FREE online courses on Change Management - The Change Process as Problem
Solving and Problem Finding - Approach to CM Mirrors Management Mindset
The emphasis placed on the three types of questions just
mentioned reflects the management mindset, that is, the tendency to think along
certain lines depending on where one is situated in the organization. A person's
placement in the organization typically defines the scope and scale of the kinds
of changes with which he or she will become involved, and the nature of the
changes with which he or she will be concerned. Thus, the systems people tend to
be concerned with technology and technological developments, the marketing
people with customer needs and competitive activity, the legal people with
legislative and other regulatory actions, and so on. Also, the higher up a
person is in the hierarchy, the longer the time perspective and the
wider-ranging the issues with which he or she must be concerned.
For the most part, changes and the change problems they
present are problems of adaptation, that is, they require of the organization
only that it adjust to an ever-changing set of circumstances. But, either as a
result of continued, cumulative compounding of adaptive maneuvers that were
nothing more than band-aids, or as the result of sudden changes so significant
as to call for a redefinition of the organization, there are times when the
changes that must be made are deep and far-reaching. At such times, the design
of the organization itself is called into question.
Organizations frequently survive the people who establish
them. AT&T and IBM are two ready examples. At some point it becomes the case
that such organizations have been designed by one group of people but are being
operated or run by another. (It has been said of the United States Navy, for
instance, that “It was designed by geniuses to be run by idiots.”) Successful
organizations resolve early on the issue of structure, that is, the definition,
placement and coordination of functions and people. Other people then have to
live with this design and these other people are chiefly concerned with means.
Some organizations are designed to buffer their core
operations from turbulence in the environment. In such organizations all units
fit into one of three categories: core, buffer, and perimeter. In core units
(e.g., systems and operations), coordination is achieved through
standardization, that is, adherence to routine. In buffer units (e.g., upper
management and staff or support functions), coordination is achieved through
planning. In perimeter units (e.g., sales, marketing, and customer service),
coordination is achieved through mutual adjustment (see Thompson). People in
core units, buffered as they are from environmental turbulence and with a
history of relying on adherence to standardized procedures, typically focus on
“how” questions. People in buffer units, responsible for performance through
planning, often ask “what” questions. People in the perimeter units are as
accountable for performance as anyone else and frequently for performance of a
financial nature. They can be heard asking “what” and “how” questions. “Why”
questions are generally asked by people with no direct responsibility for
day-to-day operations or results. The group most able to take this long-term or
strategic view is that cadre of senior executives responsible for the continued
well-being of the firm: top management. If the design of the firm is to be
called into question or, more significantly, if it is actually to be altered,
these are the people who must make the decision to do so.
Finally, when organizational redefinition and redesign prove
necessary, all people in all units must concern themselves with all three sets
of questions or the changes made will not stand the test of time.
To summarize: · Problems may be formulated in terms of “how,”
“what” and “why” questions. · Which formulation is used depends on where in the
organization the person posing the question or formulating the problem is
situated, and where the organization is situated in its own life cycle.
“How” questions tend to cluster in core units.
“What” questions tend to cluster in buffer units.
People in perimeter units tend to ask “what” and “how”
questions.
“Why” questions are typically the responsibility of top
management.
In turbulent times, everyone must be concerned with
everything.
