Process Narratives
Have several advantages over more traditional (quantitative, statistical) research methods.
- They tell us about the context, give us a sense of the whole, a broader frame of reference;
-Complexity can be expressed within a coherent sequence of events;
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Narrative Knowing
Approach that Process Narratives are based on.
Process Theories
Because stories can reveal the mechanisms or logics behind a sequence of events, the are process theories.
Story of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Five Factors That Explain Success of this Corporate Turnaround
1. The sense of urgency, the "burning platform", created deliberately by the new chief executive, who was open with a ll staff about true position concerning the hospital's finances.
2. Focus that was consistently maintained on improving the quality and s
Story of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: How would you describe Paul Levy's role and contributions to this turnaround?
-"Creating the environment" that enabled others to do good work.
- Insisted on transparency
- Consistency of purpose, focus on quality and safety of patient care which were issues that engaged and motivated clinical staff.
- Innovative use of the internet
Story of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: What insights does this story have to offer concerning the role of the change leader?
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Story of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: What lessons about managing organizational change can we take from this experience and apply to other organizations, in healthcare and in other sectors? Or, are the lessons unique to Beth Israel Deaconess Med
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Sears Holdings Story: How would you describe Eddie Lampert's leadership style?
Transformational, highly intelligent and decisive. Innovative, clear and interesting vision for future.
Bad: autocratic leader, did not consider views of others.
Sears Holdings Story: How would you asses his approach to implementing major organization change -- in this case restructuring the whole company with a new model?
Should have exhibited "behavioral flexibility
J.C. Penny Story: What aspects of Ron Johnson's turnaround strategy were appropriate, praiseworthy?
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J.C. Penny Story: What mistakes did Ron Johnson make?
- Ignoring company's traditional core customers (most serious mistake) Lack of customer knowledge led to disastrous marketing and merchandising strategies that alienated customers without attracting new shoppers.
- Allowed to team of "outsiders" to distan
J.C. Penny Story: What would you suggest he could have done differently?
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Tension
When two or more ideas are in opposition to each other
Paradox
When two or more apparently correct ideas contradict each other
Advice on organizational change can be difficult to access and absorb for three reasons:
Multiple Perspectives
Conceptual Spread
Fluid Boundaries
Rich History
Varied Settings
Multiple Perspectives
-Most Significant of these properties of literature.
-There are contributions from several different schools, academic disciples, and theoretical perspectives -- there are several literatures.
Conceptual Spread
The concepts that are used range in scale, from whole schools of thought or perspectives, through methodologies, to single tools.
Fluid Boundaries
Depending on the definitions of change and change management in use, the boundaries of the topic vary between commentators.
Rich History
Interesting and useful contributions date from the 1940s, and recent work has not necessarily made previous commentary irrelevant.
Varied Settings
As with out stories, evidence and examples come from a range of organization types and contexts, using different methodologies.
What works? Difficult to provide answer to this question for three reasons:
Many Variables
Slippery Causality
Many Stakeholders
Many Variables
Even with simple changes, the impact is multidimensional, and measuring "effectiveness" has to capture all of the factors to produce a complete picture.
Slippery Causality
It is difficult to establish cause and effect clearly across complex processes that unfold over time, usually at the same time as lots of other changes.
Many Stakeholders
Different stakeholders have different views of the nature of the problem, the appropriate solution, and the desirable outcomes -- whose measures to use?
Change more widely accepted when?
When there is a "sense of urgency" which can be in form of:
- burning platform: heightens anxiety & encourages escape
- burning ambition: encourages confronting and solving the problem
What works depends on context. What works well in one setting may not work well in another.
Change is a rational process; we know what kinds of issues need to be taken into account.
Change is a creative process; it is always necessary to design - to create -- an approach that is consistent with local circumstances.
Transformational Change, or Sweat the Small Stuff?
When faced with geopolitical, economic, demographic, sociocultural, and technological developments, most organization think deep transformational change. (JC Penny & Sears)
Minor changes should not be overlooked. Hospital story demonstrates how an initiat
Systematic Tools, or Messy Political Process?
Systematic tools are only part of the answer of how to do it and how to get it right. Change is not only a rational and creative process, it is a political process. Organizations are political systems, and this must be taken into account.
Organizational Capabilities, or Personal Skills?
In Beth Israel story, hospital formed by mergers of two organizations; one with a casual structure and the other with a rules-based, top down management structure. These differing organizational capabilities need to be taken into account to understand the
Rapid Change, or the Acceleration Trap?
Dilemma of how fast to move. Don't want to move too fast; rapid change can cause problems.
Change Leader, or Distributed Leadership?
It is often assumed that change needs a champion who sets direction and inspires others. However in most organizations, change is not a solo performance, it is a team effort. Usually a "guiding coalition" of senior managers. "Distributed leadership" "Lead
Learning Lessons, or Implementing Lessons?
Passive learning (identifying lessons)
Active learning (implementing change)
Latter does not automatically follow.
Success is not guaranteed by following a set of guidelines for two main reasons:
1. A change process is a task with both technical and creative components; blending these components can in many circumstances be a challenging business involving much trial and error.
2. What works depends on organizational context, which is not stable b