Success and Failure in Organizational Change - 14750 Words

To cite this article: Bernard Burnes Philip Jackson (2011): Success and Failure In Organizational Change: An Exploration of the Role of Values, Journal of Change Management, ABSTRACT One of the most remarkable aspects of organizational change efforts is their low success rate. There is substantial evidence that some 70% of all change initiatives fail. This article explores the argument that a potentially signiï ¬ cant reason for this is a lack of alignment between the value system of the change intervention and of those members of an organization undergoing the change. In order to test this assertion, the article begins by reviewing the change literature with regard to the impact of values on success and failure. It then examines Graves’†¦show more content†¦However, the problem with such explanations is that implicitly or explicitly they assume that there is a ‘one best way’ to manage change and that failure arises from not adhering to it (Burnes, 1996). Confusingly, there are quite a few ‘one best way’ approaches to change (Collins, 1998; By, 2005). For example, Kanter (Kanter et al., 1992) offered her 10 com mandments for successful change, Pugh (1993) has his four principles of change and Kotter (1996) put forward his eight-step model. Two, however, have stood out from the rest. From the 1950s to the 1970s, organization development (OD) tended to be seen as the best way to manage change (French and Bell, 1999; Cummings and Worley, 2005). In the 1980s and 1990s, the emergent/processual approach came to dominate the ï ¬ eld, at least among academics (Dawson, 1994; Orlikowski, 1996; Weick, 2000). Nevertheless, in recent years there has been a growing recognition that one or even two approaches to change cannot cover the vast variety of change situations (Storey, 1992; Stickland, 1998; Pettigrew, 2000; Burnes, 2009a). As Dunphy and Stace (1993, p. 905) argued: . . . managers and consultants need a model of change that is essentially a ‘situational’ or ‘contingency’ model, one that indicates how to vary change strategies to achieve ‘optimum ï ¬ t’ with the changing environment. Downloaded byShow MoreRelatedJohn Kotters Eight Stage Change Model1284 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract This paper discusses John Kotter’s Eight-Stage Change Model and how it can be used as a guide when implementing change within an organization. The roles of various stakeholders including senior and emerging leaders, managers and employees throughout the eight stages are defined. In addition, factors which can contribute to a failed organization change initiative are discussed. Transforming an organization from a sub-optimizing enterprise of independently functioning departments toRead MoreOrganizational Culture And Human Behavior1323 Words   |  6 PagesA major factor of a project’s success is the behavior of the employees. 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