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“Research says that 75% of organization change initiatives tend to fail”: An In-depth Analysis

Shenali Perera BUS230 Ms. Sulaksha Nayak 6/3/2021 Word count: 1482

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Organizational change initiatives are attributed frequently to 70% failure rates stirring questions about the origins of the particular statistic (Hughes, 2011). This is because majority of organizations in the contemporary world are unable to survive over long term stipulations as they are incapable of reinventing themselves (Rooke and Torbert 2011, 68). However, according to a global survey by Mckinsey and company (2008), constant change in organizations is considered paramount for survival amongst existing and rising competitors. These changes are not necessarily easy to implement as according to Bernard Burnes (2019), Kurt Lewin proposed that human beings are naturally hardwired to resist change. This is due to a part of the brain known as the amygdala which interprets change as a threat, making it extremely difficult to see the light at the end of a tunnel (Andreatta 2017, 6). Moreover, the anatomy of organizational change is extensively explained in the book titled ‘leading change’ which explains the critical success factors for change initiatives and why majority of these initiatives do not make it far (Kotter 1996, 5). Predicated on several change theories, this essay will focus on why change initiatives are bound to fail while also explaining key factors such as ‘lack of acceptance about the importance of change initiatives’, ‘refusal to initiate an immense sense of urgency’ ‘vision deficiency’ and ‘vision communication deficiency’ among a myriad of factors that cause deterioration in change initiatives.

Despite fighting to meet the demands of the currently competitive markets, most change initiatives tend to be very unsuccessful (Sirkin et al. 2014). The ADKAR model change management theory is characterized by representing an organization and focusing on the four root causes of change initiative failures with ‘awareness for the need to change’ being on top of the list (Aguirre and Alpern, 2014). According to the ADKAR model of change, organizations are presumed to be robust and resolute which simply means that change takes place because the importance of change is acknowledged by leaders, change agents and other members in an organization (Goyal and Patwardhan, 2018). This is a valid explanation as to why change initiatives fail because Kotter (1996) states that seniors scarcely recognize that revolution is an important and transformative process. This transformation takes place in stages and usually takes years to implement (Wilson, 2013). However, most organizations step up the process in attempt to see results much quicker than anticipated. This causes them to lose out on critical stages during the process which leads to the failure of the change initiative (Kotter and Schlesinger,

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2009). Moreover, the Deming cycle theory (2020) proposes that there are numerous errors that take place within an organization during the implementation process of the change initiative despite the change process being direct and coherent that disrupt the working in a loop cycle (Koiesar, 2018). This supports the statement by Kotter (1996) which explains that motivation and success arise due to internal organization decisions in comparison to external organization decisions.

Many managers believe it is easy to get past the first stage of implementing change in an organization. However, it has proven to be the most difficult stage over the years as it has become a challenge to motivate employees to emerge from their comfort zones (Fernandez and Rainey 2013, 7). This is because seniors tend to overestimate their success by increasing the level of urgency. The term ‘urgency’ has been misunderstood by many seniors in various organizations. According to Kotter (1996, 8), creating a sense of urgency is not doing several activities at once or creating busy environments, but it is drawing attention to discerning what really matters and what is important. This usually is a result of the fear of being blamed for any calamity created due to jeopardizing short term business outcomes, out of control procedures and shrinking stocks (Tsoukas and Chia 2002, 568). Pillai and Williams (2016) emphasizes that good leadership will adapt and overcome challenges in the workplace. He states that good leaders have the ability to identify any difficulties encountered by their employees and are able to propose ways to address the constraints that impact on the workplace (Al-Darmaki, 2018). This is also true as leadership and innovative systems are crucial to implement change (Kitana, 2016). As mentioned previously, the first stage is usually the hardest. However, recruited leaders or leaders who are promoted to senior positions are scarce causing less supervision over the implementation process at every stage. This results in lack of potential discussions with internal and external parties when the urgency for change initiative escalates (Sasser et al, 2021).

Another potential reason for the failure of the change initiatives is vision deficiency (Decker, 2020). Many senior leadership teams and guiding coalition fail to communicate their vision across to employees, stakeholders, and managers in order to create a sensible and appealing picture of what the future of the organization looks like (Mirvis et al., 2010). This is because they lack the skill to combine several ideas together into a single inspiring idea which is crucial to

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have a lasting effect on the listener. This is true as the ‘change curve’(1969) proposed by Kubler Ross suggests that designing of visions should be based on how people psychologically think and decide (instinctively and rather irrationally), rather than how leaders and authorities traditionally (and typically incorrectly) believe people think and decide (logically and rationally). This explains why transformational change initiatives in various corporations are reported to considerably fail given that such organizations have change initiative directives and programs without visions as well as unattainable plans which is unlike anything people would actually think or decide about (Koster and Van der Heijdan, 2015). Thus, the Kubler Ross model makes it clear that, whether a corporation has a compelling and clear change initiative statement, the change can hardly be discerned without a proper vision to offer guidance and direction (Kets de Vries al., 2009).

The next important thing is communicating the vision, as it has been proven to inspire employees, compelling them to work to the best of their abilities (Grimolizzi-Jensen et al., 2017). Bridges transition model suggests that the inner psychological processes that people experience during change must be addressed (Miller, 2017). This theory is applicable as the way in which the vision is communicated should be convincing enough to motivate employees to make short term sacrifices due to clear understanding of why change is important (Garvin and Roberto, 2014). The problem arises in making short term sacrifices when job losses and downsizing are incorporated. These problems arise because seniors are not committed to treat lay-offs fairly and increase new growth possibilities for employees (Bommer and Jalajas, 2020). This makes it more difficult to gain the support and understanding of the change plan from employees which undermines the ‘refreezing’ step of Lewin’s three step model which states that the new initiative must be widely accepted by everyone in an organization to become successful (Burnes, 2011). This is also true as in most cases, seniors act unethically tainting and tarnishing the vision which contradicts their words causing employees to lack understanding of the true motive behind the change initiative. This in turn causes employees to impair the change initiative causing them to be frivolous (Cohan, 2013). This behavior is a result of the ‘I do not like you’ stage of the ‘three levels of resistance and change model’ proposed by Rick Maurer which suggests that employees have lack of confidence and trust in the person trying to implement the change (Waddell and Sohal, 2010).

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In conclusion, change initiatives in organizations are time and again unsuccessful. They often do not reach desired outcomes due to ‘lack of acceptance about the importance of change initiatives’, ‘refusal to initiate an immense sense of urgency’, ‘vision deficiency’ and ‘vision communication deficiency’ among a myriad of factors that cause deterioration in change initiatives. This supports and explains the statistic of why 70% or more is attributed to change initiative failures. Seniors must ensure that a sense of urgency is created within the organization to draw employee focus on what really matters and what is important. As mentioned previously, change is a transformative process and only successfully takes place when the importance for change is accepted by all in an organization. This can only come to past if the vision is clear in the senior’s mind. Clear cut visions have a lasting effect on employees causing them to adapt to change with little or no hesitation. Once the vision is clear, it is important to communicate the vision to employees, stakeholders, and managers precisely without any confusion and ensure to act in accordance to the communicated vision at all times. This should be done in order to gain the support and commitment from employees. If all these steps are taken with careful precautions and with clear goals in mind, failure rates can be decreased by a great percentage and change can be implemented successfully.

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