For this seminar read Senior Chapters 7 and 8

Hard & soft systems models of change (HSMC and SSMC)

The hard system approach to change

• stages to go through, situation analysis and option evaluation.
• It abounds with the necessity of articulating performance measures which may be agreed and set and against which progress can subsequently be evaluated by the change team and the "owner-evaluators".
• It results in lists of things to do - to guide implementation. It is concerned with applying "everything-will-be-under-control-with-costs-benefits-and-outcomes clear" considerations to the complex "lets-do-it" situations.

What kind of techniques and methods may be categorised as "hard" edged?

Consider the following list:

project teams and work allocations; change with project information systems; detailed estimates, plans, critical paths and resource allocations; cash flows; constraints, active client-server participation; computer systems support; deadlines, task groups and work allocations and physical implementation with conversion activities parallel running or straight cut-over (Senior uses the term 'big bang' p. 283 for the latter).

and

At this point, rather than distilling the brisk, summary picture that Senior uses to illustrate a "hard system" approach to change, it is much better that you read Chapter 7 of her book and weigh up

• the content and processes of the description-options-implementation phases she describes (pp. 277). Think of an organisational change you have experienced recently and, using these phase titles as headings, write brief notes of what occured in the phases of the actual change you observed.
• evaluate the problems of using the reductivist approach (breaking a whole into its sub-parts and then these into their sub-sub-parts etc until the elementary part e.g. atom is reached) to objectives setting as suggested by Senior's 'objectives tree' (Figure 1 pp. 279). What difficulties arise in defining and implementing a management by objectives approach.
• consider the aide-memoires, diagrams, objectives and measures, objectives and option, themes and comments lists that Gerry uses in Senior's Financial Savings case (pp. 284-293).

• how far are these methods just a personal method of 'keeping' things clear and trying to make progress by compartmentalising a complex situation, breaking it down so that it is manageable
• could the forms be "published" in a guidebook and featured in a "how to manage change" training course. What problems of learning and adaptation might others encounter in trying to use Gerry's methods?
• What specific, hard and technical techniques e.g. associated with accounting and control and not explicitly referenced in the Gerry, Financial Savings case, will underpin Gerry's practice in trying to minimise the risks and uncertainties in the case?

Shire County

Senior offers a further case, that of Shire County (p.294) and to show how issues and relationships may be mapped for such a case demonstrates the use of causal-loop diagramming (p.295) and a hierarchy of objectives. Read the case and then complete the following exercise.

---

Revisit the Brun Security case study and for the Installations area of the company's operations, generate a causal-loop diagram and objectives hierarchy.

---

Other 'hard systems' management techniques

There are many other 'hard systems management techniques' which whilst not expressly related to change nevertheless will be adopted to structure and support major change efforts. These will be used typically where particular effort is needed to secure certainty and control. Government and European Union projects for example require the project contractors to demonstrate that every aspect of a project contract is planned and documented and that project inputs, expenditures and results are auditable with full documentation being available for European Union monitors to inspect. If the project has not achieved its objectives or expenditures deviate from the plan then project contractors may be penalised. This applies to all European Union funded development projects for example Phare and Tempus projects taking place in the Newly Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union for which project funding may range from €300,000 to €3 million. Similarly research programmes agreed under the European Union's Framework 6 initiative are subject to imperatives of planning, progress reporting, scheduling and expenditure controls, accountability and auditability.

The strictures of the funding authorities (governments) are a real reminder that large, devolved projects experience major problems of overshooting their agreed budgets and not achieving the results that programme leaders said they could achieve or were required to achieve. This illustrates significant problems of commissioning large scale project-based change involving building works or distributed development programmes that may hit problems or go round in vague circles with the commissioners of the project not being able to control what is taking place and those undertaking the project not being able to demonstrate what they have actually achieved. As Joseph II of Austria (and Holy Roman Emperor), a man who throughout this reign sought major governmental and structural changes, had recorded on his gravestone,

In Memorium Joseph II of Austria (Holy Roman Emperor) 1741-1790
	Here lies Joseph, who failed in all he undertook. RIP

The data and information problems of managing large change projects where the hard, tangible, technical, action elements are clear. The following resources offer an overview of some of these.

• management by objectives
• zero-based budgeting
• logical framework matrix
• project planning and critical path analysis
• structured systems methodology

These methods have to be learnt. The steps, recording methods and formulaic routines are applied. All developers and change agents in the project team have to follow and apply the rules. They provide a set of 'house standards' which are applied to coordinate, define and progress-chase' how the project is progressing, the change is proceeding.

Recap

Hard systems methods are more likely to be used by technically oriented managers for technical situations e.g. market research, management and financial accounting, project engineering etc. As stepped and defined activity methods they bring clarity and certainty to 'messy management' . The methods are more 'mechanical and procedural' aiming to prescribe what to do first, second etc and to differentiate the wheat from the chafe ensuring manageable implementation of action with performances (inputs of resources and measurable, predefined outputs) being visible/transparent.

Those who make the investment in the change programme and those who are the implementors "should" (a word which has hard expectations associated with it) be then able to say "we achieved what we were asked or set out to achieve and here is the evidence that it has been done, it works and it has proved to give value for money".

SSMC: Soft systems approaches

This seminar relies on you having read Barbara Senior's 2002 Chapter 8 which discusses a soft systems perspective on organisational change.

As was asserted earlier, the HSMC/SSMC split is a common but not such a straightforward classification but it has uses in extending our understanding of the practicalities of engaging in organisational change and evaluating the methods we might use.

Senior in Chapter 8 returns to the 'soft complexity' problems of managing change that may require a more people-sensitive, political, "touchy-feely", 'lets-open-up-on-our-tensions-and-values-and-aspirations' approach. We can equate this context with

• messy management
• the group working skills of the change agent and use of behavioural science, "organisational development" methods
• the social science research methodology that is called "action research"
• the political skills of the change agent
• the concept and efforts to realise the practice of a 'learning organisation'.

She recognises that hard change situations also have this soft side. Her reference to Ackoff's 'art and science of messy management' is significant

Messy management

Ackoff 1979 argues that managers seldom face problems that are independent of each other. They face messy, moving situations - complex systems of changing problems that interact and problems are defined by analysis from messes. ~They

• often have no simple solutions.
• management typically responds to the demands of (1) efficiency, (2) adaptation.
• efficiency tend to focus on short-term survival and improvement to routines, products and services
• adaptation addresses the longer-term ability to survive and is about learning replacing accepted strategies and knowledge with new .

Resolving issues, generating acceptable solutions and softening the opposition (dissolving) involves messy, political and satisficing (rather than optimising) processes.

Mintzberg describes the senior manager who has difficulty in absorbing lots of data, moving from meeting to meeting and who prefers conversation rather than the detail of hard, point-by-point analysis also have an element of reality and humanity here. He concludes that 'management science' does not necessarily hold sway in management decisions.

Ackoff suggests that whilst we may desire quantitative analysis to give clear cut answers, the human tendency is for qualitative valuation of positions based on past experience and hunch and preference. We have already examined Child's perspectives on the processes that underpin 'strategic choice' where such choice is a personal, interpreted 'construction' by a manager or managerial group, one that tends to justify decisions made even on a post hoc basic.

On top of this we can add the process of agenda generation and progression with its emphasis on points of opportunity to introduce and move agenda items along.

Whereas hard systems methods of 'messy management' are more associated with technical management and hard-edged tasks sequencing and managed performances evidenced by achievements and value for money", the difficulty is that many change situations are soft and unbounded. Senior summarises Ackoff's views in this regard and considers

• the role and behaviour of 'problem dissolvers' who seek to formulate and engender processes which open up examination of unbounded soft messy problems - where even agreement on what the problems are in the first place is not necessarily understood uniformly and whilst many will think they know what has to be done really do not as they have not addressed the whole picture because no one understands this yet.
• a soft systems picture (p. 299) with the systems problem (the change problem) being a "heap of rubbish" which is distinguishable by various smells but no one understands what is actually in the smelly mound. On-lookers may only see the material that lies on the surface not knowing who has thrown what into the mound over the years and what lies beneath. In a sense as well as a "rubbish heap" metaphor, the "can of worms" simile also comes to mind.

The soft systems, Ackoff "dissolving" approach is one which focuses on

• processes of opening up issues and
• engaging the participants who are both on and off the stage.

Group facilitation and sensing

• to examine their perceptions of the organisation's position and their relationships with each other.
• to anticipate, navigate through and influence their social environment in a way that would transcend the politics and overcome anxieties, interpersonal positioning, protectionist behaviour and vested interests. Turf wars could be left outside the supportive, organisational development environment. Participants in safety could rationalise the organisational situation and their position and that others within the scheme of things.

Thus 'group facilitators' on weighing up the 'group' situation could offer the group a range of structured or unstructured group working methods to enable the group to open up and work towards a consensus of understanding for both the content of the organisational changes and the processes of interpersonal relations that influenced it. Through group working group members could:

• to get in touch with their feelings, fears and perceptions of each other in ways that are helpful
• to share perceptions, understandings and ideas on problems
• increase the confidence the group members have with each other
• to resolve concerns openly with sensitivity and concern for a profound consensusof views

The problem with group dynamics techniques is that the sharing, toleration and sensitivity values that are encouraged are not the everyday values of the work place where interpersonal rivalries and group tensions are natural. The membership of the group frequently did not reflect the roles and relationships in the work place. There was a real problem of 'transfers of learning and values' back into the work place.

Talk-talk versus surgery

The danger of not securing the commitments of participants may be significant however. People act rationally - but they have their own assessment of what the causes are, the likely effects and the priorities. This is subjective rationality and a soft system change approach would seek to address the feelings, the differences in valuation and hopes and aspirations of those concerned.

The soft systems approach is concerned with process and it engages and enables expression of values which in cultural terms we would consider to be open, socially engaging and empowering - with respect for opinions and a desire not to impose solutions on people when they are not ready and do not feel able to accept and which, through their disquiet and disgruntlement, not it enthusiasm in adopting and may block.

Ends and means

Organisation Developers Tool kits

• emphasis on processes of sharing, participation and learning,
• improving participant sensitivities and interpersonal relations,
• trying to secure sustainable, long term change which emphasises the unitary values of empowerment and consensus
• top management demonstrating commitment to these values
• processes of group facilitation by behavioural science "knowledgeable" change agents. (Note the vested interests of behavioural scientists who promote soft systems interventions. They become 'developer-consultants' and may find employment in these roles and their advice once respected and valued takes on "guru" importance (see Huczynski on Gurus) in a sense legitimising and justifying their efforts with underpinning from the domain of human understanding that is referred to as 'the behavioural sciences'.
• systematic change processes - hence better control over change debates and directions but with a focus on navigating a steady way through a soup rather than having a precise istruction manual of how to do it with the application of this technique or that hard planning approach.

The proponents of the behavioural science, OD model state the obvious

• organisations and change are all about people (tell us something we don't know!)
• managers can get it wrong in the assumptions they make about people and so schemes generated may hit the reef and the ship suffers damage.
• People are the greatest asset. Their interest, support, excitement and engagement will add considerably to everything that we are trying to change

The propositions have substantial face value. Do we really need to continue researching and demonstrating the proof of such statements? However, in criticism of the OD school lets also recognise that without the maintenance of the fabric of the organisation, its existing products and services, its client/customer base, keeping its complex and usually well-founded technical systems and procedures going and working its financial assets to the full, it could not continue to exist. This is a harder edged view which needs to be constantly understood when considering the discursive, group and team consensus achievement, long-winded, belief in learning, often circular, looping, iterative process patterns and activities of the soft systems, organisational development approach.

This approach (see Senior p. 304) uses the abstracted notions of 'facilitating' change and addressing the 'systematic nature of organisational life' and the 'interconnectedness" of causes and consequences. There was little evidence that the group dynamics and interpersonal sensing of OD practitioners had any long term effect at all on managerial behaviour. As for interconnectedness - yes - everything is connected to everything else, organisational change situations are frequently messy and there is difficulty in analysing and decomposing the elements to obtain a clear view of what needs to be done and

As Senior points out, an OD approach will generally not give a 'quick fix'. As Sims, Mangham and Tuffield in their study of Organisation Development as an evolving profession also concluded that there is a danger with OD programmes of continuing to loop group examination processes with more and more meetings, contemplation and training. Such looping becomes a trap. The problems often where there is inability to secure top management committment to do anything. The analysis and facilitation group cannot get at the " real owners and powerful decision-makers" who have the resources to move the problem to resolution.

To those who believe in the ideal of 'participation and involvement', the recommendations and methods of the OD kit-bag are attractive. When faced with a demanding commercial and technical problem that must be addressed - they do not easily help. However the argument that an organisation that, through its long term processes of promoting a participative, empowering culture, through its adherence to OD principles and use of approaches which continue to facilitate and support the values on which participative organisation development is based - will succeed much better than those organisations which give little attention to the promotion of unitary and supportive organisational values.

The group dynamics approach to OD had no guaranteed methods for analysing the messy picture with all its external and internal variables to secure what Checkland refers to as "root definitions of the problems".

Checkland's rich picture building and soft systems methodology may be useful however for opening up and charting a messy, complex, large scale organisational situation where key participants are uncomfortable with its status, performance and movements and feel the need to revisit its constitutent elements and determinants.

---

Work with one or two course colleagues to draw a Checkland 'rich picture' (see Senior p.331) of the position of the human resource services function in the Brun Securities case situation. Use an A3 sheet of paper

---

The Learning Organisation

The learning organisation or company is one in which in terms of culture ('how we do things around here'), a learning process approach to change and adaptation is fostered. Senior summarises the position in stating that

"....single-loop learning is necessary as a means of monitoring the performance .... in relation to the objectives set .... However, single-loop or adaptive learning, which depends mainly on individualistic learning is not sufficient in situtations which require creative thinking or new vision ...."

Learning organisation thinking targets broader social, double loop or generative learning across the organisation - associated again with teams, collaborations and participations with a shared vision of directions (plus structures and infrastructures enabling this to happpen).

Those who describe the scene in a learning organisation would typically refer to people being

• proactive, anticipating events and making the trends,
• having and reflecting on new experiences
• experimenting and avoiding conformist behaviours that close down on risk, risk which still has to be managed but which may enable further opportunites to be realaised.
• Above all, those who have top responsibility need to facilitate and foster interest and excitement in learning - learning that is process, double-loop and generative in activity and outcome.

In pursuit of this model Senior summarises

• Lewin's stage or phase model of change: unfreezing, moving and refreezing.
• the action research model of change as an on-going but 'managed' process of
  • confrontation,
  • analysis and definition,
  • action engagement/experimentation,
  • review and evaluation
  • restatement and movement into the next research cycle

Her account of action research as a model or change enables her to review stages of

• diagnosis of current situations and trends and how visions and plans may be articulated
• how commitments to the reasons for change and the emergent vision and plans can be secured. In this regard, Pugh's principles are restated to reinforce the importance of sensitivity and skill in communicating the ideas, progress and decisions made in the change process activities.
• Groups, briefings, persuasions and negotiations take on great imprtance with opennes of information and trust in terms of what is commmunicated, to whom and why. both at group and indivudal levels
• change agent involvement and the openings, contributions and behaviours available to them in an organisational "action research" setting.

Having read Senior Chapter 8, review a substantial change in an organisational setting that you are familiar with. How did Pugh's principles (Senior p. 317) apply to this situation. What was the significance of the principles in application?

You may wish to add to these questions by undertaking Senior's Activity 8.4 p.317

Change Agent role demands and skills

As Senior points out, p. 319, when Selfridges the major London department store group embarked on their transformational changes, the leaders of the changes (as well as being change agents themselves) recruited a consultant to assist with the coordination and marshalling of all the efforts and activities that would go into the major change programmes. The picture of transformation leadership (Bass 1985) is evident here and it is worthy to point to Buchanan and Boddy's (1992 pp.92-3) descriptions of the competencies a good change agent would bring into play when engaging in their role, competencies which reflect their:

• goal orientation
• team and networking activities
• ability to cope with uncertainty and ambiguity
• personal skills of person-to-person interaction: listening, information gathering, empathy, representing others, meetings management, being positive, enthusiastic and generating feelings of motivation and commitment in others
• negotiating, selling and bringing difficult issues and tensions to the table and finding ways to resolve these
• awareness of the politics, the sensitive areas and power points, seeing and communicating the wider perspective and influencing scepticism and resistance by information and persuasion

Senior gives examples of various mapping methods including

• responsibility charting
• the Pugh OD matrix. This assists diagnosis and pointing to actions. It seeks to list behaviours, structures and content against different organisational levels and it 'forces' thinking about
  • what behaviour needs to change and for what groups,
  • what structural or systems changes are needed
  • what elements in the wider environment need to change?
  • Might it be good just to wait for movement in the wider environment and adapt to it as best we can or can we actively intervene to shape the rules and processes that operate there?
  
  
  

  Level	Behaviour - what is going on?	Structure - what structures and systems are needed?	Context - external and internal features
  Organisation	Start here and	Fill in observations, notes. Carify these and obtain agreement on the 'problem definition'
  Inter-group	Fill in observations, notes. Carify these and obtain agreement on the 'problem definition'
  Group
  Individual			Lovement from L-R columns suggests greater degrees of intervention and commitment

  After Pugh (as cited in Senior 2002)

  In terms of action planning, the criteria for formulating activities would include

  • their relevance and specificity
  • how well integrated the elements of the plan are
  • whether the sequence of activities is logical and chronological
  • whether, once the plan is moving, it is capable of adjustment when the unexpected occurs

  ---

  
  
  Revisit the Brun case study and complete a Pugh activity matrix for possible changes to the service and repair operations area.

  Use Beckhard and Harris' framework of organisational sub-systems (summarised in Senior p. 322) to elaborate your analysis of possible changes to the service and repair operations area. What are the current 'hurting' systems? What new teams and systems may be introduced? What temporary projects systems may enable management to move from the current Brun service and repair system to a longer term solution? How would an action research approach offer benefits.

  ---

  Various "techniques" have, over the years, been associated with the unfreezing and change phases of Lewin's OD approach. These include

  • survey feedback
  • group problem-solving and mediation (inter-group tensions reconciled with the assistance of a facilitator/mediator)
  • organisational mirroring
  • role negotiation and 'contracting'
  • team building
  • transactional analysis
  • life career planing

  However when we consider each of these we can see that

  • at best these will only be contributory
  • effort is required to keep them going and in a busy, fast moving organisational situation, participants in the activities may become frustrated, bored and tired of the method and critical that it does not really take them anywhere.
  • each method - is just what it is - a method or technique. Just as we may be determined to join a fitness club and persist with a fitness programme, we surcome to lapsing or are pressurised by other factors which distract our attention from 'what we know (in a masochistic sense) is good for us".

  Process consultation

  Senior includes process consultation in her list of techniques but it is worth of discussion in its own right as his ideas and recipes were very influential at the on-set of the organisational development movement in the 1970s. The essence of the process consultation approach is, as per Lewin, to:

  • unfreeze
  • move
  • refreeze

  Schein advocates the use of a third party consultant who is engaged by senior management to

  • work with individuals and groups to help them learn about their social interactive processes
  • to examine problems arising from this social interaction and find ways to resolve these
  • the process consultation actives will include
  • interventions of analyse and set agendas
  • gather observational data and promote feedback on it
  • coaching and counselling
  • evaluation of group membership matters and negotiating roles and personal contracts
  • examining modes of communication and interaction, understanding difficulties and finding ways to resolve these
  • team building including allocating responsibilities and authorities to act

  Above all the expectation is that the consultant is a facilitator and approaches the which engagement with process in a non-directive way - how - but giving summary observations to the group by way of feedback so that the group can evaluate 'how it is or appears to others' and by offering questions that encourage the group to take responsibility for analysis of their own issues and concerns and developing their own ways of tackling these

  ---

  
  
  How might Schein's process consultation approach offer promise but fail to deliver the goods?

  Why might it be difficult for the process consultant/facilitator to maintain a neutral, non-questioning, non-directive approach?

  What problems of "power" must be addressed in the Schein process consultation approach?

  ---

  Implementing Change

  Long term process and short term gains

  Senior summarises Kotters observations about the importance of securing short term gains as evidence that it is all worth it, to reward efforts and give recognition, to give pointers on fine-tuning and encourage maintenance of 'the momentum'. Such is the importance of rebutting sceptics and showing the boss that 'it is working' that short-termism may prevail. There is such urgency to have short term results that the time lines may be too short to enable these to properly manifest themselves. Those with short term time horizons become frantic to gather the statistics to shore up their position and avoid criticism.

  This is political and it becomes sub-optimal. Politicians, responsible and accountable to a wider public, subject to criticism by the media, with an eye to the next election or board meeting or annual report or news bulletin want short term gains that are visible and evidence/proof that improvement has resulted from all the effort and expenditure (which may run into millions).

  Target and short-term gain evaluation may indicate progress towards the long term vision. It may enable fine tuning to keep the positive gains moving in the same direction ("Its working - lets keep going"). Similarly it may prompt and timely intervention if things are not working as anticipated and hoped for. Thus we might use various techniques to assess progress

  • various kinds of audits/surveys
  • interviews
  • focus groups
  • analysis of staffing movements - gains and losses
  • use of performance statistics where these exist (information systems were put into place as part of the change effort to monitor progress)
  • where no formal performance monitoring systems are in place we may rely on conversations which give us a reasonably accurate picture that 'things are moving well'.

  Problems of long term follow through

  • Danger in not carrying it through deeply or far enough. If environmental crisis eases off. Move on to the next problem. The garbage can model of decision making.
  • If we want people to change there has to be supporting changes in other policies and procedures e.g. HR policies and activities rewards, training, job change - things that really work and help. Back room systems that support front of shop staff.
  • Key to it all is middle management and team leaders who bridge the decision makers at the top of the organisation and those at the shop-face. They need to be on board and fully supported so that they are committed to the changes in values and culture practices and behaviours. In terms of action research, they need to be involved in reviews, debriefings and briefings - involved in the hypothesis testing, evaluation and resetting processes.

  OD and the speed and realities of change

  OD models are naive about the supposed unfreezing and re-freezing stages.
  • Rapid, forced unfreezing destabilises and causes anxiety. Meetings to open up discussion and examine 'where we are now and what we are faced with' raise many questions and answers may not be immediately available.
  • People imagine where it may all led and reassurances may not ease the problems raised in peoples' vivid imaginations. Senior discusses these issues well on p.333. She points out the possibility of senior management using unfreezing activities to force a debate in ways that are confrontational and potentially destructive of the spirit and commitment which current organisational members have.

  Thus unfreezing activities may be threatening - yet the OD process consultation literature stresses the importance of the process being open, supportive, encouraging of flexibility and creativity.

  The OD effort may, introduce a new language and new imperatives of competitive and commercial analysis into the business's processes of discussion and programmes of action. From this angle a 'process method' is enacted. The power decision-makers thus push out a new agenda for change and action. Everything is cloaked in the language of participation but the underlying message is

  "We are going to change and we are going to change this way. "

  There may be a semblence of listening and we may modify how we implement the changes to be more sensitive and provide feedback but .... the messages of the unfreezing and moving and refreezing are those of evangelism. We must not be so naive to think that many of the movers behind a process consultation approach are neutral. The change effort is driven by the vision and ideas of others and what is essential is that the change effort is moved along briskly. It is bounded by time and this stage must be completed withing managerially defined time frames. There with the notion of refreezing that we completely underestimate how quickly people can adapt to the new behaviours and orientations required. Members of the organisation, as learners may need a slow, careful, consideration and learning based period to accommodate and adjust. They may easily be overwhelmed by and expectation of fast refreezing. The harsh external pressures however may be that environmental events are so fast moving that the people have not the time to change quickly enough.

  ---

  
  Read Senior's section on OD in the public sector (pp. 334-335) and with a colleague investigate and discuss

  • The US government's approach to securing change in the air-traffic control sector?
  • Margaret Thatcher's efforts as Prime Minister to introduce a 'pseudo-free-market' system in the National Health Service.
  • Government efforts to improve standards in schools by introducing performance appraisal and performance related pay for teachers.

  ---

  This document (© Chris Jarvis) was