Research implementation

Lecture 4: Diagnosing for Change and strategy I – making sense of change and models of change managementCarl Thompson

Lecture aims

To understand the concept of change in relation to research implementation

To understand some models of managing change in the context of implementation

What do we mean by change?

Planned change deliberate, conscious, rational social

action

Emergent change Spontaneous, unplanned (Mintzberg,

1989)

So…

Identify explore and challenge assumptions underpinning decisions

Facilitation and change Control/isolation from uncertainty

Organisational change is not fixed or linear, but contains an important emergent element!

Episodic vs continuous change

Episodic Infrequent, discontinuous, intentional. Also

known as radical or 2nd order replacing one program or strategy with another

Continuous change Ongoing, evolving, cumulative. Also known as 1st

order or incremental change. Constant adaptation and editing of ideas – critical mass develops if enough people involved.

Change and scope: Developmental Change

Improvement of existing situation

Transitional change

Implementation of a known new state management of the interim transition state over a controlled period of time

Transformational change

Emergence of a new state, unknown until it takes shape, out of the remains of the chaotic death of the old state; time period hard to control (Ackerman 1997)

Change and Systems Thinking

Explores properties of the whole (rather than component parts) Elements connected together to form a

whole – possesses unique properties (as a whole system)

Closed systems – autonomous and independent

Open systems – material, energy and information exchange (Checkland 1981; Senge 1990)

So….

System is made up of related and interdependent parts, so that any system must be viewed as a whole

Cannot view a system in isolation from its environment

Systems in equilibrium will only change if some type of energy is applied

Players within the system have views on system purpose and function, each person’s view may be different.

NHS Plan

Requires that the NHS becomes an organisation able to embrace continuous, emergent change

Need models for Dx the ‘organisation’ which are useful for understanding and intervening in particular circumstances

Models and change questions

How can we understand complexity, interdependence and fragmentation?

Why do we need to change? Who and what can change? (next

week) How can we make change happen?

(next week)

How can we understand complexity, interdependence and fragmentation?

Weisbord’s 6 box organisational model 7s model 5 whys Content, context and process model Soft systems methodology Process modelling

Process flow Influence diagrams

Why do we need to change?

SWOT

Weisbord’s 6 box model

7S model

5 whys

Content Context Process

Soft systems

Process mapping

Influence diagrams

Decision trees vs influence diagrams