Read the article titled “Habits as Change Levers”. Reflecting on step eight (8), Institutionalize the Change, identify a change that you implemented or was implemented at an organization with whic

Sustaining change in manufacturing companies By Bob Lillis and M arek Szwejczewski Why do changes stick in some organisations, w hile in others they peter o u t and decay? A fte r all, fo r most companies, it is a strategic im perative to sustain change and its associated performance improvement.

Sustainability means th a t the new w o rk in g practices and the improved performance persist fo r an appropriate period of tim e. The change has become th e norm. It is 'h o w we do things around here' and is not a o ne -o ff or a tem porary im provement b ut is on-going. Unfortunately, th e fa ilu re rate o f change initiatives is high - 70-90% are believed to fa il.

W hile studies have focused on th e factors th a t minimise in itia tiv e fa ilu re and help ensure th e successful im plem entation o f th e change, fa r less is understood a bo ut how t o sustain th e in itia tiv e once th e initia l im plem entation period is over.

For example, research into change initiatives specifically in m anufacturing organisations, have tended t o cohere aroundeither how t o im plem ent to ta l q ua lity management (TQM) successfully or th e success factors affecting th e process o f lean production im plem entation. However, th e most comprehensive study in to how t o sustain any organisation's change initia tive once it has been successfully im plemented, was th a t carried o u t by Buchanan et al (2005). Their th o ro u g h review o f w ha t is known and w ritte n a bo ut sustaining organisational change ide ntifie d a set o f 11 common factors. The o utlin e d efin itio ns o f these factors are shown in Table 1.

For example, th e influence o f Leadership is commonly accepted as im p o rta n t in successfully sustaining change. This fa cto r w ou ld include facets such as, has th e senior leadership team established a clear and consistent vision? Is th e Leadership also leading th e change once th e im plem entation phase is over? Considering th e factors in Table 1 and o utlin e definitions at face value, w h a t is missing is any understanding o f the 41 FACTORDEFINITION Leadership Setting the vision, goals and leading the change IndividualEmployees' individual commitment ManagerialManagerial style, approach, and behaviours Financial Balance of costs and benefits SubstantialPerceived centrality, scale, fit with organisation OrganisationalPolicies, procedures, system, and structures Cultural Shared belief, norms, and values PoliticalStakeholder and coalition power and influence ProcessualImplementation methods used ContextualExternal conditions and threats Temporal J Timing and pace of change activities Table 1: Buchanan e t al (2005) factors w ith definitions.

R e s p o n d e n ts ' Job T itleN u m b e r o f Years in RoleN u m b e r o f E m ploye es A f f e c t e d by t h e Change P ro g ra m m eD u r a tio n o f t h e Change P ro g ra m m e (in years an d a ll o n - g o in g )M a n u fa c tu r in g S e c to r___ _________ Operations site director human resources director3.5 5800 3.5 Food processing Deputy vice president5100 1.5Engineering European operations director3 18,000 1.5Metals Production manager 15 80 1.5 Petrochemical Regional operations manager4 100 2.5Chemicals (detergents) Production manager Managing director2 1050 3Chemicals (Coatings) General Manager 3.5 300 3.5 Semiconductors Head of integration compliance4.5 200 3.5Telecommunications Service director6 400 3.5 Machinery Global environment manager4 55,000 4.5Chemicals (paint/ coatings) Operations director 4 170 4.5 Cement Plant controller 4.5 200 4.5Car accessories Managing director 6 50 6.5 | Plastics Table 2: Respondents' iden tification a n d inte rview sample.relevance o f all 11 factors in d iffe re n t contexts and the respective influence th a t each individual fa cto r may have on encouraging sustainability. For instance, does employees' individual com m itm ent to sustaining th e change o utw e ig h the managerial style, approach and its behaviours? Is Leadership more im p o rta n t than th e Financial fa cto r t o sustaining change?

In o the r words, do some factors have more impact than others on successfully sustaining change? In this article, we rep ort prelim inary findings from stage one o f a tw o stage research project which sought t o answer these questions.

Research study We divided th e study into tw o separate b ut interconnected empirical stages. The firs t consisted o f in-depth interviews w ith executives fro m 13 m anufacturing companies which had sustained a change initia tiv e in th e ir business. During this stage, we investigated th e relevance o f th e 11 factors.

Several propositions were developed, some o f w hich are reported here. Stage tw o seeks to test these propositions in three m anufacturing companies, one o f which is Maserati in Italy. We w ill be reporting th e results o f th e second stage in a subsequent issue.

The interviewees in stage one came fro m a sample o f individuals w ho had attended one o f our courses at Cranfield School o f Management. In seeking an interview w ith a particular m anufacturing manager or m anufacturing director, we knew in advance th a t th e p otential respondent's business had undergone a change initiative, although th e length o f th e change period was unknow n t o us at th e tim e o f th e interview request. Table 2 provides a list o f interviewee job titles, how long th e jo b holder had spent in th a t role, th e number o f employees in th e company affected by th e change initia tiv e and the m anufacturing sector o f th e business.

The duratio n o f th e change in itia tiv e varied fro m a minimum o f 1.5 years to 6.5 years and all were still ongoing. We fe lt these periods o f tim e w ou ld be o f an appropriate duratio n to ju s tify a change initia tiv e being called 'sustained'.

Stage one findings E x te n t o f fa c t o r 's in flu e n c eSUB Strongly influential throughout Strongly influential at the start becoming less influential as change was sustained Not influential at the start becoming more strongly influential as the change was sustained Did not appear to influence or arise as significant13 1 4 10 1 7 37 6 7 6 3 6 12 13Findings suggest th a t most o f th e factors had a role to play in sustaining change, b ut th e ir influence varied depending on th e stage o f th e change programme. Four types o f influences were gleaned which are shown in Table 3. These were:

i) The factor was strongly present at the start o f the change and th ro u g h o u t the change period.

ii) The fa c to r was strongly present at th e start o f th e change b ut its influence waned as th e change continued.

iii) The fa cto r was n ot strongly present at th e start o f the change b u t became more in flu e n tia l as th e change continued.

iv) The factor was not seemingly influential at any point in the change or appears not to have arisen.

The research results o f stage one indicated th a t 10 o f th e 11 factors ide ntifie d by Buchanan et al (2005) had an impact on the sustainability o f change initiatives. The analysis o f the interview data indicated th a t th e Temporal fa c to r (the tim in g Table 3: Frequency o f influence o f th e 11 factors across th e 13 companies. and pace o f th e change initiative) did n ot appear to co ntribute t o sustainability in our sample and is th erefore n ot included in Table 3.

The interviews suggested th a t factors d iffered in when they had most influence. Based on th e analyses, several propositions were developed. The fo u r propositions we consider to be o f most interest were:

P1 Leadership [setting th e vision, purpose, goals, and challenges] remains strongly in flu e n tia l th ro u g h o u t th e duratio n o f a sustained change programme P2 Political [stakeholder, coalition power and influence] is at its most influ e n tia l in th e early stages o f a sustained change programme P3 Managerial [managerial style, approach, behaviours] is at its most in flu e n tia l in th e later stages o f a sustained change programme P4 Individual [employee's individual com m itm ent] is at its most influ e n tia l in th e later stages o f a sustained change programme Our data analyses in stage one also provided some interesting interactions betw een th e various factors. So fo r example, at company 2 in the engineering sector, whose change period at th e tim e o f interview had been 1.5 years and affecting 100 employees (Table 2), th e factors Substantial, Financial, Leadership, Political, Processual and Contextual were strongly present at th e start o f th e change programme and had remained so th ro u g h o u t its duration. Four o f th e factors namely.

Individual, Managerial, Organisational and Cultural were not strongly present at th e commencement o f th e change but became more in flu e n tia l as th e change continued.

In addition, we were also interested in w he th e r th e company had replaced its Managing Director or Chief Executive O fficer at th e commencement o f th e change programme. We believed th a t this could have been an im p o rta n t fa cto r in sustaining the change. It transpired th a t 7 o f th e 13 companies were so affected and on th e basis o f these statistics, we consider the impact o f replacing a company's MD or CEO on sustaining a change programme is inconclusive and requires fu rth e r research.

Conclusions Sustaining change is n o t a simple procedure. Our research findings suggest t h a t managers need t o p ut emphasis on d iffe re n t factors at d iffe re n t stages o f th e change. It has long been recognised th a t Leadership is im p o rta n t at th e start o f the im plem entation process. Our research supports this view b ut in add itio n points t o just how critical it is later in th e life o f the initia tive. The leadership cannot a ffo rd to reduce its e fforts once th e change initia tiv e has been successfully launched. If it takes a back-seat and hands over to th e management team, such action w ill invariably lead to sustainability failure.

The influence in sustaining change o f th e political aspect is o fte n fo rg o tte n . It is assumed th a t having good Leadership is more im portant. However, concern w ith th e political aspects o f th e change initia tiv e is vital if it is to be sustained. In the interviews, most o f th e senior managers pointed to th e fact th a t they had obtained obvious and visible support fo r th e initia tiv e fro m various stakeholders at th e start o f th e im plem entation.

The research also suggests t h a t g e ttin g th e com m itm ent o fth e Individuals in th e organisation at th e start o f th e change process may n o t be as im p o rta n t as some claim. However, to succeed, th e Leadership needs to get th e com m itm ent fro m most o f th e Individuals once th e im plem entation is complete in order to sustain th e change. A successful initia tive launched can be achieved w ith o u t th e vast m ajority being com m itted. However, once th e im plem entation phase is over, if th e vast m ajority o f Individuals are n ot com m itted then th e in itia tiv e is likely to peter o u t and fa il. The Managerial fa cto r is also im p o rta n t in sustaining th e change initia tive b u t only at th e later stage o f th e process. Managers have an im p o rta n t role in helping th e leadership team t o ensure th a t th e new ways o f w orking introduced by th e change initia tiv e are adhered too.

The research is still ongoing in stage tw o, w ith one case study completed and a fu rth e r tw o currently being conducted. Therefore, it is to o early in the study to categorically state the respective influences o f the various 11 factors on sustaining change in manufacturing companies. We hope the research, by indicating which factor to focus on during the various stages o f the change programme, w ill ultim ately prove helpful to those manufacturers keen on making change initiatives in th e ir organisation stick.

References Buchanan, D, Fitzgerald, L, Ketley, D., Gollop, R, Jones, J L, Sharon Saint, L, Neath, A and Whitby, E (2005). 'No going back:

A review o f the literature on sustaining organizational change', International Journal o f Management Reviews, Vol 7, No 3, pp 189-205.

A b o u t th e Authors Dr Bob Lillis is senior lecturer in service operations management at Cranfield School o f Management, Cranfield University Dr Marek Szwejczewski is professor o f operations strategy at Cranfield School o f M anagement and Director o f th e UK's Best Factory Award Scheme. To fin d o ut more about sustaining organisational change, email [email protected] Copyright ofManagement Servicesisthe property ofInstitute ofManagement Servicesand its content maynotbecopied oremailed tomultiple sitesorposted toalistserv without the copyright holder'sexpresswrittenpermission. However,usersmayprint, download, oremail articles forindividual use.