CHANGE MANAGEMENT: TERM CONFUSION

AND NEW CLASSIFICATIONS

Sung “Pil” Kang, PhD

This article addresses two key aspects of change management and the notional confusion
that occurs resulting from two different uses of the term change management. The author
proposes new terms—macro change management and micro change management—for the
two uses of the term change management. He then compares these two terms based on their
attributes, comprising definition, target, focus, and roles of change agents including required
competencies. The article concludes with explanations as to why change management notional
clarification and term elaboration are important for the human performance technology field.

MARS CLIMATE ORBITER (MCO), launched, operated, application accepts it as 10 km? I believe that such issues,
and managed by the National Aeronautics and Space although not so dramatic, occur in HPT projects fre-
Administration (NASA), arrived at Mars and began main quently. People use the same terms and concepts and
fuel combustion for 16 minutes and 13 seconds in order unconsciously think that other people’s understanding of
for orbital insertion to Mars. The orbiter was supposed to the term or concept is the same as theirs. For example,
restart radio contact with NASA after successful orbital when a client and a consultant sign a contract to develop
insertion and orbital motion within 10 minutes; however, five training modules, do they have the same understand-
the contact with MCO never resumed. The spacecraft ing of the term module? The client may think of develop-
failed, and this MCO project cost $327.6 million. ing five courses whereas the consultant agrees to develop
After a thorough inquiry, the MCO Mishap Investi- five instructional units in one training course. Terms such
gation Board identified the cause of the failure. According as course, module, component, chapter, lesson, and so
to the 1991 Board report, one ground software program on are frequently used with different understandings by
generated data using imperial units such as pounds, individuals in different situations and organizations. Such
yards, and miles instead of metric units, whereas the term and unit confusion causes various miscommunica-
software application for trajectory calculation accepted tions in the field, and sometimes the confusion can con-
the ground software-produced data as metric unit–based tribute to the misapplication or failure of HPT projects.
data. This unit usage difference inserted MCO at an alti- One of the confusing terms not discussed widely
tude of 57 km rather than its optimal altitude, 140–150 in the field of HPT is change management. It is dif-
km, and MCO was destroyed by atmospheric pressure ficult to define change management because the term
and friction. This unit confusion ruined a several-year is an umbrella notion embracing a wide range of uses
project with a cost of $327 million. (Jansson, 2008). Actually, there is no universally accepted
Could such an absurd unit error causing fatal failure definition of change management, and there are some
occur in a human performance technology (HPT) proj- significant disagreements among change management
ect? In an HPT framework, would there be a mishap researchers and practitioners about key approaches to
where one software program calculates the distance and change management (Bamford & Daniel, 2005). This
produces the result of 10 miles and another software in part has resulted in there being many definitions of

Performance Improvement, vol. 54, no. 3, March 2015

©2015 International Society for Performance Improvement
26 Published online in Wiley Online Library ([Link]) • DOI: 10.1002/pfi.21466
 management, this article proposes two categories of
People use the same change management: (1) process or intervention for
terms and concepts and change and (2) tactics or guidelines to implement
interventions.
unconsciously think that
other people’s understanding CHANGE MANAGEMENT AS
of the term or concept is the PROCESS OR INTERVENTION FOR
TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE: MACRO
same as theirs.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
In HPT, the notion of change management is often used to
and approaches to change management that have been mean transformative change as in the definition “Change
devised and introduced into the field of HPT. management is the process of continually renewing an
Several authors of change management books define organization’s direction, structure, and capabilities to
change management in a self-referential manner devoid serve the ever-changing needs of external and internal
of a sophisticated definition. Their perspectives regarding customers” (Moran & Brightman, 2001, 111). For suc-
change management are that it is just managing change cessful change management based on this definition, pro-
(e.g., Green, 2007; Nilakant & Ramnarayan, 2006). These cesses and interventions for change should be prudently
definitions are not useful for practitioners or researchers planned, and change agents must be involved in planning,
because they do not provide clarification, elaboration, analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and
or explanation about the term change management and evaluating change proactively or reactively (Malopinsky
its use. Sometimes, change management or managing & Osman, 2006). Under this notion, the term change
change is regarded as an activity or effort to support any management is synonymous with the intended process
change that seeks positive results. This simplistic view for systemic, transformational, and fundamental change.
may result in some practitioners using the term change This perspective of change management appears in sev-
management without thought as to its meaning for their eral models or processes in HPT and related fields, such
clients and colleagues. as total quality management (TQM), Six Sigma, reengi-
Other researchers and practitioners provide specific neering, and restructuring.
and sophisticated definitions that emphasize different This macro change management is usually required
aspects of change management, such as its process, when vast changes occur around an organization inter-
techniques, and methods for change and the roles of nally, externally, or both. For example, when companies
change agents. These definitions produce different or business units are merged, transformative change
understandings about change management among dif- comes into play in many ways (e.g., work functions,
ferent people. structure, process, flow, and even goals and visions).
Because of these different understandings, definitions, In such cases, macro change management will help the
and areas of focus in change management, people use organization as it transforms. Similarly, environmental
the same term with different connotations and mental changes around an organization often demand macro
frameworks. This can easily cause confusion, such as change management. A home appliance retail company
with unit differences in imperial units versus metric units may need to re-strategize its sales plans and business
as demonstrated in the Mars Climate Orbiter failure. structure resulting from a business environment change
Interestingly, this miscommunication in HPT consulta- that is more favorable to online retailers than to local
tion or research is often not easily observed. Therefore, face-to-face sales. In this case, the transformative changes
in research as well as HPT consultation, individuals as a are related to business survival.
remedy try to identify at the beginning of a project their Quite a number of change management definitions
specific definitions of key terms. However, over time the are apropos in this macro use of the term change man-
confusion recurs during further discussions or with other agement (By, 2005; Hayes, 2006; Kotter & Cohen, 2002;
stakeholders in a project unless time and effort are taken Lewin, 1951). Recently in the HPT field, Van Tiem,
to continuously clarify terminology usage. Moseley, and Dessinger (2012) employed a macro defini-
Due to indistinct and varying definitions, the term tion of change management as a key component of their
change management is used with multiple meanings. ISPI HPT model. In their previous books published in
In order to diminish the term confusion of change 2000 and 2004, change management was defined more

Performance Improvement • Volume 54 • Number 3 • DOI: 10.1002/pfi 27

 For large-scope change initiatives, the changes will not
While change agents yield positive outcomes without consideration of the
involved in macro change systemic and systematic aspects of the change. In addi-
tion, assuring strategic alignment of change components
management functions for the target organization is a required competency for
the macro-level change agent in order to maximize the
play leadership roles, effectiveness of change efforts. Competencies of planning
and organizing change processes and leadership skills are
micro change agents are required as well.
managers for detailed change Frequently, macro change management is introduced
as a model and process since it is used to cope with an
associated with intervention overall change process. Macro change management is
often concretized as processes or models in practice and
implementation and people’s in research. In the HPT field many researchers and prac-
titioners have developed and used numerous processes
adoption of an intervention. or models for macro change management. Interestingly,
although there are many models and processes for macro
change management, Lewin’s three-step change model
narrowly, simply as guidelines to implement changes (1951) is arguably the archetype for macro change man-
(Kang, 2012). However, in their new edition published agement. Furthermore, most other major models and
in 2012, they defined change management as “a pro- processes can be linked back to Lewin’s three-step model.
cess whereby organizations and individuals proactively Seo (2000) collected and analyzed major models and pro-
plan for and adapt to change” rather than guidelines to cesses of change management and displayed them based
implement changes (Reynolds, 1993, cited in Van Tiem, on the categories of Lewin’s three steps (see Table 1). As
Moseley, & Dessinger, 2012, p. 61). noted in Table 1, the major models and processes are
elaborations and accommodations of Lewin’s three steps.
Generally speaking, while macro change manage-
CHARACTERISTICS OF MACRO CHANGE ment is useful for envisioning large-scale change initia-
MANAGEMENT tives, including their purposeful orientation, the detailed
There are some key characteristics of macro change man- guidelines and tactics for each step are insufficient.
agement. In macro change management, the target of Therefore, sometimes a change agent who drives the
change is organizational directions, structures, processes, macro change management process suffers from the lack
and capabilities. Macro change management can be of detailed tactics and guidelines for actual change man-
applied to changes in a small organization or a sub-orga- agement situations.
nization such as a department or team. Regardless of the
size or level within an organization, when the main focus
of change is on structures, capacities, or overall processes, CHANGE MANAGEMENT AS TACTICS
change management should be viewed as macro. OR GUIDELINES TO IMPLEMENT
Change agents for macro change management should
INTERVENTIONS: MICRO CHANGE
play the role of a change leader. Caldwell (2003) proposed
four models of change agents based on an extensive MANAGEMENT
review of previous change management studies: leader In the HPT field, the term change management is often
model, management model, consultancy model, and used as the means of managing the change associated
team model. The change agent role in macro change man- with the implementation of an intervention resulting
agement is equivalent to the leader model. The change from applying the HPT process. Studies show that in
agent functions as a leader for change in an organization general about 70% of change efforts in business end up
and needs to envision, initiate, or sponsor organizational in failure (Balogun & Hope Hailey, 2004; Hammer &
change of a transformational nature (Caldwell, 2003). Champy, 2003; Smith, 2002). Further, one of the key rea-
Consequently, one of the required competencies for the sons for these failures is the lack of guidance for intended
macro change management consultant relates to the changes; therefore, the importance of effective guidance
need to guide the overall change processes using a sys- for interventions implementation and people’s adoption
tematic and systemic perspective of change initiatives. of changes cannot be overemphasized (Kang, 2012).

28 [Link] • DOI: 10.1002/pfi • MARCH 2015

 TABLE 1 CHANGE MANAGEMENT MODELS

LIPPITT, WATSON, BULLOCK WHETTEN AND

LEWIN WESTLEY, AND KOLB AND AND BATTEN CAMERON
AUTHORS (1951) SPALDING (1958) FROHMAN (1970) (1985) KOTTER (1996) (2005)
Phases Unfreeze Need development Scouting Exploration Establishing a sense Establishing a
of urgency climate of
Entry positivity
Change Change relationship Planning Creating a guiding Creating readiness
coalition for change

Clarification or Diagnosis Developing a vision

diagnosis and strategy

Alternative routes Planning Communicating the

change vision
Empowering
employees for
broad-based
action
Transformation Action Action Generating short- Articulating
term wins a vision of
abundance
Consolidating gains Generating
and producing commitment
more change
Refreeze Generalization Evaluation Integration Anchoring new Institutionalizing
approaches in the positive
Terminal relationship Termination the culture change

Source. Seo (2000), translated and revised.

Compared with change management as an interven- of managing the implementation process found in the
ing process, this is more a micro-level understanding first half of Rothwell’s definition, ensuring interven-
of change management. As the HPT process evolves, tion implementation in ways consistent with desired
intended interventions must be managed and imple- outcomes. When an intended intervention is actually
mented in order to succeed, and often the change implemented, each component of the intervention and
required to implement a given intervention may require its processes should be managed and guided. When and
a very delicate process (Roy, Falardeau, & Pelletier, how planned interventions are implemented is critical
2001). Managing the change elements associated with for success; therefore, the implementation process must
implementing an intervention is twofold, involving both be not only well planned but also actively and carefully
managing the implementation process and address- guided. In the HPT field, the term change management is
ing human factors. These two aspects of change man- often used as a means of managing the implementation
agement are found in Rothwell’s definition of change process.
management. Rothwell (1999) described change man- As noted in the second part of Rothwell’s definition—
agement as a process that “ensures (1) that interventions helping individuals and groups achieve results—the focus
are implemented in ways consistent with desired results of change management in this instance involves the
and (2) that they help individuals and groups achieve human aspect. In other words, micro change manage-
results” (p. 26). ment should use tactics to prepare people for the changes
associated with an HPT intervention and provide assis-
CHARACTERISTICS OF MICRO CHANGE tance in personal transitions (Hiatt & Creasey, 2003). It
includes people’s adoption of change, reducing resistance
MANAGEMENT to change, taking care of people’s concerns regarding a
What are the key characteristics of micro change manage- specific change, and communicating with all affected
ment? Change management used as tactics or guidelines people. In the HPT field, many researchers and prac-
for intervention implementation focuses on a component titioners employ the term change management in this

Performance Improvement • Volume 54 • Number 3 • DOI: 10.1002/pfi 29

way. For instance, Galloway (2007) stated that change by the change agent in this change management sce-
management involves communication strategies that nario are abilities to use detailed tactics and guidelines to
diminish or hopefully eliminate people’s concerns caused manage people’s concerns about a performance improve-
by interventions so as to increase their acceptance of ment intervention, maintain motivation for change, and
interventions. Rogers (2003) also emphasizes the human facilitate and coordinate various activities for change
factors for change management in his notable book (Paton & McCalman, 2008). Because micro change agents
Diffusion of Innovations. Rogers (2003) not only empha- are supposed to manage the “people side” in change, psy-
sizes simply taking care of people’s concerns and having chological knowledge is useful for their work, including
open communication; he also argues that change agents such elements as group dynamics theories, attitude change
should be able to empathize with their clients in order theories, organizational behavior theories, and social and
to lead in the dissemination effort and to implement the organizational psychology.
intended changes successfully. Furthermore, communica- A possible threat to micro change management and
tion with people is more effective when people perceive change agents is suboptimization. Suboptimization, a
that the change agent is similar to their’s, such as values, synonym for subsystem maximization, is defined as
education, and beliefs. “maximizing or fine-tuning of a part of a system, often
While change agents involved in macro change man- to the detriment of the entire system” (Dettmer, 1998,
agement functions play leadership roles, micro change p. 7). When micro change agents focus primarily on
agents are managers for detailed change associated with the changes associated with a performance intervention
intervention implementation and people’s adoption of devoid of contextualization and without a systemic view
an intervention. They usually aim to take care of people’s of the organization, their small victory in change efforts
concerns about changes associated with a performance and maximization of only a part of the system can detract
improvement intervention, manage individuals’ resistance, from the total effectiveness of the changes and the overall
assure the details of change implementation, and dissemi- value of the performance improvement initiative to the
nate and follow up on the purposed intervention. They organization. Optimized changes in one change imple-
need to translate strategic visions of change associated mentation may cause disharmony in the organization,
with interventions into specific action items and coaching and the use of resources for optimization of that part may
(Caldwell, 2003). Therefore, the competencies required possibly bring resource deficiency to other parts.

TABLE 2 COMPARISON OF MACRO CHANGE MANAGEMENT WITH MICRO CHANGE

MANAGEMENT

MACRO CHANGE MANAGEMENT MICRO CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Definition Process or initiative for changes of organizational Tactics or guidelines for managing intervention
directions, strategies, structures, processes, or implementation process and human factors
capabilities

Change level (target of change) Strategic and process levels Task and individual levels

Focus of change management Overall change process and steps Specific guidelines for change implementation
Personal transition and adoption of change
Managing people’s resistance

Roles of change agent Leader: change leader, planner, change process Manager: resistant manager, change
facilitator, visionary dissemination/adoption manager

Competencies Systematic/systemic understanding about change and Detailed tactics and techniques to manage
change initiatives people’s resistance
Strategic alignment of change components Maintaining motivation
Planning and organizing change processes Ability to facilitate and coordinate various
Leadership skills activities for change

When to use When organization-level change initiatives are When change performance improvement
needed interventions are actually implemented

Possible threat Detail tactics, guidelines, and information are not enough Suboptimization

30 [Link] • DOI: 10.1002/pfi • MARCH 2015

CONCLUSION: TERM CLARIFICATION Hayes, J. (2006). The theory and practice of change
management. Asian Business & Management, 5(1), 153–155.
I have proposed two terms for change management:
macro change management and micro change management. Hiatt, J., & Creasey, T.J. (2003). Change management: The
Existing books and articles explain both the macro and people side of change. Loveland, CO: Prosci Research.
the micro aspects of change management; however, the
Jansson, J. (2008). The importance of change management in
notion and use of the terms is often confused because two
reforming customs. World Customs Journal, 2(2), 41–52.
significantly different aspects of change management are
referenced as one term. As described previously, macro Kang, S.P. (2012). Validation of key stages of the International
change management and micro change management Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Human
have different characteristics in terms of targets, focus, Performance Technology (HPT) model (Unpublished doctoral
change agents’ roles, required competencies, and so forth dissertation). Indiana University, Bloomington.
(see Table 2). In a given situation, obfuscation of the
Kolb, D.A., & Frohman, A.L. (1970). Organization
notion recurs, and in the worst scenario, it can catalyze
development approach to consulting. Sloan Management
failure of performance improvement initiatives such as Review, 12(1), 51–65.
the Mars Climate Orbiter mishap due to unit confusion.
The proposal of the new terms for change management Kotter, J.P. (1996). Leading change. Boston, MA: Harvard
and their characteristics will facilitate more effective Business School Press.
communication for change management, practically and
Kotter, J.P., & Cohen, D.S. (2002). The heart of change: Real-life
academically.
stories of how people change their organizations. Boston, MA:
Harvard Business School Press.

Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science: Selected theo-

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SUNG “PIL” KANG, PhD, is an instructional designer for GP Strategies Global Learning Solutions. He
has worked with global companies and Fortune 500 organizations, including Bank of America; McDon-
alds; Samsung, LG; and others. He earned his PhD and MS degrees in instructional systems technology
at Indiana University, with a focus on human performance technology (HPT) processes and models.
His interests include workplace learning and performance improvement, the foundations of HPT, the
validation of HPT models and processes, HPT standards structure, HPT consulting, mobile learning, and
instructional design. He may be reached at skang@[Link]

32 [Link] • DOI: 10.1002/pfi • MARCH 2015

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