RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

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CHAPTER 2: Strategic Management and Change

Introduction

The focus of this study is on how communication should be applied and managed in times of change in organisations. However, before suggesting communication management strategies for change, it will be necessary to explore the concepts of change and change management. Since change management strategies are directly influenced by principles of strategic management (Burnes, 1996, p. 192), principles of strategic management will be explored extensively in this chapter so that concurrent views and developments in change management can be demonstrated. To be followed later on in Chapter 3 are outlines of the various change management strategies and approaches, specifically with reference to communication management.

Change, transformation and organisational developmen

Change and transformation

Change is phrased quite effectively by Kanter et al. (1992) as the shift in behaviour of the whole organisation, to one degree or another (p. 11).
Senge et al. (1999, p. 14) refer to change as the way an organisation adapts internally to the changes in the environment. In these senses, change is not something that just happens, but must be planned in a proactive and purposeful way to keep an organisation current and viable (Robbins, 1990, p. 383). As Kanter et al. (1992, p. 11) point out, if a change does not occur in character, it will be cosmetic and short-lived, and therefore will not have the desired effects. Change with alteration in conduct is transformation. But, change without alteration in conduct is structural, superficial and temporary, which means that any financial resources spent on such changes are simply wasted. Only if transformation takes place and the changes are internalised in the hearts of people will behavioural modification occur and the desired effects achieved. Similarly, Alkhafaji (2001) points out that many attempts are made to improve the performance of an organisation such as buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, but these will not affect the employees’ work or the way the organisation is managed. These are changes, but they do not necessarily change behaviour. True transformation refers to redirecting organisational efforts towards the satisfaction of the major stakeholders (Alkhafaji, 2001, p. 8), and it is therefore a new way of thinking about the organisation and how people should relate to changes in the organisation.
Transformation, according to Head (1997, p. 5), is the step-by-step process of restructuring an existing organisation – removing what does not work, keeping that which does, and implementing new systems, structures, or cultural values where appropriate (p. 5).
Transformation, therefore, occurs when an organisation taps into the complete potential of human resources, and align both the structural and the cultural processes involved with the overall goals of the organisation. With transformation, a whole new culture is formed based on trust, transparency and constant learning.
Gouillart & Kelly (1995, p. 7) adds that the transformation in organisations is the orchestrated redesign of the genetic architecture of the corporation, achieved by working simultaneously—although at different speeds— along (p. 7) four dimensions of mind (reframing), body (restructuring), linking body and environment (revitalizing), and the spirit (renewal).
Business transformation, according to Gouillart & Kelly (1995, p. 2), is equivalent to a living organism, which is created, then grows through stages of development successfully or poorly, matures, and even dies. Organisations are influenced by environmental turbulence, so for it to survive all these changes, an organisation must have the ability to transform all its different elements and subsystems in a combined quest for shared objectives. Transformation implies the alignment of all the different systems within the organisation (Taffinder, 1998, p. 42). It is a holistic management of not only the physical attributes of an organisational system, but more importantly the spiritual essence of any system.
Gouillart & Kelly (1995, p. 5) describe transformation as not merely the free flow of information and the management of information, but the total trend of connectivity—relationships. This connectivity creates knowledge communities— business communities that care for society as a whole. These communities develop people, accept responsibility, contribute to the environment, and shape around the environment by building relationships and connections with all stakeholders involved. Interventions such as cultural change bring about transformations in the organisation and change completely the way it views itself and its environment (Cummings & Worley, 2001). Transformation usually involves qualitative modifications in the behaviour, perceptions and values of an organisation and requires creativity, innovation and learning (Cummings & Worley, 2001; Senge et al., 1999).
Gouillart & Kelly (1995, p. 42) further state the difference between change and transformation clearly when they say that,…the transformation can’t start until ‘they’ are transformed. One at a time, their hearts and minds must be filled with the motivation and commitment, until a critical mass has been reached. Then change can begin (p. 42).
Change is often understood as restructuring, but transformation is more than just something that can physically be seen. “Mechanical rearrangement” (Gouillart & Kelly, 1995, p. 94) is not the same as holistic transformation. Restructuring has definite short-term benefits, but it is an illusion that these physical changes can lead to true transformation in the long run.
Senge et al. (1999, p. 15) prefer the term ‘profound change’, when an organisation “builds capacity for ongoing change” by getting to the “heart of issues” and emphasising the thinking behind changes, rather than upon mere structural or strategic changes. This thinking on the change process addresses values, aspirations, fears, and behaviours.
The first phase of the model followed by Gouillart & Kelly (1995, p. 7) is the paradigm shift necessary for the organisation to go through transformation. This is where a new vision is created or established once rethought, and then communicated and strengthened in the minds of people. The second phase is the restructuring phase (often referred to as the change phase) where payoffs are fastest and cultural problems are accentuated. This is very often where the organisation is cut to size and reorganisation occurs. Layoffs occur and employees become demoralised and unsure (Chakravarthy, 1997; Ghoshal & Bartlett, 2000).
Revitalisation is the next process of transformation (Ghoshal & Bartlett, 2000; Gouillart & Kelly, 1995, p. 188), and what distinguishes ‘transformation’ from structural ‘change’. This is the phase where relationship building and connectivity become relevant. Gouillart & Kelly (1995) refer to the “listening and touching” of customers, which can be related to the symmetrical way of communication to this public. Values, culture, and ethical approaches to business are the keys and building alliances, connecting across boundaries into the lives of other organisations, giving birth to new corporate communities (p. 215), thus rephrasing the meaning or relationships. Key characteristics of the revitalisation process are involvement, sense of fairness and equity, development of trust and credibility (Ghoshal & Bartlett, 2000, p. 211).
But it is especially the last of the four phases of transformation proposed by Gouillart & Kelly (1995) that differentiate ‘change’ from ‘transformation’. This is the phase associated with the change of “spirit” (p. 237), and “without spirituality, there can be no transformation” (p. 238). This phase concentrates on the individual’s development and learning, but builds a sense of community through human interaction.

Organisational development (OD)

Another concept, often used as a synonym for ‘change’ is organisation development. Organisational development (OD) is referred by Cummings and Worley (2001, p. 1) as a systemwide application of behavioural science knowledge to the planned development, improvement, and reinforcement of the strategies, structures, and processes that lead to organisation effectiveness. (p. 1)
However, as these authors explain, the similarities between OD and change management is that they both approach effective change as a planned process, and they both address activities, processes, and leadership issues that produce organisation improvements (Cummings & Worley, 2001, p. 3).
In other words, according to these authors the difference between the two concepts is that OD is more concerned with transferring the knowledge and skills that extend the ability of the organisation to achieve its goals. Change management refers to broader processes involving technology, management and social innovations and they do not necessarily contribute to the improvement of the organisation. Change management therefore does not require the transfer of skills. Most importantly, according to Cummings & Worley (2001), the concept of OD and change management differ in their basic paradigmatic value in that OD supports human values, potential, development, and participation, whereas change management values economic competitive advantage.
Organisational change can refer to any kind of change, (Cummings & Worley, 2001) including human process interventions (e.g. team and group processes), technostructural interventions (e.g. interventions, TQM, reengineering and downsizing), human resources management interventions (e.g. performance management) and, more recently, strategic interventions such as relationship management and organisation transformation.
To conclude this section on the conceptualisation of the terminologies on change and transformation, Head (1997) effectively states that Whether you label the change effort an organisational transformation, or reengineering, or right-sizing, or quality building effort, a common language should be established inside the company, and the focus should be on the principles or values behind the change effort—what you are changing and what are the bottom-line outcomes. (p. 8)
The change effort should therefore not only be structural—it should involve the mind, body and spirit of all the employees involved. Not just ‘change’, but true ‘transformation’. For the rest of this study, the concepts of change and transformation will be used interchangeably, although a complete and holistic approach is implicated.

Strategic management and change management

A basic knowledge of strategic management is necessary in order to understand how the developments and theories in this field have influenced change management theory and practices.

Developments in strategic management

Management has been defined by Smit & Cronje (1997) as the process of planning, organising, leading and controlling the resources of an organisation to achieve stated organisational goals as efficiently as possible (p. 11).
This definition is much in line with the scientific definition of early 20th Century by the engineers Taylor & Fayol, where management is viewed as an objective science that consisted of a number of clearly identifiable and controllable activities (Stacey et al., 2000, p. 61). Max Weber reiterated this in describing the ideal organisation as one that is perfectly logical, efficient, impersonal, and had a clear hierarchy of authority (Robbins, 1990). Siemens, Marting & Greenwood (cited in Ehling & Dozier, 1992) also describe management as a large complex of activities consisting of analysis, decision, communications, leadership, motivation, measurement, and control (p. 259).
Decision-making is regarded as the central idea of management, and management theories consist predominantly of methods to improve the quality of decision-making processes (Ehling & Dozier, 1992, p. 260).
Strategic management differs from management in that management sets guidelines for making decisions about the internal structure of an organisation in order to control its internal processes (Grunig & Repper, 1992, p. 119). Strategic management, in contrast, focuses more on aligning environmental impacts with the mission statement of the organisation, so as to ensure that the right decisions are made for the future. The large organisations which were formed in the first part of the 20th Century were internally focused and designed to be effective and financially robust; however, it was the pressure of environmental changes that ultimately forced top managers to reconsider these management strategies (Harrison, 2003, p. 5). They needed to be aware of what was going on outside of the organisation, so business scholars and practitioners began talking about managing strategically with the environment in mind. Johnson & Scholes (1999) describe strategic management as being concerned with complexity arising out of ambiguous and non-routine situations with organisation-wide rather than operation-specific implications (p, 5).

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Background
1.2 Key concepts
1.3 Conceptual framework
1.4 Research statement and objectives
1.5 Research design and methodology
1.6 Advantages and limitations
1.7 Chapter index
1.8 Frameworks
CHAPTER 2: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND CHANGE
Introduction
2.2 Change, transformation and organisational development
2.3 Strategic management and change management
CHAPTER 3: APPROACHES TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Introduction
3.2 Traditional approaches to change management
3.3 Limitations of the planned approach to strategic management and change management
3.4 Emergent approaches to change management
3.5 The influence of size and structure on the change process
3.6 Summary
CHAPTER 4: EMERGENT APPROACHES: POSTMODERNISM, COMPLEXITY AND CHAOS THEORIES
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Postmodern theories of organisations
4.3 Complexity theory
4.4 Chaos theory and chaotic concepts
4.5 Similarities between postmodernism, chaos and complexity theories.
4.6 Summary
CHAPTER 5: RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
5.1 Introduction
5.2 ‘Relationships’ in relationship management
5.3 Strategic management and relationship management
5.4 From strategic communication management to strategic relationship management
5.5 Change communication
5.6 Applications and implications of emergent postmodern approaches for public relations and change management
5.7 Role of the relationship manager and other leadership roles in change management
5.8 Summary
CHAPTER 6: METHODOLOGY
Introduction
6.2 Research problems and research objectives
6.3 Theory of hypothesis testing
6.4 Research design
6. 5 Questionnaire design
6.6 Sampling method, sample size and data collection
6.7 Data processing
6.8 Hypotheses operationalisation
6.9 Data analysis and statistical techniques
6.10 Summary.
CHAPTER 7: FINDINGS
Introduction
7.2 Findings of the pre-test phase
7.3 Descriptive statistics
7.4 Experimental control measures
7.5 Reliability analysis
7.6 Validity analysis
7.7 Hypothesis testing results
7.8 Summary
CHAPTER 8: CONTRIBUTIONS, LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
8.1 Main findings and implications of this study
8.2 From communication manager to relationship manager
8.3 Unique contributions of this study
8.4 Limitations of this study
8.5 Recommendations for further research
8.6 Summary and Conclusions
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