Del descubrimiento del mercado al redescubrimiento del estado

Given that the assumption above holds true – that there is a gap between how Sweco’s quality management system is intended to be used and how it is actually used in the region of Hedmark-Oppland, the goal of this study is to develop some principles that may be used to minimize that gap. As will be outlined in this section, those principles will be based on principles of change management and change leadership. It is quite difficult to pinpoint exactly what constitutes organizational change, because in a way, organizations are continuously changing. According to Jacobsen (2012, p. 25), an organization experiences a change when it moves from one relatively stable

position to another relatively stable position. Furthermore, he defines organizational change as a process. This definition of change is illustrated in figure 11. Recalling the illustration of this study’s problem statement in figure 2, we can immediately see that there is a resemblance. Given that the gap in the problem statement exists, and that we wish to do something about it, bringing the QA-status closer to the QA-vision will require some sort of organizational change.

Time 2

Organization _Process Organization

Comparison Difference/similarity

Time 1

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According to Jacobsen (2012), there are five perspectives of change, each associated with a specific driver for change. These are planned change, with purpose being the driver; change as life cycles, where growth is the driver; change as evolution, where competition for limited resources is the driver; change as a dialectic process, where conflict of interest is the driver; and change as anarchy, where coincidence is the driver. In this case, the driver for change will be an intention or purpose, and the change will thus be planned. For planned change, Jacobsen (2012, p. 38) describes four phases: the diagnostic phase, the solution (which is the description of the desired state and the plan to get there), the execution and the evaluation.

Another approach to planned change is provided by John P. Kotter, a well-known author within the field of change leadership. In this book Leading change (2012), he proposes an eight-step model for the preparation for, implementation and maintenance of change. In the following paragraphs, the rationale behind each step will be briefly introduced.

Establishing a sense of urgency

Kotter argues that because change requires sacrifice, extra workloads, discomfort and cooperation from a great number of people, executing the change effort will be extremely difficult, or even impossible, when there is a high level of complacency in the organization. Therefore, he argues that the urgency level in the organization must be pushed up in order for people to realize that there needs to be a change.

Creating the guiding coalition

According to Kotter, there must be a coalition guiding the change effort. Furthermore, he argues that such a coalition will need to consist of members that display four key characteristics: position power, expertise, credibility and leadership, and that the coalition will need to work together as a team towards a common goal.

Developing a vision and a strategy

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“In a change process, a good vision serves three important purposes. First, by clarifying the general direction for change […], it simplifies hundreds or thousands of more detailed decisions. Second, it motivates people to take action in the right direction, even if the initial steps are personally painful. Third, it helps coordinate the actions of different people, even thousands and thousands of individuals, in a remarkably fast and efficient way”

This is also supported by Hoyle (2011, p. 178), who states that

“A shared vision is not a vision statement we all agree with, it is a force that binds people together with a common aspiration. […] When people share a vision, the work they do together becomes focused on a common purpose and is not adversarial or competitive”.

Communicating the change vision

Kotter goes on to argue that (2012, p. 87)

“The real power of a vision is unleashed only when most of those involved in an enterprise or activity have a common understanding of its goals and direction.”

Therefore, he argues, the vision cannot be communicated enough. He states the following key principles for communication of the change vision (Kotter, 2012, p. 92): simplicity, use of metaphors, use of multiple forums, repetition, leadership by example, explanation of seeming inconsistencies and two-way communication.

These steps, creating urgency, creating the guiding coalition, developing the vision and communicating the vision, are steps that need to be undertaken before the execution of the change effort, and according to Kotter, they cannot be stressed enough.

Empowering employees for broad-based action

According to Kotter, a successful change effort will depend on the effort and discretionary behavior of a large number of individuals in the organization. He goes on to present five principles of empowerment of people (Kotter, 2012, p. 119): communicate a sensible vision to employees; make structures compatible with the

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vision; provide the training employees need; align information and personnel systems to the vision; confront supervisors who undercut needed change.

Generating short-term wins

Kotter argues that short-term wins serve six purposes in a change effort (Kotter, 2012, p. 127); they provide evidence that sacrifices are worth it; they reward change agents with a pat on the back; they help fine-tune vision and strategies; they undermine cynics and self-serving resisters; they keep bosses on board; and they build momentum. Furthermore, Kotter emphasizes that planning for short-term wins is something quite different than simply hoping for them.

Consolidating gains and producing more change

According to Kotter, many change efforts fail when victory is declared to soon because that will cause the urgency rate to plummet and resistance to rise again, which will lead to regression. He presents five principles of successfully keeping momentum and consolidating change (2012, p. 150): produce more change, not less; bring in more help; leadership from top management; project management and leadership from below; reduction of unnecessary interdependencies.

Anchoring new approaches in the culture

Kotter argues that unless the change is anchored in the organizational culture, either by killing of inconsistent pieces of the original culture or by replacing it altogether, the change that has been produced will not be sustained. He presents five principles of anchoring change in a culture (2012, p. 166): culture comes last, not first; it depends on results; it requires a lot of talk; it may involve turnover; and in makes decisions on succession crucial.

Based on this, the following proposition is stated:

Proposition 24: The region of Hedmark-Oppland can use elements from Kotter’s eight- step process of creating change to improve the implementation of the QMS.

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