy and areas for improvement, and

suggestions for managers to effectively manage change.



CONTENTSDeclaration of Originality

Acknowledgements

Abstract

1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................8

1.1. THE AIM OF THE DISSERTATION...........................................................................................81.2 THE OBJECTIVES OF THE DISSERTATION...............................................................................81.3 THE KEY QUESTIONS THIS PROJECT ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER.................................................91.4 THE KEY OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT..................................................................................91.5 RESEARCH APPROACH.........................................................................................................101.6 TO WHOM THIS PROJECT WILL BE OF INTEREST..................................................................101.7 BACKGROUND.....................................................................................................................101.8 BERKELEY BERRY BIRCH PLC............................................................................................121.9 IT SUPPLY...........................................................................................................................13

2. METHODOLOGY.................................................................................................................15

2.1 RESEARCH APPROACH.........................................................................................................152.2 PHASES OF THE RESEARCH..................................................................................................15

2.2.1 Questionnaire..............................................................................................................162.2.2 Interviews.....................................................................................................................172.2.3 Participant observation...............................................................................................18

3. LITERATURE REVIEW / RESEARCH.............................................................................19

3.1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................193.2 STRATEGY...........................................................................................................................19

3.2.1 Strategic management.................................................................................................213.3 CHANGE..............................................................................................................................23

3.3.1 Reasons for change......................................................................................................243.3.2 Types of change...........................................................................................................263.3.3 The benefits and risks of change..................................................................................26

3.4 CHANGE MANAGEMENT......................................................................................................273.5 MODELS FOR SUCCESSFUL CHANGE MANAGEMENT............................................................293.6 PROBLEMS WITH CHANGE MANAGEMENT...........................................................................33

3.6.1 Organisational culture................................................................................................343.6.2 Resistance to change...................................................................................................35

3.7 LEADERSHIP........................................................................................................................393.8 SUCCESSFUL CHANGE MANAGEMENT................................................................................413.9 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................44

4. FINDINGS...............................................................................................................................45

4.1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................45



4.2 QUESTIONNAIRES................................................................................................................454.2.1 Change in the companies.............................................................................................474.2.2 Organisational culture, structure and interrelationships............................................494.2.3 Motivation and rewards...............................................................................................544.2.4 Leadership...................................................................................................................574.2.5 Support.........................................................................................................................584.2.6 Work processes............................................................................................................594.2.7 Group Learning...........................................................................................................604.2.8 Technology...................................................................................................................614.2.9 Communication............................................................................................................63

4.3 INTERVIEWS AND PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION..................................................................654.3.1 Findings from the interview and participant observation at BBB...............................654.3.2 Findings from the interview with IT Supply employee................................................68

4.4 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................71

5. CRITICAL ANALYSIS.........................................................................................................73

5.1 CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY....................................................................................785.2 RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................................................................................81

5.2.1 Differences between a private and a public company.................................................815.2.2 Recommendations for managers.................................................................................82

6. CONCLUSIONS.....................................................................................................................83

7. RECOMMENDATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH.....................................................85

8. CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT..............................................................86

8.1 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE RESEARCH.................................................................868.2 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH.........................................................................................87

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................89

APPENDIX 1 SWOT ANALYSIS- BERKELEY BERRY BIRCH PLC..............................97

APPENDIX 2 INTERVIEW – BBB..........................................................................................98

APPENDIX 3 INTERVIEW – IT SUPPLY...........................................................................103

APPENDIX 4 PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION SUMMARY...........................................109

APPENDIX 5 CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL...........................................................111

APPENDIX 6 Questionnaire......................................................................................................112

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FIGURES

FIGURE 3.1 IS STRATEGY.....................................................................................................22

FIGURE 3.2 THE FOUR FORMS OF RESISTANCE..........................................................38

FIGURE 4.1 JOB CATEGORIES OF THE RESPONDENTS..............................................48

FIGURE 4.2 LENGTH OF SERVICE OF THE RESPONDENTS.......................................48

FIGURE 5.1 FRAMEWORK FOR A SUCCESSFUL CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY................................................................................................................................82

TABLES

TABLE 3.3 STRATEGIES FOR MINIMISING RESISTANCE..........................................41

TABLE 3.4 DESIRABLE CHARACTERISTICS OF CHANGE AGENTS........................43

TABLE 3.5 EFFECTIVE CHANGE MANAGEMENT.........................................................47

TABLE 4.1 RESPONSE SUMMARY – FREQUENCY OF CONCERN.............................51

TABLE 4.2 RESPONSE SUMMARY – LEVEL OF CONCERN.........................................52

TABLE 4.3 RESPONSE SUMMARY – ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE, STRUCTURE AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS...............................................................................................53

TABLE 4.4 RESPONSE SUMMARY – ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE, STRUCTURE AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS, PART 2...............................................................................55

TABLE 4.5 RESPONSE SUMMARY – ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE, STRUCTURE AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS, PART 3...............................................................................56

TABLE 4.6 RESPONSE SUMMARY – MOTIVATION AND REWARDS........................58

TABLE 4.8 RESPONSE SUMMARY - LEADERSHIP.........................................................61

TABLE 4.9 RESPONSE SUMMARY - SUPPORT................................................................62

TABLE 4.10 RESPONSE SUMMARY – WORK PROCESSES...........................................63

TABLE 4.12 RESPONSE SUMMARY – TECHNOLOGY...................................................65

TABLE 4.13 RESPONSE SUMMARY – TECHNOLOGY PART 2....................................66

TABLE 4.14 RESPONSE SUMMARY – COMMUNICATION...........................................67

TABLE 4.15 RESPONSE SUMMARY – COMMUNICATION PART 2............................68



1. Introduction

This dissertation is a research project into change management focusing on the human side of

the process. The company investigated is Berkeley Berry Birch Plc (BBB) which is a public

company from the financial services industry. A second company IT Supply, which is a private

company from a contrasting sector of industry, is used as a benchmark.

1.1. The aim of the dissertation

The aim of the dissertation is to investigate change management at BBB identifying the reasons

for failures in change programmes. The issues investigated will include; what causes problems

in change programmes, how important is the role played by human side in successful change

management (e.g. resistance to change, organisational culture), and what can be done to prevent

failure in change programmes. The dissertation will investigate how to manage change

successfully and provide some recommendations for managers.

The research will investigate the importance of the human side of change management as

previous research has shown that people play an important role in driving of change, as well as

causing problems in change management programmes.

1.2 The objectives of the dissertation

The objectives of the project include the following:

To research change and change management in general

To investigate and critically analyse the current situation of change management Berkeley

Berry Birch Plc, benchmarking it with the private company

To examine the importance of human side of change management

To identify reasons for resistance to change

To identify success factors, reasons for failures and areas for improvement



Examine differences in change management in the private and public companies

investigated

Provide recommendations for managing change successfully in the two companies, and in

general in other organisations implementing change

Provide recommendations to managers and change agents on how to manage change

effectively.

1.3 The key questions this project attempts to answer

This research project aims to answer questions relating to successful change management.

What causes change programmes to fail?

Which factors affect successful change management?

What is the role of managers in the change process?

What are the recommendations for managers on how to manage change successfully?

How is change management differently in a Plc compared to a private company?

What are the key recommendations for BBB regarding change management in the company?

1.4 The key outcomes of the project

The key outcomes of this project are to establish what is entailed in successful change

management, what causes change programmes to fail and provide important insights into

change management and how to carry it out successfully. The project will establish the current

situation in two companies, compare and critically analyses them. The key outcomes from this

project will also include determining areas for improvement and providing recommendations on

how to address these issues. The project will also identify any differences between public and

private companies and provide suggest how to address key problem areas. Final key outcome is

to determine how to manage change successfully and provide recommendations to the

organisations investigated how to implement change more effectively.



1.5 Research approach

This research combines both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods as well as

primary and secondary data. Primary data was obtained by interviewing the key people in the IT

departments of the two companies. The company under investigation is a public limited

company in the financial services industry, Berkeley Berry Birch Plc (BBB), and the other one

used for comparison and benchmarking is a privately owned company, an IT supply company

for a large pharmaceuticals wholesaler who have requested not to be identified in the project.

The people interviewed in both companies also wished to remain anonymous; therefore they

will be referred to as interviewees/employees in this dissertation.

Questionnaires were also designed and used to obtain primary data. Data collected was analysed

using SPSS software the reliability and validity of the findings. A third data collection method

was also used to obtain primary data; participant observation. The researcher had access to the

company as she has been employed in the company since January 2005. All of the research

methods will be discussed in further detail in the second chapter.

1.6 To whom this project will be of interest

This research will be of value for any organisations going through change, whether it is

technological, organisational or business changes. The research will be of interest to the

managers implementing change and driving their employees through change processes as it

gives insights into the problems managers face and how to manage change successfully.

1.7 Background

To keep up with the competitors or merely to survive in the dynamic business environment of

today, every organisation has to go through some degree of change. Change can arise, for

example, from technological developments and system changes, which might involve improving



the organisation’s systems to increase production and to make processes more efficient, or

updating IS/IT systems to keep up with the technological developments (Mullins, 2005; Smith,

2003). Change can also arise from important business decisions on larger scales which affect the

whole company; for example outsourcing of functions or mergers of companies. BBB has gone

through a number of mergers and acquisitions which have involved many IS/IT changes.

It is anticipated that business organisations will invest more in IT, e-business and e-commerce in

the future (Bai and Lee, 2003). This means more organisations going through change due to new

technology being adopted into an organisation, which changes the way people work and go

about their daily duties. Changes in technology can have a major effect on the way of doing

business, and organizations have to be prepared to cope with rapid changes in business

dynamics. Changes in organizations take place in response to the changing environment, due to

factors such as customer demand, competition or internal issues. In implementing change there

are technological, organizational and personal perspectives that need to be considered (Bai and

Lee, 2003). The issue of successful change management is very important for BBB, as it is to

other organisations due to the costs arising from the investments into new technologies, training

of workforce, etc. If changes are invested in, a successful implementation should be ensured.

Previous research has shown that people are the most important factor in making change, but

they are also the most difficult element that needs to be dealt with (Rashid et al, 2004). As

Rashid et al (2004) state further, for any change to be effective, people’s beliefs, assumptions

and attitudes need to be challenged and clarified, because the most powerful force for significant

and sustainable change resides within the human system at the core of every business system.

According to Bai and Lee (2003) today’s organisations frequently redesign their processes to

provide new competitive advantage as information technology develops, this creates not only

technological change but also dramatic change in the various social and political perspectives of

organizations. Corporate culture can have a significant effect on an organizations long-term

economic performance, and will be an even more important factor in determining the success or

failure of firms in the next decade (Bai and Lee, 2003; Raschid et al, 2004).



Change in BBB has not always been successful or implemented without trouble. For example,

organisational culture has been a major factor hindering change programmes, as was the case in

the most recent merger of Berry Birch and Noble Financial Planning division and Weston

Financial Group where the managers had to bring together two separate companies both with

own established systems, procedures and ways of doing things. The process of bringing the two

businesses into one was in most parts a struggle between people. This is not the only change

process the company has undergone in the last couple of years, and many more are due to be

implemented in the near future, it is essential to investigate the reasons for failure in change

processes and what can be done to achieve successful change management.

1.8 Berkeley Berry Birch Plc

Berkeley Berry Birch Plc (BBB) is one of the UK's largest companies specialising in financial

services distribution. The primary business of BBB is the support and provision of holistic

financial services advice to individuals to manage their assets, risk and debt (Source:

http://www.bbb.co.uk/main). BBB operates through three trading divisions, these being

Network, Financial Advisory and Insurance. The Network provides support services to

Independent Financial Advisers (IFA’s). Financial Advisory Division provides financial advice

to clients through its IFA’s and the Insurance Division provides insurance broking services

through large affinity groups and corporate bodies (Source: http://www.bbb.co.uk/main/about/).

Corporate History

BBB was formed in January 2002 through the reverse takeover of Berry Birch & Noble plc

(BBN) by the privately owned Berkeley Financial Services Group (Berkeley). The merger of

BBN and Berkeley represents the first major link up with a national IFA. The group is now one

of the five largest IFA groups in the UK. The main subsidiary Berkeley Independent Advisers

(BIA) is the fourth largest IFA network group in the UK (Source:

http://www.bbb.co.uk/main/about/history/).


http://www.bbb.co.uk/main/about/history/

http://www.bbb.co.uk/main/about/

http://www.bbb.co.uk/main


The Financial Advisory division has three different parts, Berry Birch and Noble Financial

Planning (BBNFP), MacRobins which has now been integrated into BBNFP and Weston

Financial Group (Weston) which was due to be fully integrated into BBB in 2005. Weston was

acquired in December 2002 and MacRobins, an insurance broker and employee benefits

company, in July 2003 (Source: Berkeley Berry Birch Plc Annual report 2004-2005).

Corporate strategy

BBB's strategic vision is to be the UK's premier financial services distribution group for high

value customers. The strategic objective is to create shareholder value through the development

of a multi-channel group focused on high productivity. BBB aims to achieve economies of scale

by linking each of the distribution companies to one shared support structure (Source:

http://www.bbb.co.uk/main/about/vision_and_strategy/).

1.9 IT Supply

The private company who wishes to remain unidentified in the research project is an IT supply

company for a large pharmaceuticals wholesaler. The company will be referred to as IT Supply

in this dissertation. IT Supply is a division within the pharmaceuticals wholesaler with

independent directors and business policies.

The mother company of IT Supply, the pharmaceuticals wholesaler is the largest wholesaler in

the UK and one of the leading pharmacy system suppliers. They have different specialist teams

for developing relationships with hospitals and other customers. The wholesaler provides

distribution and marketing services to hospital pharmacies, private and public, and also prison

hospitals. IT Supply has over 30 years experience in developing IT solutions and have

responded to changes within the market place by developing a range of products in their

portfolio to enhance pharmacy business. One of the systems IT Supply has developed provides

information on for example all UK drugs and appliances. The system enables pharmacists to

carry out automatic endorsement, monitor prescribing trends and sales.


http://www.bbb.co.uk/main/about/vision_and_strategy/


Differences between a private and a public company

BBB is listed on the London Stock Exchange, with shareholders including some of the major

insurance companies, whereas IT Supply is a private company. The main differences between a

public and a private company are that the public company has its stock traded by the public,

whereas a private company usually has one shareholder or a small group of shareholders who

hold all the stock (Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/articles/Incorporation/2304-31-

1799.html) .

Being a public company means that the shareholders have claim to part of the company’s assets

and profits. This also means that financial reports including earnings reports, major issues and

information, for example a resignation of a director, have to be made available to the stock

exchange, shareholders and the public. Public companies can use the financial markets selling

stock to raise capital when needed, for example for expansion, and the cost of capital is usually

less for a public company. Private companies do not need to publicise their financial

information or answer to stockholders, which is a significant advantage, however they cannot

use the public capital markets and must use private funding which can be costly and limit

expansion (Source: http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/162.asp ).


http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/162.asp

http://www.allbusiness.com/articles/Incorporation/2304-31-1799.html



2. Methodology

The research methods used in the research will be discussed below. This chapter first briefly

introduces the general approach and specific methods used in this research project, moving on to

the different phases in the research discussing the methods used and their pros and cons.

2.1 Research approach

Both primary and secondary data sources were used in the research of this project. Secondary

data refers to data already collected by someone else and primary data is collected for a specific

purpose by the researcher (Saunders, 2000). Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used

in the research to obtain primary data. Qualitative data was obtained by interviewing the key

people in the IT departments of the two companies, who wished to remain anonymous.

Questionnaires were used as a second method of obtaining primary data. Questionnaires were

sent to the departments utilising technology most in BBB, in IT Supply the contact person

distributed the questionnaire to the employees in his department. A third method was also used

to collect primary data from BBB, participant observation, which was enabled by the

researcher’s employment in the company.

2.2 Phases of the research

The first phase in the research was to conduct an extensive literature review on to obtain

secondary data. Secondary data collected includes books, journals and websites relevant to

change management, organisational behaviour, strategy and strategic management. The relevant

literature and researches in these areas were reviewed and analysed. Access to the books and

journals was through Coventry University Library and electronic library databases. Following

the literature review primary data was obtained.



2.2.1 Questionnaire

The next phase in the research was to collect primary data using a questionnaire. + (2000) states

the advantages of questionnaires include that it enables a large amount of data to be collected

relatively cheap, even from a considerable population. This is important for this research project

as the budget is very low and a number of questionnaires need to be sent out to ensure a

sufficient response rate. Though time-consuming due to the lengthy process of analysing the

results, using a questionnaire gives the researcher more control over the whole process

(Saunders, 2000). Questionnaires are cost-effective, quick to administer, free from interviewer

bias, if designed properly, and are convenient for respondents to fill out at a time best suited for

them (Bryman and Bell, 2003). These are the main reasons questionnaires are used in this study.

Saunders (2000) explains that there are also some drawbacks associated with the questionnaire,

the main ones being that the data may not be as wide ranging as data collected using qualitative

methods. Questionnaires have a limit to the number of questions they can contain and can be

conducted very badly, however this can be eliminated to some extent through piloting the

questionnaire, i.e. getting it checked, with an appropriate target group. Piloting is important to

ensure the respondents understand the questions, and to identify any possible misinterpretations

(Saunders, 2000; Anderson, 2004). This questionnaire was piloted with a target group from

varying backgrounds such as change management and educational research. This was to gain

constructive feedback. Changes were made to the questionnaire following the piloting and the

questionnaire was checked again prior to distribution.

Usually the population of a research is sampled, sample size depending on the budget, the level

of detail required etc. The sample in this research project consists of people who continuously

deal with technological issues in their jobs on a daily basis, for example at BBB the Client

Services Department who process proposals and liaise with customers and product providers

using various different software daily. The sample population of 61 employees was sent an

invitation by email to participate in the project by filling out a questionnaire, with a thorough

introduction to the project. The questionnaire was attached to the email on an Excel spreadsheet

formatted so that questions were answered by selecting the most appropriate choice out of a



range of alternatives. The spreadsheet was emailed to the prospective respondents with the

option of either emailing the completed questionnaire back or the respondent could also obtain a

hardcopy of the questionnaire with a stamped and addressed envelope to send it back to the

researcher. Because the whole population is relatively small, in BBB the 61 head office

employees and in IT Supply half of the 100 head office employees, with a sufficient response

rate samples are representative of the population (Ticehurst and Veal, 2000). The questionnaire

can be found in the appendices (See Appendix 5). The questionnaire was analysed using SPSS

software. The critical analysis draws predominantly data from the questionnaires, because it is a

larger sample size than the interviews and thus better reflects the individual companies.

2.2.2 Interviews

Semi-structured interviews were used due to the flexibility needed in the two interviews as to

reflect the differences between the two companies (public/private, industries). A list of themes

and questions relevant to both interviews were prepared. The interviews were conducted in an

informal manner to relax the interviewees to enable a flow of conversation to elicit as much

useful and honest information as possible. The face-to-face interviews were recorded by taking

notes during the interview, accuracy in this process was ensured by an additional person also

taking notes. The decision not to use a tape recorder was taken due to the possibility of

adversely affecting the interview situation, i.e. concentrating on the recorder and allowing the

interviewee to feel free to answer any questions and not being conscious about having their

every word recorded.

With semi-structured interviews also the issues related to bias need to be taken into

consideration (Saunders et al, 2000). To overcome interviewer and interviewee bias, the

questions were open ended to enable further discussion and the questions attempted to find out

situations and settings within the company rather than beliefs and attitudes of the interviewee.

However, the presence of personal opinions cannot be eliminated from the interviews; therefore

the interviews serve as one form of primary data used in this dissertation.



2.2.3 Participant observation

Primary data was also collected through participant observation. Though participant observation

is usually used to obtain data about the meanings people attach to their actions, observation has

a use in business research (Saunders et al, 2000). To this research observation was especially

useful method of research supplementing other used methods due to researcher’s company

involvement. Participant observation has very little ethical implications due to company

involvement and employees being aware of the research project and the role of the researcher.

The researcher was allowed access to information such as strategy documents which are not

normally accessible, and was given the opportunity to clarify and expand her knowledge about

situations occurring in the organisation.

Participant observation was chosen as a research method as it is a good way of explaining ‘what

is going on’ in specific situations, and is an especially useful method of collecting a wealth of

useful data when the researcher is employed by the organisation under study. One significant

disadvantage though is the possibility of observer bias (Saunders et al, 2000). In this research

project the observation was done over a relatively long period of time, 7 months, which is likely

to overcome a lot of the observer bias. Due to the fact that this research was more interested in

the actual processes and situations taking place in the organisation than meanings people attach

to their actions, observer bias is further reduced as not as much interpretation of people’s

emotions and feelings is required.

The reliability and validity of the research and the methods used is discussed further in chapter

8.



3. Literature review / Research

This chapter will review the relevant literature to this project. The following terms and

processes will be defined and discussed in the chapter; strategy, IS/IT change management,

where change arises from, organisational culture, resistance to change and finally effective

change management.

3.1 Introduction

The literature review is split into two sections. The first section provides an introduction and a

definition for some of the key issues regarding strategy. The second section defines and

introduces change and change management and gives a detailed review of literature in the field

of change management, identifying key theories and strategies of managing change.

3.2 Strategy

The definition of strategy is not an easy concept as there are probably as many definitions as

there are text books. Faulkner and Johnson (1992 cited in Armstrong, 2000 p.30) give the

following definition:

“Strategy is concerned with the long-term direction and scope of an organization.

It is also crucially concerned with how the organization positions itself with

regard to the environment and in particular to its competitors… It is concerned

with establishing competitive advantage, ideally sustainable over time, not by

technical manoeuvring, but by taking an overall long-term perspective.”

This is a fairly long definition, whereas Macmillan and Tampoe (2000:14) define strategy

shortly as “ideas and actions to conceive and secure the future”. Common to all the definitions is

that ‘strategy’ is seen as a declaration of what the company wants to become, where it wants to

go and how it means to get there; strategy determines the direction in which the company is

going in relation to its environment in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage

(Armstrong, 2000 ; Storey, 1995).



There are three levels of strategy which are interrelated and interdependent. Corporate strategy

is the whole organisation-wide strategy, competitive strategy is the strategy of each constituent

business, and functional strategy is about the activities that strengthen the competitive strategies.

(Thomson and Martin, 2005; Minzberg et al. 2003)

Corporate strategy is about a portfolio of businesses, and what should be done with them,

whereas business unit strategy is about how to secure and sustain competitive advantage.

Functional and operational plans is the third level of strategy, they set out the actions that a

function is to take in order to be able to contribute to the whole strategy of the business unit, in

the same way as business unit strategy contributes to the corporate strategy (Burnes, 2004;

Johnson et al. 2005).

An important part of business strategy is the Information Systems strategy, which has different

interacting elements to it. These elements are highlighted in figure 3.1 below. One of the

elements, change management, is an important part of the overall corporate strategy as a part of

the IS strategy because it itemises the necessary moves of how to get the organisation from

where it is to where is wants to go to; hence it becomes a very important part of strategic

management (Robson, 1997).



Figure 3.1 IS StrategyAdapted from Robson, 1997:180

3.2.1 Strategic management

Strategic management is about managers looking ahead at what needs to be achieved in the

future, it is visionary management i.e. focusing on creating and conceptualising ideas of where

the organisation should be going. Strategic management is also empirical management as it

decides how in practice it is going to get there (Armstrong and Stephenson, 2005). Macmillan

and Tampoe (2000) formulate their definition slightly differently; according to them the essence

of strategic management includes three things; it is concerned with a particular organisation at a

particular time, there needs to be a concept of what the future will be like, and finally there is a

need for action. Change, if it is to be effectively managed, requires a vision of the future –

where the organisation wants to go, as well as ways for creating and reaching the wanted future

(Macmillan and Tampoe, 2000; Thomson and Martin, 2005).


Business Strategy

IS StrategyInformation Strategy

Information Information Management TechnologyStrategy Strategy

Change Management Strategy

IS Related Human Resource Strategy

Business Strategy

What?

How?

Who?


The strategy formulation process in large multi-divisional companies like BBB operates a

formal process in which the individual divisions or companies present their strategies to the

board for review. This kind of formality has advantages, such as making managers who are

often very busy think about the future. There are also disadvantages, the thinking is only

undertaken to fulfil the bureaucratic process and may be rigid and unimaginative (Macmillan

and Tampoe, 2000). In smaller firms on the other hand the processes can be very informal.

Macmillan and Tampoe (2000) argue that the strategy formulation process should lead to

strategic thinking, which is about the longer term with a good understanding of the present, as

well as imaginativeness and originality. Macmillan and Tampoe (2000) go further stating that

the overall aim of the strategy formulation process is to make sure that strategies are envisioned

which will secure the future of the organisation.

It has been frequently stated in business literature that successful organisations should know

their own strengths and weaknesses, customer’s needs and the environment where the

organisation operates in. Two of the most popular tools for assessing the organisations internal

constraints and the environment are SWOT analysis and PESTEL (Burnes, 2004; Johnson et al.

2005; Lynch, 2003).

SWOT analysis lists organisations internal strengths and weaknesses and identifies the

opportunities and threats of the environment organisation operates in. The strategies of the

organisation should take into consideration these issues, i.e. match strengths with opportunities

and try to overcome weaknesses whilst warding off threats. PESTEL analysis categorises

environmental influences as political, economical, social, technological, environmental and

legal forces (Burnes, 2004; Thomson and Martin, 2005). A brief SWOT analysis conducted for

BBB can be found in the appendices (see Appendix 1), from which it can be seen that the major

strengths for BBB are its size and variety in the financial services industry. Major weaknesses

can be found from the financials of the business as the company is currently experiencing some

solvency issues, which are also a significant threat for the company’s overall survival.

Opportunities identified include for example online financial planning, which could potentially



change the way BBB operates. The analysis of the important strategic issues utilising a SWOT

framework raises issues for the company to consider;

How can the critical weaknesses be neutralised or turned into strengths?

Can the threats be neutralised like weaknesses, or turned into new opportunities?

How can the strengths be exploited best in relation to the opportunities?

Which new markets and market segments could be appropriate to utilise the existing

strengths and capabilities?

What changes need to be done to products, processes and services, considering the

markets are constantly changing?

(Thomson and Martin, 2005)

These issues need to be addressed in the short- and long-term strategic planning of the business,

thoroughly assessing the current state of the strategic issues, creating a solution how to address

the issue or maximise the benefit, and finally determine methods how to achieve the desired

state.

3.3 Change

To be able to understand change management, one needs to understand the nature of change; it

is often said to be the only thing in organisations that remains constant (Armstrong and

Stephenson, 2005:91) and as Mullins (2005:909) states; “Change is a pervasive influence. We

are all subject to continual change of one form or another. Change is an inescapable part of both

social and organisational life”.

There can be many kinds of changes and the degree of change can vary. Some changes do not

require formal change management techniques, for example upgrading a Windows system or

changing a voicemail. However some major changes such as new applications or completely

new systems, introduction of an extranet for dealing with suppliers or customers, or creation of

an e-commerce site will change the ways people work and their routines from top management

to the employees in the organisation. IT professionals may be at ease when introduced to new

technology; however others who are not so involved in technology may find the need for

mastering a new technology a terrifying ordeal. They can get frustrated, freeze up, get rigid and



rebel against the changes. Resistance to change will be discussed in more detail below, in the

‘Problems with change management’ section. Things are not always as black and white in

change management as IT professionals often think, there are a lot of grey areas as change

management has a lot to do with emotions. (Goff, 2000; Stacey; 2000; Martin, 2005)

3.3.1 Reasons for change

Change for organisations can be instigated by specific events and forces arising from outside or

inside the organisation. Those forces can be brought about by the organisation itself or they can

be such that the organisation must respond by making changes. However it is not actually

organisations that can do something about changes, it is the managers running the organisation

who decide where to go and what actions to take. (Burnes, 2004; Martin, 2005)

Change can arise due to various different causes, such as technological developments,

environmental factors, or even political or social factors can bring about change in an

organisation. One of the factors that create an increasingly unstable environment for an

organisation to perform in is the ‘rapid developments in new technology and the information

age’ (Mullins, 2005; Smith, 2003).

New technologies can drastically change the way people and organisations work. For example

mobile data access has developed significantly in the past few years, previously seen as a

privilege of only the regional managers at BBB with their BlackBerry handsets. However this

could be a benefit to be enjoyed by all financial advisors and other employees in the very near

future as new devices and services deliver remote access to core applications. According to

Robinson (2005) mobile applications can automate everyday business processes, and

organisations are already utilising mobile access to business systems such as inventory, logistics

and service management, but the developments in technology can provide new applications in

the future.



There are plenty of different forces that create a need for change, whether it being directly or

indirectly. These forces can be classified in different ways, Johnson and Scholes (2005) use in

their classification the PESTLE model, whereas Martin (2005) identifies sources of change as

represented in table 3.1 below.

Source of

Change

Examples

Market demand Decline in demand for particular products/services, for example, new pension

products or investment options, organisations and markets becoming

increasingly global

Market supply Mergers in companies in the industry or related industries, increases in the

size, complexity and specialisation of organisations

Economic Overall fall in companies in the industry (e.g. financial services,

pharmaceuticals, IT software development etc.)

Social Changes in taste, for example, increase in health consciousness in 1980s

Technological Increased availability of new production technologies and information

systems, new software and hardware, technical obsolescence and technical

improvements

Political Change in leadership of local authority or government

Chance Earthquake, fire, flood, storm

Table 3.1 External pressure for change

Source: Adapted from Martin, 2005 and Thomson and Martin, 2005

Change can affect an individual within an organisation, a group or department, or the whole

organisation. Random chance can effect the whole organisation: technology can be significantly

affected by a power cut, or a natural disaster; people’s working can be disturbed or even

completely obstructed by a power cut which disables computers. This brings change into the

organisation, which can have either very short term effects or in some cases it can have crucial

and long-term effects (Martin, 2005).



3.3.2 Types of change

Various different types of change have been identified, for example Thomas (2001) makes a

distinction between linear and nonlinear change. According to him linear change is a process

with a beginning and an end, a process where events take place in an order that is predictable.

Nonlinear change then is an evolutionary process with a beginning but no clear end; therefore in

the process the steps will become apparent as the process evolves.

Armstrong and Stephenson (2005) identify incremental (i.e. gradual or step by step) change and

transformational change which is about making sure the organisation can respond strategically

to new demands and the dynamic environment. The same distinction is made by Stacey (2000),

but call transformational change revolutionary. They also specify a five other types of change:

Strategic change, which is concerned with long-term organisation-wide issues. Organisational

change, which is concerned with how organisations function and their structure. Systems and

processes change affects the working practices in the whole or part of an organisation. Cultural

change is aimed at changing the existing culture of an organisation and finally, behavioural

change aims at changing the ways people carry out their work to be more effective (Armstrong

and Stephenson, 2005; Mullins, 2005). Thompson and Martin (2005) differentiate between four

types of changes; technology, product or service, administrative changes and people attitudes,

and state that when ever there is a change in one of these factors, one or more of the others is

likely to change.

3.3.3 The benefits and risks of change

The main benefit of effective change is clearly the improved organisational performance, and

the main risk is as clear; the change can go wrong, and it can upset well-established and

effective practices. Change can be stimulating and present opportunities, and people can be

stimulated to the benefit of the organisation and the employees own career. On the other hand,

failed change can create an atmosphere where people are suspicious of change and are unwilling

to adopt new ideas. Organisations can also adopt ‘change for change’s sake’, without



sufficiently assessing the value and relevance of the change (Armstrong and Stephenson,

2005:127).

3.4 Change management

The following section provides a detailed review of literature surrounding change management;

comparing and contrasting theories about the processes and stages, successful and unsuccessful,

and the human side of change management.

Change management is the process of making sure that an organisation is ready for change and

the process of managing the implementation of changes for example in IT and business

processes to reduce the costs and risks involved. In addition change management focuses on

managing resistance to change (Armstrong and Stephenson, 2005; Thompson and Martin, 2005;

http://www.managingenterprisecontent.com).

Change management is about having a planned approach to change in the organisation, with the

focus on maximising the benefits for the organisation whilst minimising the risks of failure in

implementing the change. A lot of change management deals with the human aspects of change,

however disciplines such as Information Technology have developed same kind of approaches

to be able to formally control the process of making changes to environments. Change

management can be approached from various different angles and it can be applied to various

organisational processes, however the most common uses are in information technology

management and strategic management. For change management to be effective, it needs to be

multi-disciplinary and having an impact on every aspect of the organisation. Implementing new

procedures, technologies and overcoming resistance are at the core of change management.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_Management)

A specific area of change management is Information System/Information Technology – change

management, or IS/IT change management, which relates to change programmes in the area of

information technology and information systems. Information technology is more the softer


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_Management

http://www.managingenterprisecontent.com/


issues, such as software and programmes, it is a broad subject concerned with technology and

other issues of management and processing of information (Ward and Peppard, 2002; Turban et

al, 2002). IS and IT are terms used interchangeably in this and other researches, however a

differentiation can be made between them. Information systems existed in organisations way

before information technology, and today, some information systems are totally automated by

IT. Hence, IS can be defined as “the means by which people and organisations, utilising

technology, gather, process, store, use and disseminate information” (Ward and Peppard,

2002:3).

In the context of IT, change management aims at making sure all IT changes are handled

efficiently using standardised methods and procedures in a way that any incidents on the service

are minimised. IT infrastructure changes can arise in reaction to any problems encountered or

for example external requirements such as changes in laws or change can arise proactively due

to service or efficiency improvement initiatives. IT change management in relation to software

configuration has the purpose of founding and maintaining the integrity of the products

throughout the software lifecycle. There is a specific change management model created for

software development by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) called Capability Maturity

Model (CMM) which is introduced in the Appendices (see Appendix 5).

Even with IT change management, the process comprises actions such as assessing the impact

and risk of proposed changes, developing business justification and obtaining approval,

managing and co-ordinating change implementation, and finally monitoring and reporting on

implementation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_Management_%28ITIL%29). Same

aspects comprise organisational and strategic change management processes, which are

identified by a number of authors (Hardgrave and Armstrong, 2005; Smillie, 2005; Armstrong

and Stephenson, 2005). Whilst in some cases a distinction between IT and business or

organisational change is preferred, for the purpose of this research the change process will be

dealt with the same regardless of the type of change because process and actions taken are the

same in dealing with IT and business change. Furthermore, it has been identified by previous

research that people are at the centre of any change processes being the drivers of change, as


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_Management_(ITIL)


well as causes for problems and failures of change programmes (Thomas, 2001; Rogers et al,

2003; Lee and Yu, 2004). The fact that people the most important part in change management

further supports the approach taken (Raschid et al, 2004). However, it is recognised that there is

a difference in software development and therefore CMM is briefly discussed in the appendices.

3.5 Models for successful change management

Change is about moving from a present state to a future state through a transitional state. To

start with, the current state needs to be analysed by assessing the strengths and weaknesses

based on what is happening. This is followed by an analysis of the causes of any problems and a

specification of the desirable future state (the outcome of the change). After this the objectives

of the change programme can be defined as well as considering alternative courses of action and

choosing the action which is likely to provide the best chance of achieving the objectives of the

change programme (Armstrong and Stephenson, 2005; Johnson et al. 2005). Next stage is to

consider how to get from here to there, i.e. the transitional state. Managing the transition is the

hardest part in introducing change, and transition is when the problems, including such as

resistance to change, low stability, high levels of stress, and conflict, occur and need to be

managed. Transitional state leads on to implementation. (Pettinger, 2004; Armstrong and

Stephenson, 2005; Lynch, 2003)

Previous research has identified different models that have been developed to describe change

and change management and there is extensive literature surrounding the models. This literature

review aims to present a brief overview of the key models and theorists of change management

relevant to this research.

According to Thomas (2001:129) there are eight elements of managing change: leadership,

work process, structure, group learning, technology, communication, interrelationships, and

rewards. Another view is presented by Rogers et al (2005) who argue there are nine

characteristics of successful change programmes, which can be broken up under three main

headings. The main headings are leadership, management and communication.



Leadership:

1. Establish a compelling catalyst for change.

2. Set out a vision and clear priorities.

3. Create a leadership coalition and build alignment.

Management:

4. Create an integrated change plan for achieving quick wins and embedding sustained changes.

5. Give change teams the resources they need to win.

6. Instil project management disciplines and hold people accountable.

Communication:

7. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

8. Identify constraints and address then head on.

9. Deliver concrete results and celebrate them appropriately.

(Source: Rogers et al. 2003:107-111)

Furthermore, perhaps the three best known models are introduced below. They all have different

approaches to change management: Lewin describes the basic mechanisms for managing

change, Beckhard explains the processes a change programme should incorporate, and Thurley

describes approaches to managing change (Armstrong and Stephenson, 2005:120).

Lewin’s mechanisms for change management:

Unfreezing – altering the present stable equilibrium which supports existing behaviours and

attitudes. This process must take account of the inherent threats change presents to people

and the need to motivate those affected to attain the natural state of equilibrium by accepting

change.

Changing – developing new responses based on new information. This step involves shifting

the behaviour of the organisation, department or the individual to a new level.



Re-freezing – stabilizing the change by introducing the new responses into the personalities

of those concerned.

This model provides a general framework for understanding what a successful change project

comprises, it is closely identified with organisational development, however it is used to identify

how other types of change can be implemented. For example, Lewin’s model has been used to

explain how information technologies can be implemented more effectively (Armstrong and

Stephenson, 2005:120-121; Cummings and Worley, 2005:23; Burnes, 2004:274).

Beckhard’s change programme involves:

setting goals and defining the future state or organisational conditions desired after change;

diagnosing the present condition in relation to these goals;

defining the transition state activities and commitments required to meet the future state;

developing strategies and action plans for managing this transition in the light of an analysis

of the factors likely to affect the introduction of change (Armstrong and Stephenson,

2005:120-121).

Thurley’s approaches to managing change

Directive – the imposition of change in crisis situations or when other methods have failed.

This is done by the exercise of managerial power without consultation.

Bargained – this approach recognises that power is shared between the employer and the

employed and change requires negotiation, compromise and agreement before being

implemented.

‘Hearts and minds’ – an all-embracing thrust o change the attitudes, values and beliefs of the

workforce. This ‘normative’ approach (i.e. one which starts from a definition of what

management thinks is right or ‘normal’) seeks ‘commitment’ and ‘shared vision’ but does

not necessarily include involvement or participation.

Analytical – a theoretical approach to the change process using models of change such as

those described above. It proceeds sequentially from the analysis and diagnosis of the

situation, through the setting of objectives, the design of the change process, the evaluation

of the results and, finally the determination of the objectives for the next stage in the change



process. This is the rational and logical approach much favoured by consultants – external

and internal. But change seldom proceeds as smoothly as this model would suggest.

Emotions, power politics and external pressures mean that the rational approach, although it

might be the right way to start is difficult to sustain.

Action-based – this recognise that the way manager behave in practice bears little

resemblance to the analytical, theoretical model. The distinction between managerial thought

and managerial action blurs in practice to the point of invisibility. What managers think is

what they do. Real life therefore often results in a ‘ready, aim, fire’ approach to change

management. This typical approach to change starts with a broad belief that some sort of

problem exists, although it may not be well defined. The identification of possible solutions,

often on a trial and error basis, leads to a clarification of the nature of the problem and a

shared understanding of a possible optimal solution, or at least a framework within which

solutions can be discovered (Armstrong and Stephenson, 2005:120-121).

Lewin’s change model has been one of the most well known models and has influenced models

created since (Burnes, 2004; Minzberg, 2003). Lewin’s model is simple enough for managers to

understand and can be further developed by adopting features from the other approaches.

To be able to ensure the survival and future success organisations must be readily adaptable to

the external demands that are placed on them, the organisation must be open to change.

Furthermore organisations must be properly prepared to face the demands of a changing

environment. All organisations must pay attention to the future development and success. As

said earlier in this chapter, change can affect all aspects of the operation and functioning of the

organisation, which makes it a crucial point for managers to include in their strategies from the

beginning and it needs to be managed effectively. When implementing strategy within a change,

many detailed actions and tasks are required, and change needs to be planned carefully.

Different types of change programmes are likely to require different approaches and ways of

managing change. (Johnson et al. 2005; Mullins, 2005; Smith, 2003)



3.6 Problems with change management

Majority of change initiatives are not able to meet the set goals; it is estimated that as many as

50% to 80% of the cases fail due to a variety of reasons (Wren and Dulewicz, 2005). Smith’s

(2003) research discovered the following of different types of change processes; success rate for

technological change was only 28%, mergers and acquisitions a minuscule 14%, and re-

engineering and process design 23%. Successful change projects in his research results were

characterized by addressing the needs of the employees, especially rewarding employees for

change and innovation; visible and sustained sponsorship; and effective project management.

Some negative factors identified with failure had to do with breakdowns in leadership and

communication with employees, and project management failures. Also the strength of

organizational culture was seen as a considerable barrier to change. Organisational culture will

be discussed further below.

Rogers et al. (2003) suggest that when large companies implement major change programmes

approximately a third of them tend to make things worse, about half deliver results which aren’t

satisfactory and only less than one in five produce results that are in line with expectations.

They go further suggesting that where the companies go wrong is in translating theory of change

into practise as managers believe that major change is a very complicated enterprise, which

requires very complicated processes (Rogers et al, 2003). Also loosing key people causes major

disruption to any change programmes as the leaders are considered key in successful change

management (Pettinger, 2004; Johnson et al. 2005). This is a very important aspect for BBB as

there have been major changes at the top management level, and employee retention is

becoming increasingly difficult.

As there are differences in the change processes there are differences in how people experience

change. Some people enjoy change more than others and experience different kind of change in

a different way, for example if you are an IT enthusiast you enjoy new technologies being

introduced. Some people may seem better in dealing with change and do not fear it, but

McGrimmon (1997) suggests it is only because they do not have a personal stake in the change.



Some people genuinely enjoy new and different things, however most people are not so

comfortable trying them. Often people who claim to enjoy change have never really experienced

change. (McCrimmon, 1997)

3.6.1 Organisational culture

Johnson et al. (2005) define organisational culture as pretty much everything we do and think in

the organisation. This includes everything from traditions, rules, values and policies to beliefs,

behaviours and attitudes of the people in the organisation. Culture is seen as a system of

management authority; cultural values will increase the management authority and power if they

are accepted by the employees and the organisational culture will influence people’s attitude to

change (Johnson et al, 2005; Armstrong and Stephenson, 2005).

Employees identify themselves with their organisation accepting the rules when it is seen as the

right thing to do. Employees are motivated to achieve the organisations objectives and

internalise the organisation’s values when they believe them to be right. This is an important

concept when an organisation is going through a change. The findings in the research by Rashid

et al (2004) showed that organizational culture is associated with attitudes toward change, and

has an effect in the change process.

There is considerable amount of research on organisational culture affecting the management of

change. Already Revenaugh’s (1994) study over a decade ago found that organizational culture

is a key variable in implementing any major business change or IS/IT change. Organizational

culture can influence change positively, however usually it is seen as a hindrance to any change.

(Revenaugh, 1994) Culture impacts a variety of organisational processes, and culture can be a

source of sustained competitive advantage; sometimes when an organisation becomes

particularly good at carrying out its operations, routines, in a certain way, real competitive

advantages are achieved. However, routines can be a severe obstruction to change (Lee and Yu,

2004; Johnson et al, 2005)



According to Mullins (2005) culture is reinforced through the system of rituals and rites,

communication patterns, the informal organisation, and expected patterns of behaviour. There is

a complex set of factors that affect the culture and structure of an organisation so they develop

over time. Key influences having an effect in the development of any corporate culture include

history, primary function and technology, goals and objectives, size, location, management and

staffing, and finally the environment (Johnson et al, 2005).

Organisational culture is identified as a key problem in IS/IT change projects. In of the ongoing

high profile programmes, the NHS national IT programme some problems were identified and

the obstacles were not technological or resource but cultural. Changing human behaviour and

culture in the NHS exceed technological matters as the biggest challenge facing the project.

Success of the project will depend on much more than IT, as the most significant obstacle in

similar projects has been the lack of attention to the human element (Collins, 2004; Clark,

2005a, 2005b).

Mergers are another issue clearly linked with organisational culture and change, and a

significant matter for BBB’s change management issues. Mergers and acquisitions are a way for

companies to grow and enhance their position in the market, however mergers have significant

implications for the companies involved as well as for their competitors who might have to

consider similar actions to remain competitive. Merger is likely to instigate other changes, such

as technological integration and business process changes (Mohamed, 2004; Rotibi, 2005).

3.6.2 Resistance to change

Thomas (2001:117) identifies bad planning and bad execution as causing failures, but even

when time and effort has been invested in carefully planning and executing the change, the

process can fall apart. Often the critical element in failure is resistance to change. People resist

change even when it is clearly to their benefit, because they do not view the proposed change as

an improvement, but rather see it as a step in the wrong direction. People resist change because

they perceive there to be a mismatch between the new environment and their own comfort zone.



Comfort zone, often referred to as the status quo, is the area where people operate on a daily

basis, where they do not feel threatened either by the work or by the environment. When people

are taken out of their comfort zones they do anything to try to protect their environment, which

causes stress and the person tries even harder to restore the status quo. The further people are

taken from their comfort zones, the more increased the stress levels will become. Stress is

lowered and comfort restored either by simply restoring the status quo or by expanding or

shifting the area of comfort zone to include the new set of conditions, the change. (Thomas,

2001)

Change is often resisted at both the individual and the organisational level. People are naturally

wary of change and resistance to change can take many forms. Reasons for individual resistance

to change within an organisation include selective perception, habits – established manners,

inconvenience or loss of freedom, economic implications, security in the past and the fear of

unknown. Organisational resistance can arise from reasons such as organisational culture,

maintaining stability, investment in resources, past contracts and agreements, and threats to

power or influence. It is said that when organisations go through change, for example a merger,

installation of new information technology, employees can experience a sense of loss. This is

obvious if it means losing a job which is frequently the case with change programmes. However

often the reasons for the sense of loss are not clear but the effects may be just as considerable

for both, the individual and the organisation (Mullins, 2005; Johnson et al, 2005; Lynch, 2003).

These areas will be of particular interest to this research as they are the factors most likely

causing the highest barriers to the successful implementation of change within the company.

Resistance to change can take on many different forms, some obvious and easy to recognise,

others subtle. Resistance can be either open or hidden, and active or passive, but it is important

to be able to recognise the different forms of resistance which are illustrated in figure 3.2.



Figure 3.2 The Four Forms of ResistanceSource: Thomson, 2001:121

The visibility of resistance can be either open; resistance is obvious for everyone to see, or

hidden; when resistance is below the surface, not easily seen, and more difficult to identify. The

degree of resistance can be either active or passive. Active resistance can be destructive to the

organisation, as it intends to stop or hinder the change process. Passive resistance is less obvious

and more difficult to confront, as people are not actively trying to hinder the change but are just

not going along with the efforts, i.e. working slowly or keep ‘forgetting’ the change. (Thomas,

2001)

The four quadrants are the following:


4Submerge

3Sabotage

1Struggle

2Submit

Ope

nH

idde

n

Vis

ibili

ty o

f Res

ista

nce

Active Passive

Degree of Resistance


Struggle – active, open resistance: when implementing the change, employees openly tell the

change is wrong or they will not go along with it. This is good in the sense that employees trust

the management and are open about their resistance which enables management to respond to it.

Submit – passive, open resistance: people submit to the change, but this should not be mistaken

as acceptance. People do what is needed, but will soon loose their energy, enthusiasm and

loyalty.

Sabotage – active, hidden resistance: people feel threatened and not trusted, they resist change

actively but trying to hide the resistance, sabotaging the efforts of the management who are

trying to implement the change. Resistance being hidden, it cannot be responded to like in the

struggle-quadrant where resistance is open.

Submerge – passive, hidden resistance: resistance being passive, it is not as harsh as sabotage

but still dangerous. People are implying they will do what is needed, but then will challenge the

change when ever they can. This causes everything to look fine on the surface, but management

will face problems and the change process may fail without management knowing the reason or

having anyone to blame for the failure.

(Source: Thomas, 2001)

There are people who see change as an opportunity and are stimulated by it, however they are a

minority and most people resist change because they are used to their routines and patterns of

behaviour. People see change as a threat to their familiar life at work, believing it will affect

their status, security or earnings. They may believe that management has ulterior motives, and

do not believe the statements management makes about change being for their benefit. Because

resistance to change is natural and even inevitable, it is difficult to overcome (Armstrong and

Stephenson, 2005). Thomas (2001) agrees that sometimes resistance just cannot be overcome,

but even when it cannot be made to disappear, it can be minimised. There are some strategies

for managers to help grow the comfort zone of employees to help them feel comfortable with

the changes, thus minimise resistance. These are introduced in table 3.3.



Table 3.3 Strategies for Minimising ResistanceAdapted from Thomas, 2001; Cummings and Worley, 2005; Thompson and Martin, 2005

3.7 Leadership

The amount of change that organisations must face to be able to succeed has grown significantly

in the last years, and will continue to grow, demanding more resources and change leaders

(Wren and Dulewicz, 2005). Leadership of change requires both leadership and management

skills, and there is a clear differentiation between the two. Management is mostly about

efficiency in using resources and routines; planning and budgeting aiming at producing orderly

results. Leadership is about creating the future, concentrating on the most important resource,

people; focusing on producing change and involving strategies for bringing about changes

needed to achieve the vision for the future (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005; MacMillan and

Tampoe, 2000; Thomson and Martin, 2005).


Strategies for Minimising Resistance

1. Empathy and support - managers need to recognise that change does not happen

overnight, there is a need for patience

2. Education and communication – it is important to take the time to talk to the

employees, let them know the reason for the change and the steps needed, education

should help them understand the logic and the need for change

3. Participation and involvement – employees need to be allowed and encouraged to

participate in designing and implementing the change. As a result resistance will be

minimal

4. Plan – The most important factor for success is a plan

5. Address resistance – there will always be some degree of resistance and the easiest

way to overcome it is to tackle it head on


Leaders in change are also change agents, people responsible for initiating and maintaining a

change effort. They needs to understand reasoning behind the change, communicate with others

whilst deepening commitment and strengthening the alignment with the visions. There are

certain aspects of leadership that have an impact on success of change, with the highest

significance being on managing resources, engaging communication and creating

empowerment. These are followed by developing, motivation and critical analysis (Wren and

Dulewicz, 2005). A successful change agent does not avoid conflict. Some further desirable

qualities of change agents are highlighted in table 3.4 (Kendra and Taplin, 2004; Rogers et al,

2003; http://www.managingenterprisecontent.com/myweb/Glossary.htm)

Desirable Characteristics of Change Agents

Confidence builder – have the ability to turn followers into leaders. An effective change leader enables people to release the leader within them thus diminishing their anxiety

Multi-faceted – have the ability to play different roles and the ability to demonstrate different leader behaviours to match the needs of the followers and the circumstances

Motivational – able to enthuse the followers with vision and daring, encourage people to renewed energy and determination to win

Trustworthy – leader’s actions must be sincere and people need to believe that the leader’s motives are honourable

Outer-focused – whilst having their own beliefs, leaders need to understand others and their motives and aspirations

Performance not conformance orientated – the actions of the leaders need to be focused on outcomes and not inputs

Politically astute – the change leader must react to the political climate and adjust to situation according to what is going on in the organisation as the changes work through.

Persistent and determined – not to let constraints of the project distract, which means for example fighting for scarce resources

Quick-witted – able to comprehend issues arising from various sources even if these are not the leader’s area of expertise, this can be done by asking clever questions and assessing the answers received

Convincing – able to gain commitment to the project even if some involved do not share the objectives

Creative – able to produce solutions to new challenges and problems occurring Self-motivating – there is unlikely to be anyone else motivating the leaders, especially if

things are going wrongSource: Macmillan and Tampoe, 2000:203

Table 3.4 Desirable Characteristics of Change Agents


http://www.managingenterprisecontent.com/myweb/Glossary.htm


3.8 Successful Change Management

Success in managing change depends on a variety of factors. Change programmes often have

fragmented plans and people are given bits of information without the knowledge of how these

bits fit in together. This causes frustration and gives people the impression that there is no

reason for all the change activity, and people cannot see the important trade-offs. When people

are shown how everything fits together into a one complete picture makes the change

programme appear less complicated and can be very liberating to the people involved. Sufficient

resources need to be allocated to change programmes, not only financial but human resources as

well. Also choosing the right people to act as change agents is crucial for successful

implementation, as is the support from top management. Change programmes are likely to

achieve the set objectives if they are subject to precise project management disciplines, and have

focus and rigour; however remaining sufficiently flexible to respond to unexpected threats and

opportunities. Anticipating problems is important, as is dealing with them, especially resistance

to change (Rogers et al., 2003; Armstrong and Stephenson, 2005).

The change process can be made easier for the employees by organisation can encouraging a

learning environment and treating change as a positive thing, this will help with the attitudes and

beliefs of the employees when implementing change. Al major change programmes need human

input, and cannot succeed without a sense of urgency. (Rogers et al, 2003)

Research has that the one of the greatest obstacles to successful change is the organisation’s

culture. Change is an emotional experience, and people need help getting through it. The top

management must be ultimately accountable and keep the people going. Employees need

control over what is going on around them, and the more control people have over their own

change related areas, the more committed they will become to the change programme.

Empowering and motivating the key people in the change programme is one of the most

efficient ways to achieve the objectives of the change programme (Rogers et al. 2003).



Smillie (2005) builds on these theories and claims that change management success depends on

six organisational capabilities which are leadership and management, communication,

measurement and accountability, motivation and incentives, skills and capability development,

organisation and people. These capabilities are influenced by a methodology that includes the

same planning steps that are used in strategies for successful change management. The steps

include evaluating the resistance that is likely to arise, envisioning the solution, planning for

change which means engaging the employees and stakeholders, implementing the plan, and

improving upon success (Smillie, 2005:1). Smillie (2005) suggests that successful change

management needs to link change to business strategy, create quantifiable benefits, engage key

stakeholders early, integrate required behaviour changes, lead clearly, unequivocally and

consistently, invest to implement and sustain change, communicate continuously and personally,

and finally sell commitment to the change, not communication about the change (Smillie

2005:2).

The findings of Hardgrave and Armstrong (2005) support the other studies in regards to factors

affecting the change processes. They state that knowing the success and failure factors in

advance to any change initiatives are being implemented, allows the organisation the

opportunity to plan for the change and the appropriate action. Their study found that a lack of

guidance and plans for the change can result in unrealistic expectations regarding the timeframe

for the change, and that lack of commitment from the management is an apparent recipe for

failure – any change needs buy in from the management; clear and visible top-down

commitment is a critical success factor. In regards to resistance they found that when the

employees, in the middle of change processes, are engaged and have an influence in the project,

there is a better chance of success. Hardgrave and Armstrong (2005) highlighted again the

importance of a change leader in the process, as well as having pre- and post change measures in

place to evaluate the success of the change initiative.

Armstrong and Stephenson (2005) introduce their six steps for effective change:

1. Mobilise commitment to change through the joint analysis of problems



2. Develop a shared vision of how to organise and manage to achieve goals such as

competitiveness

3. Foster consensus for the new vision, competence to enact it, and cohesion to move it

along

4. Spread revitalisation to all departments without pushing it from the top – don’t force the

issue, let each department find its own way to the new organisation

5. Institutionalise revitalisation through formal policies, systems and structures.

6. Monitor and adjust strategies in response to problems in the revitalisation process

(Armstrong and Stephenson, 2005:122)

A change programme requires a business case, which describes the broad aims and reasons for

the change as well as the resulting benefits and how the planned change is to be achieved.

Furthermore the programme needs to have objectives, an assessment of barriers to change and

the development of solutions, definition of responsibilities for managing change, project

planning, and finally, monitoring and evaluation of progress. Objectives, the goals, which the

change needs to achieve, should be discussed and agreed, and if possible quantifiable targets

should be used. Success criteria help because everyone involved in the process knows what they

are trying to achieve and the results can be monitored and evaluated (Stacey, 2000; Pettinger,

2004; Armstrong and Stephenson, 2005).

Barriers to change need to be assessed so that they can be predicted, to enable methods of

dealing with them determined beforehand. The responsibility for managing change could be left

in the hands of one manager. The project team can consist of many people, but ultimately there

should be one change agent who is accountable for the change. Project planning includes all the

important steps in preparing for the project, such as identifying activities, estimating time, cost,

available resources, schedules etc. and determines the flexibility available for the activities and

which activities are critical. Finally, monitoring and evaluating progress needs to be done

against the plan and objectives. After the change has been implemented it has to be measured to

ensure it is delivering the expected benefits (Lynch, 2003; Martin, 2005; Armstrong and

Stephenson, 2005).



Successful management of change, which is crucial for continued economic performance and

competitiveness, the managers will influence the behaviour of individuals and groups and

ultimately the level of organisational performance and effectiveness. There are ways in which

managers can develop new capabilities to cope with change. Some actions managers can take to

ensure successful change management are outlined in table 3.5.

Table 3.5 Effective Change Management

3.9 ConclusionThis literature review has provided an overview of current research and theories on change

management, evaluating reasons for failure and factors for successful change. The review has

focused on the areas relevant to this research project and provides a basis for analysing and

evaluating the findings from the empirical primary data collection.


Actions to secure successful and sustainable change:Create an implementation plan which can be understood and followed by everyoneCreate a sense of urgencyUse managers as change agents: key people driving change; build a guiding team with the credibility, skills and authority to provide change leadershipCreate sensible, clear visions and a sense of common direction; communicate vision and strategy to gain understanding and commitmentKeep all the stakeholders informed about everything at all times – the key to successful change management is commitmentEmpower action and remove obstaclesProduce short-term wins that help providing credibility and resources to the overall effort, and will stimulate commitment to strategyDon’t let up but maintain the momentum, consolidate early changes and create wave after wave of changeMake change stick by nurturing a new culture, and developing group norms of behaviour and shared values; reinforce and institutionalise change as a shared attitudeMonitor change closely, be flexible to change emphases and tactics within the change programme as it developsGet feedback, evaluate

(Source: Johnson et al. 2005; Mullins, 2005; Pettinger, 2004)


4. Findings

This chapter presents the findings from the primary data collected. The findings from the

questionnaires are introduced first, followed by findings from the participant observation and

interviews.

4.1 Introduction

Questionnaire responses were analysed using SPSS software. The questionnaire and the SPSS

output tables detailing the responses can be seen in the appendices (See Appendix 6 for the

questionnaire and Appendix xxx for the response table).

4.2 Questionnaires

Berkeley Berry Birch Plc

A questionnaire was designed by the researcher and sent to 61 BBB employees in different

departments in the Coventry Head Office of BBB, where the employees are available to

complete the questionnaire, and have the most exposure to technology and therefore the

technological changes taking place in the organisation. 26 responses were received back

resulting in a response rate of 43%. The response rate was expected to be higher due to company

involvement; however it is satisfactory considering the employees being extremely busy.

The variety of respondents was very good; responses were received from all different levels

from administrations and operations employees to the very senior management of the company,

reflecting the structure in the company. This gives a good reflection of the overall opinion in the

company as all groups within the company are represented in the sample and results can be

generalised to the whole company. There was also a variety of backgrounds in terms of how

long the respondents had been with the company. Figure 4.1 shows the spread of occupations

into the given categories. Figure 4.2 shows the length of service of the respondents. A



significant majority of the respondents, 65.4%, had changed roles within the company, those

respondents tended to have been with the company longer; however this goes to show that the

employees have gone through significant changes within the company if they have changed

roles during their service.

Figure 4.1 Job categories of the respondents

Figure 4.2 Length of service of the respondents



IT Supply

The questionnaire was sent to 50 IT Supply employees, out of which 13 were returned resulting

in a response rate of 26%. The response rate is not very high; however it is a very good

response rate according to the contact person in the company, who revealed that normally the

surveys conducted in the company result in response rates of close to 10%. Reasons for the low

response rate can be found from the nature of the business being very dynamic, and the people

in IT Supply being constantly very busy. Also compared to the response rate of BBB it can be

noted that there the response rate is higher because the researcher was employed in the company

and the company involvement automatically increases response rates, and people feel more

obliged to fill the questionnaires. Therefore even after sending a reminder email twice and the

contact person verbally reminding people about the questionnaires, the response rate remains

low.

The respondents of IT Supply were mainly middle management and technical support workers

as these are the two main groups represented in IT Supply, where majority of people are

software developers or managers. Most of the respondents had been with the company longer

than those at BBB, from four to six years and had also changed roles in the company.

4.2.1 Change in the companies

Respondents were firstly asked to respond to statements about changes taking place in their

company; they were asked to identify how often they feel concerned about certain kinds of

changes, and they were also requested to indicate the level of concern experienced. The

summary of the responses can be seen in the table 4.1 below, where the first percentage for each

option is from BBB, and the second from IT Supply.



BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

* requires me to make an economic investment

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 30.8% / 30.8% 57.7% / 61.5%

* requires me to make a non-economic investment, i.e. effort, personal time

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 23.1% 42.3% / 61.5% 46.2% / 15.4%

* introduces a new technology 7.7% / 0.0% 0.0% / 30.8% 46.2% / 46.2% 46.2% / 15.4%* introduces new ways of working 0.0% / 15.4% 11.5% / 30.8% 65.4% / 46.2% 23.1% / 0.0%* increases my work load 11.5% / 0.0% 23.1% / 23.1% 65.4% / 38.5% 0.0% / 30.8%* involves a threat of job loss for myself 61.5% / 0.0% 19.2% / 0.0% 19.2% / 69.2% 0.0% / 23.1%* involves a threat of job loss for my immediate colleagues

57.7% / 0.0% 30.8% / 15.4% 11.5% / 61.5% 0.0% / 23.1%

* results in a reduction in staff numbers in my organisation

23.1% / 0.0% 46.2% / 0.0% 23.1% / 53.8% 7.7% / 38.5%

* involves financial cutbacks 11.5% / 15.4% 50.0% / 30.8% 26.9% / 7.7% 11.5% / 38.5%* reduces salary levels in the organisation 11.5% / 0.0% 11.5% / 30.8% 53.8% / 7.7% 23.1% / 53.8%* creates a pressure to complete work 0.0% / 15.4% 7.7% / 69.2% 84.6% / 15.4% 7.7% / 0.0%* results in lack of time to cope with work pressure

11.5% / 0.0% 19.2% / 23.1% 57.7% / 69.2% 11.5% / 0.0%

* results in companies merging 11.5% / 0.0% 65.4% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 11.5% / 100.0%

Frequency of ConcernVery Often Concerned

Often Concerned Sometimes Concerned

Not At All ConcernedI have expressed concern

in the company that:

Table 4.1 Response Summary – Frequency of Concern

From the responses to the questionnaire shown in table 4.1 it can be seen that the changes most

often causing concern at BBB are the ones that involve a threat of job loss to either the

respondents themselves or their immediate colleagues, followed by changes that result in a

reduction of staff numbers or companies merging or involves financial cutbacks. There are quite

a few other things that cause concern, and overall it seems that the respondents at BBB are

experiencing change related concerns very often. These same changes have been identified to be

causing the highest level of concern; however respondents also find the introduction of new

technologies alarmingly concerning.

At IT Supply most often causing concern are changes that introduce new ways of working,

involve financial cutbacks and create pressure to complete work. However, other types of

changes, such as introduction of new technologies, threat of job loss and changes that result in

lack of time to cope with work pressure are also causing concern quite frequently. The highest



level of concern is caused by changes that require the respondents to make a non-economic

invest into the change, e.g. their time or effort. Other very concerning changes are the kind that

increase the workload, introduce new ways of working, creates pressure to complete work and

changes that result in lack of time to cope with work pressure.

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply BBB / IT Supply

* requires me to make an economic investment 23.1% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 15.4% 7.7% / 23.1% 46.2% / 38.5%

* requires me to make a non-economic investment, i.e. effort, personal time

0.0% / 15.4% 0.0% / 23.1% 23.1% / 7.7% 42.3% / 30.8% 34.6% / 15.4%

* introduces a new technology 0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 23.1% / 76.9% 53.8% / 15.4%* introduces new ways of working 0.0% / 15.4% 11.5% / 0.0% 11.5% / 53.8% 53.8% / 30.8% 23.1% / 0.0%* increases my work load 11.5% / 7.7% 34.6% / 15.4% 19.2% / 38.5% 34.6% / 15.4% 0.0% / 15.4%* involves a threat of job loss for myself 46.2% / 0.0% 42.3% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 53.8% 0.0% / 38.5%* involves a threat of job loss for my immediate colleagues

46.2% / 0.0% 42.3% / 0.0% 11.5% / 15.4% 0.0% / 61.5% 0.0% / 23.1%

* results in a reduction in staff numbers in my organisation 23.1% / 0.0% 34.6% / 0.0% 23.1% / 0.0% 19.2% / 30.8% 0.0% / 61.5%

* involves financial cutbacks 23.1% / 0.0% 23.1% / 30.8% 19.2% / 0.0% 23.1% / 23.1% 11.5% / 38.5%* reduces salary levels in the organisation 42.3% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 23.1% / 30.8% 11.5% / 7.7% 11.5% / 53.8%* creates a pressure to complete work 0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 38.5% 19.2% / 53.8% 57.7% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0%* results in lack of time to cope with work pressure

3.8% / 7.7% 46.2% / 15.4% 19.2% / 0.0% 19.2% / 69.2% 11.5% / 0.0%

* results in companies merging 7.7% / 0.0% 53.8% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 15.4% / 0.0% 11.5% / 100.0%

Level of ConcernNot At All Concerned

Alarmingly Concerned

Somewhat Concerned

ConcernedVery ConcernedI have expressed concern in the company that:

Table 4.2 Response Summary – Level of concern

4.2.2 Organisational culture, structure and interrelationships

The next section in the questionnaire investigated the organisational culture, structure and

interrelationships in the companies. The respondents were asked to select the most suitable

option to the statement from the following list: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and

Strongly Disagree. At BBB 46.2% of the respondents considered the hierarchy to be very strict,

with a further 23.1% strongly agreeing with strict hierarchy; however the respondents mainly

think that the communication patterns in the company do not follow the hierarchical structure

with 46.2% disagreeing with this statement. Most of the respondents didn’t think that the

organisation has flexible and open policies with 46.2% disagreeing with statement 3. All the



statements can be seen in the table 4.3 below with the individual response percentages first for

BBB followed by the percentage for IT Supply. Most respondents in IT Supply do not consider

the company to have a very strict hierarchical structure. In contrast it is considered that the

communication patterns in the company follow the hierarchical structure, and the statement

about flexible communication channels and open policies divides the respondents with slightly

more respondents disagreeing with the statement.

When asked about whether continuous learning is supported and encouraged, a third of BBB

respondents strongly disagreed with the statement, and a further 38.5% disagreed, this clearly

shows the views of the employees. There was no one clear answer to question number 5 about

the atmosphere in the organisation, however majority of the respondents did not agree with

relaxed and open atmosphere existing within and between departments. On the contrast, people

at IT Supply find it that continuous learning is supported in the organisation and the atmosphere

is open and relaxed.

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

Q1 There is a very strict hierarchical structure in my organisation

23.1% / 7.7% 46.2% / 23.1% 0.0% / 61.5% 23.1% / 0.0% 7.7% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q2 All communication patterns follow the hierarchical structure of the organisation

26.9% / 30.8% 11.5% / 23.1% 7.7% / 7.7% 46.2% / 0.0% 7.7% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q3There are flexible communication channels and open policies in the organisation 0.0% / 15.4% 34.6% / 15.4% 7.7% / 23.1% 46.2% / 7.7% 11.5% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q4 Continuous learning is supported and encouraged in the organisation

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 69.2% 30.8% / 15.4% 38.5% / 7.7% 30.8% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q5 The atmosphere is very open and relaxed within and across departments

0.0% / 15.4% 23.1% / 38.5% 30.8% / 0.0% 23.1% / 38.5% 23.1% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q6

It is clear to all that employees are valued in the organisation, and everyone is treated as fairly as possible with consideration to individual circumstances

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 23.1% 76.9% / 69.2% 11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q7 Employee loyalty is appreciated and rewarded

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 7.7% / 0.0% 57.7% / 23.1% 34.6% / 69.2% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q8High morals and ethical working patterns are emphasised throughout the organisation

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 30.8% / 30.8% 46.2% / 46.2% 11.5% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q9Rules and regulations are emphasised throughout the organisation and they are a big part of my daily duties

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 0.0% 46.2% / 0.0% 30.8% / 61.5% 0.0% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q10I have sufficient access to resources and I am provided with the necessary tools needed for my daily duties

11.5% / 0.0% 61.5% / 0.0% 3.8% / 30.8% 23.1% / 61.5% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Strongly Agree AgreeOrganisational Culture, Structure and

Interrelationships

Neutral DisagreeStrongly Disagree N/A

Table 4.3 Response summary – Organisational Culture, Structure and Interrelationships



The data from table 4.3 shows that employees of neither of the companies feel very valued in

the organisation as 76.9% of BBB respondents stated disagreement and further 11.5% strongly

disagreed with statement 6, and nearly everyone stated that employee loyalty is not appreciated

and rewarded. The same trend is seen in the results for IT Supply, as nearly 70% of the

respondents think that employees are not valued, nor do they think that employee loyalty is

appreciated and rewarded, which is surprising considering the fact that so many employees and

managers have stayed with the company for a significant number of years. These findings are

very concerning for both of the companies, and show low working morale and lack of trust in

the companies.

A cause for concern is that over half of the respondents in both companies do not think high

morals and ethical working patterns are emphasised in their organisation. Most respondents

from BBB do not have clear opinions about rules and regulation in statement 9. The data from

the IT Supply respondents show that rules and regulations are not emphasised in their

organisation either. The majority of BBB respondents (63%) feel that they have sufficient access

to resources, whereas most respondents in IT Supply (61.5%) feel that they do not have

sufficient access to resources.

At BBB the employees mainly do not feel that the vertical or horizontal working relationships

have been developed to support change initiatives, and half of the respondents believe that

project team relationships are not well developed or mutually supportive. Furthermore, a clear

majority do not feel the working relationship between the employees and management supports

change initiatives. These responses indicate that teams are not working effectively to support

and conduct changes, nor are the relationships at and between different levels of the company

supportive of change initiatives. Furthermore the respondents do not think that the relationship

between the head office and branches is fostering best working practices that are shared.

The culture within the departments is not considered to be competitive according to most

responses. A clear majority (69.3%) of the respondents do not think that there are strict goals



and objectives to pursue, nor do they think that these are considered important and rewarded in

the organisation. Team working is mainly encouraged according to 61.5% of the respondents as

opposed to independent working patterns, and three quarters of the respondents do not feel that

innovation and personal development are encouraged in the company. These responses highlight

the lack of individual objectives in BBB, and shows that BBB does not encourage individual

working patterns as opposed to team working; however teams do not function effectively. The

responses also highlight that the environment and working patterns are not supportive of change

initiatives.

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

Q11The vertical working relationship across the organisation is developed to a level that supports change initiatives

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 23.1% 30.8% / 30.8% 38.5% / 38.5% 7.7% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q12The horizontal working relationship across departments is developed to a level that supports change initiatives

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 53.8% 42.3% / 0.0% 34.6% / 38.5% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q13

When teams are formed to work on projects (including implementation of change), the relationships are well developed and mutually supportive

0.0% / 0.0% 19.2% / 46.2% 30.8% / 30.8% 50.0% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q14The working relationship between the workforce and management is supportive of change initiatives

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 30.8% 38.5% / 7.7% 50.0% / 23.1% 0.0% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q15

The working relationship between the various locations (e.g. company head office and branches/sites) is mature to the point that best work practices are shared and used

0.0% / 0.0% 15.4% / 15.4% 11.5% / 0.0% 50.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 38.5% 0.0% / 38.5%

Q16The organisation encourages independent working patterns as opposed to team working

0.0% / 0.0% 19.2% / 15.4% 19.2% / 38.5% 61.5% / 38.5% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q17Innovation and personal development are encouraged and supported in the organisation

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 15.4% 26.9% / 15.4% 57.7% / 30.8% 15.4% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Strongly Disagree

Organisational Culture, Structure and Interrelationships

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree N/A

Table 4.4 Response Summary – Organisational Culture, Structure and Interrelationships, part 2

The situation is different in IT Supply where the respondents feel that both the vertical and

horizontal working relationships in the organisation are developed to support change initiatives.

According to a majority (38.5%) of respondents, individual working patterns are not encouraged

and supported over team working in the organisation; which is reflected in that teams formed to

work on projects have well developed and mutually supportive relationships according to 46.2%



of the respondents. The working relationship between the workforce and management is

considered supportive to change initiatives, but the relationships between the different sites are

not that good. Like at BBB the IT Supply respondents feel that innovation and personal

development are not encouraged and supported. The culture between departments is not thought

of as competitive, and most of the respondents (69.3%) at IT Supply do not think that there are

strict goals and objectives in place for employees to pursue. The respondents do not think that

achieving goals is considered important or rewarded by the company; this could cause problems

in the company with motivation and achieving set targets, which could lead to decreased

profitability.

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

Q18 The culture within and across departments is competitive.

0.0% / 0.0% 34.6% / 0.0% 11.5% / 23.1% 46.2% / 38.5% 0.0% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q19 There are strict goals and objectives for employees to pursue.

0.0% / 7.7% 11.5% / 0.0% 11.5% / 15.4% 53.8% / 38.5% 23.1% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q20Achieving goals and objectives is considered important in the organisation, and achievement is rewarded accordingly.

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 65.4% / 23.1% 23.1% / 69.2% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q21The organisation's structure was designed and implemented to support the business strategy.

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 46.2% 42.3% / 46.2% 11.5% / 0.0% 23.1% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q22

The structure of the organisation and the departments support the work processes within a department and between departments (across the departmental interfaces).

0.0% / 0.0% 34.6% / 0.0% 46.2% / 38.5% 15.4% / 30.8% 3.8% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q23

The structure supports people working together in teams to accomplish the business objectives and conduct work efficiently.

0.0% / 0.0% 34.6% / 15.4% 42.3% / 38.5% 15.4% / 38.5% 7.7% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q24

The structure is designed to support delegation of authority and communication both within department and between departments.

7.7% / 0.0% 38.5% / 38.5% 30.8% / 30.8% 15.4% / 30.8% 7.7% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q25

The levels in the structure from the bottom of the organisation to the top appear to be correct in that they support effective execution of the work (bottom=the work force, top=the management).

0.0% / 0.0% 57.7% / 15.4% 11.5% / 38.5% 30.8% / 38.5% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Organisational Culture, Structure and Interrelationships

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral DisagreeStrongly Disagree N/A

Table 4.5 Response Summary – Organisational Culture, Structure and Interrelationships, part 3

In BBB, majority of the respondents do not have a clear opinion of whether the organisation’s

structure supports the business strategy, or the work processes in and between departments to



accomplish business objectives, which is highlighted by the percentages of ‘Neutral’ answers in

questions 21 to 24 (see table 4.5). This might be due to lack of communication about strategy

and structure in the company. 57.7% of the respondents agree that the structure of the

organisation supports the effective execution of work processes. In comparison IT Supply

employees believe that the structure of the company was designed to support the business

strategy; however they do not feel that the structure supports work processes in and between

departments, or people working towards business objectives. This exposes an area of conflict,

which could be due to the structure supporting the overall business strategy, but not being as

compatible with the lower level and departmental functions.

4.2.3 Motivation and rewards

According to the first few questions in this section, the respondents in BBB see that there is no

profit sharing plan in place in the company and most also think that there is no individual merit

plan at all. The existing reward structure is seen to be aimed at groups or teams rather than

individuals, and even that is rated poor to very poor. Change efforts are not recognised either by

rewards. In IT Supply the situation is similar with more a unanimous opinion; there is no profit

sharing plan or reward structure in place, and most respondents also state that the company does

not have an individual reward plan.



BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

Q26

A gain or a profit sharing plan is in place to share the success of the business between those who contributed

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 30.8% / 0.0% 46.2% / 100.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q27

A reward structure or plan is in place that links financial reward to the success of teams and work groups (as opposed to individual)

0.0% / 0.0% 38.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 61.5% / 100.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q28There is an individual merit/bonus/reward plan in place

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 11.5% / 30.8% 76.9% / 61.5% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q29An individual merit plan is in place but evaluation is based on how the individual performed as a member of the team

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 30.8% / 30.8% 69.2% / 46.2% 0.0% / 15.4%

Q30There is a feasible process or plan in place to provide short-term rewards to reinforce change efforts by the organisation

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 57.7% / 0.0% 42.3% / 100.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q31

Rate the rewards system or plan in your company based on your perception of its ability to create rewards based on individual and team performance

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 57.7% / 0.0% 42.3% / 100.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Excellent Good Average Poor Very Poor N/A

Motivation and Rewards

N/AStrongly Disagree

DisagreeNeutralAgreeStrongly Agree

Table 4.6 Response Summary – Motivation and Rewards

The next set of questions (Q32 to 46) gauged the attitudes of the respondents and the perceived

approach of the company towards changes. The responses on individual attitudes were spread

across the board reflecting the individual opinions of the respondents. Some people are more

open to change, this range of responses is to be expected when dealing with individuals and

personal circumstances. Overall though the IT Supply respondents seem more welcoming to

change. There were no major differences between the two companies in most cases, however

some statements were found to have interesting variances. Statement Q37 – I support change

because ‘I play the game, but inside I am cynical about the whole thing’ – got a wide spread of

responses from BBB, but the respondents of IT Supply had a clearer opinion with 15.4%

strongly agreeing, 61.5% agreeing, and no-one disagreeing with the statement. This reflects the

fact that change is considered a part of daily life in this company, people do go along with the

changes, however they still have some reservations about it that do not get voiced.



BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply

Q32 I feel positive and support change because I welcome any sort of changes

11.5% / 7.7% 34.6% / 38.5% 19.2% / 46.2% 30.8% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q33 I support change because if I didn't I would be penalised

11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 23.1% 30.8% / 61.5% 34.6% / 15.4% 23.1% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q34I feel positive and support change because I get paid more than I would if there was no change

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 26.9% / 46.2% 38.5% / 23.1% 23.1% / 23.1% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q35 I feel positive and support change because my team members do so

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 23.1% 15.4% / 15.4% 26.9% / 53.8% 34.6% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q36I feel positive and support change because there is little chance of advancement in the organisation otherwise

19.2% / 15.4% 38.5% / 23.1% 0.0% / 53.8% 23.1% / 0.0% 19.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q37I support change because 'I play the game, but inside I am cynical about the whole thing'

0.0% / 15.4% 23.1% / 61.5% 30.8% / 23.1% 34.6% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q38I feel positive and support change because change is continually promoted from the top

0.0% / 7.7% 0.0% / 53.8% 19.2% / 0.0% 57.7% / 30.8% 23.1% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q39 I support change when my immediate manager promotes change

11.5% / 15.4% 42.3% / 23.1% 7.7% / 46.2% 26.9% / 7.7% 11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q40 I resist change when my immediate manager resists change

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 7.7% 23.1% / 0.0% 53.8% / 69.2% 11.5% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q41I feel positive and support change when I see the person driving the change being committed to the change

30.8% / 0.0% 46.2% / 61.5% 11.5% / 15.4% 11.5% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q42

I feel positive and support change because people are given full opportunity to participate in any changes that are introduced

11.5% / 0.0% 34.6% / 46.2% 7.7% / 46.2% 23.1% / 0.0% 23.1% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q43I feel positive and support change because I can affect the change by giving feedback and suggestions for improvement

19.2% / 0.0% 30.8% / 61.5% 11.5% / 30.8% 23.1% / 0.0% 15.4% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q44I feel positive and support change because I feel a sense of personal 'ownership' of the change being implemented

11.5% / 0.0% 23.1% / 53.8% 19.2% / 38.5% 42.3% / 0.0% 3.8% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q45I feel positive and support change because people who promote change are recognised in visible ways

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 0.0% 7.7% / 46.2% 50.0% / 46.2% 19.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q46I feel positive and support change because people who do not promote change are penalised in visible ways

15.4% / 0.0% 15.4% / 23.1% 7.7% / 15.4% 42.3% / 38.5% 19.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 15.4%

Motivation and RewardsDisagree Strongly

Disagree N/AStrongly Agree Agree Neutral

Table 4.7 Response Summary – Motivation and Rewards, part 2

On the approach of the company, Q36, it was found that interestingly a clear majority of both

sets of respondents - 19.2% BBB and 15.4% IT Supply strongly agree, and 38.5% and 23.1%

respectively agree with the statement that they support change because there is little

advancement in the organisation otherwise. From the responses it can be seen that change is

promoted from the top in IT Supply, which makes the employees feel positive about the

changes, however this is not the case in BBB. Both companies’ respondents highlighted the

importance of the immediate manager promoting change because it makes them feel positive



and supportive of the change. Likewise both sets of respondents agreed with the statement that

they feel more positive about the change when they see the person in charge of the change being

committed to the change. Other factors seen as positively influencing attitudes towards change

in both companies included; opportunity to participate, chance to give feedback and

improvement suggestions, and having a sense of personal ownership of the change.

4.2.4 Leadership

Question 47 to 55 investigated the leadership in the organisation and asked the respondents to

rate the reaction of the personnel to the leadership of the management team in their organisation.

The responses from the two companies were fairly similar, however IT Supply does have lower

level of effort to follow the leaders, which means employees tend to get on with their jobs

without the need to be actively managed. There is a clear difference in the leadership between

the two companies; in BBB leadership is considered to short-term focused, whereas in IT

Supply, it is considered to have a vision for the future, allowing for more freedom without the

need to give strict restrictions about tasks. Further differences can be seen in the way leaders

stay at IT Supply and live with the results of the changes they initiate, whereas at BBB leaders

tend to leave before they see the results of their actions.

In both companies the top management have been successful in creating a belief that the change

is necessary, however there is no clear change leader in BBB, whereas IT Supply has one.

Interestingly though, both companies disagree with the statement Q55; “Management time,

patience and support are given to those who need it due to experiencing difficulties adjusting to

the change”, BBB with 68.5% and IT Supply with 38.5%.



BBB / IT Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB / IT Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply

Q47Rate the reaction of the personnel to the leadership of the management team in your organisation.

0.0% / 0.0% 57.7% / 46.2% 23.1% / 46.2% 19.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q48 The leadership in the organisation is leadership with a vision of the future.

0.0% / 23.1% 19.2% / 38.5% 11.5% / 30.8% 38.5% / 0.0% 30.8% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q49 The leadership is transactional, i.e. concerned only with activities of the day.

38.5% / 15.4% 23.1% / 7.7% 19.2% / 53.8% 19.2% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q50

Management allows the organisation freedom to act within a set of predefined boundaries without a need to give strict restrictions about tasks.

0.0% / 7.7% 23.1% / 53.8% 26.9% / 15.4% 26.9% / 15.4% 11.5% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0%

Q51

When the organisation develops and implements goals, initiatives, and activities - those involved in the project are held accountable for success.

0.0% / 0.0% 30.8% / 38.5% 38.5% / 0.0% 19.2% / 38.5% 11.5% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q52The leaders in the organisation remain in their positions long enough to live with the results of the changes they initiate.

0.0% / 53.8% 0.0% / 7.7% 7.7% / 30.8% 34.6% / 0.0% 57.7% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q53 The top management create a belief that the change is necessary.

0.0% / 53.8% 57.7% / 7.7% 19.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 30.8% 23.1% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q54 There is clearly a particular person or persons driving the change.

0.0% / 15.4% 46.2% / 30.8% 7.7% / 46.2% 23.1% / 0.0% 23.1% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q55

Management time, patience and support are given to those who need it due to experiencing difficulties adjusting to the change.

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 7.7% 19.2% / 46.2% 38.5% / 7.7% 30.8% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

N/A

Minimal Level of effort to follow

leader

Strongly Agree

LeadershipN/A

There is outright resistance to the

leadership

The organisation does not support

the leaders

Disagree Strongly Disagree

Average level of effort to follow

leaders

High level of effort to follow the

leaders

Agree Neutral

Table 4.8 Response Summary - Leadership

4.2.5 Support

Questions 56 to 65 on the questionnaire investigated the support company provides for change

and how changes are introduced in BBB and IT Supply. It is interesting to see from the

respondents opinions how the introduction of change is perceived different in the two

companies, but the actual handling of the changes is similar. The respondents were asked what

sort of information they received when introduced change (Q56-60). The respondents indicate

that changes at IT Supply are clearly introduced with an explanation of advantages to the

stakeholders, discussion of how the structure systems and people practices will change, and a

description of new core values and/or beliefs needed to make the change successful, in contrast

the employees at BBB do not experience these types of support to change according to their

responses. Both companies are lacking in the areas of strategic planning to detail the steps of



change and an indicating to employees how change is going to affect their job. Somewhat

worryingly neither of the companies seem to have adequate staff provision to provide support,

sufficient financial or human resources to support the changes, or a clear timetable of the phases

involved in change processes, or appropriate training to enable employees to cope with the

change.



BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

Q56

The introduction of change is accompanied by an explanation of the advantages to key internal and external groups (employees, management, customers, etc.).

0.0% / 15.4% 11.5% / 38.5% 0.0% / 7.7% 69.2% / 30.8% 19.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q57

The introduction of change is accompanied by a discussion of specific new ways in which structure systems and people practices would change.

0.0% / 0.0% 30.8% / 53.8% 0.0% / 7.7% 69.2% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q58

The introduction of change is accompanied by a description of new core values and/or beliefs needed to make the change successful.

0.0% / 15.4% 11.5% / 46.2% 19.2% / 30.8% 69.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q59The introduction of change is accompanied by a plan detailing the various steps needed to implement the change.

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 15.4% 19.2% / 7.7% 50.0% / 69.2% 7.7% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q60The introduction of change is accompanied by a clear indication of how the change will impact upon your job.

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 15.4% 11.5% / 0.0% 46.2% / 61.5% 30.8% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q61Throughout the change there is always a distinct network of people at all levels who I can get answers/action from.

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 23.1% 19.2% / 30.8% 69.2% / 7.7% 11.5% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q62 The allocation of financial resources is adequate to support the change.

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 19.2% / 15.4% 61.5% / 23.1% 11.5% / 23.1% 7.7% / 30.8%

Q63 The allocation of human resources is adequate to support the change.

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 26.9% / 46.2% 61.5% / 7.7% 0.0% / 38.5% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q64 A clear timetable is devised for the various phases of the change.

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 38.5% 30.8% / 0.0% 38.5% / 53.8% 19.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q65 I receive appropriate training to enable me to cope with the change.

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 7.7% / 30.8% 80.8% / 46.2% 11.5% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

NeutralAgreeStrongly AgreeSupport

N/AStrongly Disagree

Disagree

Table 4.9 Response Summary - Support

4.2.6 Work processes

The next section (Q66 – 71) of the questionnaire examined the work processes. There does not

seem to be much variance in the working processes between the two companies, however

according to the respondents BBB follows the company rules and regulations in work processes.

Employees also feel that BBB has been successful in developing work processes to conduct



work as efficiently as possible. In contrast IT Supply is better in reviewing, updating and

improving their work processes.



Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply

Q66 Work processes have been developed to conduct work as efficiently as possible.

0.0% / 0.0% 57.7% / 38.5% 23.1% / 15.4% 11.5% / 7.7% 7.7% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q67 Work processes have been developed to conduct work by the rules and regulations

0.0% / 15.4% 61.5% / 15.4% 15.4% / 23.1% 23.1% / 7.7% 0.0% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q68

Work processes are reviewed and updated as improvements are made or as new and improved ways of doing the same tasks are learned.

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 53.8% 15.4% / 0.0% 50.0% / 7.7% 11.5% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q69Processes are in place to determine if the ways of working are effective. Corrective action is taken if they are not.

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 53.8% 30.8% / 0.0% 46.2% / 7.7% 11.5% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q70 The working processes were designed to be used as goals for achieving excellence.

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 15.4% 19.2% / 38.5% 50.0% / 7.7% 19.2% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q71The processes were developed by a team of experts (internal or external) whose goal was to improve how work is accomplished.

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 38.5% 38.5% / 38.5% 23.1% / 15.4% 38.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Strongly Agree Agree NeutralWork Processes

Strongly Disagree

N/ADisagree

Table 4.10 Response Summary – Work Processes

4.2.7 Group Learning

The section about learning and training in the company (Q72 – 75) asked the respondents to rate

the supportiveness of the management towards learning new and better ways of working within

the organisation. Neither of the companies’ management was rated very highly. Overall the

training is not very good in either of the companies as the respondents feel they are not allowed

time for training, or that the training would be improving their skill sets from what they already

know.





BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

Q72Rate how supportive the management are towards learning new, different and better ways of working within the organisation.

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 30.8% / 53.8% 57.7% / 38.5% 11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q73

The personnel in the organisation are allowed time for learning and training each year (excluding obligatory training) and are encouraged to use the time.

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 7.7% / 0.0% 50.0% / 38.5% 30.8% / 53.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q74

Training provided is not aimed just at skills related to the performance in the job, but also skills that promote better interaction and team work

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 15.4% 0.0% / 23.1% 57.7% / 53.8% 11.5% / 0.0% 7.7% / 0.0%

Q75

When training is to be developed, an effort is made to establish what employees already know and what they need to know and learn.

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 7.7% / 30.8% 50.0% / 30.8% 23.1% / 30.8% 7.7% / 7.7%

N/AStrongly Agree

Group LearningN/AIt is not present

at the siteNon supportiveNeutral

Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

SupportiveVery supportive

Agree

Table 4.11 Response Summary – Group Learning

4.2.8 Technology

When analysing the section about technology, it has to be kept in mind that IT Supply is in the

IT industry and has more critical and higher level views about technology than respondents from

BBB which is in the financial services industry (where all of the respondents were not directly

linked with IT in the organisation).

From the responses in the technology section of the questionnaire it can be seen that neither of

the companies keep their employees aware of the technological changes needed, or introduce

them to the plan of action. Interestingly the responses show that in BBB employees have not

been exposed to changes due to technology that have been difficult to adjust to, whereas 53.8%

of respondents in IT Supply have been.





Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply

Q76 Employees can affect what they are going to learn

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 69.2% 0.0% / 15.4% 46.2% / 7.7% 23.1% / 0.0% 7.7% / 0.0%

Q77The organisation has invested in essential new technologies/software within the last 18 months

0.0% / 0.0% 34.6% / 38.5% 7.7% / 0.0% 23.1% / 38.5% 34.6% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q78The employees are kept aware of the changes needed and introduced to the plan of action

0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 15.4% 57.7% / 46.2% 30.8% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q79

I have had to change my working practises due to technological developments in the organisation, which has been difficult to adjust to

0.0% / 7.7% 0.0% / 53.8% 0.0% / 15.4% 69.2% / 15.4% 30.8% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q80

I consider my organisation to be on the same level technologically as the competitors, and adopting new technologies at this stage is not necessary

0.0% / 7.7% 0.0% / 0.0% 57.7% / 0.0% 11.5% / 53.8% 30.8% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q81Software tools which support the work process exist, are well utilised and employees are made aware of them

0.0% / 0.0% 34.6% / 0.0% 42.3% / 23.1% 11.5% / 61.5% 11.5% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q82Employees are provided with sufficient training to be able to use the software effectively.

0.0% / 0.0% 46.2% / 15.4% 15.4% / 15.4% 11.5% / 30.8% 26.9% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q83

The software is integrated into a single electronic system to simplify their use and avoid multiple entries and databases that could cause problems

0.0% / 0.0% 42.3% / 0.0% 15.4% / 15.4% 0.0% / 53.8% 42.3% / 7.7% 0.0% / 15.4%

Q84The data within the system is easily accessible to all employees who need it, and employees are made aware of it

0.0% / 0.0% 42.3% / 0.0% 0.0% / 23.1% 46.2% / 61.5% 11.5% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Strongly AgreeTechnology

N/ADisagree Strongly Disagree

Agree Neutral

Table 4.12 Response Summary – Technology

IT Supply appears from the data to be better organised in planning for the future; they have a

strategic multiyear plan for software improvements in order to stay up-to-date and provide high

levels of support to the workforce, however BBB is not considered to have a multiyear plan.

Another interesting finding is that despite having a plan, IT Supply does not seem to have

support readily available for the users and the systems in the company. One of the strongest

opinions in this section is for the statement Q92, as practically everyone (90.8% at BBB and

92.3% at IT Supply) agreed with the statement “I feel more positive about technological change

when I am involved in the change process and I am able to provide feedback”, thus it can be

concluded that employees consider participation and chance to give feedback very important in

a change process.





BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

Q85

The company has a strategic multiyear plan for improving and updating software in order to stay up-to-date with the technology and to provide high levels of support to the workforce

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 53.8% 42.3% / 15.4% 23.1% / 15.4% 23.1% / 0.0% 11.5% / 7.7%

Q86Support that is readily available for both the users and the system is available in the company

0.0% / 0.0% 23.1% / 0.0% 42.3% / 53.8% 11.5% / 38.5% 11.5% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0%

Q87

The software is reviewed on a regular basis and updated if there are alternatives available which enable more efficient working

0.0% / 0.0% 46.2% / 7.7% 19.2% / 46.2% 11.5% / 23.1% 23.1% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q88Technological changes in the organisation have been successfully implemented without problems or disturbance to working

0.0% / 0.0% 34.6% / 0.0% 7.7% / 30.8% 38.5% / 15.4% 19.2% / 46.2% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q89 The technologies adopted are quick and easy to learn

0.0% / 0.0% 69.2% / 0.0% 11.5% / 38.5% 0.0% / 38.5% 19.2% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q90 I feel more positive about a technological change which is urgent

23.1% / 0.0% 26.9% / 30.8% 26.9% / 15.4% 11.5% / 23.1% 11.5% / 23.1% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q91

Technology change initiatives in my company are relevant and improve my working practices, therefore I welcome and support them

0.0% / 0.0% 46.2% / 30.8% 42.3% / 38.5% 0.0% / 30.8% 11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q92I feel more positive about technological change when I am involved in the change process and I am able to provide feedback

34.6% / 30.8% 46.2% / 61.5% 11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 7.7% / 0.0%

Strongly AgreeTechnology

Disagree Strongly Disagree

N/AAgree Neutral

Table 4.13 Response Summary – Technology part 2

4.2.9 Communication

The last section (Q93 – 107) of the questionnaire was about communication. Communication

was seen as an important issue by the respondents in both companies; however there were some

clear differences in communication between the two companies. Change in IT Supply is most

people see the leaders believing communication to be important and acting accordingly, but in

BBB this is not the case as the respondents clearly disagree with the statement Q93 and the

following about managers supporting the change through word and action. In IT Supply change

is considered to be well communicated and employees know what is going on, however this is

not done through structured meetings. Meetings are not an integral part of change at BBB either,

and the employees feel very strongly that changes are not communicated well.





Supply BBB /IT

Supply BBB /IT

Supply

Q93The leaders of the organisation believe that communication is important and act accordingly

0.0% / 15.4% 0.0% / 38.5% 30.8% / 15.4% 11.5% / 0.0% 57.7% / 30.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q94 Managers visibly support the change through word and action

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 23.1% 30.8% / 30.8% 23.1% / 38.5% 46.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q95Proposed changes are well communicated so that employees are aware of what is going on

0.0% / 0.0% 7.7% / 53.8% 0.0% / 7.7% 11.5% / 30.8% 80.8% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q96 Meetings are arranged to communicate the required changes

0.0% / 0.0% 19.2% / 23.1% 23.1% / 15.4% 23.1% / 53.8% 34.6% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q97

Meetings include: an agenda, a pre-established start and stop times, facilitation and minutes, with action items of what was discussed

0.0% / 0.0% 19.2% / 0.0% 23.1% / 0.0% 23.1% / 38.5% 34.6% / 53.8% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q98

Employees who are not able to attend the meetings are informed about the issues introduced in the meeting in a timely, accurate and appropriate fashion

0.0% / 0.0% 7.7% / 0.0% 0.0% / 38.5% 50.0% / 53.8% 42.3% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q99Communication tools (intranet, voicemail, e-mail, phones, etc.) are provided by the company to those who need them

19.2% / 15.4% 61.5% / 76.9% 0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 7.7% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q100

The communication systems are effective, providing the needed level of communication among the workforce and between workforce and customers if needed

11.5% / 0.0% 76.9% / 0.0% 0.0% / 100.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

CommunicationN/ADisagree Strongly

Disagree Strongly Agree Agree Neutral

Table 4.14 Response Summary – Communication

BBB respondents indicated that it is common for other departments and even external parties to

learn about changes affecting the respondent’s jobs before they do, this was identified as

unacceptable by the respondents. These sorts of actions were found to be unacceptable at IT

Supply as well, however employees are generally notified of changes before external parties.

The responses also showed that changes are communicated by the immediate manager rather

than senior management or external parties in BBB, but not in IT Supply. Both companies felt

that change is usually not communicated without delays and errors, and also that the

communications are not informative, more so in BBB.





BBB / IT Supply

BBB / IT Supply

Q101It is common that other departments within the company learn about a change which affects my job before I do

57.7% / 7.7% 23.1% / 30.8% 19.2% / 15.4% 0.0% / 23.1% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 15.4%

Q102

It is common that parties external to the company (e.g. partners, shareholders) learn about a change which affects my job before I do

69.2% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 61.5% 0.0% / 7.7% 19.2% / 23.1% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q103I don't mind when others find out about the changes that have an effect in my work before I do

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 7.7% 46.2% / 69.2% 53.8% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q104Any change is communicated by my immediate manager rather than the senior management or other external parties

19.2% / 0.0% 38.5% / 0.0% 7.7% / 46.2% 11.5% / 46.2% 23.1% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q105 Any change is communicated without delays and errors

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 30.8% 23.1% / 61.5% 76.9% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q106 Communications are informative and there is little need for questions

0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0% 11.5% / 30.8% 30.8% / 46.2% 57.7% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0%

Q107I am usually aware of change before it is formally announced 30.8% / 0.0% 23.1% / 38.5% 0.0% / 38.5% 46.2% / 15.4% 0.0% / 0.0% 0.0% / 0.0%

Strongly AgreeCommunication

Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

N/A

Table 4.15 Response Summary – Communication part 2

4.3 Interviews and Participant Observation

The full notes from the participant observation and both interviews are presented in the

appendices (see Appendix xx for the notes of the interview with BBB representative and

Appendix xx for the notes from the second interview with representative from IT Supply).

4.3.1 Findings from the interview and participant observation at BBB

BBB has a very strict hierarchy and structure, with lots of rules and regulations in place. Many

of the rules and regulations are due to the industry, as the company is regulated by the Financial

Services Authority (FSA), however also being listed in the stock exchange brings rules to the

business. The company has a special compliance department to make sure everything is done

according to the rules and regulations of the industry. The compliance department screens all

outputs from the company varying from marketing material to the letters sent out to customers

and partners. Some of the internal policies are not always adhered to, even though there are

written guidelines, as was found out in the participant observation.



There are strict communication channels people need to go through, and the company has a

policy of communicating through the immediate manager of the employee or via a

companywide email. There used to be regular, formal communication meetings for all staff

where the senior management communicated the performance and plans of the company as well

as discussed any issues. Since about 2005 employees have been consistently unsatisfied with the

communication of the company and the meetings not taking place, because they have found out

about the changes taking place in the company from external sources such as stock exchange

information bulletins. Employees are aware and appreciate that being a public listed company

information needs to be released to the shareholders first, however they are not happy with the

delays in information reaching employees. This is has affected the working policies in the

company, as the interviewee said: “I find it that there is a lot of gossip and rumours before

official announcements are made, and this is not helping the atmosphere in the company” (BBB

Interviewee, appendix 2)

The managers at BBB are mostly very approachable, willing to help out when needed and there

is a degree of informality in the working relationships in the company, however there is very

little social interaction between managers and employees. The managers in the company are not

always people managers, generally they take care of their duties, but do not seem to go the extra

mile or take responsibility for managing proactively the business further and take on new

challenges willingly. Senior management in the company has changed significantly in the last

year, with leaders being in position for a relatively short period of time due to redundancy

through business restructuring or cost cutting exercises. The interviewee from BBB stated that

“there is a feeling of uncertainty in the air at the moment, and we’re not getting the reassurance

from our managers at the moment. The leadership in the company has been a bit unfocused with

no clear and visible leader in the company for almost a year now”. He also emphasized that

there is a difference between a manager and a leader by saying “A manager can be someone

who is just there because they’ve been around long enough to gain managerial position, but does

not really do much in terms of proactively managing the people or the business. Whereas a

leader is someone who makes things happen on his/her own”. He went on to say that change



management is more complicated than normal day-to-day management, and it needs to be

planned for.

For the public company, a lot of information about the company is available through annual

reports as well as analyses made by the stock exchange. Everything is public starting from

financial information to performance statistics. The interviewee identified clear differences in

the formality and structure in private and public companies, with private companies being more

informal and flexible in their processes. He mentioned also the stock market can create extra

pressure and demand on the business; “the stockholders require return ‘immediately’ and the

trust of the shareholders can be seen with immediate effect in the share prices. Whereas the

private companies have clear ownership and the owners have more say in financial and other

issues with shorter timescales required. A public company is restricted because of wider

ownership due to multiple shareholders”. The interviewee explained that for example when the

company is in need of financial resources, it takes for the shareholders to be contacted and no

guarantees exist of their willingness to further invest in the business, this could eventually result

in the business becoming insolvent.

It can be concluded from both the interview and the participant observation, which fully support

each other, that BBB does not have a specific change management strategy in place, not IT

specific or for any other organisational purposes. The strategies in the company have not been

reviewed over the last couple of years, even though the organisation has gone through a number

of technological, organisational and business process related changes that have arisen due to a

variety of reasons. There are policies in place to implement technological changes, but not a

strategy nor guidelines on how to go about the process. Successful implementation has been due

to the experience and knowledge of the people implementing the changes, whether it being

technological or organisational changes. The changes the company has undergone include from

normal adoption of new technologies and software, to the more high level business changes,

such as mergers and acquisitions, which further lead to technology changes.



Practically all of the employees at BBB have been exposed to change to some degree, one of the

major change programmes in the company, the integration of the two financial planning

divisions, has involved all employees. Managers or directors have been charge of the changes

taking place. Smaller scale changes have been more successful in the company than the larger

change programmes. The reasons identified for the failures of change programmes include lack

of direction and plans, people in charge not taking ownership of the issues, lack of experience

and people leaving during the change process. Resistance to change is frequently seen especially

in the larger processes, as people do not want to change their working practices, they do not see

the benefits of the changes. Not much has been done to manage and overcome the resistance to

change, rather changes have just been pushed through, and people are given training in using the

new systems, as there are no plans or policies how to manage resistance to change. The

interviewee concludes that a plan would be needed when ever there is a change in the company,

and the person in charge of the change should be a very organised, able to plan and envisage

problems, deal with them and able to keep calm when things go wrong and people cause

problems.

4.3.2 Findings from the interview with IT Supply employee

The second interview was conducted with a manager from IT Supply. The company used to be a

public company, but changed into a private company when it was bought out in 1999. The buy

out caused significant changes in the company, as it involved a merger and a relocation, as well

as the company loosing 85% of the head office workforce according to the interviewee.

The company has a relaxed hierarchy with all the directors being approachable, however some

unwritten rules exist and some written rules are bent. An interesting feature in the company

structure is that the IT director is also the HR director, when asked if this is feasible and whether

the person has time and skills for such diverse roles, the interviewee politically declined to

answer.

The company has training policies in place, though they are not well known to employees. The

interviewee highlighted the importance of training especially with managers, he said “The



company realises that good managers make the difference and invests in its senior managers, a

number have been and are going on MBA courses. Seeing the changes in these people is

interesting and I believe the company does get a benefit from improved management.” However

the lower level employees get only the necessary training.

Communication is an issue in the company, which has been improved after it was found lacking

in a survey conducted in the company. A great deal of effort is put into communication. It is not

possible to obtain accurate financial information anymore, which used to be possible when the

company was a public one, and it is felt that some degree of secrecy exists in the company about

disclosing too much information. The issue of communications released to shareholders before

the company employees was not seen as a major problem when being a public company as the

interviewee said: “as a lot of the employees were shareholders, any information published to the

stock exchange was quickly spread around the office”.

Strategy formulation is done by the IT executive, and it seems that the employees working in IT

do not get consulted, which can cause problems in the long term, however there is a degree of

flexibility in the strategies as the planned directions can be overturned if a valid business case

exists. Strategies are reviewed regularly and communicated to employees. IT Supply has a

recently introduced structured IT change management strategy in place and the introduction of

the strategy itself was faced with resistance. People thought that with IT being a very reactive

business, a change management strategy would slow things down. The strategy has now been

accepted as something that allows for control and monitoring of changes, as well as a

contingency plan if something goes wrong. The company has change managers, whose role is to

make sure processes are followed and to help and give assistance to people when needed. The

person in charge of the change varies depending on the scale of the change.

The change management strategy covers everything from control and processes to monitoring

and contingencies, but it does not accommodate for the human aspects in the change process..

When asked about this the interviewee said “Generally we don’t seem to worry about the staff

impacted by the change, we plan on training them and providing a helpdesk and that’s it”.



The company has gone through a great variety of changes, mainly technological and IT changes

due to the business, arising from the external environment, for example the government and

customers. IT Supply are trying to manage and reduce the amount of technological change; they

are aiming to move into a one systems environment and one development approach. The

company is currently getting ISO accreditation, i.e. a series of standards specifying an effective

quality standard as stipulated by the International Organisation for Standardisation The adoption

of the ISO standards is a significant change for the whole company. When asked about the

changes taking place and who is affected by them, the interviewee gave an example of a change

in the warehousing system, he said that “A change to our warehousing system will, when fully

rolled out affect 18 warehouses and thousands of employees”, and further mentioned that

managers are the ones responsible for the changes and who manage the whole process.

Change programmes usually succeed at IT Supply, the company cannot afford to have

unsuccessful change programmes due to the nature of the business and low profit margins.

Employees accept changes as the nature of their business, and there is usually little or no

resistance to change. Mostly the resistance comes from the outside, customers, who are not so

used to the change. Handling of the resistance depends on the change; the interviewee explained

that “… [when handling resistance] normally the aim is education. If people understand why

we’re doing something and how it’s going to change that is seen as enough”.

A question about change being an emotional process was presented to the interviewee. “It

depends on the change. In theory business is a soul-less animal and change is a natural function

of the attempt to survive. In reality, change involves people, business and personal relationships,

investments of time therefore it becomes personal to people. This makes it emotional, the degree

depends on the personal involvement” the interviewee said, and further mentioned that planning

of the change usually helps, as people tend to get upset when changes have not been planned. In

IT Supply changes are usually planned and prepared for as much as possible, however due to the

dynamic nature of the business it is impossible to be fully prepared. The projects at IT Supply

have ‘closedowns’ where lessons are learnt and mistakes investigated to see what can be



improved for the future, the degree of success of the implemented change is evaluated and

feedback obtained.

The interviewee makes a differentiation between a leader and a manager; he stated that “…a

leader is someone who gives direction. A manager is someone who looks after something and

implements the direction” and that change management is very different to everyday

management. He believes that change agents are there for a reason, and have saved the company

from many costly mistakes. The change agents need to be as flexible as possible, need the

ability to put up with people complaining and have sense of humour.

4.4 Conclusion

The findings from both the questionnaires and interviews show that there is considerably greater

flexibility in IT Supply compared to BBB, this can be seen in the rules and policies, as well as

communication channels, and relationships between managers and employees. The strategy

formulation at IT Supply is done by the executives with contribution from the employees and

enables realistic and feasible plans to be formulated, which are then communicated to everyone

and reviewed regularly. At BBB the strategies are formulated by directors, approved by the

board, with no input from the employees and to make matters worse the strategies are not

reviewed regularly nor are they communicated to the employees.

Relationships at BBB are not supportive of change initiatives. The organisational culture is a

barrier to change in the company due to the beliefs, attitudes and policies in the company. There

is no top-down commitment or support for change, nor are there change agents to drive the

change. Communication is a significant problem in the company, as well as motivation and

rewarding. Overall IT Supply is found to be performing better in change due to planning and

preparing for change, more effective communication, and the overall open and relaxed

atmosphere where change is welcomed and supported from top management to the lower level

employees.



The data from the questionnaires, interviews and observations has been presented in this chapter

and the key issues about change management in the two companies have been identified.

These findings are critically analysed and evaluated in the following chapter in relation to the

findings from the literature review of current research into change management.



5. Critical analysis

The primary research data collected for this project indicates that the change programmes at

BBB have not been successful or successfully implemented. The literature reviewed in the area

of change management highlights that ‘people’ are central to any change process regardless of

they type of change in question, indicating that people are the driving force in change processes.

However, people are also identified as a possible cause for change programmes failing, due to

issues such as organisational culture and resistance to change. The results from the

questionnaires, participant observation and the interview support this. The organisational culture

at BBB was identified as a hindering factor as a result of the data gathered from the

questionnaires.

The questionnaire respondents from BBB expressed feelings of ‘not being valued in the

organisation’ which can be linked to motivational problems. The relationships on and between

different levels of the company have also been found not to be functioning well and being

unsupportive of change initiatives.

In contrast, IT Supply has developed a change culture; the questionnaire responses highlight an

open and relaxed atmosphere, where relationships are supportive of change initiatives. The

attitude towards change in IT Supply can be seen from the questionnaires as positive with most

of the respondents (46.2%) indicating support for change. Also continuous learning is

encouraged in the company according to 69.2% of the respondents, which creates an

environment where changes are accepted, minimising resistance to change. Rogers et al. (2003)

support this finding by stating that the change process can be made easier for the employees by

organisations encouraging a learning environment and treating change as a positive thing; this

will help with the attitudes and beliefs of the employees when implementing change.

Resistance is not the only cause for change programmes at BBB failing. The questionnaire

respondents, participant observation and the interview also identified staffing issues as a reason

for failures. The important role of managers and leaders in the support of change is highlighted



in the questionnaires. However BBB has experienced a number of set backs during change

processes when key staff have left the company, which causes significant problems. The

questionnaire’s statement (Q52) “The leaders in the organisation remain in their positions long

enough to live with the results of the changes they initiate” resulted in 92.3% of BBB

respondents disagreeing with it. Furthermore, top-down commitment is found to be lacking at

BBB with 80.8% of respondent disagreeing with the statement (Q38) “I feel positive and

support change because change is continually promoted from the top”. The lack of commitment

from the management is an apparent recipe for failure – any change needs buy-in from the

management; clear and visible top-down commitment are critical success factor as highlighted

in the literature review (Mullins, 2005; Hardgrave and Armstrong, 2005).

While the situation at BBB has been identified as prone to failures, the interview and

questionnaire data from IT Supply identify a more positive situation. The success factors in

change management have been attributed to strategic planning; with a change management

strategy being in place. The interviewee highlights:

“All change within IT Supply is controlled via the change management process. This took a long time to implement as the business can be very reactive and this was seen to slow down change. It is now widely accepted as it allows us to control, approve and monitor change. If things go wrong we have the chance of putting them right without a disaster.”

The interviewee also said that the reason for having a change management strategy is mainly

financial as “mistakes can cost the company huge amount of business and profit”. This is also

supported by the literature, as Hardgrave and Armstrong (2005) found in their study that lack of

guidance and plans for the change can result in unrealistic expectations, which is an apparent

recipe for failure.

The research findings highlight serious problems at BBB in the provision of business strategies,

including change management, which are either nonexistent or not reviewed regularly. This has

resulted in no clear long-term planning in the company, and no strategy for dealing with change.

BBB is in need of up-to-date strategies with a clear, long-term plan, as this is an important tool

enabling companies to survive in the competitive environment in which they operate in

(Johnson et al, 2005). BBB especially needs a change management strategy tailored to its

specific requirements, due to the high level concerns employees frequently have about change



(as shown in the questionnaire data) and with so many changes taking place on technological,

organisational and business levels.

Communication has also been found to be significantly lacking at BBB to the point where it has

started to negatively affect the working atmosphere, this was consistently highlighted in all three

set of data collected. The interviewee said that:

“…the employees get to hear all the news last and often through other media rather than from the company directly. Due to the company structure and hierarchy the communication process is slow, and I feel, a bit inefficient too. Sometimes information is given to the managers who are then meant to cascade the information further down, but often the information doesn’t reach all the relevant people due to mistakes or names being missed from email distribution lists etc.”

Communication is identified as playing a crucial role in companies by many of the authors

included in the literature review, highlighting the need to communicate at every stage of the

change process. For example, the introduction of change needs to include discussion about

reasons and benefits, people feel more committed when they are engaged and evaluation of the

process is needed with feedback being crucial for both the change process and the people

involved (Rogers et al, 2003; Smillie, 2005; Armstrong and Stephens; 2005).

IT Supply as a company has previously identified communication as an area of weakness in the

organisation and as a result measures have been taken to improve the situation. The interviewee

states that “There is a great deal of effort to communicate with the staff” and this can be seen

from the questionnaire responses, as a majority (53.8%) agree with the statement “The leaders

of the organisation believe that communication is important and act accordingly”. Also 53.8%

of respondents agree with the statement “Proposed changes are well communicated so that

employees are aware of what is going on”. The questionnaires indicate that staff support change

processes when they are able to participate and provide feedback.

Other issues arising from the findings of the research regarding BBB are highlighted below:



Organisational culture is very strict, with policies, rules and regulations. Employees feel

strongly that they are not valued and loyalty is not rewarded. The culture in the company

is not very goal oriented, and not experienced as competitive

Though team working is encouraged rather than individual working patterns, teams do

not seem to be working well, innovation and personal development are not supported

and neither is continuous learning. Relationships in the company are not supportive of

change initiatives

The reward plans in place are considered to be poor with the performance or change

efforts not being rewarded. Attitudes toward change vary according to individuals;

however generally employees seem to support change because there is no advancement

at BBB otherwise

The managers are seen important agents in the promotion of change. Other factors

influencing a positive support for change include; seeing the person driving the change

committed to the change, and sense of personal ownership

People feel more positive about changes when they are involved in the process and are

able to give feedback

Leadership at BBB is seen as short-term focused and is seen susceptible to staff changes

which affect the longevity of change processes. Top management has created a belief

that changes are necessary, but with no clear change leaders, the process has run into

difficulties

The introduction of change is very poor, and lacks the information, resources, schedules

and training needed

Employees are not given time for or encouraged to take part in training.

The overall findings from the evaluation of change management at IT Supply are more positive

than the findings from BBB, and there are fewer areas identified for improvement. Compared

with BBB, they are well organised and prepared for changes, and change is considered part of



the business which employees accept. Some additional findings from the research regarding IT

Supply are summarised below:

There is an IS/IT change management strategy, however it does not address the human

side of the process

The hierarchy is not considered to be very strict, but the communication patterns follow

this structure. Employees feel they are not being valued and employee loyalty is not

being rewarded or appreciated. The culture in the company is not very goal oriented or

competitive

People in IT Supply are open to change, however they indicate in the questionnaires that

they go along with changes but still have some reservations which do not get voiced.

Employees also support change because there would be no advancement if they did not

Managers are seen as key players in promotion of change. Other factors influencing the

support of change include seeing the person driving the change committed to the change,

and fostering a sense of personal ownership

Leadership in the company has a long term view and vision of the future. Top level

management have created a belief that changes are necessary, and there are dedicated,

supportive change leaders who are seen very important in change processes, however

people feel they are not allowed sufficient management time when they need it

The reward plan is rated very poor by employees, and performance or change efforts are

not adequately recognised in the company

The introduction of change involves providing employees a wealth of information; the

advantages are explained, as are changes to systems and people practices, and new core

values and beliefs needed to successfully implement the change

There are no clear training policies in place, and the management does not really

encourage training of the employee level, however senior management training is

supported

Communication has been improved since it was found to be lacking in a previous

survey, however there is still space for further improvement in communication with less



delays and more accurate and informative reporting. Overall leaders at IT Supply believe

communication is important and changes need to be well communicated

Changes are usually successful, and resistance to change is minimal. When resistance is

experienced, it is dealt with through education and training, to enable employees to

understand why something needs to be done

It seems success in change follows planning, as well as obtaining feedback, assessing

lessons learned and evaluating the whole change process.

5.1 Change management strategy

The most apparent issue emerging from the critical analysis of BBB is that as a company they

need a change management strategy to be developed.

The change management strategy should take into consideration company and information

technology specific issues. However important the technological side of a change management

strategy is, it is essential to consider the human factors, because it is the people who ultimately

implement the change, use it and either make it work or fail. The questionnaire data shows that

employees often experience concerns related to changes at BBB, as there have been various

changes in the company. Therefore it is essential to have a plan, a strategy, on how to tackle

these concerns and successfully manage the change processes. The issues that need to be

included in the change management strategy are discussed below.

The organisational culture at BBB is currently not supportive of change initiatives, continuous

learning should be supported and incorporated into the company, as this creates a learning

environment which is more welcoming of changes (Rogers et al. 2003). If change is treated

positively in the organisation, this will influence the attitudes and beliefs of individual

employees when implementing change. There are currently no individual reward plans in place

at BBB; one should be introduced which addresses performance and change efforts and thus

encourages positive thinking towards changes. Organisational culture can be turned into an

enabler of change from the hindrance it is currently. More open policies and flexibility could be



introduced to the strict hierarchy than currently exists at BBB to encourage supportive

relationships both vertically and horizontally in the company.

The people who the change affects need to be involved in the process, and feedback should be

obtained from them in order to foster a sense of ownership. Employees should be educated

about the reasons and expected benefits of the change and appropriate training given to cope.

The introduction of any change should be accompanied by a plan which addresses issues such as

financial and human resources, information about how it is going to affect employees and

systems they use, along with clear and realistic schedules. The change needs to feel necessary

and urgent for the people to give it their full attention (Rogers et al.2003).

Change also needs commitment from the top level as well as from the change agent. There

needs to be one person driving the change, whether it being the immediate manager of people

involved or someone else, he/she needs to be committed to the change process and provide

sufficient support to those not coping especially well with the process. There needs to be a clear

plan for the change, with contingency plans in case something goes wrong in the process such as

changes in staffing or unforeseen external pressures.

Communication is vital component of the change process. Change has to be communicated

efficiently, without delays and errors, and with sufficient information (Armstrong and

Stephenson, 2005). Whilst it is a requirement of public companies to announce changes to the

stock market first, the company needs to improve the system of communication with their

employees, who currently feel let down. Establishing decent communication with individual

employees allows people feel a sense of personal ownership and as a result they become more

committed to the change (Smillie, 2005). The research data shows that this is lacking in both of

the companies and as a result have varying degrees of commitment to change.

Drawing from the issues identified in this critical analysis, and the previous knowledge gained

from the literature on change management, a framework can be created for BBB to enable the

development of a successful change management strategy, introduced in figure 5.1 below.




Business caseAims and objectivesReasons for the changeLong and short-term benefitsSuccess criteria

Assessment of barriers – especially resistanceSolutions identified

Support and commitment Top-down, organisation-wideRewards

Change AgentChange LeaderResponsibilityAccountabilityMotivation

Project PlanningIdentify activitiesEngage stakeholdersScheduleBudgetAllocation of resources (finance, HR, systems)TrainingContingency

Monitoring and evaluationProgress and end result

FRAMEWORK FOR SUCCESSFUL CHANGE MANAGEMENT

CO

MM

UN

ICAT

ION


Figure 5.1 Framework for a successful change management strategy

This framework has been developed from the findings of the questionnaires, interviews and

observations, as well as drawing on the work of Pettinger (2004), Mullins (2005), Smillie

(2005), and Armstrong and Stephenson (2005).

5.2 Recommendations

IT Supply has existing strategies for change management that are reviewed regularly. However

these strategies do not adequately address the human side to the process which is reflected in the

findings from the research. The organisational culture in the company supports change, people

accept change and feel fairly positive towards it. In conflict with these positive findings, the

questionnaires revealed that employees ‘do not feel valued’, even though relationships are good

with management and within teams. There is also no recognition of change efforts in the

company, and despite the fact that continuous learning is encouraged, it is mainly the senior

management who benefit from training. Communication has previously been identified as a

problem in the company and has subsequently been improved on, which is important in change

process.

The evidence suggests that it would be beneficial for IT Supply to incorporate the human side

into their change management strategy; this would enable their employees to cope better with

changes, and even though resistance is not a big problem, appropriate measures could be taken

to identify resistance and deal with it efficiently. Further improving communication, especially

regarding timeliness and accuracy of information can increase the success of change, as can the

development of a reward structure.

5.2.1 Differences between a private and a public company



The data collected suggests that the two companies are very different in their approach to

change management; however there is practically no data to suggest that the differences are

caused by the difference in ownership. One issue which could be linked with the differentiation

between public/private, is organisational culture, which draws from the values, beliefs and

policies of the company. BBB being a large, highly hierarchical company reflects it in the

corporate culture, whereas IT Supply is a private company with open and relaxed atmosphere.

This causes differences in the organisational culture which further affects the change

management in the organisation. Therefore, organisational culture can affect successful change

management and should be considered when developing strategies.

Only other finding that can be clearly attributed to the fact that BBB is a public limited company

is that the BBB respondents find it unacceptable that communications go out to external parties

before they are informed. This is causing problems in the company as employees are very

dissatisfied though they understand the reasons for this happening, as can be seen from the

comments of the interviewee as well. Only recommendation that can be drawn from this is that

BBB needs to address this issue with the employees, explore alternatives and suggest a solution

which is mutually satisfactory for both the shareholders and the employees.

5.2.2 Recommendations for managers

From the literature reviewed and data collected in this research some key advice can be drawn

for managers leading change programmes. The questionnaire responses in both companies

indicated that change agents role is important in creating support and positive attitude towards

change, and communication is key factor in successful change management. Literature

researched supports this indication, identifying further strategies in successfully minimising the

key problem in change management; resistance to change, by planning, addressing the

resistance and engaging the people in the change process (Thomas, 2001; Cummings and

Worley, 2005; Thompson and Martin, 2005).



6. Conclusions

This chapter gives a final conclusion for this dissertation from the secondary data discussed in

the literature review and the primary data collected using questionnaires, participant observation

and semi-structured interviews. This conclusion draws together the knowledge gained from

previous research in the area of change management and the findings from the critical analysis.

The overall aim for this dissertation was to investigate change management in Berkeley Berry

Birch Plc in light of recent change programmes being unsuccessful, and examining reasons for

failure. The literature reviewed highlights the importance of the human side in the change

management process regardless of the type of change. People can act as enablers as well as a

hindrance and source of resistance to any change (Rogers et al. 2003). This is supported by the

primary data collected from the interview and participant observation, where resistance to

change was identified as a factor resulting in the failure of change processes. Other reasons for

failures in change programmes at BBB were identified including; lack of strategic planning in

change, rigid organisational culture, poor leadership, support and commitment. Another crucial

issue attributing to the failures of change in the company is neglected communication strategies.

The research identified that IT Supply has more successful change programmes, than BBB, due

to a change management strategy being in place. It was also discovered that the organisational

culture is more open, relaxed and welcoming towards change. Overall, the employees at IT

Supply feel more positive about change and accept that it is a part of their business. The

company also encourages continuous learning which is seen as a significant enabler of change.

Key to successful change according to the employees at IT Supply has been continued

commitment and support from management, and the existence of a dedicated person driving the

change which is also highlighted in the literature review.

Building on the findings from the literature review and from the primary empirical research this

dissertation developed a change management strategy for BBB. The literature highlights the



importance of strategic planning, and the data gathered from IT Supply suggest that their

successful change programmes are due to the existence of a change management strategy.

A framework has been developed in this dissertation which contains the components of a

change management strategy tailored specifically for implementation in Berkeley Berry Birch

Plc. The framework takes into consideration the current situation in the company, as identified

in the research (see figure 5.1). This framework highlights the importance of communication at

all levels, as a crucial factor in successful change management programmes.

Further recommendations arising from the critical analysis are that communication is key, and it

is recommended that both companies focus on improving their communication at all levels of

the change process. For agents leading change it was found that planning was key to anticipating

problems; especially resistance to change. It was also found that engaging people early on in the

process, helped to build a sense of ownership, creating more positive attitudes towards change.

The research found no evidence of differences attributable to the fact that one company is a Plc

and the other a privately owned company. Organisational culture can be affected by the fact that

a company is either public or private, however there is no data to differentiate which issues are

due to the ownership, as it is noted in the literature that every organisation has a unique

organisational culture anyway (Mullins, 2005). The issue arising from the questionnaires and

interview in regards to communication causing problems due to shareholders receiving

announcements before the employees is the only aspect linking the change management with the

differentiation of public/private.

To conclude, successful change management involves a combination of many factors, and

people play a key role in making the change process work and can also create the obstacles for

success. The research project has identified that change processes require a combination of

strategic planning, effective management, and communication in order to be successful.



7. Recommendations and future research

Firstly, the research has shown that it is definitely advisable for all company to have a change

management strategy, for both the IS/IT and general organisational changes. There is a clear

need to be well prepared for and have a plan in place to tackle change, whether the changes are

arising from internal issues or in response to the external environment.

Every company needs to recognise and engage with the human side to change management as

people play a vital role in the change process. Effective change management strategies

accommodate for the human aspect of change allowing companies the opportunity to

proactively respond to and manage the issues, rather than responding reactively.

This research has discussed in detail change management in two companies, as a result the

findings are specific to these this investigation and therefore it would be interesting for further

research to investigate whether the issues identified here are company specific, or can be

generalised across the industry. Also it would be interesting for the wider business community

to investigate whether the findings can be generalised in terms of private and public companies’

change management issues.

Had access to IT Supply been available for participant observation, it would have been

interesting to follow a change being implemented from beginning to end, and observe the whole

process. Also a case for further study could be made from more detailed and in-depth

investigation the experiences of individuals, or perhaps the relationships between employees and

management, how the dynamics change in the change processes.



8. Critical evaluation of the project

This chapter provides a discussion into the reliability and validity of this research and highlights

the limitations.

8.1 Reliability and validity of the research

Reliability is concerned with how repeatable the research and the findings are whereas validity

is concerned with truthfulness of the findings of the research (Bryman and Bell, 2003). It is

important to consider in this research, as with any research, whether the results would be the

same if repeated and if a given variable would be changed or if the method of collecting the

information would be different, how reliable and valid the actual research and the results are.

However, testing the repeatability of research which involves people is very hard in practice,

because people and situations can change (Easterby-Smith et al., 2002).

There are data quality issues related to the semi-structured interviews used in the research,

namely the fact that the lack of standardisation causes issues with reliability. Also interviewer

bias has to be considered, as well as interviewee bias. The interviewer may affect the

interviewee in different ways or interpret the responses in the wrong way. Taking part in an

interview is a stressful process and the interviewee may decide not to reveal the information

asked (Saunders, 2000). In this research the interviewer knew the interviewees personally, and

the atmosphere was very relaxed and open. This and the fact that the interviewees remain

anonymous is likely to have resulted in more honest responses and interviewees revealing

information they might not have if their identities were known. To overcome interviewer and

interviewee bias, the questions were open ended to enable further discussion and the questions

attempted to find out situations and settings within the company. However, the presence of

personal opinions cannot be eliminated from the interviews; therefore the interviews are used as

one form of data collection in addition to others.



According to Saunders (2000) the reliability and validity of data collected using questionnaires,

as well as the response rate, depend on three issues; designing of the questions, piloting the

questionnaire and the structure of it. For the data gathered to be valid, the questions need to be

valid, which means the respondent has to understand the questions correctly and answer them

correctly. Also the researcher has to design the question appropriately and analyse the answers

accurately (Saunders, 2000). The questionnaire used in this research was piloted on two

occasions with different audiences before sending out to respondents, to enable as constructive

feedback in order to minimise bias and ensure data validity.

Triangulation helps to ensure validity and reliability and involves using more than one method

of research or source of data for research (Bryman and Bell, 2003). Using triangulation the

researcher is confirming that the data obtained from one source or using one method, with the

data obtained from another. To be able to gain a thorough understanding of any issue, the most

valid and reliable way to reach this is to use a combination of methods. This research used

questionnaires and interviews to obtain primary data from both companies, this was also

supported by participant observation with BBB, in addition to the secondary data used in the

initial literature review. Findings from all methods were compared and the validity and

reliability of the different sets of data crosschecked for consistency in the findings.

When using participant observation; there is a significant threat of observer bias, this was

addressed in this research through using other research methods. In addition, the observation

was done over a relatively long period of time, 7 months, which is likely to overcome a lot of

the observer bias. The analysis of the data shows that the data collected through observation

reflects the findings from the interview and questionnaires. Therefore the data obtained through

observation is valid and useful in this research.

8.2 Limitations of the research

Overall the research was a smooth process and there were no major obstacles. However there

are some limitations to this research which need to be considered. Perhaps the greatest



limitations involve the researcher. Throughout the project the researcher has attempted to

remain as objective as possible in order to maintain the integrity of both the project aims and

data collected. The project involved the collection of three types of primary data, questionnaires,

participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews. The researcher triangulated the

data in order to ensure reliability and validity in the findings. The quantifiable questionnaire

data was analysed using SPSS software to further ensure reliability in the conclusions. The

qualitative interview methodology used semi-structure questions in an informal setting. The

researcher took every precaution in order to maintain objectivity in both cases. However due to

the researcher working at one of the companies this may have created a bias in the interviewing.

The response rates were lower than anticipated considering the company involvement which

usually attributes to higher response rates. Some problems were encountered during the

collection of data, as there were problems with receiving the questionnaires back due to the

University email server blocking some of the emails.

There were time some time related constraints, for example the participant observation would

have produced a greater variety of experiences had there been a longer time period available for

observation. Also budget was an issue when selecting the research methods, as online

questionnaire would have been used had there been sufficient funds to support this method.



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APPENDIX 1 SWOT Analysis- Berkeley Berry Birch Plc


StrengthsOne of UK’s largest companiesMulti divisionalVariety; financial planning, insurance, risk, etc.Shareholder wealth Nationwide locationsLarge fleet of IFA’sCentralised systems and head office operations in Coventry Strong compliance

WeaknessesSolvency issuesFSA investigationsStaff retention problematicRecruitment not competitiveChanges in leadershipStrategies lacking High costs of operationsOld IT systems

OpportunitiesGrowing marketOnline financial planning and financial adviseNew technologies for operations and conducting businessGlobalisation; new markets abroad, new customers in the UKHigh value customersNew customer groups e.g. NAHT, West Midlands Police

ThreatsSolvency issues could prove fatal for the businessFSA investigations damage image and customer perception, reliabilityShareholder trustStaff retention and recruitment not competitive to attract new employees

SWOT ANALYSIS

Berkeley Berry Birch Plc


APPENDIX 2 Interview – BBBInterviewee – Would you like to remain anonymous in the discussion?Yes, I would like to remain anonymous, pleaseHow long have you worked at BBB?I’ve worked at BBB for four and a half years now, I started in a more junior role within another department before moving on to IT where I have been the last three years now. I have exposure on a few areas within the company due to my role and daily duties.Strategy

What is the strategy formulation process?The strategies are formulated on a departmental level, and they’re then taken to the board for approval, which is quite a time consuming process but needs to be done due to the regulations. For example the IT strategy is formulated by the head of IT, and he then discusses it with the CEO who sits in the board, and then the strategy is formally taken to the board for approval. Is it evaluated regularly? Outcome?The processes in the company were on a pretty good level a few years back, however the strategies in place at the moment are about two years old. Even though the processes and software etc may be updated regularly, the strategy itself does not get reviewed or updated. At least it hasn’t been done for the last two years. I don’t know why this is exactly, perhaps the senior management is too busy to do it… Then again, the head of IT who was pretty good in his job left about a year and a half ago and when he left, he took with him a whole lot of expertise and knowledge about the company systems and software.. I guess there was no contingency plan for him leaving because the people who were left behind did not have the same expertise he did and therefore cannot solve the problems arising with the systems. And to add to the problem, the company has not been investing in training people in the systems so that there would be someone able to solve any problems.

Change Management Strategy Is there one, formulation: who/how/process?There is no formal change management strategy in place, at least as far as I know. There may have been one earlier when the previous head of IT was here, but nothing has been discussed about change management strategy in a couple of years. There are processes in place in IT to do the changes necessary within the company, and also what to do if there are problems or the change goes wrong. However it is mostly at the discretion of the IT personnel how to go about things, and the guys have been there quite long so they have experience and their own ways of doing things. Do you have training policies in place?We do. There are companywide policies, which cover all the Independent Financial Advisors, the network members, as well as all the other personnel in the company. The training varies from financial planning specific training to management skills and excel-training. Employee training is encouraged and supported in the company, at least that is what the intranet and employee handbook state, however in reality the picture is a bit different and getting into training is not as easy as you would think because everything needs to be approved and there are no financial resources and everything takes ages to get done around here.

IS/IT Change Management Strategy Do you have one?No, not really. Just some policies, but not a strategy as such.Does the Change Management strategy have a ‘human’ side to it? I.e. are there policies in place how to handle the people involved in the change, what are the communication policies, is someone accountable for the change, is someone leading the change?There is no mention of a “human” side in the policies, I don’t know if this would be an HR issue. There are training policies for people who need to use a new software for example, but most of the time, when an employee is introduced to a new software it is either a colleague or someone from IT to show how to do the basics with the software. Everything is very informal and it is up to the employees to get on with it or ask help if they need it.

Organisational Culture Hierarchy?There’s the board, which has the divisional directors in it who then have the regional managers and departmental managers under them. There’s also a CEO who the divisional directors report to. The



departmental managers have assistant managers and team leaders answering to them, and finally the rest of the employees..It is all quite formal in structure and people have strict reporting channels to go through. There are differences in the directors and managers though, some are more relaxed than others and like to be approached by employees rather than them going through their managers etc. There are divisional differences too, the old financial planning division has always worked with less hierarchy than the one that was bought and tried to integrate with the rest of the company. Policies, rules, regulations?The business is regulated by the Financial Services Authority, and as it is a public company listed in the stock exchange there are some rules regarding that. I am not too familiar with those though as my area of expertise is IT. There are company policies which are all in the intranet for everyone to see, and every employee is given a staff handbook upon joining which states some basic rules and regulation about working in the company. The rules and regulations regarding the company and FSA are strict and there is a compliance department in the company to make sure everything is adhered to. However on a departmental level issues such as working patterns are dependent on the manager in question and sometimes the rules are bent. Communication channels/policies?Usually the communication to the staff is done by the immediate manager, or a companywide email is sent with the communication. However, one issue causing a lot of friction among the employees is that when ever there is an important announcement regarding the company, for example on FSA investigations the company has been subject to or departure of an important director, all communication is released to the shareholders first and staff get to know about the changes with a significant delay and through other channels than from within the company. Though this is a requirement of a public company, we feel that the employees should be kept in the loop a lot better than currently.The company or the directors haven’t been very good in holding communication meetings. There was a policy before to have at least a quarterly meeting with all the staff to announce the strategies and plans for the future and discuss any major current issues. However, these meetings haven’t been held for quite a while now even though there has been a clear need for them. I find it that there is a lot of gossip and rumours before official announcements are made, and this is not helping the atmosphere in the company. Power distanceThe managers are pretty informal with their staff on a day to day basis, however there are situations that require certain degree of formality and the managers tend to take a bit of distance to the staff. There is very little social interaction between managers and staff, however the managers do have all sorts of meetings and conferences on a regular basis where they get to interact, but the ‘normal’ staff are excluded from this. There are individual differences in managers of course and some managers have ‘made friends’ with the staff, and this obviously is reflected also on the daily business. But generally the managers are approachable and help the staff when needed, but I guess the management is more reactive than proactive when it comes to staff issues. People and problems are dealt with as and when they arise, not aiming at preventing problems before they become a problem… LeadershipIt seems that some of the managers do not have any sort of people skills. They have just been made managers because they have been in the company long enough. I’ve even heard one manager say to me that he doesn’t like managing people at all! Managers do tend to get on with their stuff, but there is a sense of doing only what is necessary, not much more when it comes to managing people and business. However I have seen real leaders in the company as well, people who have driven the business forward and created business opportunities that have been taken advantage of, unfortunately these people have been made redundant since due to reasons such as cost cutting, business restructuring etc.

Private v Public –what are the differences you experience as opposed to a private company? CommunicationThere is a wealth of information about the company available in various sources, starting from the company website to the various analysis made by stock exchange planners and analysts. Also the annual reports are available detailing the company’s financial performance along with other communications about the business from the directors.However, as I said before, the employees get to hear all the news last and often through other media rather than from the company directly. Due to the company structure and hierarchy the communication process is slow,



and I feel, a bit inefficient too. Sometimes information is given to the managers who are then meant to cascade the information further down, but often the information doesn’t reach all the relevant people due to mistakes or names being missed from email distribution lists etc. Strategy, implementationUsed to be a lot more efficient than currently, as said some of the strategies haven’t been revisited in a couple of years. People are just getting on with stuff without a refined plan or vision of the future.I can see that this is affecting the business and especially the departments are lacking focus, there is no clear aims of where they need to aim or what to do. There may a lot of good intentions and some discussion and plans, but getting there is another matter…. Hierarchy, structureBeing a large public company there is a structure and fairly strict hierarchy in the company, and I have some experience of working in a private companies as well. Though private companies have a structure, the processes are more informal and I’d say there is more flexibility. The CEO of the company can be approached by the line employees without much consideration to formal reporting structures. Policies, rulesThe business has the stock exchange regulations to adhere to, as well as the FSA regulations. All parts of the business have a compliance manual to refer to. But I’d say the internal policies are more flexible and informal as with the hierarchy mentioned earlier. Regulation (e.g. FSA)See above. Working patternsI don’t see a difference to a private company, other than the fact that we have a compliance department which is there to make sure everything is done according to regulations, and to provide guidelines for employees and financial advisors on how to be compliant. Other than that, on a daily basis it is very much like in any other company not listed on the stock exchange. Power distanceThere is the hierarchy from the board down which obviously affects the people in the company, but in general employees and managers have a good working relationship where the managers are easily approachable and available to help if needed. Though there is a clear distinction between who is a normal line employee and who is on a managerial level. I don’t think there is much difference between private and public companies in this, but the differences are probably more due to individual/personal characteristics of people and the size of the company. External environmentThe stock market creates certain demands for the business, the stockholders require return ‘immediately’ and the trust of the shareholders can be seen with immediate effect in the share prices. Whereas the private companies have a clear ownership and the owners have more say into financial and other issues with shorter timescales required, a public company is restricted because of a wider ownership due to multiple shareholders. And say where the company is in need of financial resources, it takes time to contact the shareholders and there is no guarantee are they willing to invest more/enough in the business, which could eventually result in the insolvency of the business.The company is also prone to threats from the FSA and government, but so could a privately owned company. LeadershipLeaders have changed quite frequently in this company, more frequently than I have experienced in a private company. However, this could be just the nature of the beast in this company or the industry, or maybe this company just has issues with the management…. I don’t know…. There doesn’t seem to be the required ownership of the issues, people do not seem to take responsibility of the business and management leaves or are made to leave which causes instability in the business and spreading the responsibilities further… Change managementDo not know about this one, we do not seem to have much of change management policies in place.

Change in the company What types of changes does the company face?



The company has gone through various changes in the last few years. There has been adoption of new software to the operations departments, i.e. client services who deal with the product providers and process the applications of customers. Some time ago, the business started using the Internet as a tool for information gathering and distribution, as well as gaining potential customers. However there aren’t proper methods of collecting the information, but in many cases excel spreadsheets are used to store the information which causes significant data integrity issues with multiple, untrained users… Many of the processes are very manual indeed, hence prone to error.The company has acquired new businesses, such as employee benefit and risk businesses, another financial planning group which was meant to become one with the existing financial planning group. This never happened though, because the process of integrating the two groups was disturbed by key people leaving the project and not having appropriately trained replacements, resistance from both sides of the business – the existing and the acquired business, and finally there was a question of technology. The systems of the acquired business were intended to be replaced with the systems of the existing business, however this never took place to financial restrictions, not having the training in place, and the people were not willing to adopt the new systems in the acquired company.Also financial restrictions arising from the external business environment (FSA regulations for solvency, unstable market, lack of business coming in, etc.) have resulted in business restructuring, which meant redundancies for many and reallocation for others… There have been quite a few technological, and organisational changes in the recent years. Describe a recent change process in the company?A few mentioned above. Is technological and organisational change dealt with very differently?No, there doesn’t seem to be any difference in them, considering there are no set policies about change management either on technological or organisational level, any change processes are dealt with the same. Who deals with change, who is exposed to change?Depends on the change in question, but I suppose all the employees of the company do get some exposure to change of some sort in the company. The recent insolvency issues have definitely touched everyone, most of all those who have experienced redundancies or changes in their job roles due to the restructuring. The people dealing with the change also depends on the change in question, when it is a technological change it is the IT department who lead the process, but in case of restructuring it is the divisional directors and managers in charge. Do change programmes usually succeed? ReasonsTo my experience the changes on a smaller scale have succeeded, i.e. a new application adopted on a departmental level. However the greater change programmes have not been so successful. They have failed because there has not been enough direction or detailed plans on about the change, there may have been one person in charge overall, but they have not taken full ownership of the issue so people involved have been a bit unfocused.I have been involved in the merging of the acquired business into the existing business, and the people who were given responsibility over the integration of the systems and training people in using the systems, were not qualified nor experienced enough to do what they were asked to do. Some of the people also left during the process which further complicated the integration… Do you see resistance to change?Yes, for example in this merger I just mentioned. The people who were meant to learn the systems and integrate into one big financial planning business were not happy about the change. I heard comments like “everything was fine the way it was, our system was better than theirs, why do we have to do this when we’ve always done it our way, etc.” People didn’t really want to adopt the systems and ways of doing things the BBB way… How is resistance to change handled?Well, at least in this instance I don’t think there was much done about it. People were just trained to use the new systems, and told that this is the way things are done from now on. Who deals with it? It is the managers on the senior level, at least when mergers or acquisitions are concerned. With IT change it is the IT manager or IT department personnel, along with the departmental manager whose department is going through the change.



Is change an emotional process? How do you see it?I suppose it is, especially when it involves something like redundancies or unwanted role changes. I have seen people cry many times, and get emotional at work when there is something major going on. But mainly people tend to get on with it after some time, some might discuss it with their manager or colleagues rather, but they get on with it.

Leadership in the company How do you see the leadership in your organisation?I find the leadership has changed over the last year so much, people can’t keep up with it, and it has not always been for the best. There is a feeling on uncertainty in the air at the moment, and we’re not getting the reassurance from our managers at the moment. The leadership in the company has been a bit unfocused with no clear and visible leader in the company for almost a year now.. Is there a difference between a leader and a manager?Yes, I think there is. A manager can be someone who is just there because they’ve been around long enough to gain managerial position, but does not really do much in terms of proactively managing the people or the business. Whereas a leader is someone who makes things happen on his/her own, who people want to follow. What is a typical change leader in BBB like?A normal manager I’d say… Does the change leader have any effect on the change process?Yes, they can affect how things are done and at what pace, also there is a lot they can do in terms of managing the other people involved in the process. Is there a difference between every day management and change management?Yes, probably there is. I think change management is more complicated than every day management, which often goes at its own pace. However in change there needs to be a plan how to go about things and a backup plan as well in case it goes wrong.

Change Planning Does the planning process when preparing for a change follow a rational structure? Are all the

necessary points taken into consideration or do you often find out that there are issues that should’ve been planned and prepared for?

Yes, I think a plan would be good to start with. I don’t think there have been too many plans drafted about the changes that have taken place, usually it is just the experience of the person in charge that determines the steps taken. Quite often there are things that could’ve maybe been dealt with a bit different, or been prepared for. Do you evaluate the change afterwards?It depends, with IT changes you usually see if things worked out or not. If there are no bugs or complaints from the users everything went ok. But no, we don’t have a specific evaluation or monitoring system in place. Is feedback obtained from the parties (or employees) involved in the changes?If it is given we take a note of it, for example if someone rings or emails helpdesk and complains about something, we log it. But again, there is not set procedure about obtaining feedback. I’m not sure how it works in other departments.

Change Agents Are the change agents in your company specially trained to be change managers?No. They are just managers who may or may not have had experience or training in change management in their previous employment, but the company does not train its change managemenrs. Do they need special qualities/characteristics for being or succeeding as a change manager?I think it would be good, if you could see in to the future, so to speak, what I mean is to be able to anticipate problems that are likely to occur. And anyone leading a change needs to be very organised and able to plan, and also able to keep calm when it all goes wrong or people just don’t want to know about it. In your organisation, what are the keys to successful change management?I think it is yet to be seen….

Would you like to add anything else?

Thank You!!



APPENDIX 3 Interview – IT SupplyCompany & Interviewee – Would you like to remain anonymous in the discussion?I’d rather remain anonymous,. The company would prefer to remain anonymous.How long have you worked at IT SUPPLY?In total I’ve worked for IT Supply for the last 7 years.. I did work for them previously for a short time.Have you changed roles within the company?I have changed roles many times. I originally joined as junior developer. Over time I have worked my way through the positions available to my current position as a manager.IT Supply/

What is the relationship?IT Supply is an integral part of the wholesaler. We are a division within the company. Other divisions can use outside IT companies to provide solutions but only with our consultation and agreement, for example if we do not have the resources to provide a solution in the timescales necessary. It is the companies stated intention for IT to provide all of the computing solutions. In reality, we believe the ‘business’ as we often refer to the rest of the company see IT as the whipping boy. We’re the last line in the chain, we provide and implement solutions therefore everything is our fault, irrespective of how accurate requirements are, how often they change or how under funded a project is. How many employees in Coventry?In head office we employ around 350 staff. We employ in total around 7 to 10 thousand people throughout the 18 warehouses in the UK.Does IT Supply employ 350 people???IT in head office employs around 100 people. We have most of the lower floor of a two floor building.Is the IT Supply division autonomous, or does it have the same rules, regulations, policies as the ‘business’? Can it be treated as a separate entity for the purposes of this research?IT has to follow the generic rules laid down by the business. We have the same dress code, HR documentation, time keeping rules etc. All managers are allowed a degree of discretion but at the end of the day we all report to the same chief executive and what he says goes. What is the business, what do you do on a daily basis?Primarily we wholesale drugs. That is we buy drugs from manufactures in huge quantities, store and deliver this in smaller quantities to pharmacists. We supply the whole of the UK with 90% of customers receiving two deliveries a day. If you add up the market share of our nearest two rivals they are still less than ours. The last five years has seen 10%+ growth which is unheard of in this and many other industries considering our side and market position. What does IT Supply do?Supply is the name for the development team within IT. IT is split into three sections, development (called supply) demand and support. The helpdesk is a separate part of the company as its seen as being tied in with the running of the warehouses (customer facing role). Within supply the roles depend on the product being worked on. If it’s a large product the requirements will be deduced by demand, if it’s a small product or a specialist team, you’ll do it yourself.I am responsible for deployment for all systems installed on a customer site. This gives me a customer base of around 2400 shops. Each shop will have between 1 and 5 pc’s. I also act as liaison between the helpdesk and the development team making sure training is cascaded into the helpdesk and problems are correctly identified, logged and investigated before being passed to a developer. I am also responsible for liaising with the NHS governing bodies to make sure our software can be released and am often used as a sounding board for new ideas.The role is ever changing and developing as the products we release change in accordance with the demands of the market and the government. Who did you distribute the questions to?A number of colleagues in the business. These from my boss, helpdesk manager, one of my developers, a manager at my level, company change manager and a technician. What are their jobs in the organisation?

IT SUPPLY Strategy



What is the strategy of the wholesaler and IT Supply if they’re different? Overall strategy of the company?

Our vision is to be recognised as the best pharmaceutical wholesaler in the UK. This is backed up by the magnificent seven – seven key tasks we should all keep in mind and try to achieve throughout the year. These range from maintain and reduce costs due to the low margin through to sell more drugs imported from second world countries (they are cheaper than UK sourced drugs therefore have a higher profit margin). IT is seen as a vital part of the business and therefore underpins these strategies. It is widely accepted that IT runs the business, at peek trading we will take 100,000 orders lines per hour. These will all be picked and dispatched within a couple of hours due to our heavy reliance on IT.To enable IT to assist in achieving these strategies we have our own strategies to reduce cost of ownership, quicker to develop systems etc What is the strategy formulation process?Good question! IT Strategies are formed by the IT executive. Sometimes it seems without input from the people on the ground, which can cause problems in the long term. This is usually addressed and there is the flexibility that directions / decisions can be over turned if a valid business case is presented.Who formulates the strategy?IT executive Is it evaluated regularly? Outcome?It is reviewed periodically and the outcome is published. The senior development manger has quarterly reviews where information like this is published / cascaded down to the team. We have monthly newsletter where this information is also published.

Change Management Strategy Is there one, formulation: who/how/process?All change within IT SUPPLY is controlled via the change management process. This took a long time to implement as the business can be very reactive and this was seen to slow down change. It is now a widely accepted ‘evil’ as it allows us to control, approve and monitor change. If things go wrong we have the chance of putting them right without a disaster.To enable this there is a team of change managers. There job is to make sure processes are followed, provide assistance to people and help in times of trouble. Changes can be raised by any member of the development or support teams via a internal web site. To make a change they must complete details on what the change is, who will do it, how to back out of the change if things go wrong. This then emails the required approvers to the change and only when the change has been approved can changes be made. In reality as I make so few changes to internal systems I always get a change manager to assist me in raising the change. As my changes are usually last minute I’ll also “walk the floor” and get everyone to approve the change there and then. Do you have training policies in place?I believe we do – which probably says a lot about the policies as I have a number of people working for me including contractors. We are currently applying for ISO9000 therefore I’m sure we will have policies in place soon.

IS/IT Change Management Strategy Do you have one?I believe we only have a strategy for IT as mistakes can cost the company huge amount of business / profit What does it entail?

Does the Change Management strategy have a ‘human’ side to it? I.e. are there policies in place how to handle the people involved in the change, what are the communication policies, is someone accountable for the change, is someone leading the change?Change management is widely seen as something we do to computers. On the occasions we’ve had redundancies these have had HR ‘running’ the process for the relevant director and advising the staff as required. Generally we don’t seem to worry about the staff impacted by the change, we plan on training them and providing a helpdesk and that’s it. For every project there will be product manager (PM’s). They are responsible for any changes at that level. If many changes are need to make a product / project work then the product managers boss will become involved. Therefore depending on the scale of the change depends on who is leading / accountable for the change. Because IT often covers requirements, design, coding and testing we’re often seen as ultimately responsible irrespective of the input from other departments.Organisational Culture



Hierarchy?Board of directors covering major functions, supply, sales, HR (& IT), Hospitals, Finance. Each of these has a team of senior managers reporting to them, beneath them ‘normal’ managers and so on down to the ‘workers’ Is the hierarchy very strict, i.e. can the directors be approached easily by someone on a lower level, or should you go through the appropriate channels?Everyones door is always open, so anyone can approach a director, but, I think all managers would be disappointed if you didn’t go to them first. As the implications if you don’t reflect badly on you and the management team. Policies, rules, regulations?We have a staff handbook which the company seems to generally adhere to, but, if a project requires the company will request people ‘go the extra mile’. Sometimes I think some people don’t know what is in the handbook and therefore oversights occur. All staff receives an induction upon joining the company and it is up to managers to monitor staff.So it seems that there aren’t very strict rules, and the ones in place are bent?Managers are allowed a degree of freedom. If you are asking or hoping people will work extra hours to complete a project it is incredibly de-motivating to insist a week later they can’t be 15 minutes late to work. One of the issues is different managers will ‘bend’ the rules different amounts, this can cause some people to see favouritism or miss treatment when there isn’t any intentionally. Communication channels/policies?There is a great deal of effort to communicate with the staff. A survey was undertaken that highlighted communication from the top as lacking. We now have communication days twice a year where the directors tells us what is going on. Divisional managers have quarterly meetings and team leaders are supposed to have monthly meetings. Power distanceThere is a great deal of social interaction between groups of managers and staff. This tends to revolve around long standing employees – a number of managers have over 20 years service. One of the support team has 25+ years. When the company relocated 6 years ago it encouraged social sports and we have a football and squash organised by the company for any employee. At the same time most employees do not choose to socialise with each other, most travel a distance to get to work and head home as soon as possible.Are the managers easily approachable, can you ask any kind of questions from them, do they help willingly?Next answer seems to imply people rather not go to their managers unless absolutely necessary? If you go to your manager, do you get the help you need and is it hard to get some co-operation?I think all managers will try and help in principle, it just depends how busy they are and what work they have coming up. I can’t see any manager deliberately refusing to help, although if they disagree with the project / its objectives I think it would only be natural for the manager to not give it a high priority. LeadershipAll managers claim doors are open and they are, wise employees realise that every action has a reaction.Are the leaders real leaders or are they just people who have advanced to the managerial positions over the years? Do they drive the business forward or is it more reactive management? Are opportunities proactively created and taken advantage of?This is a very difficult question to answer. The nature of IT in IT SUPPLY means that we are very reactive to the every changing business needs. We don’t have spare development capacity to work on ‘nice to haves’. It isn’t often we get the opportunity to drive the system forward and when we do we try to make the most of it. The argument is this makes us very ‘lean and mean’ allowing us to stay just ahead of the competition. The company realises that good managers make the difference and invests in its senior managers, a number have been and are going on MBA courses. Seeing the changes in these people is interesting and I believe the company does get a benefit from improved management. Due to this lean and mean approach in IT it isn’t easy for us to drive things forward. This is seen more as something the business functions do with our guidance. When opportunities occur they are frequently grasped but I’m not sure we have many chances to create them.

Private v Public – IT SUPPLY being a private company, what are the differences you experience as opposed to a public company?IT SUPPLY used to be a public company but was bought out 7 years ago.



What happened then, was it a big change, did it affect the people in the company adversely, how did people take it?Huge change. The german parent company bought a retail chain a while later, merged and relocated us together. We lost about 85% of the head office workforce causing a great deal of problems for the business during and after this period.

CommunicationIt is no longer possible to get accurate company financial information, but, after the directors realised that they did not communicate with us enough that is improving. There is a hint at times of secrecy that we are private company and can’t / shouldn’t give too much away. As a lot of employees were shareholders (and encouraged to be shareholders) any information published to the stock exchange was quickly spread around the office. Strategy, implementationThe management of the company has changed a great deal since the takeover and subsequent relocation, a lot of directors / managers who’d been with the company 20+ years left. This, whilst being very destabilising, has in areas outside of it enabled us to grow and develop (IT didn’t lose too many long term senior managers – just everyone else) Hierarchy, structureThis hasn’t changed a great deal. The same teams still exist, the biggest difference was 2 years ago when the IT director resigned and the HR directors role was expanded to include IT and HR. HR and IT aren’t very close together, does the director have time and skills to take care of both or has one area suffered due to this? Policies, rulesNo noticeable change – although twice a year the company gets a clean as the Germans are coming over to meet / review / check the building is still in one piece. Regulation (e.g. FSA)Most regulation is government based regarding the sale and storage of drugs and is not related to being public / private Working patternsNo change Power distancePreviously all decisions where made in the head office and the responsibility for these decisions rests with the directors. This is no longer the case. We have strict rules about what can and can’t be done. For financial decisions over a certain value (which most people at one point or another believe is unrealistically low as the value changed frequently) the decision has to be referred to Germany and then wait for their monthly financial meeting. External environmentBeing owned by the largest pharmaceutical wholesaler in Europe who in turn are owned by a family that is in the top 50 in the world for riches (and own their own bank) means we have potential access to a huge amount of funding without the short term demands of shareholders LeadershipNo – apart from all the old managers going and new managers replacing them.So people are still managed with same expectations and policies as before?The change happened such a long time ago expectations have naturally changed as the business has changed and developed. Change managementYes – but this has been implemented not because of us becoming a private company but because it was and is the right thing to do.

Change in IT SUPPLY What types of changes does the company face?Huge amounts. The government has realised that our customers (who are paid for everything they do by the NHS) have been exploiting a loop hole in the amount of money the gov. pays them for a drug and the amount they can buy it for. This means that they have made large profits out of the NHS. This year the Gov. has set aside 500 million pounds to account for this creative supply chain management and have clamped down on the differences they will pay for a drug and the amount we charge for it.



The Gov. has also invested between 2 -5 billion in modernising the NHS. This is creating a huge amount of change and problems due to the stated timescales slipping. With our development technologies lagging behind industry standards and company aim to be first – this has been an incredible challenge. With devolution Scotland, Wales and NI have also put forward plans to modernise the NHS and where previously we had to make 1 change for the whole of the UK we’re now having to make 4 changes (compounded by it looking like each country wanting different implementations of the same system)Are there technological changes in the company, do you get for example new software installed/intranet/extranet/e-commerce applications in the company so that the employees are exposed to it?Technology change is something we’re trying to manage and reduce. We have many different technologies in place at the moment.. The aim is to move to using one environment and one development approach (Java and SOA). Depending on the project depends on what technologies are used and if new technologies are investigated. In theory in the long term this will be reduced to the minimum to create maximum developer flexibility but at the moment it does mean there is little change in different technologies being used. Describe a recent change process in the company?What was the process with the ISO standards, are you still in the process of getting the ISOs? What have the employees had to do about it?The company is still getting ISO accreditation. We’ve passed the first hurdle but still have some more to go. With ISO each department allocated staff to the ISO project, where tasked with making sure each stage was successfully completed. Every senior manager had it as an objective to make sure ISO accreditation has been completed. Employee involvement depended on there knowledge of the processes being accredited. Is technological and organisational change dealt with very differently?Yes. Organisational change is handled, mainly, by the HR department. It is an infrequent change. Technology changes are handled by the development teams affected. Depending on the change this happens more frequently and is more localised. Who deals with change, who is exposed to change?

Every manager who’s team are affected by a change has to deal with a change by approving it. Changes can go through the entire business. A change to our warehousing system will, when fully rolled out affect 18 warehouses and thousands of employees. The actual change process is only exposed to those managers responsible for the area of change and those staff involved in actually implementing the change.

Do change programmes usually succeed? ReasonsWe make 10’s of changes a week ranging in scale from a little modification to the firewall to implementing a whole new warehouse. I don’t know how many fail, but with the nature of the business I’d expect it to be very few as we are very low margin therefore can’t afford to make mistakes. Do you see resistance to change?

Everyone accepts change in IT, its what we do. I think the resistance, when it occurs, comes from outside IT as we’re modifying what people are used to.

How is resistance to change handled?Depending on the change, depends on the approach. Normally the aim is education. If people understand why we’re doing something and how its going to change that is seen as enough. Who deals with it?

The project / programme manager in change of the project is responsible for making sure it happens. If this is a business led project then it is often the responsibility of the business unit with IT providing information / technical support.

Is change an emotional process? How do you see it?It depends on the change. In theory business is a soul-less animal and change is a natural function of the attempt to survive. In reality, change involves people, business and personal relationships, investments of time therefore it becomes personal to people. This makes it emotional, the degree depends on the personal involvement. ISO standards?If not discussed earlier already…

Leadership in IT SUPPLY How do you see the leadership in your organisation?Can I refuse to answer? Is there a difference between a leader and a manager?



Yes, a leader is someone who gives direction. A manager is someone who looks after something and implements the direction.

What is a typical change leader in IT SUPPLY like?We have all sorts. The visionaries tend to ‘live’ in the business as they have the freedom to affect and give direction. IT tends to be implementations or visionaries constrained by business need. Does the change leader have any effect on the change process?

Not really, the process is defined and is proven to work. Any effect is minimal, perhaps shortening timescales, affecting the approver list or in emergencies getting authorisation to rush a change.

Is there a difference between every day management and change management?Everyday management is done by all managers, change management is seen to only be relating to IT changes. Taking a step back these should be identical but in reality change management is very structured, normal management has the minimal structure to achieve the goals, only if these goals are consistently not met will something be done about this.

Change Planning Does the planning process when preparing for a change follow a rational structure? Are all the

necessary points taken into consideration or do you often find out that there are issues that should’ve been planned and prepared for?

The business is so dynamic that its impossible to be fully prepared for. People expect the change to be fully planned and are upset when its not, but accept that things are missed. The issue is usually the scale of the mistake. If you completely miss something blindingly obvious (apart from being extremely embarrassing) this can have a huge negative effect and will therefore be investigated to see if we can improve next time. Most projects have closedowns where lessons are learnt and we try to run a no blame culture.

Do you evaluate the change afterwards?All changes are reviewed for a degree of success, depending on the scale of the change depends on the scale of the review. Most often this is very informal. Is feedback obtained from the parties (or employees) involved in the changes?After the event feedback on its success – again depending on the scale of the change.

Change Agents You mentioned earlier that “…there is a team of change managers. Their job is to make sure

processes are followed, provide assistance to people and help in times of trouble.” How do you see this in reality?

That is reality – they do work very well on IT changes. This isn’t the case (as far as I’m aware) on business changes. Despite being a pain not being allowed to just “make a change” it is a real success in IT and I’m sure its has saved us from many mistakes. The guys try to be as flexible as possible so as to provide as little hindrance and maximise the benefit. Are they specially trained to be change managers?No idea – they are trained on the change management software. Do they need special qualities/characteristics for being or succeeding as a change manager?Ability to put up with people complaining about having to follow a change management system when they just want to get something changed & Sense of humour.

In your organisation, what are the keys to successful change management?Would you like to add anything else?Thank You!!



APPENDIX 4 Participant observation SummarySummary of the participant observation in the company

There have been many change processes taking place in the company over the months the researcher has been employed in the organisation. The observation was undertaken over the time period between September 2005 and March 2006 with the full consent from the company and support for the research project. Working in the company under investigation has enabled the researcher to obtain first hand information about the procedures, policies and change programmes taking place in the company. The data was obtained through experiences in the company, observing colleagues in the working environment, discussions with colleagues, managers and directors of the company and obtaining information through the communication channels in the company, such as the company Intranet, staff handbook, and strategy and policy documents.

To begin with the start of a new employment relationship in a company is a major change for anyone. The introduction to BBB was a very informal process, involving being introduced to the company and colleagues on the first few days. What was surprising was that there was no structure to the induction, and finding out some of the key information was up to the new employee. Whether or not they knew to ask the right questions was another matter. Information was given in bits and pieces without proper structure, due to the people giving the information being inexperienced in training new employees. It was not until much later, times varying between new starters from couple of weeks to two and a half months, when the proper induction for the new employee took place, which was undertaken by the training department according to company policies as laid out in the intranet. At the time of the induction the new employer already knew most of the issues due to asking questions and finding out for herself. It was later discovered that there is a proper induction process, with a checklist for the inducting manager to follow. The induction policy or the checklist was not followed in many cases, even though one exists, and in many cases the process of introducing a new employee to the company, colleagues and software utilised in daily duties, was a very unstructured and confusing process.

Many employees in the company utilise various software in their daily duties. After initial introduction, becoming familiar with one of the software and learning how to use the basic functions, one employee asked to be trained in properly using the software to its full potential. This was down to her own initiative and eagerness to develop in the job role and to be able to create more useful reports for the managers. To this stage the training had been done by a colleague who had used some of the functions of the software in her job previously. It was found out that after the head of IT had left the company, there was no-one left who would be able to properly use the programme let alone anyone to fix any potential problems. There was no contingency plan in place in case the head of IT was to leave, no-one else had been trained to use or maintain the software, nor was there funds to put any of the employees on a training course on how to use the software.

The merger of BBNFP and WFG brought about many problems. The vision of the board was to bring these two together, with the same systems and processes in place, the systems and processes that were in place in BBNFP. WFG had completely separate and different systems from those of BBNFP which they had used for years, and suddenly they were bought and required to adopt everything, starting from the name and the systems of the acquiring company. There were people in place to take the integration project through, with different people being delegated different responsibilities. However, there was no structured plan or timescales how the change was going to be implemented, nor were there any plans what to do if something went wrong. The integration efforts of the senior management caused unsettlement among the WFG personnel, they did not understand why they needed to change their systems that they had used for years and found nothing wrong with. The personnel was not consulted on the change efforts, rather they were just told what to do, how to use the new systems and to start immediately. This was not accepted by the employees; instead they kept on using their old systems and kept their ways of doing things. The people working to integrate the two companies had their normal day-to-day tasks to do in addition of running the integration project, they did not have enough time to focus on the integration, nor did they have the personal commitment. Further disturbance to the project caused one of the key members leaving the company. He was involved in bringing the back office systems and the administration personnel under one system and one set of working practices. His leaving was very sudden; there was no hand over of the workload or information given



about where the project was at that stage. This brought the project to a halt at the time, which gave the employees resisting the changes a chance to go back to their old ways of doing things. In the end, the project was never completed; the two companies kept doing business separately, doing the same things differently with different systems.

There have been a few projects involving adopting a new technology or software for the whole company or some of the departments. For example the IT department has worked in co-operation with some key people in the departments introducing new software for dealing with client applications, or upgrading of software etc. These projects mainly have some sort of plan, with clearly identified steps of the process and reasons why the change needs to take place, a communication going out to the relevant groups involved explaining what needs to be done and details of contact people who are able to advise or give m ore information if needed. It has been noticeable how these kinds of projects usually tend to go smoothly without resistance and according to schedule. The key success factors have been identified as people being aware of what is involved in the changes and reasons for them, and having a person in charge who can be contacted if there are any difficulties.

Overall the change processes in the company have not been very structured and there have not been clear enough plans for the changes. The communication has not been sufficient, though the management team may have clear plans in place for the intended changes, they have not been communicated to the people involved, nor have the changes been reasoned. Both of these factors have caused unsettlement and confusion among the employees who have not understood why something is being done and what does it really mean for them and their jobs. It is clear from the incidents in the company’s change processes that there is a lack of commitment from the people who manage the change processes, or there is no clearly identified person taking ownership of everything. This causes the change process to be unfocused and unstructured, which is likely to cause resistance from the people involved.



APPENDIX 5 Capability Maturity Model

The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) (Davenport, 2005) is a methodology developed by the

Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and it is used to develop and refine an organization's

software development process. The CMM is similar to ISO 9001 standards which specify an

effective quality system for manufacturing and service industries. The CMM model describes a

five-level evolutionary path of increasingly organized and systematically more mature

processes. The most important difference between the two systems is their purposes: whereas

ISO 9001 specifies lowest acceptable quality level for software processes, CMM creates a

framework for continuous process improvement and is clearer than ISO standards in defining

the means to be employed. The CMM processes involved can be applied to the whole of

software industry and SEI promotes the adoption of the CMM.

The five maturity levels of CMM software are initial, repeatable, defined, managed and defined.

Initial level – processes are not organized, even chaotic. Success is dependent on the efforts of

individuals, and not considered to be repeatable due to the processes being insufficiently defined

and documented to be able to replicate them.

Repeatable level – basic project management techniques are founded. Success could be repeated

due to the essential process being made established, defined, and documented.

Defined level – greater attention to documentation, standardization, and integration have been

paid and the organization has developed its own standard software process.

Managed level – the processes are monitored and controlled by the organisation using data

collection and analysis.

Optimizing level – the organisation continuously improves its processes by means of monitoring

feedback from current processes and introducing innovative processes

http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci930057,00.html 24/02/06). Available

from <URL:


http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci930057,00.html


APPENDIX 6 QuestionnaireDear Respondent,

Best regards,

The questionnaire consists of 10 parts, takes about 15 minutes to fill out and all questions are multiple choice, which you answer by selecting the most appropriate option from the dropdown menu available.

Thank you for taking the time to fill out the questionnaire. If you are interested in the results of the research, let me know when returning the questionnaire and I will email you with the results once they are available.

This questionnaire has been designed as part of a research project I am doing for an MBA Dissertation on Change Management Strategies for Coventry University. The questionnaire studies change management and related topic areas such as organisational culture, resistance to change and challenges faced in the management process.

Your participation would be an important contribution to the research and highly appreaciated. Participation is completely voluntary.

Please click on the second tab to start the questionnaire.

Your responses will only be used for the purposes of this particular research and everything will be treated with complete confidentiality. Your responses will be used in the analysis anonymously.

Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Paula Pieniniemi

Email: [email protected]



1. Demographics - AAHWhich of the categories on the dropdown list best applies to your job? Middle line managementHow long have you worked for this organisation? 6+ yearsHave you changed roles within the organisation? Yes

2. Background - Change

I have expressed concern in the company due to a change that: Level of concern Frequency* requires me to make an economic investment Somewhat concerned Not at all concerned* requires me to make a non-economic investment, i.e. effort, personal time Very concerned Often concerned* introduces a new technology Somewhat concerned Often concerned* introduces new ways of working Concerned Very often concerned* increases my work load Very concerned Often concerned* involves a threat of job loss for myself Not at all concerned Sometimes concerned* involves a threat of job loss for my immediate colleagues Somewhat concerned Sometimes concerned* results in a reduction in staff numbers in my organisation Not at all concerned Sometimes concerned* involves financial cutbacks Very concerned Often concerned* reduces salary levels in the organisation Concerned Often concerned* creates a pressure to complete work Very concerned Often concerned* results in lack of time to cope with work pressure Very concerned Often concerned* results in companies merging Not at all concerned Not at all concerned

3. Organisational Culture, Structure and Interrelationships

There is a very strict hierarchical structure in my organisation Neutral

All communication patterns follow the hierarchical structure of the organisation. Strongly Agree

There are flexible communication channels and open policies in the organisation. Strongly Agree

Continuous learning is supported and encouraged in the organisation. AgreeThe atmosphere is very open and relaxed within and across departments. AgreeIt is clear to all that employees are valued in the organisation, and everyone is treated as fairly as possible with consideration to individual circumstances.

Disagree

Employee loyalty is appreciated and rewarded. Strongly DisagreeHigh morals and ethical working patterns are emphasised throughout the organisation. Strongly Disagree

Rules and regulations are emphasised throughout the organisation and they are a big part of my daily duties.

Disagree

I have sufficient access to resources and I am provided with the necessary tools needed for my daily duties.

Neutral

The vertical working relationship across the organisation is developed to a level that supports change initiatives.

Neutral

The horizontal working relationship across departments is developed to a level that supports change initiatives.

Agree

When teams are formed to work on projects (including implementation of change), the relationships are well developed and mutually supportive.

Agree

The working relationship between the workforce and management is supportive of change initiatives.

Agree

The working relationship between the various locations (e.g. company head office and branches/sites) is mature to the point that best work practices are shared and used.

Agree

The organisation encourages independent working patterns as opposed to team working. Neutral

Innovation and personal development are encouraged and supported in the organisation.

Disagree

The culture within and across departments is competitive. NeutralThere are strict goals and objectives for employees to pursue. NeutralAchieving goals and objectives is considered important in the organisation, and achievement is rewarded accordingly.

Strongly Disagree

The organisation's structure was designed and implemented to support the business strategy.

Agree

The structure of the organisation and the departments support the work processes within a department and between departments (across the departmental interfaces).

Neutral

The structure supports people working together in teams to accomplish the business objectives and conduct work efficiently.

Agree

Change management is the process of managing any type of change in the organisation. Change in an organisation can arise due to various causes, such as technological developments, changes in the competitive environment, outsourcing, mergers and acquisitions.

"Change is an inescapable part of both social and organisational life" Mullins, 2005

Please indicate the level and frequency of concern expressed due to a change in the company.

Thank you for taking part in this questionnaire. The questions below are answered by clicking on the grey cell to the right of the question and choosing the most appropriate answer from the dropdown menu. If you do not know the answer or you feel the question does not apply to you, please choose "N/A".

Organisational culture is involved in basically anything done in an organisation, it refers to the attitudes, beliefs, values, policies and ways of doing things in the organisation.

Organisational structure refers to the responsibilities, authorities and relations organized in such a way as to enable the organization to perform its functions.



4. Motivation and RewardsA gain or a profit sharing plan is in place to share the success of the business between those who contributed.

Strongly Disagree

A reward structure or plan is in place that links financial reward to the success of teams and work groups (as opposed to individual).

Strongly Disagree

There is an individual merit/bonus/reward plan in place. DisagreeAn individual merit plan is in place but evaluation is based on how the individual performed as a member of the team. Disagree

There is a feasible process or plan in place to provide short-term rewards to reinforce change efforts by the organisation.

Strongly Disagree

Rate the rewards system or plan in your company based on your perception of its ability to create rewards based on individual and team performance.

Very Poor

I feel positive and support change because I welcome any sort of changes. NeutralI support change because if I didn't I would be penalised. AgreeI feel positive and support change because I get paid more than I would if there was no change.

Neutral

I feel positive and support change because my team members do so. DisagreeI feel positive and support change because there is little chance of advancement in the organisation otherwise.

Neutral

I support change because 'I play the game, but inside I am cynical about the whole thing'.

Strongly Agree

I feel positive and support change because change is continually promoted from the top. Disagree

I support change when my immediate manager promotes change. DisagreeI resist change when my immediate manager resists change. DisagreeI feel positive and support change when I see the person driving the change being committed to the change.

Disagree

I feel positive and support change because people are given full opportunity to participate in any changes that are introduced.

Neutral

I feel positive and support change because I can affect the change by giving feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Agree

I feel positive and support change because I feel a sense of personal 'ownership' of the change being implemented.

Neutral

I feel positive and support change because people who promote change are recognised in visible ways.

Neutral

I feel positive and support change because people who do not promote change are penalised in visible ways.

Agree

5. LeadershipRate the reaction of the personnel to the leadership of the management team in your organisation.

Average level of effort to follow leaders

The leadership in the organisation is leadership with a vision of the future. Strongly AgreeThe leadership is transactional, i.e. concerned only with activities of the day. DisagreeManagement allows the organisation freedom to act within a set of predefined boundaries without a need to give strict restrictions about tasks.

Agree

When the organisation develops and implements goals, initiatives, and activities - those involved in the project are held accountable for success.

Strongly Disagree

The leaders in the organisation remain in their positions long enough to live with the results of the changes they initiate.

Strongly Agree

The top management create a belief that the change is necessary. Strongly AgreeThere is clearly a particular person or persons driving the change. Strongly AgreeManagement time, patience and support are given to those who need it due to experiencing difficulties adjusting to the change.

Neutral

6. Support

The introduction of change is accompanied by an explanation of the advantages to key internal and external groups (employees, management, customers, etc.).

Strongly Agree

The introduction of change is accompanied by a discussion of specific new ways in which structure systems and people practices would change.

Agree

The introduction of change is accompanied by a description of new core values and/or beliefs needed to make the change successful.

Strongly Agree

The introduction of change is accompanied by a plan detailing the various steps needed to implement the change.

Disagree

The introduction of change is accompanied by a clear indication of how the change will impact upon your job.

Strongly Disagree

Throughout the change there is always a distinct network of people at all levels who I can get answers/action from.

Agree

The allocation of financial resources is adequate to support the change. DisagreeThe allocation of human resources is adequate to support the change. Strongly DisagreeA clear timetable is devised for the various phases of the change. AgreeI receive appropriate training to enable me to cope with the change. Strongly Disagree

7. Work Process

Work processes have been developed to conduct work as efficiently as possible. Neutral

Work processes have been developed to conduct work by the rules and regulations of the company.

Neutral

Work processes are reviewed and updated as improvements are made or as new and improved ways of doing the same tasks are learned.

Agree



8. Group LearningRate how supportive the management are towards learning new, different and better ways of working within the organisation.

Neutral

The personnel in the organisation are allowed time for learning and training each year (excluding obligatory training) and are encouraged to use the time.

Strongly Disagree

Training provided is not aimed just at skills related to the performance in the job, but also skills that promote better interaction and team work

Agree

When training is to be developed, an effort is made to establish what employees already know and what they need to know and learn.

Neutral

Employees can affect what they are going to learn. Agree

9. TechnologyThe organisation has invested in essential new technologies/software within the last 18 months.

Disagree

The employees are kept aware of the changes needed and introduced to the plan of action.

Neutral

I have had to change my working practises due to technological developments in the organisation, which has been difficult to adjust to.

Agree

I consider my organisation to be on the same level technologically as the competitors, and adopting new technologies at this stage is not necessary.

Strongly Disagree

Software tools which support the work process exist, are well utilised and employees are made aware of them.

Strongly Disagree

Employees are provided with sufficient training to be able to use the software effectively.

Disagree

The software is integrated into a single electronic system to simplify their use and avoid multiple entries and databases that could cause problems.

Disagree

The data within the system is easily accessible to all employees who need it, and employees are made aware of it.

Strongly Disagree

The company has a strategic multiyear plan for improving and updating software in order to stay up-to-date with the technology and to provide high levels of support to the workforce.

Agree

Support that is readily available for both the users and the system is available in the company.

Neutral

The software is reviewed on a regular basis and updated if there are alternatives available which enable more efficient working.

Strongly Disagree

Technological changes in the organisation have been successfully implemented without problems or disturbance to working.

Strongly Disagree

The technologies adopted are quick and easy to learn. Strongly DisagreeI feel more positive about a technological change which is urgent. Strongly DisagreeTechnology change initiatives in my company are relevant and improve my working practices, therefore I welcome and support them.

Disagree

I feel more positive about technological change when I am involved in the change process and I am able to provide feedback.

Agree

10. CommunicationThe leaders of the organisation believe that communication is important and act accordingly.

Agree

Managers visibly support the change through word and action. AgreeProposed changes are well communicated so that employees are aware of what is going on.

Agree

Meetings are arranged to communicate the required changes. DisagreeMeetings include: an agenda, a pre-established start and stop times, facilitation and minutes, with action items of what was discussed.

Strongly Disagree

Employees who are not able to attend the meetings are informed about the issues introduced in the meeting in a timely, accurate and appropriate fashion.

Disagree

Communication tools (intranet, voicemail, e-mail, phones, etc.) are provided by the company to those who need them.

Agree

The communication systems are effective, providing the needed level of communication among the workforce and between workforce and customers if needed.

Neutral

It is common that other departments within the company learn about a change which affects my job before I do.

Neutral

It is common that parties external to the company (e.g. partners, shareholders) learn about a change which affects my job before I do

Neutral

I don't mind when others find out about the changes that have an effect in my work before I do.

Disagree

Any change is communicated by my immediate manager rather than the senior management or other external parties.

Disagree

Any change is communicated without delays and errors. DisagreeCommunications are informative and there is little need for questions. Strongly DisagreeI am usually aware of change before it is formally announced. Agree

Would you like to add any additional comments?

Please save your answers and email the questionnaire to me on [email protected]

THANK YOU!


paula pieniniemi mba (it) dissertation - change management (1)

Documents

change management strategy

business change

change process

drivers of change

research project

project report

project attempts

research approach