The Impact of Organizational Change on
the Operations of the Ontario Zone,
Canadian Red Cross:
A Review
_______________________
Final Report
by Vanessa C. Wachuku Supervisor Dr. J. Bart CunninghamGraduate School of Public Administration
Client
Mr. Ronald Kelusky Director General
Canadian Red Cross, Ontario Zone
November 27, 2012
This report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Administration at the University of Victoria.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank several people for their support in completing this research project. This report could not have been written without the exceptional guidance and support of my academic supervisor - Dr. J. Bart Cunningham. His feedback was immensely instrumental in completing this research project.
I would like to thank my client - Mr. Ron Kelusky for his invaluable support throughout my research and to the research participants at the Ontario Zone of the Canadian Red Cross for participating in the review process.
I would also like to thank my parents – Chikezie and Ngozi and my sister – Ijeoma for their continuous encouragement.
Finally, I would especially like to thank my wonderful boys - Ethan and Seth for their love, support, patience and understanding throughout this research project. We did it boys!
TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ... 5 1. INTRODUCTION ... 9 Issue ... 9 Need ... 10 Purpose... 10 2. ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND ... 11
The Canadian Red Cross ... 11
The Ontario Zone... 12
3. FIELD OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE ... 16
Planned and Emergent Change ... 17
Continuous and Episodic Change ... 18
Organizational Change in the voluntary sector ... 19
Kotter’s Eight Step Change Model ... 21
4. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ... 24
Balanced Scorecard... 24
Application of the Balanced Scorecard in the Ontario Zone environment ... 26
5. METHODOLOGY ... 28
Data Collection Strategy ... 28
6. FINDINGS ... 31
Client and Stakeholders ... 31
Internal Process ... 33
Financial & Organizational Capacity ... 36
Learning & Growth ... 38
7. DISCUSSION... 41
Client & Stakeholders ... 42
Internal Process ... 43
Financial & Organizational Capacity ... 44
Learning & Growth ... 44
8. RECOMMENDATIONS ... 46
Recommendation 2: Establish an Executive Level Interdisciplinary Committee ... 47
Recommendation 3: Participate in an externally focused policy formulation committee ... 48
Recommendation 4: Implement development, recognition and retention strategies ... 48
9. CONCLUSION ... 50
10. REFERENCE ... 53
11. APPENDICES... 57
Appendix A: Interview Questions ... 57
Appendix B: Free and Informed Consent Form (signed consent) ... 59
Appendix C: Balanced Scorecard Framework ... 61
Appendix D: Modified Balanced Scorecard: The Ontario Zone Environment ... 62
Appendix E: Relationship between organizational change goals and the perspectives of the Modified Balanced Scorecard ... 63
List of Figures ... 64
List of Tables ... 64
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A needs assessment was conducted on the organizational structure of the Ontario Zone of the Canadian Red Cross. The purpose of the needs assessment was to determine if the organization in its current form had the capacity to adapt and respond to the constantly changing external environment as well as assess the ability of the organization to capitalize on new opportunities. As a result of the assessment, the Ontario Zone implemented a major organizational change that realigned its operations and structure. Specifically, the reorganization realigned the reporting structure of senior staff, clarified the reporting relationship between programs and leveled out the distribution of power within the senior management team. The Ontario Zone constantly aims to improve its internal processes by understanding environmental pressures and capitalizing on new opportunities. This enables the organization to increase its capacity to fulfill its mission and mandate and to ensure the continued growth and successes of its programs.
The ability of the Ontario Zone to effectively respond and adapt to the external environment is crucial for its success in achieving the organizational vision, mission and strategy of the Canadian Red Cross. As one of five zones of the Canadian Red Cross, the Ontario Zone is comprised of its core programs including Disaster Management, Injury Prevention and Community Support services and its health related program: Community Health Services. Following the implementation of the organizational change, a review had not been conducted to assess the impact of the change initiative on the operations and people of the Ontario Zone. In fulfilling the academic requirements of the Masters Degree in Public Administration, a proposal was put forward to the Director General of Ontario Zone to undertake a review of the
organizational change. Purpose
This project was a review of the organizational change that was implemented in the Ontario Zone. The purpose of the review was to provide an understanding of the impact of the change through the gathering of opinions, perspectives and personal experiences of the research
participants. Understanding the impact of change was approached from the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1996) which serves as a lens for reviewing the impact of change. The four perspectives were modified as the Ontario Zone is a voluntary and not for profit organization. These perspectives: Client & Stakeholders; Internal Process; Financial & Organizational Capacity and Learning & Growth were used to create the research questions.
Methodology
A literature review was conducted on the field of organizational change and organizational change in the voluntary and not for profit sectors. Semi structured and open ended interview questions were developed as the qualitative data collection instruments. The questions were used to solicit information from thirteen participants. The participants were interviewed by telephone and face to face to answer to the research questions and provide their reflections on the
Specifically, interviews were conducted with the key decision makers of Ontario Zone which included members of the Senior Leadership Team and senior directors of the Ontario Zone’s Community Health Services program. The four perspectives included Client and stakeholders; internal process; Financial & Organizational Capacity and Learning & Growth were reviewed to determine the impact of the change on the operations of the Ontario Zone.
Results with Recommendations
Four recommendations emerged from the responses that were provided by the research
participants and literature. The key themes that emerged from the participants were categorized by each perspective of the Modified Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1996) which was modified to align with the Ontario Zone’s operations as it is a humanitarian and voluntary organization
The results from the review revealed that a majority of the participants identified that the change had a positive effect on the organization. With respect to the findings from the four perspectives, the results revealed a varying degree of success. As an example, there was strong consensus that collaboration had significantly improved between programs and departments. This was attributed to the establishment of interdepartmental and program meetings which allowed for the sharing of best practice, collaboration between program and departments and the ability to address common challenges. This collaboration appeared to have improved the performance of the organization. This view is supported by Cuijpersa et al. (2011) who assert that inter-departmental collaboration enhances an organization’s innovation, exchange of information and performance. In contrast, questions involving the internal process perspective identified a less positive outcome when it came to the process for the setting of priorities and goals of the organization.
Four Perspectives of the Modified Balanced Scorecard: Recommendations Client & Stakeholders
From the Clients & Stakeholders perspective, the organizational change saw improvement to the service delivery aspect of the program and improvements in the experience of clients and
stakeholders, specifically in the areas of faster response time by client representatives and in the effectiveness of the front desk operations. The results also revealed an improvement in the service delivery process and in the knowledge of the client service providers. From the findings and supporting literature, the assessment also revealed the need for the creation of a Client & Stakeholders Working Group to provide continuous oversight on practices and emerging issues that impact clients and stakeholders. Specifically, the group would conduct satisfaction surveys on a regular basis to identify and address ongoing challenging as well as recommend strategies to improve the level of satisfaction, for not only existing clients and stakeholders, but also for new clients and stakeholders.
Recommendation 1: The Ontario Zone should establish a provincial client and stakeholders working group
Internal Process
From the internal process perspective, it was identified that improvements in information, communication, knowledge and process would be best addressed through a process of greater accountability and the establishment of key performance indicators (KPI) and through the establishment of interdepartmental and program meetings It was felt that this would help resolve issues that span across programs and departments. Therefore, the establishment of an executive level interdisciplinary committee group to provide oversight and constant monitoring of the key issues is recommended.
Recommendation 2: The Ontario Zone should establish an executive level interdisciplinary committee with foci on accountability, organizational capacity and financial capacity
Organizational and Financial Capacity
While most of the participants noted the lead role that Philanthropy department played in influencing and creating funding strategy, the review identified that on a program level, financing was also influenced by other external factors and that these factors needed to be considered when developing the overall funding strategy. To address this challenge, improved dialogue is required between programs and the philanthropy department on funding strategies. This would eliminate traditional issue of overlap and duplication such as approaching the same funders. To ensure that logical funding strategies are created, there needs to be input from the finance department, programs and philanthropy, and continuous monitoring of the financial state and capacity of the Ontario Zone. This can be achieved by the creation of an interdisciplinary committee.
To enhance the Ontario Zone’s external presence and influence, the majority of the respondents supported the active participation of the Ontario Zone on various external policy and funding tables. This would improve access to information and the identification of opportunities. It is therefore recommended that the Ontario Zone become actively engaged in positioning itself as a key player at policy formulation, advocacy and funding tables in all sectors, inclusive of the public, private, voluntary and not for profit sectors.
The findings also revealed that a clarification of the reporting relationship between members of the senior leadership team was needed. This would facilitate greater collaboration and teamwork. As earlier noted, collaboration can enhance productivity, innovation and the exchange of
information.
Recommendation 2: The Ontario Zone should establish an executive level interdisciplinary committee with foci on accountability, organizational capacity and financial capacity Recommendation 3: The Ontario Zone should participate in an externally focused policy formulation committee
Learning & Growth
From the learning & growth perspective, the organizational change appeared to have improved the environment for development, learning and growth of Ontario Zone’s employees. The findings revealed that some of the benefits of the change included the creation of succession and mentorship programs, a strengthened middle management and an improvement in the leadership skills for middle management. While this was seen as an improvement, it had not been
consistently implemented throughout the organization nor was it considered to be permanent. Based on the findings it is recommended that permanent development and learning strategies be implemented to continuously enhance the skill development, learning and growth of all staff within the organization and further, that a process of continuous monitoring be implemented. Recommendation 4: The Ontario Zone should implement development, recognition and retention strategies
Application
The application of the results of this review and its recommendations are designed to benefit the executives and staff within Ontario Zone. The application is also designed to improve the organization’s processes and strategies both in the short and longer term. The executives in the Ontario Zone are by virtue of their position change agents and will benefit from these findings to enhance effectiveness of the current operations and streamline future organizational changes.
1. INTRODUCTION Issue
In 2010, the Ontario Zone of the Canadian Red Cross conducted a needs assessment to review the organization’s capacity to respond to external and internal organizational pressures and to create a structure to capitalize on identified opportunities. The assessment revealed the need for Ontario Zone to realign its operations in order to take full advantage of external opportunity and to improve the management of related internal organizational pressures.
From an external perspective, the assessment revealed various pressures including an increased demand in the reporting requirements by the Local Health Integrated Networks (LHIN) and Community Care Assess Centers (CCAC) on cost, quality and outcome; mandatory compliance with new legislation; an increased demand in customer service and community presence for the delivery of essential Red Cross programs and services; significant growth and opportunity in the Community Health Services portfolio and the identification of development opportunities like the Lifeguard program.
The Internal perspective identified a need for the change which included the need for an
organizational structure able to support two divergent organizational designs: a silo-based matrix structure and an integrated regional model. Prior to the change, the structure had
indistinguishable lines of authority and an ambiguous accountability structure. As well, the two organizational designs did not support interdisciplinary and interdepartmental communication and information sharing. It promoted silo-based reporting structures and limited cross
communication between programs and departments. These challenges limited the adaptability and flexibility of the organization to respond to external environmental pressures. In addition to the above pressures, the assessment also revealed an increase in the attrition rate of volunteers and employees as a result the lack of operational focus by management (Kelusky, 2010)1. In response to these pressures the Ontario Zone implemented an organizational change initiative that realigned its structure to ensure continuous success and growth. The change initiative specifically realigned the reporting structure that changed the span of control, leveled out the distribution of power and clarified the reporting relationships between programs. The initiative also realigned employees within the matrix structure increasing the level of accountability and the regional geographical structure which addressed the discord between programs due to the divergent organizational designs. The realignment redistributed the workload of employees to allow for an exclusive focus on identified programs that had the most potential for growth and new opportunities. The realignment also addressed the environmental pressures that were revealed as a result of the needs assessment. Addressing the environmental pressures is crucial for voluntary organizations like to the Red Cross to effectively attain the organization’s vision, mission and strategy.
The Ontario Zone needed to address its internal environment to build and sustain the
organizational capacity to respond to the external pressures. Responding to the pressures may
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allow for the effective positioning of the organization as an agency of choice with respect to the delivery of essential programs.
Need
While the Ontario Zone implemented an organizational change that realigned its structure and reporting relationship, a review of the organizational realignment was not conducted. This review is intended to provide feedback on the successes of the reorganization and provide
essential information on the impact of the organizational change on the operations of the Ontario Zone.
Purpose
The project will review the organizational change and the impact of the change that occurred in the Ontario Zone. The information for the review will be obtained by compiling the opinions, personal experiences and perspectives of members of the Senior Leadership Team and the Community Health Services Directors. Feedback will also be provided on the successes achieved in the post organizational change environment as provided by the executives interviewed. The review questions were based on the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1996): Client & Stakeholders; Internal Process, Financial & Organizational capacity and Learning & Growth.
2. ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND The Canadian Red Cross
The Canadian Red Cross (CRC) is a leading humanitarian organization guided by the Seven Fundamental Principles of the International Committee of Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) Movement. The Fundamental Principles are: Humanity, Independence, Neutrality, Voluntary Service, Impartiality, Universality and Unity. The organization’s mission is to improve the lives of the vulnerable by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world. This improvement is achieved through the effective delivery of essential core services including: Disaster Management, Community Resilience and Capacity Building, Health and Social Programs, Violence and Abuse Prevention, Injury Prevention and Humanitarian Issues & International Humanitarian Law. The delivery of the core services and programs are performed by the organization’s employees and volunteers which enables the organization to leverage its capacity to achieve its mission. In 2010, The CRC adopted a five year strategic plan (Strategy 2015) 2 which supports the mission of the organization. The 2010-2015 Strategic Plan has the following goals:
Goal 1: Disaster Management
People will have their basic needs met and their living conditions restored and improvement in the event of crisis, conflict and disasters.
Goal 2: Community Resilience & capacity building
Communities will have increased capacity and resilience to address their basic needs.
Goal 3: Health & Social programs
People will have improved health status through community-based actions.
Goal 4: Violence & Abuse Prevention
Children and youth will be protected from violence and abuse through the creation of safe environments.
Goal 5: Injury Prevention
People will have the skills and knowledge to make safe choices, prevent injuries and respond in emergency situations
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Goal 6: Humanitarian Issues and International Humanitarian Law
Humanitarian issues will be addressed in order to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being.
The Ontario Zone
The Ontario Zone is one of the five zones of the Canadian Red Cross. It employs over 4,000 full and part time staff with a volunteer base of 6,645. The Zone’s annual operating budget is derived from government grants, transfer payments, donations, competitive bid service contracts and fee for service programs. The highest percentage of revenue originates from competitive bid service contracts, followed by government grants and transfer payments. Appeals and donations provide the third source of revenue while fee for service programs also generate revenue for the Ontario Zone.
In support of the National Strategy “Strategy 20153”, the Ontario Zone delivers varied programs inclusive of the following:
• Disaster Management (Responding to Emergencies at Home, providing assistance across Canada, Helping Beyond our borders).
• Health and Social Programs inclusive of Community Health Services, Health Equipment Loan Program, Meals on Wheels, Transportation services, System Navigators and Assisted Living Services.
• Community Resilience and Capacity Building includes Empowering First Nation Communities, Disaster Preparedness and First Contact. Violence and abuse Prevention (Spreading the Bullying Prevention Message)
• Prevention Education in First Nations Communities and Empowering Youth through Bullying Prevention).
• Humanitarian Issues (Humanitarian Issues Promotion, Exploring Humanitarian Law, Reconnecting Loved Ones).
• Injury Prevention (First Aid/Swimming and Water Safety)
• Philanthropic support (Tiffany Circle Launch, Wal-Mart Campaign, The Paterson Foundation Gift and the Sprott Foundation Gift).
These programs and services have a direct impact in the community. With specific reference to 2011, the Ontario Zone assisted 6,813 people through its disaster services; 561 in disaster responses, 2241active disaster management volunteers, 10,481people trained through 341 disaster preparedness workshops, 15,109 pieces of health equipment were loaned, 210,745 people received Red Cross first aid training, 385,361 people participated in Red Cross swimming and water safety programs, 18,129 youth reached through RespectED workshops; 22,468
Ontarians educated on international humanitarian issues, 4.1 million hours of home support
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services were delivered, 259,698 meals were delivered through Meals on Wheels and 339,821 transportation rides were provided to clients4.
As a voluntary and humanitarian organization, the Ontario Zone has both a volunteer and an employee structure. The Director General is the operational head of the organization or lead employee and the Council Chair is his counterpart at the voluntary level. The volunteer structure is comprised of governance volunteers at the Ontario Zone and regional levels and while there are governance structures at the branch or community level, they are not critical to the formal governance structure. Program and support services’ directors report to the Director General at the staff level while regional chairs report to the Ontario Zone Chair at the volunteer level. Both structures (staff and volunteer) deliver essential programs and services to the clients of the Ontario Zone.
The realignment changed the organizational structure in the following ways:
Senior Management
The organizational change was implemented to improve the focus of the senior management team on strategic planning, direction and growth. It was also intended to provide a clarification on accountabilities, provide a balanced workload of the senior management team and improve their support to the operations of the organization.
Senior Management Team
The senior management team was modified to include the creation of a new position: Associate Director, Volunteer Resources/Organizational development.
Territorial Design
Originally at six regions, the regions were streamlined to four regions in response to external business demands with particular reference to LHINs and CCACs to ensure that Ontario Zone was in alignment with the communities that it serves. As a result, Central Lakes and Eastern Regions were merged into one region or operating entity. West Central and South West regions were aligned to suit the geographical boundaries of the LHINs and CCACs in those regions.
Operational Management Structure
Changes that were made to the operational management structure of the organization were made with particular reference to its regions, particularly in the Northern and Toronto regions. Key factors that led to the new regional operational structure include demographics, geography, unique programming requirements and population (Ontario Zone Realignment, 2010). The realignment further established five new positions: Associate Director, Organizational
Development & Volunteer Services; Branch Liaison Managers; Director, Service Coordination Centre; Director, Personal support and Director, Community Support Services.
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The realignment was intended to balance the workload of staff, increase accountability, increase corporate support, and address the gaps in the front desk and real estate operations. The net result allowed for the implementation of performance management, a greater level of balanced
program delivery and increased management specialization. Even within the matrix, the new structure improved the level of accountability and creation of a knowledge based environment that promoted information, innovation and communication between programs. The realignment was also implemented to ensure that the Ontario Zone had the capacity to serve its internal and external stakeholders which are illustrated below.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders is defined as “any person, group, or organization that can place a claim on an organization’s (or other entity’) attention, resources, or output or that is affected by that output” (Bryson, 2004, p. 35). Similar to other organizations, the Ontario Zone has various stakeholders which could be categorized into three groups: key, primary and secondary. Key stakeholders significantly impact the organization; primary stakeholders are impacted either negatively or positively by the organization while secondary stakeholders are indirectly impacted by the organization.
Figure 1: Stakeholder- Interrelationship Diagram
As illustrated on Figure 1, the stakeholder’s Interrelational Diagram outlines the various categories of the Ontario Zone’s stakeholders. These stakeholders include employees,
management, volunteers, community groups, community leaders, competitors, donors, funders, government, members, potential member, general public, suppliers, related organizations, other Red Cross national organizations and the International Committee of Red Cross and Red Crescent. Stakeholders can have both an impact on organizational change and are directly impacted by the organizational change itself and therefore it was deemed essential to identify some of the key stakeholders that interact with the Ontario Zone.
Stakeholders Employees Management Volunteers Community groups/leaders RC National Societies ICRC/IFRC Suppliers Public Competition Funders Donors Clients
3. FIELD OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
According to Weick & Quinn (1999), the premise of organizational change is founded on the notion that change will not be required if jobs were properly done the first in time. They suggest that “change starts with failures to adapt and ... change never starts because it never stops” (p. 381). Change is caused when an organization experiences crisis and can be seen as “an exercise in convincing the various stakeholders to get on side [as it is] “an exercise in negotiation and compromise” (Cunningham & Kempling, 2009, p. 330).
Organizational change has been researched at great length as evident from the extensive literature in the field. As a research topic, it offers divergent quantitative and qualitative views that are based on individual perceptions, opinion and views. Existing literature also has its foundations from the social sciences. As a result, the various foundations have resulted in divergent views and analysis which Pettigrew et al (2001) note, include time; history; process and action; partnership between scholars & practitioners and the link between change processes and organizational performance. This view varies from Weick & Quinn (1999) who classifies organizational change into two groups: the initial views change as “episodic, discontinuous, and intermittent” while the latter views it as “continuous, evolving and incremental” (p. 362). As Roach & Bednar (1997) cite, this distinction between incremental and radical changes guide theory construction and data collection.
Morgan & Brightman (2001) define organizational change as a process that reviews “an organization’s direction, structure and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of external and internal customers” (p. 111). The view of organizational change management as a process is supported by Nauheimer (2005) who observes that change management is comprised of
processes, tools and techniques on managing human resources. Therefore, change management or managing change is, being skilled at making, obtaining and transferring knowledge, which changes behaviours to reflect and align with the new knowledge and understanding (Garvin, 1993).
Morgan & Brightman’s (2001) rationale for change supports the view of serving the changing needs of internal and external customers that are aligned with the Ontario Zone’s purpose for implementing the change initiative. As observed by Kelusky (2010), the realignment will allow for better positioning of the organization to respond to its internal and external changing
environment. Accordingly, organizations have to constantly adapt to vigorous environments that are ever increasing (Van de Ven & Poole, 1995) as their survival is dependent on the extent of their alignment with their external environment (Burns & Stalker, 1961). Van de Ven & Poole (1995) echo a similar view on the internal structure, as they note that an organization’s internal dynamics acts as a driver for an organizational change. As a driver of change, the internal dynamics, structure and environment of the Ontario Zone supported the realignment because the existing matrix and silo based structure was restrictive with respect to communication,
information and process sharing between programs and departments (Kelusky, 2010).
Todnem (2005) notes that existing literature on organizational change agree on two issues: the initial is that the pace of change is great while the latter suggests that while being caused by internal and external factors, change “comes in all shapes, forms and sizes” (p. 370). Todnem
attempts to inspire further research in organizational change and creates a conceptual framework to manage organizational changes. Based on Todnem’s (2005) observation, two clusters of literature were created with a focus on the rate of occurrence of change. The initial cluster supports the view that organizational change can occur on a planned or emergent manner while the latter views change as continuous or episodic in manner.
Planned and Emergent Change
Planned Change
Bamford & Forrester (2003) observes that the origin of planned change can be traced to Lewin’s (1951) change theory which supports the view that organizational change is a process that “moves from one “fixed state” to another through a series of pre-planned steps” (p. 547). His three step model exemplifies the paradigm of planned change which discusses a change model that supports a three-stage change “unfreezing, movement, freezing. Freezing addresses the current organizational culture, state and knowledge; movement investigates new change initiatives and methodologies while refreezing pertains to implementing the change initiatives which may change attitudes, behaviours and the organizational culture. Lewin (1951) also proposes a three-stage change process which he notes as essential because new behaviour and culture become evident if the organization adopts the change initiative. As a three-stage change process, Lewin’s (1951) theory of change exemplifies the paradigm of planned change which supports these stages: “unfreezing, movement and freezing”.
Similar to Lewin (1951), Kotter’s (1996) change model supports the paradigm of planned change because it outlines a planned eight-step model for an organizational change. While the model supports participative and group based changes, it does not take into consideration the extremely slow pace of change an organizational structure may take. This change model also does not consider the overlap of stages that can be attributed to the fluidity of some organizations, does not consider divergent factors that may occur during each stage of change. The model assumes an absolute “buy-in” of the change initiative from all stakeholders and does not consider extreme changes in the organization (Burnes, 2004).
Emergent change
Orlikowski (1996) observes that emergent change happens when a new pattern of organizational change occurs that was not previously adopted by an organization. This type of change adopts a complicated and faster pace of change upon occurrence and thus may not allow the key decision makers to have an adequate timeframe to respond to the change. Bamford & Forrester (2003) notes that the emergent approach to organizational change supports a fast and complicated pace of change is complicated which may not allow a quick response and adaption by the key decision makers. Unlike the planned change, the emergent change does not have a background that
outlines, in great detail, the stages of the organizational change. It supports the view that an organization’s need for change might not exist if the organization functions in more predictable and stable manner. As a result, the uncertainty of the environment makes emergent change more appropriate than planned change (Bamford & Forrester, 2003).
Continuous and Episodic Change
Continuous change
Feldman(2000) notes that continuous change supports the view that organizations have to be able to continuously change to survive in the competitive environment. This view is supported by Weick & Quinn (1999) who observed that continuous change “group(s) together
organizational changes that tends to be ongoing, evolving and cumulative” (p. 375). As such, continuous change supports the view that changes that simultaneous occur in different departments merge to create a significant organizational change, thereby supporting
interdependencies. Weick & Quinn (1999) further outline the key concepts of continuous change including recurrent interactions, shifting task authority and learning as examples. Continuous change therefore supports small changes. Unlike episodic change which follows Lewin’s (1951) theory, supports the unfreeze - movement – and freeze three step model. Continuous change has a three step model that commences with a freeze state, rebalance which then leads to
reinterpretation followed by an unfreeze step that resumes with improvements in the respective units.
Episodic change
Episodic change “is used to group together organizational changes that tend to be infrequent, discontinuous, and intentional” (Weick & Quinn, 1999, p.365). This change occurs by shifts resulting from internal and external environmental pressures. It also occurs when an
organization undergoes a period of divergence which is an imbalance between the organizational structure and environmental needs. Lewin’s (1951) theory of organizational change which supports a three step process (unfreeze, movement, freezing) illustrates this type of change. The inability of organizations to adapt and change as quickly its environment is known as inertia (p. 369).
Episodic changes are therefore organizational changes that are created as a result of changes in an organization’s internal and external environment. They occur when organizations vary from their equilibrium condition and state. They are discontinuous, infrequent and intentional and occur in times of divergence which Weick & Quinn (1999) note as times when there is an
absence of linkage between the organizational structure and environmental demands. In contrast, continuous change comprises of organizational changes that are likely to be, evolving,
cumulative and ongoing (Weick & Quinn, 1999). They observe that simultaneous changes across the units build up to create significant organizational changes.
While the above discusses general literature on organizational change and change management, the following section provides an overview of organizational change that impacts the voluntary sector to provide a better understanding of the impact of change in the voluntary sector.
Organizational Change in the voluntary sector
According to Steed & Rabonowcz (2006), voluntary sector organizations are important because “the sector is recognized by citizens, industry and government, as an increasingly vital
contributor to healthy communities” (p. 275). Their importance is attributed to their delivery of front line services and programs to the end users. Similar to other voluntary organizations, the Ontario Zone of the Canadian Red Cross provides essential front line services and programs to the community. Like other organizations Ontario Zone experiences pressures that impact the organization’s financial and organizational capacity to deliver programs and services in the community. As a result of the limited resources, voluntary organizations have to be accountable and must manage their limited resources in order to achieve their vision and to deliver essential programs and services. From an accountability perspective the organization must meet the conditions of the funder as in the case of “service level agreements” which place conditions on service delivery and how funding is to be allocated. From transparency perspective organizations must be seen to be transparent and in most cases provide audited statements to meet the
conditions and expectations of the funder including the donating public. All of this must be accomplished with limited resourcing. Additionally, the combination of limited resources, accountability and transparency requirements create internal pressures which can affect both volunteers and staff and are key stressors on both the financial and organizational capacity of voluntary organizations.
Voluntary organizations are increasingly playing a key role in the delivery of community health service. As such, there is a requirement for a greater degree of integration and collaboration both internally and externally. As a result of this integration and collaboration, there are an increasing number of partnerships which too must be managed. This adds complexity to the organization as well as the number of stakeholders. Managing multiple objectives and stakeholders can become difficult as some stakeholders may be resistant to a change in organizational vision, direction or structure. For example, anecdotal evidence identified that some stakeholders supported the merger between the Community Health Services division with Care Partners, while others resisted the merger as they saw the change from an altruistic driven perspective which aimed to alleviate human suffering verses the generation of revenue.
In response to external environmental pressures, voluntary organizations implement change initiatives in order to remain competitive and viable. In the case of the Community Health Services of the Ontario Zone an external environmental scan identified that in order for the program to continue it needed to expand its offering to include nursing and therapeutic services. On October 1, 2012 the Red Cross and the Care Partners merged to create a new organization5. The new organization (Red Cross Care Partners) is jointly owned by the Canadian Red Cross’s and Care Partners and provides community health services and nursing/therapeutic services to the community. The merge illustrates that organizations must respond to changes in
environmental landscape both in terms of moving to partnership agreements and changing its structure to remain competitive. Even though there were compelling business reasons for the merger, a change of this magnitude was difficult given the long history of the Red Cross.
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Robbins’ (1998) values were cited by Hay, Beattie, Livingstone & Munro (2001) as key values for inclusion in any organizational change, particularly on changes within the voluntary sector. These values include the creation of a climate of trust; openness and support; consultation and respect. Consultation and involvement of people affected by the change is essential as Kotter (1996) notes in Step 4 “Communicating the vision for buy-in” in his 8-step Change process. As well, consultation with key stakeholders will allow for easier buy in as people feel they are part of the change process.
Kotter’s 8-Step change process6 can be applied to every sector including the voluntary sector. This change process was adopted by the Ontario Zone during the organizational changes which both realigned the reporting relationships and the regional structures as well as merged the two companies (Red Cross and Care Partners) (Kelusky, 2011).
Kotter (1996) 8 Step process of change is listed below. 1. Establishing a sense of urgency
2. Creating the guiding coalition 3. Developing a change vision
4. Communicating the Vision for Buy-in 5. Empowering Broad-based Action 6. Generating Short-term Wins 7. Never Letting up
8. Incorporating Changes into the Culture
Application of Kotter’s 8 step process when undertaking change in voluntary organizations and communication of the vision to promote consensus and empower the change actors and
stakeholders, “may promote implementation-centered discussion decision making, problem solving and conflict management” (Bryson, 2004, p. 249). Bryson (2004) proposes a “Strategy Change Cycle” that is comprised of a ten step strategy change model for voluntary organizations to implement. He claims that the implementation may promote a more specific approach in the analysis of strategic and major changes in the organization.
Bryson’s (2004) ten stage Strategy Change Cycle included: 1. Initiation and agreement on a strategic planning process 2. Identification of organizational mandates
3. Clarification of organizational mission and values
4. Assessment of the organization’s environment (internal and external) 5. Identification of strategic issues organization faces
6. Creation of strategies to address and manage the changes 7. Review and adoption of the strategic plan
8. Creation of an effective organizational plan
9. Development of an effective implementation process
10. Reevaluation of strategies and the strategic planning process
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Table 1 provides an illustration of the paradigms of change models that the Ontario Zone adopted based on Burnes’ (1996) characterization of change by the rate of occurrence. Table 1: Change characterized by the rate of occurrence
Type of change Lewin (1951) Kotter (2004)
Planned Change x x
Emergent Change x
Continuous Change
Episodic Change x x
The previous discussion illustrated some of the existing literature on organizational change with reference to two divergent groups of change based on the rate of occurrence. The sections also illustrated that literature was available on organizational change within the voluntary sector. Based on the existing literature and Kelusky (2011) who noted that Kotter’s (1996) eight step model was used as a basis for the implementation of the organizational realignment, the change model will be discussed in detail below.
Kotter’s Eight Step Change Model
Kotter (1996) developed an 8-step process for leading change which he claimed organizations should adopt when undertaking a change process. He suggests that for an effective change to occur, the eight steps should be implemented in the order that he proposed. The following change management steps are proposed by Kotter (1996)
Step 1: Establishment of a sense of urgency
Kotter (1996) observes that an effective change should begin with an environmental assessment to determine the trends, competition and financial performance of an organization. The
assessment will enable the organization to “identify and discuss crises, potential crises, or major opportunities” (Kotter International, 2011). He further proposes the use of external consultants and internal change agents with good leadership and persuasive communication skills to create a need for urgency as individuals may not change unless a rationale and urgency are provided.
Step 2: Creation of a coalition group that is comprised of power and influence makers
For an effective change, it is crucial to have a group of people to lead the change initiative with various features including influence, position power, expertise, leadership and credibility. Thus, change agents with high influence and power will allow for more success in the implementation process which Appelbaum et al. (2012) support. Therefore, good change leaders as well as effective managers to champion the change initiative are instrumental for its success champions.
Step 3: Development of a change vision
Kotter (1996) observes that a clear change vision was essential as it provided clarity, guidance as well as motivation and coordination of the actions of the stakeholders towards to the right
direction. The vision should be feasible, focused, flexible, communicable, desirable and imaginative as it will provide easier “buy-in on the change initiative. The vision should also provide the “how to” with respect to its achievement.
Step 4: Communication of vision for buy-in
The ability to ensure that stakeholders comprehend and accept the change vision is imperative as it will encourage buy in from stakeholders. In addition, the creation of a clearly defined and articulated communication plan is essential for the success of the vision as it informs
stakeholders at every opportunity on the rationale and how to achieve the vision. There is also easier buy-in when it is perceived the senior leadership team is in agreement with the change by embodying it through their actions and words.
Step 5: Empowerment of a broad-based action
Kotter (1996) proposes that stakeholders should be involved in the change process as it
encourages them to think positively about the change and various ways to implement the change. This may remove any barriers by encouraging people to perform well. Various pressures like the structural pressures, internal structure, management information systems and resistant managers impede change. Addressing these pressures by involving the stakeholders in the change process and addressing all challenges will empower a broad-based action.
Step 6: Creation of short term wins
Establishing short term wins that recognize the efforts that stakeholders have undertaken in ensuring that the change is achieved is an essential step. Creation of the visible and tangible wins may increase motivation, promote positive feedback, increase the morale of people and increase the sense of urgency.
Step 7: Consolidation of improvement and production of additional changes
Consolidation of improvement, goals and production of additional goals is the seventh step that organizations need to adopt to create momentum for the organizational change. This can be achieved by developing, motivating people to build success in the change.
Step 8: Incorporation /implementation of changes of into the organization
The final step that Kotter (1996) proposes is the incorporation of change into the organizational culture to promote short and long term success. This is essential as not adopting this step may lead to people going back to the previous processes that were in place prior to the change.
Summary
The above concepts provide illustrations of how organizational change can be grouped in the change categories that were outlined: planned & emergent and continuous & episodic. Planned change can be traced to Lewin’s (1951) change theory which supports a three step change process of unfreezing, movement and freezing. In this change model, an organization addresses its current culture, investigates new change initiatives and implements the appropriate initiative to change attitudes, behaviours and culture. Kotter’s (1996) eight step model also supports the paradigm of planned change as his model underscored eight planned steps an organization should adopt when undergoing a change. Emergent change occurs when an organization quickly adopts a change in response to changes in its environment (Bamford & Forrester, 2003). The change subsequently occurs when an organization quickly responds and adopts a change. In contrast, continuous changes support small incremental changes which simultaneously occur in different departments or unit (Weick & Quinn, 1996). In this model, organizations go through a three step process of freezing, rebalancing and unfreezing, thereby reinterprets and resumes improvements in their respective or departments. Notable is that irrespective of the model of change an organization undergoes a change when it experiences an imbalance between its structure and environmental needs.
In the following section, the concept of the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1996) is used as a framework to provide additional information in understanding change. The traditional perspectives were modified to offer a better understanding of the change that was implemented in the Ontario Zone of the Canadian Red Cross.
4. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The delivery of essential programs and services to the community is the lens through which the Ontario Zone sees itself within the environment. Accordingly, it is essential that the Ontario Zone consider various options to achieve its performance measures and the Canadian Red Cross’ strategy, mission and vision. As a conceptual framework to review the impact of the change in the Ontario Zone, the Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1996) was used as a lens through which the Ontario Zone climate was reviewed and data was collected on the impact of the
organizational change that occurred. Using a framework like the Balanced Scorecard assisted the researcher with the development of relevant research questions and in the selection of the most appropriate methodology (Maxwell, 2004). The Balanced Scorecard was modified to be in alignment with the goals of the realignment which provided a framework through which data was collected. The crucial perspectives used from the Balanced Score Card included Clients & Stakeholders; Internal process, Financial and organizational capacity and Learning & growth. This conceptual framework provided assistance in the development of relevant research questions. The concept of the Balanced Scorecard will discussed in the following section. Balanced Scorecard
The Balanced Scorecard (Kaplan & Norton, 1996) is a management, measurement and strategic planning system used to monitor the performance of an organization against its organization’s goals. It is a means that translates an organization’s vision and strategy into a set of performance measurements and actionable items. As a performance measurement tool, it aligns organizational activities to its vision and strategy by using key perspectives to monitor an organization’s
performance against its goals. Bryson (2004) observed that the theory of the balanced scorecard (BSC) supported the view that learning and growth outcomes should improve the effectiveness of the internal process which subsequently should facilitate achievement of desirable outcomes. Kaplan & Norton (1996) developed the concept in response to the immense dependence on the financial perspective which traditionally did not consider other key performance measurements. Thus, the Balanced Scorecard uses financial and non financial measures or metrics to provide a balanced approach to the performance of an organization to monitors the performance of the organization against its strategic goals. The results will offer information on helping and hindering factors that facilitates or interferes with an organization’s ability to handle change (Buttefield et al, 2010. p. 147).
Therefore, the Balanced Scorecard can be used, as a performance measurement tool, to ascertain if the objective, goals and measures are achieved and the extent of the level of achievement using financial and financial measures (Kaplan & Norton, 1996). The ability to apply
non-financial measures is a feature of the Balanced Scorecard and this feature can be adapted to assess other outcomes instead of an exclusive focus on the financial perspective. Thus, the Balanced Score Card can be used as a means of assessing outcome from a number of
perspectives and is applicable to organizations who have undertaken a change as in the case of Ontario Zone.
Niven (2008) noted, that some of the challenges related to focusing exclusively on the financial perspective only included: past financial results are not strong indicators of the future
performances of an organization, lack of recognition of intangible assets like relationships and the inability to capture the cross-functional dependencies between programs and departments to attain the organizational goals.
Figure 2 – Perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard: Translating vision to strategy
Source: Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System by Kaplan & Norton (2007), Harvard Business Review, 85(7/8), p. 153.
The Balanced Scorecard considers four key perspectives including Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process, Learning and Growth as discussed below.
Financial Perspective
The financial perspective pertains to the financial measurement of organizations within every sector (Kaplan & Norton, 1996). For not-for-profit organizations like the Ontario Zone which attempts to achieve its objectives and targets with limited financial resources, the financial perspective ensures that cost saving mechanisms internal efficiencies of the organization is attained. Thus, the perspective will address the financial view with particular reference to the processing of financial information.
Customer Perspective
This perspective focuses on customer satisfaction which is essential to the success of an
organization, particularly in voluntary organizations like the Ontario Zone. As the majority of its clients are vulnerable and require essential social and community services meeting client needs must be aligned with the mission and vision of the organization which is to alleviate human suffering.
Internal Process Perspective
According to Kaplan & Norton (1996), this perspective addresses the way an organization functions by underscoring the essential actions it must undertake to fulfill its made and the objectives and outcomes for its clients and stakeholders. This perspective relates to how the business is functioning and if the processes are in alignment with the organization’s mission.
Learning & Growth Perspective
The ability of an organization to achieve learning and growth this perspective is directly applicable to both volunteers and employees, their skills and competencies and training and development strategies. These are all essential to ensure that clients and stakeholders needs are addressed. These skills and competencies can also work to improve the internal process of an organization and are instrumental in the success of an organization. Kaplan & Norton (1996) notes that the ability to provide job satisfaction empowers an organization to achieve its mission. Accordingly, implementing training and development strategies may enhance an employee or volunteer’s ability to achieve the organization’s mission, vision and strategy.
Application of the Balanced Scorecard in the Ontario Zone environment
The Balanced Scorecard is a valuable lens through which the organizational change at the Ontario Zone is reviewed and it provided a framework through which key data can be collected using qualitative research instrument (interview questions). While the Balanced Scorecard provides essential perspectives, Zimmerman (2004) observes that it can also be “modified a bit to make it work effectively in a non-profit world” ( p.2) . Thus, the Balanced Scorecard was modified to align with the perspectives that were considered critical to the Ontario Zone including, Clients & Stakeholders, Internal Process, Financial & Organizational Capacity and Learning & Development of its employees and volunteers as shown on Figure 3. The
Figure 3: Modified Balanced Scorecard: The Ontario Zone of the Canadian Red Cross Climate
As noted earlier, the Balanced Scorecard is an essential lens through which the Ontario Zone’s climate is considered. As illustrated in Figure 2, traditional perspectives of the Balanced
Scorecard were modified to be in alignment with the perspectives for review. The questions were created in response to the goals of the organizational realignment in the Ontario Zone and were framed around the perspectives of the Modified Balanced Scorecard. These perspectives: Clients & Stakeholders; Internal process; Financial & Organizational Capacity and Learning & Growth assisted with the gathering of essential information and the selection of the methodology
(Maxwell, 2004). Ontario Zone Client and Stakeholders Internal Process Financial and organizational capacity Learning & Development
5. METHODOLOGY Data Collection Strategy
Data was collected on an individual basis which allowed for a sense of trust to be developed between the interviewer and the interviewees. The collection of data on an individual basis also encouraged the participants to provide complete and candid expressions of their thoughts which may have resulted in more enriched data and information.
Design of instrument
Semi structured and open ended interview questions were developed as the qualitative data collection instruments to be used during the face to face and telephone interviews with the participants. The research instrument was designed to encourage participants discuss their experiences with the organizational change. The interview questions were created using Kaplan & Norton’s (1996) Balanced Scorecard which provided a lens through which Ontario Zone’s environment was to be reviewed. The use of qualitative semi structured and open ended
interview questions also allowed for an in-depth understanding of the meaning of responses and provided richer data to improve an understanding of the organizational change that occurred in the Ontario Zone. The view that semi structured interview questions provide richer data is supported by O’Sullivan et al. (2002) who noted its offers flexibility to the researcher to digress based on input from the participants. The semi structured interview questions also enabled the researcher to identify and discuss different points of view that may not have occurred by restricting the interview to only the research questions.
Participants, Selection and Procedure
Research participants were selected from the executive and key decision making group,
comprised of the membership from the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and Community Health Services (CHS) Directors. The group ranged from 12-17 members as membership in some cases overlapped between both groups which elicited homogeneity because each member is a program, regional or departmental director. Open ended interview questions were conducted on the
research group and on average; each interview lasted from 45-60 minutes. The participants were identified by the client because they were most directly involved with the planning and
implementation of the organizational change. Their experiences were deemed to be valuable for to the review process. Thus, the participants were interviewed to provide their reflections on the research questions that were framed around four perspectives of the modified balanced
scorecard.
Participants were contacted by the researcher and advised about the project and the goal to review the organizational change initiative that was recently implemented by the Ontario Zone of the Canadian Red Cross. A follow up email was sent to the participants with key information on the research project. Participants were provided with the consent form to participate in the interview and were asked to provide information on their availability to participate in the interview. Interview questions were included in the emails to enable the participants prepare for the interview and participants were provided with the option to withdraw from the research and
interview process at any time. Confidentiality and anonymity was underscored in the written communication and during the interview. Upon receipt of availability interviews were scheduled with the participants. Prior to the commencement of the interview, the researcher elicited
participation and agreement to participate in the interview process by having the participants sign a consent form. The participants were further reminded of the anonymity and confidentiality of the data, the option to withdraw from the interview at any time and that participation was voluntary.
Open ended interview questions were posed to the respondents during the interview process. Based on the feedback from the participants, additional probing questions were posed to further explore the responses that were provided. The hand written notes that were taken during the interview were transcribed, compared and reviewed for accuracy. They were sent to the participants to confirm accuracy. Once accuracy was confirmed an analysis was conducted on the data.
Primary data from the participants was analyzed using content analysis (Cummings & Worley, 2008) which supported a process that performs a comparative analysis of the data by identifying common themes from the responses. For data that deals with the experiences of people, there is an assumption that various kinds of experiences can subsequently be conceptualized and assessed for similarities and disparities and grouped into categories. Using this methodology, data from the participants was analyzed for common themes categorized by theme from the perspective of the modified balanced scorecard. Quotations from the open ended interviews were included to illustrate the common theme(s).
According to Cummings & Worley (2008), content analysis is normally used to analyze interview questions as it attempts to group and consolidate comments into categories. They further claim that interview comments can be shrunk into few themes, if the analysis is done correctly. This has merit because it hones in on the key themes for ease of understanding, synthesis and comprehension by the readers. This type of analysis grouped into 3 steps: the initial step is to read and review the question to look for a common theme; the second step is to create themes from the reoccurring comments; the third step is the placing of responses into appropriate themes. The most prevalent categories with the highest or most responses form the main theme. However, as it is not reliant on numerical data, it may be subjective based on the researcher’s bias.
Interview measures
The interview questions were created using the Modified Balanced Scorecard which provided a lens though which the interview questions were assessed. Interviews were conducted with the key decision makers, comprised of the executives on four perspectives including (1) client and stakeholders (2) Internal process; (3) Capacity: organizational and financial; (4) Learning & Growth. Additional questions were also posed to provide lessons learned and recommendations with future changes. Questions were specifically asked about the organizational change
implementation process, the reflections of the executives on changes on the internal process to improve accountability, information systems and communication and suggested improvement for the Ontario Zone’s financial and organizational capacity. Participants were also asked to provide
information on the lessons learned and suggestions for future changes. Each perspective and content from the questions was analyzed for common themes. The findings are provided in the following section and in an effort to address the research questions; tables are presented in the section below to support the findings.
6. FINDINGS
Fifteen interview questions were individually assessed and the common themes were identified from the responses provided by the respondents. Examples of responses with common themes are provided as illustrations. An analysis was conducted on responses that related to the interview questions which addressed the key perspective of the modified balanced scorecard: Client & Stakeholders; Internal Process; Financial & Organizational Capacity and Learning & Growth. Responses were analyzed and those that were not applicable to the interview questions were not analyzed. An analysis of the applicable responses that related to the interview questions was conducted and findings were revealed from each perspective of the modified balanced scorecard. These findings are provided in the subsequent sections below.
Client and Stakeholders
The interviewees noted that they had limited information regarding the impact of the organizational change on their external stakeholders. The following comment illustrates the point. “We did not conduct a pre-evaluation on our external clients & stakeholders, so I can not give an example of any improvements”. As a result, the participants only provided primary data on the impact of change on internal clients and stakeholders.
Can you provide examples of how the change management process in 2010 improved the level of program and service delivery to Red Cross’ clients and stakeholders by your department, program or region?
As shown on Table 2, a majority of respondents provided different responses. The responses revealed two themes: Faster response time and improvement in front desk operations. Out of 13 responses, two respondents noted that changes in the improvement of the program and/or service delivery were not directly related to the change initiative and/or a change process. The following comment illustrates this point. “The department was already centralized in terms of service delivery and there the (service delivery) did not change”. Another participant observed that; “our external clients did not know that any change occurred” indicating that external clients and stakeholders did not have knowledge about the change nor did the change affect them in any way.
Table 2: Improvement in service and program delivery to stakeholders and clients
The majority of change occurred in the area of faster response time to inquiries. One respondent noted that “we are now able to provide faster response to staff and volunteers because of clear delineation of roles”. Another noted that “Our internal clients and stakeholders have seen an improvement in the level of customer service skills because of the change in front desk
operations”.
Several participants agreed that the improvement can be attributed to dedicated front desk resources and the branch liaison manager role which provided more efficient front line customer care to clients and stakeholders.
In your view, how have the experiences of the organization’s clients and stakeholders changed
as a result of the organizational change?”
As shown on Table 3, the majority of respondents agreed that the Ontario Zone’s clients and stakeholders experienced positive changes and therefore were positively impacted by the organizational change. Two themes were identified with respect to the positive impact that resulted from the change. First was an improvement in the process of service delivery and secondly was an improvement in the knowledge base of the service providers. Some of the responses included; “The change improved the process of service delivery as it engaged a wide band of people. The inclusion created a tremendous boost because staff and volunteers felt they were part of it [the change]” and “It allowed us to increase the knowledge base provincially, regionally and nationally”. Several participants agreed that by increasing the knowledge base of the service providers could be attributed to enhanced efficiencies within the operations.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Faster response time to inquiries Efficient front desk operations No impact
Faster response time to inquiries
Efficient front desk
operations No impact
Number of respondents 5 4 2
Improvement in Program & Service Delivery
T
h
e
m
Table 3: Change in the experience of clients and stakeholders
In your view, how have the experiences of the organization’s clients and stakeholders changed
as a result of the organizational change?”
Two respondents remarked that the change was not as positive for the internal clients and stakeholders. One respondent noted that “The message I heard from staff and volunteers is that it [organizational change] created more silos and created a larger rift in the structure”. In addition, two respondents observed that there were no changes in the experiences of clients and stakeholder.
Internal Process
How have knowledge, process, communication and information sharing improved in your
program, region or department? How have they improved between your program, department or region and others?
Table 4 shows that the majority of respondents provided different examples through which information, processes, knowledge and communication have improved. They cited two key themes; the implementation of quarterly interdepartmental and program management meetings and regular meetings with employees to share best practices. One respondent noted that; “My middle management is now fully knowledgeable on exactly what I know and what I want from them. This is a new process I have put in place including holding regular meetings to communicate information to them. This has allowed for a greater sense of control over their areas of responsibility, has empowered them and has created an improved level of informed decision making”. Another respondent remarked that “Management teams from all corporate
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Positive change Negative change
No change
Positive change Negative change No change
Number of respondents 7 2 2
