Sunday, November 24, 2013

Can't Make Change Alone

It's difficult to implement change in a historical organization, but it's even more difficult to do it alone.

Eric Shinseki, the secretary of veteran affairs, took on the daunting task to revamp the Department of Veterans Affairs. We learn in class that people can often be adverse to change in an organization because they fear the change will be difficult and timely. However, we also learn that this is not true and as long as an organization makes changes for the better it will get done over time.

The most difficult part of changing the structure of the DoVA is the historical aspect. The Department is set in historical standards and does what has always been done, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's accurate and sometimes structures get outdated and are no longer best for the organization. Shinseki's greatest obstacle is that he is working alone to create change.

Bolman and Deal identify Kotter's eight stages towards a successful organization change. Shinseki's steps to improve the DoVA can be applied to Kotter's stages of change. Stage one is a "sense of urgency." Shinseki does this by applying the symbolic frame and political frame. He tells a compelling story in an interview about the baggage that everyone experiences. By relating himself to the rest of the veterans he shows that the issue at hand is vast and urgent. He also is seen as President Obama's spokesman for veterans' care. His networking with key players reinforces his credibility.

Stage three of Kotters stages is "uplifting vision and strategy." Like I stated before, the DoVA is based on historical values and goals. Shinseki appeals to this by applying the symbolic frame to stage three. He creates a hopeful vision of future when he talks about bring a "change of culture" to the department. He maintains the organization's history by acknowledging that he is making a change and that the changes are better suited for the veterans.

Shinseki continues to communicate his vision and strategy by creating structures to support change process. He does this by advocating for the DoVA to work on Saturdays in order to help the veterans attending college receive payment. Even though this task may be small, he implements a vision of caring rather than a "tough, deal with it" outlook. This good deed symbolizes his compassion for the veterans and allows people to understand what it is he is communicating.

He also creates long and short term goals. These goals keep people on plan and allow them to plan for short-term victories. Shinseki created an original goal of three years to revamp the DoVA, but instead he worked hard and already had viable changes within the first nine months. These "early wins", as Kotter would describe them, empower people to see change. He also created a goal to be succeeded six years down the road about getting veterans off of the streets. This numerical goal keeps people on plan so that his workers have something to work towards and will know they have succeeded when they meet the goal. Shinseki also requested the largest single-year budget increase. This demonstrated the political frame in action for early wins because by investing his resources and power he can guarantee more early wins to motivate the organization forward.

Rather than coming in to the organization and continuing it's failing ways, he proposed a new way to do things. Major General Olson acknowledges that Shinseki is going about things differently than they typically do in Washington. By reshaping the org. he is aligning structure to new culture.

I feel Shinseki did not approach the "Guiding team" stage of change. In a big, federal organization it is impossible to implement a new structure alone. Shinseki may be more influential if he divides and conquers his goals amongst different leaders. I feel it would have been helpful for him to develop a coordination strategy for his goals. It would have been more impacting if he had called upon other influential people to take up certain tasks.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sam, I really enjoyed reading your blog post… After reading, it helped me to really understand the effort Shinseki is putting in to re vamp the Department of Veteran Affairs. The way you explained the difficulty of changing the department's structure through the historical aspect was a great example because it helped me to realize how the technology and organization in the past needs to be changed in order for Shinseki to successfully better the department. Also pointing out "uplifting vision and strategy," was key in understanding Shinseki's hard work and dedication in working to create more benefits for the members. Stating the short term and long term goals also helped me to evaluate the tasks Shinseki was setting to be accomplished now and the goals he is seeking to accomplish in the long run. Overall great job on your blog!