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\title{Notes on Organizational Change} |
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\author{Bil Kleb and Bill Wood} |
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\date{3 February 2004} |
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\documentclass{tufte-handout} |
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\usepackage{amsmath} |
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\usepackage{graphicx} |
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\graphicspath{{graphics/}} |
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\pagestyle{empty} |
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\begin{document} |
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\maketitle |
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\newthought{The} Beckhard-Harris-Gleicher model of change% |
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\sidenote{R. Beckhard and R. Harris, {\it Organizational Transitions}, |
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Addison-Wesley, 1987.} |
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states successful change will happen if and only if the product of the |
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level of dissatisfaction with status quo, the appeal of the future |
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vision, and the clarity of the steps necessary to achieve the vision is |
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greater than the cost of change, measured in terms of emotion, direct |
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expenses, and lost opportunity. |
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\begin{displaymath} |
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\text{change} |
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\,\,\iff\,\, |
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\text{dissatisfaction}\times\text{appeal}\times\text{plan} |
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\,>\, |
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\text{cost} |
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\end{displaymath} |
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If any factor is low, the chance for successful change is slim, no matter |
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how compelling the other factors might appear. |
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Similarly, if the cost is high, change is not worth pursuing. |
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\newthought{Satir's} model of well managed change% |
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\sidenote{Virginia M. Satir, John Banmen, Jane Gerber, and Maria Gomori |
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{\it The Satir Model: Family Therapy and Beyond}, Science and Behavior |
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Books, 1991.\\ |
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Gerald M. Weinberg, {\it Quality Software Management: Anticipating |
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Change}, Volume 4, Dorset House, 1997.} |
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emphasizes all change entails phases of loss and chaos that, if |
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unanticipated, will cause a retreat to the original status quo. |
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A change agent initiates the descent into chaos and then a transforming |
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idea marks the beginning of the ascent to the new status quo.\\[5pt] |
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\marginnote{Five stage Satir change model diagram \textcopyright\ |
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stevenmsmith.com.} |
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\includegraphics[scale=0.5]{satir_graph} |
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\newthought{The} Bateson Double Bind% |
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\sidenote{Gregory Bateson, D. D. Jackson, J. Haley, and J. H. Weakland, |
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``Toward a Theory of Schizophrenia'', {\it Behavioral Science}, |
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Volume 1, pages~251--264, 1956.\\ |
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Gregory Bateson, D. D. Jackson, J. Haley, and J. H. Weakland, ``A Note on |
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the Double Bind'', {\it Family Process}, volume 2, 1962, pages~154--161.} |
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is a recipe for schizophrenia that should be avoided in organizational |
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structures: |
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\begin{compactenum} |
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\item Locate a victim who is somehow dependent on you. |
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\item Issue a primary injunction with a threat of punishment for |
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non-compliance. |
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\item Issue a secondary injunction that contradicts the first, again |
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coupled with the threat of punishment for non-compliance. |
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\item Make the contradiction undiscussible and provide a threat of |
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punishment if it is discussed. |
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\item Make% |
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\marginnote{Example: a researcher is dependent upon a mandated support |
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service and the support staff imposes a level of service that is |
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insufficient.} |
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the undiscussibility undiscussible, but make appearances |
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that everything is discussible. |
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\item Make the victim believe they cannot exit the situation. |
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\end{compactenum} |
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\newthought{Block} observes that vision statements are worth something |
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only to those who make them.% |
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\sidenote{Peter Block, {\it Stewardship: Choosing Service Over |
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Self-Interest}, Berrett-Koehler, 1993.} |
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A vision cannot be handed down from upon high. |
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Instead, each person or team needs to craft their own vision statement |
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to have vested ownership and accountability. |
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One clear requirement, however, is that at each level the vision must be |
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tied to the one above. |
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What% |
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\marginnote{``Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex, |
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intelligent behavior,'' says Dee Hock, former CEO of Visa |
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International. |
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``Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple, stupid behavior.''} |
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the core workers do need from those above is a clearly defined, |
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tangible mission statement that can be used by those at the lowest levels |
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to make everyday decisions. |
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NASA's current vision, mission, and goals slides have recently been |
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cited% |
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\sidenote{Edward R. Tufte, {\it The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint}, 2nd |
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ed., Graphics Press, 2003, page~4.} |
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as embarrassing examples of what not to do:\\[5pt] |
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\begin{center} |
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\includegraphics{nasa_vision_sm} |
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\end{center} |
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\newthought{Stop} using PowerPoint bullet list slides for strategic |
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planning, technical communication, or anything but a marketing pitch. |
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Lou Gerstner simply shut off the overhead projector when he |
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began to bring IBM back from the brink of bankruptcy in 1992. |
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He introduced the novel idea of using complete sentences to describe |
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how goals would be met.% |
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\sidenote{Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., {\it Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? |
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Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround}, 2002, page~43.} |
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Furthermore, 3M has documented% |
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\sidenote{Gordon Shaw, Robert Brown, and Philip Bromiley, ``Strategic |
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Stories: How 3M is Rewriting Business Planning,'' {\it Harvard |
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Business Review}, vol.~76, May-June, 1998, pages~42--44.} |
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that bullet lists make us intellectually |
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lazy in three specific ways: (1)~they are too generic---they offer a |
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series of things to do that could apply to any business, (2)~they leave |
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critical relationships unspecified, and (3)~they leave critical |
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assumptions about how the business works unstated. |
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Our project planning needs to (a)~embrace change, not try |
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to suppress it and (b)~use PERT charts with uncertainties |
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instead of CPM diagrams.% |
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\sidenote{Robert Martin, ``PERT: Precursor to Agility'' in {\it Software |
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Development}, February 2003.} |
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Budgets are forecast tools, not specifications. |
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Costs should only be tracked to the same level of precision as benefits |
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are tracked, because the cost-to-benefit ratio has an approximate |
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uncertainty equal to the maximum of the cost and benefit uncertainties.% |
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\sidenote{Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister, {\it Waltzing with Bears}, |
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Dorset House, 2003, page~147.} |
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\end{document} |