Change Management: Case Study

Abdulrahman Alshamlan
Alshamlan9@hotmail.com

Abstract
After 20 years of Central Statistics Organization (CSO), which is a government organization
(Kingdom of Bahrain), establishment; a new chief executive officer (CEO) is assigned. The
new CEO has observed and considered the changing and reshaping of the way of information
systems that used in business and daily life. He has proposed the government to restructure
the CSO to gain the benefits of new technologies. Reforming th e structure of CSO is essential
to meet the challenges of new technologies and will be tremendous to cut the cost of the
government expenses by using the Internet features, and the smart card as personal
identification for all the citizens of Kingdom of Ba hrain. The CEO has clarified the scope of
the e-government project. The goals and objectives were identified. A team to undertake this
project was formed. Now, the challenge is higher to the project manager and his team. They
have to operate and maintain the existing systems and at same time to implement and design
the new systems.

1. Introduction
Organizations worldwide are confronting more turbulent markets, more demanding
shareholders, and more discerning customers, and many are restructuring to meet such
challenges. Their success in making the changes required depends much on the quality of
their leadership; not only at the top of the organization but also among all managers
responsible for operating results. We know that leadership can make a great difference, and
we know that its importance for organizational success is intensifying. Yet we still know too
little about the qualities and practice of effective organizational leadership and change
management (Wharton School, 2000). Also, Huczynski and Buchanan (2001) said that some
commentators view the organizational landscape as consisting of just labour and
management. And the outcome of organizational politics, as individuals, groups, units and
departments attempt to influence the decisions that affect their own interests, usually at the
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expense of others' interest, which stresses the structural basis of conflict rather than
interpersonal (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001).

Central Statistics Organization (CSO) which is a government organization (Kingdom of

Bahrain) that consisted of three departments which are central government computer,
population registrations and statistics. The assignment of CSO is organizing and ruling the
information and statistics like population registrations and census and foreign trade statistics.
Reforming the structure of CSO is essential to meet the challenges of new technologies and
will be tremendous to cut the cost of the government expenses.

2. Organization Strategy and Redesign

Huczynski and Buchanan (2001) have mentioned the commitments of Andrew Pettigrew
(1999, p.1) which was describing new forms of organizing, as to use the active word
'organizing' instead of the passive term 'organization', where the active term organizing
thereby recognizes the dynamic and perpetual and simultaneous character of the process of
changing. And innovations in organizing are seen as a strategic activity designed to improve
flexibility, creativity and responsiveness of the company.

After 20 years of CSO establishment, a new chief executive officer (CEO) is assigned. The
new CEO has observed and considered the changing and reshaping of the way of information
systems that used in business and daily life. So, he has proposed the government to
restructure the CSO to gain the benefits of new technologies, such as Internet and to start
building the electronic government. The proposal was deeply revised by the government
ministers and then a committee formed to restructure the CSO within the proposal of the CSO
chief. The committee have recommended that renaming Central Statistics Organization
(CSO) to Central Informatics Organization (CIO) and to be consisted of eight departments.
Those departments are computer systems, information systems, information technology
resources, geographical information systems (GIS), elections, statistics, population
registrations and administration and finance to convey the suggested proposition. So, by law
decree no.38 year 2002 the CSO is renamed to Central Informatics Organization (CIO) and
reconstructed as mentioned.
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3. Effective Organization
Organization development offers a comprehensive, systemic and practical approach to
improving individual and organizational effectiveness (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001).
Reforming the structure of CIO is essential to meet the challenges of new technologies and
will be tremendous to cut the cost of the government expenses by using the Internet features,
such as electronic mail (e-mail) instead of papers and printers, transforming all the existing
computer applications into object oriented applications, which will enable storing images and
audio files and using the smart card as personal identification for all the citizens of Kingdom
of Bahrain. So, CEO of CIO has clearly defined the organization goals through his
proposition which was approved by the government. Also, CIO was structured related to
those goals and flexible forward planning. The organization is controlling and ruling all
government tenders and purchasing orders of computers and systems that should meet the
require ments of the e-government project which is assigned to CIO to perform and proceed.

This means that major shifts in organizational design and functioning are occurred. Also, the
e-government project is the main task of the organization, which means CIO by itself should
be functioning flexible related to the e-government project. Huczynski and Buchanan (2001)
have seen the 'optimum' point depends on the capacities of the individual. Applied to a work
setting this is implies that performance is likely to be low if the level of arousal is low. But,
this was not the fact in CIO. The employees are very motivated and highly skilled and
trained. And the level of arousal and stimulation is increasing, so performance is likely to
increase (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001).

4. Change and the Individual

With each new change initiative, people have to spend time learning new tasks, implementing
new systems and procedures, developing new knowledge, using new skills and behaviors,
and all of this, typically, under severs time pressure because the organization cannot stop
functioning while this happens (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). The CEO has clarified the
scope of the e-government project. The goals and objectives were identified. A team to
undertake this project was formed. Now, the challenge is higher to the project manager and
his team. They have to operate and maintain the existing systems and at same time to
implement and design the new systems.
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Physical appearance changes as people become stressed. Interpersonal relationship becomes

strained. In other words, there are a number of observable signs which can indicate that
people are suffering overload, prompting management action to reduce the pressure
(Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). The project manager has issued a program office and
infrastructure program. The objective is to detail the control and administration requirements
which each team member must adhere to. This is a key to an effective functioning of the
program office and to measure the pressure and stresses on the members of the team
individually by monitoring their absence, rate of sickness, customer complaints and their
mistakes.

5. Resistance to Change: Causes

Change may threaten to move us out of our 'comfort zone', away from those things which we
prefer and enjoy. We develop vested interests in the perpetuation of organization structures
and accompanying technologies. Change can mean loss of power, prestige, respect, approval,
status and security (Huczynski and Buchanan, 2001). The team assigned to perform the e-
government project is a mixture of juniors and seniors programmers and analysts of CIO. The
juniors are well related to the object orientation environment while the seniors are more
related to the old fashion of line programming style. The seniors now, have to spend time to
learn and implement the new tasks and procedures. It is totally new environment to them. In
such a challenge, the seniors seemed losers. The fact of resistance to change has appeared.
More absence and sickness within the seniors' members of the team were reported.

Huczynski and Buchanan (2001) have said that Bedeian points out that contradictory analyses
not necessarily dysfunctional but can in some circumstances lead to more effective forms of
change and change implementation. The project manager has understood the fear of the
seniors and realized that might impact the performance of other members.

6. Resistance to Change: Management Solutions

Expertise in managing the change process is usually significant, and this implies capabilities
in handling the human, organizational, managerial and political issues. The change agent
seems to require less technical expertise, and more interpersonal and managerial skill, in
communication, presentation, negotiation, influencing and selling. Change agents are often
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chosen for their expertise in the substance of the change in hand (Huczynski and Buchanan,
2001).

The project manager called the team for a meeting. In that meeting he introduced the training
specialist of CIO as the change agent. The imperceptible assignment of the change agent is to
resolve the resistance to change and lead the team to perform effectively. The change agent
has suggested that juniors should be assistants to the seniors in the analyzing and designing
stage where they can grasp more knowledge and experience in that field. And during that
period, juniors should run training classes to help the seniors to understand the object
orientation environment and to improve their skills. The fact here is that the seniors have
designed and implemented the existing applications. They are a key to redraw the existing
complex system.

The change agent has used Kurt Lewin's 3 Phases of Planned Model (1951) to resolve the
resistance to change that occurred. At the first stage of the project, he has created a felt need
for change (Unfreezing) by exchanging knowledge and experiences between the seniors and
juniors. Then he could implement the changes (Changing). These changes could be
continuous until a new system could be set in place (Refreezing), (Gallagher, 2002).

7. Managing Conflict
Those who see conflict as a trigger of change would be concerned at both its absence and
over-absence. They would be interested to know what the optimum level of conflict in an
organization should be, and how it might be simulated. There are managers who consider
conflict to be a threat to co-operation, consensual relation and would seek to manage it so that
either it does not arise or it is resolved rabidly and permanently (Huczynski and Buchanan,
2001).

As mentioned earlier that CIO is controlling all the government purchasing orders of
computers and systems. Information Technology Resources Department (ITRD) is
controlling and managing this process. The project manager of e-government was insisting to
have a control on this process where it should meet the requirements of the new system. The
CEO has seen it a positive point to involve the project manager in controlling the purchasing
orders of computer and system of the government. He ordered to form a committee directed
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by the head of ITRD and assisted by the project manager of e-government and have equally
members from both groups to progress the purchasing orders of the government. That could
ensure the standards and quality assurance which will be governed by the director of the
committee and meeting the requirements of the e-government project that might be raised by
his assistant.

The CEO has used the Interaction Frame of Reference on conflict (Huczynski and Buchanan,
2001) to resolve the conflict situation between head of ITRD and the project manager. He has
viewed it as Huczynski and Buchanan (2001) pointed it as a positive and necessary force
within organizations that is necessary for effective performance.

8. Conclusion:
There have been two themes in this question of the task. One is organization strategy and
redesign, where the change is essential to survive or meet new challenges, and its ability to
manage change. The other one is managing conflict that can be a trigger of change.

8. References
Gallagher, K. (2002) Managing People in Projects: Presentation Slides. Sunderland:
University of Sunderland.

Huczynski, A., Buchanan, D. (2001) Organizational Behavior: An Introductory Text.

Financial Times-Prentice Hall.

Wharton School (2000) Cente r for Leadership and Change Management: Overview.
http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/welcome/index.shtml. Accessed 24th May 2003.