Research literature suggest that change has several characteristics:
- Structural & Systemic – change in one part of an organization will affect other parts
- Dynamic process – it is an ongoing process not a one time event
- Non-linear & Recursive – because the world is complex and often chaotic
- Multi-dimensional – because it includes behaviors, beliefs, values, roles, relationships, knowledge, skills, organization & administrative components
- Involves resistance, conflict, and negotiation
- Requires investment in structures, people, technology, and psychological support
- It involves people with their anxieties, uncertainties , and need to develop new skills
- It is both personal and organizational
- the internal conditions of the organization has a huge impact on its success
- Practices often change before beliefs – therefore there is often a need to drag them by the hair and hope their hearts and minds will follow
- Leverage – think big but start small ( the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious)
- Needs – it is a response to real and felt needs
- Evolutionary planning is better than purely linear approach (things often unfold in unanticipated ways)
- The critical state of change is not policy but found in the decisions the front-line managers and workers make
- Change is learning
- It is both top-down and bottom-up
