Change is one of the most challenging events an organization will go through.

This lesson describes the

steps of the planned changed process, which include recognizing the need for change, developing
change goals, appointing a change agent, assessing the current climate, developing and implementing a
change plan and evaluating the plan's success.

The Planned Change Process

Change is often one of the most challenging events an organization will go through. At times it may seem
like trying to climb the Himalayan mountains barefoot! From the moment a change becomes necessary
through its implementation, a great deal of factors come into play. To maximize the success of any
organizational change, managers need to create and follow a logical sequence of steps to ensure the
objectives of the change are accomplished. The planned change process is typically made up of the
following steps:

Recognize the need for change

Develop change goals

Appoint a change agent

Assess the current climate

Develop a change plan method for implementation

Implement the plan

Evaluate the success of the plan at reaching the change goals

Recognize the Need to Change & Determine Goals

In today's business environment there are many factors that force an organization to change. These
factors can be internal to the organization (such as employees, culture, policy or procedures) or external
(such as customers, competitors, the economy or politics). Managers at all levels (top, middle and low
level) must be aware of these internal and external forces that potentially compromise the success of the
organization and promptly respond by changing some aspect of the organization. Recognizing the need
for change is pivotal to the long-term sustainability of an organization.

Establishing a Sense of Urgency

Once a manager recognizes that a change should happen in the organization, he or she must be certain
to understand why the change is needed. Developing change goals provides managers with the objective
or expectation of how a change will respond to whatever internal or external forces are driving the need
to change. For example, when Redbox made its explosive entrance into the marketplace with its movie
kiosk service, Blockbuster was forced to duplicate this offering in order to stay in business. Redbox
essentially created a service that literally stole the customer base from many traditional movie stores by
offering the same product at a fraction of the price and at a convenient location. This required traditional
movie stores like Blockbuster to recognize they needed to change what they offered as well to meet
their goal of staying in business.

Appointing a Change Agent

Once a manager recognizes that a change must happen in the organization and develops the change
goals, he or she needs to select somebody to carry out that change. The change agent is someone who
serves as a leader during change development and implementation. They are typically forward-thinking
individuals who are highly charismatic, good with people and capable of inspiring the workforce to
accept the change and even aid in the implementation. It is important to note that while change agents
are leaders, not all leaders are change agents. In fact, many organizations will hire someone outside of
the company to serve as a change agent due to their expertise and unique abilities to drive change.

Assess the Current Climate

One thing that change agents are particularly good at is assessing the current climate of the organization
to determine how ready the organization and its members are for the change. Some organizations are
better equipped to handle change, while others take a lot more work. The change agent will spend time
gathering information relating to the organizational culture, available resources, employee attitudes,
possible training needs and leadership. This data is then used by the change agent to prepare people for
change by offering information relating to why the change is needed, what the desired future state will
be, how it is better than the current state of the organization and how the change will affect the
members of the organization.

Developing, Implementing & Evaluating the Change

Now that the organization has been prepared for the change, a plan is needed. Developing the change
plan provides the roadmap for how the change will be implemented in such a way that the organization
is able to achieve the change goals. Questions relating to who, when, where and how should all be
answered in the change plan. Responsibilities are delegated, specific events and milestones are
identified and the action plan is set to provide the methods and procedures that must be completed to
implement the change. After the plan is written, it needs to be communicated and implemented.

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Steps in Planned Change

Steps in Planned Change

Steps in Planned Change

Once managers and an organization commit to planned change, they need to create a logical step-by
step approach in order to accomplish the objectives. Planned change requires managers to follow an
eight-step process for successful implementations, which is illustrated in Figure 1.

Recognize the need for change. Recognition of the need for change may occur at the top management
level or in peripheral parts of the organization. The change may be due to either internal or external
forces.

Develop the goals of the change. Remember that before any action is taken, it is necessary to determine
why the change is necessary. Both problems and opportunities must be evaluated. Then it is important
to define the needed changes in terms of products, technology, structure, and culture.

Select a change agent. The change agent is the person who takes leadership responsibility to implement
planned change. The change agent must be alert to things that need revamping, open to good ideas, and
supportive of the implementation of those ideas into actual practice.

Diagnose the current climate. In this step, the change agent sets about gathering data about the climate
of the organization in order to help employees prepare for change. Preparing people for change requires
direct and forceful feedback about the negatives of the present situation, as compared to the desired
future state, and sensitizing people to the forces of change that exist in their environment.

Select an implementation method. This step requires a decision on the best way to bring about the
change. Managers can make themselves more sensitive to pressures for change by using networks of
people and organizations with different perspectives and views, visiting other organizations exposed to
new ideas, and using external standards of performance, such as competitor's progress.
Develop a plan. This step involves actually putting together the plan, or the “what” information. This
phase also determines the when, where, and how of the plan. The plan is like a road map. It notes
specific events and activities that must be timed and integrated to produce the change. It also delegates
responsibility for each of the goals and objectives.

Implement the plan. After all the questions have been answered, the plan is put into operation. Once a
change has begun, initial excitement can dissipate in the face of everyday problems. Managers can
maintain the momentum for change by providing resources, developing new competencies and skills,
reinforcing new behaviors, and building a support system for those initiating the change.

Follow the plan and evaluate it. During this step, managers must compare the actual results to the goals
established in Step 4. It is important to determine whether the goals were met; a complete follow-up
and evaluation of the results aids this determination. Change should produce positive results and not be
undertaken for its own sake.

Keep in mind that a comprehensive model of planned change includes a set of activities that managers
must engage in to manage the change process effectively. They must recognize the need for change,
motivate change, create a vision, develop political support, manage the transition, and sustain
momentum during the change.

6-Step Model for Planned Change or Innovation in Business Process

Step Model for Planned Change or Innovation in Business Process are as follows:
The process followed by managers when they engage in planned innovation and changes are illustrated
in Exhibit 9.5

Business Process

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Step 1: Perceiving an Opportunity or a Problem:

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According to Peter Drucker, a noted management consultant, one reason why managers are not
innovative is that they have a tendency to focus on immediate problems and to ignore opportunities.
Progressive organisations which want to maintain competitive edge need to look ahead for opportunities
as well as to solve current and anticipated problems. Drucker suggests holding periodic sessions at which
senior managers would ask junior managers to indicate areas in which they see opportunities for or
threats to the organisation and new things they think should be done.

Step 2: Diagnosing the Situation and Generating Ideas:

Without diagnosing the situation and generating ideas it is very difficult to fix problems or take
advantages of opportunities. In pursuing new ideas, it is important not to overlook the status of on-going
activities relative to the competition.

Step 3: Presenting a Proposal and Adopting the Change:

Managers must work hard to establish the fact that innovation and change are important to the
organisation. Otherwise, most good ideas will be rejected when they are proposed. Managers need to
prepare a written business plan outlining how new ideas will be developed. Without this, they cannot
get their budget proposal approved for the new projects.

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Step 4: Planning to Overcome Resistance:

The fact that one group, even top management decide to adopt a change does not mean that others will
readily go along with it. Managers must plan to overcome employee resistance to change and
understand the reasons for such resistance to change. Such issues are critical to managing change and
innovation effectively.

Step 5: Implementing the Change or Innovation:

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This is the moment of truth when the change is put into operation. If a change is thought out well to
begin with and the planning step is carefully carried out, the implementation of the change or innovation
will be smooth.

Step 6: Monitoring the Results:

It is not advisable to implement a significant change without monitoring and evaluating what happens
after the change has been implemented.