The Theory and Practice of Change Management

Citation

Hayes, J. (2018). The Theory and Practice of Change Management (5th ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

Chapter Summary

The fifth edition has 34 chapters, plus front matter, references and index, in roughly 590 pages. According to the publisher, its underlying framework treats change as a purposeful and constructed sequence of events, not as something chaotic and unmanageable, and it combines scholarly discussion with practical "Change Tools", case studies and video interviews with practitioners. The grouping below follows the order of the chapter titles; the descriptions are limited to what the titles and the publisher's description show.

Chapters 1–3: Process Models of Change; Leading Change: A Process Perspective; Patterns of Change

The book opens with its process view of change. Chapter 1 introduces process models, Chapter 2 applies the same perspective to leading change, and Chapter 3 turns to the patterns that change takes.

Chapters 4–6: Recognizing a Need or Opportunity for Change; Starting the Change; Building Change Relationships

These chapters take the early stages of a change: seeing that a change is needed or possible, getting it going, and building the relationships on which it depends.

Chapters 7–8: Diagnosis; Gathering and Interpreting Information

Two chapters on diagnosing the situation, including how information is collected and interpreted before a change is designed.

Chapters 9–12: The Role of Leadership in Change Management; Power, Politics and Stakeholder Management; Responsible Change Management: An Ethical Approach; Managing Context to Promote Ethical Practice

The central people issues: leadership, power and politics, and stakeholders. The publisher flags the two chapters on ethical change management practice as new to this edition.

Chapters 13–15: Communicating Change; Motivating Others to Change; Supporting Others Through Change

Three chapters on working with those affected: communication, motivation and support.

Chapters 16–17: Shaping Implementation Strategies; Developing a Change Plan

The move from analysis to planning: choosing an implementation strategy and writing a change plan.

Chapters 18–27: Types of Intervention through Selecting Interventions

Chapter 18, "Types of Intervention", is followed by a series of chapters, each on one approach: "Action Research", "Appreciative Inquiry", "Training and Development", "High Performance Management", "Business Process Re-engineering", "Lean", "Culture Profiling" and "Value Innovation". Chapter 27, "Selecting Interventions", draws the series together. The publisher marks the value innovation chapter as new in this edition.

Chapters 28–31: Implementing Change; Reviewing and Keeping the Change on Track; Making Change Stick; Spreading Change

The later stages: carrying out the plan, monitoring progress, embedding the change, and extending it more widely.

Chapters 32–34: Change Managers Learning from Their Own Experience; Facilitating Collective Learning; Pulling It All Together: A Concluding Case Study

The final chapters treat learning by individual change managers and by groups, and end with a concluding case study.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–8

• Process perspective: the book's framing of change as a sequence of events that can be shaped, as the publisher puts it, not a chaotic and unmanageable happening.
• Patterns of change: the subject of Chapter 3, which sits between the process models and the early-stage chapters.
• Diagnosis: the group of chapters on diagnosing a situation and gathering and interpreting information.

Chapters 9–17

• Stakeholder management and power: named in the title of Chapter 10 as part of the people side of change.
• Ethical change management: the topic of Chapters 11–12, new in the fifth edition.
• Change plan and implementation strategy: the planning pair in Chapters 16–17.

Chapters 18–34

• Interventions: the book treats action research, appreciative inquiry, training and development, high performance management, business process re-engineering, lean, culture profiling and value innovation as separate interventions to be selected among.
• Embedding and spreading change: Chapters 30–31 on making change stick and spreading it.
• Learning: Chapters 32–33, on learning by change managers and collectively.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• A clear organising framework. The publisher describes the book as built on a process view of change, and the chapter order follows it, from recognising the need through diagnosis, planning, intervention, implementation and embedding.
• Practical tools beside theory. The publisher highlights "Change Tools" that students can apply to different scenarios, a range of case studies and video interviews with change practitioners, and a free website with tutorials, slides and case briefings.
• A menu of interventions. Chapters 18–27 give each major approach its own chapter and end with one on choosing among them, which supports decision-making in a project.
• Up-to-date cases. The fifth edition adds international cases named by the publisher, including the Volkswagen emissions scandal, the collapse of BHS and company culture at Uber, and two new chapters on ethical practice.

Limitations

• Length and breadth. With 34 chapters across about 590 pages, a one-semester course must select, and the book is better treated as a reference than read straight through.
• Management orientation. The book is written for business and management students and practitioners. Readers wanting a mainly psychological or sociological analysis of organisations will need other books alongside it.
• Process framing. The sequential framework is clear but depends on seeing change as a managed sequence; readers interested in emergent or less controllable accounts will want other books.

Where It Fits in the Course

Within this organisational psychology course, Hayes is the book to choose for a step-by-step, tool-based approach to managing a change project. Dawson and Andriopoulos's Managing Change, Creativity and Innovation is also a comprehensive textbook on change, and it brings creativity and innovation into the account; the two can be read side by side by readers who want both a process toolkit and a view of innovation. Fineman, Gabriel and Sims's Organizing and Organizations is a broader introduction to organisational behaviour, a good place to start if the topic is new.

For theory behind the practice, Weick's Sensemaking in Organizations and Making Sense of the Organization explain how people make meaning of ambiguous situations, and Schein and Schein's Organizational Culture and Leadership is a study of how leaders create and change organisational culture, which connects to Hayes's culture profiling chapter. Haslam's Psychology in Organisations and The New Psychology of Leadership develop a social identity approach to group behaviour and leadership. Bryman's Doing Research in Organisations helps with researching a change project.

How to Use This Book

The publisher addresses final-year business undergraduates, MBA and other postgraduate students taking modules in change management or organisational change, and change practitioners and consultants. No technical prerequisites are stated; a first course in organisational behaviour or management helps.

A practical plan:

• Core: Chapters 1–8 for the process view and diagnosis, Chapters 9–10 on leadership, power and stakeholders, and Chapters 16–17 for planning.
• People issues: Chapters 11–15 on ethics, communication, motivation and support, for any change project involving a team.
• Toolkit: read Chapter 18 and then only the intervention chapters (19–26) relevant to your case, finishing with Chapter 27 on choosing among them.
• Completion: Chapters 28–34 when the project reaches implementation, reviewing and embedding.

Apply the Change Tools to a real or case-study organisation as you read, and use the companion website and case briefings for practice.