Change Agent’s Competencies in Organizational Change

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Change Agent’s Competencies in

Organizational Change

Master thesis, Msc Business Administration, Specialization Change Management University of Groningen, Faculty of Management and Organization

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ABSTRACT

This thesis explores the competencies of change agents in different change projects. It tries to answer the research question: “Does the ‘plannedness’ of the chosen change approach change the competencies needed for a change agent in a change process?”. The change approaches in the research question are the theory E and O introduced by Beer & Nohria (2000). For this research the focus lies on six competencies from the fifteen competencies from Buchanan & Boddy (1992). For the research twelve change consultants were interviewed, on two change projects they have led recently. So there are twenty four cases for gathering information about the competencies.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF TABLES _______________5

INTRODUCTION _______________6

CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM STATEMENT AND RESEARCH QUESTION _______________7

1.1 Problem Statement _______________7

1.1.1 Change agent’s competencies _______________7

1.1.2 ‘Plannedness’ of the change approach _______________7

1.1.3 Research question _______________9

1.2 Objective and relevance _______________9

1.3 Structure of the thesis _______________10

CHAPTER 2: CHANGE AGENT COMPETENCIES _______________11

2.1 Competencies in change projects _______________11

2.1.1 Networking _______________12 2.1.2 Tolerance of ambiguity _______________13 2.1.3 Stimulating motivation _______________13 2.1.4 Clarity _______________14 2.1.5 Political awareness _______________15 2.1.6 Helicopter perspective _______________15 2.2 Change approach _______________16 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY _______________17 3.1 Data collection _______________17 3.2 Interviews _______________17

CHAPTER 4: INTERVIEW OUTCOMES _______________19

4.1 Change projects _______________19 4.1.1 Nico Vink _______________19 4.1.2 Pauline Dumoré _______________20 4.1.3 Joost Kampen _______________20 4.1.4 Max Kloosterman _______________21 4.1.5 Jan Legters _______________21 4.1.6 Paul Passchier _______________22

4.1.7 Gert Jan Nooij _______________23

4.1.8 Nicole van der Ouw _______________23

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4.1.11 Sanne Steemers _______________25

4.1.12 Nynke Koops _______________26

4.2 Interview results per project _______________26

4.3 Research results per competency _______________52

4.3.1 Interview outcomes on Networking _______________53

4.3.2 Conclusions on networking _______________53

4.3.3 Interview outcomes on Tolerance of ambiguity _______________54

4.3.4 Conclusions on Tolerance of ambiguity _______________55

4.3.5 Interview outcomes on Stimulating motivation _______________56

4.3.6 Conclusions on Stimulating motivation _______________57

4.3.7 Interview outcomes on Clarity _______________58

4.3.8 Conclusions on Clarity _______________59

4.3.9 Interview outcomes on Political awareness _______________59

4.3.10 Conclusions on Political awareness _______________60

4.3.11 Interview outcomes on Helicopter perspective _______________61 4.3.12 Conclusions on Helicopter perspective _______________62

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS _______________63

5.1 Validity of the Research _______________63

5.2 Conclusions on hypothesized competencies _______________63

5.3 Conclusions _______________64

5.4 Discussion _______________65

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 Eight-stage process for successful organizational transformation ______8

Table 2.1 Model of expertise by Buchanan and Boddy ______11

Table 2.2 Beer and Nohria’s Framework of change theories ______16

Table 3.1 Randomizing of the competencies in the interviews ______18

Table 4.1 Nico Vink, project I ______28

Table 4.2 Nico Vink, project II ______29

Table 4.3 Pauline Dumoré, project I ______30

Table 4.4 Pauline Dumoré, project II ______31

Table 4.5 Joost Kampen, project I ______32

Table 4.6 Joost Kampen, project II ______33

Table 4.7 Max Kloosterman, project I ______34

Table 4.8 Max Kloosterman, project II ______35

Table 4.9 Jan Legters, project I ______36

Table 4.10 Jan Legters, project II ______37

Table 4.11 Paul Passchier, project I ______38

Table 4.12 Paul Passchier, project II ______39

Table 4.13 Gert Jan Nooij, project I ______40

Table 4.14 Gert Jan Nooij, project II ______41

Table 4.15 Nicole van der Ouw, project I ______42

Table 4.16 Nicole van der Ouw, project II ______43

Table 4.17 Tjaska Richters, project I ______44

Table 4.18 Tjaska Richters, project II ______45

Table 4.19 Frans Swart, project I ______46

Table 4.20 Frans Swart, project II ______47

Table 4.21 Sanne Steemers, project I ______48

Table 4.22 Sanne Steemers, project II ______49

Table 4.23 Nynke Koops, project I ______50

Table 4.24 Nynke Koops, project II ______51

Table 4.25 3 project groups ______52

Table 4.26 Importance of networking in change projects ______54

Table 4.27 ANOVA variance analysis networking ______54

Table 4.28 Importance of tolerance of ambiguity in change projects ______55

Table 4.29 ANOVA variance analysis tolerance of ambiguity ______56

Table 4.30 Importance of stimulating motivation in change projects ______57

Table 4.31 ANOVA variance analysis stimulating motivation ______57

Table 4.32 Importance of clarity in change projects ______59

Table 4.33 ANOVA variance analysis clarity ______59

Table 4.34 Importance of political awareness in change projects ______60

Table 4.35 ANOVA variance analysis political awareness ______61

Table 4.36 Importance of helicopter perspective in change projects ______62

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INTRODUCTION

‘It has become the accepted view that, for society at large, the magnitude, speed, unpredictability and impact of change are greater than ever before. Certainly, over the last 20 years especially, new products, processes and services have appeared at an ever-increasing rate’ (Burnes, 2004). Modern organizations are constantly challenged to adapt to their environment in order to survive and be competitive. Changing organizations is a very difficult and time/recourses consuming process. It is the change manager’s task to guide the change in order to make the project successful. One of the mayor success factors is the willingness and ability to change of both (change)managers. (Dunphy in Beer & Nohria, 2000; Cornell, 1996) Change efforts however can be very different. Beer & Nohria divide change projects in an E and an O theory of change. Theory E type change is very structured and top-down, theory O is more organic and participative. (Beer & Nohria, 2000)

Nonetheless research on organizational change has mainly focused on organizational factors neglecting the person-oriented issues. Could this be one of the reasons why change management programmes often fail? (Nikolaou, 2007). In many cases changing structure is not enough and the importance of the person executing the change is becoming more accepted. (De Caluwé & Reitsma, 2006)

But which competencies are important to management consultants executing change? According to Kirkpatrick and Locke, leaders do not have to be great men or women by being intellectual geniuses or omniscient prophets to succeed, but they do need to have the “right stuff” and this stuff is not equally present in all people (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991).

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CHAPTER 1: PROBLEM STATEMENT AND RESEARCH QUESTION

This chapter discusses the subject introduced in the previous chapter. First the problem statement is discussed and the research question is introduced. Paragraph 1.2 gives a review of competencies of the change agent. Further the objective and relevance of this research is discussed and the structure of the thesis will be outlined.

1.1 Problem statement

1.1.1 Change agent’s competencies

There is a lot of literature on the topic of competencies of change agents. Buchanan and Boddy (1992) define 15 competencies by research conducted change managers. The competencies defined are actions and behaviours identified as contributing in their experience to the perceived effectiveness of change implementation. Doppler and Lautenburg (1996) define 33 competencies important to a change manager. They understand that it is difficult to have all these competencies but when a change manager lacks a lot of them, it is difficult to successfully manage a change process.

Cummings and Worley (2001) present competencies of an effective organizational development practitioner. They highlight four types of skills; Intrapersonal skills, interpersonal skills, general consultation skills and organizational development theory.

It is clear that there are a lot of competencies necessary/useful for a change manager to successfully implement change.

1.1.2 ‘Plannedness of the change approach’

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process are planned and the project works to a pre-defined end goal. The Three-step model from Kurt Lewin is an example of the planned approach (Burnes, 2004: 274). It describes three phases unfreezing, moving and refreezing through which organizational change is achieved. In addition Bullock and Batten (1985) developed a four stage change model of planned change. In this model change goes through an exploration phase, a planning phase, an action phase and an integration phase. These two examples point out that planned change is very predetermined and goes through a series of phases to achieve success.

Emergent change in comparison with planned change is much more organic. One of the best known models advocating emergent change is the Eight-Stage Process for successful organizational transformation by Kotter (1996).

Table 1.1: Eight-stage process for successful organizational transformation Step 1 Establishing a sense of urgency

Step 2 Creating a guiding coalition Step 3 Developing a vision and strategy Step 4 Communicating the change vision Step 5 Empowering broad-based action Step 6 Generating short-term wins

Step 7 Consolidating gains and producing more change Step 8 Anchoring new approaches in the culture

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In Beer & Nohria (2000) planned and emergent is replaced by theory E and theory O type of change. Theory E is a very structured and economic approach to change resembling planned change. Theory O on the other hand is a more organic and people focused approach with more similarity to emergent change. This theory resembles the change paradigms of de Caluwé and Vermaak (2006). They present five change ‘colors’ from blue print thinking to white print thinking. In the research by de Caluwé en Reitsma (2006) the change colors are connected to theory E and O. From yellow print thinking linked to theory E and white print thinking linked to theory O.

1.1.3 Research question

There is a lot of research on competencies of change agents and the plannedness of the change approach. Keeping in mind the two preceding paragraphs, the research question of this thesis is introduced.

Does the ‘plannedness’ of the chosen change approach change the competencies needed for a change agent in a change process?

This research question aims to combine the before mentioned themes and tries to create valuable, new insights on change agents in change processes.

1.2 Objective and relevance

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This thesis should provide a basis for research on the competencies of change agents in different change projects. It provides change managers and consultants with more knowledge of competencies that are important in particular cases. So it can help to create a set of competencies to make a change effort more successful.

1.3 Structure of the thesis

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CHAPTER 2: CHANGE AGENTS COMPETENCIES

In this chapter the focus competencies of this thesis are discussed. The competencies are explained further by drawing from literature sources and the relationship of the competencies with theory E or O is elucidated. The hypotheses connecting the competencies with theory E or O are given at the end of each paragraph.

2.1 Competencies in change projects

The starting point for the competencies in this thesis are the fifteen competencies mentioned in table 2.1 from the model of expertise by Buchanan and Boddy (1992: 92-93). Because it is not possible for this research to research all fifteen competencies the research will focus on six competencies from the model.

Table 2.1: Model of expertise by Buchanan and Boddy

Goals 1 Sensitivity

2 Clarity

3 Flexibility

Roles 4 Team Building

5 Networking

6 Tolerance of ambiguity

Communication 7 Communication skills 8 Interpersonal skills

9 Personal enthusiasm

10 Stimulating motivation and commitment Negotiating 11 Selling plans and ideas

12 Negotiating with key players

Managing up 13 Political awareness

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In the next paragraphs the focus competencies will be introduced and the relationship between the competency and the change theory will be elucidated.

2.1.1 Networking

‘It can be useful, if time consuming, for the change agent consciously to maintain personal contacts, even though they may not be formally necessary at any point in time.’ (Buchanan and Boddy, 1992: 99). Vakola et al (2007) put networking in the competency group of interpersonal excellence. A good change manager ‘develops/maintains networks both within the organization and with clients; focuses on providing excellent customer service; demonstrates communication co-operation abilities. Some examples: identifies/makes use of events for developing external networks; maintains regular two-way communication; maintains a problem solving attitude.’ (Vakola, Soderquist & Prastacos, 2007: 266).

In this research networking stands for: Networking skills in establishing and maintaining appropriate contacts within the organization. (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992: 93)

Emergent change is a multi-level, cross organization process that unfolds in an iterative and messy fashion over a period of years and comprises a series of interlocking projects (Burnes, 2004). Keeping this in mind, networking is very important in establishing contacts within the organization to make a change project successful. In emergent change it is important to create a basis for the project by promoting the vision to the organization members that are subject to the change. This results in the following hypothesis:

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2.1.2 Tolerance of ambiguity

‘Ambiguity tolerance (AT) refers to the way an individual (or group) perceives and processes information about ambiguous situations or stimuli when confronted by an array of unfamiliar, complex, or incongruent clues’ (Furnham & Ribchester, 1995). There are multiple reactions possible to ambiguity. On the one end there are persons with low tolerance of ambiguity, they experience stress and dislike uncertainty. On the other end, there are persons that see ambiguity as desirable, challenging and interesting. The definition used in this thesis for tolerance of ambiguity is: To be able to function comfortably, patiently, and effectively in an uncertain environment. (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992: 93)

In white print thinking, coping with uncertainty is a very important competency for a change agent. (De Caluwé & Vermaak, 2006: 237). Like mentioned before, white print thinking resembles theory O type of change. The outcome of change efforts is often not defined/known beforehand and emerges from the change process.

Taking the preceding in account, the hypothesis for tolerance of ambiguity is:

Hypothesis II: Tolerance of ambiguity is most important in theory O type change projects.

2.1.3 Stimulating motivation

‘Organization members generally do not support change unless compelling reasons convince them to do so. … Consequently, a key issue in planning for action is how to motivate commitment to organizational change’ (Cummings & Worley, 2001). Organization members generally do not support change, it is the task of the change agent to keep people motivated and engaged in the change process in order to be successful.

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manager it is thus important to keep involved organization members motivated. The definition of stimulating motivation is: Stimulating motivation and commitment in others involved. (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992: 93)

In white and green print change paradigms, it is important to involve and keep organization members committed (de Caluwé & Vermaak, 2006). Because these change paradigms are closely related to theory O, the hypothesis on stimulating motivation is:

Hypothesis III: Stimulating motivation is most important in theory O type change projects.

2.1.4 Clarity

Change is managed as a journey. The company is moving from its present state to some desired future state. This will take time and effort must be focused directly on planning and managing the journey (Neill and Mindrum in Beer and Nohria, 2000). ‘Ghoshal and Bartlett argue that a well-choreographed plan of change is more likely to yield results than are change efforts that are more spontaneous and emergent’ (Beer & Nohria, 2000: 9). Clarity is thus important in getting change efforts to be contributing to the organization. The definition of clarity in this research is: Clarity in specifying goals, in defining the achievable. (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992: 92)

This competency is strongly related to blue-print thinking from de Caluwé and Vermaak (2006). In blue print thinking, rational planning and control, management by objectives and auditing are important. The preceding results in the following hypothesis

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2.1.5 Political awareness

Burnes gives a definition of politics: ‘This describes the efforts of people in organizations to gain support for or against policies, rules, goals, or decisions where the outcome will have some effect on them. Politics is seen as the exercise of power’ (Burnes, 2004: 602). Being aware of this kind of behaviour is an important competency for the change agent. ‘The goals of the change agent may not always be seen as consistent with the goals of other stakeholders.…It may be appropriate for the politically aware change agent to take action to change such perceptions where they may adversely affect the project’ (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992: 106). Political awareness in this research is: Political awareness, in identifying potential coalitions, and in balancing conflicting goals and perceptions. (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992: 93)

According to de Caluwé and Vermaak (2006) this competency is important in yellow print thinking. This change paradigm is closely related to theory E type of change (de Caluwé en Reitsma, 2006). So the hypothesis on political awareness is stated:

Hypothesis V: Political awareness is most important in theory E type change projects.

2.1.6 Helicopter perspective

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perspective is defined as follows: To stand back from the immediate project and take a broader view of priorities. (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992: 93)

As already mentioned helicopter perspective plays a significant role in blue print thinking. Therefore the hypothesis on helicopter perspective is:

Hypothesis VI: Helicopter perspective is most important in theory E type change projects.

2.2 Change approach

In the first chapter the change approaches were already mentioned. In this thesis the change theories from Beer and Nohria (2000) are used, see table 2.2.

Table 2.2: Beer and Nohria’s Framework of change theories

Theory E Theory O

Purpose Maximize economic value Develop organizational capabilities

Leadership Top down Bottom up

Focus Structure and systems Culture

Planning Programmatic Emergent

Motivation Incentives lead Incentives lag Consultants Knowledge driven Process driven

Now the six focus competencies are introduced and explained, the hypothesis putting it all together and answering the research question from the first chapter is given.

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

In this chapter the methodology of the research used to test the hypothesized competencies will be discussed.

3.1 Data collection

By interviewing thirteen change consultants on change processes that they executed qualitative information was gathered. Two change processes (‘critical incidents’) are discussed and elaborated on in the interviews. By structuring the interviews, the information from the interviews can be compared. To test the hypotheses the critical incident technique (Flanagan, 1954) is applied. By using this technique, the interview outcomes can be transformed from ‘anecdotes’ into data. The hypotheses from the second chapter were the starting point for the in-depth interviews. The objective of the interviews was to research if and how the hypothesized competencies were used in the cases that were subject in the interview. Conducting in-depth interviews provides the researcher with more qualitative data, because the researcher can change the focus and ask more ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions (Braster, 2000).

3.2 Interviews

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Table 3.1: Randomizing of the competencies in the interviews Mean position of the competencies

(1 to 6) Networking 3,4 Tolerance of ambiguity 3,4 Stimulating motivation 3,4 Clarity 3,5 Political awareness 3,6 Helicopter perspective 3,7

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CHAPTER 4: INTERVIEW OUTCOMES

This chapter presents the interview outcomes. The first part summarizes the projects that were discussed with the consultants in the interviews. In the second part the results are summarized in a table for every change project. In the third part the conclusion for each specific competency is given.

4.1 Change Projects

The interviews were held with twelve consultants and discussed two change projects per consultant. This section will introduce the interviewees and the projects that were subject in the interviews.

4.1.1 Nico Vink

Nico Vink is a consultant in the field of ICT. He gained experience working for Cap Gemini on several projects as project manager. In January 2005 he started his own consultancy firm, Bitis consultancy. Project I; This project is carried out at the ANWB. The ANWB bought six specialized tour operators like Pin High, a travel agent specialized in golf travels. To create synergy between these six agencies the ANWB wanted one IT-system for buying, selling and financial management. The consultant was responsible for the creation and implementation of this back-office system.

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4.1.2 Pauline Dumoré

Pauline Dumoré started her own consultancy firm metID in 2005, this company focuses on innovation and communication. Before this she gained experience in consulting at several companies (Interpay, Getronics, KBenP). For these companies she worked on projects as project manager and business consultant.

Project I; For the Dutch department of defense she was responsible for drawing up a document architecture (the storage of a document according to a defined method in order to facilitate retrieval of the document). This architecture was the guideline to which all organization members of the ‘Koninklijke Landmacht’ should adhere when filling out forms and archiving. The consultant had the role of project leader in this project.

Project II; At Océ the consultant was project manager for the implementation of a document and record management system. She was also responsible for the organisational consequences of the implementation. This project was already running but because of many encountered difficulties the consultant was asked to get the project going again.

4.1.3 Joost Kampen

Joost Kampen is a consultant at van de Bunt consultancy. Before he started consulting he had different jobs in the field of HRM. The last eighteen years he did many assignments focussing on organisation development. He mainly advises not-for-profit and governmental organisations. Project I; At the ‘Gemeentelijk Vervoersbedrijf Amsterdam’ the consultant was responsible for the project ‘Lijngebonden werken’ at the tram section of the company. It consisted of a change in structure and culture. The structure was changed to self managed teams and the culture change focused on the behaviour of employees among each other and to customers.

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do so because the process stagnated. He guided the merger by setting up an advisory committee. Trough this committee the merger was completed in dialog with all involved parties.

4.1.4 Max Kloosterman

Max Kloosterman completed his study business economics at the Erasmus University eight years ago. After his study he started working for Accenture. He is a member of the Change Management Department. At Accenture, change management is usually added to a project when a new system, method of working or process is implemented.

Project I; At a large Dutch financial institution, Accenture was asked to take over an existing ERP Implementation Program. The goal of this program was to implement SAP globally as the new system for finance function. The client at the time was aiming to realize a common ledger and integrated reporting environment in order to improve the provision of timely and accurate financial and management information.

The program had five global regions in scope and would have impacted around 3300 finance professionals, a significant (change management) challenge.

Project II; At another Dutch financial institution, Accenture consulted the client on merging two retail banking brands: The consultant has been working for the Internet Retail organization to help ensure a successful launch of their new presence on the Internet. The project was already started but it was in a deadlock. Six months before the ‘live’ date the consultant got involved in the project.

4.1.5 Jan Legters

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Project I; In this project the consultant started as interim manager for a planning office at a building cooperation. Preceding there had been a reorganization where the planning office was composed from several departments. The consultant’s task was to get all people to work together, because there was a lot of tribulation. Another part of this project was to get the money reserved for maintenance and renewal of the buildings spent, this had been a problem in previous years.

Project II; At a municipality the consultant was responsible for merging two departments of policy into one department. The difficulty was that the municipality was merged from several municipalities, so that the employees that should form the new department did not work in the same place and did not know each other.

4.1.6 Paul Passchier

Paul Passchier works as a senior consultant with Pentascope. After his studies in Psychology and Economics he gained experience in the consulting business and he works for Pentascope for ten years now. His main activities are solving organizational problems for clients and acquisition of new consultancy jobs.

Project I; This project was about getting two municipality departments to work together. The IT-department and the fire IT-department did not work together properly, the problem was that the fire department did not use the IT system of the municipality. The consultant helped to remove barriers (personal and organizational) for the fire department to adopt the IT system.

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4.1.7 Gert Jan Nooij

After his study psychology Gert Jan Nooij started coaching people in organizational settings. He held a position at the Rijksluchtvaarschool and was responsible for the HRM. Twenty years ago he started his first business because his services were asked for by other organizations. Fourteen years ago he started his current company specialized in leadership development, strategy deployment etcetera. Until 2004 he was also a lecturer at the University of Groningen, he gave lectures in organizational behaviour and management consulting.

Project I; At a big building cooperation in the Rotterdam area, which originated from a merger of three building co operations. The main task of the consultant was to achieve normal work relations throughout the whole organization. He achieved this through training, workshops and one-to-one meetings. The organization has a better work environment and performs better now.

Project II; At a big Dutch chemical organization he was responsible for drawing up and implementing an education program for all layers of the organization together with another organization. The education program should prepare organization members for promotion or refresh their knowledge of their current job.

4.1.8 Nicole van der Ouw

Nicole van der Ouw started her career at KPN where she worked on organizational changes. At first she did a lot of planned/programmatic projects but after a few years her focus was more on culture changes. After working for KPN she started her own company ‘Creatief Verandermanagement’, she is specialized in changing the culture of organizations.

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management, lower management, employees and customers to create a vision of the new state of the organization. After these sessions the project was carried out by the operational management and became a success.

Project II; For a primary education school the consultant was hired to support a new interim director. The culture of the school was impaired by fifteen years of mismanagement. The consultant was asked to create a better work environment and to get everyone to work together again. She accomplished this by organizing training activities to mobilize the employees and get them to create a better environment together.

4.1.9 Tjaska Richters

Tjaska Richters is a consultant for finance consulting at Ordina. The last ten years she gained experience in the field of HRM. She is working for Ordina for two years now. She does the consulting for projects on a broad basis, mostly projects that cover several disciplines like communication, organization and IT.

Project I; At a large Dutch insurance company she was responsible for the implementation of a shared service center for three pension insurance labels. The main aim was to bundle the knowledge of the three sections. But also the embedding in the organization was a part of the project, connecting the shared service center with other departments like Sales, Marketing and Information management.

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4.1.10 Frans Swart

Frans Swart started working in IT thirty six years ago at ABN and later on for a software house. After five years he found out he was good at organizing projects. Now he works for Ordina as a Senior Business consultant. He does large projects and change management is always a part of a project. Project I; At ING information technology center, department ISS (Information Security Services) there was a problem with the workload of the department. A lot of absence through illness and overtime. The consultant changed the structure, there was a lot of generic work. Everyone at the department got trained so everyone could do the generic work. The specialists were unstrained to get to what they were hired for. As a result of these interventions absence through illness was minimized and overtime forbidden. When overtime is not allowed it becomes clear where in the organization there is a bottle neck.

Project II; At the IT department of ‘t Hooge Huys Verzekeringen the consultant encountered a very bad culture. Managers were ‘lifting’ on the success of competent people that were below them in the hierarchical structure. People gave their solutions to their manager, and the manager took the credit for it. He advised the board to throw out the managers and thus created a better work environment.

4.1.11 Sanne Steemers

Sanne Steemers is a consultant at Accenture for three years now. She started at the financial services section and now she is working for the supply chain management section of Accenture. She is involved in projects that involve change management and supply chain management.

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Project II; For a large high-tech company that used a lot of temporary personnel, Accenture was asked to bundle (a few large employment agencies) the procurement process and standardize contracts. So that negotiating was not necessary every time temporary personnel was hired. This to create efficiency and cost savings. The consultant held workshops with internal stakeholders (managers, HR, procurement) to get a clear view of what was necessary. After this she negotiated with employment agencies to draw up standardized contracts and hiring fees.

4.1.12 Nynke Koops

Nynke Koops is now working two years at Accenture. She is part of the change management section of the organization. She has taken part in two large projects. Her main activities are Business implementation and spread the change to organization members.

Project I; At a large chemical company a global shift to a new system is conducted. The consultant is responsible for training and communicating the importance of the training throughout the organizations marketing and sales department in the Benelux. The training is given by organization members, the consultant is responsible for capable trainers and the coordination of the trainings. Project II; At a large Dutch financial institution Accenture is implementing a new system at a mortgage department. The consultant was responsible for business implementation. Training and communication, developing a training plan and creating a basis for the new system.

4.2 Interview results per project

In this section the interview outcomes will be discussed. Per project the six focus competencies of this research are summarized in the upper part of the tables. In the lower part of the table the project is characterized by the six variables from the theory E and theory O of Beer and Nohria (Beer and Nohria, 2000).

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Levels of importance

Importance in table in interview

No importance - - - 1

very low importance - - 2

low importance - 3

moderate importance + 4

high importance + + 5

very high importance + + + 6

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Table 4.1: Nico Vink, project I∗∗∗∗

Competency Interviewee's view

_{Importance Elucidation} H yp o th e si ze d c o m p e te n ci e s Networking + + In this setting:

Establishing and maintaining appropriate contacts within the organization. Why was the competency (un)important:

It was important because of the large organization the consultant is confronted with. He had to deal with managers that were opponents of the project. He also needed to create a basis for the project by networking with all the directors.

Tolerance of

ambiguity + +

In this setting:

There was a lot of uncertainty regarding how the project goals were to be accomplished. Why was the competency (un)important:

Because the consultant had to deal with 6 tour operators and their wishes he had to deal with a lot of uncertainty in this project. It took a while before the project path was clearly set, during this time the road to the ultimate goals was changed several times. The consultant had to deal with the ambiguity of this process.

Stimulating

motivation + + +

In this setting:

Stimulating and motivating project stakeholders keep working on the project. Why was the competency (un)important:

Because of the length of the project stimulating motivation is very important. When the directors of the different agencies lose their motivation the implementation of the IT-system will fail. For the consultant it is thus very important to motivate the directors for the project.

Clarity +

In this setting:

In this project this competency was creating clarity in the goals and objectives of the project. Why was the competency (un)important:

This was achieved by workshops with all directors of the different tour operators. From these workshops a leading document was created which was the guideline for the whole project. Because the directors often lost their view on the longer term, because of sudden environment changes, clarity in specifying and defining goals was an important competence for the consultant in this project.

Political

awareness +

In this setting:

Identifying potential adversaries of the project and balancing goals and perceptions Why was the competency (un)important:

The ANWB is a political organization, some people want the project to fail. The consultant was aware of this and thus tried to protect the project. He did this by, for example, bringing out good news always and being careful with bad news.

Helicopter

perspective +

In this setting:

Standing back from the project to take a broader view of priorities. Why was the competency (un)important:

It was moderately important because the consultant works as a supervisor in this project. He is responsible for the projects end goals, he has 3 project leaders that perform operational tasks for the project. _{E or O} _Elucidation T h e o ry E / O

Purpose E The project was focused on creating synergy and reducing costs

Leadership E/O The project was initiated from the top but lower management has been involved in the decision

making

Focus E The project was initiated to change the structure of the organization.

Planning E There was a project plan with reasonably hard deadlines

Motivation E/O There was no motivation system used in this project.

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Table 4.2: Nico Vink, project II∗∗∗∗

Importance Elucidation H yp o th e si ze d c o m p e te n ci e s Networking + + + In this setting:

It was important to establish contacts in the organization to keep the project going. This was mainly because of the complicated environment of the department of foreign affairs.

Tolerance of

ambiguity + +

In this setting:

Ability to function comfortably, patiently and effectively in an uncertain environment. Why was the competency (un)important:

Because the new IT system did not deliver the performance it promised the whole system had to be revised. This led to a lot of uncertainty and this is why the competency was important in this project.

Stimulating

motivation -

In this setting:

Stimulating and motivating project stakeholders to stay involved with the project. Why was the competency (un)important:

Despite the length of the project and the tribulations it encountered this was not an important competency. Because of the political nature of the organization the involved organization members were busier with staying on out of trouble than with the project.

Clarity - -

In this setting:

In this project clarity is defined as clarity in setting the goals and objectives of the project. Why was the competency (un)important:

Because the project was already started when the consultant was involved the goals and objectives were defined, the goals were clear. Because the conflicts were solved in the top of the organizations (Cap Gemini, Oracle and the Dutch department of foreign affairs) the competency was not important in this project.

Political

awareness + + +

In this setting:

Identifying potential adversaries of the project and balancing goals and perceptions. Why was the competency (un)important:

This competency was very important. In this type of organization politics play a major role. The consultant had to deal with people from his own employer (Cap Gemini), Oracle and the department of foreign affairs. They all had other agendas and thus aligning them in the benefit of the project was very important and time consuming.

Helicopter

perspective -

In this setting:

This was not important The consultant was a project manager in this project; the main problems were solved at a higher management level.

_{E or O} Elucidation T h e o ry E / O

Purpose E Focused on control management of Dutch embassies and consulates, so it is an economic

objective.

Leadership E The project was organized top down no input from lower management levels.

Focus E The structure of the financial reporting of the organization was changed.

Planning E The project had clear goals and a path that led to these goals.

Motivation E/O There was no system for motivation.

Consultants E Many knowledge driven consultants.

∗_{Dutch department of foreign affairs, implementation of Oracle financials ERP system for embassies and}

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Table 4.3: Pauline Dumoré, project I∗∗∗∗

Competency Interviewee’s view

Importance Elucidation H yp o th e si ze d c o m p e te n ci e s Networking - - In this setting:

It was not important in this project. Because of the command structure of the Army, orders are usually followed and the command structure is clear. So it is not necessary to establish contacts because you already know who you need for the different parts of the projects.

Tolerance of

ambiguity - - -

In this setting:

It was not important in this project. The projects goals and objectives were clear. And the path to the success of the project was well defined. So there was not allot of uncertainty involved.

Stimulating

motivation + + +

In this setting:

Stimulating and motivating stakeholders to stay involved with the project. Why was the competency (un)important:

This was very important. Because many organization members did not see the added value of the new document architecture. The consultant had to motivate people to get really involved in the process and adopt the new way of working.

Clarity + + +

In this setting:

The competency was very important in this project. The consultant created clarity in the goals and objectives of the project together with the ‘legerraad’ of the Royal Army. This was the guide for the whole project. It helped the consultant to make the project in to a success.

Political

awareness + +

In this setting:

Identifying potential coalitions against the project and balancing goals and perceptions. Why was the competency (un)important:

This competency was important in this project because it takes place in a political organization. The consultant was aware of the political structure and it helped solving this problem. It was tackled early in the process because the project was initiated from the top. So the political weight of the top helped the project to be a success.

Helicopter

perspective + + +

In this setting:

This was a very important competency in this project. The consultant took a broader view of the project and the organization to sense other priorities and feelings within the organization. Not just pushing through from only your point of view but taking the whole organization into account. For example using and acknowledging criticism on the project that was expressed from the operational layer of the army.

_{E or O} _Elucidation T h e o ry E / O

Purpose E Focus on a new document architecture to make information more accessible. Leadership E Top-down no/little influence of lower management.

Focus E The structure of the organization was changed.

Planning E The project had clear goals and the path to these goals was planned.

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Table 4.4: Pauline Dumore, project II∗∗∗∗

Importance Elucidation H yp o th e si ze d c o m p e te n ci e s Networking + + In this setting:

Because the consultant needs to create a basis of trust within the organization to make it a success. The consultant established and maintained important contacts within the organization that helped the projects performance.

Tolerance of

ambiguity +

In this setting:

In the beginning of the process it was somewhat important because the project got stuck. But when the consultant created a project organization its importance diminished because the project was running smoothly.

Stimulating

motivation + + +

In this setting:

Because the project got stuck it was very hard at first to motivate people to start working on it again. The consultant motivated key players in the project to make the project a success and to let them see the value that could be added by the project.

Clarity + + +

In this setting:

The project was already started before the consultant was called in to help. She made a quick scan of the project organization and this led to a new project organization, this was made clear and communicated to the organization so clarity of the project was established.

Political

awareness + +

In this setting:

The project is running for a long time and the consultant joined later. Adversaries of the project tried to win allies and so terminate the project. It is very important under such circumstances to see political behavior to guard your position as project leader.

Helicopter

perspective + +

In this setting:

This was an important competency in this project. It is important in every project to sense other priorities and feelings within the organization. Not just pushing through from only your point of view but taking the whole organization into account.

Purpose E Creating a document management system that could, in future, be sold to other parties. Leadership E The project was initiated from the top.

Focus E The new system was a change in structure of the organization.

Planning E The consultant provided a clear project organization.

Consultants E Knowledge driven consultants.

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Table 4.5: Joost Kampen, project I∗∗∗∗

The consultant did not use this competency.

Tolerance of

ambiguity + +

In this setting:

This was very important because the reality proved to be different than thought of at first. There were organization members that gave the illusion their behavior was changed but in fact behaved the same as before. So the process was changed a lot during the project.

Stimulating

motivation -

In this setting:

It was somewhat important to motivate the managers, but with the rest of the staff it was more important to indicate the changed role they had in the new setting.

Clarity -

In this setting:

Clarity was not important in this project. This because the process was more important than achieving tangible goals. Goals were not defined (like for example an increase in productivity) beforehand. There were some derived factors that should be improved but these were not absolute.

Political

awareness + +

In this setting:

In the operational layers of the organization there were many informal leaders. Although they had no leading position they were able to stagnate the process with their behavior. The consultant tried to rule this out by setting up work conferences for the employees on the change in culture at the organization.

Helicopter

perspective + +

In this setting:

Necessary to keep in mind the core of the project, normal behavior and normal relations. Not getting distracted by other things that popped up. There was pressure to pick up other changes but the core of the process was the normal behavior and relations in the organization.

Purpose O The project aimed at the development of the organization and its members.

Leadership E/O The project was initiated top-down but in the design and execution lower management and

employees were involved.

Focus O The structure changed but the main target was to create a healthy work environment.

Planning O There was no project plan, only the factors that should improve.

Consultants O The consultant was process driven.

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Table 4.6: Joost Kampen, project II∗∗∗∗

Because of the large number of stakeholders in a merger between 2 chambers of commerce (employer’s organizations, employee organizations, the board, employees etc.) it is very important to maintain good contacts with all of them. It is very helpful when guiding a merger

Tolerance of

ambiguity + +

In this setting:

Important, in a merger there are many uncertainties beforehand. The consultant had to perform his task with many uncertainties in the process and the goals.

Stimulating

motivation - -

In this setting:

This competency had no importance in this project. The organizations were aware of the fact they had to merge due to governmental regulations.

Clarity - - -

In this setting:

In a merger it is not wise to be very clear beforehand. The goal was clear and set by the government but how to achieve it was not very clear beforehand.

Political

awareness + + +

In this setting:

Was very important because of the many parties involved in the merger. This leads to very complex managerial processes. The consultant tried to help create win-win solutions so everyone could be satisfied with the merger.

Helicopter

perspective + +

In this setting:

It was important to stay at the essence of the project. Although there were a lot of parties involved which each had their own agendas and wishes, the consultant kept in mind the ultimate goal of the project, the merger of the two chambers of commerce.

Purpose E The purpose was to create a larger chamber of commerce for a larger area, this was initiated by the

Dutch government.

Leadership E The process was led top-down.

Focus E The structure was changed.

Planning E/O There was no planning only a deadline (1-1-2007) for the merger to be completed

Consultants O The consultant was responsible for the process.

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Table 4.7: Max Kloosterman, project I∗∗∗∗

Networking is important in every change project, without networking you cannot do this job. It was important in this project to map the organizational relations in the company.

Tolerance of

ambiguity - -

In this setting:

This competency was not very important in this project. Because a project plan was drawn up in the pre-phase. There was some uncertainty in some small parts of the project but this was solved through workshops with all stakeholders.

Stimulating

motivation + + +

In this setting:

Because of the length of this project (4 years) it was very important. Stakeholders lose the view of the end terms of the project and that is not motivating them. The consultant tried to motivate stakeholders by setting short-term goals and achieving them in clear visible steps.

Clarity + + +

In this setting:

For important project steps it is very important to be very clear. Clarity can be an instrument to get people more involved in the project.

Political

awareness + + +

In this setting:

Was very important in this project. The organization is very political, some people with low power could have a great idea but are not heard because someone with more power pushes his ideas. The consultant tried to neutralize this by mapping (being aware) of the political/power relations in the organization.

Helicopter

perspective + + +

In this setting:

Very important to get a good view of the project. Also important in controlling the progress of the project. It was a lengthy project so it is important to keep a clear view on the end terms of the project. _{E or O} _Elucidation T h e o ry E / O

Purpose E The purpose was to enhance the Financial reporting of the organization World-wide.

Leadership E The project was initiated and carried out from the top.

Focus E The structure of the organization was changed.

Planning E The project plan was very programmatic.

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Table 4.8: Max Kloosterman, project II∗∗∗∗

Because the project got stuck it was important to use networking to get a good view of all the problems in the organization. When you combine all perspectives you get a good view of what is really going on in the organization.

Tolerance of

ambiguity + + +

In this setting:

Because the new system did not work as thought a part of the project needed to be done again. These circumstances led to a lot of uncertainty. Although the goal of the project was clear the boundary conditions were not. The conditions evolved over time leading to an uncertain environment.

Stimulating

motivation + + +

In this setting:

Was very important, because the project team suffered many setbacks it was difficult to keep the motivation high. The consultant stimulated by making clear that although some troubles occurred it did not (severely) harm the projects end goals.

Clarity + + +

In this setting:

This was very important in this project. Signaling problems can be very aggravating, but when you want to solve them it is very important to be clear about the goals and objectives of the project.

Political

awareness +

In this setting:

It is important to be aware of political relations in the organization but because of the time pressure (6 months to ‘live’) it was not very relevant in this project.

Helicopter

perspective + + +

In this setting:

In this project it was important to get a clear view of the end goals and keep them in sight. Because the project stagnated it was very important to make stakeholders aware of the original end terms of the project. _{E or O} _Elucidation T h e o ry E / O

Purpose E The purpose of the project was merging two banking brands.

Leadership E The project was led top-down.

Focus E The structure was changed.

Planning E The planning of the project was programmatic.

Consultants E Many consultants and knowledge driven.

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Table 4.9: Jan Legters, project I∗∗∗∗

Importance Elucidation H yp o th e si ze d c o m p e te n ci e s Networking + + In this setting:

It was important because in this project building contractors were important to work in the new setting. So it was very important to establish and maintain contacts with the building contractors for the project to succeed.

Tolerance of

ambiguity - - -

In this setting:

Because there was no/low uncertainty in this project this competence was of no importance.

Stimulating

motivation +

In this setting:

This was important because in the role of interim manager you board out and delegate tasks. So you need the cooperation of others thus motivating them is important. The consultant did this by showing progress and achievements to the involved organization members.

Clarity + + +

In this setting:

In this process it was very important to be clear that we were able to achieve the project goals. From the start of the project the consultant communicated the goals and objectives clear and transparent.

Political

awareness -

In this setting:

This competency had no importance in this project.

Helicopter

perspective + +

In this setting:

Very important, because there were many part of the project running at the same time. The consultant and the project leader got together often to keep an eye on the progress of the project.

Purpose E/O The purpose of the project was to let people work in the new structure and to get the maintenance

budget spent.

Leadership E The project was led top down.

Focus E/O There had been a structure change and the culture had to be adapted to that.

Planning E The planning of the project was programmatic.

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Table 4.10: Jan Legters, project II∗∗∗∗

This competency was not important in this project.

Tolerance of

ambiguity + +

In this setting:

Tolerance of ambiguity was important in this project. Although the end terms of the project were clear the project path and boundary conditions were not for a very long time. So the consultant had to be comfortable with working in uncertainty.

Stimulating

motivation + + +

In this setting:

In project like this where people need to get to know and like each other it is very important to stimulate and motivate them. Without the motivation the project will not succeed. The consultant achieved this by workshops and work sessions.

Clarity -

In this setting:

This was not very important for this project. It was more about getting people to like each other and getting them to work together.

Political

awareness - -

In this setting:

This competency was not important because there were no coalitions involved. There was a shared goal to get the departments (involved employees) to work together.

Helicopter

perspective + + +

In this setting:

It was important to keep in sight the main goal of the project. All the stages of the project had to contribute to the main goal of the project. So the helicopter perspective was very important to see how the stages contributed to the end goal.

Purpose O The project was focused on organizational development.

Leadership O The project was setup participative.

Focus O The focus was culture change of the department, getting to like each other and work together.

Planning E/O There was no planning only the end terms were set.

Consultants O The consultant was a process-driven.

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Table 4.11: Paul Passchier, project I∗∗∗∗

Importance Elucidation H yp o th e si ze d c o m p e te n ci e s Networking - - - In this setting:

Networking did not prove to be important. The consultant was brought in the organization to solve the problem. Het did have contacts with the involved members but these did not serve to get them involved in the project.

Tolerance of

ambiguity + + +

In this setting:

This was very important, the view of all stakeholders on the problem was different. So it took a while before the consultant had a clear view of the problems in the organization, so he had to handle with the uncertainty.

Stimulating

motivation - - -

In this setting:

Stimulating did not play a role in this project. The organization members wanted to get rid of the problem so they were intrinsically motivated.

Clarity - - -

In this setting:

This competency was not important. In this project it is better to keep things vague. Setting goals can cause conflict, and the aim is to get rid of conflicts. The consultant formulated the goals as acceptable to both parties, thus kept it vague.

Political

awareness + + +

In this setting:

This was very important because there were a lot of different people in the organization (leaders, influencers, informal leaders etc.). The consultant brought this up in work sessions to make it explicit.

Helicopter

perspective + + +

In this setting:

This was very important for the consultant, he talked about it with colleagues and other people to get a clear perspective on the project and the goals.

Purpose O The creation of a better work environment.

Leadership O The project was participative.

Focus O The culture of the organizations had to change.

Planning O The project path emerged over time.

Motivation O The motivation was to achieve a better work environment.