Dr Madei Mangori, on the Strategic Change Theme Combining Theory and Practice the Hallmark of True Professorship.

Strategic Change

Strategic leadership and corporate strategy are leadership systems that have brought out change in organisations. The intention of corporate strategy is to provide strategic leadership. Strategic leadership involves strategic change. Strategic change might involve the shifting of paradigms. The strategic leadership of the organisation or country will be bent on influencing the organisation or country. The intention is to steer the organisation or country in a defined direction. This is only possible by focusing on defined activities given their persuasions, beliefs and perceived priorities. The picture that they have about the future/tomorrow of the organisation or country is critical. This is guided by their mandate as well as the operating environment. Strategic direction once decided guides all decisions and actions that take place in an organisation or country after the strategy is defined. As already stated there is normally flexibility built in because once one strategically plans they do not hold the future constant. Flexibility in the implementation process therefore becomes paramount. Flexibility in this case implies giving room to unforeseen change dynamics.

The Search for Appropriate Strategy Models

The search for appropriate corporate or country strategy development and implementation systems/models as an African leadership system, in an African context is crucial.  Afrocentric leaders must understand corporate and country strategy development and implementation in a practical way. It is indeed true that an increasingly fast paced, dynamic environment engulfs organisations of all types and individuals of different faiths and persuasions, internally and externally. This galvanises organisations and individuals into different change states. (Mangori 2014: 22). This calls for a change in the organisational and individual status quo. Nations and organisations built to last are created on the shoulders of dynamic, selfless, fair, visionary, practical individuals who are effective and should therefore be a shifting of paradigms and achieving effectiveness at individual and organisational level.

Individuals have to choose the right paradigms and exhibit a strong determination, character and resilience to create the future they mentally see and desire. The need to shift paradigms and achieve effectiveness within the changing times. Paradigm shifting is about embracing change.

What is Change?

 It is a transition from the current state to a future state. Change is a worldwide phenomenon. It is as global as it is individual. It is as international as it is national. It is as regional as it is global, national, local and individual. It is often negotiated and sometimes forced. It is embedded in the cosmic order and human development. The rising of the sun and the going down of the same follows the change rhythm and logic. Change is what propels the whole world forward or backwards depending on the choices taken. It is present in every field and sector because it is ubiquitous. It is in politics, economics, fashion, media, science, sport, business, government, family, church, social clubs etc. Change is the only constant.

It therefore means it is a must to shift paradigms and achieve effectiveness. It will indeed be, one of the survivors of the universe, from time immemorial to eternity for all time. This simply means human beings must be prepared to change because the world around them as well as their physical bodies are changing whether they like it or not. It is therefore important to shift paradigms in order to achieve effectiveness amidst the inevitable change all around and within. In most cases, there is no choice but to change.

 

Learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour as a result of acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes. The transition from the current state to a future state involves learning to do things differently. Learning is therefore about change. Managing change is a process of managing (planning, organizing, leading and controlling) the transition from the current state to the future state.

Managing Change

Managing change in an organisation is an intervention to solve problems. There should be a problem or a felt need to do something about a situation which is considered unsatisfactory. Dissatisfaction with the status quo and reasons for the inadequacies of the current state are important. Problem solving is therefore about change. A vision of how things should be in the future is necessary. A plan of action including resources to support the plan is critical. A structure to support the change effort implement, measure and evaluate the plan is paramount. It is important to celebrate the process and results, learn from it and find ways to improve. Embarking on a continuous improvement programme is a must. Strategic leadership should manage strategic change in order for organisational or country efficiency and effectiveness to be guaranteed.

It has already been stated that change is inevitable. The question is, are there best ways to deal with change at individual level habitually and frequently which can be called change management best practices? Even though every change occurrence is unique, certainly there should be ways to habitually and frequently deal with change at individual level which can be termed change management best practices.

Change management means planning, organizing, leading and controlling of the perceived or real effects of change phenomenon. While it can be difficult to sometimes accurately predict what tomorrow will bring, one knows for certain that tomorrow brings change. They must be therefore best ways to manage change which we can term change management best practices at an individual level.

 It is important to psychologically accept that change is inevitable and that situations around are changing as well as the fact that one is changing. This awareness and predisposition to change is the first mental preparedness change management best practice. This is so because it creates the readiness to change and negates resistance to change by maintaining a positive attitude.

Elements necessary for harnessing change productively at individual level include maintaining a positive attitude, developing a plan, being realistic, taking action, trying a diversity of approaches, and working together. This is taken from the film: “The Winds of Change” narrated by Patrick Stewart and written by Warren Schmidt – a Professor at the University of Southern California’s School of Public Administration. Strategic change can be encapsulated in paradigm shifts. Strategic management, therefore, becomes very critical to organisational or country  survival and success.

Two types of change were identified by Charles Handy in 1989. He called one strategic drift. He described this as a gradual change. He said it is that change that is subtle and it is not noticed until it is too late. The second type of change, he called transformational change. This is the change that is sudden and radical. He postulated that it typically is caused by discontinuities or exogenous shocks.

Andy Grove (1999) called the point at which a new trend is initiated “Strategic Inflection”. The strategic inflection points can be subtle or radical. According to Richard Pascale (1990), businesses must continuously reinvent themselves in a situation of relentless change.

Richard Pascal’s famous saying is that “nothing fails like success”. He means that people tend to depend on what worked yesterday. They then refuse to let go what worked well in the past. What then happens is that the prevailing strategies become self-confirming. He argues that in order to circumvent this organisations must stimulate a spirit of inquiry and healthy debate. A creative process of self- renewal is a must and it must be based on constructive conflict.

According to the 6th World Congress on productivity, effectiveness exists when organized human activity is directed toward meeting genuine individual and social needs, whether inside or outside the organisation. Effectiveness embraces and presumes the concepts of quality, as determined by the satisfied acceptance of the product or service. Simply put, effectiveness is when we achieve the objectives that we set out to achieve. There is a great relationship between strategic change and effectiveness as well as between strategic change, paradigms and effectiveness because shifting of paradigms might be equal to strategic change and this can result in effectiveness.

What are paradigms and how do we shift them? How do we achieve effectiveness at organisational and individual level? Are there change management best practices at organisational or individual level? If there are, are these anything to go by given a changing world, a changing body, mind and circumstances? Paradigm explains the concept of fundamental change that an individual and or organisation cannot afford to ignore.

 

Paradigm Shift

 

Thomas Kuhn, a scientific historian, developed the basic theory of the paradigm shift in his book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962). Paradigm comes from the Greek word paradeigma. Paradeigma means a model or pattern. A paradigm is, therefore, a set of rules and regulations. These rules and regulations do two things: namely, some of the rules establish the edges or boundaries of a territory and the rest of the rules tell one how to act within those boundaries to achieve some measure of success. This is similar to when people say “let me show you how we do things around here”.

 

Success is most commonly measured in any paradigm by one’s ability to solve problems using the rules. This simply means that organisations of various kinds, different communities and cultures are forests of paradigms. According to Joel Barker “A paradigm shift: that’s when the rules change fundamentally and one ends up with new boundaries, new problems and new ways of solving them” (Barker 1996: 120).

According to Barker, paradigm shifts are the most profound kind of change one can go through because when one changes their paradigm, one changes one’s future (Barker 1996). A paradigm shift is that kind of profound change that can topple business empires and spawn new powerhouses (Barker 1996). The Model “T” below was a car for the masses which was launched 1908.

 

Henry Ford’s paradigm was that the customer can have any car they want as long as it is black. This paradigm paralysis nearly cost him his car empire when the customers wanted cars of a different colour. It took him a long time to shift his paradigm. A paradigm shift is the power of a new idea that overthrows the rules (Barker 1996).

It is argued, then, that a new paradigm determines one’s long-term ability to be successful or be effective. Paradigms are the unwritten rules that dictate how we do things. These unwritten rules are deeply rooted. They are unquestioned. They can keep people from seeing new opportunities (Barker 1996). It is important for organisations and individual to ask themselves a profound question as they search for new paradigms. This profound question is called the impossibility question. It asks, “What is impossible today, but if it could be done, would fundamentally change our organisation for the better? There are two hidden questions one finds in the impossibility question. To begin with, when one asks what is impossible, the answer can only be found outside one’s boundary. It is therefore argued that this is where new paradigms develop. The second issue to note is that what is being referred to be profound change which will be significant in improving the organisation (Barker 1996).

 

In addition to the impossibility question there is an important principle called going back to zero. The principle states that old strengths offer little protection against the new world. It is argued that if a paradigm shifts organisations go back to zero, then it maintains that one’s strengths that is what one is good at will have little or no value when a paradigm shifts. It does not matter what position the organisation occupied in the old paradigm. When the paradigm shifts, the organisation is forced to go back to the starting line. This contains a notion that no organisation can stay at the top forever. It becomes imperative to search for paradigm shift in society. If the organisation does not do that, it can have fatal consequences (Barker 1996).

 

In the mainframe computer industry, the personal computer was a paradigm shift that made IBM’s strengths irrelevant (Barker 1996). At the time the Apple II personal computer was being developed in 1977, IBM held more than 60 per cent share of the world computer market, one of its main strengths. IBM also wrote its own software and used its own sales force, which was the best in the business. The story is told of how the personal computer revolutionized the computer industry and made IBM loose a greater portion of its market share to the competition.

 

In 1968, there was a secret meeting of Swiss watch manufacturers. They had had a very good 20th century in which they had dominated the industry. Sixty-five per cent of all watches sold in the world every year were manufactured in Switzerland. They had constantly improved their products. They added things like sweep second hands and auto wind and waterproofing technology second to none to their products. Information about their profits was secret. The best estimates were that they captured close to 90% of the profits of their industry. The meeting was about their future. They were to be shown a revolutionary new watch. This was developed in Neuchatel at their research laboratories. What’s so special about this watch?  Firstly, its accuracy. The best mass-produced Swiss watch of the day was accurate to about 1/30th of a second. This new watch was accurate to 1/30 000th of a second-1000 times more accurate. The precision was a result of a real revolution. This new watch inside had only one moving part. This was a small electric step motor to drive the hands around the face. What the Swiss watch manufacturers were witnessing was the very first quartz electronic watch.

 

One might ask how they responded to this marvellous invention. They were very concerned over some key parts that were missing from the watch. These were gears, bearings and the mainspring. The watch had nothing inside. This was significant because the missing parts were the items that this manufacturer was great at making. After careful consideration they did not believe that is was possibly the future of watches. They rejected the idea completely.

 

This decision alone had fatal consequences vis-a-vis their market share. All they had worked for was put at risk by that one decision. Following that decision, within one short decade, the Swiss market share of watches worldwide had dropped to less than 10%. Their profits plummeted to less than 20%. The Japanese, on the other hand, increased their world market share from less than 1% to more than 30%.

 

The Swiss had no choice except to release more than 50 000 of their 65 000 loyal and talented watchmakers. The question becomes what happened? Were the Swiss manufacturers stupid people? No. Were they just stubborn? No. Were they misinformed by their researchers? Obviously the answer is no. Can one explain what hit the Swiss?  They did not see the paradigm shift. They made an error. These kinds of errors have occurred throughout history. What we need to understand is how such errors happen so that we can avoid doing the same thing. Simply put a shift in paradigm, caused the Swiss watch industry to almost collapse (Barker 1996).

 

The Learning Organisation / Country

 

Peter Senge popularized the concept of the learning organisation (1990). We have already established the fact that learning is about change. It therefore means that a learning organisation is an organisation that believes in managing learning which is managing change because learning is relatively permanent change in skills, attitude and knowledge. Peter Senge had previously collaborated with Arie de Geus at Dutch Shell. The postulation is that business success in an information age depends on gathering and analysing information. According to Senge, in order to be a learning organisation, the structuring of the organisation is very important. He argued that it is necessary for organisational staff to be able to expand their capacity to learn continuously. This would make them productive. He argued that an organisation needs to engender new patterns of thinking as well as collective aspirations as they see the whole picture together. This is an obvious acceptance of the inevitability of change.

Peter Senge (1995) identified what he termed five disciplines of the learning organisation. The first one he called personal responsibility, self-reliance and mastery. By this his first postulation was the acceptance that people are masters of their own destiny. This essentially means that individuals make decisions that affect their lives and live with the consequences of their decisions. This therefore means, according to Senge, that individuals must take the initiative to learn the required skills to ensure that a problem is fixed or an opportunity is exploited. He coined the second discipline mental models. By this he meant that individuals have internal pictures that influence them. It is very important to explore these internal pictures and understand them because they affect the individual’s behaviour in subtle ways. The third discipline, according to Senge, is shared vision. This simply means a graphic picture of tomorrow that one wants being shared by those involved. It means that the vision of where the organisation wants to be in the future should be discussed and communicated to all. This is because it provides guidance and energy for the journey to be undertaken. Team learning is the last but not the least discipline. His argument is that it is better to learn together in teams. He argues that if done this way there is a shift from the spirit of advocacy to a spirit of enquiry. Does Zimbabwe need strategic change, a paradigm shift and become a learning organisation (country). Is there a paradigm shift happening in Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe is Open for Business: Which Scenario bests Approximates This Statement: The Stone People, Stimela / Chitima, The Vulture Land or The Chameleon?

 The Stone People

It is argued that scenario 1 is inspired by the remarkable work of architecture of the Great Zimbabwe monument which is 2000 years old. The Great Zimbabwe monument is made of beautifully cut stone bricks. It is argued that it was built without mortar demonstrating exceptional skill and innovation. The monument has retained its character through storms, sunshine, rain and sometimes the raging sun. It has attracted the feet of many yet it remains unaltered. Though some parts of the wall need attention, it remains a world wonder by international standards. The monument is a testament of the innovation, hard work and resilience of the Zimbabwean people who are bound by a mysterious social mortar that keeps them going despite the odds. Despite the negative picture painted of a state of chaos, their shared love and commitment to success remains unchanged though the pathways may differ.

This scenario depicts a government that is responsive to the priority needs of the citizens. It successfully addresses the socio-economic and political concerns that had historically shaped the social and economic fabric. It has the following characteristics:

• In this scenario, an election is conducted using an inclusive governing system.
• A national framework is developed for inclusive growth through the full participation of ethnic groups, regions, sexes, diaspora, former freedom fighters, women, men, young people, people living with disabilities and HIV.
• To address years of impasse, all institutions both private and public are reviewed to enhance efficiency and effectiveness
• Natural resources are declared sovereign wealth and an inclusive empowerment framework put in place for resource distribution and management. Parliament plays a critical role to enhance accountability and transparency. Foreign participation is restricted to skills transfer and supply of cutting edge technology. A national technical team negotiates contracts that benefit the country. Confidence in public and private institutions begins to grow.
• Investors both local and foreign invest in Zimbabwe.
• Economic policies put in place start to mobilize resources and a significant amount of capital is raised.
• The national budget deploys resources propelled by enabled citizenry
• The leadership with the support of the people is focused on moving the country forward, the leadership promotes participation, manages diversity, manages and distributes natural resources equitably, promotes sound sectoral leadership styles, enhances institutions, embarks on nation-building including conflict mitigation, healing and reconciliation and the country is respected by national , regional and international players.
• Economic growth rises, industry starts to perform, and jobs are created – leading to national wellbeing and prosperity for all.
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• The lesson of this scenario is leadership that is developmental and people–centred that is, a leadership that rises above individual and party politics to national development and develops inclusivity of governing system.
• Stimela / Chitima

Stimela / Chitima is a critical mode of transport that lubricates industry and commerce as well as the social sector. Made of steel, it carries considerable amounts of goods within a reasonable space of time and at an acceptable cost. The Stimela can offer basic transportation and luxury depending on the preference of the passenger. The Stimela follows a route that is well known and defined. She does not create new roads but simply follows the steel cold tracks bringing goods and voyagers to their desired destination. There are no surprise detours. The Stimela follows the monotracks and allows for strict time tables. Occasionally there may be technical problems on route. The ride can be scenic and pleasurable.

• This scenario depicts a benevolent leadership that executes a state-led development agenda after rallying people behind it. It brings about prosperity and wellbeing but with limited freedoms.
• An election is held using the winner-takes-all system
• A benevolent leadership emerges.
• Restoring economic and social vibrancy is top on the national agenda of the leadership.
• The leader drafts a national vision and rallies all Zimbabweans behind it.
• The leadership directed and enhances all institutions through a decree to which every institution and office must observe.
• Natural resources are declared sovereign wealth and a national  framework put in place for resource distribution and management. The executive plays a critical role to enhance accountability and transparency. Any office or institution that fails to account is dealt with ruthlessly.
• Foreign participation is restricted to skills transfer and supply of cutting edge technology. The executive negotiates contracts that benefit the country.
• Citizen participation is initiated and guided by the executive.
• Economic growth rises, industry starts to perform, and jobs are created – leading to national wellbeing and prosperity for all.
• Initially investors shun the leadership style but starts to realize the benefits of strict institutional discipline and sound economic policies.
• There are restricted freedoms
• Development is state-led.
• Management of diversity subordinated as frivolous.
• All Zimbabweans benefit and there is prosperity with restricted freedoms.
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• Lessons of this scenario is the emergence of the benevolent leadership with national interests. The other challenge is balancing national development through institutional enhancement against human rights observance.
• The Vulture Land
•  Vultures scavenge areas where the dead, dying and rotting carcasses are available for them as their sustenance. They have a knack for identifying weak prey that affords them a bounty meal. They stalk their prey, patiently waiting for the weakest moments or death. They are scared off if the prey puts up a fight, but never fly too far away from the prey. Vultures have no qualms eating their prey alive. They meticulously pick on the flesh until only the clean skeleton remains. These birds are masters of taking advantage of the disadvantaged such as animals weakened by persistent droughts.
• This scenario depicts a government that fails to connect with its people and pursue a national development agenda that benefits a few.

• Elections are held and a government comes to power through a first –past –the post system. A clear winner emerges and there are compromised checks and balances.
• The government’s modus operandi is typified by politics of patronage. Institutions are politicized and weakened to address non-partisan interests. The economy is state-driven, characterized by anaemic growth, with a focus on resource extraction and weak public enterprises.
• The well-connected political elites benefit from the state resources while the majority of the population struggle with  unemployment, declining incomes, poor service delivery and increasing poverty.
• The social impact is widening inequality between the elite and general populace, deteriorating delivery of critical services and negation of human rights. The government, due to its structural elitism, ignores the issues of diversity.
• External investors’ court politicians and strike investment deals that benefit a few within the political elite circles. There is weak enclave economic growth and a high degree of informalisation of the economy. The resultant jobless growth does not translate into improvement in the living standards of the general populace who live in abject poverty.
• The donor community appeals in vain to the government to help provide some essential services such as health and provision of food to the growing number of the poor communities. There is a lack of commitment from the leadership as reflected by low priority in allocating resources in the national budget.
• Jobless growth does not translate into improvement in the living standards of the general populace who live in abject poverty. There is thus poverty and disconnected leadership.
• The lesson of this scenario is that electoral systems have a bearing on national development and that some ‘foreign investors’ will pry on Zimbabwe‘s wealth if leadership is weak and partisan and disconnected from the people.
• The Chameleon.
• The slow moving creature adapts to its environment, taking on the colour that best protects it from visibility. It combats first level threats by guising itself with the colour of its terrain. It can post fair speeds if chasing prey or in danger. Yet, it can often fail to respond to danger and be caught flat-footed. Her tongue is fast and sticky and if caught by it, prey cannot escape. Its true colours can often be forgotten because it blends with its surroundings consistently.
• This scenario depicts a coalition government, which struggles to move the nation forward as politicians remain politically connected to their own political party driven ideological policy positions.
• Elections take place and there is no clear winner. A coalition government is put in place due to a constitutional provision. The leadership to the parties in the government are connected to their own people but the forced government system is not jointly connected to the people. It is a non-functional government characterized by the following:
• Politicized inefficient institutions.
• Interparty struggle for control.
• Partisan interests frustrate efforts to resuscitate the economy.
• Political horse-trading and sabotage between parties impede service delivery.
• Management of diversity is a struggle.
• Divide and rule by foreign interests along party lines.
• The economy performs poorly.
• Foreign interests play divide and rule along partisan lines.
• Selective improvement of life.
• Basic service delivery is generally poor, with isolated efficient delivery, where the coalition government is in agreement.
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• There is poverty and leadership is disconnected from the people. The lesson of this scenario is the need to invest in leadership development and that an electoral system does not in itself improve leadership. In the absence of political will to discourse progressively, no system of government produces results for its people.
• Zimbabweans must influence themselves, the current rulers and potential future rulers to think what vis a vis a sustainable Zimbabwe for posterity. We owe it to posterity. Let us debate because strategic leadership is crucial for any development and progress in a country. What is your vision for Zimbabwe and where is your voice for Zimbabwe?  Zimbabwe is open for business. Which scenario best approximates this statement: given the scenarios the Stone People, Stimela / Chitima, The Vulture Land or The Chameleon? Or perhaps it is another model apart from the four. Let is speak the truth in terms of our desires to the current and potential future leaders of Zimbabwe. It is time to debate and influence the future of Zimbabwe!
• Note: The envisaged four scenarios were passed on to me by a Zimbabwean colleague but declined to give me the names of the facilitators of this four scenarios workshop due to the dynamics and atmosphere of the time then. I believe now is the time to positively influence for a better Zimbabwe for all. Consequently the developers of these scenarios need to further build on this model. As I work on my next book entitled Strategic Leadership: The Voice of Zimbabwe, I would like to get in touch with the facilitators of the Zimbabwe scenario planning workshop of 2013. If you know them could you please provide me with their names and contact details. Thank you.
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• Strategy Managing Consultant Rolling Wheels Pty Ltd
• Dr Madei Mangori B.Sc., CM.; DMS.; M.B.A., Ph.D
• Regional Director Christ College in collaboration with Azteca University
• Member of Board of Councillors of Christ College Zimbabwe
• Adjunct Associate Professor in Business Administration Azteca University. ( Accredited in Mexico, Europe, UK, USA & Canada).
• Chairperson  Research Africa Network
• Organisational Focus Pty Ltd Plot 39788 Corner Litabi Way and Kanyu Road Opposite Louiseville Estate, Block 6 P.O Box 80342 Gaborone, Botswana.   Mobile +267-72620041mailto:[email protected] twitter address: @madeimangori Skype address: madeimangori
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