BRIEF HISTORY OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Four distinct eras mark the evolution and growth of the change management discipline:

A. Pre-1990s: Foundations
Academics begin to understand how humans and human systems experience
change.

1. Arnold Van Gennep (1909)

Van Gennep was a cultural anthropologist studying rites of passage around
the globe. He introduced change as happening in three states: separating
from our current state, moving through a transition, and reincorporating into a
future state (examples include adolescence, marriage, and parenthood).

2. Kurt Lewin (1948)

A social psychologist, Lewin introduced three states of change – unfreezing,
moving, and refreezing – as well as force field analysis.
3. Richard Beckhard (1969)
4. Beckhard was a pioneer in organization development and defined the
discipline as “an effort (1) planned, (2) organization-wide, and (3) managed
from the top, to (4) increase organization effectiveness and health through (5)
planned interventions in the organization’s ‘processes,’ using behavioral-
science knowledge.”

• William Bridges (1979)

Speaker, author, and consultant, Bridges described the states of a transition as

the ending, the neutral zone, and the new beginning.

2. 1990s: On the radar

Change management enters the business vernacular

• General Electric (early 1990s)

As a recognized world leader, GE introduced the Change Acceleration Process as part

of its larger improvement program.

• Daryl Conner (1992)

In his seminal work Managing at the Speed of Change, Conner provided invaluable
insights on numerous change concepts and topics.

• Todd Jick (1993)

Jick’s Managing Change: Cases and Concepts included topical case studies and a
chapter titled “Implementing Change” in which he shed light on the common pitfalls and
introduced his Ten Commandments of Implementing Change.
• Jeanenne LaMarsh (1995)

LaMarsh’s work Changing the Way We Change developed concepts around the
importance of the ability to change, the mitigation of resistance and the enabling
frameworks for supporting change.

• John Kotter (1996)

First in an Harvard Business Review article and later in his book Leading Change,
Kotter described eight change failure modes and subsequent steps to address them.

• Spencer Johnson (1998)

Johnson’s Who Moved my Cheese? presents readers with a parable that addresses
how people can deal with the changes happening around them and to them.

3. 2000s: Formalization

Additional structure and rigor codify change management as a discipline

• Processes and tools

Building on the underlying understandings and concepts that had been laid,
practitioners began building and applying more rigorous structure to the work of change
management, including more robust and repeatable processes and enhanced tools to
support consistent application.

• Positions and job roles

Organizations began creating specific jobs with a sole focus on applying change
management on projects and initiatives (with significant growth since 2010).

• Organizational functions

Organizations began establishing and resourcing functions and structures to support

change management application across the enterprise (such as a Change Management
Office, Center of Excellence, or Community of Practice).

4. Going forward

Individual professional development and enhanced growth of organizational maturity

emerge.

• Front 1: continued incorporation and collaboration with related disciplines

• Front 2: increased focus on building organizational change capability

• Front 3: individual professional development of change professionals

Elements/Components of Management Process

The essential elements/components of Management

Process are four which are actually basic functions of management:

Planning

Planning is the primary function of management. It involves determination of a course of action to

achieve desired results/objectives. Planning is the starting point of management process and all other
functions of management are related to and dependent on planning function. Planning is the key to
success, stability and prosperity in business. It acts as a tool for solving the problems of a business unit.
It helps to visualize the future problems and keeps management ready with possible solutions.

Organizing

Organizing means bringing the resources (men, materials, machines, etc.) together and use them
properly for achieving the objectives. Organization is a process as well as it is a structure. Organizing is a
means arranging ways and means for the execution of a business plan. It provides suitable
administrative structure and facilitates execution of proposed plan. Organizing involves
departmentalization, establishing span of control, delegation of authority, and establishment of
superior-subordinate relationship and provision of mechanism for co-ordination of various business
activities.

Directing

Directing deals with guiding and instructing people to do the work in the right manner. Directing is the
responsibility of managers at all levels. They have to work as leaders of their subordinates. Clear plans
and sound organization set the stage but it requires a manager to direct and lead his men for achieving
the objectives. It involves raising the morale of subordinates. It also involves communicating, leading
and motivating. Leadership is essential on the part of managers for achieving organizational objectives.

Controlling

Controlling involves three broad aspects: (a) establishing standards of performance, (b) measuring work
in progress and interpreting results achieved, and (c) taking corrective actions, if required. Managers
have to exercise effective control in order to bring success to a business plan. Controlling is a continuous
activity of a supervisory nature.
We may add some more elements in the management process as follows:

Motivating

Motivating is the process through which a manager motivates his men to give their best to the
Organization. It means to encourage people to take more interest and initiative in the work assigned.
Organizations prosper when the employees are motivated through special efforts including provision of
facilities and incentives. Motivation is actually inspiring and encouraging people to work more and
contribute more to achieve organizational objectives. It is a psychological process of great significance.

Co-coordinating

Effective coordination and also integration of activities of different departments are essential for orderly
working of an Organization. A manager must coordinate the work for which he is accountable.
Coordination is essential at all levels of management. It gives one clear-cut direction to the activities of
individuals and departments. It also avoids misdirection and wastages and brings unity of action in the
Organization.

Staffing

Staffing refers to provision of manpower for the execution of a business plan. Staffing involves
recruitment, selection, appraisal, remuneration and development of personnel. The need of staffing
arises in the initial period and also from time to time for replacement and also along with the expansion
and diversification of business activities. Every business unit needs efficient, stable and cooperative staff
for the management of business activities. Manpower is the most important asset of a business unit. In
many organizations, manpower planning and development activities are entrusted to personnel
manager or HRD manager. Right man for the right job' is the basic principle in staffing.

Communicating

Communication is necessary for the exchange of facts, opinions, ideas and information between
individual and departments. In an organization, communication is useful for giving information,
guidance and instructions. Managers should be good communicators. They have to use major portion of
their time on communication in order to direct, motivate and co-ordinate activities of their
subordinates.  People think and act collectively through communication. According to Louis Allen,
"Communication involves a systematic and continuing process of telling, listening and understanding".