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Three main ideas discussed in this chapter:

1. Organizational change is most successful
when people in the organization take charge
of the change (participation, involvement
etc).
2. It involves changing mindsets (influencing,
negotiating).
3. Effective
communication strategies are
crucial for change.

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In the book Terms of Engagement, Axelrod

discusses four historical approaches to
change.
1. Leader driven approach
2. Process driven approach
3. Team driven approach
4. Change management approach

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LEADER DRIVEN
APPROACH

PROCESS
DRIVEN
APPROACH

TEAM DRIVEN
APPROACH

CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
APPROACH

Who leads the

change effort

Leader or chief
executive

Experts or outside
consultants

Teams within the

organization

Experts
(consultant) and
teams

How change
communicated
executed

Leader (CEO)
Leader uses
authority and
power

Experts or
consultants
Leader support
Experts and
consultants
execute change

Employee teams
recommend
changes
Leader (CEO)
Parallel
organizations

Experts/
consultants
recommend
changes with
employee inputs.
Leader approval
Parallel
organizations
created

Underlying
assumptions

Leader/CEO knows
best

Experts/
consultants knows
best

Employee knows
best

Experts/consultants
with employee
inputs knows best

When approach
suitable

Uneducated work
force
Leader has
knowledge and
power

Uneducated work
force
Experts/
consultants have
specialized
knowledge
Leader is
supportive

Workforce
educated and
skilled
Organization is
large and
complex
No single person
has all the
knowledge

Workforce
educated and
skilled
Business focus
needed in the
change
No single person
has all the
knowledge.

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Parallel organizations is a series of groups or teams created in the

organization with interlocking memberships i.e. some employees are
members of more than one team or group.
Cross functional teams: each team is made of people from different
department and divisions.
According to Axelrod, parallel organizations typically consist of sponsor
team, steering team and multiple design teams.
1. Sponsor team: is cross functional, with senior managers from different
divisions/departments.
This team initiate change, motivate others and provide resources for
change.
Sponsor team members their approval is required for major changes in
policy or strategy.
2. Steering team: is also cross-functional and has people from all levels of
the organization. It drives day to day change.
3. Design teams: are cross functional they include both managers and
workers. They redesign processes, establish new procedures and get
rid of processes and procedures that are no longer useful.
These three types of teams operate in parallel with regular organizations.

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Parallel organizations are major organizational innovation in

recent years.
Its purpose is to expedite decision making by cutting down inter
departmental barriers and improving the quality of decisions by
involving employees in decision making.
Selection of team member is based on their competence.
The parallel organization is most effective when employee in
different teams feel empowered so that they begin to own the
change.
The parallel organization is an organizational mechanism of
generating employee involvement and commitment by
encouraging ownership of change.

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Employee ownership, involvement and commitment to change are

crucial to the success of organizational change.
The first reason is pragmatic or practical.
Today large organizations are complex, no single person has all the
knowledge and information to take appropriate decisions.
For example front line employees who are in touch with customers and
actual operation of the organization are more likely to have information.
These employees have the potential to provide creative suggestions that
can enhance organizations competitiveness and effectiveness.
So from pragmatic point of view, it makes lot of sense to involve
employee in any change process will reduce the likelihood of opposition
to change.
The second reason for the emphasis on employee ownership,
involvement and participation is ethical and philosophical.
Employee involvement and participation good for employees. Develops
them both as employee and human beings.
It will lead to personal growth and learning/ individual freedom and
democracy.
Increase the quality of life of its stakeholders
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1.
2.

3.

Any change effort that does not give them voice or participation
denies them choices and opportunities, which is most likely to
diminish the quality of life.
To summarize before change can be executed effectively,
employee commitment needs to be created, consent for change
needs to be generated and support for change mobilised.
THREE COMMON MISTAKES:
There are three common mistakes that managers tend to make in
getting the buy in for change.
Assuming that great arguments would win hearts and minds.
Assuming that persistence without compromising would sell the
idea.
Assuming that persuading is a one time effort.

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LESSONS FROM TIPPING POINT:

The book by Malcolm Glad well, The Tipping Point looks at why
major changes happen suddenly and unexpectedly in society.
How do people get influenced? What persuades them to change
their mind sets and behavior?
This book identifies particular personality types who are creators
and initiators of change.
Glad well calls them connectors, maven and salesmen.
CONNECTORS: are people who have a large number of social
connections.
They are individuals in organizations who seem to know everyone.
They are well networked individuals who have contacts with
peoples from a variety of background.
Large number of acquaintances not necessarily their close friends
such as weak ties friendly yet casual social connections.
Connectors yield enormous influence because of their contacts this
makes them crucial in change management.
If connectors are convinced about change effort and are
enthusiastic about it, they will spread message of change to all
their contacts.

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An organization needs to identify its connectors to have a support for

change.
MAVENS:
Second form of personality type, maven means one who accumulates
knowledge.
Mavens are human equivalents of data bases and data banks, they are
astounding sources of information.
The social skill that mavens possess is they want to help others because
they like helping others.
They are an effective source of influence and power.
Support of mavens are crucial in organizational change management.
SALESMEN:
Third form of personality type.
They are good at persuading others to do things that they would not do on
their own.
A salesman can convince an employee about the need for change and
convert the employee into an enthusiastic supporter of change.
Managers in charge of change need to identify people who have the
attributes of salesmen warmth, empathy, energy and positive emotions.
An organization identifying the connectors, mavens and salesmen among
its employees provides a chance that the message of change will spread
much more effectively in organizations.
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The Concept of Critical Mass:

An important factor in mobilizing support for change.

Critical mass is referred to as the support and commitment of
proportion of employees to a change program me.
The concept of critical mass in the change management literature
is drawn from nuclear science, defined as: minimum amount of
fuel needed in the core of a nuclear reactor in order to start a self
sustaining chain reaction.
Experience of change management practitioners suggest, that an
organization needs a support of at least 30 to 40 percent of
employees before launching a major transformational change.

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To mobilize support in an organization is to communicate the need

for change to employees.
Inform employees and other relevant stakeholders about expected
changes.
An effective communication strategy takes into account four
critical elements of communication:
1. the audience
2. purpose of communication
3. credibility of the communicator
4. the context of communication
The Audience:
In structuring effective communication the nature of audience
involvement is an important factor.
It refers to the level of interest in and concern about the specific
issue being communicated.
Highly involved audiences are directly affected by the issues being
communicated.

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Less involved audiences are easy to persuade, the changes in

their mindsets are likely to be short term.
Highly involved audiences are more difficult to persuade but
changes in their mindsets lasts longer.
Highly involved audiences are also likely to move less far from
their initial mindsets compared to less involved audiences.
An audience biased to the content of communication may hold a
strong opinion about change.
Audience favorable towards change are positively biased.
Audience holding no opinion about change are neutral.
Audience opposed towards change are negatively biased.
Persuading negatively biased audience, we use two sided
arguments.
Two sided argument considers both the pros and cons of change.
Credibility of Communicator:
Affect the success or failure of communication efforts.
There are five possible sources of credibility:
1. Status of a communicator inside the organization.
2. Good will enjoyed by the communicator.

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3. Perceived expertise of communicator

4. Perceived image of the communicator.
5. Morality and fairness of the communicator.
A
manager can erode his or her credibility if manager
demonstrate lack of expertise or fairness in his/ her
communication.
If the issue of change is less important to your audience, the
managers credibility will matter most in influencing their
mindsets.
Context of Communication:
Context is an other important element for deciding on the choice
of communication.
For example when the mood is hostile there is a need to quickly
assess what would bring the heat down in the given situation
and then communicate appropriately, that is to improve the
communication skills of people.

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1.

2.
3.

1.
2.

Robert Cialdini, an internationally well known social psychologist,

has done extensive research on the science of persuasion over the
last 30 years.
His books, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and Influence:
Science and Practice are perhaps the most cited in the field of
influence and persuasion.
Robert Cialdini lists six principles of Persuasion:
1. Liking, 2. Reciprocity,3. Social Proof, 4. Consistency, 5. Authority
and 6. Scarcity.
Liking: the first principle of liking asserts that we tend to like
people who are similar to us.
Tend to like people who like us or praise us.
Influenced by people who are similar to us, familiar to us, like us or
praise us.
Communication consultants offer three pieces of useful advice to
organizations planning to introduce change:
Communicates only facts, not values.
Communicate face to face and not through videos, publications or
large meetings.
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3. Target front line supervisors.

Change management implication is use first level supervisors and
employees to communicate change to other employees; be
appreciative of employees and their past efforts.
2. Reciprocity: second principle, it leads people to repay in kind what
they receive.
Universal human tendency to treat people the way one gets treated.
If you expect people to help you, help them first.
Implications for Change Management: the best way to mobilize
support is through generosity and benevolence towards employees in
normal times.
Employees trust managers perceived as benevolent.
Organizations perceived to be miserly or mean spirited get little
support for initiating change.
3. Social Proof: third principle, asserts that individuals rely on people
around them for cues on how to think, feel and act.
in simple words, our friends, neighbors, colleagues and people around
us have the most influence on us.
People are influenced by others who are similar to them.

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Implications for managing change:

Arrange visits to other organizations that have implemented similar
change efforts
Build a critical mass of change supporters and influence others
through critical mass.
For example Tata Chemicals arranges employee visits to progressive
firms to pick up the best practices.
Invite Technical personnel from other companies who have carried
out interesting innovations to make presentations about their
experiences to group of employees to convince them.
4. Consistency: refers to the need for consistency in human beings
between their commitments and actions.
People feel compelled to fulfill voluntary, public and written
commitments.
Implications for managing change:
Enlist employee support in a public forum by asking people to
indicate their commitment openly (do not coerce or pressurize them
to commit)
5. Authority: claims that we are more likely to be influenced by
individuals who are perceived as experts.

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For example the reason why the news media often get
acknowledged experts to present their opinions on a topic.
Implications for managing change:
Employees are likely to be influenced by manager who is
perceived to be competent in his/her job.
Develop technical and professional competence in your job so that
others around you see you as being competent.
6. Scarcity: this means when things are available less readily, they
become more valuable.
This makes us want more of what we can have less of.
People tend to value things that are relatively in short supply.
The implications is that we are more influenced by our expected
losses than our expected gains.
Managers are encouraged to communicate how the change would
make things better for the employees and the organization.
Identify employees the opportunities they are likely to miss if the
organization does not undergo change.
Cialdini principles are observed mental models that most
individuals employ in day to day situations.

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Influencing or persuading to support change fail, as perceived

loss for managers of (such as status, power, authority or
prestige).

Situation like these involve bargaining (negotiation).

There are some of the principles and tactics of negotiation

based on the program on negotiation at Harvard Law school.

Getting ones support by offering something in return.

The Harvard project on negotiation framework suggests that

managers prepare themselves for negotiation by answering
seven questions.

Managers
question:

need

to

ask

themselves

the

following

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seven
19

1. What will you do if you cant reach an agreement?

Negotiation researchers calls this your BATNA (Best

Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement).

Organizational change still be implemented?

Preferred course if unable to secure commitment from

managers?

Maximum that is offered to this manager (resources,

promise of future support, staff, equipment and so on) in
return for his/her commitment to change?
2. Who are the real parties in the negotiation?

Does the party have the authority and power to commit

resources to change?

Does he or she requires approval of the manager above?

3. What are the interest and priorities of the parties involved?

What are your goals?

What are the interest and goals of the other party?

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4. How can negotiation create value for both parties?

It is a difficult process because both parties usually want to
capture the maximum value from a negotiation.
5. What are the road blocks to potential agreement and how
they can be eliminated?
There are behavioral, psychological and interpersonal
barriers to agreement.
Behavioral barriers: inappropriate negotiation strategies by
both parties.
Interpersonal
barriers: include lack of trust and
communication difficulties.
Psychological
barriers: emotional level rising during
negotiations leading to defensiveness and hostility.
Organizational barriers includes question from higher up in
the organization on your deal or agreement.
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6. How much power and influence does each party have over
the negotiation process and its outcomes?
Can you negotiate directly with other parties boss?
Can you set deadlines for agreement?
Another way to exert power is by making credible threats?
Can you convey other party that not supporting change
may diminish their interests?
7. What is the right thing to do in the negotiation?
Need to be both practical and ethical.
Ethical aspects involve honesty, equity, force, impact on
others and conflict of interest.
It helps to redefine values and principles.

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Major Impediments to Change:

1. People believing that change effort is yet another fad:
Perceived different change programmes as fad as associating
them with previously failed initiatives.
2. People who believe that change agents are not credible or
trustworthy.
Change manager is credible, the idea is convincing.
Change managers perceived as untrustworthy, people reject the
change idea.
3. People who have difficulty unlearning old ideas and
approaches.
Faced with uncertainty and ambiguity leads employees to
persist with their existing methods and approaches.
4. People who have difficulty learning new patterns of behavior.
Fear of failure and believing that change would make little
difference, may refuse to invest in learning new methods and
approaches.

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5. People who feel that change threatens their identity.

It generates resistance to change.

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1. Develop clarity about the target audience.

2. Getting people involved.
3. Crafting the message.
4. Timing the campaign.
5. Sustaining the momentum.

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