Abstract
D.Comm.
The successful implementation of organisational change is the theme of this study. It
has been found that the majority of change initiatives fail, mainly due to poor
conceptualisation and planning, and the lack of proper integration of the people and
business dimensions of change (which will be referred to respectively as the
systematic and interactive aspects). This leads to change resistance and increases
the chance of failure. Little practical guidance is available on how to overcome this
and to integrate the two aspects of change across the organisation(s), throughout
the entire change process, from conceptualisation through to change completion.
The purpose of the study is to develop a practical model for implementing a
successful change program. The model will be designed using a combination of
readily available skills and techniques, and is intended to be sufficiently generic to
enable its use across all change projects and types of organisations. Accordingly
the objectives of the study are:
• To capture the challenges faced by organisations in integrating the systematic
aspect of change management (such as system design) and the interactive
aspect (such as people empowerment, buy-in).
• To develop and test the Facilitative Project Management Model for Integrated
Change, over three case studies.
The model draws upon the disciplines of project management, which provides a
structured "no surprises" approach to the management of change. This mostly
addresses the systematic aspect of change. To properly incorporate the critical
interactive aspect of change the project management discipline is combined with the
powerful techniques of neutral facilitation, which provides a psychologically safe
environment for team participation and ownership. This combination forms a model
which through the case studies is shown to support an integrated change effort and
aid successful change outcomes.