Effective Managment of Change - Case Study Example

Managing Change at HMP Durham Introduction: The Case Situation The teaching staff in HMP Durham’s Offender Learning Program are in a quandary. For three years, since 2005, the program, which aims to instruct offenders and help them develop skills useful for employment upon their release, had been under contract with Newcastle College, one of the largest and most prolific institutions of higher (HE) and further education (FE) in the country. HMP Durham had been the first foray of Newcastle into the area of Offender Learning and Skills Services, and now, three years after, the College had contracts with four other prisons and two probation centers. The staff had a comfortable working relationship with the management of both HMP Durham and Newcastle. In 2008, the three year contract expired and rather than immediately renew it with Newcastle, the prison decided to re-tender the OLASS contract and allow different institutions to bid for the next three-year commitment. At year-end, the staff learned that the new contract had been awarded to the Manchester College. The staff were perplexed, because no information at all had been provided to them. They are uncertain of how the new arrangements shall affect them, and disturbed at the lack of transparency in the negotiations. Newcastle has formally asked for clarification from HMP Durham about the decision to change service providers, but so far none among the staff are aware of any response. The dilemma now lies in the fate of the staff, who are primarily under HMP Durham although they operationally functioned under Newcastle program specifications. They expect that they will be kept on as the teaching staff under the Manchester program, but other than that, they expect little. This has been a major cause of demoralization for the staff, and a reason for some to contemplate changing jobs, resulting to a probably loss of valuable talent. Theoretical Framework: Change Management In the situation given above, a sudden and unexpected (as far as the teaching staff are concerned) change has occurred which significantly redefines their working conditions with HMP Durham. This changed must be systematically addressed in order to alleviate further damage and restore the organizational unit to According to Hayes (2007, p. 30), change management is concerned with “modifying or transforming organisations in order to maintain or improve their effectiveness.” It is a conscious use of strategies and is, in fact, a sub-field of strategic management (Mitchell, McKenna & Young, 2007). Burnes (2000) underscored the fact that severe problems may be encountered by organization even in addressing small-scale concerns, if the issues and approaches are not competently managed. As time passes by, the growing complexity of the environment in which organizations operate makes change management more important and more complex rather than less. (Burnes, 2005, p. 85) One of the more widely used change management model is John Kotter’s “Eight steps to successful change. In his books (Kotter, 1995; Kotter, 2002), he summarized these as follows: 1. Increase urgency - inspire people to move, make objectives real and relevant. 2. Build the guiding team - get the right people in place with the right emotional commitment, and the right mix of skills and levels. 3. Get the vision right - get the team to establish a simple vision and strategy, focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive service and efficiency. 4. Communicate for buy-in - Involve as many people as possible, communicate the essentials, simply, and to appeal and respond to people's needs. De-clutter communications - make technology work for you rather than against. 5. Empower action - Remove obstacles, enable constructive feedback and lots of support from leaders - reward and recognise progress and achievements. 6. Create short-term wins - Set aims that are easy to achieve - in bite-size chunks. Manageable numbers of initiatives. Finish current stages before starting new ones. 7. Don't let up - Foster and encourage determination and persistence - ongoing change - encourage ongoing progress reporting - highlight achieved and future milestones. 8. Make change stick - Reinforce the value of successful change via recruitment, promotion, new change leaders. Weave change into culture. (Chapman, 2009) This model will be employed in determining the steps to be taken for the change programme for the staff of the Offender Learning program at HMP Durnham. Parties Involved: Newcastle College Newcastle College is one among four divisions of the Newcastle College Group, together with Intraining, Skelmersdale Ormskirk College, and TWL. The Group, a substantial £175 million organization, is comprised of a total 40,000 learners and almost 4,000 staff located in about 100 sites throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its business is education, both further (FE) and higher education (HE), skills training, employability, and work-based learning solutions. The Group’s vision is “to provide complete skills and employability solutions and be the training provider of choice for UK businesses and individuals.” (Annual Report 2007-2008) Newcastle College, the flagship division of the Group, has an enrolled population of approximately 24,000 FE students and 3,000 HE students. It turns over more than £75.5 million annually, is poised with a capital investment programme worth £250 million, and has consistently been profitable. It is the first college in the north east to achieve the Training Quality Standard with excellence in construction, and is among the top three universities in the UK (Annual Report 2007-2008). Since 2005, Newcastle College has also taken on the role of a provider of offender learning and skills service. Its subdivision, the Academy of Learning for Justice (ALJ), continues to deliver offender learning in four prisons and two young offender institutions. The school won funding from the European Social Fund and the Regional Development Agency, thereby enabling additional OLASS projects to be undertaken. The projects were designed to guide the offender through the transition from his former way of life into education, training and employment in the service of the community. (Annual Reports from 2004 through 2008) Parties Involved: Manchester College The Manchester College is a new institution which was born out of the merger of the City College Manchester and Manchester College of Arts and Technology (MANCAT). It offers 55 HE courses, in 22 different locations. The College is reapplying for certification in the new Training Quality Standard and all indications are that the leadership will be successful in this bid. Furthermore, seven new industry-linked academies are in the process of being established in the national sphere. These are: the Creative and Media Academies; Manchester Enterprise Academy; Communications Academy; Finance and Business Academy; Manchester Health Academy; and the East Manchester Academy. Manchester College has built for itself a sterling reputation in the offender learning and skills program. Its Offender Learning Directorate has made three tenders, for Adult Provision, Young People Provision, and Careers, Information, Advice & Guidance Service. Aside from this, the Offender Learning program’s level of excellence was validated when its Vice-Principal, Merron Mitchell, was awarded the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) STAR Award, and presented with an OBE by Prince Charles for her services to education and skills. In recognition, she was included in the Queens birthday honours list. Prior to the merger of City College Manchester and MANCAT, the City College was the largest and most successful provider of offender learning in England. By court orders, its provision was also delivered to newly released offenders and learners within the community, in order to help address worklessness and employability, and to benefit young people not in education, employment or training. (The Manchester College Home Site, 2008) At present, Manchester College delivers offender learning and skills services to forty-two secure establishments throughout England and in two probation areas. Parties Involved: HMP Durham HMP Durham is a local prison intended for male offenders. The institution holds remand prisoners, convicted and sentenced prisoners from the Cumbria and Tyne and Wear areas. It has an operational capacity sufficient to accommodate 981 prisoners. The prison’s facilities are comprised of 7 wings, a Separation and Care Unit, and a Healthcare Centre. All cells are equipped with integrated sanitation and in-cell power, except for a few cells in the Healthcare Centre. There is, however, need for additional capital investment to enhance said facilities. The prison is limited by severe operational constraints. HMP Durham is run by the HM Prison service, and since the prison population has increased across the whole service, it had exacerbated the lack of education programmes for prisoners. The Government had to subject the prison system under tight budgetary control. This predicament had led to some unrest among the prison workforces, whose actions had threatened to affect the prisoners in these facilities. As of now, the prison is required to achieve a budgetary efficiency of 3% within the succeeding three years (2008-2010), while ensuring that the resulting impact on prisoners will be minimised. HMP Durham’s Learning and Skills Program As to learning and skills acquisition, HMP Durham’s Education Department assesses all prisoners’ literacy and numeracy skills on the fourth day after their admission. The Department offers the following: Business Studies Life skills Business Enterprise Creative skills Parenting/Story Book Dads Vocational Literacy Industrial cleaning Computer skills Numeracy skills Financial management Food hygiene English as a second language First aid Citizenship Health and safety The above courses had been run by Newcastle Education until 2008; for 2009, the OLASS had been re-tendered and the contract awarded to the Manchester College. Additionally, the following courses are run under the auspices of the Prison Service: Painting and decorating Waste management Joinery Information technology Bricklaying Skills for sport Manufacturing Creative crafts According to feedback from the prisoners, they have acknowledged the importance of these programs and how the skills obtained from them in these courses will greatly enhance their employment prospects once they leave the confines of HMP Durham. In the 2007 annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board for Durham prison, it was noted that as of the end of November of that year, 335 prisoners attended Learning and Skills provision where qualifications can be obtained. Another 197 attended courses delivered by the Newcastle College which have all been accredited. Throughout the year, 1,500 individual qualifications were achieved within the prison, with many prisoners achieving more than one formal recognition of their work. (HMP Durham Annual Report, 2007). In this same report, however, the Board expressed its concern that Durham falls short of providing a full range of courses, and finds difficulty in ensuring that those undergoing Indeterminate Public Protection (IPP) sentences can undertake the courses that are to be followed before they can be considered for release. Given the prison population pressures, it can prove difficult to achieve transfer for other prisons where relevant courses are run. Case Analysis The case problem revolves around the change of learning service providers by HMP Durham, from Newcastle College to Manchester College. The teaching staff, caught in the middle, have not been informed of matters pertaining to their continued service in the program. This has caused much demotivation, and the possibility of desertions. The aim of the change management program thus requires preparing the teaching staff for transition from the Newcastle to the Manchester system, and motivating them so that the more experienced and well-trained among them remain with the organization. There is the question, first and foremost, of the possible reason why HMP Durham sought a re-tendering and a change in the OLASS contract, from Newcastle to Manchester. Newcastle had handled the program for three years, apparently to satisfactory reviews and accolades. At present the new contract had been perfected with Manchester, but still the staff is kept in the dark about the reasons for the displacement. One is led to consider the differences between Manchester and Newcastle Colleges. Between the two, Newcastle appears to have a more formidable academic history and capability. As part of a group of four training institutions, Newcastle College has a bigger array of academic programs, a wider coverage, a larger enrolment base and more stable financial profile. (Annual Reports 2004-2007). Manchester College’s financial data are not readily accessible, but it appears to be less endowed than Newcastle. Manchester is a merger between two institutions, and has a smaller enrolment figure. On the other hand, Newcastle has been handling offender learning and skills services programs since only 2005, with HMP Durham as its first foray into this area. Manchester, by comparison, has a long history in this field and has been the recipient of quality citations for it, which leads one to believe that between the two, Manchester is better equipped to address an OLASS assignment. Manchester is widely considered as the market leader of offender learning in England. (Specialists in Offender Learning – The Manchester College, 2008) Also, from the data it was mentioned that HMP Durham has been constrained by budget cutbacks, and this may have been one of the considerations for their re-tendering. Conceivably, the more austere Manchester may have outbid Newcastle in the contract fee. Also, this may have implications on the possible remuneration and benefits that the staff may expect of the next contract holder. While all of these are speculative, an understanding of their likelihood would be helpful in preparing a change agenda based on contingencies. However, this may be an issue secondary to the need by HMP Durham of an OLASS more responsive to the needs of the IPP prisoners, as previously mentioned. Under Newcastle, the inspection board noted that there were not enough courses, and probably the courses need to be more efficiently and competently handled. This is not to detract from Newcastle’s capabilities; however, the longer experience and repute of Manchester in the field of offender learning and skills service is a distinct advantage over Newcastle, and would tend to show compared to Newcastle’s relatively recent assumption of this undertaking. Change Management Programme With the problem and most likely scenario (as far as may be supported by the reports) in perspective, the Kotter paradigm shall not be applied: 1. Increase urgency It is difficult to inspire people from a point of indifference to positive action; it is by far extremely challenging to do so from a situation of distrust and demotivation. In this case, the staff conceivably felt either betrayed or neglected, in that the change occurred unexpectedly and in a manner beyond their control. People who feel their best efforts put to waste will not want to try again. However, nothing is impossible unless motivation is engendered. In the case of the teaching staff, it would require meeting with them, regaining their trust, and together coming up with a commonly acceptable set of objectives towards which they could work. 2. Build the guiding team In the present case, attempts to build motivation would be better rewarded if a guiding team is first built from among the staff themselves. Among these will be the more senior staff members, those who could command the attention and respect of the others, and who themselves could be convinced of the possibility of success of concerted and well-planned action to remedy the situation. 3. Get the vision right In this case where the prospects are as of the moment unclear, creating a vision can be difficult, but not impossible. The task of the OLASS teaching staff is still clear – to deliver the best possible service in offender learning, whether or not they may be working under Newcastle or Manchester supervision. It is important to create this vision, the successful end-result of the teaching experience for the trainee or student, and the ultimate benefit it is for society to welcome back a productive citizen from incarceration. The team should have brainstorming sessions to actualize this strategic push. 4. Communicate for buy-in With the team, open lines of two-way communication among team members and the rest of the staff. The team should also take the initiative to establish communication between the unit and the management of HMP Durham as well as the new institution, Manchester. After all, lack of communication was the cause of the problem in the first place, so this is a critical area to resolve. It is critical to get to know and understand the Manchester College, because the more light is shed on the unknown factor, the more the fear and distrust dissipates and the sooner the group could begin work along the new directions. 5. Empower action Once action has been planned and steps taken, good work should be properly acknowledged. Barriers encountered should be resolved in order to enable members to attain the goals they had been assigned. It is important, though, that the group does not lose sight that this is a team effort, and the success of one is the success of the entire group. 6. Create short-term wins This is undertaken in tandem with no. 5 above. Intermediate targets provide occasion to assess the amount of progress and to credit those who have worked hard to attain them. It also creates a series of attainable medium-term goals that enhances the expectation of success. 7. Don't let up Once the effort has been commenced, it will require commitment and perseverance. If the group were more fraternal and cohesive, the plan may have a greater chance of success because the group members would better sustain and encourage each other. 8. Make change stick This aspect of the plan would best be undertaken with the coordination of higher management, of both HMP Durham and the College of Manchester. Whatever had been undertaken during the time the staff was left in the dark should be seriously considered by management for incorporation into whatever plans would later by formulated. Conclusion The changes to take place in the OLASS of HMP Durham will impact upon the teaching staff. It is the duty of management to properly handle the most important resource of the organizational unit, that is, to maintain the motivation and skills level of the teaching staff. Most important among all possible actions is the re-establish and maintain open communications with the staff. Absent this, trust suffers, and it will not be long before the best and the brightest move out to greener pastures. REFERENCES , Annual Reports, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007. 2007-2008, Newcastle College Group, Newcastle College Group home site Burnes, B 2000, Managing Change. A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics. Pitman Publishing, London. Burnes, B 2005, ‘Complexity Theories and Organisational Change’, International Journal of Management Review, vol 7, no.2, pp.73-90. Chapman, A 2009, Change Management, Available from [23 May 2009] Hayes, J 2007, The Theory and Practice of Change Management. Second Edition. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire. Igbal, J 2003, Towards a Framework for Implementation of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Initiative , Impact College, Manchester Independent Monitoring Board for Durham Prison 2007, Annual Report to the Secretary of State 2007, HM Prison Service Kritsonis, A 2006, “Comparison of Change Theories, International Journal of Scholarly Academic Intellectual Diversity, vol. 8 no. 1 Mitchell, J, McKenna, S, Young, S 2007, Strategic and Change Management and the National Training System, Commonwealth of Australia. Offender Learning 2008, Available from [23 May 2009] Specialists in Offender Learning – The Manchester College, 2008 brochure, The Manchester College home site Kritsonis, A 2006, “Comparison of Change Theories, International Journal of Scholarly Academic Intellectual Diversity, vol. 8 no. 1 Read More