Managing Organizational Change: Observations From the Front Lines

A review is presented, in the GAO Review, Vol. 16, Issue 1, Winter 1981, concerning what GAO managers and subordinates could do to improve the ways in which their units change their operations and adapt to the external forces which affect their work. The critical ingredient of success involves the ability of organizational members to understand the personal and situational factors involved in change and bring them under control. Adjustment can be forestalled for a while but, in the end, changes must be managed or the consequences are suffered. The longer a delay in adjustment, the greater its strain will be. A key to success is the ability of managers and subordinates to concentrate on the goals and positive intentions of change. Organizational changes can be very difficult to implement due to the technical quality of the changes, their effects on people, and the procedures used to implement them. Each change effort tends to move through a series of continuous and distinct stages. Initially, there is an atmosphere of anticipation. Later, there is a great deal of preliminary work done in formulation of decisions, goals, and policies in response to demands. Resulting changes are developed in steps of increasing complexity. The last stage is a period of experimentation. At this point, the system is monitored so that the plan can be altered, if necessary, and still maintain its essential direction.