Do you want a change? First you have to decipher its contradictions

There is a big misunderstanding about the path that a company needs to take in order to finally make a change. To make sure that a real change in an organization (and even on a personal level) is achieved, most of the time, it needs to face several difficulties, dealing with some rough patches leading, in some cases, to a certain degree of unhappiness. What is the reason behind this? Because change requires learning and modifying processes as well as conditions across the organization. These factors can affect their work, behavior, and mostly, their interests.  

The organization can be characterized as a pluralistic world where several forces, events, and interests collide to maintain their values and motivations. These powers can be contradictory among different groups: intra-organizational and inter-organizational. As a consequence, the companies face a relative strength that may either promote or oppose change. According to Cho, Mathiassen and  Robey, there are two main characteristics that shape the contradiction; the identity and the struggle. The identity refers to the context where the paradox of opposing forces or groups co-exist. The struggle is the dynamics of the context that determine change. As part of the features of the identity and the struggle, the influence of this relationship tends to be irregular, usually one group dominating over the other. As the constant movement of forces shift, the context of the contradiction may switch as a result of the struggle. This also led to forces become more or less influential as the dynamics of these contradictions co-exist.    

Because the contradictions are not easy to identify in the organization, there isa certain common notion about change as something clear of contradictions. But, when a group considers that there is a threat to either their motivations or interests, change resistance might take an important role during the modifications and variations in the project and that is the moment when the contradiction in an organization may look more evident. Also, opposition and in-favor forces, characterised as groups, cannot only be found in one level, but in the two levels (Intra-organizational and inter-organizational). The rise of different type of companies nowadays, for instance, Information Technologies (IT), are not exempt of these forces and levels. With the swiftly modifications that the IT companies need to do in order to conquer a place in the technological revolution, several contradictions may need to be solved at during the process. Out of this necessity, a clear map of the group´s contradictions is required to show the identity and the struggle. Here are four examples of the characteristics of contradictions in changes at an IT organization. 

Intra-organizational changes

Several changes have occurred in the project without previous notice. The team has been transformed into a virtual team, hiring members offshore. This switch from traditional team to a virtual team creates an initial tension between old members and new members because of the so-called cultural and cognitive distance, generated as part of the communication process between new and old members. Either cultural or cognitive distance upsurges the cost, because of the decreased ability to communicate effectively and transfer knowledge. Also, it leads to misunderstanding and, at the same time, distrust in the virtual team.         

Freelance workers vs Permanent workers

One of the main characteristics about freelance workers is not their level of expertise, but that their work is priced in hours. This means that, if the amount of work is less, they earn less money. But, if it is more work than planned, they will need more time to do it and that translates into more cost. When compared with a permanent job, the relation between work and time is not as strict as freelance work. Although extra hours is when a permanent worker have to spend additional time beyond their usual daily hours, the amount of work of a permanent worker is mostly included during their regular time. But, when the group is constituted by a mix of freelance and permanent workers, the motivation and the interest can differ within the group. Contrast inthe intensity and speed with which the work is done can lead to conflicts within the team members themselves, affecting the schedule and quality of the project.       

Inter-organizational changes

The amount of work led the company to hire an intermediary between the team and a supplier offshore. Also the intermediary is located overseas. The offshore company also needs to coordinate with the rest of the company. The problem in this situation is that the intermediary between the team, and the supplier that is offshore, have a different idea about the communication times and goals in contrast to the objectives and schedule of the main company. Because the intermediary wants to be sure that their contract remains until the next and last phase of the project. This prompted several delays, affecting the inputs of the project.

Partner 1 vs Partner 2

The two sponsor of the project have not clearly defined the role and tasks each must perform for the project. Both want to be involved in decision making as a way to supervise, but also, to make sure their brand is imprinted in the project team. Sponsor 1 wants that the goals are met faster than stipulated, to provide services in another project that the client plans to start. While the sponsor 2 wants to ensure the quality of work, to compete in a more competitive environment but much more profitable. As a result, there are contradictions on strategies and procedures at a general level in the project, their decisions overlap and cause ambiguity within the project.

Summarizing, we can see acritical intersection where the members can complete the goals and objectives of the project in a timely manner, or as a result, it may be abandoned due to mismanagement of the different forces influencing the project, as well as lack of motivation of stakeholders because their interests are not consummated or traded. The role of the project manager, according to these conditions, is to analyze the ongoing process of the project but also having a clear idea of which specific contradictions are faced in the two levels (inter and intra-organizational), making an effort to calibrate and to balance the interest once detected. All of these factors will help to create a more useful map of the forces in the world of the organization. Doing that, motivation and expectation can move according to the goals of the project, at least temporarily, because let us not forget the dynamism and variety of the forces that shape our interests.◊   

Thanksto Erick Salas Arellano for the corrections of this article.