Change Management

Final Exam Q&A

Yangon Institute of Economics

Department of Management Studies
Fourth Quarter, Final Exam
September 2007
MBA-239 Change Management
Answer FIVE questions ONLY

Time: 3 Hours

Question - 1
Define change. Describe and explain different types of change in organizations. Explain how
management should approach those types of organizational change; having regard to the urgency
and the degree of resistance expected in each case.
(20 marks)
(A) Change
Change is a transformation or transition of one State, one Phase, One Form, one Condition to another.
In other words, Change is The Act, Process, or Result of Altering or Modifying to become something
different. To become different of undergo alteration.
(B) Different types of change in organization
1. Incremental change (step-by-step change)
(what you do in respect of the factors)

When ?
When you perceive that the present situation is not satisfactory, but not very bad.
Why ?
You will opt for incremental change when you
want to improve but don't take risk
improve without destroying the present condition
have long term perspective
By whom ?
All members of the organization
Sometimes external consultant is employed as a coach and catalyst
Why ? Because:
They have attachment and sympathy
They care about preserving culture and values
They want improvement without sacrificing the present achievements
You need to seek consensus

2. Fundamental change (transformational change)

(what you do in respect of the factors)

When ?
When you perceive that the present condition is unsatisfactory to a large extent
Why ?
You will opt for fundamental change when you:
Want huge improvement in a short time
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Think that present condition is not worth preserving (you don't like it!)
Are willing to take risk for a good return

By whom ?
Led in many cases by outsiders ( CEO, Consultants )
Why ? Because
No attachment or sympathy
Professionals with mercenary attitudes
Hope to get quick results, and good records for themselves
Usually hopping company to company and don't pay attention to long term results

(C) Managing change having regard to urgency and degree of resistance

Factors of Change
Urgency
Resistance
(Extensive: large in area or amount)
(Persuasive: present or felt everywhere)
(Coercive: be force sb to do sth)
(Visionary:
(Charismatic: power to inspire devotion and enthusiasm)
(Dictatorial: ruler who has complete power in a country)

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Question - 2
Give the brief description of the following;
a. Drivers of the organizational change
b. Ways to reduce resistance
c. How people respond to change.
(20 marks)
a. Drivers of Change
(SPDC TC)
Shareholders
Privatization
Demographics
Customers
Technology
Competition
b. Ways to reduce resistance
The first step to reduce the resistance is to understand it
Participation
Ownership of decisions
Minimized overlooking of issue
Well planned
Communication
Everyone understand the factors
The reasons
Degree of urgency
Plans and so on
Training
Change requires
New skills
New knowledge
New abilities
Training is part of implementation
c. How people respond to change

Leaders
The implementers who believe in the change and puts in considerable effort to ensure its
successful implementation.
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Final Exam Q&A

Usually, such people will apply some of the concepts of transformational leadership to motivate
others to aid the change process.

Followers
Faith in their leader, rather than any particular faith in the change itself.
If the boss thinks its right, thats good enough for me.
Those who see the change as less important than their career in the organization.
They do their best to make the change work, because they want to be seen to be making the
change work.
The danger is that they may not see the less obvious things that need to be done, such as
retraining.
Pretender
Agrees with the strategy but does not put in more than a token effort to make it work
Pretends to be working on it.
The reasons they usually give:
lack of time
adverse effect
the reward drives
The danger is that only some of the steps for successful implementation will be taken, but
because there is agreement about the appropriateness of the change this may go undetected for
some time.
Dissenter
Actively work against successful implementation
At worst sabotaging the change
At best doing nothing to implement it.
Dissent may arise from a certainty that
they have got it wrong,
a belief that time should be directed to more important areas, or
total resentment that the change will have personal disadvantages.
Many dissenters work in secret, and either do not voice their opposition when given the
opportunity by never giving the chance to do so.
Response Cycle of Change
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Denial (This cannot be happening)

Resistance (I am not going to take this!)
Acceptance (Well, whats the use?)
Exploration (Maybe I can make this work)
Commitment (Lets go for it!)

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Question 3
There is a big difference between what management people want their companies to be and what
really happens there. Would you enumerate (name one by one) them and explain one of them in
detail with appropriate examples.
(20) marks
Management wants their organization to be.
What really happening.

(Lean: healthy
Nimble: able to move quickly and neatly
Flexible: easily changed
Responsive: quick to react to something
Competitive: eager to compete
Innovative: creating new idea, methods, make changes, introduce new things
Efficient: able to work well; producing good results)
We will now briefly discuss about how competitive is important for an organization.
Todays management must expect change as well as to be competitive for the organization externally and
internally.
Blizzard of information, blossoming market opportunities, a multi-hued work force, and hot competition
combine to challenge organization to adapt in order to thrive and grow.
To be competitive in the business world, the organization needs to consider on the factors of cutting edge
advantages on:
1. Low cost
2. Differentiation of goods and services
3. Continuous improvement
4. Empowerment
5. Open and sharing information
6. Advanced information technology

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Final Exam Q&A

Question 4
Explain what reengineering is and discuss its distinguished philosophy and concepts. Describe what
companies need reengineering with appropriate examples.
(20 marks)
REENGINEERING
It is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic
improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance such as cost, quality, service, and speed.
KEYWORDS
Fundamental Rethinking
Why we do what we do? Why we do the way we do?
Reengineering begins with no assumptions or no givens.
It ignores on what is and concentrates on what should be.
Radical (Latin: Radix > Root) Redesign
Business Reinvention. NOT improvement, enhancement, or business modification
Dramatic Improvements
Quantum leaps in performance; not marginal or incremental
Business Processes
a collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is
of value to the customers.
Characteristics of Reengineering
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Several jobs are combined into one

Workers make decisions
The steps in the process are performed in a natural order
Processes have multiple versions
Work is performed where it makes the most sense
Checks and controls are reduced
Reconciliation is minimized
A case manager provides a single point of contact
Hybrid centralized-decentralized operations are prevalent

Who uses reengineering?

Companies that find themselves in deep trouble. They have hit the wall and are lying injured
on the ground.
Companies not yet in trouble but their management has the foresight to see trouble coming.
Cruising along at high speed, but something rushing towards them in their head lamps.
Companies in peak condition but are ambitious and aggressive. Out for a drive on a clear
afternoon and decided to stop and build a wall for the other guys.

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Question 5
Describe TEN causes of failure in reengineering effort which you think are the most importance to
avoid out of many. Explain one selected cause in detail.
(20 marks)
Common causes of reengineering failure
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)
17)
18)

Try to fix a process instead of changing it

Fail to focus on business processes
Ignore everything except process redesign
Neglect peoples values and beliefs
Settle for minor results
Quit too early
Inappropriate corporate culture and management attitudes
Bottom up approach
Assign to someone lack of capability
Skimp on the resources
Bury reengineering in the middle of the corporate agenda
Dissipate/Disperse energy across many projects
Reengineering by Conservative Leader
Fail to distinguish reengineering from other business improvement programs
Concentrate exclusively on design
Make reengineering happen without making anybody happy
Pull back when people resist making reengineering changes
Drag the effort out too long

Neglect peoples values and beliefs

People need some reason to perform well within the reengineered processes.
It isnt enough simply to put new processes in place;
Manager must motivate employees to rise the challenge of these processes by supporting the new values
and belief the process demand.
Management must pay attention to what goes in peoples heads as well as what happens on their desks.
Changes that require shifts in attitude are not easily accepted.
New management systems must cultivate the required values by rewarding behavior that exhibits them.
But senior manager must also give speeches about these new values, as well as demonstrate their
commitment to them by their personal behavior.

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Final Exam Q&A

Question 6
Discuss who and how people of organization should involve in reengineering business processes.
Describe tasks and responsibilities of people or team involved in implementation.
(20 marks)
Who will reengineer?
The leader appoints the process owner, who convenes a reengineering team to reengineer the
process, with the assistant from the czar and under the auspices of the steering committee.
The followings are roles and the people who play them in more details.

Leader: a senior executive who authorizes and motivates the overall reengineering effort
1. Leader makes it happen.
2. A senior executive with enough clout; self-nominated and self-appointed role; seized by a
passion to reinvent the company, to make the organization the best in the business.
3. Visionary and motivator: invest everyone with purpose and sense of mission.
4. Create new visions, set new standards and achieve breakthroughs.
5. Makes clear to everybody that reengineering requires great effort that will see it through to its
end.
6. Appoints senior managers as process owners.
7. Encourages so that people break the rules, defy the received wisdom, and think out of the
box.
8. Prevents those involved from being blocked.
9. Role of leader is normally taken by COO, not CEO.
10. Does not coerce but articulates a vision & persuades people in order that they want to become
part of it.
11. Leader must have authority
12. Resides further up in the hierarchy
13. Leader demonstrates leadership by:
Signals
Leader sends explicit messages about what it means, why we do, how we will do and
what it will take.
Symbols
Actions leader performs to reinforce the content of signals
Lives by his or her words
Assigns best and brightest, rejects incremental plans, remove obstacles
Systems
Measure and reward peoples performance
14. Tolerance for failure of good ideas. Never punish failures. Motorola celebrates noble failures.
15. Sometimes Culture Resists Change. Cultivate environment in which reengineering is
possible.
16. Expressions: The perfect is the enemy of the good; Burned the bridges; Retreat Forward
17. On reengineering per se, leader needs not spend more than a small percentage of his/her time
on doing project reviews and making oratory speeches supporting the reengineering effort
18. But reengineering consciousness and objectives should underlie everything he or she does.
19. Most reengineering failures come from breakdowns in leadership
20. If no leader steps forward
21. They must get a leader on board
22. Create a sense of urgency in his or her mind
23. Introduce the idea of reengineering so that the leader embraces it as his or her own
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Final Exam Q&A

24. No other individual involved in reengineering is so important as the leader. The leader is a
key person.

Process Owner: a manager with responsibility for a specific process and the reengineering
effort focused on it
a. Responsible for a specific individual process
b. Should be a senior manager designated by leader
c. Usually individuals who manage one of the functions involved in the process that will
undergo reengineering
d. Process Owners are
i. Comfortable to change
ii. Tolerant of ambiguity and serene in adversity
e. His job is not to do reengineering but to see that it gets done
f. He forms a reengineering team
g. To obtain resources, interfere with bureaucracy
h. His job continues even when reengineering project is completed (Business Process itself
resumes organizational structure)

Reengineering Team: a group of individuals dedicated to the reengineering of a particular

process, who diagnose the existing process and oversee its redesign and implementation

They are the actual workers of reengineering who:

produce ideas and plans
and actually reinvent the business
Reengineers one process at a time with a size of 5 to 10 people.
Insiders
Currently working in the process undergoing reengineering.
The best and the brightest-rising stars
Outsiders
May be from outside of the company (consulting firms) or
Inside where people with process orientation and innovation bent tend to
congregate such as engineering, IS, marketing
Internal and external (2:1 or 3:1 with insider)
Process Owner is the client not the boss
Insiders and outsiders dont mix easily
Contention and conflict prevails but toward a common end
Reengineering teams must be self-directed
Teams need to work in one place
Members must be comfortable with ambiguity, make mistakes and to learn from them
Conventional Organization tries to find right answer the first time endless
planning, flawless execution
Reengineering team goes through iterative learning and invents a new way of
performing work
There is no official head
Helpful to have a team captain First Among Equals
Captain serves as facilitator, quartermaster, attend to administrative details
75% of the time is needed, if not 100%
Members stay at least through implementation of the 1 st pilot test 1 yr

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Change Management
Final Exam Q&A

Steering Committee: a policy-making body of senior managers who develop the

organizations overall reengineering strategy and monitor its progress

Optional aspect
swear by it or live without it
Collection of senior managers including Process owners
Leader chairs the committee

Reengineering Czar: an individual responsible for developing reengineering techniques and

tools within the company and for achieving synergy across the companys separate
reengineering projects

Leaders Chief of Staff

Enabling, supporting and coordinating all ongoing reengineering activities
Watchful eye on process owners to keep them on track as they proceed through
reengineering
Has prior reengineering experience
Roles: 1) enabler/supporter 2) coordinator
They shouldnt become too controlling

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Final Exam Q&A

Question 7
What happens to the organization after reengineering its business processes? Describe changes that
take place in managers of the organization.
(20 marks)
What happens after reengineering?
1. Work Units Change
(Functional Department to Process Team)
2. Jobs Change
(Simple Tasks to Multidimensional Work)
3. Peoples Roles Change
(From Controlled to Empowered)
4. Job Preparation Changes
(From Training to Education)
5. Focus of Performance Measures and Compensation Shifts
(From Activity to Results)
6. Advancement Criteria Changes
(From Performance to Abilities)
7. Values Change
(From Protective to Productive)
8. Managers Change
(From Supervisors to Coaches)
9. Organizational Structures Change
(From Hierarchical to Flat)
10. Executives Change
(From Storekeepers to Leaders)
Managers change

Coaches
give advice
help solve problems
though not in action, they are close enough to assist the team in its work
Managers have to switch to acting as
Facilitators
Enablers
People whose jobs are the development of people and their skills, so that those people
will be able to perform value-adding processes themselves
Traditional Practice
The only way to go higher up is to become a manager
Managing is more important than working
Anybody who does well as a worker can manage
Managing is a particular skill
Little correlation between excelling in a work skill and being a good manager
Managers in reengineered company need
Strong interpersonal skills
Have to take pride in accomplishments of others
To be a mentor
To provide resources
To answer questions
To look long-term career development the individual
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Final Exam Q&A

Question 8
Define leadership and discuss whether leaders are born or made and whether leaders or managers
can achieve their goals without the assistance of others.
(20 marks)
Leadership is defined as:
Communicating to people,
their worth and potential,
so clearly that,
they come to see it,
in themselves
Are Leaders Born or Made?

Both
Some characteristics like IQ and energy are innate
Some like self-confidence, trying something, getting it wrong and learning from it, or getting it
right and gaining self-confidence to do it again only better can be learned

Leaders
Can only exist and accomplish extraordinary goals because of supportive followers!
Both need each other to achieve the groups vision and established mission
Leadership
Can be best understood by turning the coin over and studying followership.
Why do people follow leaders? If we can understand this, then we will be a long way down the
road to creating those followers and hence becoming an effective leader.
People don't just follow anyone.
You can't just say 'follow me' and expect people to follow out of the goodness of their hearts.
You have to give them good reason for them to follow you.
Bottom Line
The best leaders know how to follow.
We must all learn to follow before we can lead.
Management or Leadership
Leadership

Management

Doing the right things

Coping with change
A sense of movement
Concerned with what things mean to people
Architects
Creation of a common vision

Doing things right

Coping with complexity
Maintaining order and organization
Concerned with how things get done
Builders
Controlling

Contrasts
Leadership
People

Management
Things
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Change Management
Final Exam Q&A

Spontaneity
Empowerment
Effectiveness
Programmer
Investment
Transformation
Direction
Purposes
Principles
Is the ladder against the right wall?

Structure
Control
Efficiency
Program
Expense
Transaction
Speed
Methods
Practices
Climbing the ladder first

*** END ***

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