NHRD Journal - National HRD Network (NHRDN) | Journal November 2007 Volume 1 Special Issue...

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NHRD Journal November 2007 Volume 1 Special Issue

Organizational Change

The Concept and Process of organizational Change


Indira J ParikhOrganizational Change Management-Why?-What? How?

Simon WallaceLeading Wholesome Change in Integral Way

Ashish PandeyChange Management: Some Practical Considerations

Bhawana MishraFundamental Change in Education Quality

Dileep RanjekerHow HR can ignite ‘Hot Spots’

Yogi Sriram

Change Leaders and Change Agents

Bringing Change to the Change Agents - A look at Indian NGO’s

Mustafa Moochhala and Tejinder Singh BhogalDefi ning Change Agents

Sandeep K. KrishnanIn Praise of India’s Most Seasoned Change Managers

Ganesh ChellaThe Enduring Skills of Change Leaders

Rosabeth Moss KanterCore Tasks for Successful Change Management

S. Ramnarayan

Critical Factors in Organizational Change

Driving Organizational Change

Leena Nair & Ankush PunjMeasuring Organizational Culture and change

Rajeev KumarManagement of Change: Critical Factors

Tarun ShethOrganizational Change: The Formidable XI

Rajiv DubeyCommunication Effectiveness, Justice Perceptions and Emplayee

Commitment during Organizational Change

Ranjeet NambudiriManaging People in Mergers and Acquisitions

D Prasanth NairHR: An Evolving Function

D HarishOne Reason for Failure of Change Intervention

PVR MurthyIPO-a Powerful Intervention in Organizational Change

Ravi Virmani

Case Studies of Organizational Change

From a Sapling to a Forest

Udai Pareek and TV RaoChallenge of Managing Organizational Preparedness - ICICI

K Ram KumarBringing About Organizational Change - Philips India

Vineet KaulOrganizational Change - Maruti Suzuki

S Y SiddiqueIt Will Be Done, I Have to Do It: A Story of PCBL

Ashok GoyalBook Reviews

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Dr. P V R Murthy,CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants,

#8, Janaki Avenue, Off 4th Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600018.

Email : [email protected]

Editorial Team ( NHRDN )

APPEAL TO CONTRIBUTORS

The National HRD Network publishes a semi-academic quarterly journal-each issue dedicated to a theme.

So far we published on themes like “IT in HR”, ”Performance Management”, “Attracting and Retaining

Talent.” and “Career Management”. The current issue is on the theme “Organizational Change”.

Ensuing issues with following guest editors will focus on the themes as follows:

Date of

Publication Theme Guest Editor

Jan 2008 Global HR Professionals Mr. Bimal Rath, Head HR, Asia Pacifi c, Nokia

Women in Corporate Ms. Uma Ganesh, Chief Corporate

Apri 2008 Leadership Roles Development Ofi cer, HSBC Global.

Dr. Gopal Mahapatra, Director Orgn. & Talent

July 2008 OD Development, Oracle ( India )

Oct 2008 Stategic HR Dr. Udai Pareek, Prof IIHMR, Jaipur.

Jan 2009 Managing Generation - ‘Y’ Dr. S.Chandrasekhar, CPRM, Capgemini

April 2009 Leadership Issues Mr. N.S. Rajan, Human Capital, E&Y

July 2009 Institution Building Mr. S.Varadarjan, EVP & CHRO, Quatrro

Oct 2009 Assessment Centres Dr.T.V. Rao, TVRLS

Jan 2010 Building Collaboration at Work Mr. Yogi Sriram, EVP HR, L & T.

April 2010 Competency Development Mr. C. Mahalingam, SVP HR, Symphony.

July 2010 Work - Life Balance Dr. C. S. Venkataratnam, Director IMI.

NHRD Journal


Special Issue Nov. 2007

NHRD NETWORK BOARD MEMBERS

Aquil Busrai, National President, ED-HR, IBM India Limited,

Dwarakanath P, Immediate Past National President, Director-Group Human Captial, Max Iindia.

Santrupt Misra (Dr), Past National President, Director Aditya Brila Group

Anand Nayak, Regional President-East, Head HR, ITC Ltd.

Gopalakrishna M, Regional President – South, Director Incharge, A.P. Gas Power Corporation Ltd.

Satish Pradhan, Regional President – West, Executive VP Group HR, Tata Sons

Rao GP, Regional President North, VP- HR, JK Tyres

Varadarajan S, National Secretary, Executive VP & CHRO, Quatro

Ashok Reddy B, National Treasurer, VP- HR, Info Tech Enterprises

Satyanarayana. K, Executive Director, National HRD Network

Editorial Panel

Arvind Agrawal, President – Corporate Development and Group HR in RPG Group Email: [email protected]

(Guest Editor for this issue)

Dr.PVR Murthy, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants, #8, Janaki Avenue,

Off 4th Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600018 Email: [email protected]

Aquil Busrai, Executive Director, Human Resources, IBM India Limited, DLF Infi nity Tower A,

5th Floor, Gurgaon 122 002, Haryana, India , Email: [email protected]

Dr.Pallab Bandopadhyaya, Chief People Offi cer, Cambridge - Asia, #33, Coconut Grove,

18th Main,6th Block Koramangala, Bangalore-560095 India.

Email: [email protected]

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Contents may not be copied, emailed or reproduced without copyright holders

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S.no Title of the Article Author Page Nos

Editorial Comments 4

The Concept and Process of Organizational Change

1 Organizational Change Indira J Parikh 5

2 Organizational Change Management: Why? What ? How? Simon Wallace 10

3 Leading Wholesome Change in Integral Way Ashish Pandey 18

4 Change Management: Some Practical Considerations Bhawana Mishra 24

5 Fundamental Change in Education Quality Dileep Ranjeker 28

6 How HR Can Ignite ‘Hot Spots’ Yogi Sriram 33


7 Bringing Change to the Change Agents: Mustafa MoochhalaA Look at Indian NGOs and Tejinder Singh Bhogal 37

8 Defining Change Agents Sandeep K Krishnan 43

9 In Praise of India’s Most Seasoned Change Managers Ganesh Chella 48

10 The Enduring Skills of Change Leaders Rosabeth Moss Kanter 53

11 Core Tasks for Successful Change Management S.Ramnarayan 60


12 Driving Organizational Change Leena Nair & Ankush Punj 65

13 Measuring Organizational Culture and Change Rajeev Kumar 70

14 Management of Change: Critical Factors Tarun Sheth 74

15 Organizational Change: The Formidable XI Rajiv Dubey 78

16 Communication Effectiveness, Justice Perceptions andEmployee Commitment during Organizational Change Ranjeet Nambudiri 81

17 Managing People in Mergers and Acquisitions D Prasanth Nair 86

18 HR: An Evolving Function D Harish 92

19 One Reason for Failure of Change Interventions PVR Murthy 95- Abilene Paradox

20 IPO: A Powerful Intervention in Organizational Change Ravi Virmani 97


21 From a Sapling to a Forest Udai Pareek and TV Rao 100

22 Challenge of Managing OrganizationalPreparedness - ICICI K Ram Kumar 107

23 Bringing about Organizational Change - Philips India Vineet Kaul 112

24 Organizational Change - Maruti Suzuki S Y Siddique 117

25 It Will Be Done, I Have to Do It: A Story of PCBL Ashok Goyal 122

Book Reviews

Management of Organisational Change: LeveragingTransformation By K.Harigopal B.V.L.Narayana 128

Competing Through Knowledge: Building a LearningOrganization Madhukar Shukla Ramendra Singh

CONTENTSCONTENTS

N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 7 N H R D J o u r n a l 4

It is an exciting experience to witness the changes that are happening aroundus. Our country is experiencing new challenges and with it comes enormouschanges that are linked to growth. We have the opportunity to witness thebeauty of fast organizational changes. Various themes are related to thesechanges which include growth, turnaround, mergers and acquisitions,global market exposures, labour market turbulence, and institution building.

It was an enriching experience for us to anchor this issue of NHRD journalthat addresses the theme of organizational change. It is the biggestmanagement challenge to enact and establish a change process. This issuebrings out insights that are well thought out by professionals who are expertsin the field of human resource management and organizationaldevelopment. We thank this fraternity who obliged to our request for writingon their experience and knowledge despite their busy schedule.

We structured the articles in four major sections. The first section looks atthe concepts and processes of organizational change. Here the authorsdrive upon the factors and processes from both theoretical and practicalangles. A carefully planned change would involve efforts from changeagents drawing up understanding the context of change, gathering supportfrom various corners, linking up to the need of the time, using the best ofmethods and techniques, and ensuring buy-in and commitment in the end.Second section explores the role, and characteristics of change agents. Inthe third section we draw upon the factors that contribute to successfulchange and its management. In the last section, we have interesting casestudies that give real life experience sharing of organizational change. Asyou traverse through this edition we hope you will be able to experience aholistic view of organizational change drawing from conceptualunderstanding of factors and processes to real life sharing of experience.

Change can be defined and understood from a very technical point of viewbut bringing out one is a story of courage, emotions, understanding, andsheer perseverance. As Abraham Lincoln puts it, "I shall do less whenever Ishall believe what I am doing hurts the cause and I shall do more wheneverI shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors whenshown to be errors and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear tobe true views." We should be open to the change and should have the abilityto adopt and adapt to it. Those organizations and individuals who couldmake a successful change make a mark in their life and of many others.

Arvind Agrawal (Guest Editor) PVR Murthy

Aquil Busrai PallabBandyopadyaya

EDITORIAL COMMENTS

Arvind Agrawal(Guest Editor)An IIT Kharagpurand IIM (A)alumnus. HeldSenior Positionswith Escorts, Xeroxand is currentlyPresident –CorporateDevelopment andGroup HR in RPGGroup.


The External Environment

The external environment of theorganization with its globalizationand increasingly border less butcomplex and competitive world arecreating unsettling conditions forthe Indian organizations. Theimpact of the external businessenvironment confronts theorganization to go beyond the manyassumptions they have made ofbusiness and governing thebusiness. As such, organizationsconfront many opportunities aswell as challenges to manage boththe internal as well as externalenvironment of the organizations.

The Internal Environment

The internal environment of theorganization gets impacted by theexternal environment and createsturbulence within the organization.Years of work culture seeped in theethos of slow and steadyincremental growth overnight isexperienced as obsolete andancient, relationships becomeprofessional interfaces across roles,functions and levels and take awaythe sense of belonging and shared

AbstractThis paper is based on the author's experience of working as a consultant in diverse

organizations. This paper reflects the comprehensive diagnostic studies of numerousorganizations. The global business scenario, the country's business and economic environmentand the organizational internal environment of today is highly nebulous. Significant changes in

technology, economic models of growth, emergence of new sectors of business and a newcollectivity of young entrants to the working stream have dramatically changed the national andglobal scenario. Given these changes, the directions and choices of the organization, its uniqueconfiguration and unfolding may contribute to a healthy transformation of the organization or

contribute to the scatter, disarray and disintegration of the organization.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

INDIRA J PARIKH

Prof. Indira J Parikh isPresident ofFoundation for LiberalAnd ManagementEducation, Pune,India. Prof. J Parikhwas faculty memberat IIMA for over 30years and Dean from2002 to 2005. She hasalso taught atINSEAD,Fontainebleau (France)and Texas A&MUniversity. Shereceived the LifetimeAchievement Awardfor Best Teacher inManagement in theWorld HRD Congress.

togetherness. Memories of whatonce haunt the employees andpuzzlement of what now is, createsdrift in the direction of theorganizations. However there arealso some organizations,individuals and collectivities thatthrive in these uncertain andturbulent conditions. They respondto the pressure of here and now andachieve, succeed and grow. In thisemerging work culture of todaythere is no time or space to pause,reflect and watch the grass grow.There is also no time and space tovisualize beyond the horizon toexplore, experience and discover.There is largely a frenzy of overengagement and to keep makingchoices under tremendous pressure.

Organization Growth

At the entrepreneurial or projectphase of organizations there is adrive, fuelled by dreams, aspirationsand ambitions, of one individual ora group of individuals. At theconsolidation phase of theorganization, often times there areformalization, strategic choices forbusinesses restructuring and


redesigning of the organization. When thisstarts to happen the existing employees feelbereft of personal contact with the roles in thehigher authority and ownership. As there is anincreasing sense of urgency in theorganizations, collectives and individuals toreach the mileposts and destinations of growththe human values to govern the organizationare often marginalized. In such a process ofdramatic change organizations require a pauseto explore and ask many a difficult question asto the nature of change, directionality of changeand shaping of change.

Organization Identity

Many organizations at such a point of time liketo ask themselves the questions as to what istheir identity. Organizational identity consistsof the history of growth, the evolution ofunderlying philosophy, the individuals inleadership roles, the values of governance, theexisting and new employees and the overallwork culture of the organization. Over time thiswork culture gets stabilized and then becomesfrozen. A comfort zone gets created whereorganizations tend to hold on its createdmeanings and work roles. It is at this point oftime the organization's identity with its deeplyembedded meanings finds it difficult to respondto change by adding new dimensions and newways of working. Organizations get caught withthe anxiety of losing the techniques of successand fail to find freedom to discover their internalstrengths to ever renew it.

Organization Structure

Structure designs and determines thedirectionality, degree of autonomy of each task,role and function, boundary and the inter-linkage space in the organization; so that anorder, clarity and a policy frame for results getcreated. The structure also allocatesresponsibilities, authority and accountability atall levels of the organization. Individuals,groups, organization structure and their inter-

play with each other create its own dynamics.In the designed structure of the organizationand its operationalization, some tasks andfunctions get centralised, acquire significanceand visibility and are perceived as having morefavoured and strategic status with the top orthe senior management. While some other tasksand functions are marginalised and feel a "takenfor granted" status. How this dynamics istranslated into managerial behaviourdetermines the quality of energy available to theorganization through using the spaces tointerlink and take functional andorganizational responsibility and decisions.Simultaneously, the leader needs to fostermembership and belonging of the employees.The institutional a sense of culture may or maynot receive energy from an organizationstructure depending upon the role played bythe leadership and the internal dynamics of theorganization. Similarly, the organizationstructure gets operationalized through directionfrom the leader or multiple pulls and pushesfrom the various groups in the organization.The non emergence and operationalization of aformal organization structure generates stressand power and politics in the organizationleading to dissipation of energy across all levelsof management and employees. In such asituation the role of the leader is to initiate thoseprocesses which will mobilise theorganizational structural energy for theorganization and its employees. This change isbrought about through inclusive processeswhere employees experience openness andaccessibility and fair and just systems.

Organization Culture

The organization culture evolves over a periodof time and is connected with the history ofgrowth of the organization and the interplay ofvarious internal and external dynamics ofinterfaces across the organization. The roles, themembership and leaders and their inter-play


give subtle shape to the organization culture.The change required is from lack of energy,apathy and sources of de-motivation of the pastand present to the future of the organizationwhich is kaleidoscopic and requiring alertnessto ever shifting realities.

The culture of the organization is either task-focused anchored in a work culture orpersonality and people-focused, anchored inthe socio-cultural context of the country. If theorganization needs to be changed andenergized in the work culture, the tasks need toanchor themselves in setting the standards ofproductivity and excellence. The functions needto come alive with shared understanding andclarity of goals, targets and objectives of theorganization. The organization comes alivethrough participation in policy and strategy andshared understanding of organization mission.Similarly, the organization culture of tomorrowneeds to foster a work ethos anchored in vision,values and philosophy of life space to generateenthusiasm and energy for the organization andthe institution of corporate social responsibility.The energy of the organization is dynamic whenthe integration of culture and the institutiontakes place with the organization's concern forthe life space of employees and their well being.

Encountering Critical Issues of Organization

The forces of tomorrow's external environmentare going to overwhelm Indian organizations.The energy of the cross currents and pulls andpushes of contradictory forces are going toattempt to push the frontiers of Indianorganization never visualised before. However,the resilience of the Indian spirit can be fosteredthrough a critical but hard reality appraisal ofthe internal dynamics of the organization vestedin the human resources and potentials. The HRrole of organizations and the CEO s would haveto squarely identify the critical issues of managersand organizations and design processes to dealwith them. These processes are:

• Appraise the strengths and limitations ofthe organization.

• Differentiate the performers and nonperformers and identify star performers.

• Assess the star performers and the mediocre.Support the star performers and invest inthose who are mediocre for their growth andsubsequent contribution.

• Realistic assessment of human potential sothat creativity and innovativeness mayflourish.

• Design organization structures of small subsystems which may flourish and growsimultaneously in the larger context of theorganization.

• Give emphasis on quality of life space ofeach employee so that he/she may live andwork with dignity and respect of self, othersand the system.

• Provide space so that employees maywholesomely integrate family and worksystems where they find freedom to playmultiple roles in multiple systems.

• An individual and an organization can ownup its own uniqueness of existence andidentity and give meanings to the process ofliving and enlivening of the self, others andthe system.

• When this internal energy of theorganization begins to flow at theindividual, collective organizational andinstitutional level then a momentous energywill be released which can then bechannelized to create a space to grow, arhythm of relatedness for goals andobjectives and create wisdom fororganizations to flourish as well as competein a complex and competitive globalbusiness environment.


Organizational Spaces for Tomorrow

The frenzied life space, the milling crowds, therestlessness of the environment and theaspirations and ambitions of people requireorganizations to create multiple spaces wherean employee can go into that space for renewaland rejuvenation.

Spaces for solitude These are spaces forreflection and spaces for silent expression ofthemselves. These spaces would then providea rhythm of stability as well as preparednessfor connectivity with the work and positiverelatedness with the organization. These areessentially spaces for spiritual communion withoneself so that an individual employeeexperiences tranquility and peace. Theemployee then can emerge with accepting thecomplex realities of life and be able to deal withday to day stresses and give shape to his life.

Spaces for related interactions These are taskand functional related spaces. Today'sorganizations are meeting-based cultures.Organizations are designed for sunrisemeetings, sunset meetings, standing meetings,cross functional meetings, intra and interdepartmental, functional and divisionalmeetings. However these meetings start outwith good intentions but finally turn into nonproductive and non decisive conclusions. Mostmanagers believe these meetings are waste oftime. Organizations can create spaces whichare task related and facilitate a mindset to getwork done and decisions taken. Thiscontributes to action initiatives which are linkedto responsibility and accountability. These arelinked to achievement, success and excellencewhich are then linked to affirmation, valuingand anchoring in the organizations. Thesespaces are also socially engaging wherein thereis an element of fun and celebration of success.

Spaces for dialogues These spaces are designedfor dialogue across levels of organization aboutthe concerns of the organization. This is a retreat

space to explore and review the philosophy,values, work culture and relationships acrossthe organization. In any organization there arealways spaces for sharing secrets, creatinggroups and cliques and public spaces forgossips, where myths are generated aboutpeople and the organization. Then there arespaces of the organization which are formalspaces created for dialogues. Both spaces puttogether create a unique quality as it fosters aco-holding of the organization and co creatinga work environment. In this space a small or alarge space is owned by every employee andstakeholder of the organization. This ownershipand co-holding creates a shared meaning, ashared significance of belonging and sharedvaluing of each other and the organization.

Spaces for the creation and brightening of aworking environment Any organization haswalls, corners and cubicles which are blank, oftendreary and empty. An organization can transformthese for putting display of each individual'spersonal, emotional memory. Mostorganizations do not have public display ofindividual employees contribution of expressionof creativity. Almost no organization displaysemployee's arts and crafts which are theemployee's personal creation. Organization hasimmense wall spaces which can be adorned withemployees, expression of arts, paintings, craftsor similar such creative expressions.Organization needs to create spaces whereinemployee's larger meanings and life can bebrought to the organization. Organizations canhave a painting day, art day, crafts day acollective collage, photographs put on displayon the walls of the plant or the organization andambience thus created is bright and cheerful.

Spaces for celebration Most organizations havea very serious and somber face to the world insideand the world outside. The meaning given tothis serious face is professionalism. However,professionalism has good and desirable needs


to be tempered by a sense of humor, a sense of joyand celebration. These spaces then release thecumulative negative energy and give birth topositive energy which leads to celebration. Thiscelebration and togetherness creates goodwilland generosity with oneself in bringingcommitment and mobilization of oneself to givemore to the work culture. This work culturefacilitates co construction and creation of adynamic work environment.

These are some of the landscape of changewhich organizations need to design and shape.The role of HRM in this new landscape of theorganization employees and the environmentis to focus on the growth of the employee, growthof collectivities of employees and growth of theorganization.

A word of caution. In the process of such achange the HRM needs to be sensitive that allcannot make the transition. That needs to beaccepted with grace and dignity. There has tobe space for some to do work at their pace. Herethe focus is on the present emergent identity ofthe working employee in the organization. Tosome the work space, the work meaning andwork status is extremely significant andimportant. To some a slow steady pace isacceptable. To some young employees, they arein a hurry and want to run. The HRM needs tocreate and design a work environment whichprovides spaces to all and yet keeps themomentum and vibrancy of the organization-human interface scenario surfacing withbreathtaking results.

In growing of an organization, each individualbrings his/her own story, each group bring theirstories and each organization has its own storywith individuals and collectivity enacting theirroles. Each will enact their roles, each willconnect or part and each will add to theemerging new collage of growth and success.

The role of HRM in this unfolding scenario ofwork organizations is emerging as strategic.However, the role of HRM is to emerge asshaping organization identity, its myth andfolklore which can be sung by the bards of theorganizations creating its landmarks andleaving its footprints in the sands of industrial,technological and national unfolding in thecontext of a larger globalization of the universe.

References

Parikh Indira J. 1997. A Diagnostic Study ofMahindra and Mahindra Tractor Division.Unpublished.

• 1998. Paradigms of OrganizationalLeadership. Self Organized Criticality: TheAvalanche Effect. Working Paper, IIMA.

• 1999. Challenges of Indian Organization inthe Twenty First Century. Working Paper,IIMA.

• 2001. Transforming of Organizationsthrough Enhancing Free Energy ofIndividuals, Collectivity and theOrganization. Working Paper, IIMA.

• 2001. A Diagnostic Study of Bajaj TempoLimited. Unpublished.

Acknowledgement from Editors

• Our thanks are to all the contributors of articles for sharing their thoughts and experiences.

• We appreciate the spontaneous gesture by Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Simon Wallace in permitting us to reprint their articles.

• It was a great pleasure and learning opportunity to work with Arvind Agrawal, guest editor for this issue in designing theissue,identifying potential contributors, inviting them to share their thoughts and in finally editing the issue. Thank you Arvind.

• We are grateful to Dr. Udai Pareek for the guidance.

• We are also thankful to Nokia and BGEPIL for their support in bringing this issue.

• Our thanks are to Dr. Sandeep Krishnan for playing a critical role like a sub editor.

• Finally our profound thanks to Prof. SS Rao, former Editor of Vikalpa and a Prof. IIM Ahmedabad for his expert suggestionsand guidance.


Almost all people are nervous aboutchange. Many will resist it --consciously or subconsciously.Sometimes those fears are wellfounded -- the change really willhave a negative impact for them. Inmany cases, however, the targetpopulation for the change will cometo realize that the change was forthe better.

The pace of change is everincreasing - particularly with theadvent of the Internet and the rapiddeployment of new technologies,new ways of doing business andnew ways of conducting one's life.organizational ChangeManagement seeks to understandthe sentiments of the targetpopulation and work with them topromote efficient delivery of thechange and enthusiastic supportfor its results.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT

WHY, WHAT, HOW?

SIMON WALLACE

Simon Wallace has 29years experience ofproject management andsolutions delivery. Hehas managed or advisedin the management ofaround 50 businesssolution and IT projects.The largest programmehad a budget of aroundUK£500 Million.

In 21 years as amanagement consultant,Simon has achievedsenior status as Head ofManagementConsultancy for a UKfirm, a Director andCouncil Member of theManagementConsultanciesAssociation, and amember of the globalmanagement team for aworld-wide consultingfirm.

Simon had globalresponsibility for best-practice approaches totechnology-drivenbusiness change,including methods,techniques and tools.

There are two related aspects oforganizational change that areoften confused. In organizationalChange Management we areconcerned with winning the heartsand minds of the participants andthe target population to bring aboutchanged behaviour and culture.The key skills required are foundedin business psychology and require"people" people.

Contrast this to organizationalDesign where the roles, skills, jobdescriptions and structure of theworkforce may be re-designed.Typically that is a more analyticaland directive activity, suited totough-skinned HR professionals. Itis not a topic for the ePMbook.

organizational Design may be aspecific objective of the project, forexample where there is to be areduction in the workforce, or itmay just be a consequence of thechanged business processes andtechnology.

organizational ChangeManagement issues are often under-estimated or ignored entirely. In fact,people issues collectively accountfor the majority of project failures.

This survey looked at disastrousprojects. One of the questions askedfor the prime cause of the failure.


Although the result did not spell out "people"as the cause, it is interesting to note that manyof the causes were to do with the behaviourand skills of the participants. Arguably all butthe "technical issues" were related to thecapabilities, attitudes and behaviour of people.

What Caused The Project To Fail?

A different study examined whether packageimplementation projects' benefits had beenachieved. Where they had not been delivered,the question "why?" was asked. Top of the listwas "organizational resistance to change".

Again, several other causes were related topeople, their skills and their behaviour. "Lackof business ownership" is a majorresponsibility of the organizational ChangeManagement work. Such things as "unstablerequirements", "not meeting expectations", and"poor project management" would also bepartly due to behaviours and skills.

Organizational Change Management is a vitalaspect of almost any project. It should be seenas a discrete and specialised work stream. Whythen, you might ask, do we discuss it as part ofthe Project Management work. Unfortunately,

it is common to find that the human componentof the project is not recognised as a separateelement of the work. The project managementteam frequently have to do their best to ensurethat a technological change is successfullyimplanted into the business. In the worst-casescenario, the project leadership do not see thisas part of their responsibility either and blamethe organization's line management when theirsuperb new technical solution is not fullysuccessful when put to use.

Organizational Change Management atProject Start-up

Many organizational Change Managementissues need to be clear at the start of the projectso that appropriate activities can be includedin the plans, and so that appropriate roles andresponsibilities can be established. Here aresome of the key issues:

• Is there a compelling "Case for Change" thatall participants will buy in to?

• Who are the owners and sponsors of thischange? Will they actively promote thechange and apply pressure as needed?

• What are the populations involved, eg theoverall leadership of the organization,project participants, sub-contractors, end-users, other departmental managers, othermembers of the workforce, suppliers,customers etc? For each population (orsubset by role, function, etc) what will theirattitude be? Will they resist the change?How can we encourage them to act in a waywhich will support the project's objectives?

• What style of participation will work best?Should we involve a broad section of thetarget population or keep everything secretuntil the change is forced upon them?

• How can we communicate these messagesto the target population?

Failure to define

objectives17%

Lack ofCommunication

20%Inexperience in

Scope and Complexity

17%

Technicalissues14%

Project Management

Problems32% Source: KPMG

Source: KPMG

Organization resistance to change

Unstable requirements

Lack of business owner ship

Significant Cost Over-runs

Package did not meet expections

Poor project management

Technical problems

Significant schedule Over-runs

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16


The Case for Change

• As part of the project definition, there shouldbe a compelling "Case for Change" whichcan convince all participants and, in duecourse, the target population. If everyoneagrees that the project has good andnecessary objectives, they should be farmore supportive of the changes.

This is not the same as the project's mainbusiness benefit case. The business case islikely to be founded on business strategy andfinancial results - often not a compellingargument for the individuals in the workforce.

In a "Case for Change", it should be clear thatthere are better ways of doing things - better forthe organization, better for the workforce, betterfor customers and (maybe) better for suppliers.

Sponsorship

The Project Sponsor is usually the person whosaw a need for change and had the authority tomake something happen. There may be severalsponsors who collectively have this role.

The precise ownership of the project is more amatter for the Project Definition work. Whatcounts from an organizational ChangeManagement perspective is not the actualownership and rationale for the project somuch as the perceived sponsorship andpurpose. For example, the project might existbecause the Finance Director wants to cut costs,but it could be a better message that the ChiefExecutive wants to build a slick organizationthat can beat the competition.

The original Project Sponsor will often havethe power and status to create and deliver theproject and may be able to deliver the changemessages to the areas of the organizationdirectly involved. In many cases, however, thechange is broader than the immediate influenceof the Project Sponsor. Other supportingsponsors may be required to promote the projectin other areas of the organization.

Make a Sponsorship Map - initially to showwho is involved and what support they areoffering. Use this to identify who else needs toparticipate and what they need to do.

In major change programs many parts of theorganization will be involved, for example:

• The line business unit that houses thechanged process,

• Other departments involved in the processchain,

• Senior management and generalmanagement of the organization who willbe critical judges of this initiative's success,

• The IT department who build and operatethe technology

• The finance department where the financialimplications will be seen,

• Customer-facing staff who will reflect thechanges when dealing with the clients.

A significant project will require a cascade ofsponsorship, such that all affected parts of theorganization hear strong support from theirleadership. If the message is delivered from thetop and reinforced by the immediatemanagement, staff are far more likely to believein the case for change and to act in support ofthe changes.

For critical business change programmes themessage should come from the very top. Get


the Project Sponsor to engage the ChiefExecutive as the prime source of sponsorshipmessages. (You may find yourself writing thewords for the Project Sponsor to give to the ChiefExecutive - but the key thing is that it is thenseen as the Chief Executive's personal message.)

Not everyone listens attentively to their ChiefExecutive, so it is important that these messagesare cascaded down to all parts of theorganization, with local management echoingand supporting the party line.

Case Study

A large, multi-divisional professional servicesfirm was changing its time sheet system -affecting every member of the organization.They recognised the need for acceptance andcompliance from everyone so they built an all-encompassing sponsorship cascade.

When the team was finalised it was apparentthat the sponsorship team was considerablylarger than the project team building the newsystem.

Resistance to Change

By definition, people are affected by change. Afew will comfortably accommodate any degreeof change, but most people have a changejourney to undertake.

Part of the art of organizational ChangeManagement is to:

understand what journey you want whichpopulations to take (it may not be the samefor everyone),

assess what their attitude is likely to be, and

use that knowledge to guide them in theright direction.

Many people will hide their negative feelings.It is not wise to be openly critical of your bossesand their new ideas. Some people will not evenbe aware of their own resistance which,nevertheless, affects their behaviour sub-

consciously. Understanding their positionrequires more than listening to what they say.organizational Change Managementspecialists use an array of diagnostic tools touncover the true characteristics and attitudesof the target populations.

The most common response to impendingchange is a negative response where, initiallyat least, the target population sees the changeas a bad or threatening thing. Psychologistshave researched these "bad news" responsesand found that there is a common emotionalresponse. This chart shows how theindividuals oscillate between inactivity andhigh emotion. Assuming the final outcome canrepresent a good thing from their perspective,the goal is to leave them in favour of the changeand highly motivated to make it work.

Here are some thoughts that might be expressedby someone passing through the "bad news"curve:

Oh no!

It can't be true!

You cannot be serious!!!

Can we sort this out some other way?

That's it - after 20 years of service they want meto...

Am I going to be part of this?

Yes, I can live with this - it's not bad really.

The "Good News" Curve

A different emotional curve may occur whereindividuals are initially in favour of the change.


In the "good news" curve, the risk is that theywill be disappointed by the reality of the changeor the effort it will take to achieve it.

In these cases, you should recognise thelikelihood of disappointment during thechange process. Be ready to lift them out of thetrough in time to benefit from their enthusiasm.

Resistance to change is normal. The ProjectManager should expect to encounter it and dealwith it. The worst time to encounter resistanceis during the cut over to the new solution.Transition is usually a busy, critical, high-riskperiod when the last thing you need is a lack ofco-operation from the target population.

Try to surface issues and resistance earlier inthe project so that there is time to get the targetpopulation engaged before any damage iscaused. Some organizational ChangeManagement experts suggest that you shoulddeliberately upset the target population earlyin the project so that you can guide themthrough the emotional curve and change their

attitude. That may be taking the principle toofar - but, if there is going to be resistance, try todeal with it early.

Using the Right Change Style

The design of the project's approach shouldtake into account the optimum style ofaddressing organizational change issues. Ingeneral, the target population will be moresupportive of the changes if they have been partof the change process. The cynical view is thatyou should make them feel part of the processeven if you prefer to ignore what they have tosay. In fact, their active participation is likelyto add to the quality of the solution - it shouldbe taken seriously. Conversely, if they feel theirviews were sought then ignored they are likelyto become more resistant.

Working with a broad selection of the targetpopulation adds time and cost to the project.The degree to which you involve them willdepend on the magnitude of the change. Astraightforward non-controversial change mayrequire no previous contact. If, for example, youare simply introducing a new set of expensecodes you can publish the message "with effectfrom 1st April, new codes must be used as perthe attached book". Conversely, if you aremaking huge changes to the job and lifestyle ofthe target population you will need to workwith them to gain their co-operation, forexample, if you wish them to re-locatevoluntarily and re-train for substantially alteredjobs.

Here are some change styles that may beappropriate:

• Collaborative - The target population areengaged in the change process, typicallythrough cascading workshops or meetings.They will be kept up to date on the issues.Their views will be actively sought andacted upon. Feedback will demonstrate howtheir input has been acted upon.


• Consultative - The target population isinformed about the changes and their viewsare sought.

• Directive - The workforce is informed aboutthe changes and why those changes areimportant.

• Coercive - The workforce is told that theymust obey the new instructions.

Case Study

A computer hardware and services supplierneeded to restructure the workforce to achievedramatic cost savings. They decided upon afully collaborative approach where allemployees were invited to a series ofworkshops to examine the case for change,analyse the problems and define solutions.

By the end of the process, not only were theemployees fully backing the restructuring, butindividuals were even recognising that theythemselves would be redundant andvolunteering to leave.

Case Study

An organizational Change Management expertwas addressing an audience at a conference.After some time, a senior member of the armedforces was feeling highly frustrated. He stoodup and asked for an explanation. "I don't seethe point of all this", he said. "I give an orderand my people carry it out."

Who was right? Why should the workforcenot just do as they are told?

Communication

One of the main tools for promoting change iscommunication. Early in the project an initialapproach to communication will be formulated.It has two main purposes:

• to convey important information that theaudience needs to know, and

• to promote organizational change.

Messages supporting the project's changeobjectives should be carefully constructed. Thebest media should be identified to convey theright messages to the right people at the righttime. During the project, these messages andmethods will be refined based uponachievements, feedback and the changingcircumstances of the project.

Organizational Change Management atPhase Start

For each phase the change management planwill be prepared in detail. Input and feedbackfrom previous phases will inevitably lead tomodifications to the overall approach.

Update the Sponsorship Map to show who isinvolved at this stage and what is required ofthem. As part of the launch activities for thenew phase, sponsors should be informed,briefed and reanimated. Their continuingsupport should be ensured.

Often a new phase means new team membersand new participants from the business. Makesure there is a good process to capture theirsupport and enthusiasm.

Organizational Change Management Duringthe Project

Organizational Change Managementtechniques fall into two main types:

• input - analysing the problem, and

• output - inducing organizational change.

It may also be appropriate to couple theseorganizational issues and needs with the


mainstream design work of the project, so thatcertain issues could be solved by the way thesolution is designed. It may be easier to makethe solution fit the people rather than thepeople fit the solution.

The input activities are essentially forms of fact-finding and analysis. Organizational ChangeManagement experts have many specialisedtools to:

• identify a population,

• assess that population's capabilities,attitude, behavior, culture,

• define the change goals, and

• determine what is required to bring aboutthat change.

In the absence of an expert you would fall backon basic fact finding and analysis, coupledwith common sense and experience.

Output activities tend to be various forms ofcommunication, for example:

• communicating messages

• coaching

• setting up sponsorship cascades

• collaborative workshops.

Although the change management analysis,design and planning may be specialist tasks,much of the change output can be applied byother project team members. All team memberswill have opportunities to spread the rightmessage. In many cases, the way theyapproach a given activity might have asignificant affect on the target population -increasing or decreasing resistance.

Non-specialist team members should be giventhe basic skills and understanding to promoteorganizational change. They should also beguided by the specialists (if any) and by theproject's change management approach andplanning.

Case Study

A Project Management expert was hired tocoach the IT project managers oftelecommunications service provider. In a"collaborative" style, he led a conversationabout the relationship with the business,trying to draw out a consensus that thebusiness and its end users were essentialplayers in building a successful IT solution.

But the project managers were unanimous.One summed it up - "what we need is a bigbrick wall to keep the users away from us".

That is a problem with a collaborativeapproach - what do you do when thepopulation turns in the wrong direction?

Organizational Change Management atPhase End

The end of a phase is always a good time toreview progress. Many organizational changeactivities are imprecise in their effect. It can behard to measure whether the target populationhas now become sufficiently supportive for theproject to succeed.

Take a fresh look at the organizational issues:

• did we really understand the barriers?

• how effective were the actions taken?

• what more do we need to achieve?

The conclusions will be fed into the planningfor the next phase of work.

Organizational Change Management atProject End

The test of change management is whether thenew business solution can be launchedsuccessfully in as efficient and pain-free amanner as possible. The lead up to thetransition is often the most intense period. Inmany cases it is the first time the affectedpopulations really become aware of thechanges (although, as you saw above, it is notwise to tackle change issues late in the project).


Now they are confronted with changed jobs,new procedures, new skill requirements,training courses, and maybe even physical re-location.

In some projects not all the current workforcewill be required for the new solution. Dealingwith the painful process of redundancy isnormally left to the HR and line managementfunctions.

There are, however, two big issues for the ProjectManager:

• The redundant staff will be required tooperate the current systems and processesuntil the new solution is ready - and maybefor some period of parallel running. Since itis a legal or contractual requirement in mostcountries to announce potentialredundancies well in advance and to giveindividuals notice before their departuredate, the question is how to ensure they givegood service and do no damage to theorganization or the new systems.

• There may also be implications for thesurvivors - those people who you are relyingupon to deliver the new solution. They maybe affected by the bad news concerning their

Reprinted with permission from the author.• http://www.epmbook.com/orgchange.htm

colleagues. They may even go through aperiod of uncertainty when they do notknow whether or not they themselves willbe retained. What needs to be done tomaintain their support and enthusiasm?Bear in mind that the same issues couldconfront project team members as well asthe target population.

By this stage in a major change, there needs tobe a substantial support mechanism for thetarget population. As the key messages arecommunicated, the project team needs to beready to help and prepared for the inevitableissues. By this time, the sponsorship cascadeshould be complete and solid - often extendingdown to local champions carefully placed inthe users' teams. Support mechanisms will easethe users' troubles, for example withappropriate training at the right time, desk-sidecoaching, good help desk/call center support.

Organizational Change Management shouldnot stop with the end of the project. During theBenefit Realisation stage of the life cycle,continuing emphasis will be needed toencourage the community to adapt to the newways of working and get the most from thechange.


Introduction

Change is the reality. In Sanskritlanguage 'world' is translated as'vishwa'. Etymologically it comesfrom the root word 'vish' meaningspreading, that which is never sameat two different points of time.Change is not an occurrence but theway of existence. But 'leading andmanaging change' has become amatter of systematic enquiry in lasttwo-three decades. Particularly lasttwo decades have seen dramaticchanges in the corporate worldcharacterized by richness inknowledge, unprecedented levels ofbusiness operations: monetarilyand geographically, unprecedentedlevel of diversity, and turbulence.These are the major triggers oforganizational change. The way HRprofessionals along with businessleaders deal with these issues isgoing to drive the practice as wellas the theoretical development in thediscipline of leading change.

Models and Approaches ofChange Management

Various models and theories areproposed by consultants andacademics for effectively managingand leading change. Higgs andRowland (2005) gave a usefultypology of the change models.

AbstractThe article proposes an integral view of organization and leading change based on literature and

real life examples. Integral view is based on four quadrants of reality given by Ken Wilber andeffectively integrates the diverse perspectives about organizations and organizational change.

LEADING WHOLESOME CHANGE IN INTEGRAL WAY

ASHISH PANDEY

Ashish Pandey is aconsultant and leadingthe Research andDevelopment function atPragati LeadershipInstitute, Pune, India. Hehas been FPM Scholar atManagementDevelopment Institute,Gurgaon, and hasreceived best paperawards from differentnational andinternational forums - atI.I.Sc., Banglore, I.I.M.Indore and InfosysLeadership Institute,Mysore. His researchworks are included injournals like Journal ofBusiness Ethics, Journalof European IndustrialTraining, Global BusinessReview, PsychologicalStudies, and IndianJournal of Training andDevelopment.

Looking at the change managementliterature we come across twopredominant types of the models.On the basis of the basicassumption being followed changemodels can be put on a continuum.One end of the continuumrepresents deterministic models inwhich change is considered aspredictable phenomenon.Ontologically organizationalchange is considered to be step bystep process which can be designedand consciously implemented bythe leaders. Lewins three stepsmodel and John Kotter's model arethe most widely referred models inthis category.

Another end of the continuumrepresents the change models andapproaches in which change isconsidered to a complexphenomenon. Most of the modelsin this category draw hugely fromthe systems approach. Some of thebasic tenets of these notions are thatorganizations are living systems.Like any other living systemorganizations also shows thecharacteristics of emergence, delayand feed back and cannot bechange deterministically. Notionsof Whetley (1992), Senge et al. (1999)etc. are some of the predominantvoices in this category.


A living system can never be directed, onlydisturbed (Kellner-Roger, 1998). Thereforeleaders should not believe that the carefulcrafting of an organizational message will beunderstood uniformly across organizationallayers or that memorized value statementscreate shared meaning. The interpretation ofmessage and reactions to it will be dependenton selective perception and interpretation ofindividuals who receive it. That's why it isimportant to explore the diversity in theorganization (instead of adopting uniformapproach of change as assumed indeterministic models) to develop a morecoherent understanding, a shared sense ofwhat is significant.

Deterministic and systemic views represent thetwo equally powerful ways of thinking situatedat two ends of the continuum in their purestform. We perhaps cannot getaway with eitherof the approaches. My submission in this articleis that integral view of the organization andwholesome way of change can bring newinsights to integrate both the views for leadingthe change process effectively. Integral view ofchange is based on Wilber's (2002) fourquadrant approach of reality. This approachfacilitates the social event to be analyzed interms of its multilevel nature, i.e. its micro, mesoand macro forms thus can be used in the fieldof organization development, leadership,change management etc.

Integral View of Organization

Integral approach proposes that anyphenomenon has two fundamental dimensionsof existence. These are the interior-exteriordimension and the individual-collectivedimension. The interior-exterior dimensionrefers to the relationship between the intangibleworld of subjective experience and the tangibleworld of observable behaviors. The individual-collective dimension refers to the relationshipbetween the individual experience and

collective world. The interaction of thesedimensions produces the fundamentaldomains or quadrants of reality.

The domain of individual-subjective, i.e. 'I'quadrant represents the personal experience andmeaning. Domain of individual exteriors is thebehavioral quadrant. Domain of collectiveinteriors is the cultural quadrant and the domainof collective exteriors quadrant represents thetangible social system and processes.

As shown in figure 1 organization can also beunderstood in this frame. 'I' quadrant of theorganization represents the personal meaningand values of the people working in theorganization. While working in theorganizations, people also subscribe to theirpersonal aspirations, goals and sense making.Organizations are the places where individualmeaning of the members is created and shaped(Fineman, 1993). Upper right (IT) quadrantrepresents the observable behavior of the peopleworking in the organization. Code of conduct,dress codes, and other behavioral norms arerepresented by this quadrant.

Both the lower quadrants represent thecollective system of the organization. Left lower(ITS) quadrants represent tangible processes,structures and observable aspects of socialsystem of the organization. Formalorganizational design, production process,information technology related processes aresome of the representative components of ITSquadrant. Right-lower (WE) quadrant

Figure 1: Four Quadrants of Organizational Reality(adapted from Wilber, 2002)


represents the culture of the organization.Organization culture is resultant of sharedmeaning, values and beliefs of the organization.

An organization is combination of all thesequadrants. Organization is so much ofindividual experience and behavior as much itis systems, processes and culture. Integralapproach suggests that all the four quadrantsare equally important. Wholesome change anddevelopment of the organization is the resultof sustained efforts and appropriate inputs onall the quadrants. Over or under emphasis onone or two quadrants at the cost of others isreflected in the poor organizationalperformance in the long run.

Types of Change: An Integral View

Literature on organizational changedistinguishes between two general types ofchange: organizational transition orimprovement and organizationaltransformation. As the more traditionalapproach, organizational transition orimprovement is relatively well defined andcircumscribed in terms of its process andtechnologies. Generally speakingorganizational transition focuses on the changeprocess as a bottom-up and more of processbased phenomenon. More importantly for thisdiscussion, it represents the more traditionaldeterministic management perspective. Lookingfrom the integral perspective organizational

transition and improvement related changeefforts are more focused on right quadrantsrepresenting observable individual behaviorand organizational systems, processes anddesign aspects. Whereas OrganizationalTransformation is more a holistic pursuitfocused on deeper involvement of individualsand cultural transformation. Case studies ofmajor organizational transformations whichhad also been sustained over a period time (e.g.Tata Steel, GE, Toyoto etc.) suggest theimportance of focusing on upper and lower leftquadrant. Figure 2 summarizes this point.

Different Foci of Change Interventions

If we go deeper and examine the differentinterventions to bring change in theorganizations, we can observe that most of theseinterventions focus on some specific quadrantsof organizational reality as depicted in figure 3.For example T-group training focuses on 'I'quadrant and most of the behavioral trainingare largely focused on 'IT' quadrant. ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning) or re engineeringare the interventions largely focus on 'ITS'quadrant. Whereas interventions related to teambuilding and cultural integration etc focus on'WE' quadrant of the organization.

Submission here is that key to successfullyleading the change is not trying one interventionafter another but in right balance of appropriateand well aligned interventions in differentquadrants. I have studied a research anddevelopment organization where state of artKnowledge Management (KM) system wasinstalled (ITS quadrant) but its impact on 'WE'quadrant is not consciously traced anddesigned. No one was sure that whether the KMsystem have any incremental value on real timecollaboration amongst the scientists forknowledge creation and dissemination.Similarly I have also observed an organizationwhere culture of open communication and greatdeal of authenticity (I and WE quadrants) existFigure 2: Foci of Different Kinds of Organizational Change


but in absence of formal process of knowledgesharing and documentation the positive culturedoes not result in overall knowledge creationand organizational learning and eventuallyplausible business benefits.

Utility of Integrative View in Leading Change

More than 70 percent change initiatives doesnot achieve the intended results. Even ruthlesscost cutting and downsizing (rightsizing as it ismentioned) doesn't guarantee business impactin the long run (Bleakley, 1993, Henkoff, 1994).On the other hand building organizationalcapabilities by focusing on personal and sharedmeaning ('I' and 'WE' quadrants) may not resultin creating market value of the firm (Nohria andBeer, 2000). Many times whole organizations aresent to change programs in diversity, creativity,time management, personal effectiveness etc.Many individuals profoundly changed by theseprograms but many a time their personal changedoesn't translate into organizational change.Research shows similar findings about specificinterventions like ERP, KM, Behavioral trainingetc. The business value of ERP implementationshas been extensively debated in tradeperiodicals and research is throwing diverseconclusions (Hitt, Wu and Xiaoge, 2002). HRprofessionals and trainers are struggling tomeasure the return on investment in attitudinaland behavioral training.

My submission is that intervention in onequadrant also needs helpful mechanisms being

designed and implemented in other quadrantsof organizational reality for sustainable result.In the form of scientific management, TQM,Knowledge Management, re engineering or corecompetence the field of management has beenover enthusiastic about one or othermanagement technique or approach. Over-reliance on any approach confines theorganization efforts in one or two quadrants anddo not make change wholesome, sustainableand joyful. This notion is further substantiatedif we closely examine the most successful andprofound changes being led or managed inmodern time. Two examples of such kinds ofchanges are briefly described to further explainthe integral approach of wholesome change.

Two Examples of Integrative and WholesomeChange

First example is of organizationaltransformation of General Electrical (GE). 25lessons by Jack Welch summarize his approachof organizational transformation being appliedin GE during 18 years of his leadership. Closerexaminations of these lessons suggest that theyimplicitly cover the four quadrants oforganizational reality. His statement thatleaders are wanted in the organization that canenergize, excite and inspire rather than enervate,depress, and control indicates the importanceof 'I' quadrant. Along with the global presence,he emphasized to behave like a small companyin term of open communication, informality andmaximum involvement of the people. Thisnotion covers the 'IT' quadrant of organization.Six Sigma had been institutionalized assignature process in GE. This reflects thestreamlining and appropriate emphasis on 'ITS'quadrant of the organization. His statement thatnumbers aren't the vision; numbers are theproducts. Focus more on the softer values ofbuilding a team, sharing ideas, exciting othersand emphasize and organizationaltransformation agenda.

Figure 3: Different Foci of Varied Change Interventions


Second example of the change in integral andwholesome way is of Indian freedom struggle.In terms of scale, impact and most importantly'purity of means' this is one of the rarest of rareexamples of 'change'. Objective here is to seethe change initiatives introduced by MahatmaGandhi and how they were so effectivelycovering all four quadrants of reality. The mostimportant contribution of Mahatma Gandhi inthe Indian freedom struggle was to generate amass movement for independence. He was ableto create personal meaning for Indian freedomamongst common man in India across differentstrata of society. This was the success in 'I'quadrant. 'I' quadrant success was largelybased on movement for Swadeshi, spinning thewheel etc. Using swadeshi (indigenous) goods,burning the videshi cloth, Namak Satyagrah,and spinning wheel etc. represents the 'IT'quadrant. Though these were seemingly smallactivities but of great value in spreading ofawareness. These seemingly small activitieswere able to create personal meaning amongstthe fellow citizens. In the 'ITS' quadrant basedon his own moral authority, clear thinking andguidance many social catalysts were preparedwho became nodal centers for freedommovement and other social activities. In 'WE'quadrant he could create shared vision ofindependence and shared values of democracy,

social harmony and secularism to great extent.Eventually these values continued to be idealsfor the independent India.

Two examples briefly described above indicatethe utility of integral view for leading changewholesome change in organization. It doesn'tmean that management had been totallyoblivion to different aspects of organizationallife. Nocols (1994) talked about increasingimportance of creating meaning at work.Wakhlu (2000) talked about engagement at thelevel of heart and spirit for wholesome life ofthe organization. Utility of this framework isin its simplicity and power ofcomprehensiveness to juxtapose the seeminglydiverse nature of organizational reality.

A natural outcome of this discourse andexamples quoted here is the importance ofwholesome leadership for implementingwholesome change. Ability of a leader to applythe integral or wholesome approach of changein the organization is inevitably linked to hisor her own personal view of reality. Leaderswith integral view are the prerequisites ofintegral or wholesome change process. Perhapsteaching of Lao-tzu is valuable in this regardswhen he says "the way to do is to be". Themessage is not different from what MahatmaGandhi said "One must be the change which hewants to see in the world".

References

Bleakley, F.R., (1993), ‘Many companies try management fads, only to see them flop’, Wall Street Journal, 6 July 1993, pp. A1, A8.

Fineman, S. (1993), in S. Fineman (edi), Emotion in organizations, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.

Henkoff, R. (1994), Getting beyond downsizing”, Fortune, 10 January, pp. 58-64.


Higgs, M. and Rowland, D. (2005), ‘All changes great and small: Exploring approaches to change and its leadership’, Journal of Change

Management, vol. 5, iss. 2, pp. 121-151.

Hitt, Lorin M., Wu, D. J. and Xiaoge Zhou (2002), ‘Investment in enterprise resource planning: Business impact and productivity

measure’, Journal of Management Information Systems, vol. 19, iss. 1, pp. 71-98.

Kellner Roger, M. (1998). ‘Changing the way we change’, Perspectives.

Kotter, J. (1996), Leading Change, HBS Press, Boston.

Nichols, M. (1994). ‘Does new age business have a message for managers?’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 72, iss. 2, pp. 52-60.

Nohria, N. and Beer, M. (2000), ‘Cracking the code of change’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 78, iss. 3, 133-141.

Senge, P.M. (1997), ‘Communities of leaders and learners’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 75, iss. 5, pp. 30-2.

Wilber, K. (2002), Spectrum of consciousness, Pub. Motilal Bavarsidas, New Delhi.

Wheatley, M. J. (1992), Leadership and the new science, Berrett-Koehler, San Francisco.

Endnotes 1

Earlier draft of the paper was presented in Global OD Summit, 2006 at Mysore and was adjudged the Best Paper in Future Focus

Stream. Valuable inputs of Prof. Rajen Gupta of M.D.I., Gurgaon, and Arun Wakhlu, Pragati Leadership Institute, Pune, are

gratefully acknowledged.

i Lewin's model change is the most widely referred by practitioners and in the academics alike. It talks about three phases of change

process. First phase of the change is dissatisfaction with the status quo. Second stage is about identifying and mobilizing the

resources required effecting the change. Third stage is embedding the new ways of working in the fabric of the organization.

Kotter's model gives eight steps of change starting from creating urgency to institutionalization of change.

ii Like any living systems organizations also display capacity for sophisticated, coordinated behaviors. Yet these behaviors are never

the result of directive leadership, strategic plans, or engineered solutions. They arise as if by magic, surprising even the members of

the system, through a process called emergence. Emergence is the capacity of the system that resides only in the system not in the

individuals. Surprise of emergent capacity confronts most of our trusted beliefs about how to create change in any organization.

iii Interestingly Prof. J.K. Jain of Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, teaches management lessons based on Gandhian

way in a reputed institute in France. Author is not aware about the systematic teaching explicitly based on Gandhian principles being

imparted in any business school in India.


Introduction

As I started to structure my thoughtson this article, I decided to run aGoogle search on changemanagement, to understand thecurrent thinking on the subject. Atthe least, the results wereastounding. Google returned 574million links in 0.05 seconds for ageneric search on 'changemanagement'. So I got specific in mysearch: 'change managementdefinition' resulted in 41.2 millionlinks, 'change management models'in 49.8 million links and 'changemanagement process' led to 168million links!

The message to me was very clearand only confirmed my thinkingthat enough has been said andwritten on this subject. So myquestion on what I could say thatwas new and relevant, stillremained. Then I started to think ofthe concerns and experiences myclients have shared with me overthe years when implementingvarious initiatives -- a performancemanagement system, a careerplanning initiative, processes suchas Development Centres, 360feedback and so on. So I felt thatthis was a good opportunity for me

AbstractThis article takes a practical view on change management in the every day lives of HR andbusiness managers. Implementable ideas have been presented for dealing with obstacles to

change before it occurs, managing change during the process and coping with poorly plannedchange. In order to keep the emphasis on practical considerations, there is a deliberate absence of

reference to the vast body of academic work and research in the area of change management.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT: SOME PRACTICAL

CONSIDERATIONS

BHAWANA MISHRA

Bhawana is the BusinessDirector of SHL India.An Applied Psychologistby training, she workedwith leading consultingfirmsPricewaterhouseCoopersand Arthur Andersen,prior to joining SHL sixyears back.

to address those concerns and offersome practical and implementableideas to deal with change.Accordingly, I have structured thisarticle in three parts:

• Preparing for change:Understanding the five mostcommonly faced obstacles inimplementing effective andlasting change;

• Managing change: A synthesisof best practices that successfulchange programs havefollowed; and

• Coping with poorly plannedchange: Ideas for damagecontrol if a change initiative ison the verge of failure.

Preparing for Change:Understanding Obstacles

Even before we start to introduce achange, however big or small thatmay be, we should be conscious ofexisting practices, processes andcultures that may becomehindrances in success. Theobstacles are often unique forcompanies and not planning forthem in advance leads to interimand incomplete solutions that aredeployed to deal with them at thelast minute.


• Organization Structure

Rigid hierarchical structures may be restrictivein implementing new initiatives. For example,if the aim is to introduce an ERP system forPurchase, the individual level accountabilitythat it promotes will not succeed if people areused to having everything signed by thefunctional head.

• Cultural Norms

The most common HR example of this is if linemanagers have been used to being responsiblefor staff progressions and methods such asAssessment Centres are suddenly introduced.There is bound to be resistance in the form of"we have always done it this way" if this is notaddressed prior to the change being initiated.

• Performance Metrics

Early thought has to be given to whether thecurrent performance management system mayhinder implementation of the new initiative.For example, introducing a new CRM systemwill remain another 'initiative' if performanceassessment of sales staff only assesses revenuesgenerated and not customer satisfaction orrelated metrics.

• Senior Management's Behaviours

A company was trying to bring about greatercustomer orientation in its people. But surveyafter survey revealed that this was notsuccessful. Consolidation of 360 feedback dataon the senior management revealed that theywere consistently driving systems and processorientation and not speaking the customerlanguage. Naturally, employees knew what thebosses were looking for.

• Communication

Communication begins well before theinitiative itself. An announcement that a newinitiative in a couple of weeks will impact howpeople are paid or promoted is bound to causeresentment, however fair it might be. Likewise,

what is communicated is often not true or onlythe partial truth. There are innumerablecompanies that have communicated toemployees that a certain assessmentprogramme is for identifying developmentneeds, and then gone ahead and used it forcareer progressions. People understand suchthings and an experience like this underminesthe credibility of the senior management andHR for a long time to come.

Managing Change

Several models have been developed over theyears to help manage change and deal with itmost effectively. However, as is often true ofacademic and research work, a lot of them arenot easy to remember or implement in a realorganizational context. Based on the review ofsome of the available literature, and my ownexperiences in working with clients, I havedeveloped the 'Iceberg Approach to ManagingChange', which I hope will serve as a readyreckoner for dealing with change projects. Atthe top of the Iceberg are surface issues such asunderstanding the pain area that requireschange to be brought about and buildingacceptance amongst people about the need forchange. As we go deeper, the issues are alsomore evolved, but if dealt with successfully, willlead to a lasting and effective changeprogramme.

The Iceberg approach to managing change

I dentify the need

C ommunicate objectives and processes

E ngage People

B uild change communities

E valuate and measure success

R einforce positive change behaviours

G row and develop during change

To elaborate :

• Identify the need

It is critical to determine whether the need is a


true requirement of the company or a good-to-do thing because it appears to be 'best practice'.Also, what is the impact that it is expected tomake. A diagnosis of the current state is criticalto understand the extent and nature of changethat can be introduced. For example, 360feedback cannot be introduced in a companythat has never done assessments seriously.Incremental steps are always long lasting thanwide-scale change introduced in a hurry.

• Communicate objectives and changeprocess

Communication is not only about informingpeople about the initiatives, but targeting thecommunication to the audience, thinkingthrough channels of communication andbuilding feedback mechanisms to ensure thatthe messages have been understood.Communication is most credible when there isactive participation of the project sponsors, inparticular, the top management.

• Engage people

If people feel that it is an organization-wideinitiative and everyone has a role to play, theirparticipation and ownership is that much morereal and involved.

• Build change communities

All organizations have people forming informalcohorts and support groups. These areparticularly useful in a change program, as theycan be used to spread formal and informalmessages and also build acceptance.organizations can also orchestrate these bycreating self-help teams that work on makingthe new initiative work and seeing peoplethrough it.

• Evaluate and measure success

Often companies assess achievement of changeobjectives after they are completed. This aspectactually needs to be considered before thechange programme is introduced.Measurement should take place through theprogramme to ensure it is working and coursecorrection should be made based on feedback

received. Pilot projects for large initiatives areoften very useful for collecting early feedbackon what are likely to be the key issues.

• Reinforce positive change behaviours

It's a simple Pavlovian principle. No changewill last if there is no incentive to make it longlasting. So reward and recognition mechanismsthat reinforce the changed behaviours arecritical to any change programme. For example,a line manager may enjoy giving employeefeedback once in a while, but s/he will makeemployee development planning a regimen ifit also impacts his or her success.

• Grow and develop during change

Finally, most often, change involves acquiringsome new skill sets or using new processes ormethods. People should get the desiredtraining, coaching and technology support toadopt change faster and effectively. Trainingalso gives employees the confidence of havingacquired newer skill sets, thereby building apositive attitude to the change initiative.

• Coping with Poorly Planned Change

Having said all of this, we don't always have theluxury to plan things or be in control of thecircumstances. Typically, this happens when amangers joins an organization while someprogramme has been or is being implemented.Several HR managers will recount the nightmaresthey experienced when they joined and had tograpple with the impact of an ERP solutionintroduced in a hurry or a 360 programmelaunched without a plan for follow up action.Often, they would also have been blamed foreverything that went wrong! However painful itmay be, we cannot avoid dealing with this formof change as well; one that we were notinstrumental in introducing, but neverthelesshave to deal with. So where do we begin?

• Seek Feedback

The first way of building credibility is to seekfeedback on what has worked and what has not.This instils confidence in people that you wouldlike to do something about it. Depending on the


magnitude of the programme, you can useformal surveys or informal grapevine and othersources of information to seek this feedback. Aword of caution: do not do this if you have theslightest doubt on whether you will be able toaction some of the issues that come up.

• Recognise and Accept IndividualDifferences

It is important to understand that people reactdifferently to the same circumstances. Spread themessage across that it is alright to do so. TheADKAR® model (Hiatt, 2006) can help you planeffectively for a new change or diagnose why acurrent change is failing. In some cases, correctiveaction can be taken and the change successfullyimplemented. The five elements of ADKAR are:

• Awareness of the need for change.• Desire to make the change happen.• Knowledge about how to change.• Ability to implement new skills and

behaviours.• Reinforcement to retain the change once

it has been made.

• Rebuild Sponsorship

Often you will find that if an initiative hasprolonged for a length of time, the commitmentof the project sponsors also vanes. Ensurerenewed commitment from the project sponsors,in particularly the top management, for their twokey roles in the change process - visibleparticipation and communication. Employeesdo what reflects them in a positive light - settingthis expectation from the management reinforcesorganizational commitment.

Strengthen Reinforcements

If the initiative has been identified to be critical

to the organization's success, re-visit thereward and recognition mechanisms that havebeen put in place. Ensure that there is a directlinkage between change behavior and reward.As importantly, ensure that this iscommunicated and understood by people.

Coach and Develop

Resistance usually stems from a fear of theunknown. This can be dealt with informationand equipping people to deal with it. Everyoneis more comfortable when they know what toexpect and are prepared to deal with it. Anabsence of either can cause disruption. So it isnever too late to provide the relevant coachingand training to help people cope with change.

Identify Agents

Because some of the change has alreadyoccurred, there must be some people who havebenefited from it or feel that it is for the good ofthe organization. Identify and use such peopleto spread the message to the rest of theorganization. However, ensure that thesepeople are seen to be unbiased and not blindsupporters of the management.

Identify Add-on Benefits of Change

Chances are there has already been muchcommunication on what are the benefits aninitiative will bring about. If this is the case, tryto identify add-on benefits that were notalready communicated. They can bring aboutrenewed vigour if they can be demonstrated tobe relevant to specific groups of people.

The issues and ideas discussed here are by nomeans exhaustive. However, I hope that I haveprovided a few reference points that HR and linemanagers alike will find of use in implementingany change initiative in their organizations.

Bibliography

Hiatt, Jeffrey M. (2006). ADKAR: a model for change in business, government and our community. Prosci Research, Loveland, USA

Kotter, J P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press. Boston, Massachusetts.

Kotter, J P and Cohen, D S. (2002). The Heart of Change. Harvard Business School Press. Boston, Massachusetts.

Mark Large, DLTP Delivery Support Manager. (2006). Change: How to do it and Make it Work, Tools and Techniques for ManagingChange. Retrieved on 29th Oct 2007 at www.ams.mod.uk/content/docs/change_mgt/handbook.pdf

Partridge, L. (1999). Managing People, Book One. Financial Times Management. London.


Experts often dish out the cliché -"the only thing constant in life ischange". We find more peoplearound us telling others to changeand explaining the importance ofchange in something or the other.Before my marriage I knew therewere significant differences in theviews and culture of my wife and I.However, I was confident that Iwould be able to change her - andam still struggling to change herafter 27 years. Leaders tell theirteam members to change theirmethods or attitudes. Parents telltheir children to change their habitsand attitudes. And the children inturn tell their parents to understandthe change that is happening insociety and adapt to the same. Andyet, one constant is that most peoplefind it difficult to change.

Scale of Change

When you discuss "management ofchange" at "national level", thedynamics of change becomes evenmore complex. The imponderablesand non-controllable s increasegeometrically.

At Azim Premji Foundation sincewe are essentially seeking tocontribute to a systemic change inthe quality of education in India weoften debate and explore whatwould have the highest potentialto create a possibility of suchchange. I discuss with otherorganizations with similar goalsjust one question - what wouldcreate the required change?Especially so, since we have a

FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IN EDUCATION QUALITY

DILEEP RANJEKAR

Dileep Ranjekar, theChief Executive Officerof Azim PremjiFoundation, is a scienceGraduate and has a PostGraduate Diploma ofBusiness Management aswell as Master's degree inPersonnel Managementand Industrial Relationsfrom Tata Institute ofSocial Sciences, Mumbai.He joined Wipro fromcampus and became theCorporate Executive VicePresident HumanResources. As CEO ofAzim PremjiFoundation,he is leadingover 250 professionalsand several hundredvolunteers workingtowards realizingfoundation's visionthrough the Foundation'scurrent engagement withover 16,000 schools thathave 50,000 teachers and2.7 Million children witha missionary zeal.

National Education Policy thatarticulated the goals of education,the thrust areas and a way toachieve the goals way back in 1986.Every state in India has a fairamount of clarity on what shouldhappen in their schools. They areclear that all children must be inthe school, attending regularly andmost importantly learning as perthe expected goals of thecurriculum or of the NationalEducation Policy.

Nature and Size of the Problem

However, after 60 years ofindependence, here is theperformance of India in key aspectsof quality of elementary education:

• India accounts for 16% of theglobal population butcontributes to just about 1.16%of world's GDP

• Close to 20 million children arestill outside the school.

• Attendance of the children andcompletion of education cycle isa major challenge. For instance,if 100 children get enrolled inthe First standard, only about 52complete education cycle up toEighth standard and only about31%.

• Over 33% of the children areunable to read or write in classV.

• Our literacy level is 65% vs.world average literacy level of80%.

• Only about 8% children pursuehigher education.


• In only about 10% of the school - over 60%children achieve the expected learningcompetencies.

Needless to say, India has not succeeded inbringing about the change at national level. Andthis is not only true for education but also inother development areas such as health,nutrition and poverty. In elementary education,we are referring to a system that consists of 200mln children in the age group of 6-14 years in1.3 million schools.

What Induces a Large Scale Change?

There is very little understanding on this issue. Ifyou analyse the circumstance in which majorchanges have happened across the world, youwill realize that it has been either a major attackfrom outside or a major external challenge thatjeopardized the national pride or nationalsecurity. So the science teaching campaign in theUS was a result of the challenge that was createdby the USSR by successfully launching the spaceprogram before the US did. Or the maths teachingrevolution in Japan was a result of majorchallenge from China. In our own country, thewar of China and Pakistan in the 1960s had amajor uniting effect on the country and a lot ofterritorial and religious barriers broke down whenthe national security was under attack.

The interesting thing about education is thatthe purpose of education itself is to create orcontribute to "social change". However, moreoften than not, education is being used tosimply maintain status quo and to create areplica of existing society.

Our Analysis of Issues in Education

After over 6 years of grass root work, we at AzimPremji Foundation have had a some criticalinsights in the domain of education.

Significant improvement in access: Since over85% of the elementary education happens inthe Government schools, the state holds the keyon the supply or access side. During the past

10 years, some of the basic access issues havebeen by and large resolved. For over 95% of thehabitations in the country there is a primaryschool within 1 km and a higher primary schoolwithin 3 kms. There are several other changesthat have happened. The teacher pupil ratiohas improved to 1:42 (though still not sufficientand we still have over 75% schools engaged inan unplanned multigrade teaching where oneteacher reaches several grades together). Mid-day meal program has been introduced inmajority of the schools (though the qualityneeds improvement), classrooms haveincreased, budgets for teacher training areavailable etc.

Quality of learning - the biggest issue: Thesingle most important aspect that we have notbeen able to change in the schools is the qualityof education. The biggest problem beingeducation is equated to ability to "rotememorize". The education system has forgottenthe education goals that are articulated by theNational Education Policy. The entire systemhas become a drill to remember the text booksthan understand, comprehend, apply, analyse,innovate that are so critical to building aknowledge society.

Need to break myths:

There have been several aspects that needchange and several myths need to be broken.The key among them are:

• Mindset # 1: Children when they enter theschools are deficient and need to fixed.

Reality: Even before the children arrive inthe schools, they have huge potential andthat needs to be realized.

• Mindset # 2: Learning takes place in thehead and not in the body as a whole.

Reality: Learning and abilities reside invarious parts of the body and mind.

• Mindset # 3: Everyone learns or shouldlearn in the same way.


Reality: Various individuals learn atdifferent pace at different times

• Mindset # 4: Learning takes place in theclassroom and not outside the classroom.

Reality: Every life experience contributes tolearning anywhere.

• Mindset # 5: There are smart kids and dumbkids.

Reality: Each child is uniquely gifted andpossesses talents in multiple areas.

It is absolutely mind boggling to observe howthe entire elementary education system, thatconsists of 5.5 Mln teachers, 1 Mln educationfunctionaries and spends over Rs. 1,40,000crore engages most of the time on issues thatare not related to achieving the quality ofeducation in the classroom. There is a lot oftalk on appointing teachers, transferringteachers, building classrooms, getting reportsfrom the schools, enrolment, attendance so onand so forth…. but very little discussion onquality of what happens in the classroom.

Some Enablers of Change

The National Curriculum Framework hasattempted to define the process that could achievethe goals of education. However, in addition tothe difficulties and lack of guidance on convertingthe curriculum into classroom processes,probably the biggest challenge is its awarenessamong the teacher educators and the teachers.

In our analysis, the most important changeagents that could bring about the requiredchange in the quality of education are:

• Teachers

• Education Administrators

• Parents and community that can exertpressure on the schools

• Examination reforms

Irrespective of what happens in the rest of theeducation system and what people keep

harping on--the crucible of learning in a formaland structured education system is theclassroom. And this is where the teacher hasthe most pivotal role in influencing the learners.

The teacher exists in a total system of educationdelivery that is needed to be supported by theeducation administrators - who among otherthings are also responsible for appointing,inducting, training, preparing andacademically supporting the teachers.

It is the parents that are most affected by thepoor quality of education since it deprives theirchildren from becoming responsible andeffective citizens and bread-winners for thefamily.

The current driver for change - theExaminations: The process that drives thebehavior of almost the entire education systemcurrently is the "Examination System".Examinations serve similar purpose as of theperformance management system in thecorporate organizations. In absolute termsthere is nothing wrong - except that the currentexamination system is almost entirely focussedon testing the "rote memorization" of thestudents. Thus at the primary education level,in a story of "Hare and Tortoise" the questionsthat are asked are what did the hare say totortoise or something similar - wherein thestudent has to remember who said what.Instead, the question should be "why did thetortoise win the race"? Unless the student hasunderstood the story, there is no way the studentwould be able to answer the question. Similarly,in history subject, the focus tends to be onchronology of events and the years in whichcertain historical events happened. Instead thefocus should be on the characters, theirpatriotism, their diplomacy, the failures of thesociety to recognize certain events, bravery,valor etc.

It is important to understand that because theexaminations focus excessively on rote


memorization, the focus of the teachinglearning tends to be preparing the child for thenarrow list of questions at the end of the lessonsand not on the broader issues of educationgoals to be achieved through the subject.

The basic beliefs in the National CurriculumFramework are:

• Learning as a process is unique to eachindividual

• Teaching with a 'prepared logicalsequence' decided by teacher or othersmay result in little learning, that too, rotelearning

• Pedagogy is but a process for mediationof resources in the form of meaningfulexperiences catering to varied learningneeds of learners

The essential focus of the curriculum is:

• Learner centric, not teacher centric

• The focus is learning - not teaching

• Processes that

• recognize the diversity, flexibility andvaried learning needs of the learners

• Is culture and context sensitive

• Forward looking

• Life related

The above reforms require radical change amongthe teachers, the process and the paradigm ofall involved in the delivery of education. Thefundamental difference in an assembly lineapproach to education and the child centricapproach is that here the learner is capable ofcontributing to herself/himself. That the learneris able to learn through the exposure toexperiences. That the learner is able to constructher/his own knowledge based on experience.

This would force the education system to re-look at several issues radically differently. Someof these would be:

• What kind of people become teachers?

• Is the profession viewed respectable andrewarding enough to attract the best?

• Is the teacher education curriculum relevant,experiential, teacher centric?

• How is the process of appointment ofteachers conducted?

• Are we from time to time defining and re-defining the teacher competencies to meetthe challenges of the 21st century?

• How is the in-service training of teacherscarried out?

• Who educates and ensures the quality ofteacher educators?

• How do we reach every rupee of theeducation budget to improve the quality oflearning?

• Are the examinations driving a classroomculture and process that is consistent withthe National Curriculum Framework?

• How are we enabling the teachers to usetheir freedom in the classroom - moremeaningfully?

• How do we address the issue of teacherabsenteeism?

• How do we create much higherperformance consciousness amongteachers?

• How do we make parents aware of theirresponsibility in their children's education?

• How do we educate the parents on what toexpect as a result of education?

Political Will to Change - Critical in aDemocratic Set up

Many of the above changes need enormous"Political Will" among the policy makers.

The political masters must get themselveseducated on relevant issues for qualityeducation. The most critical issues are:


• Accord Highest Priority: Place the issue ofeducation at par with the other threepriorities - electricity (Bijilee), Roads (Sadak),and Water (Paani). Accept that educationquality is fundamental to India's status as adeveloped nation. We ought to beknowledge creators and not mereknowledge receivers.

• Allocation of Required Resources:Including financial budgets. For too long wehave been speaking of allocating budgetsthat are equal to 6% of the GDP vs currentallocation of about 3%.

• Accountability for Quality Education: Weneed an attitude of catching the bull by thehorn when it comes to performance of thedelivery system. Illustratively, if almost 50%students fail in the board examinations, whois made accountable? Is it the educationminister? The education secretary? Thedistrict or block education officer? Theteacher? Or the hapless student or even morehapless parents? We have to fix theaccountability suitably.

• Measurement and Review: Review thestatus of quality of education at the highestlevel of political system: what gets reviewedand measured also gets prioritized by thesystem.

• Enabling Policy Changes: qualityimprovement systems are often interlinkedand need a holistic approach. Illustratively,

mere appointing of good teachers would nothelp. You need to revamp the academicsupport and training system, addresscompetence issues as well as motivationissues. And that requires fundamentalpolicy changes in the risk reward system -which is currently completely absent.

One of the ministers with whom I wasdiscussing the education quality issue told methat you need to make an all round andmultidimensional effort if quality of educationhas to be impacted. You need to 'for instance'educate and influence the policy makers as wellas law interpreters.

Though the principles of "managing change"might be common, the way it works at thenational level change is significantly different.Especially in a system where the subject is botha central as well as a state subject. Since thechange implementers are fragmented, you needa greater advocacy thrust at a broader level andan equally powerful demonstration of changeat the grass root level. And for this you neededucation activists at the grass root level whohave the broader perspective of education.

Thus, a strategy of achieving macro levelchange through series of "micro level"demonstrations of change as "proof of concept"is likely to work to raise the quality of educationat a national level.


Context

The biggest challenge facing theHR function today is to create andsustain an innovative work culture.With the Indian economy surgingahead and the Sensex surprising useach day with unexpected highs,the expectations from HR hasincreased many fold. The shortageof talent is being seen as the onlybig challenge in surfing this bigwave of growth. HR has anopportunity, like never before, toattract, develop and retain thisscarce and precious talent. But thenew Gen Y that is represented bythe young faces at the work place,are the real opportunity forunleashing potential and triggeringquantum growth. We need excitedpeople with passion forcollaborating and innovating. HRhas an opportunity to find ways totrigger this passion andcommitment for innovation andexcellence. Within organizations,there are periods when innovationand creativity flows unhinderedand the resulting activity andpositive energy create unexpectedresults. These condensed periodsare called "Hot Spots". These canbe ignited and sustained to create

AbstractThe 6th National HRM Summit, organized under the auspices of All India Management

Association(AIMA) was held on 19th & 20th October 2007. It brought together the author of HOTSPOTS - Lynda Gratton (LBS) and other eminent speakers from the Corporate World who spokeon four themes to discover how HR can ignite HOT SPOTS. In compiling the various ideas fromspeakers, the article tries to bring out how change can be brought through HR and leadership to

create and sustain hot spots. The article thus heavily drives on the ideas of the book and thecontent of the summit.

HOW HR CAN IGNITE 'HOT SPOTS'

YOGI SRIRAM

Yogi Sriram is currentlyat Larsen & ToubroLimited as ExecutiveVice President (HumanResources &Administrative Services)for the E&C division. Hehad earlier richexperience with, TajGroup (Hotel arm of theTATA's) , Asea BrownBoveri , Dabur India,British Petroleum asH.R. Director (Africa,Middle East, Turkey &South Asia) covering 3continents and 41countries.He has aHonours degree inEconomics from ShriramCollege of Commerce,Masters in PersonnelManagement & IR fromthe Tata Institute ofSocial Sciences, LL.B.from the University ofDelhi and M.B.A. inOrganization Behaviourfrom the Faculty ofManagement Studies(FMS), University ofDelhi. He has beenadmitted as Fellow ofthe All IndiaManagementAssociation.

innovative and winningorganizations where people areself-propelled and feel like givingtheir best, and sometimes evenbeyond.

Prof. Lynda Gratton from LondonBusiness School , has explained inher book the people implicationson strategy. Her book "Hot Spots:Why Some Teams, Workplaces, andOrganizations Buzz with Energy - andOthers Don't", is an internationalbestseller

Inspired by her work, the Summitfocused on "How HR can ignite 'HotSpots'" with sharing of experiencesand HR best practices and throughdialogue at the Summit, that lead tonew ideas on how to createexcitement in the Work place.

This Summit was designed to focusthe attention of business leaders oncreating Hot Spots that are the keyto the success of human endeavourwithin an organization, group andteam. There were also deliberationson competencies that HRprofessionals should develop toignite these Hot Spots.

The Take way of the Summit

The Summit triggered plenty ofideas to ignite Hot Spots that


should create a collaborative and innovativework culture, since this culture is the key toattracting and retaining talent for buildingbusiness in organizations.

The Content

Presentations and dialogue at the Summitcovered examples of the HR function creatingHot Spots in organizations in various Sectorsof business. The programme covered initiativesimplemented, outlining the stories of success,challenges and failures in igniting Hot SpotsThe deliberations covered the skills that arerequired to execute such HR initiatives andhow HR communities propose to build theseskills quickly while organizations are restlessfor rapid talent build up. The Summit providedopportunities for learning through sharing ofexperiences of delegates who have championedHR innovations to achieve and sustain growththrough Hot Spots. The Summit made theCoffee and Refreshment Breaks equallystimulating with opportunities to learn.

Some Glimpses from the Summit Speeches

Yogi Sriram - Executive Vice President (HR &Administrative Services) E&C L&T Ltd., whowas also the summit director, shared somestatistics about the Indian economy.Household income will triple in the coming 20yrs and India will be the largest consumereconomy by 2025. In terms of private spendingIndia would be the same as the US by 2025.The Labor Force in India will dramaticallyincrease as compared to countries like France,Australia etc.

K Venkataraman, Member of the Board &President L&T Ltd. shared that old economycompanies have the largest growth potential ofmarket capitalization. They are the leading valuecreators in the market. These are the Engineering,Construction & Manufacturing sectors.

Ira Bindra- Director HR- GE shared insightson how GE, a 116 billion dollar company is

leveraging HR to create HOT SPOTS. Sheshared that GE was focusing on energizingpartners and employees, attraction andretention of talent. She said that HR can reachnew levels of excellence by earning the trust ofthe leadership team, through disciplined HRprocesses.

Rajiv Narang, focused on orbit shiftinginnovation through generating escape velocity.For organizations to see Hot Spots, leadersshould be aware of the organization's potentialHot Spots.

A cooperative mindset is a mix of 3 elements,namely, intellectual mindset, social mindset,emotional mindset and a 4th addition byAkhouri was a financial mind set. AccordingAkhouri of Hero Honda there are certain prerequisites for hot spots. These are created bythe action of a leader and they are created by asense of urgency.

Yasho Verma of LG Electronics said hisCompany focused on 3 types of quality -Environmental Quality, Transactional Quality,Process Quality.

Ishan Raina- of OOH believed that BoundarySpanning meant redefining a category.According to him HR plays a very importantrole in combining ideas. These days' boundariesare getting demolished by variouscommunication break thorough innovationslike internet. Companies are shifting the focusfrom product to production. He talked abouthow companies can become talent magnets byinvesting time and money, identifyingpromising leaders, by encouraging feedbackand support, developing teams and notindividuals.

Puneet Jetli- General Manager MindtreeConsulting said HR has to play 3 roles inboundary spanning - Individual, Team &Organization.

P Dwarkanath- Director MAX India Ltd high


pointed the prerequisites of change which werea winning attitude, strategic communication,and aligning behaviour with strategy.

Arvind Agrawal- President RPG Enterprisesdiscussed the best practices and signaturepractices of RPG and he told the audienceabout the differences between them. Bestpractices are like cut and paste practices butsignature practices evolve from a company.Signature practices in long run become bestpractices.

Shantanu Banerjee from XANSA emphasisedthe importance of creating a climate of excellenceand that there should be a linkage betweenhuman performance and financial outcome.

The summit highlight was the session by LyndaGratton. The focus of her session was to drawattention of the business leaders on creatingHot Spots that are the key to the success ofhuman endeavor within the organization.

Elements for Creating Hot Spots….someextracts from Lynda's presentation and book

You always know when you are in a Hot Spot.You feel energized and vibrantly alive. Yourbrain is buzzing with ideas, and the peoplearound you share your joy and excitement. Theenergy is palpable, bright, shining. These aretimes when what you and others have alwaysknown becomes clearer, when adding valuebecomes more possible. Times when the ideasand insights from others miraculously combinewith your own in a process of synthesis fromwhich spring novelty, new ideas, andinnovation. Times when you explore togetherwhat previously seemed opaque and distant.We can all remember being in Hot Spots, whenworking with other people was never moreexciting and exhilarating and when you knewdeep in your heart that what you were jointlyachieving was important and purposeful. Onsuch occasions, time seems to rush by as youand those around you are "in the flow."1 Time

even seems to stand still. We enjoy being partof a Hot Spot, and we are healthier, happierpeople as a result.

When Hot Spots arise in and betweencompanies, they provide energy for exploitingand applying knowledge that is already knownand genuinely exploring what was previouslyunknown. As a consequence, Hot Spots aremarvelous creators of value for organizationsand wonderful, life-enhancing phenomena foreach of us.

Yet life is not always about being in a Hot Spot,and organizations are not always aboutgenerating Hot Spots. How often have youfaced a situation when you knew in your heartyou could have achieved more? These are timeswhen your energy has drained, when the BigFreeze takes over. There are many times, inmany companies, when Hot Spots fail to emerge.

Over 80 percent of the anticipated value frommergers and acquisitions typically fails tomaterialize. Three out of four joint ventures fallapart after the honeymoon period. Manyexecutives report that they struggle to deliverproducts to increasing discerning consumers.Hoped-for innovation never materializes as themarketing function fights with the salesfunction about internal costing issues.3 The BigFreeze also has a human toll. An overlycompetitive working environment wherefriendships fail to develop is one of the majorsources of stress at work and one of the keyreasons why talented employees leavecompany.

These are very different problems with verysimilar underlying reasons. As you will see, atthe heart of successful managers andacquisitions, of well-functioning joint ventures,of the launch of global products and thecreation of new products are Hot Spots. Theseare the occasions when we are willing and ableto work skillfully and cooperatively within andacross the boundaries of the company, when


our energy and excitement are inflamedthrough an igniting question or a vision of thefuture, times when positive relationships withwork colleagues are a real source of deepsatisfaction and a key reason why we decide tostay with a company.

Why and when do Hot Spots emerge? What isit about some people that supported theemergence of Hot Spots, and what role did the

leaders of their company play? Why do someHot Spots flourish while others fail?

The answer can be found in the formula forHot Spots:

Hot Spots = (Cooperative Mindset × BoundarySpanning ×

Igniting Purpose) Productive Capacity

References

Lynda Gratton, Hot Spots: Why Some Companies Buzz with Energy and Innovation - and Others Don’t.

Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2000.


Introducing Indian NGOs

According to various estimatesthere are anywhere between 1-2million Non GovernmentalOrganizations (NGOs) in India.About 20 million people work inthese NGOs, perhaps 85% asvolunteers - the other being paidemployees.

The World Bank defines NGOs as"private organizations that pursueactivities to relieve suffering,promote the interests of the poor,protect the environment, providebasic social services, or undertakecommunity development". If wewere to draw a simple picture of theusual NGO we would say that it isan informal organization, of, say,20 people, working to improve thelives of the community the NGO issituated in. This organizationwould work for altruistic (i.e. non-commercial as well as non-political) reasons, working for thesimple reason that its members oremployees want to improve thequality of living of their community.This article focuses on theseorganizations.

How NGOs Have BecomeIncreasingly Important

In the past decade NGOs havebecome increasingly important.Many of these organizations havedone tremendous work in creatingnew ways of working with

BRINGING CHANGE TO THE CHANGE AGENTS -

A LOOK AT INDIAN NGOs

MUSTAFA MOOCHHALA AND TEJINDER SINGH BHOGAL

Mustafa Moochhalafinished from XLRI andworked initially withModi Xerox. He movedto work in Pradan, anNGO, and was based inMadhya Pradesh andthen in Chennai. Hefocuses on HRConsulting, OrganizationDevelopment andTraining. He presentlydivides his time betweenConsulting as part of MaFoi and with NGOs.

Tejinder S. Bhogal hasover 22 years experienceafter graduating fromIRMA. His initial thirteenyears were of working inNGOs. He hasimplemented ruraldevelopment projects inthe villages of Gujaratand Chattisgarh. For thelast nine years he hasworked as a Consultantand Trainer on OD andHR issues with a rangeof NGOs in the country.He is based in Delhi.

communities and localtechnologies. They have beencreative and courageous; and havebuilt trust in the communities theyserve. As a result they have builtcredibility for themselves and the sectoras a whole which has led to their beingaccepted as a legitimate and importantpart of civil society.

A large number of governmentprograms are now mandated to berun by NGOs. Multilateralagencies such as the World Bankwant the Government to use NGOs;so does the Planning Commissionof the Government of India.Consequently, NGOs that haveperformed find that they are able toattract funding for more work: theywork in larger areas, and areexpected to employ a larger numberof people than before.

The Nature of NGOs Work

The work of NGOs is distinct.NGOs provide a range of services(both directly and indirectly) tovarious communities. Unlikecustomers of businessorganizations, these communities,however, do not pay for theseservices. These services, instead,are paid for either by theGovernment, or by independentdonor agencies (both Indian andforeign).

Though NGOs do a range of work,a common factor for a large number


of these NGOs is the fact that they work directlywith the community. They talk to communities,understand their needs, and help develop andimplement programs that benefit thesecommunities.

A couple of decades back a large number ofNGOs worked on programs that did not requirecomplex technical or managerial competencies.This, however, is no longer the case. A verylarge number of the programs beingimplemented by NGOs now require areasonable level of technical and managerialcompetence.

Though a large number of NGOs are growingin size, they are still small: most employ about10-25 people working for them. A typical smallNGO with, say 20 people, would have threekinds of personnel: leaders, field workers andsupport staff. us, there might be 1-2 people in aleadership position, 1-2 persons as the supportstaff (handling accounts and office jobs) andthe balance 16-18 would be field workers.

The Challenges Faced by NGOs

While there are many challenges that NGOstypically face (Funding uncertainty,governance, relations with the communities,accountability and effectiveness, etc), we focushere on those which are organizational andpeople related.

These are:

• External

• Scale up - There is a strong pressure onperforming NGOs to scale up. This is feltin discussions with their fundingpartners, the Government and otherpartners. There is a push to grow more,do more. Funding houses and NGOsthemselves seem to be dissatisfied withthe current rate of growth and progress.Organic growth is typically slow, soscaling up requires an enormous amountof energy and focus.

• Energy spent on arranging for Funds - Whilefunding for NGOs has increased overall, ithas hardly kept pace with the need and theexpansion in the sector. Almost all NGOsseek funds project to project. This has meantthat the people in Leadership positions haveto spend much of their time in this activity -meeting funders, orienting their programstowards their funding partner needs,networking for fund flows etc. This takesaway from investing adequate time in theirorganization capability building, groomingindividuals, building sustainable networks(which do not give them funding) etc.

• Internal

• Skill development of field workers - Withleaders spending less time in the field,they spend less time guiding andcoaching their field workers. This leadsto relatively untrained people interactingwith the community. As a result, thequality of work of the NGO starts to suffer.

• Load on the support staff - The support staffconsisting of people working on accounts,administration etc feel the increasing loadand pressure without having the requisiteskills to cope.

• Need for technical plus managerial abilities- With the increase in the complexity of theprograms (see previous section) it isimportant to have technically trainedmanpower. However, just acquiring suchmanpower (say Irrigation Engineers) is notgood enough as such personnel need to beoriented and trained extensively to deal withcommunity related issues. This requiresinvestment of time and resources to helpthem adapt and learn.

• Mindset of frugality - In many NGOs historyalso prevents them from paying new recruitsadequately. Most of these NGOs were set upwhen NGOs heavily valued frugality. Costs


were low, people lived simply and salariesreflected this. Though salaries haveincreased over time, the fact is that NGOsalaries - as well as those of its leadershipare a fraction of what one gets offered inother sectors - Government and theCorporate sector.

• Attrition - There is large attrition in manyNGOs. This attrition is particularly true forthose who join in the Middle Line. For one,there are far many more NGOs present nowthan they were ten years back. Thus, whenpeople are dis-satisfied with the NGO theyare working in, they attempt to find another.Secondly, they are attracted to the donoragencies - many of them international. Thesedonors typically offer much larger pay andgreater visibility. These donors act as magnetsfor a large number of people who join themiddle management. Donors on their part tooare looking for people who have some 'fieldexperience' - i.e., those who have worked withthe community. Consequently, many NGOswho have succeeded in acquiring and trainingsuch people end up by losing them to donors.Thirdly, the expanding Corporate sectorattracts many in the NGO sector, especiallythose who interact with community on retailservices or financial products.

Mintzberg and the Structure of Organizations:A Theoretical Interlude

Henry Mintzberg is a Canadian managementthinker who is known as someone apart fromthe mainstream (of management thinking) ableto analyze basic assumptions about managerialbehavior. In his seminal work, The Structuringof Organizations, this is what he has to say aboutorganizational structure.

• Organizations can be seen divided into fiveparts.

• At the base of the organization is theOperating Core. These are the people who

are actually doing the work. In the contextof Indian NGOs, these would be the personsworking directly with the Community: theso called Field Workers.

• At the hierarchical top of the organizationis the Strategic Apex - the managers whohave the overall responsibility for theorganization; the ones who take strategicdecisions and provide direction to theorganization. In the context of Indian NGOsthese usually consist of people who havestarted the organization: the originalLeaders of the organization.

• The Middle Line is a chain of managers thatimplement the decision by supervisingsubordinates (the Operating Core), andreporting to their supervisors (the StrategicApex). These are people who make tacticaldecisions and lead programs. Interestingly- and we will find out why this happens -most Indian NGOs have little or nothing inthe form of this middle line.

• The fourth part of the organization is theTechno-Structure. This part serves toanalyze and organize the work. In thecontext of NGOs these can refer to peoplewho have a technical background in thespecific work area (irrigation, health,

Figure 1 – Visual depiction of Mintzberg’sstructure components


education). In reality, most NGOs do nothave people who can belong to this part.

• The fifth and last part is the Support Staff:all those who provide indirect support ofwork. In the context of NGOs this can includeAccountants, Drivers, and OfficeAdministrators.

Mintzberg's Structure and Indian NGOs

As indicated above, most Indian NGOs operatewith just three parts of the organization: theStrategic Apex, the Operating Core and theSupport Staff. Mintzberg terms this as the'Simple structure' where work is done throughdirect supervision, without a prominent middleline. The major implications of having just threeparts to NGOs are as follows:

The Strategic Apex is forced to play the roleof the Middle Line too. In other words, theLeaders of the organization spend timedirectly working with the Field Workers:guiding, controlling and training them. Inaddition they perform roles of fund raiser,net worker, strategist and overall monitor.

The lack of Techno-Structure means that theNGO is limited in the kinds of projects it isable to handle; or there is a lot of trial andexperimentation. Interestingly, many NGOstry to solve the problem of a missing TechnoStructure and a Middle Line by hiringindividuals who are both technical, and canplay the middle management role. This works

+

Figure 2 - Structure of a typical Indian NGO

for small organizations, but as they growthere is substantive pressure to grow both.

The shortage of enough number of SupportStaff means that the NGO is usually delayedin completing its audit, and sending itsreports to donors. This in turn delays (andover time, reduces) the availability of fundsto these NGOs.

The Path Ahead

In a growing India, NGOs need to meet the keychallenges. We would like to suggest 2 sets ofkey interventions needed for this:

• Build and strengthen the 'Middle Line' - Thisis a key area that needs to be constructedright. It can be done in the following way:

• Strengthen institutions andorganizations that educate, train andgroom caders that become the MiddleLine - Premier institutions like IRMA thatwere supposed to focus on NGOs andCooperatives have not lived up to theirpromise. Students from there tend to optfor corporate sector jobs. There is a needto encourage many institutions to haveprograms in NGO management, so thatthere is a broadening of the channels toget talented people into this sector.Ex: IFMR, Chennai and BanyanAcademy of Leadership in Mental Healthhave tied up for offering an MBAspecialization in this. Bringing in a largernumber of fresh recruits in the sector willalso challenge traditional beliefs held bythe sector. This can lead to fresh thinking.

• NGOs have a focused program to trainyoung graduates/post graduates - Pradan,a Delhi based NGO working at the villagelevel have had a successful Associateshipprogram, similar to the 'managementTrainee ship' running for two decades now.Dhan, a Madurai based NGO, has set up a


'People Academy' that seeks to fosterknowledge and understanding throughDiplomas and shorter training programs.Funders and even Indian Corporates needto partner with the larger NGOs to run theseprograms to build strong cadres for thefuture.

• Exchange programs with Corporates - Thereis a need to create a program whichestablishes an exchange betweenCorporates, NGOs (and the Governmentlater). This would allow, middle managersfrom both sectors to work on the other sideand build a deeper understanding andskills required to work in this everexpanding world. Many corporateorganizations seek to know how to workwith communities; many NGOs seek tounderstand how to focus on 'execution' andefficiency. This program would go aconsiderable way in doing that. This shouldbe a program of mutuality, rather than a one-way exchange. Over a period of time, weshould have enough leaders in Corporatesand NGOs who have had experience inworking in the 'other' sector, so thatcollaboration is seen as natural rather thanas a special activity presently put downunder 'Corporate Social Responsibility'.

• Build different models for collaboration insetting up stronger Support and Technicalservices - This can be done in the followingway:

• Shared services houses - Buildorganizations which offer services tomany NGOs. This would be in thenature of shared services, and perhapseven outsourced services. Accountingfirms, HR firms, Recruitment agenciesand Administration firms need to beencouraged to enter this space and offerservices to NGOs. This would lower

cost for the latter and ensure access toprofessional services. ICICIFoundation along with MurrayCulshaw Consulting is doing somework towards this. There needs to anetwork of organizations that offerdifferent support services to NGOsleaving them free to focus on their keystrengths, ie. Working with thecommunities.

• Collaboration on technical services - Indiais rich in its technical services. Some NGOshave tied up with these institutions tocollaborate in specific areas (ex: RuralInnovations Network collaborates with IIT,Chennai in a program - L-ramp to makeinnovations made in rural India robusttechnically). These have been sporadic andshort term. There is a need to grow this andestablish strong linkages which wouldallow the key parts of the techno-structureto be outsourced to these institutions.

Putting in some of these interventions is likelyto strengthen the Middle Line, who would takeon tasks of guiding, monitoring, coaching theOperating Core. This group of leaders/managers would head units, build tactics fortheir immediate community actions,experiment at the field level; thus freeingLeadership time at the Strategic Apex to focuson networking, raising of Funds, Strategyformation and building of this Middle cader.

As seen in examples, some forward lookingNGOs have worked very thoughtfully and in adeliberate manner over time to create suitablesolutions to some of the issues faced by them.These need to be picked up by other NGOs,adapted and expanded for their own use, ifgrowth and scale are important to them.


In Conclusion

It is time that the sector as a whole (and not justindividual NGOs) looked at issues oforganization and people. The Civil Society,Corporate organizations and the Government

Endnotes

1. Quoted in Indianngos.com in http://www.indianngos.com/ngosection/newcomers/whatisanngo.htm downloaded on October 23,2007.

2. PRIA, Invisible but Widespread: The Non-Profit Sector in India.

3. NGOs can be more complex; they can also be situated far from the community. But this picture given here represents a largemajority of the present day ‘secular’ NGOs.

4. It is important to point out that many NGOs do not work directly with communities: the nature of their work is thus subtly differentfrom those who have been described as a typical modern day Indian NGO. A separate article is required to deal with the changeissues of such NGOs.

5. Programs include that of Education, Health, Legal Aid, Awareness of Rights, and programs that help to improve the income of poorcommunities.

6. In particular the Gandhian ones.

7. This has come about as NGOs are beginning to implement technically complex programs such as on Health Prevention, ProvidingQuality Education, designing and constructing watershed and irrigation programs etc.

8. http:// www2.winchester.ac.uk/bm/courses/bs3933/Mintzberg.doc. Also look up http://www.henrymintzberg.org/. Read Mintzberg,1979

9. Pearson, 2007.

10. http://pradan.net/

11. http://www.dhan.org/

12. http://news.moneycontrol.com/mccode/news/article/news_article.php?autono=310198. See also http://www.icicicommunities.org/interaction.html

13. http://www.indianngos.com/governence/murrayculshaw/fullinterview.htm

14. http://www.rinovations.org/Services

need to consciously devise strategies to supportthis movement, which is likely to make the NGOsector vibrant and sustainable.


Introduction

Organizations are facingtremendous internal and externalpressures to change. With thisbeing the trend, being a changeagent has become a universalcompetency for most ofprofessionals. This, on one side,opens up tremendousopportunities for individuals toapply their knowledge and skillsfor the betterment of theorganizations but also exposes theindividual to be either becomingopen to change or becoming thechange agent. However, the changeagent has a challenging role withrespect to not just being an activepartner adapting to change butinitiating, driving, andinstitutionalizing change. This is inline with the Kurt Lewin's threestage process of change wherethere is unfreezing of the currentstate, implementing change, andinstitutionalizing new systems(refreezing) (French and Bell, 2003).

Who is a Change Agent?

Cohen (2006), drawing up the highlinkage of the change process andthe change agent states fourimportant aspects of being a changeagent. This includes initiating/leading a project that changes the

AbstractThis article tries to define a change agent. Drawing extensively from the literature the paper

tries to examine who a change agent is, what a change agent does, what makes a changeagent, and how we can groom change agents. The interesting aspect here would be the link

up of the change process models with the change agent and finally how an organization canenable change agents.

DEFINING CHANGE AGENTS

SANDEEP K. KRISHNAN

Sandeep K. Krishnan is aFellow of the IndianInstitute of Management,Ahmedabad. Hecurrently works with theRPG - Group HumanResources. He haspresented papers onemployee intention toquit in forums like theAcademy ofManagement, USA. Hehas published severalpapers and is passionateabout his work in thearea of talentmanagement.

way in which things are done,define how the change should be,understands the reality of thechange, is able to take up theresources for the change, and stickon to the agreed change processand face challenge on course. Thisdescription of what a change agentneeds multiple skills. Linking upCohen's definition of change agentand Kurt Lewin's model of change,we can see that a change agent is aperson who unfreezes the currentsituations, who introduces thechange in terms of new practices,and finally ensures that new worldis established and runs efficiently.

What a Change Agent Does

In each of the stages i.e unfreezing,moving, and refreezing a changeagent should be specific activitiesthat enable the change. In theunfreezing stage, the action is todevelop a need for change andpoint out why things shouldchange from the way in whichthings are done around. Here weare also assuming that we arespeaking of internal change agentsrather than external ODconsultants or managementconsultants and hence thecomplexity is more pronouncedand interesting. Based on Caldwell


(2003) model of managers as change agents,one of the major reasons that a change mightbe initiated would be a change in the strategicvision provided by leadership that drivesmanagers for implementing the same. Othersuch reasons could be the changes that amanager himself initiates through hisempowerment for decision making with theneed for efficiency, changing market demands,internal issues, etc. In the case of a plannedchange the objectives are very strongly definedand driven. For example quoting the case ofSiemens Nixdorf as in Dover (2002) the culturechange was driven for enhancing performancethrough better customer care and operationalefficiency. Similar example in case of RPG, oneof the India's largest conglomerates, would bethe case of KEC. KEC underwent a majorchange in terms of culture to meet projectmanagement and client needs. The changeagents here were primarily the top managementteam and driven from the vision of the leader.Caldwell (2003), quoting Beckhard (1969) notesthat the typical role of a change agent in aplanned effort is to provide consultative,technical or specialist advice in themanagement of change. Thus it is taken asgranted that a change agent in most of the casesis driving the already agreed path of change.However, when change process when linkedwith leadership creates a whole new dimensionto what a change agent does. It is this changeagent leader who creates an inspiring vision,motivates people to walk with him, inspireconfidence and then creates systems andprocesses for change.

A broader role of a change agent can thus bedefined as someone who identifies a need forchange, envisages a better future based on thechange, inspires people to walk with thechange, and finally makes change a way of life.

A Change Agent Model

The model given above is simplistic in terms ofthe role of a change agent. Fullan, Cuttress, andKilcher (2005) give an interesting descriptionthat helps us to connect to the various processesbehind it. Author points out eight steps/rolesthat can be connected to the model. Theinitiating change involves engaging moralpurpose, and building capacity. This clearlyinvolves the crux of beginning of selling thechange to various stakeholders. The secondstep would ensure that you have the processes,people, and resources that will help in makingchange happen. The third step wouldunderstand the change process. This is a criticalpart in making things happen. The clarity onhow change should be and creating ownershipof different parts of it is what makes the changea reality. Fourth would be creating a learningculture. Change creates new situations andcritical part here would be to ensure thatlearning and institutionalizing them are partof life. Fifth is to put evaluation of the changeprocess in place. Unless clarity is there on wherewe stand on different aspects of the change, itis unlikely that we will get the needed results.Sixth is the factor that cuts across all the process- leadership. What makes a change agent iscritical here. This enables whatever other stepsare brought forward in the change process.Seventh would be making the change anintegral part of the entire system. An interestingexample from the RPG Group would be theimplementation of Balanced Scorecard a fewyears back. Balanced business scorecard nowlinks up the entire process of strategyformulation, strategy to performance measures,performance evaluation, and associated


human resource process like leadershipdevelopment, employee feedback anddevelopment. Any change that is implementedwithout this aspect in place may have a highchance of dying out in the due process.Challenge of the change agent(s) here wouldbe create collaboration, involvement, and buy-in from as many critical stakeholders as possiblein enabling success. The final step that wouldbe crux of institutionalizing change would beto understand the transformational outcomesof change.

What Makes a Change Agent?

It is widely quoted in literature that certainskills and personality traits make a person achange agent. Driving change is a difficultsocio political process than a pure rational one.Some of the basic characteristics that arementioned in the literature are the courage,patience, ability to motivate, adapting tochange, ability to neutralize resistance, andability to come back from setbacks. Furnhan(2002) states that to be part of the changeprocess the manager should have the courageto fail. They should also use this to deliver badnews and confronting people who are poorperformers. Also in case of a change there arechances of chaos and the author puts it rightlythat the managers should have the moralcourage to confront ethical dilemmas. Thecritical element here would be the ability andthe skill to take people along. That is toencourage people who support change andensure that others are given the right inputs tobe motivated to be part of change.

Santos and Garcia (2006) have found anotherinteresting aspect on how managers becomepart of organizational change. They found thatmental models with which managers operatecan determine how they pursue organizationalchange. An understanding of the real timeevents and whether they can createorganizational change make the manager

participate in the change process. Interestinglystudy by Grimm and Smith (2001) have foundthat young managers who have less experienceare more participative and take initiative in thechange process. This study was also ofconsiderable interest because it could link apositive impact of people with MBA degree toorganizational change. It was postulated thatyounger managers were more likely to have anMBA degree and they were more ready andinclined towards change that are strategic innature.

As Cohen (2006) puts it together, some of thebasic characteristics of change agents arecourage to make the change, flexibility to adaptas the change, ability to welcome resistance,respectful treatment of staff, willingness tolearn, humor as you go through change,humility to accept when things are not goingwell, and critical thinking to recognize whenthings are not working. Rosabeth Moss Kanter,a well-known change expert puts an interestperspective to one of the most relevant action ofa leader as a change agent. It is always easy toride on a success and when everything ispositive. However, the striking challenge iswhen it is a losing streak. The critical job of achange agent here would be to restoreaccountability in the process of change, andbring in teamwork and collaboration to the newinitiatives (Moss Kanter, 2005). Interestinglywhat makes a change agent can be quoted fromFurnham (2002) as "the courage to fail is thecourage to be first, to try something new, to beahead of your time, to trust your instincts, to becreative - knowing it could all go very wrongwith very significant consequences for themanager and who they manage."

How Can We Groom Change Agents?

As discussed in earlier sections, a change agentshould basically have the understanding of thecontext, ability to motivate and lead, have thecompetence to adapt and respond to change


and cope up with pressure and setback. Hence,some of them come up with experience of"knowing the organization" and some comesfrom "knowing what is best" and rest comesfrom the ability to know both and use it to bringthe best in terms of the change.

The various characteristics of change agents comefrom different dispositions. Some are personalitycharacteristics. While equating change agentswith leaders, we look at some of the basicpersonality characteristics like charisma.Research as a whole, has defied most of theseaspects that we attribute to leaders and as suchto change agents. Colin (2001) for example hasfound that exceptional leaders are the ones whoare high on humility and put themselves as thebackground runners to make long-term impact.As one of the critical aspect of change agent is tohave the courage of failure it is ironical that weexpect people who have narcissist tendencies orwant to rely on their charisma more than anythingelse can bring out transformations. It thusdepends on the organizations to build onevidences of change to give responsibilities togroom future leaders and change agents ratherthan going by perceptions.

Training interventions that are carefully chosento develop competencies that are identified to becritical for change management can be effectivelydone. Outbound training that focuses onaltering mental blocks on change can be usedeffectively for creating an atmosphere for change.However, it has been reported by experts thatoutbound as a mechanism can do very less onthe organizational context but it can be effectivelyused to make the individual a better person. Thesecond aspect would be coaching. Coaching onspecific characteristics based on role modelchange agents can be effective. Hand holdingand creating confidence and courage can go along way in making a mindset of change.

However, a critical organizational context thatcan aid any change agent and change process

as Argyris (1997) is based on two critical factors- first is to make previously un discussableproblems discussable. This enables unearthingof critical issues and making change possible.A change agent should ensure that people areput at non-threatening stance to make thishappen. Second critical factor would beenabling learning and information sharing inthe best possible way.

In the context of every day working in theorganization, change agents can be nurturedonly if we have tolerance to failure andexperimentation is allowed. This requires aculture of allowing taking risks andempowerment. Quite certainly this boils downto how managers empower their employeesand support mechanisms are provided formaking the change.

Conclusion

This paper attempted to bring across what isthe role of a change agent, what makes a changeagent, and how we can groom a change agent.A change agent model is an inspirational one.However, one can be a change agent only ifhe/she has the necessary competencies that areessentially strategic to complement traits likecourage and confidence. As John Kotter states"Leaders establish the vision for the future andset the strategy for getting there; they causechange1. They motivate and inspire others togo in the right direction and they, along witheveryone else, sacrifice to get there." This is nodifferent for a change agent who takes theleadership of the situation on him/herself andrides towards the goal. It is the ability of theorganization to set up a culture that supports/tolerates change that is the biggest enabler of achange agent.


References

Chris Argyris, Initiating change that perseveres”, The American behavioral scientist, 40 (1997)

Shelly Cohen, “Change agents bolster new practices in the workplace”, Nursing Management, 16 (June 2006)

Raymond Caldwell, “Models of change agency: a fourfold classification”, British Journal of Management, 14 (2003)

Philip A Dover, “Change agents at work: Lesson from Siemens Nixdorf”, Journal of Change Management, 3 (2003)

Adrian Furnham, “Managers as change agents”, Journal of Change Management, 3 (2002)

Michael Fullan, Claudia Cuttress, and Ann Kilcher, “8 Forces for leaders of change”, Journal of Staff Development, 26 (Fall 2005)

MA Valle Santos, and MA Teresa Garcia, “Organizational Change: Role of Managers’ Mental Models”, Journal of Change Management,6 (2006).

Curtis M. Grimm, and Ken G. Smith, “Management and organizational change: A note on the rail road industry”, Strategic ManagementJournal, 12 (Oct 1991)

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, “How Leaders Gain and Lose Confidence”, Leader to Leader, 35 (2005)

Wendell L. French, and Cecil H. Bell Jr, Organization Development, Prentice Hall of India (2003)


Arul has just closed the call. He looksat his watch and realizes that it is9.30 pm and there is a lot more instore for him in the evening. He hasto send out a couple of mails, de-brief his manager about this call andalso find time for small things likeand asking his little daughter howshe fared in her first quarterlyexams in the new school. These are'however' not the things that aregoing to keep him awake that night.Not his daughter's disappointment,not the significant changes in theclient's specifications. He was tohave convinced the client to releasetwo of his more senior resourcesfrom the project to help staff otherneeds and more importantly toconform to the new staffing mixnorms established by theorganization in the interest of projectprofitability. This did not happensince the client turned down therequest. He will now need to tryagain. Being a seasoned Projectmanager in this large softwareservices company, Arul has seen itall. He has now evolved a veryeffective coping strategy - he justdoes not think about the big pictureand worry himself about all thefuture changes and accompanyingchallenges. He takes one ball at atime and manages to field it well.

Welcome to the everyday life of aproject manager in a softwarecompany. If you thought the bestchange managers in India are OD

IN PRAISE OF INDIA'S MOST SEASONED

CHANGE MANAGERS

GANESH CHELLA

Ganesh Chella is aproduct of XLRI and hasover 16 years of industryexperience in leadingIndian and multinationalcompanies includingCadburys, TVS, Citibankand RPG and over sevenyears of consultingexperience. Deeplycommitted to thedevelopment of theHuman Resourcesprofession, Ganeshteaches, writes andengages in research. Hiscurrent consultingpractice provides himwith immenseopportunity to makesignificant contributionto the profession and tohis client organizations.It also provides him withthe opportunity to learn,experiment and grow asa professional.

He is the founder & CEOof totus consulting andthe co-founder of theExecutive & BusinessCoaching foundationIndia Limited. Totus is astrategic HR consultingfirm that partners withorganizations acrossindustries to design andimplement HumanResource andorganizationDevelopment solutionsthat meet their uniquebusiness needs.

consultants with business andbehavioral credentials and theability to deploy multiple tools,technologies and techniques youare quite off the mark. The mostseasoned change managers areactually the hundreds of projectmanagers who work round theclock to deliver value and keep theengines of growth alive.

This article is meant to recognizetheir efforts in making changemanagement an integral part of theway they live their lives. Thisspecial issue on ChangeManagement would in many waysbe incomplete if we did notrecognize and honor their efforts onthe ground. Obviously, it is not thatthey know it all and do it the bestway but they certainly "DO IT!"

In writing this article I have reliedon my insights gained frominteractions and discussions withhundreds of project managers andother leaders in the IT servicesOrganizations I have had toopportunity to work with acrossseveral OD and HR consultingengagements.

IT is all about change

Every mature profession in theworld helps its aspiring membersto imbibe and demonstrate the keybehavioral requirements of theprofession even before theycommence work. Some call this pre-socialization. For example, no one


needs to tell a trained nurse about theimportance of good bed side manners. No oneever needs to tell a trained hospitalityprofessional about the need for demonstratingcourtesy with guests. No one needs to tell acounselor about the importance of empathy. Allof them have been pre-socialized to the keybehavioral demands of their roles.

No one needs to tell a project manager thatchange is a part of his job. He understood thiseven before he starts his career in the industry.

He knows that the IT industry is synonymouswith change. He learns that everything aboutthe industry, its business model, its technology,its processes, its products and its people keepschanging and evolving constantly.

In fact the Software Engineering Institutes nowuniversally acclaimed CMM model specifiesfive levels of maturity of the processes of asoftware organization. CMM offers aframework for evolutionary processimprovement. Originally applied to softwaredevelopment (SE-CMM), it has been expandedto cover other areas including HumanResources (P-CMM) and Software Acquisition.Level 5 of this model is all about Optimising -Continuous Improvement - Process ChangeManagement, Technology ChangeManagement and Defect Prevention.

In fact the evolution of P- CMM a is recognitionof the critical role of people in securing quality

and some of strategic objectives of this modelinclude workforce development, reduction ofindividual dependencies, people motivationand retention.

In reality however, despite the best of processes,much seems to depend on the abilities of theproject manager who seems to play a pivotalrole in managing all this change.

So, what really are the dimensions of changein a project manager's life? What does he dowell and what is he struggling with? What arethe competencies he could get better at? Theseare some of the questions we will address inthis article.

The Seven Dimensions of Change

In my assessment, an average project managerhas to contend with seven critical dimensionsof change in his every day work. Thesedimensions are obviously of varying levels ofcomplexity and ease of management asdepicted in the diagram. I have thereforeclassified these dimensions into three levels ofcomplexity.

Level One Change Management Challenges

• Client Requirements

Most project managers seem extremelyproficient in accepting this element of change.

Diagram 1: Drawn by Varsha.

Diagram 2: Ganesh Chella model of SevenDimensions of Change


They realize that clients may not be clear aboutwhat they want or may not articulate it clearlyand that they may also change their minds atany time.

This seems to be a non issue today.

• Technology

Project managers of today have seen severaltechnological transitions. They have been partof transitioning their clients from one platformto another. They have also understood theimpact of technological changes on teampreferences, employee costs and availability.This too seems a non issue.

I am therefore not dwelling much on these levelone dimensions.

Level Two Change Management Challenges

• Client Environment

Many clients keep undergoing radical changesin many ways - the sponsors of the engagementmight change, there could be structuralrealignments, there could be an M&A or evenworse, the company could lose the client onaccount of a variety of problems. While theseaspects are typically handled at a level higherthan the project manager, the PM is ultimatelyresponsible for managing its impact on the teamin terms of communication and morale.

It is in this area that the good project managersbegin to get separated from the great ones.

The great ones are able to predict and sensethese developments and assess their potentialimpact on the project and even the relationship.They are also able to share these insights withinthe organization at appropriate levels. They arealso able to come up with contingency plans.They may even alert their team members anddo what they can to mitigate risks.

The average ones may not do enough connectacross multiple levels in the client organizationand may therefore not be able to acquire theseinsights despite doing a good job of delivering

on their particular project.

• Team

One of the biggest challenges for a projectmanager is the transience in his teammembership and relationship. I call it transiencebecause it is now beyond change. It is acontinuous onslaught of a series of everydaychanges in his team, many of which he is unableto understand, appreciate and even manage.This constant state of transience is a great sourceof stress for any project manager.

First, there is a fair amount of attrition thatchanges his team composition and terminatesthe team life ever so often. Second, is thepressure to release trained people and inductfresh people to keep the costs low, calling forconstant efforts in training, socialization andteam building efforts.

I am still placing this in the second level becausemanagers seem to be learning quickly to managethis dimension and many will no longercomplain about this being an impossible task.

The great managers tend to be better at buildingtrust and relationships ever so quickly within theteam. They also build informal networks withinthe organization and are less reliant on HR andmore reliant on these networks to find the peoplethey want and staff their teams quickly.

Most importantly, they are able to use theirrelationships to get some heads up about whatis on their team members' mind, when they planto ask for a change or leave and when they needto start taking actions.

The average ones end up feeling helpless andconstrained and blame the system and theyounger generation for all the chaos they haveto deal with.

Level Three Change Management Challenges

• Organization Changes

The organization constantly keeps makingchanges to its policies and processes in


response to changes in the externalenvironment as well as client needs andinternal pressures. These include changes inhiring policies, the structure of the hiringfunction, the resource allocation system, paypolicies, campus hiring policies, releasepolicies, staffing mix policies, careerdevelopment policies, reward policies, on-siteassignment policies, training policies, and awhole host of other workforce managementpolicies right down to things like dress code!

At another level, organizations themselves gothrough structural changes, ownershipchanges and strategic changes.

While it is all fine to make out a policycommunication or announcement, the onus forexplaining it, selling it and making it work restswith the project manager. Depending on thedepth of the HR function and theorganization's culture this is either shared byHR or is often placed solely on the shouldersof the project managers.

Given their own inability to understand the bigpicture and the lack of training and preparation,many do a bad job of managing this. Somerationalize by taking the view that their life endswith the project and anything beyond that isnot their problem. Some others believe that it is"management's" job to handle the change. Mostseem themselves as victims of the system.

This is where the maturity of organizationalprocesses makes a huge difference. Whereorganizations are sensitive to the implications ofthe change, they limit the burden on the projectmanager and lead the change from the front.Weak Organizations just dump it on the PM.

• External Environment

Given the truly global character of the ITindustry anything that happens anywhere inthe world can have a huge impact on thebusiness. This is the vulnerability with whichfirms operate.

The September 11 attack, the rupeeappreciation, the visa restrictions, the anti-outsourcing protests, the spirally wage costsand so on can all impact the industry. Theseand other environmental changes almostalways have implications on costs and margins,risks, business continuity and so on. The finalhard actions always rest with the projectmanager for implementation.

While most project managers are generally wellinformed about these developments thanks toan over-active media, few are able to appreciateits direct impact on their work or what theyneed to do to manage it.

• Competency Expectations

The competencies expected of project managershave gone up significantly over the years. Hisjob is today much more complex than it was inthe early days. From being back-endcoordinators they are now expected tounderstand the client's business and add valueat a much higher and deeper level. They haveto contend with much larger spans of control,far larger number of inexperienced teammembers and take a far greater responsibilityfor the profitability of their projects and forretaining and growing the account.

Are project managers aware of these changingexpectations and are they doing enough toequip themselves to respond to these changes?

Well, I must say the situation is far fromsatisfactory. While many Organizations areconstantly investing in the retooling anddevelopment of project managers, the problemis with the project managers' ability to wakeup and smell the coffee. Many do not wake upto the need for re-skilling themselves earlyenough till they realize that they are not meetingthe demands of the new order.

The Competencies to Manage Change

What then are the competencies of a projectmanager who is capable of managing change


well? In other words, what separates the greatproject managers who are adept at managingchange from the rest?

• Dual Focus (bird's eye and worm's eye view atthe same time)

Project managers seem to be very good at seeingwhat is front of them but quite often poor atseeing what is ahead. While their worm's eyeview is great, their bird's eye view is not. Whilemany believe that it is this blinkered vision thatkeeps them focused and helps them deliverevery day, this blinkered vision also inhibitstheir ability to predict, develop insights,synthesize and see the big picture.

• Learning Propensity

A lot of resistance to change emanates fromfears about its consequences and about one'sbelief that one will not be comfortable with thechanged situation. Those with a greaterpropensity to learn tend to have greater comfortaround change. Don't your kids know moreabout your mobile phone than you do?

• Rallying the Troops

The buck stops with the Project manager. He orshe is responsible for converting the visionsand strategies into tangible actions andinstructions for the troops. He also needs to be

able to create excitement and comfort aroundthe change with the team.

• Positive Image of the Future

Managers with a positive image of the futureand a high sense of optimism seem to be betterat embracing change compared to those whoare always skeptical and are easy to point outall the potential problems with the future.

To a large extent this positive image of the futurealso emanates from a positive image one has ofoneself, one's abilities and potential.

In closing

Despite all the focus on process, it is the Arulsof the IT world who finally make the difference.They are the new generation of seasonedchange managers with a basic level of comfortaround change and that is good news.

The Aruls can become great if the organizationdoes its bit in terms of development,communication and support. In the days tocome project managers are likely to be subjectedto increasing pressures and changes.Organizations that nurture these managers willnot only succeed but also help the likes of Arulget a good night's sleep and that is extremelyimportant!


THE ENDURING SKILLS OF CHANGE LEADERS

ROSABETH MOSS KANTER

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. ArbuckleProfessorship at Harvard Business School, where shespecializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership forchange. Her strategic and practical insights haveguided leaders of large and small organizationsworldwide for over 25 years, through teaching,writing, and direct consultation to major corporationsand governments. The former Editor of HarvardBusiness Review (1989-1992), Professor Kanter hasbeen named to lists of the "50 most powerful womenin the world" (Times of London), and the "50 mostinfluential business thinkers in the world" (Accentureand Thinkers 50 research). In 2001, she received theAcademy of Management's Distinguished CareerAward for her scholarly contributions to managementknowledge, and in 2002 was named "IntelligentCommunity Visionary of the Year" by the WorldTeleport Association.

Professor Kanter is the author or co-author of 17books, which have been translated into 17 languages.Her latest book, America the Principled: 6Opportunities for Becoming a Can-Do Nation OnceAgain (published on October 23, 2007), offers apositive agenda for the nation, focused on innovationand education, a new workplace social contract,values-based corporate conduct, competentgovernment, positive international relations throughcitizen diplomacy and business networks, andnational and community service.

Her previous book, Confidence: How Winning Streaks& Losing Streaks Begin & End (a New York Timesbusiness and #1 Business Week bestseller), describesthe culture and dynamics of high-performanceorganizations as compared with those in decline, andshows how to lead turnarounds, whether inbusinesses, hospitals, schools, sports teams,community organizations, or countries. Her classic

prizewinning book, Men & Women of theCorporation (C. Wright Mills award winner for theyear's best book on social issues) offered insight tocountless individuals and organizations aboutcorporate careers and the individual andorganizational factors that promote success; a spin-offvideo, A Tale of 'Of On Being Different, is among theworld's most widely-used diversity tools; and arelated book, Work & Family in the United States, seta policy agenda (in 2001, a coalition of universitycenters created the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award inher honor for the best research on work/family issues).Another award-winning book, When Giants Learn toDance, showed how to master the new terms ofcompetition at the dawn of the global information age.World Class: Thriving Locally in the Global Economyidentified the rise of new business networks andanalyzed the benefits and tensions of globalization.

She has received 22 honorary doctoral degrees, aswell as numerous leadership awards and prizes forher books and articles; for example, her book TheChange Masters was named one of the mostinfluential business books of the 20th century(Financial Times). Through Good measure Inc., theconsulting group she co-founded, she has partneredwith IBM to bring her leadership tools, originallydeveloped for businesses, to public education as partof IBM's award-winning Reinventing Educationinitiative and she is a Senior Advisor for IBM's GlobalCitizenship portfolio.. She advises CEO s of large andsmall companies, has served on numerous businessand non-profit boards and national or regionalcommissions, and speaks widely, often sharing theplatform with Presidents, Prime Ministers, and CEO sat national and international events, such as the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Beforejoining the Harvard Business School faculty, she heldtenured professorships at Yale University andBrandeis University and was a Fellow at Harvard LawSchool, simultaneously holding a GuggenheimFellowship.

She chairs a Harvard University group creating aninnovative initiative on advanced leadership, to helpsuccessful leaders at the top of their professions applytheir skills not only to managing their own enterprisesbut also to addressing challenging national and globalproblems.


Hundreds of books and millions of dollars inconsulting fees have been devoted to leadershipand organizational change. No issue of thepast 15 years has concerned more managers ora wider spectrum of organizations. Yet, for allthe attention the subject merits, we see everyday that certain kinds of change are simple. Ifyou're a senior executive, you can order budgetreductions, buy or sell a division, form astrategic alliance or arrange a merger.

Such bold strokes do produce fast change, butthey do not necessarily build the long-termcapabilities of the organization. Indeed, theseleadership actions often are defensive, the resultof a flawed strategy or a failure to adapt tochanging market conditions. They sometimesmask the need for a deeper change in strategy,structure, or operations, and they contribute tothe anxiety that accompanies sudden change.

Years of study and experience show that thethings that sustain change are not bold strokesbut long marches -- the independent,discretionary, and ongoing efforts of peoplethroughout the organization. Real changerequires people to adjust their behavior, andthat behavior is often beyond the control of topmanagement. Yes, as a senior executive, youcan allocate resources for new productdevelopment or reorganize a unit, but youcannot order people to use their imaginationsor to work collaboratively. That's why, indifficult situations, leaders who have neglectedthe long march often fall back on the bold stroke.It feels good (at least to the boss) to shake thingsup, but it exacts a toll on the organization.

Forces for Change

Organizational change has become a way oflife as a result of three forces: globalization,information technology, and industry

c) 2007 by Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts,USA. Used by permission of the author; not to be reprinted without express permission.

consolidation. In today's world, allorganizations, from the Fortune 500 to the localnonprofit agency, need greater reach. They needto be in more places, to be more aware ofregional and cultural differences, and tointegrate into coherent strategies the workoccurring in different markets andcommunities.

The first two forces for change -- globalizationand technology -- will inevitably grow. But it'snot enough for organizations to simply "gointernational" or "get networked." In a global,high-tech world, organizations need to be morefluid, inclusive, and responsive. They need tomanage complex information flows, grasp newideas quickly, and spread those ideasthroughout the enterprise. What counts is notwhether everybody uses e-mail but whetherpeople quickly absorb the impact ofinformation and respond to opportunity.

Industry consolidation, the business story of1998-99, has a less certain future. But even ifthat trend abates, the impact of mergers,acquisitions, and strategic alliances will be feltfor years. Mergers and acquisitions bring bothdangers and benefits to organizations (see"Innovating in the Age of Mega mergers").Partnerships, joint ventures, and strategicalliances can be a less dramatic but morehighly evolved vehicle for innovation.However, you must not starve an alliance or apartnership. You have to invest the time andresources to work out differences in culture,strategy, processes, or policies.

You also have to bring together people at manylevels to talk about shared goals and the futureof the alliance in general, not just their smallfunctional tasks. Many alliances unravelbecause, while there is support at the top of theorganization, departments at lower levels are


left to resolve tensions, answer questions, orfill gaps on their own. The conflicts and wastedefforts that result can end up destroying valueinstead of creating it. You have to make surethat the goals of people at many levels of theorganizations are aligned, and that people getto know each other, before you can expect themto build trust.

Keys to Mastering Change

Change is created constantly and at manylevels in an organization. There is theoccasional earthshaking event, often inducedby outside forces; there are also the everydayactions of people engaged in their work. Inchange-adept organizations, people simplyrespond to customers and move on to the nextproject or opportunity. They do not necessarilychange their assumptions about how theorganization operates, but they continuouslylearn and adapt, spread knowledge, shareideas. By making change a way of life peopleare, in the best sense, "just doing their jobs."

Change -- adept organizations share three keyattributes, each associated with a particularrole for leaders.

• The imagination to innovate. To encourageinnovation, effective leaders help developnew concepts -- the ideas, models, andapplications of technology that set anorganization apart.

• The professionalism to perform. Leadersprovide personal and organizationalcompetence, supported by workforcetraining and development, to executeflawlessly and deliver value to ever moredemanding customers.

• The openness to collaborate. Leaders makeconnections with partners who can extendthe organization's reach, enhance itsofferings, or energize its practices.

These intangible assets -- concepts,competence, and connections -- accrue

naturally to successful organizations, just asthey do to successful individuals. They reflecthabits, not programs -- personal skills,behavior, and relationships. When they aredeeply engrained in an organization, changeis so natural that resistance is usually low. Butlacking these organizational assets, leaderstend to react to change defensively andineffectively. Change compelled by crisis isusually seen as a threat, not an opportunity.

Mastering deep change -- being first with thebest service, anticipating and then meeting newcustomer requirements, applying newtechnology -- requires organizations to do morethan adapt to changes already in progress. Itrequires them to be fast, agile, intuitive, andinnovative. Strengthening relationships withcustomers in the midst of market upheaval canhelp organizations avoid cataclysmic change --the kind that costs jobs and jolts communities.To do that, effective leaders re conceive their role-- from monitors of the organization to monitorsof external reality. They become idea scouts,attentive to early signs of discontinuity,disruption, threat, or opportunity in themarketplace and the community. And they createchannels for senior managers, salespeople,service reps, or receptionists to share whatcustomers are saying about products.

Classic Skills for Leaders

The most important things a leader can bringto a changing organization are passion,conviction, and confidence in others. Too oftenexecutives announce a plan, launch a task force,and then simply hope that people find theanswers -- instead of offering a dream, stretchingtheir horizons, and encouraging people to dothe same. That is why we say, "leaders go first."

However, given that passion, conviction, andconfidence, leaders can use several techniquesto take charge of change rather than simplyreact to it. In nearly 20 years working withleaders I have found the following classic skills


to be equally useful to CEO s, senior executives,or middle managers who want to move an ideaforward.

1. Tuning in to the Environment. As a leaderyou can't possibly know enough, or be inenough places, to understand everythinghappening inside -- and more importantlyoutside -- your organization. But you canactively collect information that suggestsnew approaches. You can create a networkof listening posts -- a satellite office, a jointventure, a community service. Rubber maidoperates its own stores, for instance, eventhough it sells mostly to Wal-Mart and otherbig chains. These stores allow the companyto listen to and learn from customers.Likewise, partnerships and alliances notonly help you accomplish particular tasks;they also provide knowledge about thingshappening in the world that you wouldn'tsee otherwise.

Look not just at how the pieces of yourbusiness model fit together but for whatdoesn't fit. For instance, pay specialattention to customer complaints, which areoften your best source of information aboutan operational weakness or unmet need.Also search out broader signs of change -- acompetitor doing something differently or acustomer using your product or service inunexpected ways.

2. Challenging the PrevailingOrganizational Wisdom. Leaders need todevelop what I call kaleidoscope thinking -- a way of constructing patterns from thefragments of data available, and thenmanipulating them to form differentpatterns. They must question theirassumptions about how pieces of theorganization, the marketplace, or thecommunity fit together. Change leadersremember that there are many solutions to aproblem and that by looking through adifferent lens somebody is going to invent,

for instance, a new way to deliver healthcare.

There are lots of ways to promotekaleidoscopic thinking. Send peopleoutside the company -- not just on field trips,but "far afield trips." Go outside yourindustry and return with fresh ideas. Rotatejob assignments and createinterdisciplinary project teams to givepeople fresh ideas and opportunities to testtheir assumptions. For instance, oneinnovative department of a U.S. oil companyregularly invites people from many differentdepartments to attend large brainstormingsessions. These allow interested outsidersto ask questions, make suggestions, andtrigger new ideas.

3. Communicating a CompellingAspiration. You cannot sell change, oranything else, without genuine conviction,because there are so many sources ofresistance to overcome: "We've never doneit before; we tried it before and it didn'twork." "Things are OK now, so why shouldwe change?" Especially when you arepursuing a true innovation as opposed toresponding to a crisis, you've got to make acompelling case. Leaders talk aboutcommunicating a vision as an instrumentof change, but I prefer the notion ofcommunicating an aspiration. It's not just apicture of what could be; it is an appeal toour better selves, a call to become somethingmore. It reminds us that the future does notjust descend like a stage set; we constructthe future from our own history, desires, anddecisions.

4. Building Coalitions. Change leaders needthe involvement of people who have theresources, the knowledge, and the politicalclout to make things happen. You want theopinion shapers, the experts in the field, thevalues leaders. That sounds obvious, butcoalition building is probably the most


neglected step in the change process.

In the early stages of planning change,leaders must identify key supporters andsell their dream with the same passion anddeliberation as the entrepreneur. You mayhave to reach deep into, across, and outsidethe organization to find key influencers, butyou first must be willing to reveal an idea orproposal before it's ready. Secrecy deniesyou the opportunity to get feedback, andwhen things are sprung on people with nowarning, the easiest answer is always no.Coalition building requires anunderstanding of the politics of change, andin any organization those politics areformidable.

When building coalitions, however, it's amistake to try to recruit everybody at once.Think of innovation as a venture. You wantthe minimum number of investors necessaryto launch a new venture, and to championit when you need help later.

5. Transferring Ownership to a WorkingTeam. Once a coalition is in place, you canenlist others in implementation. You mustremain involved -- the leader's job is tosupport the team, provide coaching andresources, and patrol the boundaries withinwhich the team can freely operate. But youcannot simply ask managers to execute afully formed change agenda; you mightinstead develop a broad outline, informedby your environmental scan and lots of goodquestions, from which people can conducta series of small experiments. That approachnot only confers team ownership, butallows people to explore new possibilitiesin ways that don't bet the company or yourbudget.

As psychologist Richard Hackman hasfound, it is not just the personalities or theteam process that determine success; it'swhether or not the team is linked

appropriately to the resources they need inthe organization (see "Why Teams Don'tWork," Winter 1998). In addition, leaderscan allow teams to forge their own identity,build a sense of membership, and enjoy theprotection they need to implement changes.One of the temptations leaders must resistis to simply pile responsibility on teammembers. While it is fashionable to havepeople wear many hats, people must begiven the responsibility -- and the time -- tofocus on the tasks of change.

6. Learning to Persevere. My personal lawof management, if not of life, is thateverything can look like a failure in themiddle. One of the mistakes leaders make inchange processes is to launch them andleave them. There are many ways a changeinitiative can get derailed (see "StickyMoments in the Middle of Change"). But stopit too soon and, by definition it will be afailure; stay with it through its initialhurdles and good things may happen. Ofcourse, if a change process takes longenough you have to return to the beginning-- monitor the environment again, recheckyour assumptions, reconsider whether theproposed change is still the right one.Abdicating your role undermines the effortbecause, unlike bold strokes, long marchesneed ongoing leadership. Most people getexcited about things in the beginning, andeverybody loves endings, especially happyendings. It's the hard work in between thatdemands the attention and effort of savvyleaders.

7. Making Everyone a Hero. Rememberingto recognize, reward, and celebrateaccomplishments is a critical leadershipskill. And it is probably the mostunderutilized motivational tool inorganizations. There is no limit to how muchrecognition you can provide, and it is oftenfree. Recognition brings the change cycle to


its logical conclusion, but it also motivatespeople to attempt change again. So manypeople get involved in and contribute tochanging the way an organization doesthings that it's important to share the credit.Change is an ongoing issue, and you can'tafford to lose the talents, skills, or energiesof those who can help make it happen.

Today's organizations have come to expect boldstrokes from their leaders. Sometimes these areappropriate and effective -- as when a projector product that no longer works is put to rest.But bold strokes can also disrupt and distractorganizations. They often happen too quicklyto facilitate real learning, and they can impedethe instructive long marches that ultimatelycarry an organization forward. That is whyimagination, professionalism, and opennessare essential to leadership, not just to leadingchange. They give organizations the tools toabsorb and apply the lessons of the moment.

Likewise, techniques that facilitate changewithin organizations -- creating listening posts,opening lines of communication, articulatinga set of explicit, shared goals, buildingcoalitions, acknowledging others -- are key tocreating effective partnerships and sustaininghigh performance, not just to managing change.They build the trust and commitment necessaryto succeed in good times or in bad. Even periodsof relative stability (unusual for mostorganizations) require such skills.

Change has become a major theme of leadershipliterature for a good reason. Leaders set thedirection, define the context, and help producecoherence for their organizations. Leadersmanage the culture, or at least the vehiclesthrough which that culture is expressed. Theyset the boundaries for collaboration, autonomy,and the sharing of knowledge and ideas, andgive meaning to events that otherwise appearrandom and chaotic. And they inspirevoluntary behavior -- the degree of effort,innovation, and entrepreneurship with which

employees serve customers and seekopportunities.

Increasingly, the assets that cannot becontrolled by rule are most critical to success.People's ideas or concepts, their commitmentto high standards of competence, and theirconnections of trust with partners are what setapart great organizations. All theserequirements can be enhanced by leaders, butnone can be mandated. For all of the upheavalof the past 15 years, that may be the biggestchange of all.

Innovating in the Age of Mega Mergers

Do mergers and acquisitions impairinnovation? It depends on the nature of thedeal and the abilities of leaders. Someconsolidations, such as the effectively managedmerger of Sandoz and Ciba Gigy to formNovartis, are growth-oriented. In that case, mostof the pieces that were combined, andeventually sold off, were in the chemicalbusiness. What remained was a new,strategically coherent life sciences company. Itcan grow by building new knowledge andcollecting in one place a set of diverse productsthat previously had been scattered.

The key for leaders in a growth-oriented merger-- where the aim is to tackle new markets anddo things together that could not be doneseparately -- is to foster communication,encourage involvement, and share moreknowledge of overall strategy, special projects,and how the pieces of the new entity fittogether.

On the other hand, many mergers are aimedprimarily at reducing capacity and cuttingcosts. That is the case in most of the recentbanking and financial services mergers, forinstance.

These consolidations, and the efficiencies thatresult, can make good economic sense. Yetmassive organizational change often drains somuch time and energy that the sustainable


benefits of the long march are lost, and thetemptations of the bold stroke are irresistible.Often this leaves leaders with the task of puttingthe best face on what, for many employees, isnot a promising future.

Mergers that focus on cost cutting -- oftennecessary to pay for the deal and to satisfy thedemands of shareholders -- can threaten thefunding of promising experiments and disruptinnovation. Massive mergers can also drive outthe knowledge that fuels innovation. Mergedorganizations often lose a degree of staffprofessionalism because people resent losinga voice in their destiny or having to do tasksthat they're not prepared for. Training budgetsand opportunities for collegial exchange alsotend to shrink. Most consolidations fail to createmore integrated, value-adding enterprises andfall short of their promised benefits. That is whatmakes them such a demanding test ofleadership.

Sticky Moments in the Middle of Change --and How to Get Unstuck

Every idea, especially if it is new or different,runs into trouble before it reaches fruition.However, it's important for change leaders tohelp teams overcome four predictable -- butpotentially fatal -- roadblocks to change.

• Forecasts Fall Short. You have to have a plan-- but if you are doing something new anddifferent, you should not expect it to hold.Plans are based on experience andassumptions. When attempting to innovate,it is difficult to predict how long somethingwill take or how much it will cost (you canpredict, however, that it will probably takelonger and cost more than you think).Change leaders must be prepared to acceptserious departures from plans. They mustalso understand that if they hope toencourage innovation it is foolish tomeasure people's performance according tostrictly planned delivery.

• Roads Curve. Everyone knows that a newpath is unlikely to run straight and true, butwhen we actually encounter those twistsand turns we often panic. Especially whenattempting to make changes in a system,diversions are likely, and unwelcome.

It is a mistake to simply stop in your tracks.Every change brings unanticipatedconsequences, and teams must be preparedto respond, to troubleshoot, to makeadjustments, and to make their case.Scenario planning can help; the realmessage is to expect the unexpected.

• Momentum Slows. After the excitement andanticipation of a project launch, reality sinksin. You do not have solutions to theproblems you face; the multiple demands ofyour job are piling up; the people you haveasked for information or assistance are notreturning your calls. The team isdiscouraged and enmeshed in conflict. It isimportant to revisit the team's mission, torecognize what's been accomplished andwhat remains, and to remember that thedifferences in outlook, background, andperspective that now may divide you willultimately provide solutions.

• Critics Emerge. Even if you have built acoalition and involved key stakeholders, thecritics, skeptics, and cynics will challengeyou -- and they will be strongest not at thebeginning but in the middle of your efforts.It is only then that the possible impact of thechange becomes clear, and those who feelthreatened can formulate their objections.This is when change leaders -- often withthe help of coalition members, outsidepartners, or acknowledged experts -- canrespond to criticism, remove obstacles, andpush forward. Tangible progress willproduce more believers than doubters.


Organizational change can occurin many forms. It can, for instance,include accelerating growth,leading transformation or arrestingdecline. All these three forms ofchange need to be managed. In thegrowing literature on changemanagement, transformationalchange has attracted a lot ofattention. Referred to also as radicalchange, frame-breaking change orreinvention, this type of changeoften involves simultaneousalterations in strategy, structure,and culture of an organization.

Transformational changes face ahigh risk of failure with estimatesof successful transformationsranging between 20 and 40 percent. Over several years, we haveclosely observed these changesunfold in a large number and widevariety of organizations. We havenoticed that effective changeleaders get people to assumeownership and engage withdifficult problems facing the groupor the organization. For doing this,they tackle major challengesrequired to bring about changes inpeople's values, beliefs, habits,ways of working and ways of life.In short, they recognize thatsuccessful organizational change isprimarily about changing the wayin which people think and act.

Our inquiry of the changemanagement journey in differentorganizations has shown that there

CORE TASKS FOR SUCCESSFUL

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

S. RAMNARAYAN

Ramnarayan is aprofessor of OB attheIndian SchoolofBusiness. He has aPhDfromWeatherheadSchool ofManagement,CaseWesternReserveUniversity, andaPGDIM fromJamnalalBajaj InstituteofManagementStudies.He has a numberofpublications to hiscrediton changemanagementHe wasformerlyteaching at theIndianInstitute ofManagement,Ahmedabad, Otto-Friedrich UniversityofBamberg, Germany,andCase WesternReserveUniversity. He isactivelyguiding largescalechangeinitiatives.He is on theboards of anumber ofcompanies inIndia.

are four main challenges that arecrucial to the change leader'ssuccess as a navigator through therocky process of altering mindsets.We list these challenges below andalso briefly refer to different rolesthat change leaders would beexpected to perform:

(a) Appreciating Change: Thisrequires tuning to people's mindsetsinside the organization and outsideforces of change impacting theorganization. This task addressesthe challenge of clear articulation ofthe destination and an appreciationof what is required to reach thatdestination. To perform this coretask effectively, the change leaderhas to be a cognitive tuner.

(b) Mobilizing Support: Thisinvolves more than mereexhortation of people to do the rightthings. It refers to strengtheninginfluence and communicationefforts to muster, assemble, andrally people together to bring aboutmeaningful change. This taskrequires change leader to be apeople catalyzer.

(c) Executing Change: This entailsdesigning, building and sustaininga social architecture that canestablish new routines to replaceold routines. Just as the moulddetermines the shape that jellytakes, right structures andprocesses create the architecture fordesired cross-functional linkagesand innovation efforts to emerge.


To address the challenge of executing change,the change leader should function as a systemsarchitect.

(d) Building Change Capability: This involvescreating positive context that enables peopleto have faith in their own capabilities, take risksand learn. By engendering a feeling of optimismand hope, change leader fosters a positivebelief in people that they can face challenges ofchange. This positive belief lies at the heart ofcapability building. Thus change leader shouldbe an efficacy builder.

Change management failures occur becauseone or more of the above challenges are notaddressed effectively. In rest of the paper, we'llbriefly review what each one of the above fourroles entails.

Appreciating Change

A traditional organization had sought to makecertain important structural interventions to beable to face greater competition. Accordingly,teams were constituted and resources wereallocated. The objective was to strengtheninterface management among the key functionsfor developing new products. For the successof the change effort, employees were requiredto behave in ways that would be qualitativelydifferent from the manner in which they hadbeen used to operating.

For example, the organizational members wererequired to work across functional boundaries

Leadership

and operate with minimal guidance andspecific role prescriptions to pursue largerorganizational goals and priorities. This wasa sharp departure from the existing methodsthat were characterized by hierarchicalapproaches, strong functional loyalties andturf concerns. For the change to succeed, peoplehad to communicate requirements anddemands, if required to individuals, groupsand functions even if they were powerful.Juniors were expected to talk openly aboutdifficulties and voice opinions freely atmeetings. They had to assume responsibility.The seniors, on the other hand, were expectedto actively seek opinions, encourage dissentand support efforts to modify dysfunctionalprocedures. They had to feel comfortable withinitiative being taken at lower levels andfeedback and expectations being expressedfrankly by their direct reports.

No thought was given to how such changes inmindsets were expected to be brought about.Not surprisingly, these mindset changes didnot occur and so the structural changes didnot take root. There was also no clarity on howthe inherent contradictions among differentsub-goals were expected to be resolved. Forinstance, the sub-goal of new productdevelopment was at odds with the sub-goal ofmaximizing production of existing products.Incentive systems, goal setting andmeasurement procedures were not geared toaccept possible higher rejections, extra costsand the dip in the top-line and bottom-lineflowing from investments for the future.

A key change management challenge is toensure that all such factors are visualized andconsidered before the direction is frozen in termsof specific sub-goals and tasks. When peopleare able to visualize both the larger picture andtheir assigned tasks, they become hopeful,optimistic and committed to the transformationprocess.


We have referred to the leadership role for thiskey task as cognitive tuning because it is largelya process of reflection, analysis and thinking.Cognitive tuning occurs through the mediumof dialogue and conversations. Change leadersmust, therefore be skilled in initiating dialogueto both understand prevailing mindsets andmake people aware of their mindsets. They alsoneed to pay attention to the evolvingenvironment. While cognitive tuning is allabout paying attention to mental models bothinside and outside the organization, one cannotunderstand the mental models of others unlessone is aware of one's own mental model.Therefore, as cognitive tuners, change leadersneed to be able to reflect on their own ways ofthinking. This very act of cognitive tuninginitiates change in an organization.

Mobilizing Support

When Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)undertook the massive project in the Nation'sCapital, the leadership realized that amongother challenges, it had to generate externalsupport from Delhi's residents, politicians,bureaucrats, contractors and several othergroups. The project owes its success to effectivelymanaging the dependencies on a wide array ofthese external stakeholders. To illustrate theleadership's approach, let us examine how thepublic support was mobilized.

The leadership saw the challenge not merely interms of communication, but as winning peopleover to the corporation's philosophy andapproaches. For example, a number of procedureswere instituted at work sites to minimizedisturbances. The procedures even specified thatthe vehicles should not be allowed to leave thework sites without their tyres being cleaned. Asthe other public utilities were notorious for theirinefficiency, the interface with those agencies washandled by taking additional responsibilities toensure that there was no public discontent. Forinstance, when traffic diversions had to be made,

DMRC appointed additional personnel atimportant signals to help traffic police inmaintaining smooth flow of traffic. Though it wasclearly not its responsibility, DMRC alsoundertook road widening and road repairswhere necessary to ensure that no road wasclosed at any time and people were notinconvenienced in any way. In the same way,power, water supply, sewerage and other issueswere also pro-actively addressed.

Right through the process, there were regularcommunity interaction programs. People wereprovided advance intimation and regularupdates by using several media. Help lineswere available to report difficulties. As a result,the project consistently enjoyed a great imagein the eyes of the Delhi residents and receivedtheir support whenever required.

When change leaders emphasize the contentof change at the expense of process, they maywrongly perceive the process from a limitedperspective of education and exhortation.Change involves a long and difficult journey,and managers need to listen to diverse views,keep making changes in a variety of settings,and keep up the momentum of the changecampaign. An important set of leadershipchallenges pertain to: building supportivecoalitions; evaluating the interests of peoplewhose support is needed; altering people'sincentives for change; framing and crafting themessage in a way that evokes support;instituting a process that is open, transparentand inclusive; consulting as widely as possiblebefore making a decision; attend to the timingissue; and sustaining the momentum asmobilizing is not a one-time activity. Thisrequires a blend of logic, emotions and values.That's the reason why we have termed thechange leader's role as one of 'people catalyzer'.

Executing Change

In the celebrated case of Nissan's turnaround,the new leader found that the organization had


very capable people; but the organization'sarchitecture in terms of its hierarchy,procedures, policies, and decision-makingprocesses had contributed to a culture oflearned helplessness. Compartmentalization offunctions/ roles and rivalry betweendepartments/ divisions had reached such anextent that there was a culture of blaming eachother for organizational problems. Employeeshad lost both focus and energy. Changinganything seemed to be a huge task beyond anyindividual's capacity.

To convert this learned helplessness intolearned optimism, the leadership altered boththe structure and the culture of theorganization. Cross-functional teams (CFTs)were set up to address critical issues. CFTs weresupported by a number of thoughtfulinterventions, and so they became instrumentalin creating a strong foundation for theremarkable turnaround of the company.

Another case that has attracted a great deal ofattention is the remarkable transformation ofthe Indian Railways. The increase in the axleloading from 20.3 tons to 22.9 tons led to asignificant impact on the performance of themammoth organization driven by strongsystems and documentation and governed bymanuals and codes. The change agentsrecognized that resorting to directives or ordersat any stage would appear superficially tohasten the change process, but would createproblems at the execution stage; it would alsonot allow change to develop roots and getinstitutionalized.

To make the change last, the change managerspainstakingly involved different stakeholdersthrough detailed background work, sharingand discussing these in one on one meetings,committee deliberations, exposure visits, pilottesting and so on. For example, the concernedofficials from technical directorate, traffic wing,finance department, research designs and

standards organization, chief commissioner ofrailway safety, audit and other agencies wereinvolved in examining different facets of thechange. Important amendments were made inthe engineering code, bridge code, mechanicalcode, preferential traffic order, and trafficschedule. The change agents were patient andmeticulous in their efforts to prepare the groundfor the launch of the change initiative. Theirhard work contributed to effective executionand institutionalization of change.

As we can see from these two experiences, akey change management challenge is tofacilitate modification of mindsets by attendingto four requirements: exposing people toalternative perspectives; enabling people fromdifferent functions to work together; identifyingand removing roadblocks to modifyingexisting routines; and creating new routines tofocus the organization's attention oncontinuous improvement. Change leadershipestablishes a context that facilitates these fourrequirements. This is done by creating anappropriate architecture that is made up ofroles, responsibilities, systems and procedures.We refer to this important change leadershiprole as that of a systems architect.

As a systems architect, leaders create cross-functional linkages in the organization; alignpolicies, procedures and remove structuralimpediments to performance and change; andcreate new routines for continuousimprovement. Apart from the emphasis onstructure, leaders also pay attention to creatinga climate of hope and optimism by clarifyingpurpose, enhancing preparedness andproviding psychological safety.

Building Change Capability

For a company that is almost 100 years old,Tata Steel has shown remarkable agility sincethe early 1990's. When the forces ofliberalisation were set in motion, the leadershipput in place myriad processes to prepare the


company for global competition. Over ahundred teams were mobilised to bring aboutimprovements in different areas. Cumulatively,over 5000 people were entrusted the challengeof carrying out various initiatives formodernising mindsets of the company's 40,000employees, enhancing quality, bringing aboutradical performance improvements through'Total Operational Performance' (TOP), creatinga market-oriented organization, de-bottlenecking facilities, phasing outtechnologically obsolete plants, adding newfacilities for manufacturing value-addedproducts, capacity expansion and so on. Theentire workforce of 40,000 people was trainedin certain improvement techniques to changepatterns of thinking. A major change initiativecalled ASPIRE (Aspirational Initiatives toRetain Excellence) was launched to use teamsas an instrument and source of innovation inthe company. The idea was to get people to lookat existing operations with new eyes, beinnovative and translate the ideas into effectiveground-level implementation. Notsurprisingly, the company has been ratedamong the top five steel producers in the worldfor the last four years by the World SteelDynamics. The purchase of Corus has alsopropelled the company to a high world rankingin terms of size.

Though the company changed all thecomponents of capability - its skills, systems,structure, strategy and culture, the heart of the

leadership lies in building self-efficacy. Self-efficacy refers to the confidence an individualhas in his or her ability to achieve challenginggoals. A high level of self-efficacy makes it easyfor individuals to learn new things becausethey experience less learning anxiety. As wehave noted, the subjective world and mindsetsof organizational members determine whatthey see and how they would think and act.This change leadership role of fostering apositive belief in people that they can face thechallenges of change and overcome them hasbeen termed as 'efficacy builder'.

To build self-efficacy, leaders enhance theaspirations of people to face challenging tasks.They create positive role models for others toemulate; design incentives that induce peopleto set high goals for themselves; ensure thatthere are support mechanisms to help peopleachieve their stretch goals; and promotelearning as a desirable goal in theorganization. In short, they structureopportunities for people to set challenginggoals and achieve them.

Finally, it is important to note that a singleleader need not necessarily address all the foursets of challenges by himself/herself. Aneffective change leader understands his or herstrengths and limitations and teams up withother leaders having complementary strengthsso that the leadership team can perform all fourroles to be able to navigate through the complexchallenge of altering mindsets.


AbstractThe only constant in the new World - Change is a major challengein large-sized organizations where the sheer size as well as thecomfort of past successes causes inertia and resistance to change.Change management is the single most important leadershipaccountability and driving change initiatives successfully is akey HR deliverable. In scores of big and small Change initiativesthat we have driven across in HUL, it has been our experiencethat Change can be successful and Resistance to Change can beovercome if a whole systems approach is followed and wherethe complete organization along with its Structures, Systems andPeople, processes, are viewed in totality studying the impact ofone on the other in view of the Change that is being driven in theorganization.

The paper focuses on certain tools at the disposal of the HR teamto drive change seamlessly and embed it in the DNA of theorganization:

1. Leadership Engagement

Change and Culture is driven from the top. Success is half achievedif the leadership team is committed to and prepared to prescribethe Change

2. Rewards and Recognition

The most effective HR tool to drive alignment in behaviors

3. Communication and Buzz

Generate curiosity and excitement towards the Change initiatives

4. Capability building

Up-skill and de-skill employees to align organizationalcapabilities with the New Organization.

The paper also touches upon Resistance for Change andmeasures to overcome the same.

In achieving the above we have generously borrowed fromChange theories and personal experiences of driving Change inHUL.

DRIVING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

LEENA NAIR AND ANKUSH PUNJ

Leena is an Electronic Engineerwho discovered her passion forpeople and HR and switchedlanes. She went on to completeher MBA in HR from XLRI,Jamshedpur.

She has worked with Unileverfor the last 15 years in a varietyof roles like - EmployeeRelations Manager,Management DevelopmentManager, Business Partner forthe Home & Personal CareBusiness. She has championedmany HR initiatives likeDiversity, Enterprise Culture,and Coaching. With her recentappointment as ExecutiveDirector-HR, Leena has becomethe first woman on theManagement Committee ofHUL.

Ankush Punj is the CorpEmployee Relations Managerof Hindustan UnileverLimited. XLRI batch of 2003,Ankush joined HUL as aBusiness Leadership Traineeand in his first assignmentwas the HR Manager of HULfactory in Sumerpur (UP) fortwo years before moving intothe Corporate ER role.Ankushis an avid trekker, marathonrunner and passionate aboutreading, writing, travellingand music.



Conducting business in a fast evolvingenvironment where the rate of change itself isaccelerating every minute is a challenge whichmost of us have not experienced in the past.Even to be relevant in this world of Change,organizations have to continually adapt andevolve - call it the era of Survival of the Agileand Adaptable.

In large organizations like ours, the sheer sizeand the inertia makes embarking on a changeinitiative itself a challenge, as it calls foracknowledging the fact that historical successdoes not guarantee future success. Real changeis not incremental but usually fundamental andaccompanied with a lot of resistance and pain.In our experience of driving change especiallyin large organizations, we have evolved certainmethod to its madness which has proved ratherfruitful; this includes abundant borrowingsfrom Change theories as also learning we haveacquired en route. As an HR team, we findourselves in the middle of all sorts of changeinitiatives, viz, restructuring a department/team, driving behavioral change, creating agrowth mindset, promoting inclusion,improving the effectiveness processes and teamstowards delivering organizational objectives.Driving behavior/culture change is the toughestchange process to deal with it, and this paperfocuses a little more on those aspects.

Making sense of the Change - the BasicIngredients

It is imperative to begin with identifying thetriggers in the external environment that areforcing an organization to undertake thechange process, while simultaneously map theinternal drivers for change and then review theorganization's People, Systems and Structuresto identify the facilitators and the inhibitorstowards this Change process.

Viewing any of the above elements in isolation

can be catastrophic. Rather change initiativesthat are often brought in under the guise of totalquality management, re-engineering, orstrategic planning often fail because theunderlying culture is not addressed orfundamentally altered to align with thestructure and processes.

Edgar Schein postulated three levels of culture;starting form the outermost layer of physicalartifacts which include observable dailyfeatures of organizational life such as activities,rituals, jargon, office layouts, and so forth, themiddle layer of values and beliefs espoused bythe organization and the innermost core levelof basic assumptions including our deepest andmost comprehensive explanation of reality - ourviews of fundamental truths about people andthe world

While most organizations succeed in bringingabout a change at the superficial artifacts levelhowever to drill down and challenge the basicassumptions and changing those is the mostdifficult process. These may often not even beevident at the surface; as is the case of Values,which often may differ between what is espousedand what is really existent! So while theorganization structure, systems and theCorporate Purpose read one thing, the way theorganization is run is an altogether different story.

To initiate on the path of driving organizationalchange, it is imperative to diagnose the existingorganization culture; and its fit with the currentand proposed business strategies and create avision for the preferred future.

Driving Change - Role of HR

Driving Change is one of the most importantand difficult responsibilities in anorganization; in fact it is the essence ofleadership as rest is more or less secondary.Human Resources as a function plays thepivotal role in every aspect of driving Changein the organization; creating a shared need for


change, preparing the leadership and theorganization at large for the inevitable Changeand then seeing the process of Change through!

In our experience the success of the Changeprocess is determined by a multitude of factorsof which Top Leadership forms a single mostimportant element.

Tools to Drive Change - Top LeadershipEngagement

The single most critical role of the HRChampions in their organizations is to closelyengage with the leadership team and inductthem into the Need for Change. The process ofleading change is a shared leadershipaccountability.

Any major change initiative in an organizationhas to be guided by the top management team.The success of a change initiative lies in itssustenance and being woven into the very fabricof the organization. This is possible only if thetop management team is as driving and livingthe Change that they espouse.

Leadership conversations as well asdemonstration is important. Eg. Ifconsciousness for personal safety is beingembedded in a organization, then the leadersat every forum must talk about it, must engagetheir teams on safe and unsafe behavior. Theymust equally ensure that they personally 'live'safe behavior, viz, using a safety belt at all timesin their cars, following simple safety norms.People ultimately practice what leaders practiceand not what they preach! HR at all times mustplay the role of the conscience keeper to alertleaders to the gaps between what they 'say' andwhat they 'do'.

Tools to Drive Change - Rewards andRecognition

What gets rewarded; gets driven!

The most visible cue an organization offers toits employees' on desirable and undesirablebehaviors is through its rewards structure.

Aside from Leadership team visiblydemonstrating the desirable behavior ("Walkthe Talk"), the organization's reward andrecognition models too must align themselvesaround the Change behaviors desired.Employees are quick to learn what it wouldtake one to make it up the organization ladder;

• what the top leadership team displays,

• people who get recognized,

• behaviors and initiatives that they getrecognized for,

• individuals who are put on fast trackprograms etc

They modify their way of working to align withthe rewarding behaviors to grow faster in theorganization.

Tools to Drive Change - Communication andBuzz

It is vital to create a lot of buzz and excitementaround any Change initiative. A sense ofcuriosity around what is going to Change andwhat holds in the offing helps generate a positivewelcoming vibe for the Change initiative beingdriven. A simple measure of effectiveness ofCommunication is the number of positivemessages and the number of negative messagesthat are communicated in the organization'sformal and informal (grapevine) networksaround any Change initiative. If the net of thetwo is positive, the success of the Changeinitiative is far more assured than if the net isnegative.

Now one can sit and wait for the cows to comehome or play the more proactive role of the"Change driver" (the HR team) and activelyfeed into the network as many positivemessages as possible. The trick here is toidentify the most active nodes which literallyare far more wired in the organization than theothers and feed those with more positivemessages to be drilled down across the


organization. Important, it is, to realize that inany Change initiative it is the 10% of theresources who lying at either end of the positive(early adopters) and the negative ends (changeresisters) can sail through or capsize the entireinitiative. Identification of the same is extremelycritical, and while at one end those in the favorof the Change should be encouraged andvisibly recognized in the system, the alienationor separation of those at the far end of thenegative tunnel is also equally essential for thesuccess of the Change initiative. If the Noah'sArk has to take forward all that is good anddesirable in the new world; it has to begin byidentifying and segregating the unaligned andincongruent!

Tools to Drive Change - Capability Building

Lastly, some change initiatives may call foracquisition of newer skills and competencies,adoption of newer ways of working andinterpersonal dealings; this may necessitate theorganization to undertake formal capabilitybuilding initiatives. However this would rarelybe an impediment and thus appears at thebottom of the list because invariably ourcapable and star resources once, they identifythe behaviors and skills that get rewarded andrevered in the organization, invariably eitheremulate the same or find ways of covering thosecapability gaps on their own in order to stayahead in the organization.

Resistance to Change

The toughest challenge with any Changeinitiative is that it is always accompanied withResistance and the more sweeping the Change,the stronger the Resistance

Why is there a resistance to change?

Resistance to Change is usually on account ofthe following two broad reasons: Sometimeson account of lack of information orunderstanding of why the recommendedchange is so inevitable; so people resist what

they do not understand or find essential. Thiscan easily be tackled through the process ofCommunication, Creating a compelling visionof the future, Appreciative Enquiry processesetc. However more often than not, resistance toChange does not owe to lack of understandingor knowledge but because of a morefundamental problem…Change challenges thestatus quo. This is a bigger and a more deep-seated problem to resolve.

Big or small, every change challenges the statusquo and may cause:

• Redundancy

• Change in job content

• Change in social grouping

• Change in position, status, earnings or evenimportance

Richard Beckhard and David Gleicherbeautifully captured Resistance and how toovercome the same in the following formula:

D V F > R (e + p)

Where D = Dissatisfaction with the Currentways of working

V = Vision created by the organization of"What is possible"

F = Concrete steps that can be taken towardsthe Vision

R = Resistance(economic as well aspsychological)

The push and pull between these forcesdetermines the success or the failure of aChange initiative.

Resistance is also referred to as the cost ofchange; and in the above equation is segregatedinto economic and psychological cost ofchange. Even if financially the cost of changeis low, the change will still not occur shouldthe psychological resistance of employees beat a high level.


However the good news is that the abovefactors are not static and in our experience ofdriving change initiatives the dynamic factorson the left had side can be effectively loadedwith effective deployment of the four tools ofLeadership: Engagement, Reward andRecognition, Capability building andCommunication and Buzz to ensure that thebalance tilts in favor of Change.

The greatest challenge in D is that often peoplelearn to live and "manage" in the existing waysof working and the "dissatisfaction" oftenbecomes a way of life not usually surfacingquite openly in the organization. To drive achange initiative it is critical to heighten thelevels of dissatisfaction with the process/behavior that needs to be changed. This canoften be done through initiatives like"Appreciative Enquiry"! Other initiatives like"co-creating" a shared vision, eg., what is theorganization you want to be a part of, evolvinga theme, an anthem etc are some initiatives thathelp to create buy in as well as creating a visionof the Ideal/desired state and preparing theorganization for Change. Inclusion of allstakeholders through different interventions.

As the organization formally steps into thejourney of affecting change, Communicationand Capability building play a critical role infurther tilting the balance in favor of theChange. Concrete steps taken towardsachieving the Vision need to be visibly seenand felt by the employees, periodic updates onprogress made, seeking feedback, informalconversations, training people on new ways of

working etc all help drive change through andthrough the organization.

Was the Change Initiative successful?

At the end of any change initiative the questionthat would always confront the leadership teamwould be "Has the Change been successful?"To answer this, it is imperative to get the Visionthat it had set out for the organization. Changeis affected only if the desired business goals aswas visualized to begin with has been achievedin the end. As most Change initiatives involvebehavioral change, formal dipsticks from a crosssection of people impacted by the Changeshould be undertaken to measure the impact ofthe Change. The success of a change initiativehas to be measured at different levels. At inputlevel are the milestones being met, at the outputlevel are the Business goals being met. Thechange impact has to be measured or reviewed.

Closing Remarks

Kurt Lewin had described Change as a simplethree step process such as Unfreezing,Changing and Refreezing. Moving too quicklythrough the stages can endanger the success ofa change effort. People typically transit througha series of emotional stages as they adjust to theneed for a drastic change in the lives; and thatis why the HR team is indispensable to theChange process. As every change process isinvariably a behavioral change process, the HRteams are usually placed in the "eye of thestorm" and owe the responsibility of sailing theorganization through the stormy seas throughinnovative practices designed around Changemodels and prescribed tools.

References

Beckhard, R. (1969). Organization Development: Strategies and Models. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA

Gladwell, Malcolm (2000). The Tipping Point – How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Little, Brown & Company

Schein, Edgar (1992). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey-Bass Inc., California.

Silverman, Lori L. (1997). Organizational Architecture – A Framework for Successful Transformation. Partners for Progress


Culture

The concept of culture wasoriginally used in anthropology(Wadia, 1965). Culture, as initiallyused in anthropology and later insociology, referred to a way of life,shared norms and values. It wassupposed to operate atsubconscious levels, and yet in apowerful manner. Scholars offeredseveral definitions of culture, andKroeber and Kluckhohn (1952, asquoted in Detert, Schroeder andMauriel, 2000) identified severalcommon elements in the differentdefinitions of culture. Combiningthese commonalities with anotherreview provided by Wadia (1965)yields the following attributes ofculture:

• Culture is historically created

• Culture guides the behaviors ofindividuals

AbstractOrganizational change invariably entails some impact on organizational culture. However,organizational culture must be qualitatively and/or quantitatively measured to comprehendthe changes. After briefly introducing the concepts of organizational culture and sub-culture,various qualitative and quantitative techniques for interpreting the nuances of organizational

culture are reviewed in this paper. Practitioners can make more informed decisions aboutoccurrences of cultural change based on this review. As early as 1965, the concept of culture

was gaining prominence in business education and research (Wadia, 1965). Over the last fourdecades, culture has become a buzzword in social sciences. Executives and researchers bothrecognize its role in any organizational change effort. Since the germinal study of Pettigrew(1979), a number of research studies have used organizational culture as a variable. Bothqualitative and quantitative techniques have been employed to measure organizational

culture. This paper presents a brief introduction to the concept of organizational culture andsub-culture. An evaluative review of techniques used to interpret organizational culture is

presented subsequently.

MEASURING ORGANIZATIONAL

CULTURE AND CHANGE

RAJEEV KUMAR

Rajeev Kumar, a Fellowfrom IIM, Ahmedabad,and an MBA from IIFMBhopal, is an AssistantProfessor of HRM at theInstitute of Managementand Technology,Ghaziabad .He hasprevious work experienceof more than 4 yearsacross HewittAssociates and anNGO-Society for thePromotion ofWastelandsDevelopment .

• Culture is inherent in explicitand tacit beliefs, customs,values and morals.

• Individuals acquire theconstituent elements of a cultureas they live in a society.

Sub-culture

In a society or a group, there maybe some characteristics thatdistinguish one group fromanother. The term sub-culture isoften used to denote suchcategories. Sub-cultures develop toaddress some common problems orexperiences of a group (Daft, 2008).The need to distinguish betweenculture and sub-culture isparticularly important during thechange efforts in a large andcomplex culture. A more directeddiscussion on culture and sub-culture is presented below whiledescribing organizational culture.


Organizational Culture and Sub-Culture

Organizations have been conceptualized associo-technical systems (Parikh and Garg,1992). People who constitute an organization(employees, managers, owners, etc.) come froma societal culture, or possibly sub-culture. Theinterplay between this "social" reality and"technical" rationality of organizations is adefining feature of organizations. This view oforganizations makes culture an integral partof any organizational change effort.

The concept of culture in organizationalresearch is more than two decades old now.The credit for introducing culture inorganization theory generally goes to Pettigrew(Detert et al., 2000). However, the concept hasoften been used vaguely (O'Reilly andChatman, 1996). At the same time, therealization of the importance of organizationalculture in the context of organizational changehas also grown (Detert et al., 2000).

A wide variety of specifications oforganizational culture prevail in literature. Butover the years, some agreement has emergedaround the following key features:

• Organizational culture contains somecombination of artifacts, values and beliefsand underlying assumptions thatorganizational members share aboutappropriate behavior. (Cook and Rousseau,1988)

• These shared conceptions act as a normativeguide for behavior (Daft, 2008).

• Organization culture is holistic, historicallydetermined, socially constructed and existsat variety of levels (Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohavyand Sanders, 1990).

The many levels of organizational culture aredepicted in the following picture (Schein, 1985):

It should be noted here that the realinterpretation of organizational culture in the

context of organizational change efforts is quitecomplex. A renowned expert in the domain oforganizational change and culture, Edgar H.Schein, has aptly summarized thesecomplexities when advising consultingpsychologists to avoid the trap of assuming"…that your client knows what culture is anddoes, and, worse, you assume that you knowwhat culture is and does" (Schein, 2003: 79).Nevertheless, it is useful to be aware of thetechniques that can provide some grip over thedifferent nuances of culture in an organization.Therefore, a review of such techniques ispresented here.

Overview of Techniques

The methods to measure culture can be broadlyput in two categories, qualitative andquantitative. It should be noted that somescholars advocate the use of multiple methodsto measure organizational culture (Martin,1992). Blalock and Blalock (1968) suggestedthat firstly one should use qualitativetechniques, to be supplemented by quantitativeassessment subsequently. In the followingsections, a review of various methods isprovided.

Qualitative Techniques

Qualitative methods do not attempt to ascribea number to various aspects of organizationalculture. They allow researchers andpractitioners the flexibility of digging deeperinto various aspects of organizational culture.Some of the classic approaches used to studyorganizational culture involve the following:

• Case studies: A case study focuses onunderstanding the nuances of a single settingin depth. Case studies can be done atmultiple level of analysis, i.e., individual,group or organization. Typical techniquesof data collection for case studies includeinterviews, archives, observations, etc (Yin,1994; Eisenhardt, 1989).


• Ethnographic studies: This technique isparticularly important in social sciences,though organizational sciences haveincreasingly used it. It involves a long periodof systematic observation by a researcher.During the phase of observation, theobserver almost merges with the culture s/he is studying. Extended time required forsuch studies, however, is a drawback.

• Action research - This method is beingincreasingly employed in socialdevelopment sector. However, its use inorganizations is limited.

In an important contribution, Trice and Beyer(1984) proposed that organizational culturecan be studied through rites and ceremoniesfollowed in an organization. Metaphors canbe useful in studying culture (Morgan, 1997).

Quantitative Techniques

Organizational culture is an all-encompassingconcept that needs to be broken intomanageable proportions for study (Meek, 1988).The quantitative measurement of culturefocuses more on what a culture has (Smircich,1983). A general agreement seems to be thatquantitative approaches are more capable ofmeasuring the general, shallow level of culture,and qualitative studies are more capable ofpenetrating the deeper levels of value system,assumptions, etc (Ashkanasy, Broadfoot, andFalkus, 2000). Quantitative methods try tocapture the manifestation of culture only,which may occur as a behavior (a manifestaction) or a thought or feeling. These methodsdo not have the capacity to penetrate anddirectly touch the deeper layers of culture.Several instruments have been developed, butunfortunately they vary widely in format, items,etc. These instruments can be clubbed in twobroad categories (Ashkanasy et al., 2000):

• Typing scales - These classify organizationsinto particular taxonomies.

• Profile scales - These describe the culture ofan organization.

Ashkanasy et al. (2000) reviewed 18 scales oforganizational culture. Some of these scalesmeasure norms while some other measurevalues. Of these, complete reliability andvalidity assessment was reported for only twoscales and partial reporting was available forfour other scales. It should be noted here thatreliability and validity assessments helpdetermine the scientific soundness of aninstrument, and hence one should avoid usingscales with unknown reliability and validity.

An important issue to consider here is thescientific equivalence of scales whentranslating scales for usages in local languages.One way of ensuring this is back-to-backtranslation (Brislin, 1986). This is an acceptedprocedure for translating scales in some otherlanguage. In this procedure, a bilingualtranslator translates the original scale into alocal language. Then a second bilingualtranslator translates the local language versionback into the original language of the scale(mostly English). A third bilingual comparesthe original and back-translated version andthe discrepancies are sorted out.

Concluding Remarks

It is important to realize the importance oforganizational culture in the efforts aiming atorganizational change. Though it would beerroneous to assume that even an insiderwould have complete grasp over organizationalculture (let alone an outside consultant), it isuseful to adopt scientifically discussed andtested techniques of interpreting organizationalculture. This paper offers a brief review of suchtechniques which can be useful forpractitioners dealing with issues oforganizational culture and change.


References

Ashkanasy, N. M., Broadfoot, L. E. and Falkus, S. 2000. Questionnaire measures of organizational culture. In N. M. Ashkanasy, C.P. M. Wilderom and M. F. Peterson (Eds.). Organizational Culture and Climate. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks.

Blalock, H. M. and Blalock, A. B. 1968. Methodology in Social Research. McGraw Hill, New York.

Brislin, R. W. 1986. The wording and translation of research instruments. In W. J. Lonner and J. W. Berry (Eds.). Field Methods inCross Cultural Research. Sage, CA.

Cooke, R., & Rousseau, D. 1988. Behavioral norms and expectations: A quantitative approach to the assessment of organizationalculture. Group und Organizational Studies, 13: 245-273.

Daft, R. L. 2008. Understanding the Theory and Design of Organizations. Cengage Learning, New Delhi.

Detert, J. R., Shroeder, R. G. & Mauriel, J. J. 2000. A framework for linking culture and improvement initiatives in organizations.Academy of Management Review, Vol. 25. p. 850-863.

Eisenhardt, K. M. 1989. Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Research. 14, p. 532-550.

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1 Reliability estimates communicate to what extent the items of a scale measure a common attribute. Validityassessments tell if the attribute getting measured is the one that we want to measure.


Direction

Management literature on changedoes include the issues of directionbut the vast majority of writingsfocus on managing change andassume that the direction is a given.At the organizational level, all theelements or parts are interrelatedand therefore managing changeimplies analyzing theinterrelationships and thenmanaging the process. While it isimportant to know theinterrelationships, the trick is inknowing and choosing thedirection and then bringing in themanagement of interrelationship inthe change process.

In the overall organizationalsituation the direction can be in anyarea. For the purpose ofconvenience we present a listthrough which you could identifyor choose directions in variousareas depending on the issues that

AbstractManagement of change is essentially the management of direction. In my opinion this is the core,fundamental point. In a way, the direction can itself be a means to an end. However, the choice ofdirection involves the choice of ends. Strategizing change, choice of the change agent, the cost of

change and implementation are all means to support the fundamental choice of direction.The second part of management of change is execution. Execution includes planning for

change as well as executing its key elements, including handling communication and humanresource and cultural issues.

Both the above issues are part and parcel of a leadership initiative and hence leadership isprobably the most important part of management of change.

While there are many elements to management of change, we are going to touch on the abovekey areas due to limitation son the length of the article.

In this article we shall make observations on business organizations. The term organizationcan apply to governments, social communities, voluntary and informal bodies etc.

MANAGEMENT OF CHANGE: CRITICAL FACTORS

TARUN SHETH

Tarun Sheth taught atthe University of Barodaand IIM, Ahmedabad.Worked with HindustanLever as head ofOrganizationDevelopment for allcompanies in India, i.e.,HLL, Lipton, BrookeBond and Ponds.Currently consultingwith domestic andinternational companiesfor HR strategy, systems,structures compensation,recruitment, training andcoaching.

are being addressed.

Organizational framework foridentifying change areas

The following is an indicative listof areas that can aid in identifyingchange in direction and thenprioritizing and managing them:

I) Individual

• Role clarity

• Fitments in the role

• Competence/skills

• Personality/Motivation

II) Group

• Goals

• Focus

• Structure

• Skills/ Competence

• Morale

III) Functional

• Marketing/Sales


• Finance and Accounts

• Technical/Production

• Innovation/R & D

• Information Processing/IT

• Compliance/Legal

IV) Procedures

• Entry/Exit

• Procurement

• Accounting/Finance/Control

• Development/Rewarding/Planning/Review

V) Leadership

• Consistency with Objectives/Clarity ofGoals

• Competence/Ability to carry people

• Conservative/Change oriented

• Achiever/risk taker

VI) Culture

• Values/Beliefs

• Norms

• Employee Oriented/Control Oriented

VII) Structure

• Organization Structure

• Hierarchy/Levels

• Focus

• Accountability

• Supervision

• Cost of the organization

Leadership and change

Organizations which are autocratic and do notallow free communication and freedom todisagree can make the right decisions but thelack of freedom does not give it any protectionfrom wrong decisions unless it is too late.Sometimes you choose the right direction butthe quality of management of the process in

this choice can give different results.

Take the telephony business. A large industrialgroup decided to go for the telephony business.The new direction required defining thebusiness, management of government and itslegal provisions, creating a marketingorganization, bringing in technology andcreating a structure that could provide focus,direction, supervision and execution. Theprimary direction for change required creationof a consumer-oriented business, recruitingpeople with experience in consumer marketingand building an organization that could focuson market, technology and customerrelationships.

The company was successful in christening thenew business attractively, going to a newlocation and some specialist recruitment insales and marketing. However, it broughtleadership from the old business whoseexperience was in commodities and controllingcosts; units were peopled with individuals witha marketing background but authority wasdiffused and there were issues of integration ofthe old with the new. As a result of the above,the first three years of its existence saw a lot ofchurn and failures. The choice of wrongleadership may even mix otherwise seeminglygood business initiatives.

Hewlett Packard merged with Compaq and putCarly Fionna to manage the change. She didnot live up to the challenges of the job and hadto leave. The business went through difficulttimes and stabilized only with a change inleadership.

The Tatas who have also ventured intotelephony failed to provide focused leadershipand support for the change in the direction of anew business. They could have done muchbetter but haven't.

Bharti Airtel, which was relatively new, lessresourceful and lesser known in the marketstarted slowly but through management of thedirection and process of change has come out


on top at least in numbers and growth.

Although the above is a very brief account, itshows that when an organization embarks ona new business it needs to define directions,provide focused leadership, create processesappropriate to the nature of the business andclearly accept the deviation required from thepast. The last one requires either newleadership to be brought from outside orpicking up leaders from the existingorganization with the right mind set. The thingto avoid is to appoint successful individualsfrom the existing business who not may be theright fit in the new business.

Choosing a Direction and Managing ChangeSuccessfully

IBM

IBM is a good example of a company managingdirection. When its progress got plateaued itfelt the need for change of direction. It was noteasy with existing leadership as more oftenthan not they would dish out more of the sameand cling to the past. It is the change inleadership that brought back its glory. Theyeven took this logic further to sell their laptopdivision to the Chinese company Lenovo.

Tata Tea

One of the more successful examples ofchoosing the right direction and coming outon top is Tata Tea. It started as a companywhich owned plantations in the north and thesouth and was more a commodity player whileother companies like Brooke Bond, Lipton andWagh Bakri prospered through branding thecommodity bought from Tata Tea. It made thedecision of branding and marketing tea manyyears ago but the execution was poor and hencethe gains were not visible. Things havechanged with the acquisition of Tetley,operational leadership given to executives whounderstand the tea business, induction ofmarketing professionals, reducing stake inplantations (a high cost and labour intensiveproposition) and focusing on branding,

product development and customersatisfaction. The impact of these changes andconsistency in execution is there for all to see.

Debate the choice

Choosing the right direction requires debate atthe highest level by people who know theground realities that include customers and thegovernment. Entrepreneurs are good at this butsome successful entrepreneurs fall in the trapof autocratic decisions for change. Suchdecisions may come out right as the top personsjudgement can be right. However, without thebenefit of differing views there is no protectionif it goes wrong. Bajaj Auto's continuance withscooters, while Hero Honda ran away withcustomers and profits is a case in point.

External Advice

The decision to change direction can come frommany sources. One useful channel is externalconsultants. As a director of a large nationalbank I had been observing that all PSU bankswere playing within the same constraints,doing the same things and vying for organicgrowth. The new private sector and existingmultinational banks showed that retailbanking and investment banking requireddifferent skills, ambience and mindsets. Evenwith retail banking you need to understand thecustomer and raise your service levelsconsiderably. The bank hired a professionalconsulting group which brought research dataand market information to the table. TheChairman and Senior Executives supported therecommendation for changes in direction. Thebank has started the execution of therecommendations and is benefiting from it.

One important point that comes out of thisexperience is that while changes in directionare made in a smaller unit or part of thebusiness, if successful, it should be carefullytaken through the organization as appropriate.Trying things on a smaller scale enablesexperimentation, reduces cost and resources


and gives the freedom to fail.

Change in Ongoing Businesses

It is important to ensure that once the directionis chosen the new business is structured toprovide focus and accountability. ITC choseto go into hotels as a business several yearsago. They provided focus to the fledgingbusiness and accountability by creating adistinct organization and leadership withfocus and accountability. The business hasnow grown into a very profitable division.Focus, leadership and accountability can helpeven existing business that requirerejuvenation and/or meet tough competition.When Nirma was actively eroding HindustanLever's market share in the early eighties itchose to fight the battle in the field on the salesfront. The company put three of its best youngmanagers on the sales side. They turned thetide and two of them went on to becomechairman of the company later. Both ITC andHLL examples suggest the importance ofleadership when changing direction in existingbusiness or perking it up.

Choosing a Wrong Direction

An Indian company that had been doing verywell in manufacturing technology basedcommodities of good quality decided to changeits strategy and change to branding the sameand recruit FMCG managers to bring in thechange. While it is true that Intel and GujaratAmbuja cement have been successful inbranding their commodity, there are moreexamples of people who have failed. In the caseof this company the market did not accept thischange. Its problem got compounded by thefact that the newly inducted expensivemanagers could not adjust to the underlyingtechnology of the products and from a profitablebusiness it slid to a loss. It has now changeddirection and is on its way back to health.

Multinational companies operating in Indiaat times benefit from changes of directioninitiated abroad after a lot of research and

debate. But they are also at the wrong end ofreceiving the stick in India when the change ofdirection initiated abroad does not jive withrealities in India. For instance, Unilever'sdecision to hive off the chemical business andfocus on ice creams may be consistent with theparents view of its 'core business' but may notbe in sync with local realities.

When People Are Affected

One of the most difficult areas of implementingdirectional change is when it affects existingpeople with long service adversely. Recently, alarge engineering company invited consultantsto do a job evaluation of all managers. Theyhad several hundred managers whose jobs hadto be evaluated and this evaluation would affectseveral thousand others. This company did nothave a good performance evaluation systemand managers were promoted on a time boundbasis to a higher level even if they continued inthe same job. The consultants warned themanagement that a proper job evaluation willresult in many jobs going down as their exaltedstatus is only due to the fact that the incumbenthas got into a higher grade in spite of doing thesame job. The management in an aggressivemode agreed as they felt they needed a system.By the time the project was getting over the topmanagement received several messages frompeople who feared their jobs might go down.In the end the company backtracked and verylittle of the consultants work was implemented.I suspect in this case the company decided togo ahead with the job evaluation project andfantasized about its will to be tough.

Conclusion

To conclude, management of change requiresthe choice of direction and then themanagement of various processes to supportthe directional change. Successful companiesdebate the direction, provide focus throughorganizational arrangements and leadershipand then manage the processes.


Organizational Change: TheFormidable XI

With so much written onorganizational change, the onlymeaningful thing I can attempt is topen the learnings from my ownexperience in the corporate world inthe past thirty two years. I will keepit simple and stupid, largelybecause that is all I am capable of,and partly because of my fond hopethat of the few people that actuallyread this article, some may resonatewith and remember a thought or two.

• I/we have a dream: Clearly thishas always been the source, andsustaining power, of anyorganizational change. Theclearer this dream and the moreforcefully it is shared, the largerthe number of apostles it createswho then spread the WORD sothat it enters the DNA of everyperson in the organization, thegreater is its power. And for it tobe a potent force it must touch adeep inner chord in people,activate some higher-orderpurpose that makes ordinarypeople own the dream and dotruly extra ordinary things.

This dream needs to be talked aboutagain and again from everypossible platform, and manypeople must do the talking. Thepower of the WORD andINTENTION is awesome, and itsfull potential must be unleashed.

• From dream to action: If thedream is not converted intoS.M.A.R.Tly defined WHAT,

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: THE FORMIDABLE XI

RAJIV DUBEY

Rajiv Dubey has donethe AdvancedManagementProgramme at Cedep-INSEAD, France, andthe Harvard BusinessSchool-TMTC TataStrategic LeadershipCourse, in addition tomanagement programsat the Ashridge StrategicManagement Centre,UK, the NationalInstitute of AdvancedStudies, Bangalore, andCII- Aspen Institute,USA. Recentlycompleted a HumanResource ExecutiveProgram at StanfordUniversity, USA.

Rajeev joined the TataAdministrative Services(TAS), the centralmanagerial cadre of theTata Group, in 1975, andafter a career spanning29 years in the TataGroup, of which 7 yearswere as ManagingDirector, first of TataMetaliks and then ofRallis India, he joinedMahindra & MahindraLtd. in 2004. Dubey ison the Boards of severalGroup companies,including the Chairmanof Mahindra InsuranceBrokers Limited.

WHO, HOW and by WHEN,organizational change willremain a dream. This drill-downof the dream into deliverables forevery individual in theorganization, done with all therigor and discipline of projectmanagement, is an exercisewhose importance as anecessary and critical successfactor cannot be over-emphasized.

I am particularly impressed by thepower of the Japanese PolicyDeployment methodology and itsvariants.

• The Virtuous and PotentPDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act)Cycle: Needless to say, thesedeliverables need to be regularlyand systematically reviewed,lessons learnt from experienceand continuous improvementsmade. This needs to be donewith the same rigour as theconversion of the vision tospecific deliverables, or elseimplementation/execution willremain as elusive as a will-o-the-wisp in the mist and dark.

The above conditions are aboutstrategy, process, system andmetrics and address the perennialthree questions

• Who/where are we?

• Where do we go from here?

• How/do we go there?

These are necessary, but notsufficient, conditions for successfulorganizational change. I must


therefore shift gear and venture into softer (butactually much harder!) dimensions and criticalaspects of behavior/attitude that will convertthe necessary into sufficient conditions forchange.

• Trust: If you think of it, business andcommerce-in fact human civilization-isbased on trust : our belief that people willdo what they say (and hopefully say whatthey mean). If this belief gets diluted orcompromised, no initiative can deliver itspotential. Hence it is critical that leaders aretrusted and in turn trust those that "follow"them. Trust ultimately depends on leadersbeing authentic : thought, speech and actionare aligned so that people believe thatleaders will do what they say, that differentmasks will not be worn for differentoccasions, that they will Walk the Talk.Mahatma Gandhi was perhaps the mostoutstanding in this regard, and hence widelyregarded as one of the greatest leaders inmodern times.

• Inspire, Especially When There is Failure:Every movement goes through its ups anddowns, and it is precisely when the going istough that we need to stand by each other,when leaders need to focus on strengths toovercome weaknesses, to remind theirfollowers "You can do it, I am with you". Insuch situations one would do well toremember Napoleon's statement "Morale isto all other factors as four is to one". Toooften have I seen blame-games and witch-hunts bring organizational change to agrinding halt, in fact push it back, when thegoing is not good.

Tolerating, in fact celebrating, failure (againwithin limits) is in fact an important ingredientin the samundra manthan of change whichunleashes innovation in organizations, forfailure often (perhaps always) paves the wayfor success. But it requires the brave, strong and

the self-confident to be able to see it in this light.How many of us can do so? And what priceare we willing to pay for it?

• Listen : Most of us are Masters at tellingothers what to do, but how many use thepower of listening to connect with andunderstand reality, to grasp opportunities,to see the sources of problems and theirsolutions too. The voice of the customer, theemployee, the supplier, the competitor, thewinds of change….

In my experience, the leaders who listenedempathetically-not those who pretended tolisten-were truly able to create transformationalchange. The others were great at writing articlesand giving lectures to spell-bound audiences!!

Of course, the art and power of listening mustpercolate throughout the organization if its fullpower is to be harnessed.

• May a thousand leaders bloom (withapologies to Chairman Mao!):

• Any major change requires leadershipinitiatives (within certain boundaries ofcourse) through the length and breadth ofthe organization.

But it is equally true that in most organizationsthese boundaries are much more tightly definedthan they ought to be if the required energyand momentum of the change process is to beachieved. Clearly the command and controlapproach needs to be revisited, for the pace andcomplexity of change can no longer be managedby supermen CEO s who know more abouteverything than anyone else.

Fortunately, many organizations have realizedthis and I have seen more and more changeinitiatives being driven by large numbers ofempowered leaders and teams of both blue andwhite-collar employees -and they inevitablysurpass expectations. Giving up power endsup creating much more power! This is going tobe the Golden Age of the Leader as Mentor, of


the gardener who enables a thousand flowersto bloom.

• No Gospel Truth : A corollary of distributedleadership and empowered teams, is aculture which encourages relentlessquestioning of the unquestioned and theunquestionable, without penalizing/killingthe brave soul who tells the Emperor that hehas no clothes on. This culture whichencourages questioning & challenging thestatus quo, is a powerful complement tolistening as a major source ofINNOVATION.

• From the Tyranny of either/or, to the Powerof AND: Creating synergy out of seeminglyconflicting forces and objectives, and theability to create WIN - WIN situations, havebeen the hall-mark of the most successfulchange initiatives I have seen. This is aparadigm shift which will becomeincreasingly important as we move fromcompetition to co-operation, to a worldwhere sustainability becomes a majorchallenge, and where we face threats tothings we have taken for granted andravaged over the course of civilization: air,earth, water and climate.

• The Triumph of Good Over the Perfect:Many change initiatives have flounderedbecause the search for the perfect wayforward has led to sacrificing many thingsthat were clearly good and desirable. Thisled to slow-down and eventual death. On

the other hand, more often than not, thosewho dared to take the risk and challengeand moved ahead with initiatives /solutions that were good though not perfect,and learnt along the way, created greatsuccesses.

These were also organizations which kept itsimple and stupid, and unleashed enormouspotential from doing so.

• Satya, Prem and Seva : Finally, theorganizations which were successful attransformational change seemed to havebeen powered by the energy of their corevalues. They firmly believed that successwould be an empty and meaningless rewardif it were achieved by sacrificing the corevalues of the organization, and the humanbeings who were its source. For mepersonally, I would prefer not to havesuccess if doing so would entail sacrificing:

SATYA: Do I speak the truth as I see it,regardless of the consequences?

PREM: Do I have compassion - can I putmyself into the shoes of those thatI deal with?

SEVA: Can I be of service tosomeone who is in need,especially if he/she is lessfortunate than me?

This is a tall order, a formidable XI. Can anyoneget it all right? Probably not, but it may be worthtrying.


• Introduction

'Change' is an extremely significantphenomenon, discussedextensively in the context oforganizational action. It is by nowvery well accepted that most, if notall organizations undergodeliberate transformation duringtheir lifetime. Firms undergochange in an effort to gain moreefficiency and competitiveness.These interventions are oftenundertaken as a response toenvironmental volatility, desire forenhanced organizationalperformance, as a problem-solvingmeasure or as strategic decisions.Organizations change to addressnew challenges, priorities andmissions (Cobb et al., 1995). Theseinterventions could take shapeeither as mergers, downsizing,restructuring, training, technologytransformations or implementationof new work-place practices andvarious other models of change.

AbstractThis paper examines the relationship between justice perceptions and employee commitment in

the context of organizational change. Extant literature reveals that organizational justiceperceptions are correlated with employee commitment in a change context. However, the

underlying processes governing this relationship have not yet been completely understood andhence a review seems necessary. This paper, which is conceptual in nature, proposes a model

linking justice perceptions with employee commitment moderated by organizational andsupervisory communication. It is proposed that perceptions of justice would have a positive

impact on employee commitment in an organization that is undergoing change intervention. It issuggested that organizational and supervisory communication moderate perceptions of justice tohasten the restoration process of employee commitment in a changing environment. Managerial

implications of the review are discussed.

Key Words: Communication, organizational justice, employee commitment, and organizational change

COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS, JUSTICE

PERCEPTIONS AND EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT DURING


RANJEET NAMBUDIRI

Ranjeet Nambudiri is anAssistant Professor inOB & HRM, a Fellow inManagement from IIM(Ahmedabad). He haspresented researchpapers in severalinternational conferencesincluding the AsianAcademy ofManagement Conference(Shanghai, 2004) and the3rd Workshop on TrustWithin and BetweenTeams organized by theEuropean Institute ofAdvanced Studies inManagement(Amsterdam, 2005). Hehas published researchpapers in severalnational journals.

The interventions could befundamental in nature, thus aimedat effecting radical, long-term andlong-lasting change or could bemore peripheral aimed at solvingan immediate-term problem(Cummings and Worley, 1997:30).Equally well accepted, arepropositions, which give evidencepointing to both positive andnegative outcomes oforganizational change. Change,though initiated with the purposeof bringing about positive outcomeslike improved organizational andindividual performance, oftenunwittingly, brings with it negativeoutcomes like reducedorganizational commitment,turnover intent, stress, reducedmotivation, dissent and actualemployee turnover. Organizationalchange interventions are posited tohave several negativeconsequences, including but notlimited to personal loss, burnout,


anxiety (Kets De Vries & Balazs, 1997), reducedcommitment to the organization (Brockner,Konovsky, Cooper Schneider, Folger, Martin &Bies, 1994) and reduced self-esteem of thesurvivors (Wiesenfeld, Brockner & Thibault,2000). It is inevitable that change interventionswill cause stress on the targets of change, i.e.the employees (e.g., Wooten & White, 1999) andconcerns about the fairness of change processeswill naturally be raised time and again.

• Conceptual Foundations

Theories of Justice

The three widely accepted concepts of justiceare distributive justice, procedural justice andinteractional justice. Organizational justice isthe term used to describe the role of fairness inthe workplace (Greenberg, 1987).

Distributive Justice

Change in its basic nature involves aredistribution of resources and power (Cobb etal., 1995). These reallocations are often widereaching and have the potential to impact agreat range of people in the organization. Quitenaturally, there are concerns regarding thefairness with which this resource re-allocationis executed. The set of people who have beendivested of resources and power would resistthe change and are likely to perceive lack ofjustice. At the same time, those people who havebenefited from the reallocation may haveexperienced similar feelings prior to thereallocation. Hence, the decision-makersalways need to bring about the changeconsidering the delicate trade-off involved.

Deutsch (1985; in Cobb et al., 1995) has outlinedthe three criteria of equity, equality and needas means of ensuring distributive justice. Theequity criterion proposes that equitable normsbased on merit are crucial in creating theperception of distributive justice at the time ofallocating rewards or resources. Equalityemphasizes that rewards, which are equallydistributed, contribute significantly towardsperceptions of distributive justice. The criteria

of need focuses on individual need as ameasure of allocating resources. Brockner andcolleagues (Brockner, Greenberg, Brockner,Bortz, Davy & Carter, 1986) note that inbusiness organizations, the primary objectiveis economic productivity and hence equitywould be the dominant criterion rather thanequality or need.

Procedural Justice

Thibaut & Walker (1975; in Wooten & White,1999) have pioneered the research onprocedural justice, by focusing on howdistributive and other decisions are made.Procedural justice looks at the fairness of the'procedures' used for decision making. Sincechange efforts or interventions often have theconsequence of increased ambiguity anduncertainty, it becomes natural for concernsabout fairness of procedures to be addressedby organizational development research.

Procedural justice emphasizes the issues of'how the ground rules are constructed'(reconstructing) (Folger, 1977), 'who is involvedin the rule construction process'(representation) (Leventhal, 1980; in Cobb etal., 1995) and the 'opportunity to voice orredress one's grievances, (recourse) (Sheppard,1984). These three issues are central to theapplication of procedural justice to ODresearch. Brockner and his colleagues(Brockner, Konovsky, Cooper-Schneider,Folger, Martin & Bies, 1994) have based theirstudy examining the justice-commitmentrelationship on the six dimensions ofconsistency, suppression of bias, accuracy,representation, ethical standards, recourse,and representation and proposed that advancenotice of the layoff to the victims forms anintegral part of procedural justice.

Interactional Justice

Interactional justice is a concept that hademerged fairly recently as compared to thedistributive and procedural justice theories.Bies (1987), in one of the pioneering works on


interactional justice focused on the 'socialaccounts' given by the agents or leaders of theorganization while explaining distributivedecisions. Hence, this line of thought evaluatesthe 'reasons' given by management to justifythe decision and contribute towards justiceperceptions. Greenberg (1987) furthered thisargument by stating that 'properly constructedand communicated accounts can help mitigatea wide range of negative attitudes produced bydisappointing outcomes.' Interactional justicecan be separated into interpersonal andinformational components and theinterpersonal component is sometimesproposed to be similar to procedural justice (e.g.,Viswesvaran & Ones, 2002). It is reasoned thatif management is perceived to treat theemployees well, it is likely that the employeesrespond through greater commitment andenhanced performance. Two factorsparticularly relevant to the interpersonal aspectof interactional justice are, (1) whether thesubjects believe that the reasons for the decisionwere clearly and adequately explained (Bies etal., 1988), and (2) whether the subjects weretreated with dignity (Bies et al., 1988). Thus,issues of interactional justice seem specificallyrelevant in the change context.

Organizational Commitment

Organizational commitment, was initiallyproposed by Porter et al. (1974) who noted thatorganizational commitment was characterizedby the following,

• "strong belief and acceptance of theorganizational goals and values",

• "willingness to exert considerable effort onbehalf of the organization", and

• "definite desire to maintain organizationalmembership."

Mathieu & Zajac (1990) in their meta-analyticreview of organizational commitment haveidentified antecedents like personality traits,job characteristics, group and leader behaviorand consequences like job performance,

withdrawal, absenteeism and intent to leave.

• Communication and EmployeeCommitment

Communication processes are an integral partof organizational systems. Organizations,when viewed as 'information processingsystems' (Hall, 2001), need to receive, process,analyze, store and transmit information.Organizational communication has been anintegral part of organizational theory, since thepioneering work of Barnard (1938). Barnard(1938) has been cited by Hall (2001) as stating,"Communication occupies a central place inorganizational theory because structure,extensiveness and scope of the organizationare almost entirely determined bycommunication."

Communication processes in organizations areeither 'strongly individual or stronglyorganizational' (Hall, 2001). This article refersto communication as the organizationalprocess of interaction and informationprocessing, including communication by theorganization through formal and informalmodes and also communication by thesupervisor as an organizational agent. Thismeans that organizational communication orcommunication as referred to here, indicatesall those processes, which enable anorganization to convey meaning within theorganization and to the external environment.

In the era of organizational change andinterventions like downsizing, corporationshave increased dependence on effectivecommunication systems. The knowledgeorganizations of today are relying enormouslyon effective internal and externalcommunication processes for improvedemployee performance and commitment.

• Justice Perceptions and EmployeeCommitment

Issues of fairness have been addressedextensively by the various theories of justicelike distributive justice (Deutsch, 1985; in


Wooten & White, 1999), procedural justice(Thibaut & Walker, 1975; in Wooten and White,1999) and interactional justice (Greenberg,1987; Bies, 1987). Organizational development,or the study of organizational change hasexplicitly acknowledged the significance ofjustice in its literature. There is ample evidencethat change efforts are fairly successful owingto perceptions of fairness in the intervention(e.g., Cobb et al., 1995). Studies have also shownthat different forms of justice are useful inanalysis at different stages of the change effort(e.g., Novelli et al.; in Wooten & White, 1999).Distributive, procedural and interactionaljustice are discussed concurrently with thehumanistic orientations that characterize ODpractice (Wooten & White, 1999). It has beenfairly conclusively proposed thatorganizational fairness is a "psychologicalmechanism that can mediate employeeresistance to change"(Folger & Skarlicki, 1999).

There have been various studies, which havelinked organizational justice with change -related outcomes like stress, turnover intent,employee turnover, dissent and reducedmotivation. Justice perceptions contribute toconcerns about the following issues among,both victims and survivors of organizationalchange,

• Legitimacy of the change intervention(Brockner, Grover, Reed, DeWitt & O'Malley,1987)

• Fair and just communication of the changeintervention (Bies, 1987)

• Decision rule and procedures used to arriveat a layoff decision (Folger & Greenberg,1985; in Brockner, Grover, Reed, DeWitt andO'Malley, 1987)

• Fairness of compensation and severancepackages offered (Brockner, Grover, Reed,DeWitt and O'Malley, 1987).

Studies have shown that the three forms ofjustice have a significant influence on employeeresponses like organizational commitment and

organizational citizenship behavior (e.g., Cobbet al., 1995). Research evidence shows thatcommunications that "convey causal,ideological, referential and penitential accountsenhance employee perceptions of fairness" ofthe intervention and contribute to positivework and attitude related outcomes (Cobb etal., 1995). This clearly points towards themoderating role played by communicationeffectiveness on justice perceptions. There ishowever, some debate about whether the formsof justice have an additive or interactive effect(Brockner & Wiesenfeld, 1996). To summarize,it can be held that an individual's reaction toorganizational resource allocation during achange intervention is dependent ondistributive justice, procedural justice andinteractional justice which in turn gets affectedby the communication effectiveness.

• Implications for Managers

Employee commitment during organizationalchange is one of major concerns fororganizations, because it directly affects theorganizational performance. Decliningcommitment often results in turnover andorganizations also stand to lose some of theirbest employees as a result of poorly managedinterventions. Given that organizations spendenormous amount of resources in hiring,training and motivating skilled employees, itbecomes imperative to ensure that theintervention is implemented with utmost care

Figure 1: Proposed Model of Relationship Between Communi-cation Effectiveness, Justice Perceptions and Employee

Commitment.


and in a manner that is perceived as fair,equitable and just. Communication processesthat enhance perceptions of fairness go a longway in ensuring that benefits of theintervention outweigh its negativeconsequences. The major challenge is to ensurethat the employees affected by change perceivefairness in its treatment, in the decision ruleused to implement the change and in therationale behind the exercise. It is evident thatemployee attitudes like involvement andcommitment are the most difficult to recoverfully following a change intervention. A logicalfocus would be the new psychological contractunder which the employees and managementwould operate and ensuring that breach of theprevious psychological contract is perceived

as an unavoidable event. The managementshould try and put in place occupationalreinforcements that help the employees torecover faster and leave them with a sense ofsecurity. It is suggested that change agentsshould try to ensure a fair interplay of all theforms of justice while implementinginterventions because of the unchallengedimpact that all forms of justice have onpsychological outcomes like organizationalcommitment. This of course, is easier said thandone, but then the foundations of OD practicerest on humanistic orientations like fairness,ethics and justice and hence the justiceframework clearly has a significant role to playin any OD intervention.

ReferencesBies, R.J. (1987). The predicament of injustice: The management of moral outrage. In L.L.Cummings, & B.M. Staw. (Eds.) Researchin Organizational Behavior (Vol. 9, pp 289-319), Greenwich. CT : JAI Press.

Bies, R.J., Shapiro, D.L., & Cummings, L.L. (1988). Voice and justification: Their influence on procedural fairness judgments.Academy of Management Journal, 31, 676-685.

Brockner, J., Greenberg, J., Brockner, A., Bortz, J., Davy, J., & Carter, C. (1986). Layoffs, equity theory, and work performance:Further evidence of the impact of survivor guilt. Academy of Management Journal, 29(2), 373-384.

Brockner, J., Grover, S., Reed, T., DeWitt, R., O'Malley, M. (1987). Survivors' reactions to layoffs: We get by with a little help forour friends. Administrative Science Quarterly, 32(4), 526-541.

Brockner, J., Konovsky, M., Cooper-Schneider, R., Folger, R., Martin, C., & Bies, R.J. (1994). Interactive effects of proceduraljustice and outcome negativity on victims and survivors of job loss. Academy of Management Journal, 37(2), 397-409.

Brockner, J.,& Wiesenfeld, B. (1996). An integrative framework for explaining reactions to decisions: Interactive effects ofoutcomes and procedures. Psychological Bulletin, 120, 189-208.

Cobb, A.T., Wooten, K.C., & Folger, R. (1995). Justice in the making: Toward understanding the theory and practice of justice inorganizational change and development, Research in Organizational Change and Development ,(Vol. 8, pp 243-295), Greenwich,CT: JAI Press.

Cummings, T. & Worley, C. (1997). Organizational Development and Change, Singapore: Thomson South-Western.

Folger, R. (1977). Distributive and Procedural Justice: Combine impact of voice and improvement on experienced inequity. Journalof Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 108-119.

Folger, R. & Skarlicki, D. (1999). Unfairness and resistance to change: Hardship as mistreatment, Journal of Organizational ChangeManagement, 12(1), 35

Greenberg, J. (1987). A Taxonomy of organizational justice theories. Academy of Management Review, 12(1), 9-22.

Hall, R. (2001).Organizations: Structures, processes and outcomes. Indian edition: Pearson education Inc., 2001.

Kets De Vries, M.F.R., & Balazs, K. (1997). The downside of downsizing. Human Relations, 50, 11-50.

Mathieu, J.E., & Zajac, D.M. (1990). A review and a meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences oforganizational commitment. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 171-194.

Porter, L.W., Steers, R., Mowday, R., & Boulian, P.V. (1974). Organizational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover amongpsychiatric technicians. Journal of Applied Psychology, 59, 603-609.

Sheppard, B.H. (1984). Third party conflict interventions: A procedural framework. In B.M. Staw, & L.L. Cummings, (Eds.),Research in Organizational Behavior, (Vol. 6, pp 141-190), Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Viswervaran, C., & Ones, D.S. (2002). Examining the construct of organizational justice: A meta-analytic evaluation of relationswith work attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 38, 193-203.

Wiesenfeld, B.M., Brockner, J., & Thibault, V. (2000). Procedural fairness, managers' self-esteem, and managerial behaviorsfollowing a layoff. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 83(1), 1-32.

Wooten, K.C., & White. L.P. (1999). Linking OD's philosophy with justice theory : post-modern implications.

Journal of Organizational Change Management, 12(1), 7-20.


Context:

Mergers and acquisitions, as a formof Corporate Restructuring, are acommon feature of the globalbusiness scenario, especially sincethe 1990's, driven by the changingbusiness dynamics. Mergers andacquisitions (M&A) worldwide areexpected to set an all-time record ofmore than $3.57 trillion before thisyear ends and the Asian M&Amarket saw about 5200 deals worth$200 billion by September 2007.Interestingly, while M&A isdominated by strategic, financialand operational concerns andperspectives, research conductedacross the globe aimed at analyzingthe true benefits has indicated that50% to 70% of M&A's are financialfailures, and one of the mainreasons for the failure are peopleand organizational issues. Giventhe criticality of this dimension,this paper will focus on:

AbstractMergers and acquisitions, as a form of Corporate restructuring, are a common feature of the

global business scenario, especially since the 1990's, driven by the changing businessdynamics. One key factor in ensuring success in the context of merger is the ability to integrate

the organizations effectively.

The management mantra for mergers and acquisitions, more often than not, has been 'makethem like us'; an approach which research and practice, have indicated is not the best. Given

the fact that the critical managerial challenge is to manage the 'People and Organizationalissues' to deliver value in line with the strategic objectives for the merger, the paper seeks to

understand the different approaches to Integration, factoring in the strategic andorganizational variables. The paper also recommends proactive managerial actions to managethe employee reactions and create an environment to facilitate integration. This paper seeks to

establish that the success, which is meeting the strategic and financial objectives set forth,depends upon the ability of management to identify and foresee key issues and problems that

come up and evolve a plan, driven by the strategic objectives and factoring in the context,realities and issues with respect to both, organization and people.

MANAGING PEOPLE IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

D PRASANTH NAIR

Prasanth Nair is a Fellowof the Indian Institute ofManagement,Ahmedabad. Hisdissertation was on TheOrganizational andHuman Issues inMergers andAcquisitions.

Prasanth started hiscareer in the engineeringfield with GEC AlsthomIndia Limited. After hisFellowship, he worked inHR function at differentlevels in the RPG Groupand Wockhardt.Currently, he is Presidentand Head-HumanResources for ThomasCook India Limited.

• The Human Issues in a M&Acontext

• Managing 'Organization andPeople' Issues in the Context ofM&A.

The Human Issues in an M&AContext

Given the fact that an importantvariable that contributes to successin mergers have been identified asthe 'People and Organizational'issues, it will be important tounderstand the dynamicsunderlying the variable. A mergeris more than just an act of bringingtwo different companies togetherlike pair of boxes and many a time,in the pre-merger periods,dominated by financial analysis,the myopic focus stays limited tothat. Notwithstanding theimportance of strategic, financialand operational analysis, the factis that the essence of anorganization is its employees and


the merger, in whichever form has an impacton them and thus, the 'People andOrganizational Issues' need to be factored inand addressed in the context of merger.

The dynamics involved in the merger processgives rise to different kinds of uncertainties inthe merger processes. Previous research hasshown that employees react unfavorably tomergers and acquisitions. There are twoconditions that generate deprivation:discrepancy between actual and desiredoutcomes and a discrepancy between actualand deserved outcomes. An organizationtransformation process like merger could affectthe desired and deserved outcomes and impactthe actual; thus increasing the perception ofdiscrepancy. This could result in a feeling ofdeprivation, leading to adverse reactions(Buono and Bowditch, 1989). It has been arguedthat the individual responses in a merger oracquisition process are part of a fairlypredictable syndrome of merger related stressand tensions. Again, human responses arisefrom four factors:

1. Culture clashes that arise whendissimilar cultures come into contact witheach other. The merger or acquisitionrequires members of one organization tointeract with members of the otherorganizations with different cultures,behaviors, ideas, manners and workingstyles. Cultural differences betweenmerging organizations influences theextent of employees participation and thecreation of an atmosphere supportingcapability transfer.

2. Further, separate from culturaldifferences, there exists an intense feelingof "we versus they" resulting in distrust,tension and hostility towards the other.It has been sufficiently documented thatthere exists a strong 'We versus They'feeling even in cases where perceivedcultural differences were not very large.

3. Uncertainty associated with Process:Uncertainty, as a reaction, is caused whenthere is lack of understanding about thecausal relationships between the actionsand the potential outcomes of thoseactions. Since the process of Merger andthe changes it brings forth areevolutionary and the final outcomes arenot known during the pre-merger andthrough merger period, it createsuncertainty and ambiguity inindividuals, along personal, professionaland organizational dimensions.Uncertainty, in context of merger leadsto dysfunctional outcomes like stress,lowered job satisfaction, distrust anddecline in commitment, affecting jobperformance.

4. Anxieties on account of the effect orperceived effect it has on career plansthrough transfers, job loss, relocation,loss of individual influence and theuncertainties associated with thesechanges (Buono and Bowditch, 1989;Larrson and Finkelstein,1999).

These factors, as mentioned earlier, give rise tonegative reactions in individuals--oftenmanifesting itself in active opposition (e.g.voice, voluntary exits and sabotage) andpassive opposition (e.g. absenteeism,disobedience), -- reducing their commitment tosuccessful integration of the organizations andthe extent to which they are willing to cooperatewith the members of the other organization(Weber et al, 1996). As such, the negativehuman responses do have an adverse effect onthe individual performance and effectiveness;in the long term having an affect on theorganizational effectiveness.

Managing 'Organization and People Issues'in the Context of M&A

Given the fact that mergers and acquisitionswould continue and there are bound to benegative reactions from individuals in thecontext of merger, the critical element is what


can be done, to manage these, so as to effect asmooth transition and deliver value in line withthe strategic objectives for the merger. Thesuccess, which is meeting the strategic andfinancial objectives set forth, depends upon theability of management to identify and foreseekey issues and problems that come up andevolve a plan, driven by the objectives andfactoring in the context, realities and issueswith respect to both, organization and people.This paper attempts to understand the processby which the People and Organizational issuescan be managed in the context of Merger. Thisis done through:

• Understanding the Variables which willDetermine the Integration Plan.

• Studying the different Approaches of theIntegration Plan.

• Key Actions in the Integration Plan.

Understanding the Variables Which WillDetermine the Integration Plan:

The management mantra for mergers andacquisitions, more often than not, has been'make them like us', depending on the powerequations based on the nature of deal. Researchand practice, have indicated that this isperhaps not the best approach to managementof a merger and point to the consideration ofadditional criteria for deciding on the extent ofchange required, depending on the mode ofvalue accrual. The value accrual in the contextof merger would be through either ResourceSharing, Skill Transfer and CombinationBenefits, or a combination of these. Given thatfact, in a pioneering research, Haspeslagh andJemison (Haspeslagh and Jemison, 1991) havestated that the integration plan to be adoptedshould be based on two additional criteria:

• Need for Strategic Interdependence - Thisrelates to the degree of strategicinterdependence that needs to beestablished between the two companies.This is drawn from the strategic objective ofthe merger, which spells out the mode of

value accrual. For example, for valuecreation through Resource sharing andskills transfer, a high-to- moderate strategicinterdependence may be required, while forvalue creation through combinationbenefits, the strategic interdependencerequired may be low.

• Need for Organizational Autonomy - Thisrelates to the extent to which it is necessaryto maintain the autonomy of the companyin order to preserve its distinctive skills. Theextent of Organizational Autonomy wouldrelate to both, the need from a businessstrategy and need from an organizationalpoint.

Studying the Different Approaches of theIntegration Plan

The consideration of these characteristics willenable the choice of an appropriate IntegrationPlan. The integration plan, will determine theextent of changes in either one or both theorganizations, which in turn, will need to befactored in, the roll out of Key actions. Eventhough both these variables exist on acontinuum and plotting them would requiredata collection and analysis, for the purposeof having a better understanding of theprocess, both these variables have been shownas 'high' and 'low'. Figure 1 illustrates thecontext, taking into account the two variablesand suggests an approach in each context(Haspeslagh and Jemison, 1991).

• Symbiosis: A scenario, where the strategicinterdependence required for value creation

Need forOrganizational

AutonomyLow Holding

Low

Absorption

High

Need for StrategicInterdependence

Acquisition Integration Approaches(Haspeslagh and Jemison, 1991)


is high, implying that there would need tobe changes done; but at the same time, theneed for autonomy, from an organizationalpoint, is also high. The approach is tobalance the need for driving the extent ofchanges, while preserving the need forautonomy. This is a challenging scenarioand the process takes time.

• Preservation: In this scenario, the need forstrategic interdependence is low, implyingthat the changes are not really required forvalue creation. In fact, conferring a highdegree of autonomy to nurture and keep thesource of value creation intact, leads to valuecreation. A high degree of autonomy isgranted for enabling the same.

• Absorption: In this scenario, the need forstrategic interdependence is high, implyingthat there need to be changes made for valuecreation. At the same time, the need topreserve the boundary or identity of theorganization is low. The suggestedapproach is to fully consolidate theorganizations with the ultimate aim ofdissolving all boundaries.

• Holding: Here, the need for strategicinterdependence being low and need forpreserving the autonomy is also low. But, asthe changes need not be made and valuecreation is possible without that, the suggestedapproach is to have a holding structure.

The integration approach would influence theextent of change in Organizational identity, theBusiness model adopted, the Structure (whichwill include roles and reporting relationships),the Work Processes and the Human ResourcesPolicies. As discussed in the first section, eachof them, depending on the extent of changewould have an impact on the people. Based onthe Integration approach adopted, themagnitude of impact would vary. TheIntegration approach would also determinewhether people in both organizations wouldget affected or whether the negative emotionsare limited to one organization.

In order to manage the employee reaction andenable a smooth transition, towards meetingthe strategic objectives, it is necessary to have afocused Integration Plan. While the details ofthe plan would depend on the approachadopted and the context of the merger, thereare certain necessary actions that need to beincorporated in the plan, which will bediscussed in the next section.

Key Actions in the Integration Plan

Given that, there will be negative reactions inthe context of merger and it is necessary tomanage them in order to meet the strategicobjectives, it is critical to have a focused planfor Integration. As mentioned above, while thedetails of the plan would depend on theapproach adopted and the context of themerger, there are certain key actions, asidentified by research and observed frompractice, evolved into a 4C model, that arerecommended as part of the Integration planfor creating an environment to facilitate valueaccrual. The 4C's are:

• Contingency Analysis and Planning

• Communication

• Co-Opt

• Collaborate

• Contingency Analysis and Planning: Inmany a case, the integration proceeds withfocus on issues that come up and on a day-to-day time line. It is quite clearly a recipefor failure. An important step towardssuccessful integration is to have a plan inline with the Integration approach. Thelarger plan would then need to drill downwith a focus on micro issues. In a context,where a lot of variables are fluid, there mightbe unexpected situations and hence there isa need for contingency planning for a worstcase scenario from both a business andorganizational viewpoints.

• Communication: Mergers and acquisitionsplace new demands and pressures on the


communication process because of theinsecurity and uncertainties associated withthe combination process. There are two basictypes of communication that should beincluded - first, to keep the organizationmembers informed about the merger, itsimplications, and its implementation andsecondly, to facilitate the work getting done.In the context of merger, there can be no 'overcommunication' - people would welcomecommunication. Employees are more likely toreact positively when they are well informed -about the positive aspects as well as thenegative aspects than when they are forced torely on hearsay and speculation. Also, it isnot only important what is communicated,but also how it is communicated. Forcommunication to be effective, it needs to beseen as credible. The information should bereleased in an honest, open and timely mannerand there should not be attempts to distort thetruth and manipulate people.

• Co-Opt: For a smooth transition to happen,there should be an attempt to involveindividuals from both the organizations atvarious levels. Setting up of integrationteams, or teams focused on projects, cross-functional challenges can be used asmechanisms for driving this. Integrationteams have been found to be a very effectivemechanism to share information, sort outoperational issues and facilitate executionof the Integration plan. Moreover, the teamscan serve as conduits of accurateinformation and be identified as sourcesthat employees can turn to. They help themembers to know each other; which helpresolve much of the "we-they" attitude thatinhibits the integration process. The greaterthe number of shared experiences that canbe produced early on in the process, thefaster a set of symbols and shared meaningswill develop with which organizationalmembers begin to identify, which willfacilitate the integration process.

• Collaborate: It is important for a successful

transition that the organizations startworking together and build a culture ofcollaboration and trust. In the context ofmerger, there might arise, a natural reluctanceto work together. Hence, platforms andtriggers need to be put in place to enablecooperation. Co-opt is a powerful mechanismto build trust and facilitate collaboration. Inaddition to it, sending the 'Right Signals' helpin this process. Right signals, which appealto common values of fairness, respect, careand reciprocity, serve to break down culturalbarriers and lead to mutual development andimplementation of a common organizationalpurpose. Another step in this direction is theneed to enhance reciprocal organizationalunderstanding. This will enable theorganizations to work on knowledge andskill transfer, both of which will directlyimpact the value creation process.

The intensity and magnitude associated witheach of the Key Actions will depend and vary,based on the Integration Plan adopted and thecontext of the Organization(s). The details - likewhen, who, what and how - also need to befinalized after factoring in the context. It must bekept in mind that the 4C's are merely the startingsteps in the Integration plan, which would needto address, along with the macro issues, the issuesat the micro level. At the same time, the KeyActions (4C's) enable creation of an environmentfor successful execution of the Integration Plan.

Conclusions:

• Studies have shown the failure rates inmergers at 50 percent and one key reason isthe failure to manage people andorganizational issues that arise, in thecontext of merger.

• The dynamics involved in the mergerprocess lead to employees reactingunfavorably to mergers. This could be dueto culture differences or uncertaintyassociated with the process or anxieties onaccount of the impact on role; or acombination of these.


• Successful integration approach needs tofactor in the business objectives and theorganizational context. The variables thatneed to be taken into account fordetermination of the approach to Integrationare 'Need for Strategic Interdependence' and'Need for Organizational Autonomy'.Further, drawing upon research studieswhich, based on the mutual relationshipbetween these variables, there are broadly,four approaches to Integration: Symbiosis,Preservation, Absorption and Holding.

• In the context of merger, irrespective of theIntegration approach adopted, there arisesunfavorable reaction from employees - thedifference being in the magnitude andwhether it is across one or both theorganizations. The paper recommends 4Cs

(Contingency Planning, Communication,Co-opt and Collaboration) as the Key Actionsin the Integration Plan. Based on the approachtowards Integration and the context of themerger, the intensity and the modus operandiof each of the Key Action would vary.

• It must be remembered that managing amerger process is sensitive and to besuccessful, it needs to factor in the humanand emotional element. As leadingresearchers in this area, Buono andBowditch puts in perspective, "If mergersand acquisitions are to be successful overthe long term, the basic nature of suchchange as a human process...must beacknowledged, understood, and integratedinto the planning process."

References

• Ashford, S.J, C. Lee and P. Bobko (1989) : “Content, causes and consequences of job insecurity: A theory based measure and substantive test”;Academy of Management Journal , (32), 803-829.

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• Blake, R.R. and J.S. Mouton (1985) : “How to achieve integration on the human side of the merger”, Organizational Dynamics, 13(3), 41-56.• Bowditch, J.L. and A.F. Buono (1982): Quality of work life assessment, A survey based approach, Boston, Aurburn House.• Bowditch, J.L. and A.F.Buono ( 1987): Great expectations: when the hopes for a better life following a merger turn sour, National Academy of

Management, New Orleans.• Buono, A.F. and J. L. Bowditch (1989): The human side of mergers and acquisition, Josey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.• Chaterjee, S., M.H.Lubatkin, D.M.Schweiger and Y. Weber (1992): “Cultural differences and shareholder value in related mergers : Linking equity and

human capital”, Strategic Management Journal, 13(5), 319-334.• Haspeslagh P.C. and D.B. Jemison (1987): “Acquisitions- myths and reality”, Sloan Management Review, 28(2), 53-58.• Haspeslagh P.C. and D.B. Jemison (1991): Managing Acquisitions : Creating Value through Corporate Renewal, Free Press,New York.• Jemison, D.B. and S.B. Sitkin (1986): “Corporate acquisitions : A process perspective”, Academy of Management Review, 11(1), 145-163.• Larrson, R. and S. Finkelstein (1999): “Integrating Strategic, Organizational and human resource perspectives on Mergers and Acquisitions’: A case

survey of Synergy realization”; Organizational Science; 10(1); 1-26.• Marks, M.L. and P.H Mirvis (1986): “The merger syndrome”, Psychology today, October; 36-42.• Nahavandi, A. and A. Malekzadeh (1988): “Acculturation in Mergers and Acquisitions”, Academy of Management Review, 13(1), 79-90.• Schweiger, D.M. and A.S.DeNisi (1987): “The effect of realistic merger preview on employees : A longitudinal field experiment”, National Academy

of Management meeting, New Orleans.• Weber, Y., O. Shekar and A. Raveh (1996) : “National and corporate culture fit in Mergers / Acquisitions : An exploratory Study”, Management

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WEBSITES

• John McGee/Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management: Strategic Management – Website retrieved on 21st Oct’07 at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapter/9781405118286/McGee_sample%20chapter_Blackwell%20Encyclopedia%20of%20Management%20Stategic%20Management.pdf

• Acquisition Integration Approaches: Website retrieved on 27th Oct’07 at http://www.12manage.com/methods_haspeslagh_acquisition_integration_approaches.html

• M&A Deal Tracker: Website retrieved on 25th Sept 2007 at http://bw.businessworld.in/html_uploads/Deal_Tracker.html#• Corporate India goes shopping — And lands smart deals on foreign shores, Website Retrieved on 25th Sept 2007 at http://

www.thehindubusinessline.com/iw/2007/01/14/stories/2007011400170700.htm

Endnotes

1 For the purpose of this paper, the terms “merger” and “acquisition” would not be differentiated. The term ‘merger’ would denote ‘Merger and Acquisition’. Research has

indicated that such combinations are homogeneous in nature and typically have same repercussions on the firms and their human resources (Buono and Bowditch, 1989).


Introduction:

HR as a profession has evolved overthe years. It has in many waysresponded to the changing contextand demands. It has come to berecognised as an integral part ofbusiness. In some organizations ithas even gained a place of prideand recognized as a function ofstrategic value.

Currently, the business scenario isfast changing and we arewitnessing a number of newhorizon sectors coming into being.In these times of fast-paced changeand short-cycle reviews there is amad rush to get into an actionmode. I recognise many HRpractitioners caught in that fast-action syndrome.

In spite of fast changing businesscontext I find many similarities inthe focus of HR response in the pastand in the present. The followingis an exploration of the HRfunction's evolution to understandthe apparent paradox anddetermine ways going forward.

Looking Back:

Many years ago the HRprofessional existed only in thecontext of a factory environment. Inthis scenario he was expected to bethe conscience keeper of the

AbstractThis article explores the changing role of HR as a function and HR practitioners as

professionals. With the changing business and organizational context, HR as a profession isevolving and is strategic partner in many of the long term interventions. Action that is reactiveto the context is natural but a conscious professional evolution that can enable the function to

be prepared with capability to cope with changes of strategic nature is the key.

HR: AN EVOLVING FUNCTION

D HARISH

Harish is Vice-President -HR Services, Unilever(Asia, Australia, Africa).He is an alumnus ofXLRI, Jamshedpur. Hehas 22 years of corporateexperience across Indiaand UK, mostly inHindustan Unileverwhere his lastassignment was Vice-President - HR.

Harish was recognisedwith "Exemplary LeaderAward" for Excellence inHR both at the regionaland national levels aspart of EmployerBranding Awards 2007.

management with respect to alllabor related issues. He wasexpected to balance the pulls andpressures between managementand labor. He was expected toensure that the employees weretreated fairly and the managementgot the best out of its labor withoutunduly exploiting them. It wasclearly an imbalanced relationshipwith far greater power vested in themanagement hands and hence thestrong possibility of managementnot being responsive to the genuineneeds of the labour. It was to guardagainst such a scenario that thegovernment regulators envisagedthe need for the position of thelabour welfare officer which is theearliest "avatar" of the HRprofessional.

With the advent of the trade-unionmovement the role of safeguardingthe interests of labor was assumedby the communist ideology toutinglabour leaders. The HRprofessional now had to "re-balance" the equilibrium betweenmanagement and labor (with labortaking quite an aggressive posturewith the support of trade unionorganizations). From apredominantly labor welfareorientation he had to assume therole of an arbitrator between


management and the labor leaders to ensurethat the labour leaders do not start abusing theirnew found power. Quite often this alsoentailed the HR professional to wield the stickto enforce discipline at the workplace. This oftenresulted in his being viewed as biased towardsmanagement. The fact that the HR person wasin the payroll of the company definitely addedto the dilution of the perception regarding theneutrality of his stance.

In an attempt to wean away the employees fromthe clutches of the trade unions themanagement charged the HR professional withthe task of introducing newer and moreappealing activities/benefits to keep theemployees motivated and focussed. Over aperiod of time the various HR activities thatwere initiated called for a large amount ofadministrative focus in managing themefficiently. This then started taking centre stagein the life of the HR professional.

With growing competition in the market placeand easy access to technology and finance thebusiness leaders started realising theimportance of the People edge to businesssuccess and started expecting the HRprofessional to focus on attracting the rightquality people and developing the appropriateskills amongst the existing people.

The growing interest in training anddevelopment, learning center, quality circlesare outcomes of this phase.

The realization that the workplace cultureimpacts almost all of the people issues hasstarted to bring attention to both the tangiblesand intangibles, the hardware and thesoftware, the furniture and the philosophy, thework and the values, the rewards and therecognition. Today there are many examplesof Culture related work and thanks toinvolvement of experienced OD practitioners/consultants these are no longer isolatedinitiatives but more comprehensive in theirapproach, leveraging all aspects of HR. TPM,

open offices, vision workshops, instant andvisible recognition schemes, objectiveperformance management process andperformance linked rewards.

Many of the leading thinkers and writers inthe area of HR have exhorted the need to getmore strategic in our approach and one of thekey levers of Strategic HR is leadership. Thehigh impact of Leadership on talentmanagement, organization culture, andeventual business performance has clearlyshifted the focus on developing leadershipcapabilities within the organization as a keyenabler of success. A large number of HRprofessionals have begun to discuss leadershipdevelopment and some have indeed started toinfluence and contribute to development ofleadership within their organizations.

As the HR professional found the demands onhis contribution changing he sought to buildhis own capability to meet the changingdemands. Therefore from the stage of becomingfamiliar with the regulatory guidelines to beable to provide all facilities that were expectedat the place of work he moved to building hiscapability to negotiate successfully with thetrade union leaders. He also had to develophis knowledge of the jurisprudence so that hecould enforce discipline within the bounds oflaw. He then started becoming creative in thedesign of benefits and provision of facilitieswhich made the employees happy andmotivated. The big step was in understandingof human psychology so that she could predictthe effect of her initiatives and activities onpeople and their consequent behavior. (pleasenote that shift in the gender of the HRprofessional at this stage of evolution! ). Morerecently the understanding of business andability to contribute more directly to businessperformance has become key to being morestrategic in their approach.

Looking Ahead

In many of the organizations belonging to thenew horizon segment the HR practice is being


dictated by the "fires of the moment". The mostdaunting challenge seems to be one regardingTalent retention. This seems to have thereforetriggered a series of response around makingemployees happy in their current company. Theprovision of pick up and drop, frequent socialgatherings, birthday celebrations, gift vouchersand dinner coupons etc. are targeted at keepingthe employee contended and not think of achange. This is in many ways similar to theefforts to keep them away from unions.

Reflecting on the past we know that, howevercreative one may be, these activities provideonly a short term solution to the challenge.Understanding this, a number of HRprofessionals have focussed on value addingtraining programs which has a slightly longerterm benefit both to the employee and theorganization. A few of the enlightened HRleaders have adopted a comprehensiveapproach and their response reflects a deepunderstanding of the HR functions evolutionin the traditional sectors. They are not justresponding to the immediate demand butinitiating efforts which are more broad-basedin nature and addressing longer-term needs.

Unlike other professions like accounting andmedicine where the professional regulatorybodies are keeping track of the learnings fromrecent developments and insisting that theirprofessional members comply with emergingstandards, there is no mandatory adoption ofnew frameworks and practices in HR. It isusually left to the initiative of the practitionersto update themselves and follow what theydeem appropriate. This is a pity, for many HRprofessionals are failing to see the opportunitiesand lessons.

Beware of employee backlash if you do notlisten to their intrinsic professional aspirations.The way in which they will assert themselvesmay not necessarily be through trade unionsbut maybe through heightened attrition andblog campaigns. This could be more lethal thanthe historical "gherao" or strike.

A study of history often helps one to preparefor the future, for there is no doubt that historyrepeats itself. However, it is in your hands towrite the history of tomorrow by doing thingsahead of its time and hence address some ofthe needs before they become a Herculeanchallenge. For example, you can work onleadership development and organizationculture even as you grapple with the talentattraction / retention challenge and this willhelp your business unit skip a few of theevolutionary (and painful) steps and catapultinto the realm of outstanding businessperformance.

Of course in keeping with the times we need toupdate ourselves with the possibility oftechnology leverage for various HRdeliverables. The novel initiatives of job fairs,campus presentations and employee referralshave started gaining wider currency. Withglobal knowledge being accessible more easilywe need to adopt/adapt various experiencesin the area of people performance. Thebalanced score-card approach and the strategyinto action model are accessible to all forimproved business alignment. The use of on-line surveys and instruments has made ourfeedback information, people and teamassessment easier and more robust. Theseshould enable us to address the issues in afaster and better way.

Thankfully HR is an evolved function and wemust recognise that. We need to learn from theexperiences of the past and incorporate it intoour functional knowledge base so that weperform as an improved version of ourfunctional forefathers. Failing to capitalise onthat is purely our loss and we will be painfullydriving our organizations to learn through firsthand struggle. In today's' highly competitiveenvironment it is unforgivable fool-hardiness.

No doubt the future will bring with it newerchallenges and opportunities which willdemand and provide for further evolution ofthe HR professional.


On a lot of occasions, change initiatives misfire,ventures and projects go haywire due to aphenomenon called mismanaged agreement(also known as "the Abilene Paradox"). Manyyears ago Professor Jerry B. Harvey discoveredthat the fundamental problem of contemporaryorganizations is the inability to cope withagreement--not conflict. He finds that mostagreement in organizations is actually falseconsensus. It occurs because many people feelthey might be isolated, censured or ridiculed ifthey voice objections. When members do notshare their feelings and opinions in an authenticmanner, groups end up working towardsinappropriate goals leading to organizationalfailure.

The Abilene Paradox is a paradox in which agroup of people collectively decide on a courseof action that is counter to the preferences ofany of the individuals in the group. It involvesa common breakdown of group communicationin which each member mistakenly believes thattheir own preferences are counter to the group'sand do not raise objections. Jerry B. Harveycoined this term. The name of the phenomenoncomes from an anecdote narrated by Harvey toelucidate the paradox:.

"On a hot afternoon visiting in Coleman, Texas,the family is comfortably playing dominoes ona porch, until the father-in-law suggests thatthey take a trip to Abilene [53 miles north] fordinner. The wife says, "Sounds like a great idea."The husband, despite having reservationsbecause the drive is long and hot, thinks thathis preferences must be out-of-step with thegroup and says, "Sounds good to me. I just hopeyour mother wants to go." The mother-in-lawthen says, "Of course I want to go. I haven't beento Abilene in a long time."

ONE REASON FOR FAILURE OF CHANGE

INTERVENTIONS

PVR MURTHY

The drive is hot, dusty, and long. When theyarrive at the cafeteria, the food is as bad. Theyarrive back home four hours later, exhausted.

One of them dishonestly says, "It was a greattrip, wasn't it." The mother-in-law says that,actually, she would rather have stayed home,but went along since the other three were soenthusiastic. The husband says, "I wasn'tdelighted to be doing what we were doing. Ionly went to satisfy the rest of you." The wifesays, "I just went along to keep you happy. Iwould have had to be crazy to want to go outin the heat like that." The father-in-law thensays that he only suggested it because hethought the others might be bored.

The group sits back, perplexed that theytogether decided to take a trip which none ofthem wanted. They each would have preferredto sit comfortably, but did not admit to it whenthey still had time to enjoy the afternoon."

The phenomenon may be a form of group think.It is easily explained by social psychologytheories of social conformity and socialcognition which suggest that human beings areoften very averse to acting contrary to the trendof the group. Likewise, it can be observed inpsychology that indirect cues and hiddenmotives often lie behind peoples' statements andacts, frequently because social disincentivesdiscourage individuals from openly voicingtheir feelings or pursuing their desires.

This anecdote was also made into a short filmfor management education. The theory is oftenused to help explain extremely poor businessdecisions, especially notions of the superiorityof "rule by committee." A technique mentionedin the study and/or training of management,as well as practical guidance by consultants,


is that group members, when the time comesfor a group to make decisions, should ask eachother, "Are we going to Abilene?" to determinewhether their decision is legitimately desiredby the group's members or merely a result ofthis kind of group think.

The "Abilene Paradox" is related to the conceptof group think in that both theories appear toexplain the observed behaviour of groups insocial contexts. The crux of the theory is thatgroups have just as many problems managingtheir agreements as they do theirdisagreements. This observation rings true

References

• Harvey, Jerry B. (Summer 1974). “The Abilene Paradox and other Meditations on Management”. OrganizationalDynamics, 3 (1).

• Harvey, Jerry B. (1988). The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management. Lexington, Mass: LexingtonBooks.

• Harvey, Jerry B. (1999). How Come Every Time Get Stabbed In The Back, My Fingerprints Are on The Knife?. SanFrancisco: Jossey-Bass. http://www.abilineparadox.com/

among many researchers in the Social sciencesand tends to reinforce other theories ofindividual and group behaviour.

Researchers in this field have proposed variousmeans by which groups can avoid suchdysfunctional behaviour. None have provenmore effective than the inclusion of people withdiverse backgrounds in the decision-makingprocess. Groups so comprised tend to be moreeffective in avoiding the Abilene Paradox andtend to be able to make much better decisionsoverall.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


"IPO, is a process not an end game.After the IPO, and organizationmust meet the operationalrequirements of a public companywhile delivering the value it haspromised its stockholders."

The IPO has too often been seenonly in terms of an intensetransaction that begins with theselection of investment bankersand the drafting of a prospectus,continues with road shows, andends with the first day of trading.But it does not stop there. After theIPO the organization must meet theoperational requirements of apublic company while deliveringthe value it has promised itsstockholders.

But it does not start there either.Research shows that CEO's of themost successful companies (interms of post IPO performance)began transforming their companystrategically, operationally andfinancially in a process thatsometimes began years before theywent public. Improvementinitiatives in the area of strategicplanning process, accounting andreporting systems, investorrelations, and employee incentivecompensation, were identified ascontribution most to the most topost-offering performance.

AbstractTransformation from a privately owned company to a public company through IPO involves a

number of Changes while planning and executing IPO. Living up to the expectations anddemands of stakeholders itself forces organizations to bring in changes effectively.

IPO: A POWERFUL INTERVENTION IN


RAVI VIRMANI

Ravi Virmani is amanagement consultantwith over 20 years ofconsulting experience. Heis the co-founder ofNoble & Hewitt in India.Currently based inSingapore, he is the CEOof Trust Associates Pte.Ltd.

Beyond Financials

A recent research, surveyedportfolio managers to gain insightsinto the key financial and non-financial metrics they use whenmaking a buy or sell decision. Notsurprisingly, the research showsthat superior financial performancemeasured against comparablecompanies is paramount. Moresurprisingly, though, the researchshowed that non-financialmeasures accounted for 40% of aportfolio manager's decisionmaking.

The key non financial metrics:

• Quality of management

• Innovation

• Ability to attract and retaintalented people

• Management credibility andbrand image.

These findings underscore thatvalue is often found off the balancesheet. Which is why CompanyExecutives who wants to realize thegreatest value at the IPO and in thepublic markets must understand,manage, and communicate thenon-financial metrics for theircompany.

Management Pressures

The main paradigm shift is that theCEO and the team are no longer


working only for the promoter or a promoterstaffed board. The Board composition and itsactivist role poses a challenge to theManagement team - initial response is that of'being out of the comfort zone' - denial - andthen acceptance of the fact that we too can bechallenged, questioned and at times be refusedthe permission 'to do so '. This transitionprocess in turn has implications on thecompany culture, practices, and past historicbeliefs in the organization.

For the first time, perhaps, insiders facebringing new players into what has been, inessence, a private party, diluting theirownership interest and losing at least ameasure of control over the direction that thecorporation ultimately takes.

Public scrutiny resulting from disclosure of acompany's operations may be painful enoughto a formerly private corporation, but actuallyletting a large number of "outsiders" have avoice in corporate governance is an entirelydifferent matter to a management team notaccustomed to shareholder oversight.

In addition, as the officers of a newly-publiccompany quickly learn, the company's newowners will expect a certain return on theirinvestment, subjecting management toperformance pressures it may have never beforeexperienced. Substantial time and effort, andthus dollars, must be expended in dealing withthe investing community in order to ensure thatinvestors and analysts remain satisfied withthe company's performance over the short term,while at all times keeping in mind, and workingtowards, management's long term goals for thecompany.

Finally, fiduciary obligations with respect tominority ownership interests have beenexpanded by the courts in recent years and cannotbe taken lightly when planning to let others intoa previously closed circle of ownership.

The other aspect that becomes critical post anorganization going public, is the need for goodcorporate governance practices. The

requirement would be for a Board of Directorsthat is independent has high levels of financialexpertise and one that follows and operates ina Committee Structure.

The pressures felt at the leadership levels havea widespread impact in terms of expectationsfrom others within the organization. The impactis widespread and felt on aspects such as:

• Investment decisions• Business planning• Cost reviews• Hiring of senior talent• Succession planning• Accountability• Outcome orientation• Incentive compensation

Managing Employee Expectations

If not managed well, the employee perceptionis that the Culture has changed for the worse,and motivational levels take a turn towardssouth. Decisions are then 'interpreted' as harsh.Even though the decision is not a tough one,and would have been taken in a similar manner'earlier too' but now its perception changesdramatically.

The level of review and challenge becomesrelatively more in-depth - that's for sure, howmuch more in-depth will be relative in eachinstance.

Organization's need to come to terms with aperiod of intense change initially and thenChange becomes a Constant! because thefundamental shift is that the investors expectextraordinary returns . This over-archingexpectation ushers in a 'hardening' impact onwork culture. And the fun things begin todisappear in the wake of this Investorexpectation. Missing forecasts, and missingbudgets now have far reaching implications.Earlier the promoter Board in its more'acceptable response will' now behave verydifferently in terms of missing forecast, fallingshare price, and business projections.


In expectation of such a reaction, rightly orotherwise, management teams and their CEObegin to take very business focused, hardnumbers and 'no nonsense' approach. Thisinvariably, would work at max, as a shortterm remedy.

Organizations undergoing the IPO journeymust, must accept two maxims -

Maxim 1. Culture will Change

Maxim 2. Performance Enhancement

The sooner these are internalized and accepted,the less the transition period for theOrganization and greater will be the focus oncreating shareholder value. No matter howmuch Google founders claim that the funculture will not change, Several recent IPOorganizations have proved that a dramaticchange in culture does happen.

Acceptance of the above two maxims providesan opportunity to pro-actively redefine theculture, retain the fun stuff, retain the heritageif feasible and prepare the organization andemployees for what's the new landscape, whatwill be different, how dynamic will theperformance expectation be, what additionalresources and infrastructure will be madeavailable and how the concept ofaccountability and incentive compensationwill look like.

The erstwhile paradigm of success and careergrowth will now have a new meaning and acombination of these changes emerges the new'avtaar '.

A visionary CEO can use it to his advantageand provide the leadership to steward the Shipthrough the 'perceived' turbulent waters to anocean where the dynamics are not the same ascruising along the

River Nile.

The dynamics of a result-oriented organizationcommitted to creating shareholder value thusbecomes a way of life rather than a maze ofambiguity and "we shall cross that bridgewhen it comes".

Often an IPO is planned and perceived, asmerely a capital-raising exercise for definitivebusiness needs. And apparently it is so, thereis no denying the fundamental purpose.However the dilution of ownership, theexpectation of institutional investors who inturn have to serve their commitments! And it'sthis cyclical commitment to capital, whichmakes your own business relatively smallerthan it is. Your business initially is reported'big' in terms of market capitalization at IPOtime, and yet in the cycle of the capital flowwhich the IPO has now aligned you, yourorganization is now a part of that capital flowand you have to play your piece in theorchestra.

Organizational Readiness eventually happens,and if it more by design in a pre-plannedmanner then your influence over it is likely tobe greater than "as we go along agenda". Themanagement team needs to regroup andcomplete its process of acceptance and theredefinition of the two maxims. Having thenplanned a road map, the CEO can decide thepace and timing of communication andexecution of Change depending upon hisassessment of the organization readiness.Caution has to be exercised so as not to createpanic of an oncoming tsunami ! Each CEO inhis style and assessment should be able to laythe course, as how will your organizationsgraduate from one league to another. Thisobviously requires building the necessary roadmap and the support systems.

In conclusion, the sustainability of successdesired by way of IPO is through the non-financial metrics and the credibility of thesenior management team to execute on it. TheIPO journey is a vehicle, which prepares youto leap frog to higher business goals, and inthis aspirational evolution, success may beproportional to the level of preparation andexecution.


This is a personal account of the change the authorsintroduced in one organization through evolving,experimenting and implementing HRD, spreading itto other organizations and its diffusion andinstitutionalization at the national level. While theauthors romanced with HRD as a part of change, theydeveloped commitment and became life partners ofHRD in India. Both singly, and together, they have beencontributing to the development of HRD in India.

The Beginnings

In 1973 after joining the Indian Institute of Management,Ahmedabad as the Faculty, Udai worked with lateProfessor S. K. Bhatacharyya on the problems in Larsenand Toubro subsequent to its reorganization by ProfessorBhatacharyya. The main problem was conflict betweentwo independent roles created in the organization (DGMPlanning and DGM Operations). While doing roleclarification and role negotiation exercises, Udai realizedthe need of working on the larger issues of developmentof people. With TV Ra, later joining the Faculty of IIM,Ahmedabad, Udai shared this concern, and both TV andUdai decided to work on designing a new way ofdeveloping people in an organization.

They made a proposal to the Chairman. Shri N.M. Desai,CEO of L & T, arranged the discussion with the top group,and accepted the proposal to try out the new system ofdeveloping people. The authors would like to pay tributeto the foresightedness of Shri N. M. Desai in agreeing toexperiment with a new system.

L&T Experiment: Its Main Thrust

After extensive interviews and discussions (includingwith A. M. Naik currently the Chairman of L&T who wasa Manager at that time) the authors prepared a proposalto introduce what they called human resourcedevelopment. This was in mid 70's. They had not comeacross any such term in the western literature, andappropriately thought of re-orienting personnel systemfrom administration to development. A comprehensive

FROM A SAPLING TO A FOREST:

THE SAGA OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF HRM IN INDIA

UDAI PAREEK and T.V. RAO

Udai Pareek, a DistinguishedProfessor at the Institute ofIHMR, is an internationallyacclaimed academician and aliving legend in HRD. He is on theManagement/Governing Boardsof the Academy of HRD, IIHMR,ISABS, JIM and several otherorganizations. He has authoredand edited several books and hascontributed a large number ofresearch papers to national andinternational journals.

Dr T V Rao is currently Chairmanof T V Rao Learning Systems andChairman of Academy of HumanResources Development,Ahmedabad. He was Professor atthe Indian Institute ofManagement, Ahmedabad, forover 20 years beginning 1973. Hehas also worked as L&TProfessor of HRD at XLRI,Jamshedpur, during 1983-85. Dr.Rao is the Founder President ofthe National HRD Network andwas President of the IndianSociety for Applied BehavioralScience (ISABS). Dr. Rao hasseveral publications to his credit.


system was designed, requiring managers toperform development role through coachingand performance management. Two mainfeatures of the proposed concept of HRD werethat HRD dealt with all the human units of theorganization (from persons to the totalorganization), and It was value-based.Fortunately,L&T had a very competentpersonal officer, Dr. Dennyson Pereira, whowas excited with doing new experiments. Theauthors have already published the detailedexperience of developing HRD in L & T (Pareek& Rao, 1998). The following 15 principles wereshared with the organization as the guidingprinciples for designing the HR function.

• Focus on enabling capacity

• Integrating the development of people withOrganization Development

• Maximizing Individual Autonomy andGrowth through increased responsibility

• Decentralization through Delegation andShared Responsibility

• Participation Decision-making

• Balancing adaptation to and changingorganizational culture

• Balancing differentiation and integration

• Balancing Specialization and Diffusion ofthe Function

• Ensuring Responsibility for the Function

• Balancing Linkages within and with otherfunctions

• Building Feedback and ReinforcingMechanisms

• Balancing quantification and qualitativedecisions

• Balancing internal and external help

• Planning evaluation of the function

• Continuous review and self-renewal

The following 11 systems were reassigned indetails:

A. Human Resource Administration

1. Manpower planning

2. Recruitment and placement

3. Performance and potential appraisal

4. Promotion salary administration

5. Staff administration

6. Information and data processing

B. Human Resource Development

Training

Organization Development and Research

Employee Feedback and counseling

Career development and career planning

B. Industrial Relations

Worker Affairs

Attention was paid to structure of humanresource function. Detailed recommendationswere developed for implementation of thesystem and functions. To help the organizationtake decision, detailed description of the HRfunctions was prepared, including criticalattributes for each function. These were alsodone through interviews and discussions.Since the details have been publishedelsewhere, we are focusing here only on theprocess of success of the system.

The Factors of its Success

This was one of the most successful changemanagement, from successful implementationof change to its diffusion andinstitutionalization at the national level.Several factors contributed to the success ofchange. Some of these are briefly mentionedbelow.

1. Committed top: When the proposal wasdiscussed with N.M.Desai, and Holk Larsenboth of them showed deep interest in re-


designing the personnel system. L & T wasvery successful company, and there was noapparent reason for it to think of new system.But foresighted as the top management was,they welcome the idea of giving a lead in anew area. Both the CEO and the topmanagement were interested and discussed theproposal in detail.

2. Appointment of High level implementationTask Force: They promptly appointed a highlevel Task force headed by a General Manager(G. A. Advani) along with some of the topmanagement team as members. The task forcefunctioned for nearly three years in introducingand monitoring the implementation of thesystem.

3. Placement of the System at High Level inthe Organization: One of the conditions theauthors stated for the success of the newfunction was its strategic placement. Generallyat that time the personnel function was givenlow priority and was generally placed at thelower level in the organizations. We convincedthe management that the function could notsucceed unless it was strategically placed at ahigher level. It was agreed and the position ofVice President, HRD was created in thecompany.

4. The Competent Head of the Function:While selecting a person to head the newfunction, it was strongly recommended that avery competent person should be given theresponsibility. Fortunately, the CEO agreed torequest S.R. Subramaniam (SRS), highlyrespected competent Engineer, to head thefunction. Subramaniam ensuredthoroughness and effective implementation ofthe various parts of the new system. It may bementioned here that later, after the retirementof N. M. Desai, Subramaniam became theCEO of the company. The success of the newfunction very much depended on the competentleadership provided in the organization.

5. The Strong Internal Resource: No changecan succeed unless there is strong andcompetent internal resource to implement andmonitor the change. It was fortunate to haveDr. Dennison Pereira as the internal resource.Dr. Pereira combined his insightful experiencein the organization with his academiccompetence and child-like excitement to searchnew ways of solving problems. There is nodoubt that the success of the system owes agreat deal to Dennison's role in the beginningof the new function.

6. Involvement of all Levels of theOrganization: The authors emphasized thatthe systems and processes being introducedmust be discussed in various forums ofemployees, helping them to raise questions forany modification in the system as required.Workshops and seminars were held on thenew systems and procedures. People raisedquestions and seem to welcome the variouschanges being planned. This facilitated thesuccess of the system.

7. Developing Internal Competence: TheCompany needed several people to help inimplementing the new system. It was necessarythat the system and process were adopted withthe help of key line managers. Therefore, anextensive training programme was organizedto develop relevant competencies forimplementing the systems. Over a hundredinternal managers were developed tocommunicate the system all through thecompany. The term L&T University was usedinformally by these members to represent thenew education and learning they werefacilitating through the HRD system.

Spread to Other Strategic Organizations

Udai had worked with late ProfessorBhattacharyya on the second reorganizationof the State Bank of India. The new HRD systemwas also developed for SBI. Shri R K Talwar,the Chairman of SBI took personal interest.


Then the system was recommended for the otherstate banks, and their CEO s were so excited bythe new concept that they suggested to take theresponsibility of introducing the systemthemselves! Later, TV volunteered to work withBharat Earth movers Ltd. To introduce andstabilize the new system. Capitalising on thisexperience both Udai and TV offered the firstworkshop on HRD systems at the Indian instituteof management at Ahmedabad in 1979. A draftof their proposed book on designing andManaging HR systems was circulate din thisworkshop. Later a course and series executivedevelopment programs were started by Udai andTV at IIMA to popularize and promote HRD.Crompton Greaves, State Bank of India and itsassociates and a few other organizationsfollowed this initiative and Udai and TV workedas their consultants in introducing andimplementing the HRD systems and starting newHRD departments separate from personnel. Thespread of change to these strategic organizationshas been well documented (Rao, 2004).

Diffusion of Change: Networking Strategy

At that time Udai went on a long consultingassignment, as USAID OD Advisor to theHealth Department of the Government ofIndonesia, TV continued the work of diffusingchange in India. Larsen & Toubro created aChair on HRD at XLRI Jamshedpur, which wastaken up by TV in 1983. One of the conditionsof the L&T Chair required L&T professor to givean annual public seminar on his work. TV usedthis to get L&T host the four-day seminar atMumbai, where more people could attend. Theseminar focused on the recent experiences inHRD. About 40 persons participated in theseminar. TV presented the integrated HRDmodel developed at L&T. Dennyson spokeabout how it was being implemented. Susanspoke about their attempts at AssessmentCenters. The seminar explored what washappening and not happening in HRD, how

many organizations were not able tounderstand the right spirit of HRD, thehelplessness of HRD managers in convincingsome CEO s etc. A number of success storieswere also shared and there was newenthusiasm in all the members. Rajen Guptashared his struggle in Jyoti Ltd and the supporthe was getting from the top. Subhash Durlabhjishared how HRD was an integral part of theJapanese philosophy. PVR shared HR practicesat Sundram Clayton member of the TVS Group.

TV shared his concern for continuing theprocess of learning from each others'experiences. The response was very positive.As expected, in response to a suggestion fromTV who was leaving XLRI to return to IIMA,the members proposed continuation of theInitiative under a new banner. Severalsuggestions were given. It was Rajen Guptawho suggested that we call this body networkas the term network means connecting witheach other. The suggestion was readily acceptedto set up HRD Network. It was also agreedthat different cities should have such Networks.T P Raman and his colleague Mohan agreed togive facilities and promote it in Mumbai. PVRand Chandrasekhar agreed to do this forChennai. Prasanna and Kishore Rao agreed todo this for Bangalore. Rajan Gupta agreed todo this for Baroda. TV volunteered to explorefor Delhi. Coordinators were appointed,briefing them about organizing such Networks.Fr Abraham agreed to stay behind in Mumbaito visit L&T and get the material for the firstnewsletter. The newsletter was supposed todisseminate the new knowledge about HRD. Itwas agreed to have one intellectual article byan academician, one essay profiling in detailsthe practices of accompany, a few case lets ofproblems and issues, which may be posed tothe reader, some references and bibliographyand news items. Fr Abraham and TV thoughtof getting every number sponsored by acompany committed to HRD and having done


some good work worthy of sharing. It wouldmeet cost of printing of 2000 copies of thenewsletter and also the mailing it free to allHRD chiefs and CEO s in the country. L&T wasthe natural choice as every one was talkingabout L&T in relation to HRD. L&T readilyagreed. Abe stayed on in Mumbai to preparefeature on L&T. TV wrote an article on HRD.Rajen Gupta's dilemmas in Jyoti was convertedinto a case let the first newsletter was published.The seminar proceedings were also publishedas a book "Recent Experiences in HRD". ThenTV returned to IIM, Ahmedabad, and continuedto promote networking.

In the fist newsletter the idea of forming theHRD Network was announced. TV workedwith: State Bank of Patiala, Indian Oil,Sundaram Clayton, Hindustan Petroleum,MMTC etc. While Abe continued to coordinatefrom XLRI, TV helped in setting up NationalHRD Network. Somanth Chattopadhyaydrafted the constitution of NHRDN in a hotelin Madras where they happened to work on ajoint assignment. S. Chandrasekhar facilitatedthis initiative to form the South Indian chapterof NHRDN at Madras with the help of theMadras Management Association whichlaunched the first meeting of the chapter.

Institutionalization of Change: There is a longhistory of the evolution of the National HRDNetwork. The main milestones of thedevelopments are given below. The names areindicative of the kind of persons involved andthe lists are not exhaustive. The lists are largelylimited to those office bearers who played activeroles. A large number of HR professionals likeBalaji, Mali, Aquil, RR Nair, Rupa Padki,Nagaraj, Pallabh, Hari Iyer, Gopal etc. playeda very supportive role and kept the Bangalorechapter provide leadership. G.P. Rao was allover.

• Foundation and Culture Building: (TV Rao,Fr. E. Abraham, S. Chandrasekhar, PVR

Murthy, K.K. Verma, Anil Khandelwal,KS Rao, H N Arora etc)

• Stability and Growth (MRR Nair, UdaiPareek, Anil Sachdev, Arvind Agarwal,Shashi Khanna P K Sarangi, RakeshKumar, Keith D'Souza etc)

• Turbulent Times Management (RajeshVidyasagar, VS Mahesh, Debashish Mitra,Arvind Pande, Baburaj Nair)

• Turn Around (TV Rao, Satyanarayana, YRKReddy, Arvind Agarwal, Udai Pareek, RupaPadki, P V R Murthy, Bangalore teamand Delhi team)

• Going places (Santrupt Mishra, ArvindAgarwal, G.P. Rao, P.D. Dwarkanath, DelhiChapter, Pune Chapter and other membersof current team)

• Going Global (in process)

Different individuals contributed todevelopment of NHRDN at different stages. Ofthese, stage 3 of turbulent time took place byaccident. V.S. Mahesh and Rajesh Vidyasagarleft for UK and USA in the middle of their termsand Arvind Pande was busy providingstability to SAIL. During this period, NHRDNslowed down but all core activities continued.An interim committee had to be set up torejuvenate NHRDN and TV shouldered thatresponsibility and got an Executive Directorappointed to pay full attention to NHRDN.During the turbulent times, when VS Maheshleft the country, TV took over again as InterimPresident and ensured that the next Presidentwas appointed and that no activity suffered.Thus, twice in this period TV had to play therole of managing NHRDN's stability andcontinuance.

The credit of a big launch of the HRD networkshould be given to Chandrasekhar of L&T,assisted ably by Mukunadan and PVR Murthyat Chennai, Anil Khandelwal and KK Vermaof Bank of Baroda and Fr Abraham. The


Newsletters used to be published and mailedfrom Ahmedabad. This continued until KeithD'Souza joined XLRI and Fr Abraham returnedto XLRI as its Director.

In the Initial years TV was self appointedPresident of the NHRDN and Fr. E Abrahamwas Secretary and Treasurer of the NHRDN.There were no paid members. In a short timeNHRDN established itself and chapters wereopened wherever there were interested people.It was registered as a Society and membershipwas made open.

The journey from then for the next five yearshas been that of hard work and perseverance.No one knew NHRDN and many did not seethe reason for NHRDN when ISTD was servingthe same purpose. Only those who saw thedistinction between HRD and trainingappreciated the need. The First nationalConference is a record of sorts. It had a full daydevoted to CEO presentations. Starting with DrKrishnamurthy who inaugurated the programmany CEOs made presentations. They include:Suresh Krishna, Venu Srinivasan, M VSubbaiah, Deenadayalu of MRL,Arunachalam, and KK Nohria of CromptonGreaves etc. A printed version of the conferencepapers was distributed. All sessions started ontime and ended on time. There was a greatcultural program by a troupe of KrishnaswamyAssociates. A special issue of economic timesdevoted to HRD was brought out (courtesy IIMcolleague and editor of ET Manu Shroff). Thiswas the turning point for the popularization ofNHRDN and NHRDN never looked back sincethen. In this conference the next conference wasplanned to be held in Delhi and the directorpersonnel of SAIL took a lot of interest and wepromptly requested him to Chair the nextconference to be held two years latter. Todistinguish NHRDN from others and tocommunicate that this is not yet another bodyfor fellowship annually but a serious body that

does its work professionally, we wanted to giveenough time between the first and the secondconference.

While the preparations for the secondconference began almost two years in advancethe preparations for the election for the nextPresident also began. MRR Nair was requestedto take charge as the next President so that therewas also some synergy between the NHRDNproceeds and the conference at Delhi.

The Delhi Conference two years alter was alsoa great success. The programmme started ontime even when the Chief Guest Dr AbidHussein did not arrive in time. He appreciatedour starting the conference without waiting forhim. It was attended by over 600 delegates anda book was distributed. The Conference setbenchmark in size of the Conference,performance on time, themes and academiccontent, and put now NHRDN fully on stream.

Some initiative in governance practices helpedNHRD to evolve as a vibrant democraticorganization. During the tenure of the authorsas President of NHRD , two provision of builtin the constitution, one that each person wouldbe a President only for one term and would notbe re-elected. The other provision except wasto avoid election, and search the next Presidentby a team appointed by the Governing Board.Elections introduce politics in the process, andtherefore, it was thought important to havesome other modes for searching the President.Arvind Agarwal, during the tenure asPresident, introduced another useful traditionthat the search committee, after identifying thepotential President, would interviewed theCEO of the company to negotiate release of timeand energy for the candidate to be appointedas President. The provisions has made NHRDa really democratic body.

Today NHRDN has over forty chapters, nearlytwenty and odd publications to its credit,collaborating with CII to develop HRD models


and assess HR professionals and iscollaborating with International bodies. By anymeans it has done a great service to young HRprofessionals. It has given opportunities tomany young managers to test out theirleadership potential and has helped a numberof young professionals to acquire HRknowledge and set their careers in the rightdirection.

Strengthening the Academic Base: TheAcademy of HRD The Academy of HRD is aneducation and research centre set up by theNational HRD Network. It is an autonomousinstitution with its own members. It's foundingmembers consist of organizations like SAIL,Voltas, Tata Steel, Crompton Greaves, Gati, Dr.Reddy's Laboratories, Visakhapatnam Steel,Satyam Computers, ILFS etc. corporations. It islocated in Ahmedabad and its campuseventually planned to be in Hyderabad on aten acre land donated by Dr. Reddy'sLaboratories.

It has done remarkable work in its initial stages.Though its pace has slowed down in the recentyears, it has been contributing silently throughits Doctoral and certificate programs.

AHRD contributed a great deal so far to HumanCapital Formation among HRD Professionalsin India. However, there was much more scope.AHRD could have been a globally recognisedinstitution and would have been consideredthe only place to go or main place to go forscholars across the world. The great dreamstill remains a dream - the great dream was tohave its own campus, data-bank, and library,residential accommodation furnished forscholars to visit, write, renew and disseminate

their work. The relevance and need for suchan institution still exists today. Its doctoralprogramme could have become a flagshipprogramme and would have contributed agreat deal to HRD knowledge.

In the last 20 years, NHRDN has grown vastly.The seeds for its growth were sown andfoundation was laid in the first three years. Theagenda of learning from each other continues.The annual or biannual conferences and thechapter meetings for learning from each otherand networking continued. The chapters havegrown in number. The culture of publishingpapers to be distributed during conferencecontinues.

The Future

Division kills and Integration builds. It is hightime that all of us recognized the need and valueof integration: integration of "Personnel andHRD" or "OD and HRD" or "Business and HRD"or "AHRD and NHRD" or "NIPM and NHRDN."Integration and collaboration is the only answerfor future success. Overemphasis on separateidentities and ownership, especially forprofessional bodies and institutions whoseowners are all professionals and not any one orfew individuals, is dysfunctional. Divisivethinking is detrimental.. The future of the HRDmovement is in realizing that we have not eventouched the most important sectors likeeducation, health, infrastructure, governmentetc. where HR interventions are most needed.We need to pay attention to these strategicsectors. The spirit of HRD lies in learning fromeach others: teachers, managers, doctors, nurses,in fact all citizens involved in the pursuit ofchange and development.

References

• Pareek, Udai & T.V. Rao (1998). Pioneering human resources development: The L & T System, Hyderabad: Academyof Human Resource Development. 165p.

• Rao, T V (2004) Future of HRD, New Delhi: Macmillan


Introduction

India finds itself in a unique phasein its existence viz being in thevanguard of not only the Asianeconomic growth but also theGlobal economic hope. For the firsttime, its demographics andreservoir of human talent is turningout be a huge strength. A near-double-digit GDP growth ispowered by the service sector andthe resurgent manufacturingsector. By 2020 Indian populationwill have an average age of 28 years.Currently 60% of the populationhas more than 30 years ofproductive work life. Rarely hasany country had 500 million peoplewith so much productive work life.

However the galloping economicgrowth and the young demographybrings along with its challenges.These challenges are linked to socio-economic, educational, anddemographic aspects of the society andorganizational ecosystem.

Education

A broken education system whichdoes not have any relevance to thenew economy. Indiaproduces 3 million graduates and

AbstractIn this article we look at the changes that are happening in terms of socio - economic,

educational, and demographic aspects of the society and organizational ecosystem and theassociated changes needed in the mind set of managing an organization. Drawing up on the

case of the financial services industry and specifically of ICICI, the changes required andexpectations from HR, employees, and top management are described. The various

interventions that are aligned to this change are also described here.

CHALLENGE OF MANAGING

ORGANIZATIONAL PREPAREDNESS-ICICI

K RAM KUMAR

K Ramkumar is theGroup-Chief HumanResources Officer atICICI Bank.He has 22years of work experiencein private and publicsector industries. He hasearlier worked inHindustan Aeronautics,Hindustan LeverLimited, and ICI IndiaLtd. Apart from humanresources, Ramkumarhas also had exposure inmanagingmanufacturing plants.

half a million engineers annually.India's pool of university graduates(<=7 years experience) is estimatedto be 14 million - 1.5 times that ofChina's. Yet, less than 1/4th of thispool are employable in organizedindustries, given poor linguisticand social skills. Equally, coursecurriculum focused excessively onlearning theory by rote createsgraduates with few skillsapplicable to industry of today.This creates gross shortfall in theinventory of industry ready talent.

Poor quality vocational educationin the technical discipline andabsence of vocational education inthe service sector. Estimatessuggest that by year 2010, Bankingindustry will add 1.1 million newjobs, Retailing will add 1.5 million,Telecom 4.6 million andHospitality 33 million jobs. A largepercentage of these jobs is likely tobe in front line sales and customerservice. Yet, vocational education,aimed at core skill building ratherthan imparting theoreticalknowledge, is often looked downupon by academia as well asstudents. The consequence wouldbe significant under-capacitizationof vocational education sector.


Socio - Economic

Highly mobile and churning workforceresetting the norms of "what is acceptableattrition". The scarcity of industry-ready talenthas resulted in too many employers targetingthe same limited talent pool. This has createdhigh churn and wage inflation, with attritionin high growth sectors at 20-35%. Thiscombined with exploding employee numbers,means that at any point in time as much as50% employees could be less than an year oldin the organization. This creates an adverse"new" to the "accultured" ratio, challenging theDNA of organizations. The challenge is whoholds and inculcates the organizational DNAand the institutional ethos to the thousandswho join the organization every year.

Confusion among the employees who want thebenefits of the capitalistic system but thesecurity and comfort of the socialistic system.While individual choice and potential super-normal rewards for extraordinary contributionare desired, the flip side of undesiredconsequences for less than expected delivery isdeemed unacceptable. This creates anunrealistic expectation that one should get thesuper-normal rewards and at the same timethere should be no down-side risk. This in turnwill result in a young and anchor lessleadership in organization wantingmeritocracy without appreciation of the risksand the inequity & differentiation whichcharacterizes it.

Rapidly globalizing organizations faced withthe challenge of balancing exporting talent toother parts of the world and coming to termswith differing work cultures of host countries.E.g. notions of required work hours, work-lifebalance, private space vary significantly acrossgeographies. In such situations, what kind oftrade-offs does a globalizing organizationmake? Ensure a homogeneous work culture bycontinuing to export talent? If overdone, this

may compromise brand proposition to localcustomers. Adapt work culture of the hostcountry? This may compromise the work ethosthat makes the organization competitive.

Demographic

Plummeting average work age leading tomiddle management talent crisis and thechallenge of young leading the young. Lowmedian age of the population translates intoan advantage at the entry level pool, yet posesa serious challenge at middle and senior levelmanagers. At these levels, experience andmaturity built over time are critical; yet currentphase of outstripping growth has meant thattalented yet inexperienced managers have beenfast-tracked into middle management roles.Relatively few middle level managers havesignificant age, experience and maturity gapwhen compared to their subordinates.

The Change Challenge with ICICI

Drawing from the overall challenges that areexplored, in the context of financial servicesindustry and specifically of ICICI we can linkit up as below. The financial service Industryhas been growing at 30% over the last 5 to 6years. ICICI Bank has been growing at 35 to40% year on year during the same period.

Given the challenges listed in the context, thefollowing mind set changes were required atthe leadership level with respect to talentacquisition and deployment:

From outsourcing investment on training to linemanagers taking ownership for training rawtalent.

Seeing the role of manager not simply as deliveringon tasks through one's team but also as builder oforganization's talent pool. Not simply a netconsumer of talent but a net creator of talent. Frominsistence on readymade talent to raw talent thatis trainable. From seeing compensation as thesole lever for attracting and retaining talent toinvesting in learning for accelerating time to


productive deployment of raw talent. Looking atthe ability to take raw talent and en-skilling anddeploying it as a competitive advantage, creatinga cost barrier for competition.

From demanding bodies on job to letting newemployees go through thorough pre-trainingfor at least 4 weeks right from day one of joining.Making a shift from "manning" of jobs to therigor of "license to operate".

From endlessly complaining on attrition basedon the old paradigm to investing in a benchand innovating systems and processes thatcounter the effects of attrition.

From complaining about the education systemto investing in creating appropriate content andcurriculum for the universities and training theteachers and professors for creating the externaleco system. As industry leaders, making a shiftfrom perceiving self as beneficiaries or victimsof the current institutional eco-system, to beingbuilders of that eco-system.

The corresponding challenge for the HRfunction was as follows:

Linking up with the challenges and the neededchanges, HR function needed to realign itself on thefollowing lines.

• From being recruitment agencies to eco-system developers. This requireddeveloping capability and stature to engagewith and intervene in the education systemof the country.

• From being administrators of learning tocreators, structures and innovators infunctional and behavioral content,methodology and medium of learning.Looking beyond the "best-practices" toexperimenting with mobile, gaming andsimulation technologies. Investing in andgaining credibility as domain experts ininstruction design and valued partners forcreating learning content across domains.

• From hiring external trainers to trainers ofthousands of internal trainers. Creating apool of internal trainers to deliverleadership, behavioral and functionallearning. Focusing on building institutionalcapability rather than buying skills.

• From looking at HR function as provider ofservices to "Business" to HR functionmanaging the "Business of People", with lineresponsibility for sourcing, en-skilling anddeploying talent.

The Challenges with Employees were asfollows:

The changes that are required need a differentorientation from employees. The changes areexplored in the following lines.

• To cultivate an orientation to year longlearning, that will be tested for proficiency.Looking at training as work, in certain cases,license-to-operate on work.

• To change from class room and instructorled learning to blended learning of E-learning and class room learning.

• To be moved to domains they have notworked earlier, with a pre-condition oflearning functional content before beingdeployed to the new domain.

Systemic Interventions

The major mindset change that was requiredwas to get the organization to see attrition moreas the consequence of the nation's higheconomic growth and hence a structuralexternal supply issue rather than an internalculture or compensation issue. This led to theinitiatives of the organization and its leadersto choose the approach of investing in easingsupply through the following initiatives:

• Partnering with NIIT to create the Institutefor Finance, Banking and insurance. Thiswill deliver 5000, 6-months pre-trainedemployees in the first year and by year 3 it


will deliver 25,000 pre-trained professionalsto the Industry.

• Investing in the Academy for Banking andInsurance in alliance with ManipalUniversity, which in year-1 will deliver 1000Managers who have been pre-trained for oneyear. By year-4 this will deliver 4000Banking domain trained managers.

• Creation of a slew of Academies for BranchBanking, Sales, Credit, Collections,Operations etc. which will deliver high qualityaccredited professionals year after year.

• Moving away from an Urban and Englishcentric talent acquisition to a broad basedinclusive talent acquisition fro Semi-urbanand Rural India. Focusing on job successfactors such as problem solving andrelationship skills, rather than linguisticabilities. Creating capability to en-skill rawtalent in language and social skills.

• Looking outside of India to the InternationalUniversities to service the Global requirementof talent rather than export talent only fromwithin. Creating an employer brand incampuses across the globe.

The Meritocracy Challenge

At ICICI meritocracy governs both performanceand leadership talent assessment. The age-oldconfusion between performers and leadershiptalent required to be cleared both among leadersand employees. To add to this the muchmaligned forced ranking system in bothperformance and talent management requiredto be put in context. Both these challenges weretougher in the context of a highly mobile youngwork force that was prepared to exit if not rankedin the top half. The middle level leaders werereluctant to own up to the system and very oftentook refuge in pointing upwards towards thebosses. While both the leaders and the employeeswanted a meritocracy, their comprehension ofthe true character of the same or the willingness

to accept the consequences thereof were poor.Add to this the culture of stretch, which is notnegotiable. All this lead to a system where thereis uncompromising differentiation in growthand rewards. While this engendered a cultureof achievement orientation, it also encouragedcompetitiveness and high pressure all round theyear. We at ICICI believe that one cannot createa culture of meritocracy without the topmanagement willing to be unrelenting andunwavering in its clinical execution. We believethat its success is more in its execution than inthe articulation of the philosophy. The topmanagement and the operating levels shouldbe willing to live with the attendant noise in thesystem and not mistake it for dissatisfaction androll back the execution or water it down.

We have found the following to be the essentialnecessities to change a work place tomeritocracy:

• Clarity that meritocracy is not going to bepopular and tolerance for noise in thesystem.

• Clarity to the middle management that theywill qualify to be senior management leadersonly if they own this and show ability toinstitutionalize this philosophy.

• Willingness to be clinical, unrelenting andunwavering in its execution.

• Transparent and inclusive process, were alllevels of management are involved in itsexecution.

• Communicate, communicate andcommunicate year round the non-negotiablenature of stretch and relative ranking system.

• A system that is open to audit by anyemployee and reining in any senior leaderfrom exercising favors.

• Emphasizing that meritocracy is aneconomic reward differentiating philosophyand not a fair or equity based philosophy.


Conclusion

There is a broad agreement that growthmomentum of Indian economy is set tocontinue over foreseeable future. ICICI Bankhas the ambition to be a significant globalplayer in the financial services industry(among top-25 banks in the world) by 2010.While evolution of the eco-system is underway,as a process it occurs, not instantaneously, butover a period of time. This means that thechange intervention for organizationpreparedness is far from its logical conclusion.

The two-pronged approach of interventionwithin the organization on meritocracy and inthe outside system to create talent supply willneed to continue. The analogy to explain thisphenomenon is that of riding a bicycle. Bicycleis inherently unstable and requires significantadjustments and gathering of forwardmomentum to make it stable. We have nowgathered that forward momentum. Yet, exactlylike a rider on bicycle, we need to continuouslymake the micro-adjustments to keep the bicyclesteady and moving in desired direction.


Change is part of everyday life andall of us experience it. There arechanges which we see in thefamily, society, the economic andpolitical environment too. All ofus understand and also gratefullyacknowledge that change is indeedthe essence of everyday. With allthis awareness, education andexperiences - still each one of usfinds Change Management as achallenge in Organizations today.CEO's would also put bringingabout change as one of theirpriorities today. My ownexperience and most of you wouldalso agree is that whatever andhowever much we deliver in thisarea, there is still always a lot to bedone. Look at our own country.During the past 20 years or so -indeed a lot of change has occurredand we are in a very differentsituation than before. However,despite the steps taken and resultsachieved - we still continue to havea lot to do. The same principleapplies to Organization Change. Itis a given - and as one colleagueremarked - "It is like a Treadmill -you are on it". Well, it is all up toyou as how you wish to manageself vis-à-vis the speed on theTreadmill.

Organizations I feel do not havemany options today. Theimmediate Agenda of manyorganizations is how do we copewith change? Do we anticipate andproactively prepare the

BRINGING ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL

CHANGE-PHILIPS INDIA

VINEET KAUL

Vineet Kaul currentlyheads the IndianSubcontinent HRfunction for Philips andis also an ExecutiveDirector on the Board ofPhilips Electronics IndiaLimited. His career asHR professional spreadsover 31 years across arange of assignmentsand enrichingexperiences.

He is on the CII NationalCommittee for HR andIR and is also theimmediate PastPresident of the MumbaiChapter of the NationalHRD Network. He is arecipient of a number ofprestigious awards as aHR professional.

Organization? Are we leading thechange process? Or are weconstantly repairing the impact ofchange? Whilst we have manyprograms to address the subject inour Organizations - are we doingenough? Will we be able to sailthrough the troubled times? Is therea clear strategy and approachavailable which can steer usthrough? These are some questionson the minds of leaders inOrganizations.

Why do organizations look toTransform and Change?Interestingly, very often successcould be a very important cause.Sometimes it makes theOrganizations complacent andarrogant. Accumulated costs,structures and processes duringgrowth phases are difficult to reduceduring tough times. Also, beingtoo focused on the interests of only1 or 2 stakeholders at the expenseof others is a cause of theOrganization not doing well! Inaddition to these "internal" reasons,there are also "external" orenvironment related causes thatrequire organization change.

• Regulation: An excellentexample is the deregulationprocess and opening up of theIndian economy which hasmade the markets much moredynamic and providedconsumers many more options.

• Technology and its speed of


change is indeed the engine which fires upthe organization. Bringing newer productsand also changing processes is forcingorganizations to gear up in the real sense.

• Globalization is another linked reason,with trade barriers being pulled down andfree market accessibility e.g. the full impactof the WTO is still to be felt.

• Last but not the least is the Customer. Theshifts in customer preferences can be tracedto a few demographic changes - aging in theWest and younger generation in India,changing role of women, etc. Companiesthat fail to keep up with the changes theircustomers are going through will graduallylose them. Companies that survive in thelong run are those that are able todynamically adapt to their changingcircumstances. Interestingly, you willobserve the above four causes are also underconstant change. We do not have the comfortof addressing "one" of them and then movingon to the "second one", because all of themare exclusive and also inter related at thesame time. This makes the subject verychallenging. I would venture to add that itis a "chakraviyuh" which will be continuousand never come to a stop.

Designing HR Interventions - Considerations:

Organizations are like living beings. Just aswe all go through different life stages, we canalso identify a number of stages in the life of anOrganization. HR interventions need to bedesigned keeping in mind the context in whichthe organization is operating. Let me illustratethe above with the Philips India experience.

If we look at the developments in Philips Indiain the last decade, we identify three phases:

• Restructuring Phase from 1996-2001:During this period, the Company wentthrough a difficult period of low growthand low productivity which was addressedthrough a turn around strategy.

• Revitalization Phase from 2001-2005: TheManagement Team was able to turn aroundbusinesses. However, measures taken toimprove performance took their toll onmorale and motivation. Therefore, the needfor re-vitalization in the Organization.

• Growth Phase from 2005 onwards: Withthe business performance in place, theCompany embarks on a growth strategy.

Depending on the issues at each phase, weevolved appropriate HR interventions.

Some of the key initiatives taken are givenbelow:

Restructuring Phase:

Improving Operational Efficiencies

The Management deliberated and evolved aturnaround strategy which involved divestingof unviable businesses and optimization ofcosts including headcount. Being a 75-year-old Company, we did not see our legacy as ahandicap but dealt with it as a challenge andopportunity. It took us a few years especiallyas we were spread across six states and had11 Unions across the country. Many restrictivepractices had got in place and these wereobstacles which had to be overcome. However,by taking a few measures and actions we hadfull flexibility, all non-core activities areoutsourced (they were run in-house earlier),all activities towards reorganization andrationalization are carried out with fullparticipation of employees. In our plantstoday, a part of the wage is linked to plant


yield/quality and/or skill based pay. Thewage increases have also kept below theregional trend for similar Companies.Interestingly, in addition to the Union -- asettlement is also accepted individually by eachemployee in a respective location. We havealso gone through quite some divestments andall these processes have definitely had goodoutcomes, which solely reflects positively onthe leadership.

Driving Performance Culture

We had identified this as a very major needand hence have been actively working on thisarea. The process comprised of properdeployment within the teams, regular trackingand measuring of performance both atbusiness and individual levels as well aslinking compensation to achievement oftargets. For the last 8 years, we have also goneinto differentiation in compensation, whichbecomes quite aggressive to the extent of beingat least five times in one grade itself.

Revitalization Phase

Creating a Conducive Work Environment

Employees have responded very well to bringchange in the work place. To give an example,we have been able to bring about a shift in workculture by improving work place management,which in turn has helped to build an open andcordial environment, which enhancesproductivity. All services have beenoutsourced so as to provide good quality, costsand delivery at the workplace. Employeesresponded well to our decision to reduce thenumber of paid holidays in a year from 18 to 10days in all commercial establishments. I donot think this would have been possible in thenormal course. All across the Company, theemployees are involved in the journey toexcellence and you will find departmentsworking on their improvement plans and usingBusiness Balanced Score Card and Process

Survey Tools. All in all, these have been veryeffective in bringing about changes in theOrganization and thereby Company benefitsas a whole. As a Company, we do encouragecross-functional as well as qualityimprovement project teams and holdcompetitions at the country level and alsodepute the winning teams for International levelcompetitions.

Communication

Today I see this as indeed the greatest challengebefore us as an Organization especially due tothe fact that we have different productdivisions across different industry segments aswell as being located across various parts ofthis country. As one Company, we are indeedputting in more effort in order to have betterlines of communication across theOrganization. Common platforms, learningevents and workshops do supplement theexisting practice of periodic newsletters as wellas town meetings in the Organization. We alsolaunched a number of programs aimed atbuilding Employee Engagement. For example,the Employee Outreach Program, where a teamof Senior management meets employees at theirrespective locations and hold Open House ateach unit. Our efforts paid off as evidenced bythe high scores Philips India achieved in thecompany-wide global Employee EngagementSurvey conducted.

The Growth Phase:

Talent Management

Talent Management has been identified as apriority area given our growth agenda. Careerplanning and development receive focus as alsohaving the advantage of different businesseswhere we are also able to provide opportunitiesfor people within the Organization. Veryspecifically, we are focusing on identification/development and positioning of our Highpotential employees as also having functional


and regional development programs. We alsohave a Career Centre, which is an internal jobportal, where employees can apply forpositions across Philips organizationsworldwide These activities are part of ouroverall Talent Management process and standthe Company in good stead with providingManagers for our present and futurerequirements.

Key Learnings

I will now move on to a few key learning'swhich we have gained through experience. Tosummarize, a successful change processnormally involves the following five steps:

a. Develop an Initial Plan:

This starts with painting a picture or "creatinga vision". Whatever be the state of Organizationor nature of the business, this is an importantstep to put together as many pieces togethere.g. what is it that we want? Where should webe? Where do we want to be? What is thestatus today? How do we feel we will get there?Why do we want to be there? What is notgoing well today?

With many of the initiatives and changes thatwe worked on - in quite some of them, I realizedthat the time and effort spent in envisioningand putting a plan was very useful and alsoformed the Foundation for the next steps ahead.

b. Building a Sense of Urgency:

This to my mind is the most critical part inorganization Transformation. It is indeed acatalyst to bring about the change. Having asense of urgency whilst mostly addressing a"crisis" could also be directed to address "majoropportunities" too. In other words, it is notonly in tough times that we need to bring thissense of urgency - but also looking to marketrealities in grabbing opportunities. It ispopularly believed that the urgency rate is nothigh enough until 75% of the management ishonestly convinced that business-as-usual is

totally unacceptable. Organizations that havebeen successful in getting this step right - haveexperienced that it smoothens very muchsubsequent actions and communication thatare necessary in terms of change. We all knowthat a crisis very often bonds large Corporationsand it is this state that brings people together.

• Forming a Core Group to Lead the Process :

Whatever may be the prevalent practices - it isobserved that most often the bottleneck is at theTop. Even otherwise the troops in theOrganization look to the Top i.e. the leadership.Be it for direction, guidance and even rolemodeling. Hence, I find that in an Organizationwide Transformation - it is useful to have a coregroup/steering team at the helm. Here I oftensupport a Top-Down approach which all wouldunderstand very easily. The key people involvedin this team have to be persons who are in theleadership group of the Organization and havethe mandate to lead and deliver the end results.Of course, it is clear that the leadership grouphas to own and bring about change. But, oftenthis role needs to be orchestrated and be seenacross in the Organization - more important isthat a "passion" in the whole process should beevident rather than be perceived as one moreinitiative / instruction flowing from the Top. Akey challenge is therefore getting to the RightLeaders to steer the process and also moreimportantly encouraging these to work as ateam.

• Communication:

This part does not need much explaining - buttruly the role it pays in the Organization, needssome explanation. OrganizationalTransformation heavily banks on a very goodcommunication across the Organization andits various stakeholders. We have numerousexamples of the Organization, for whom goodcommunication has made the day (achieveresults). Simply put - the Organization ispeople and people need to know a lot about the


need for change, what will change and whatnot, how does it impact the individual in theOrganization etc. etc. Organization Changeis not as difficult - but we constantly need tocommunicate, the Vision, the need, the what,how, why and numerous questions that weanticipate and also cannot anticipate. Let meclarify that we communicate not only by ourwords but also by our actions. A compellingvision, leading from the front, open houses,continuous communication with all levels ofOrganization is something many of us practice- The quality of communication - does it seekinvolvement, opinions and transparency of theleadership are all put to test in a journey ofTransformation & Change. I have experiencedthat open, fact based and the passion withwhich we communicate is an indication ofsuccess in getting to the results. After all, whatbetter results than when all employees in theOrganization are able to understand thepurpose of Transformation and also play theirroles in a manner which creates harmony andthe Organization change gets in place. It isalso possible that this process does take timebut I would say that it is worth the while andjust rushing through this step is not advisable.

• Track Achievements and RecognizeAchievements

It is useful to create some milestones as weembark on the journey to Transformation in theOrganization. These milestones are indeedpoints of arrival and also help in reviewing andseeing where we have reached. After all, Romewas not built in a day - so we have to look atopportunities and signs of achievements. Totake an example, a total change in the way ofworking and culture will take some time as wego along. However, we can always be vigilantfor some indicators which are really "short-wins" and small successes. These need to betracked and highlighted. Very often it is a fewincidents or people who really take the major

steps/action for change. Now this to my mindis an ideal opportunity to highlight to the rest ofthe organization. Also, such individuals orteams need to be recognized and even recordedso that they indeed are seen as the role models.Very often such recognition apart frommotivating the individual or team along - kindlesa positive feeling amongst the rest of theorganization too. The behaviour improvementactions need to be publicized and alsorewarded. If it calls for a celebration - please doit. Very often, these opportunities are missedout and later it can be too late. Employees doneed positive stokes and hence theseopportunities for recognizing short wins are amust do. The appreciation works wondersand indeed charges up the environment. Thisis exactly what the organization requires in itsjourney to bring change. It reinforces the strongpositive feelings of the few individuals and goesahead in getting more to the flock of the vitalfew. Believe me, it is not difficult to do theseacts, however the risk of loosing out by not doingthese is much more.

• Consolidate and Institutionalize

Whilst short term wins and gains take youahead on the journey of change, it is necessarythat these changes are consolidated and thereto stay. We also need to guard against thingsslipping back to the earlier times Very oftengood things happen and these should bereplicated as required across the Organization,to expedite the change process.

Conclusion

To conclude, Change is inevitable and anintrinsic part of life. Success lies in looking atit not as a "threat" but as an opportunity fortransformation. In designing HR intervention,one needs to take a holistic approach bydesigning appropriate strategies andprocesses to provide end to end solutions andmore importantly, involving people in thetransformation process.


The Context

The need for organization changeat Maruti Suzuki was necessitatedlinked to two important variables:

• The changing businessenvironment in India with theglobalization setting in almostall sectors including the AutoIndustry

• The changing structure &identity of Maruti from a PSU toa 50:50 JV (between Government& Suzuki) and then to be aPrivate Sector company (Mid2003 onwards)

The Journey of 26 years

Maruti was incorporated in 1981as a public sector company andstarted its business operations in1983 in technical collaboration withSuzuki Motor Corporation Japanwith the objective of making smallcars with latest technology andeconomic price offerings aiming atthe affordability by the masses.

If one may observe, the first phaseof Maruti lasted from 1983 to 1995.This phase saw the revolutionarylaunch of the initial models andunprecedented commercial successof Maruti. It also saw theconsolidation as well asunopposed growth of Maruti. Thecompany enjoyed a virtualmonopoly with a market-share inexcess of 80%. The first few modelslaunched by the Company viz. 800and Omni still remain one of thebestsellers.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE-MARUTI SUZUKI

S.Y. SIDDIQUI

S.Y. Siddiqui isExecutive Director -human resources atMaruti Udyog Limited.He is also responsible forcorporate HR for SuzukiPowertrain (enginecompany) and SuzukiMotorcycles. He is on theboard of Maruti Suzukiand part time director onthe board of Suzukigroup companies -Suzuki powertrain andSuzuki motorcycles.

The period from 1996 to 2007 canbe considered as the second phaseof the Company which alsoexperienced the Globalization ofAutomobile Industry in India. Theentry of global players in the Autoindustry in India meant that therewas a very specific need for Marutito change and prepare to handle theglobal competition pro actively.

Jagdish Khattar, ManagingDirector Maruti Suzuki often saysthat "We thank our competitors forcreating excitement and getting thebest out of us to offer better productsand services to our customers".

This necessitated the Company tointrospect, reassess and redefine itsBusiness and OrganizationalStrategy. It was important for thecompany to come out of its comfortzone and fight to retain itsleadership position. Both the mediaas well as the experts had at thattime written-off Maruti as anotherGovernment enterprise which willsuccumb to the pressures ofglobalization.

Inspite of the adverse businessscenario and negative IndustrialRelations environment in thecompany, the entire Maruti teamregrouped and emerged as a strongand committed team and under theexcellent leadership of JagdishKhattar, who took over the reins asthe Managing Director in August1999" the company has undergonea big change both on the businessas well as on the Industrial


Relations perspective and emerged as a winnerretaining 55% of the market share with ahealthy and growing bottom line.

In 2003 Govt. of India decided to disinvest itsstakes in Maruti. The launch of Maruti's IPOwhich was one of the most successful in India'shistory, restructured the company's Equity with54% by Suzuki thus making Maruti a PrivateSector Corporate & part of Suzuki MotorCorporation, Japan. That was the time that thecompany decided to drive another majorchange initiative aimed at Organization andPeople Strategy

Need for Change

Organization Culture of Maruti reflected highBusiness focus and commitment; high targetand result orientation and strong businesssystems and processes. However, it alsoreflected an Inward-looking approach; strongcompartmentalization and functionalboundaries; looking up culture with low risk-taking behavior; bureaucratic & slow decisionmaking process and culture lacking thecelebration approach.

The HR Function was IR centric, centralized,administrative, and control oriented. The HRfocus was Policy and rule driven and notpeople driven. The HR processes wereconventional, slow with bureaucratic decisionmaking. In 2003 too it still reflected primarily aconventional approach to HR Policies far awayfrom the prevailing HR trends. Above all it waslacking sensitivity to both business & peopleconnect.

The People profile has been warm, competentand with an element of pride being a Marutian.But the people profile was impacted by theCulture and also the role of the HR Functionover the years. It thus did reflect a conventionalmindset. There were conflicting views on theHR needs expressed by the young managersvis-a-vis the relatively older population. Also

the perception about the HR role being a blackbox, policy and rule driven and insensitive tothe people needs, meant a clear disconnectbetween people and HR

Philosophy of Organization Change at Maruti

• Integration of change initiatives with theBusiness and Organizational strategy

• Organization Change aimed at redefiningand developing an Enabling Culture

• Focus on People development andInstitutionalization of capability buildingprocesses

Periodicity and consistency of ODinterventions

• Leadership development processes for alllevels including the Top management

• All change Initiatives driven from the top

The Strategy of Organization Change at Maruti

• To build on the successful past, commitmentand competence of people by launching thechange in an appreciation mode

• Emphasize the need for change linked toexternal environment & as a pre-requisite tofuture success of the company

• Create ownership and participationtowards the change initiatives throughstrong and consistent two waycommunication and education process

• Focus on the senior pros to lead & the youngpopulation to drive the change

• Organization change to be gradual andlinked clearly to business needs

Organization Change Initiatives at Maruti

To initiate the Organization Change at Marutithe first pre-requisite was for the HR functionitself to change. Hence HR Team had to prepareitself to change before attempting theOrganization Change Initiative. It took somereal time and effort to first initiate the change


in the HR thinking, approach and the HRcredibility at Maruti.

The effort involved introspection andbrainstorming sessions, informal and formaltraining, exposure to external HR fraternity, thestrong HR linkage to business and people andaggressive HR leadership and direction. It alsoinvolved cutting open the HR cross-sectionview to the key stakeholders - People,Functional heads, Directors and the Board. Itrequired a participative, consultative andflexible approach to define new or redefineexisting HR Policies, Systems and Processes.Some key directions were as follows:

• HR's transition from a stand-alone identityto Integral part of Business

• HR identity and credibility as mere Staffsupport to Strategic part of Business

• From Manpower costs to Investment inPeople

• From Labor Law compliance to Strategic IRPerspective

• Personnel Administration to PeopleConnect

• Technical Training co-coordinator towholesome People Development

• Discipline concept to developing andsustaining positive Work Culture

The Success of any Organization ChangeInitiative depends to a large extent if it is ownedby the Top Management and if it starts from theTop. Hence deliberating the Organizationchange perspective with the Top Managementspecially the Japanese colleagues at Maruti wascritical and cumbersome at times. Sometimes onerealizes that life is so simple if corporatecommunication is based on English only.

Also it was an enormous task to overcome theCultural gaps between SMC, Japan and thePeople issues in the Local context of ourcountry. At times we could observe a fairly clear

gap between the Indian senior colleagues &our SMC counterparts. Hence the balancingact required sensitizing them individually forownership of the Organization Changeinitiatives. Above all it required atremendously patient, educative and flexibleapproach to discuss, deliberate and convinceour SMC colleagues on some of the newconcepts, policies etc.

From 2003 onwards, the Organization ChangeInitiative was launched through variousOD interventions at five different levels:

• Top Management

• Senior Management

• Middle Management

• Junior Management

• Technicians/operators

Leadership Retreat for Top Management

The key objective was to build & strengthenthe Top Leadership Team at Maruti includingthe Indian and Japanese Directors. The effortwas to shift gears from an operational focusand review perspective to Strategic BusinessPlanning & Transformational PeopleLeadership. The first initiative in this regardwas full of ifs & buts, language issues & thecultural subtleties involved between theJapanese culture of SMC Japan & Maruti'sIndian ground realities. The balancing wastough and required tremendously patientapproach as there were Business Success andlearnings in both models. The LeadershipRetreat involving all Directors, over two & ahalf days residential at Bangalore, wasfacilitated by Dr. Pritam Singh and Dr. AshaBhandarkar with focus on:

• Team Building perspective i.e. LeadershipTeam of Maruti Suzuki

• Self-development focus for each Directorbased on feedback from others


• Develop a Strategic Perspective of LongTerm Business Plan

• Mentoring/Coaching role to develop nextlevel people.

• Creating a new curve for Maruti

Leadership Development Initiatives forSenior Management

Senior Management

The focus was on global business perspective,people management and people development,and leading and managing change. Leadershipdevelopment was facilitated through:

• A two and a half day Leadership Trainingat NCR (Jaypee Greens, Greater Noida)

• External Training nominations at premierBusiness Schools

• Two weeks, Training at Europe - meetingthought Leaders from Corporates &Academia through ESCP EAP BusinessSchool (Germany, France and UK)

• Leadership Assessment of each person &Feedback Session

• On the Job - Coaching and Mentoring Rolefor young professionals

• 360-Degree Feedback Process

• Developing them as Internal Assessors &Trainers.

Leadership Development of MiddleManagement

The focus was on exposure to the externalbusiness environment in India, peoplemanagement and people development, andaccepting & facilitating change. The need wasto develop them to play an effective leadershiprole as the first interface with young population.The development was facilitated through:

• Leadership Training by GE International

• Nominations to external Trainings atLeading B- Schools

• Leadership Training by Dr. Pritam Singh &Dr. Asha Bhandarkar at MDI

• 360-Degree Feedback Process

• Performance Feedback Sessions

• Potential Assessment through AssessmentCenters & Feedback sessions

• On the Job - Coaching & Mentoring Role foryoung professionals

• Developing them as Internal Assessors andTrainers

Change Initiatives for Young Managers

• Create an Enabling Culture

• Positive and high performing

• Free flow of communication

• Appreciation and celebration

• Fostering innovation and creativity withpatience to absorb failures

• Mentoring/Coaching for all Campus Joinees(Graduate Engineer Trainees, fresh CAs,MBAs & graduates). This resulted in "On thejob" development that is customized to theindividual and yet is flexible -- formal orinformal.

Senior professionals in the companyselected as mentors. Training on mentoringhas been provided to all mentors. To helpthe fresh joinees to settle in the Company,all campus joinees are also provided withbuddies who are relatively youngerprofessionals.

• With a view to develop all-round businessmanagers who can become GeneralManagers in future the following initiativeswere emphasized:

• Job Rotation- Good performers whohave spent five years in one functionhave to be necessarily rotated to otherfunctions. The job-rotated individualsreturn to their parent function afteraround 3 years.


• Cross Functional Teams (CFTs) on criticalprojects are formed which give exposure toyoung managers which fosters TeamWorking, Experimentation - tolerance forfailure, Empowerment, Innovation andLearning.

• Stretch Assignments such as employees atManager/Sr Manager level acting asDepartment Managers (General Managers),selection of Area Managers as RegionalManagers, etc.

• Clear Career Growth Paths

• Fast Track for high performers and highpotentials

• Normal Track for good performers

• Extended Track growth for solid citizens

Change Initiatives for Technicians(Workmen)

After the VRS of 2001 & 2003, focusedinterventions for Technicians were launchedto bring in positive culture and mindset change.To achieve this, training initiatives wereintroduced to educate and change the mindsetof workmen. Another big impact was createdby the participative approach in resolving IRissues through Employee RelationsDevelopment Committee (ERDC). Structuredcommunication channels have also helped thecompany not only to manage the IndustrialRelations but also to evolve a environment oftrust, confidence and mutual cooperation.Company has also created opportunity for

developing family connect through 'ParivarMilan' (Weekly half-a-day event in whichapprox. 40 technician families are invited forplant visit) and 'Family Day' (Annual event inwhich all the Maruti employees along withtheir families, are invited for a evening full ofentertainment, fun and celebration).Subsequent to this Company has alsointroduced Reward & Recognition program forall employees.

Strengthening Internal CommunicationProcesses - directly lead by MD

• MD's quarterly Communication Meetings foryoung managers and for middle managers

• MD's quarterly informal 'Tea-Group'meeting with young managers

• ED (HR)'s quarterly CommunicationMeetings for young managers and formiddle managers

• ED (HR)'s quarterly informal 'Tea-Group'meeting with young managers

2007-08 onwards, Maruti is now entering intothe third phase. This is going to be the mostcritical and will define the future of AutomobileIndustry as well as Maruti.

Now we are looking at re-defining ourBusiness Strategy & Plan as well as continueour journey on Organization Change at MarutiSuzuki. As per our honest evaluation, we havecovered only 50% -- 60% of the distance so farand thus have to continue our journey to reachthe destination by 2010 --


At times some of the mostchallenging aspect of one'sprofessional life is to bring out amassive change. The turnaround ofPCBL is an experience that I cherishand is fresh out of oven.

Taking Over the Reins

PCBL, a part of RPG Group ispioneer and market leader in theCarbon Black Industry in India withmarket share of 41%. In spite ofbeing the market leader, PCBL waslagging behind in profitability withrespect to the major competitor(Market Share 33%) and the gapwas continuously increasing. ForFY06, PCBL had declared PAT lossof (-)

Rs. 14.64 cr and the position hadfurther worsened in Q1 FY07.

The comparative position is givenin figure 1

The Company vision is to become aglobal producer by 2008 withcapacity of 450,000 MT but due topoor financial results the Companyhad not initiated any action during2005 and 2006 for expansion toenhance capacity from the existinglevel of 270,000 to realize its vision.It was dismal in terms of how

IT WILL BE DONE, I HAVE TO DO IT:

A STORY OF PCBL

ASHOK GOYAL

Ashok Goyal is an IITKharagpur and IIMKolkata graduate. Hehas 30 years of multidomain and crossindustry experience overthe globe out which 16years have been invarious companies ofRPG Group, i.e., Ceat,Harrison Malayalam,KEC International andPhillips Carbon BlackLimited.

He is currentlyspearheading PhillipsCarbon Black Limited(PCBL), a jewel in theRPG group of Industriesas its Managing Director.He has taken thecompany through ajourney of turnaroundand consolidation in ninemonths and thecompany has nowembarked upon anambitious growth path.He is known as a "Turn-Around Artiste" in theRPG Group

things were going for a companythat was the market leader.

PCBL Journey: My Experience

In this article, I am sharing thestrategies implemented, leadershipchallenges faced and the culturechange initiatives taken whichenabled organization to transform.From a loss making entity in quarter1 of FY 07 to have profitability atpar with competition in quarter 3of FY 07, the journey was nothingbut exciting. I believe anyorganization can be turned aroundif we as leaders basically have abelief that "Nothing is Impossible"and have that feeling andconviction developed across theorganization by leading byexample.

Strategy

Over the last 18 years I had anopportunity to take over and turnaround divisions/companieswhich were in crisis mode due tolosses being incurred. When I lookback, I find the common elementsof strategies applied were:

a. Identification of operationalefficiency gaps in each functionalarea by benchmarking operationswith domestic and internationalcompanies and thereafter removalof the gap by achieving mindsetchange.

b. Continuous reduction ofCompetitive Disadvantage thecompany had due to ~

Figure 1 : Competition scenario pre turnaround


i. Technology

• Plant location

• Culture

c. Gradual increase of competitive advantagequotient and thereafter embarking upon"Sustainable Growth Path".

Competitive advantage was defined by one ofthe Indian industrial leaders as under ~

"When the water level starts rising, the level shouldcome to your chin while all the others are drowned".

I have found the above a very simple way ofcommunicating to all stakeholders in thecompany including workers and unions thecriticality of building competitive advantagequotient and ensuring that no action ordecision taken gives the company competitivedisadvantage. The Benchmarking exerciseshould be done with total honesty and for doingsame one should take inputs from all availablesources i.e. published data and inputs fromown employees, Ex-employees of competitor,consultants, customers etc. We need to avoidtrap of justifying the gaps due to reasonsbeyond our control but instead should focuson preparing action plans to overcome the gapswith innovative solutions. Having identifiedthe gap and prepared the action plan, sameshould be shared with everyone in theorganization so that there is a publiccommitment to deliver the results. Based on theconcept of competitive advantage, the strategiesapplicable for a company in different phasesof growth are as under.

Turnaround Phase

Reduce Competitive Disadvantage

• Benchmark operations and identify gaps.

• Develop clear strategies to cover gaps

• Implement strategic actions as per timeschedule and monitor benefits.

• Capture opportunities

• Develop innovative culture and changemindset

Consolidation Phase

Reduce Competitive Disadvantage

• Build on strategies of turnaround phase

Growth Phase

Build Competitive Advantage

• Execute growth/diversification planseffectively at locations and with technologywhich gives competitive advantage.

• While growing ensure continuousimprovement in operational efficiencies.

Sustainable Growth Phase

• Build a Business model which is not easy tocopy and has high entry barrier

• Follow Organic and Inorganic growth

• Ensure organization continually reinventsitself

Leadership Challenge

Turnaround Phase

The leadership challenges in this phase are tocreate a culture of high performance andchange the mindset of the people. The step wiseapproach to achieve these challenges is :

Step 1

• Develop high level of commitment at theManagement Team level which sets anexample for others in the organization.

• Share vision and ensure acceptance of thechallenges across the organization to achievesame.

• Challenge the Management Team Memberswho are leaders for their functional areaswith assignments and targets whichprovide stretch to enable them and their teammembers to draw on their full potential

• Lift aspiration of people


• Lead from front by example

Step 2

An organization becomes sick or performsbadly with respect to competition in the sameindustry only because of basic flaws in themindset of the people in the organizationwhich leads to wrong strategies and actions.Unless the mindset are changed, companyperformance cannot improve.

PCBL as an organization was focused onmarket leadership and market share in eachmarket segment and had lost sight ofcontribution levels leading to having marketleadership but not profit leadership. Incommodity market for a product like CarbonBlack where there is no price premium or brandloyalty, a company has no choice but to achieveCost Leadership which would lead to ProfitLeadership. Only with adequate generation ofinternal funds, company can invest andexpand to maintain Market Leadership. Assuch, it was critical to have this basic changein thinking i.e from :

Market Leadership Cost Leadership

The leadership challenge is to identify theappropriate mindset required across thecompany in each functional area and forarriving at the same, it is critical to understandwhat are the key industry drivers for theindustry in which the company is operatingwhich would give maximum benefit in termsof revenue and profit as well as reducecompetitive disadvantage and increasecompetitive advantage quotient for thecompany.

The process followed was as under :

Identification of new mindsets required

Ensuring everyone shares the specificnew mindset

The Alignment of mindset leads to correctoperational practices which resulted inSuperior business results

The Leadership Challenge is to create aVIRTUOUS CIRCLE ~

Some of the examples of mindset change donein the various functional areas in PCBL are asunder ~

In PCBL the operational efficiency gaps werecovered only by such mindset changes acrossthe company in internal and externalstakeholders leading to an annualized benefitof more than Rs.90 cr in three months.

Consolidation Phase

Leadership Challenge in this phase was toensure that

• organization continues with strategy of costcutting and maximizing contribution

• Captures opportunities and continuouslyinnovates

• Maintains momentum to ensure ongoinghigh performance

Growth Phase

In an organization which turns around and


consolidates in a short period of four to sixmonths employees are likely to develop inertiaand a feeling of "We are the best" which canlead to loss of momentum. We therefore need toidentify new strategic needs for changedcompetitive condition to overcome inertia.

This can be done by creating positive crisis asunder:

• Convince employees that currentperformance was good but not good Enough

• Develop new strategic challenges togalvanise people into action

• Create an enemy which could be a threat tosurvival of the company.

In PCBL having achieved cost leadership inthe turn around and consolidation phase newstrategic challenges identified andcommunicated were :

• Achieve Service Leadership

• Achieve Quality Leadership

Positive crisis was created by communicatingthe new Demand and Supply scenario of excesssupply due to expansion by competitor inwhich survival would depend on being betterin Service and Quality to maintain marketshare.

It is critical to reflect on the strategic health ofthe organization in the Growth Phase whencompany is financially doing well. In most ofthe cases we do this when organization'sprofitability is on the declining trend. Havingidentified the strategic health gaps which aregiving competitive disadvantage, we need tocommunicate same across the organizationand develop innovative solutions to overcomesame.

The other Leadership Challenges during thisphase are ~

• Ensure execution of growth plans atoptimum cost and as per schedule

• Preserve the culture of high performancedeveloped.

- By continuously reinforcing and renewingmindset

- Consistently improving and increasing jobcontent of everyone

- Ensuring no burnout by work-life imbalance

It is extremely critical that the Core Team iswillingly participating in the journey of"accelerated growth" as the work pressure wouldneed personal sacrifices by way of lack of time forfamily. During this process we need to ensurethat we as Leaders are "Energy Givers and notEnergy Taker" through any action of ours.

Sustainable Growth Phase

For PCBL to remain on Sustainable GrowthPath, the challenges are

• Achieve Service & Quality Leadership

• Make PCBL Carbon Black a brandedproduct

• Enter Speciality Carbon Black business

• Continuously expand capacity

• By generating adequate internal profit tofinance growth

• Identifying locations for expansion withsecured and captive Feedstock supplywhich will give long term competitive costadvantage

• Grow at international locations

The above would enable creation of entrybarrier by increasing the competitive advantagequotient substantially.

Culture Change

To build a culture in the organization whereindividuals have an approach of

"I have to do it"

"It will be done"

is the biggest leadership challenge.


In PCBL we have been focusing on this throughcommunication and interaction in variousForums with the employees and the unions.We firmly believe that "I am doing my best" or"I shall try my best" are approaches which donot lead to excellence in results. Theseapproaches connote as under :

"I am doing my best"

1. 1.Defensive approach

2. Putting limit on Self Capability

3. Cannot do Better

"I shall try my best"

1. More positive approach

2. Believing in his ability to deliver results

3. Commitment to do best but not sure of results

Success not guaranteed

As against above, the approach of "I have to doit" and "It will be done" leads to excellence inoperations and a more efficient organizationas follows ~

"I have to do it"

1. Total commitment to achieving

2. Guaranteeing results to himself with noroom for excuses/explanation

3. Ensures stretching of self by unlocking selfpotential

4. Not accepting any limit on self capabilities -full of confidence

Success assured

"It will be Done"

1. An approach of "Nothing is impossible" forme

2. Boss can delegate fully without need tomonitor

Success assured

Productive organization

The above model was developed in PCBLduring the orientation program in November'06and thereafter communicated to all managersthrough email.

Leadership Challenge is also to build teamsacross the organization which believe in

"The greatest pleasure life has to offer is thesatisfaction that follows from - Participating indifficult and constructive undertaking".

Only if individuals get satisfaction fromparticipating in difficult and constructiveundertaking would they live, breathe, eat andsleep with what they are doing because theyhave the spirit of "I have to do it" and "It will bedone".

Company Status in July 2007

As mentioned earlier, I joined the company asManaging Director in July'06 and theorganization went through a radicaltransformation and within a Quarter coveredup the substantial gap in profitability and fromQtr 3 06-07 onwards, the company'sprofitability became at par with competitor asgiven in figure 2.

Figure 2: Performance as of Quarter 3 - FY 07

PCBL has also embarked upon expansion plansthrough Greenfield projects as well asBrownfield expansion and is now poised toachieve production level of 450,000 MT by June,2009 to realize its vision. There is alsosubstantial improvement in market perceptionof PCBL as a reliable and competitive supplier.


The Company has created substantial wealthfor the stake holders and has been ranked No.11 in The Economic Times survey of the top100 wealth creators.

PCBL received the "Best CorporatePerformance" and the "Best TQM GroupActivity" Awards in RPG Group for FY'07.Company was also given the SAP ACE 2007for the best implementation in ChemicalVertical. Ashok Goyal received "OutstandingAchiever Award" for 2006-07 in RPG Group.

The PCBL Way

Phillips Carbon Black Limited (PCBL)completed the phases of turnaround &consolidation and thereafter embarked uponthe growth path within three Quarters whichnormally requires minimum two to three years.

The Management Team today proudlyproclaims

"Way to do it - PCBL Way - The Accelerated Way".

The Company now is implementing ambitiousexpansion plan to move from No.9 position inWorld to No.6 by 2009.

Summary

Our challenge as leaders is to ultimately ensurethat people enjoy what they are doing and theyown the dream that we may have as leaders forthe company. We need to assume a facilitators'role by assisting the employees in their journeyto achieve difficult targets.

To facilitate the process of turnaround, one alsoneeds to put in enabling processes like

a) Award and Recognition Systems

b) Development of Talent and appropriateskills in employees

The Award and Recognition System should befair, transparent and should necessarily ensurethat the Awards are given where the Groupvalues have been properly adhered to. In PCBLwe have been stressing on the RPG Core valueswhich are as under

• Customer Sovereignty• Passion for Superior Performance• People Orientation• Transparency & Integrity• Anticipation, Speed and Flexibility

• Innovation and EntrepreneurshipPCBL today has a new dream which is thescreen saver on the computer of all theemployees in the organization

World No.6

Achieve Quality

&

Service Leadership

It will be done

I have to do it

The above enables focusing on the criticality ofachieving strategic challenges of "Quality andService Leadership" and maintaining the spiritof "It will be done" and "I have to do it".

PBIT (Rs in crores.)


1. MANAGEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: LEVERAGING TRANSFORMATION BY K.HARIGOPAL

SECOND EDITION (2006), PUBLISHED BY RESPONSE BOOKS, A DIVISION OF SAGE PUBLICATIONS.

Business organizations and change are concepts that have been in the realmof discussion and research ever since management developed as an inde-pendent field of study. The development of management studies and itsexpansion can be attributed to the ever growing and changing pace of busi-ness transformation, the pace of which has accelerated after World War II.Triggered and stoked by changing business scenarios due to technological,political and economic forces, resultant intense competition has led to orga-nizations going through the cycle of birth, growth, decay and death. In allthese, change remains the common factor. Therefore organizational changeis synonymous with organizational activities. Since organizations consist ofpeople, organizational change is predominantly behavioral change. Learninghas to precede such a behavioral change.

In the present world of hyper competition, management of organizational change is a continuousand ongoing phenomenon. organizations need to master the skills required to manage organiza-tional change as organizational flexibility is the key to success. Therefore the need to understandand manage organizational change is a requirement for practicing managers, students who arefuture managers and academicians and practicing academicians who intend to unravel the pro-cess of change.

In the light of such a scenario, a book on management of organizational change seems to be inperspective, although such books are numerous to the extent that books on specific aspects oforganizational change are in vogue such as social interaction, learning or informational technol-ogy and change.

The book under consideration has been purported to have been written to address the needs ofstudents and practicing managers. The author, a widely experienced academician and trainer,has attempted to express in a very simple and lucid manner the conceptual foundations, thesystems and processes associated with organizational change and its management. The bookis divided into six chapters.

The first chapter introduces the reader to the phenomenon at a conceptual level to facilitate hisunderstanding. It covers the meaning, nature and types of change. It also deals with the forceswhich trigger organizational change. Chapter two and three deal with the concepts and pro-cesses associated with planning for change such as strategic planning, management of trans-formation and role of support systems. Having established the basis for understanding of organi-zational change; the book, in the next three chapters, deals with the process of management ofchange. Chapter four deals with the strategic levers which are used to implement change. Chap-ter five deals with organizational culture and its role in management of change while chapter sixdeals with the management of change through management of people.

The content of the book reflects the background of the author, whose main field of expertise ishuman resource management, especially conflict management. The book is written in a simpleand lucid manner and uses boxes to highlight and stress upon certain key concepts associatedwith organizational change. It also gives end of the chapter exercises to facilitate skill building formanagement of organizational change.

Although the author uses his experience and case studies to buttress his arguments, yet thebook lacks case studies of business organizations which could have given the positioning of the

BOOK REVIEWSBOOK REVIEWS


concepts in an organizational context and facilitated the understanding of the reader. The bookstresses upon the role of people in organizational change yet has not touched the topic of learningin detail. One expects that a book on change management would deal with individual and orga-nizational learning as it is the key lever to manage change especially in the present businessenvironment of hyper competition. Further, the dealing with the concepts and terminology asso-ciated with organizational change could have been better had they been linked to the concepts ofrate, quantum and volition. The book therefore, gives only the definitions of the terms associatedwith organizational change but does not put them in a perspective to the other terms commonlyused with it. Management of change requires a thorough understanding of the concepts andterms used.

Change in mental models of the practitioner is essential if he is to implement organizationalchange, which requires that conceptual linkages among terms commonly used to communicateknowledge about organizational change are clearly understood. To that extent, the book fails toprovide the reader a base to do so. In an attempt to be useful to the practitioner manager andalso the trainers and students, the author seems to have lost out on an opportunity to fortify thebook with essential case studies and theoretical basis which would have given a much betterbase for understanding organizational change. Such an effort, if had been done, would haveadded considerable value to the book.

Reviewed by

B.V.L. Narayana, FPM fourth year, Business Policy, Indian Institute of Management,Ahmedabad.

2. COMPETING THROUGH KNOWLEDGE: BUILDING A LEARNING ORGANIZATION MADHUKAR SHUKLA, 2002

RESPONSE BOOKS (SAGE PUBLICATIONS), NEW DELHI.PP 334.PRICE IN INDIA -RS 395.

Change as they say is universal in creed. In 1997 when Bob Dylan sung the 1960's popular

anthem, "Blowing in the Wind" beside Pope John Paul, Pope Benedict opposed it, for he

considered Dylan to be "the wrong kind of Prophet". The world since Dylan's era got

divided into those on the side and those opposed to such Prophets of Change. For the

changing face of corporate America and also for corporates across the globe the answer

was indeed blowing in the wind…but it was to be listened to carefully. Those who did,

survived and those who didn't, are no more there to tell their tale. Change comes from

continuous learning not just by individuals alone, but also by teams and organizations as

a whole. As Dr Madhukar Shukla's book on building a learning organization enters its tenth

year of its first publication, it time for organizations to take stock of whether they have

enough leaders within their organization who are prophets of change and can build a

continuously learning organization to make it shine and outperform itself and others in the

marketplace.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with why organizations need to learn in order to survive and

grow. It is supported by innumerable examples from the recent Indian economic history of what brought about the

winds of change and how successful organizations listened to the answers (liberalization and globalization) that

were blowing in the wind. This part also deals with several theoretical frameworks for learning within organizations.

In interesting law that Dr Shukla mentions (in fact first conceptualized by Garratt in 1987) is that for organizations

to survive, their rate of learning(L) must be equal to or greater than the rate of change(C) in its environment,i.e. L?C.


It applies as much to dinosaurs (who probably didn't understand this law) as to contemporary organizations facing

equally hostile and turbulent environment. Author provides four important outcomes of learning leading to-innova-

tion, adaptation to change, continuous improvement and corporate transformation. The third chapter contains the

various forms of learning such as single loop and double loop learning, and building capabilities to learn. The last

chapter in this part of the book highlights how organizations can leverage knowledge to enhance capabilities, by

giving several examples like those of float glass technology, competing on proprietary knowledge and so on. One

of the most interesting things in this chapter is the 2x2 matrix of knowledge maturation process. There are two

dimensions to this matrix. One dimension has knowledge as either explicit or implicit. The other dimension

visualizes knowledge as either proprietary or shared. The matrix helps one to understand how knowledge should

evolve from tacit to explicit form in order to become useful. Throughout the chapters Dr Shukla has provided lots

of examples from various companies from India and from around the world to illustrate the various scenarios in

which organizations have transformed themselves successfully.

The second part of the book contains 6 case studies on foreign companies. These are, ABB, British Airways (BA),

Chaparral Steel, Citicorp, GE and Xerox. Together these cases cover the learning dimensions, namely-Learning as

means of organizational turnaround (BA),Chaparral Steel as a learning factory, Citicorp as a company learning to

innovate,GE on cultural transformation and Xerox who learns to cope with environmental turbulence. However it

would have been much more learning for the Indian readers, if some of the companies were Indian e.g.Infosys, as

a learning organization has achieved a lot, on most of the above mentioned dimensions. Similarly Kamini Tubes

where employee manage the organization(somewhat similar to Semco,an example cited by Dr Shukla in the last

chapter of the book). But if we look at current state of Indian organizations, there are ample examples of such

organizations that have defied conventional organizational theories and would have fitted the bill, for these cases.

The third and last part of the book contains two chapters on the architecture of a learning organization and the

emerging paradigm of learning organization. This part of the book, delves into details of building the new architec-

ture of the learning organization through three elements of the learning mechanism that consists of the strategic

intent to learn, learning mechanisms and supporting structures and processes.

In this endeavour to unravel the DNA of learning organizations, Prof Shukla has provided an insightful book for HRD

consultants, CEO s and senior management. Indeed the book would be a learning exercise even for the practitio-

ners in the top management level, as well as middle managers. Specially insightful are the six cases given in the

book. Dr Shukla takes us through the journey of firms through their transformation in all these cases. We only

wished that some of these cases should have been of Indian companies' transformation in recent times. The

Indian examples have been provided only in form of short snippets in boxes of chapters, on companies like Asian

Paints, Ceat, Mahindra & Mahindra, Milton, Mukund Steel, Eicher Tractors, Modi, Videocon and many others. It

would have been even more enriching experience for readers had the author provided case or snippets on those

organizations who tried learning to transform itself but couldn't succeed. Thus while we learn from inclusion of

successful companies, we may lose some potential insights from the exclusion of the failed companies.

This lucidly written book presents to the readers, a mosaic composed of academic literature and anecdotal

evidence on how to build and sustain a learning organization and make it more competitive based on leveraging

intangible assets like knowledge. It also initiates the uninitiated reader into the complicated world of knowledge

management. CEO s, leaders and managers with traditional mindset would have their plate full, after reading this

book. It is ultimately up to them to become the prophet of change through continuous envisioning and empower-

ment of their employees. Change - as Dylan sung 40 years ago - is blowing in the wind. You just got to listen to it.

Reviewed by: Ramendra Singh, FPM Student, IIM Ahmedabad.

The journal publishes primarily three categories of articles:

� Conceptual and research based

� Contributions from thought leaders

� Organizational experiences in HR interventions/mechanisms

Request you to suggest potential contributers or e-mail articles in MS-Word, not exceeding 2,000 words,

accompanied with an abstract of about 100 words, a brief profi le of the author, and a passport size

photograph to: [email protected].

Following style guidelines are recommended:

1. Use British spelling.

2. Indicate fi gures in thousand, million and billion.

3. Use parenthetical reference in the text. Examples: (Loveman 2003, 54).

4. For the end references, use alphabetical order (last name fi rst) and complete all bibliographical details.

Examples:

Loveman, Gary. 2003. Diamonds in the data mine, Harvard Business Review, 81(3), May, 54. Watson,

Tom Jr. 2003. A business and its beliefs: The ideas that helped build IBM. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Rothwell, W. 2005. Reinventing the exit interview as a tool for succession planning and management. In

V. V. Ramani (Ed.), Succession planning: Insights and experiences. Hyderabad, India: ICFAI University

Press. (pp. 126-132).

ITe. 2006. ITC’s rural development philosophy-echoupal, ITC website accessed on 15 April 2007, at http://

www.itcportal.com/ruraldev_philosophy/eChoupal~htm.

NHRD fi rmly believes in respecting IPR and hence we appeal to the contributors to honour the same.

For any further clarifi cations, Please Contact :

The Editor

Dr. P V R Murthy,CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants,

#8, Janaki Avenue, Off 4th Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600018.

Email : [email protected]

Editorial Team ( NHRDN )

APPEAL TO CONTRIBUTORS

The National HRD Network publishes a semi-academic quarterly journal-each issue dedicated to a theme.

So far we published on themes like “IT in HR”, ”Performance Management”, “Attracting and Retaining

Talent.” and “Career Management”. The current issue is on the theme “Organizational Change”.

Ensuing issues with following guest editors will focus on the themes as follows:

Date of

Publication Theme Guest Editor

Jan 2008 Global HR Professionals Mr. Bimal Rath, Head HR, Asia Pacifi c, Nokia

Women in Corporate Ms. Uma Ganesh, Chief Corporate

Apri 2008 Leadership Roles Development Ofi cer, HSBC Global.

Dr. Gopal Mahapatra, Director Orgn. & Talent

July 2008 OD Development, Oracle ( India )

Oct 2008 Stategic HR Dr. Udai Pareek, Prof IIHMR, Jaipur.

Jan 2009 Managing Generation - ‘Y’ Dr. S.Chandrasekhar, CPRM, Capgemini

April 2009 Leadership Issues Mr. N.S. Rajan, Human Capital, E&Y

July 2009 Institution Building Mr. S.Varadarjan, EVP & CHRO, Quatrro

Oct 2009 Assessment Centres Dr.T.V. Rao, TVRLS

Jan 2010 Building Collaboration at Work Mr. Yogi Sriram, EVP HR, L & T.

April 2010 Competency Development Mr. C. Mahalingam, SVP HR, Symphony.

July 2010 Work - Life Balance Dr. C. S. Venkataratnam, Director IMI.

NHRD Journal


Special Issue Nov. 2007

NHRD NETWORK BOARD MEMBERS

Aquil Busrai, National President, ED-HR, IBM India Limited,

Dwarakanath P, Immediate Past National President, Director-Group Human Captial, Max Iindia.

Santrupt Misra (Dr), Past National President, Director Aditya Brila Group

Anand Nayak, Regional President-East, Head HR, ITC Ltd.

Gopalakrishna M, Regional President – South, Director Incharge, A.P. Gas Power Corporation Ltd.

Satish Pradhan, Regional President – West, Executive VP Group HR, Tata Sons

Rao GP, Regional President North, VP- HR, JK Tyres

Varadarajan S, National Secretary, Executive VP & CHRO, Quatro

Ashok Reddy B, National Treasurer, VP- HR, Info Tech Enterprises

Satyanarayana. K, Executive Director, National HRD Network

Editorial Panel

Arvind Agrawal, President – Corporate Development and Group HR in RPG Group Email: [email protected]

(Guest Editor for this issue)

Dr.PVR Murthy, CEO, Exclusive Search Recruitment Consultants, #8, Janaki Avenue,

Off 4th Street, Abhiramapuram, Chennai 600018 Email: [email protected]

Aquil Busrai, Executive Director, Human Resources, IBM India Limited, DLF Infi nity Tower A,

5th Floor, Gurgaon 122 002, Haryana, India , Email: [email protected]

Dr.Pallab Bandopadhyaya, Chief People Offi cer, Cambridge - Asia, #33, Coconut Grove,

18th Main,6th Block Koramangala, Bangalore-560095 India.

Email: [email protected]

Publisher, Printer, Owner and Place of Publication

K Satyanaraya, Executive Director, on behalf of National HRD Networking

506,Sai Siri Sampada,7-1-29/23&24, Leela Nagar, Ameerpet, Hyderabad 500 016

Tel : +91 (40) 2374-2429, E-mail: [email protected]

Printed at

Kala Jyothi Process Pvt. Ltd.,1-1-60/5,RTC ‘X’ Road, Musheerabad, Hyderabad 500020

(The views expressed by the authors are of their own and not of the editors

or editorial board or of their company)

Copyright of the NHRD Journal, all rights reserved.

Contents may not be copied, emailed or reproduced without copyright holders

express permission in writing.

www.nationalhrd.org

A q u a r t e r l y P u b l i c a t i o n b y t h e N a t i o n a l H R D N e t w o r k

NHRD Journal November 2007 Volume 1 Special Issue


The Concept and Process of organizational Change


Indira J ParikhOrganizational Change Management-Why?-What? How?

Simon WallaceLeading Wholesome Change in Integral Way

Ashish PandeyChange Management: Some Practical Considerations

Bhawana MishraFundamental Change in Education Quality

Dileep RanjekerHow HR can ignite ‘Hot Spots’

Yogi Sriram


Bringing Change to the Change Agents - A look at Indian NGO’s

Mustafa Moochhala and Tejinder Singh BhogalDefi ning Change Agents

Sandeep K. KrishnanIn Praise of India’s Most Seasoned Change Managers

Ganesh ChellaThe Enduring Skills of Change Leaders

Rosabeth Moss KanterCore Tasks for Successful Change Management

S. Ramnarayan



Leena Nair & Ankush PunjMeasuring Organizational Culture and change

Rajeev KumarManagement of Change: Critical Factors

Tarun ShethOrganizational Change: The Formidable XI

Rajiv DubeyCommunication Effectiveness, Justice Perceptions and Emplayee

Commitment during Organizational Change

Ranjeet NambudiriManaging People in Mergers and Acquisitions

D Prasanth NairHR: An Evolving Function

D HarishOne Reason for Failure of Change Intervention

PVR MurthyIPO-a Powerful Intervention in Organizational Change

Ravi Virmani


From a Sapling to a Forest

Udai Pareek and TV RaoChallenge of Managing Organizational Preparedness - ICICI

K Ram KumarBringing About Organizational Change - Philips India

Vineet KaulOrganizational Change - Maruti Suzuki

S Y SiddiqueIt Will Be Done, I Have to Do It: A Story of PCBL

Ashok GoyalBook Reviews

www.nationalhrd.org

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