Managing Organisational Change
The implementation of a new system will undoubtedly bring about change to an organisation. Conversely, the changes required by the organisation are likely to have been the catalyst for the acquisition of the new system.
A new system can support a changed approach, but the system itself is not the change. Unless the organisation is properly prepared for the change, the system will be seen as the cause of change and will probably be resented and resisted. This will lead to failure of the system implementation project. A good example of this is the implementation of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and/or Managed Learning Environment (MLE). Such environments are necessarily part of an institutional strategy about learning and teaching, but an institution cannot be turned into a different type of learning organisation simply by implementing a VLE or MLE. System implementation projects must run in tandem with change projects and by expecting systems implementers to do both jobs, an institution is setting them up to fail. In the context of a system implementation, change management will require an institution to anticipate, prepare for, manage and undergo major organisational change from one state to a newer state. The change can be represented by:
the legacy system to the replacement system;
one organisational mission to extended institutional pursuits;
one infrastructure and set of skills to a different make-up;
old business processes to new trading methods;
decentralised ways of working to centralised functions;
one set of values to an adjusted collection of principles and standards; and/or
an established management approach to another style of governance.
Managing change is "a systematic process of taking into account the global conditions affecting an organization, as well as specific conditions in the organization. The change management methodology examines the current environment with respect to organization culture, communication, organization design, job design, infrastructure, personnel, skills and knowledge, people/machine interfaces, and incentive systems." Future Administrative Systems Team, University of Houston, 2004, Glossary - http://www.uh.edu/fast/FAST-glossary.htm
Managing change requires "Methods and processes that assist individuals in adjusting constructively to new systems, procedures, processes, workflow, organizational relationships and other differences as they occur." D.C. Brandenburg and C.V. Binder, 1992, 'Emerging Trends in Human Performance Interventions'
The above definitions acknowledge that change management is about the organisation's culture, but highlight that it is also about people and communication. This is a key element of managing change and the section on Understanding Your Organisation in the 'Creating an MLE' infoKit covers this in more detail. Managing change and communicating with stakeholders to bring about the change are integral parts of good staff and project management, but change is never easy to manage. Our Change Management infoKit aims to help you in finding an approach that suits your situation.
