Organizational change management in non-governmental organization

In practice, for exam ple, as a series o f interviews progresses, the researcher will often be creating, testing and modifying analytic categories as an iterative process, such data anal

V IE T N A M N A T IO N A L U N IV E R S IT Y

IIANOT SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

DOAN TUI rmiONC, THIJY

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION

v iii

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

A B S T R A C T iii

T O M T A T v

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S vii

TA B LE OF C O N T E N T S viii

LIST OF F IG U R E S xi

A B BR EV IA TIO N S A ND A C R O N Y M S xii

CH A PTER I : IN T R O D U C T IO N 1

1.1 B A C K G R O U N D 1

1.2 P U R P O S E 2

1.3 M E T H O D O L O G Y 2

[.3 1 Research p u rp o se 3

1.3.2.Research a p p ro a ch 3

1.3.3.Research stra teg y 4

1.3.4.Data collcction m e th o d 5

/ ! 3.5.Sam ple se le c tio n 5

1.3.6.Data a n aly sis 6

IV O U T L IN E 6

CHAPTER 2: LITER A TU R E R E V IE W 7

I FU N D A M EN TA LS OF O R G A N IZA TIO N A L C H A N G E 7

1 W hat is an o rg a n iz atio n ? 7

2 Basic o f O rganizational C h a n g e 9

2.1 C onceptions about organizational c h a n g e 9

2.2 Perspective on C h a n g e 10

2.3 The System s M odel o f C h a n g e 12

3 O rganizational C hange As An Adaptive C oping R e sp o n se 13

viii

II PR IO R RESEA RCH ON N G O s 17

III TR A D ITIO N A L M ANAGEM ENT OF O RG A N IZA TIO N A L CHANGE 21 CH APTER 3: CA SE STUDY OF ACTIONAID V IE T N A M 26

I IN T R O D U C T IO N 26

II C A SE STU D Y M E T H O D 29

1 S ta rt-u p 30

2 Designing & Desk stud y 31

3 Interview & Gathering information 31

4 Analysis & Recommendations 33

III WHY TH EY SH O U LD C H A N G E 33

1 External Environm ent C ontext 33

2 Internal Forces 36

IV C H A N G E PROCESS IN A A V 37

V R ESU L T OF C H A N G E P R O C E S S 38

1 Change approach from service delivery to rights b a s e d 38

2 Change approach from direct operations to partnership with governm ent line agencies and N G O s 39

3 Subscribes to decentralization and devolution o f decision-m aking authority and responsibility 40

4 Engagem ent in a larger area 42

VI REM AINS F IN D IN G 42

1 Internal C om m unication 42

2 Psychology o f sta ffs 43

3 O rganizational stru cture 45

4 C larity and consensus at the HR-OD D ep artm ent 47

5 Decentralization o f HR fu n ctio n s 48

CHAPTER 4: R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S 50

ix

ix

I ST R E N G TH EN IN G IN TER N A L C O M M U N IC A T IO N - FOSTER OPEN

C O M M U N IC A T IO N 50

II B U ILD IN G C A P A C IT Y 52

1 C om petency assessm en t 52

2 I raining need assessm ent an n u ally 53

3 C oaching and training for m a n ag e rs 55

4 R ationalization o f activities in line with s ta f f s c ap a c ity 55

III R EST R U C T U R IN G T H E A A V 56

C H A PTER 5: C O N C L U S IO N S 59

R E F E R E N C E S 61

A P P E N D IC E S 63

Appendix A: Q uestionnaire for AAV structure and m anagem ent assessm ent 64 Appendix B: Q uestionnaire for AAV change a ssessm en t 71

Appendix C: A pproach for O vercom ing R esistance to C h a n g e 72

Appendix D: List o f Interview ees 73

Appendix R: A ctionA id V ietnam O rganization C h art 75

Figure 1: Thesis m e th o d o lo g y 3

Figure 2: Thesis O u tlin e 6

Figure 3: Types o f c h a n g e s 11

Figure 4: Lew in's th e o ry 14

Figure 5: The w ay a N GO creates v a lu e s 20

Figure 6 : C hange m anagem ent p ro c e ss 24

Figure 7: A AV's Expenditures by th e m e 28

Figure 8 : A AV's Project, Support and Fundraising Costs over the last 3 years28 Figure 9: A A V 's Incom e source 2003 29

LIST OF FIGURES

A B B R E V IA T I O N S A N D A C R O N Y M S

NGOs: N on-G overnm ental O rganizations

AA: ActionAid

AAV: ActionA id V ietnam

CSP III: C ountry Strategy Paper III

DA: D evelopm ent Area

PACCOM : People’s Aid C oordinating Com m ittee

V1JFO: Vietnam Union o f Friendship O rganizations

CPRGS: C om prehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy

I l l ;,PR: Hunger Eradication and Poverty Reduction

CD: Country D irector

JD: Job Description

HR-OD: Human R esource - O rganizational Development

SMT: Senior M anager Team

CSR: C orporate Social Responsibility

CBO: C om m unity-B ased O rganization

TNA: T raining Need Assessm ent

IA-SL: Im pact A ssessm ent - Share Learning

xii

C - H A P T ^ R 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BAC KG RO U N D

"You cannot step twice into the same river,

fo r fresh waters are ever flowing in upon y o u"

(Heraclitus)

Today's environm ent is change more suddenly and frequently than ever before The reality o f yesterday proves w rong today, and nobody really know s w hat w ill be the truth tom orrow C hange in social, economy, political, etc are all factors that contribute to a grow ing clim ate o f uncertainty Keep in pace w ith these changes, not only business organizations but also non-profit organizations such as ActionAid Vietnam today are also beset by change - change to survival, change to adapt, and change to grow

In the book Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters stresses the im portance o f change to the modem organization: "To up the odds o f survival, m anagers at all levels must becom e obsessive about change"1 He adds, "Change m ust becom e the norm, not

1 T om e P eters, T h riv in g on C h ao s, N ew York A lfred A K nopf, 1997

cause for alarm "2 M any m anagers find them selves unable to cope with an environm ent or an organization that has become substantially different from the one

in which they received their training and gained their early experience Other

m anagers have trouble transferring their skills to a new assignm ent in a different industry A grow ing organization, a new assignm ent, and changing environment

m ay all be encountered by today' managers To be successful, m anagers must be able to adapt to these changes, m anage them and m ove forward

T hus, w ithin scope o f this thesis, I would like to study the organizational change

m anagem ent applying into the case o f ActionAid Vietnam

Purpose o f the thesis will be presented in (he next section

1.2 PU RPO SE

T he purpose o f this thesis is to aim:

■ Firstly, give out a system atical approach and test organizational change

m anagem ent theory also;

■ Secondly, apply this theory into practical case o f AAV to find out the best recom m endation, w hich will help AAV m anagers in all level have a guide on how to m anage change effectively for a success transition period;

* Thirdly, detect som e theoretical issue o f organizational change m anagem ent,' which can apply in N G O s in specific environm ent o f Vietnam

1.3 M ETH O D O LO G Y

M ethodology usually prefers to the general approaches to research w hile method refers to techniques for gathering evidence Therefore m ethodology is a theory and analysis o f how a research does or should proceed Specific method for the case study will be described and elaborated upon later in the chapter three o f the thesis

A graphical overview is presented below' as the m ethodology o f this research:

! I b i d

1

Figure 1.1: Thesis methodology

■ Purposes descriptive: objective o f this stage is to develop careful descriptions o f patterns that were suspected in the exploratory research

■ Purposes explanatory: purpose o f this stage is to develop explicit theory that can

be used to explain the empirical generalizations that evolved from the second stage

This study comes with descriptive and explanatory purpose more than exploratory purposes only

1.3.2 Research approach

The research approach o f this study is qualitative Qualitative research approaches have traditionally been favored when the main research objective is to improve the understanding o f a phenom enon, especially when this phenomenon is complex and deeply embedded in its context Its many methodologies and techniques have heiDed researchers get a better grasp of a variety of management situations

3

The last few years had seen an explosion o f interest in qualitative methods, oarticularly within organizational aspects The use o f qualitative methods can counteract the perceived current imbalance between theory testing and theory generation The distinction between qualitative and quantitative techniques is only a small part o f a far w ider debate about epistemology and ontology In qualitative research the distinction betw een data collection and data analysis may not be clear- cut In practice, for exam ple, as a series o f interviews progresses, the researcher will often be creating, testing and modifying analytic categories as an iterative process, such data analysis m ay be considered an organic whole that begins in the data- gathering stage and does not end until the writing is complete.

The characteristics o f qualitative research are as follow3:

■ Qualitative research is descriptive;

■ Qualitative research are concerned with process rather than simply with outcomes and products;

■ Qualitative research tend to analysis their data inductively;

• Qualitative research has the natural setting, as the direct source o f data and the researcher is the key instrument;

■ Qualitative research can reveal how all the parts work together to form a whole:'

• It assumes that reality is holistic, multidimensional, and ever-changing

1.3.3 Research strategy

Research strategy were used in this thesis is case study

A ccording to theory, a case study approach should be used when how or why questions are being posed about a contemporary set o f events over which the researcher has little o f any control This study is based more on research questions

o f how character and focuses on contemporary sets o f events, therefore I thought that a case study was the m ost suitable research strategy for this study

' Bogdan & B iklen 1992

4

3.4 Data collection m ethod

Yin" indicates that there are six data sources from winch information can be garnered for a case study These are interviews, documentary sources, archival records, participant observation, physical artifacts and direct observation O f these six, extensive use is m ade o f interviews, docum entary sources such as information obtained from organizations, direct observations and occasional reference to archival m aterials, for the present study Each o f these data sources has their strengths and w eaknesses Since no single source o f data has a com plete advantage over all the others and given that the data sources are highly complementary, and the recom m endation by researchers that a good case study m ay want to use as many sources as possible The various data sources that were accessed for the present study w ere com bined as complementary or corroboratory information for presenting each case

In this study data w ill be collected from multiple sources: docum ent, archival

records and interview s (detail in Chapter 3).

1.3.5 Sample selection

This sections purpose is to present the way in which organization, as well as the individuals w ithin this organization will be selected for this study In this case, a non-governm ental organization will be focus upon The criteria for the selection o f the sample organization were:

■ That the organization is a non-governmental organization (NGO);

■ That the organization has a quite large portfolio and num ber o f staffs in Vietnam;

* That the organization has some drastic changes recently

4 Y in, R K (1994) C a se stu d y research: design and m ethods (2nd ed) T housand O aks CA : Sage

1.3.6 Data analysis

The way m which the data will be analyzed is very important for any research study For this study it will involve the analysis o f the interview s conducted, as well

as the review o f any documentation that being handed over These multiple sources

o f evidence are what add to a study’s validity

Specific techniques can be used to analyze the data collected from the interviews There are two forms o f analysis for the data collected in a case study: within-case analysis and cross-case analysis In my study, the w ithin-case analysis will be selected

1.4 OUTLINE

The thesis is divided into five chapters as shown in below figure In the first chapter

a background to the selected area is presented followed by a stated purposes o f choosing the thesis topic, the outline for overall thesis and the methodology using for the research In the second chapter literature to the selected topic will be reviewed The third chapter contains a within case introduction including case study method, analysis and findings o f ActionAid Vietnam Chapter four will show recommendations from the sample case Finally, in chapter five the conclusions and implications will be presented

Figurel 2: Thesis Outline

Literature Review

C h a p te r 3

C ase Studv of AAV

Cbapter4 Recommendations

6

O r \ y \ T £ R 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter contains literature based on my desk study This will include studies on organization and organizational change, then studies basically on non-governmental organization and finally studies on traditional management o f organizational change In order to describe the whole image o f managing organizational change as possible I have included som e theory that can be apply by both profit and non-profit organizations

2.1 FU N D A M EN TA LS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

2.1.1 W hat is an organization?

The term o f “organization” is used many times in daily life and most people in the world today are bom , work, and die in one organization or more; but most o f them have a casual attitude tow ard it because organization is intangible

Guest (1962) has defined an organization as consisting o f any large group of persons engaged in m utually dependent activities for some specific purpose He states further that an organization is rationally structured in that;

* The organization has been formed as a legal entity at some identifiable point in time and space;

» People and physical objects have been deliberately brought together to achieve a defined goal;

N adler (1981) further contends that the model conceives o f the organization as com prising four m ajor components:

First is the task o f the organization or the work to be done and its inherent critical characteristics;

Second are the individuals who perform organizational tasks;

Third are the formal organizational arrangements, including various structures, processes, system s, which are designed to motivate individuals in the performance

o f organizational tasks;

The fourth is a set o f mfonmal organizational arrangements, w hich are usually neither planned nor written, but which tend to emerge over tim e These include patterns o f com m unications, power, and influence, values and norms, which characterize how an organization actually functions The relationships among com ponents can be thought o f as each component having a relationship with every other com ponent Each pair o f composing components, seeking to establish a relative degree o f consistency, tries congruence or fit

Schein(> asserts that research about organizations of late has progressively espoused

a view o f the organization as an open, complex system in dynam ic interaction with

m ultiple environm ents Attempting to fulfill goals and perform tasks at many levels

' S chein, E H & B sn n is G W Personnel and organizational change methods N ew Y ork: John W iley & Sons Inc

6 S chein, E H & B e n n is G W Personnel and organizational change methods N ew Y ork: John W iley & Sons Inc

8

and in varying degrees o f complexity Evolving and developing as the interaction with a changing environm ent force new internal adaDtations He contends that this orientation ;s best expressed by stating a series o f general propositions rather chan attempting a single all encompassing definition o f w hat constitutes an organization.2.1.2 Basic o f O rganizational Change

2 1.2.1 Conceptions about organizational change

What is organizational change?

Changing m eans departing to new destinations And organizational change is defined as the process by which organizations design and transform their structures and cultures to m ove from their present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness It means empowering organizations and individuals for taking over responsibility for their own future

A change begins with the organization existing in a current state (A) The future state (B) is how the organization is planned or envisioned It is the expected state that would ideally exist after the change The period between A and B can oe thought o f as the transition state C

Nadler (1981) concedes that while not every organizational change can be expected

to meet these criteria, such standards provide a target for planning change as well as assessing change effects

N adler further recom m ends that owing to the balancing effect, whereby an organization's com ponents thnve toward congruence, there is the need for the researcher to take a holistic or systemic perspective when thinking about major organizational change

Organizations are constantly changing, their boundaries are difficult to define and vary over time, some are expanding their missions and taking on new objectives, and others are cutting o ff functions and focusing on their central objectives A shift

in their m issions is w hat leads to changes m almost ail aspects o f organizations The concept o f organizational change when used in business and managem ent literature

9

2.1.2.2 Perspective on Change

Change can also be understood in relation to its extent and scope Ackerman (1997) has distinguished betw een three types o f changes: developm ental, transitional and transform ational change

D evelopm ental change m ay be either planned or em ergent, it is first order, or incremental It is change that enhances or corrects existing aspects o f an organization, often focusing on the improvement o f a skill or a process

Transitional change seeks to achieve a known desired state that is different from the existing one It is episodic, planned and second order or radical The model o f transitional change is the basic o f much o f the organizational change literature It has its foundations in the w ork o f Lewm who conceptualized change as a three- stage process involving:

■ unfreezing the existing organizational equilibrium; deals w ith breaking down the forces supporting or m aintaining the old state;

■ m oving to a new position; involves offering a clear and attractive option representing new state;

■ refreezing in a new equilibrium position

Transform ational change is radical or second order in nature It required a shift in assum ptions made by the organization and its members Transform ation can result

10

in an organization that differs significantly in term o f structure, processes, cuiture and strategy, it may, therefore, resuit in die creation o f an organization that operates

in development mode- one that continuously learns, adapts and improves

Figure 2.1: Types o f changes

2 1.3 The Systems Model o f G iange

A system is an organized assembly o f components, related in such a way that the behavior o f any individual component will influence the overall status o f the system ' The systems model o f change describes an organization as five interacting variables: Environment; System o f strategies, goals, objectives, plans, approaches, and policies; Culture; Behavior and processes; and Structure This provides a fram ework that can be used to analyze each variable and understand its impact on the others, which alerts us to the idea that if one these things is changed it has an impact elsewhere Successfully understanding the impact o f these interactions necessitates a very effective communication process betw een parts o f the organization and between managers and staffs O therw ise a very subjective evaluation based on the opinions o f a very limited group consisting mostly o f management could be used

■ Environment: The task environment, which includes all the external organizations and conditions that are directly related to an organization's mam operations and its technologies They include all stakeholders, resources, and the state o f knowledge concerning the organization's technologies The general environment includes institutions and conditions that m ay have infrequent or long-term impacts on the organization and its task environm ent, including the economy, the legal system, the state o f scientific and technical knowledge, social institutions, the political system, and the national culture w ithin w hich the organization operates

■ System o f strategies, goals, objectives, plans, approaches, and policies Strategies are overall routes to goals, including ways o f dealing w ith th e environm ent; goals are desired end states, w hereas objectives are specific targets and indicators o f goal attainm ent; and plans specify courses o f action tow ard some end Purposes may be explicit or implicit in the decision makers' actions They are the outcom es

7 M cC alm an and Pato 1992

12

i 3

of conflict and negotiation among powerful parties within ind outside rhe organization

• Culture: This includes shared norms, beliefs, values, symbols, and rituals relating

to key aspects of' organizational life, such as the nature and identity o f the organization, the way the work is done, the value and possibility o f changing or innovating, and relationships between lower and higher ranking members

« Behavior and processes: This includes the prevailing patterns o f behavior, interactions, and relationships between groups and individuals- including cooperation, conflict, coordination, communication, controlling and rewarding behavior, influence and power relations, supervision, leadership, decision making, problem solving, planning, goal setting, information gathering, self- criticism , evaluation, and group learning

■ Structure: This includes enduring relations between individuals, groups, and larger units-inciuding role assignments (job descriptions: authority,responsibility, privileges attached to positions); grouping o f positions in divisions, departm ents and other units: standard operating procedures: established mechanism s for handling key processes such as coordination (e.g committees, weekly meetings); human resources mechanisms (career lines, reward, evaluation procedures); actual patterns (e.g informal relations, cliques, coalitions, power distribution) that may differ from officially mandated ones

2.2 O rganizational Change As An Adaptive Coping R esponse

2.2.1 Forces for and Resistance to Organizational Change

C hange is an inevitable part o f everyday life in all organizations Organizations com e under pressure to change constantly to survive rather than when they want to change, because o f a combination o f factors emanating from within and without the organizations Environmental turbidity requires organizational reactive response toenable organizational sustenance Interna! forces may arise from a need to adapt to

13

in equilibrium are the restraining forces If the two forces are equal, the organization will remain static Change occurs when one o f these two forces becom es stronger Once the change has occurred, the organization reverts to a new state o f equilibrium, which reflects the desired change.

Figure 2.2: Lewin's theory9

Table 1 lists the most important forces for and impediments to change that confront

an organization and its managers

‘ Lew in C om plexity: Life at th e E dge o f C haos Macmillan

5 G areth R Jones, O rganizational Theory, Desi&i and Change, 4th Edition

14

1 5

Table 2.3: Forces for and Resistance to Change 10

Forces for Change Resistances to Change

Com pétitive Forces

Economie Forces

Politcal Forces

Global Forces Démographie Forces Social Forces Ethical Forces

Organizational Level Structure

• C u ltu re

«StrategyFunctional Level

♦ Differences in Subunit Orientation

» Power and Conflict

9 Cognitive Biases

• Uncertainty and Insecurity

• Selective Perception and Retention

• Habit

An organization is subject to many pressures for change form a variety o f sources- far too many to discuss here Moreover, because o f com plexity o f events and the rapidity o f change are increasing, predicting what type o f pressure for change will

be most meaningful in the next decade is difficult Discussing the broad categories

o f pressures that probably will have major effects on organizations is possible, how ever - and important

2.2.2 Im portance o f Change

In today's fast-paced, fast-changing, and increasingly com petitive world, the adaptation o f organizations has become the focus o f considerable attention The study o f how organizations change and develop over time exam ines what adaptation has actually taken place A number o f studies have indicated some organizational developm ent takes place independently o f strategic moves When such organizations falter or fail, the consequences can be far-reaching, even devastation

"They further contend" - Organizations through the ages have been characterized by

10 G areth R Jones, O rganizational T heory, D esign and Change, 4 Edition

15

a tension betw een the forces o f stability and the need for change M uch o f the strength and utility o f organizations comes from their inertia, helping to make them reliable in w hat they do and accountable for w hat they do Indeed, som e argue that their tendency to inertia can provide organizations with some short-term com petitive advantage

From organization theory and much research, we know that organizations do not adapt readily or easily; many organizations that change do so in ways that are neither successful nor effective Organizations must continually balance the forces

o f stability and the push for change Nevertheless, organization theory and

m anagerial w isdom suggest that, to survive, organizations m ust be com patible with their environm ents, w hich include the entire external social, economic, and political conditions that influence their actions

In the current environm ent o f rapid technological and societal change, organizations must adapt quickly enough to m aintain their legitimacy and the resources they need

to stay viable Besides, internal environm ent o f organization, which somehow is effected by external environment, and som ehow changes by itself, also be a consideration for managers It may be becom e an important factor that effect critically to organization's effectiveness

O rganizations today m ust function and attem pt to flourish under conditions that are com plex, rapidly changing, and in some respects unprecedented The stakes are high and the risks are great O f the 500 largest firms on the first such list published

by Fortune m agazine in 1956, only 29 remains V oluntary m ergers and joint ventures, hostile takeovers and poison-pill resistance to them, conglom erations and divestitures have created an organizational environm ent o f prolonged turbulence These changes are m anifestations o f a deeper and more general transformation: the shift in the developed world from an industrial to an information economy

As recently as 1960, about half the workers in industrialized countries were involved in m aking things By the year 2000 no developed country is likely to have more than one-eighth o f its w orkforce perform ing such tasks Only the earlier

1 6

industrial Revolution and ;he more gradual mechanization o f agriculture were comparable m their m agnitude o f change and ramifying societal effects The driving force o f these changes is technological and prim arily involves information technology This technology, w hich has been created within the lifetime o f today's adults and w hich today's children take for granted, has developed at a remarkable pace.

In summary, for planned changes or un-planned changes, they all are the ways that can help organizations can overcom e inertia state New state may be good or not, it depends on organization' adaptation ability and manager's talent That's the reasons why we need to study how to m anaging organizational change effectively

2.3 PRIOR RESEA RCH ON NGOs

A non-governmental organization is organization that is not parts o f any government The origin o f the term NGO is clearly an international one NGOs were listed as early as the 1940s in the Yearbook o f International Organizations of the Union o f International A ssociations The term was also referred to in Article 71

o f the Charter o f the United Nations

Some time ago the term lost its purely international context and has since been used

to cover national, regional and local organizations as well NGOs exist for a variety

o f different purposes, usually to further the political and/or social goals o f their members Some exam ple goals include improving the state o f the natural environment, encouraging the observance o f human rights and concerns such as the identity and feminism, etc N G O s also vary in their methods Some act primarily as lobbyists, while others prim arily conduct programs and activities O ver the past several decades, NG O s have becom e major players in the field o f international development Since the mid-1970s, the NGO sector in both developed and developing countries has experienced exponential growth

From 1970 to 1985 total developm ent aid disbursed by international NGOs increased ten-fold In 1992 international NGOs channeled over S7,6 billion o f aid to

Dm H O C Q U Ú C G IA HA N Ó I

developing countries It is now estimated that over 15 percent o f total overseas developm ent aid is channeled through NGOs NGOs are typically value-based organizations that depend, in whole or in pan on charitable donations (from the public as well as the governm ent) and voluntary service There are now tens or thousands o f international non-govem m ental organizations (N G O s) in the world, operating in most countries These organizations are not directly affiliated with any national governm ent but often have significant impacts on the social, economic and political activity o f the country or region involved

In the presentation and analysis o f the role o f NGOs in developm ent co-operation, they distinguish - based on the w ork o f David Korten - betw een four generations o f NGO organizations

• 1st G eneration: The prim ary objective o f this generation was to help people in need o f urgent relief - food, medical support, housing, etc This type o f work often started in Europe after the wars, and organizations like Oxfam , CARE, Save the Children and even MS originated in this context Funding was obtained prim arily through fundraising in the market

■ 2nd Generation: Strategies in this generation focus more on closer co-operation with the target groups Providing the "fish" itself is no longer the only objective, but also provision o f "fishing rods" and training in how to use them

O rganizations focus very m any on local communities, and they have an intimate know ledge o f these com m unities

■ 3rd Generation: This phase develops from the critique o f the second-generation interventions being too small and narrow in scope Interventions at the micro level have to be com bined with interventions at the macro level Not only should immediate needs be addressed, but the structural injustices should be attacked as well

• 4th G eneration: At this point, strategies are implemented as part o f a broader national, even global, movement However, this generation is not developed in the sam e detail as the other generations

18

International NGOs have been providing support to V ietnam for many decades In :he early 1970s some sixtv-three NGOs worked in Vietnam During the mid to late 1980s, Vietnam began to broaden its international relations.

At :he end o f 1986, the Communist Party o f Vietnam initiated a policy o f Doi Moi

or Renovation This change coincided with the collapse o f the former socialist countries o f the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe: as a result, these countries substantially reduced their support for Vietnam's developm ent This change created new possibilities for NGOs, which wishing to support V ietnam and many renewed efforts to have representatives in the country

Throughout the 1990s, the number of NGOs working w ith Vietnam steadily increased In 2000, close to 500 NGOs have relations with Vietnam , 350 o f which are currently active with partners and programmers Statistics figures for financial assistance at 16 million USD rising more than 300% to o ver 83 million USD in 2000' The V ietnam government sees NGOs as part o f the donor community although this is beginning to change NGO financial contributions have been small yet their influence on donor and government views o f poverty programming important NGOs are spread all over Vietnam but mostly focused on the remote area (.e.g northern mountain region, coastal areas), and w ork with the poor and marginalized people

The below chart will present the way which a non-governm ental organization creates values in generally:

11 P A CC O M , 1999

19

Figure 2A : 1 he wav a NGO creates 1nines

O rg an izatio n 's Inputs O rganization's C onversion

O rganization o b tain s inputs from its !

Supply o u tp u ts allow organization

to obtain new su p p lier o f inputs

• V alue for stakeholders

As globalization and international trade iir.oact societies, non-govemmentai organizations have become increasingly intlueniial in world affairs There are a multitude o f affairs that may be challenges and threats also To name a few as globalization o f economy and information; increasing ineffectiveness of governmental institutions - and o f many private oo; the growing number o f people living in poverty; the growing disparity between work and private life But the biggest threat is the indifference o f people

These threats call for a new spirit o f development, in which individuals, :he members o f organizations, experience self-determination and personal growth - and participate in creating a world around them to which they want to belong

2.4 TRADITIONAL M AN A G EM ENT OF O RG A N IZA TIO N A L CH AN G E

Change management can be viewed from two perspectives - from those implementing the change and from the recipients o f change The view o f change management varies dram atically if you are the executive dem anding the change versus the front line staff who may be unsure w hy a change is even needed

In many cases at the onset o f a new change, neither the executive nor the front-iine staff is knowledgeable about managing change The executives w ant the change to happen now; the staffs are simply doing their job It is the project managers, consultants that First leam about the necessity for change m anagem ent They are the First to realize the two dimensions o f change management: the top-dow n managers" perspective and the bottom- up staffs' perspective

The managers' perspective on change is results oriented They are very aw are o f the business issues facing the organization and are accountable for the financial perform ance o f the company When a change is needed, they require action quickly

In many cases, executives or senior m anagers must weigh the return on investment

o f this change as compared to other strategic initiatives in the organization Their primary concerns are:

■ When can the change be completed?

■ How much improvement will be realized?

* How will this change impact on operation o f organization?

* What is the required investment for change?

* How will this change impact to people who benefit from the organization's operation ?

; Etc

Mow consider the perspective o f front-line employees They generally do not have a day-to-day view o f the organizational issues Day-to-day operations are their focus Serving people, processing orders, getting the jo b done - these are the prim ary areas

21

o f interest: these tasks combined with the number o f personal issues that they al!face every day.

W hen changes are made, many staffs lack the broader context or knowledge base o f

w hv the change is being made They also do not share the same accountabilities as managers They question, therefore, how the change will impact them personally

To complete the picture, consider the consultant or project team who is responsible

to design and implement the change They have their own agenda acting on behalf

o f the business leaders who charted the change

The result is a potentially dangerous mix o f different priorities, different knowledge sets and different driving forces If the change is not managed properly, these different values and driving forces clash resulting in unfortunate outcomes for the organization

* Employees resist the change;

* Valued personnel leave the organization;

* Critical projects are delayed;

■ Beneficiary from organization (Community) feel the impact indirectly through upset staffs:

So what is organizational change management?

Organizational change management is the management o f change from the perspective o f a m anager or project team It is the perspective o f ‘lead ersh ip ’’ from the “top" looking down into the organization Change management refers to following:

22

■ Systematic and planned management o f internal, controlled changes within an organization: or

■ Response to changes that lie outside the control o f the organization

The focus is around broad change management practices and skills that will help the organization understand, accept and support the needed organizational change The prim ary focus is around change management strategies, comm unication plans and training program s The involved parties include project team members, human resources and key business leaders that sponsor the change

The goal o f change management process is to implement these changes quickly to:

■ m inimize the negative impact on productivity;

■ avoid unnecessary turnover or loss o f valued employees;

■ elim inate any adverse impact on your community;

■ achieve the desired outcomes as soon as possible

So the change m anagem ent process is the sequence o f steps or activities that a change m anagem ent team or leader would follow to apply to change, including:

23

F:gure 2.5: Change management process

Assess: The assessm ent process is where the nature o f the change is evaluated and the risk to the environment and the readiness o f organization is considered Not all changes are created equally Therefore, risk assessment is key to a successful process, which does not impose unnecessary bureaucracy on theorganization

■ Evaluation: The evaluation phase is the part o f the process where all docum entation o f work performed is review ed and evaluated This m ay include testing outcom es, forces behind the change, support plans for the change, training com pleted to ensure that change is successful and operations changes w hich have been m ade and are ready to implement to ensure that the change is successful

24

* Plan & Schedule: This is often the most difficult pan o f the process for large com plex distributed environment The entire process can be rendered futile if several high impact organizational wide changes are implemented at exactly the same time The risk taken on by the evaluation phase when the changes were looked at separately

• Execute: using the developed Plan and Schedule, execute the change

■ Report A nalyze & Improve: The number o f organizations who are unable to report to changes is truly staggenng Without any way o f tracking results from the change process the process is irrelevant There is no way to evaluate effectiveness, take corrective action, learn or improve Each change that is

im plem ented creates an opportunity to learn how to more reliably operate the environm ent Each failed change, which is not analyzed, represents a future risk

m anaging the peopie-side o f change

■ Change m anagem ent is not a process improvement method; Change management

is a m ethod for reducing and managing resistance to change when implementing process, technology o r organizational change

• C hange m anagem ent is not a stand-alone technique for improving organizational perform ance; Change management is a necessary component for any organizational perform ance improvement process to succeed

25

ActionAid has been w orking in Vietnam since 1989 In Vietnam, ActionAid has been one o f the largest N G O s with a large portfolio o f projects across the provinces

o f the country A t present ActionAid Vietnam (AAV) is involved in designing,

im plem enting (in partnership with local authorities), facilitating and funding anti­poverty program m es List o f AAV themes in detail contains:

* Gender equity

■ HIV/AIDS

■ Governance

26

In general, the AAV' organizational structure is consist o f two parts: the support function and the program m e (See Appendix E fo r detailed).

• The program m e has seven DAs: they are DAI - Son La, DA2-Ha Tinh, DA3- Lai

Chau and D A 4-N inh Thuan, DA5-Hochiminh city; DA6- Travinh, DA7- Ha

G iang provinces

■ The support function includes Finance and Administrative department, HR-OD departm ent, G ender function, Funding and Fundraising department, and Policy,

A dvocacy and C om m unication (PRAD) department

Total expenditures o f AAV in year 2003 were £1,208.000 increased 37% compared

to the year 2001 The cost structure also changed in a positive trend While support costs deceased from 24% in year 2001 to 16% in year 2003, project costs increase from 73% to 79% in 2001 and 2003 respectively The application o f Child Sponsorship led to the increment o f fundraising costs by 2% However, this increm ent is reasonable as it makes our funding base more stable

Regarding program spending, although the organization have been working on various issues in the year 2003, the investment seemed to be focus on the 5 major themes: food security (37% ) followed by governance (22%), education (14%)

HIV/AIDS (8% ) and gender equity (7%) The following charts show the propom on

o f each 'hem e over Totai program costs and the trends o f costs structure o f ActionAid ' 'ietnam o\ er the last three years

Figure 3.1: AA V's Expenditures by them e!

few more DAs in 2004 W ith a short oeriod of time, great efforts have been made to

■ecruit soonsorea :h iia md -insure effective jcm m unication between ;hiidren ind

heir fostered parents More over, regular -avings :una has increase from less -0%

ro o0% o f required level this year However ActionAid Vietnam is also snarpemng its fund raising effort through partnership ana official funding ro cope with its funding gaps

Figure 3.3: AA V ’s Income source 2003

U P a r tn e r s h ip -

C th e r

31 Local - O fficial

- L o c a l - O th e r

3.2 CASE STU DY METHOD

This part now merges together the theoretical understandings o f thematic concern methodology and practical case The diagram below outlines the steps for the case conducted:

’ AAV A nnuai R eport 2003

objectives, m aterials T* *\ interview

purp o se and £8&\

and w orking structured inform ation

-'guidelines study and

Analysis o f inform ation collected

G ive out reco m m en ­ dation

C onclusion and

Im plication

3.2.1 Start-up

Unity and developm ent o f research objectives and expect outcomes are important beginning step o f every start-up stage Content o f this stage will focus on answering questions: W hy will the research conduct? What's the purpose and w hat's the expect outcom es? These questions will help to:

■ Clarify and state officially o f the AAV research's objectives and purpose;

■ Develop direction tor selecting appropriate approach:

• Present the objective and benefit o f research to the organization, unify objectives

o f research and organization and mobilize for cooperation in collecting document and information process; and

5 Establish necessary contacts to who will be involved in the AAV research

in

3.2.2 D esigning & D esk study

After unifying objectives and approach method, all related documents will be collected, consolidated and refined carefully according to research issues This ;s significant information source to shape the initial image o f the AAV activities Base

on that, structure and content o f interview will be designed and improved practically

Interviewing is the m ainstay o f many different kinds o f qualitative method The present case study employing qualitative research methodology is no exception An interview schedule is prepared to act as guide that keeps the interview within a certain expected fram ew ork, without necessarily depriving the interview situation o f interviewer driven information-gathering process

Data is collected through semi-structured interviews at the organizations involved in the study Interview s lasted from one to two hours An interv iew guide was used to avoid losing focus and to ensure that all relevant questions were asked Questions were both closed and open-ended Indeed, while some indicators required a brief and precise answ er, it is also desirable to let information emerge from the field Respondents were thus given the opportunity to express their thoughts on the topic

o f interest as freely as possible

3.2.3 Interview & G athering information

Before interview process, a pre-test interview will be conducted with participation

o f the organization representative It's expected to happen a discussion and assessment o f interview content for an appropriate result, which will be the last content for the interview guideline

The main content o f interview will be divided into 2 parts: one tor organizational structure, m anagem ent and operation assessment, and one for organizational change assessment

The assessment o f organizational structure, management ana opération wiil base on

reviewing below extents (see Appendix A fo r detad)

■ Clarity and consensus exist on the organization's vision and goals, which are operationalized.

■ Are decisions m ade in a participatory way?

■ How delegation o f authority occurs ?

■ Do Personal Policies and procedures exist? Practiced and are gender sensitive?

■ Is the organization operated under a code o f ethics?

■ Do recording and filing system exist?

• Are com m unications open and spontaneous?

• Do a program m e supportive administration (Procurement, inventory and Admin.) exists

The interview guideline for organizational change assessment base on below intentions (see Appendix B f o r detail):

■ W hat's the expect organization in the future?

■ W hat're the internal organizational changes recently? And what's the effect?

• W hat're the external organizational changes recently? How do they effect to theorganization?

■ Are these changes positive or negative?

■ What's your opinion? Do they need or not?

From the approved interview frame, in-depth interviews with individual or focus group will be conducted Total o f interviewees are 20 in all 30 members o f AAV The interviewees will be divided into two groups: manager and staff group For

m anager group, interview method will be conducted individually And for staff group, the m ethod w ill take place by focus group (see Appendix D fo r detail). With dividing interview groups hope that collected information will be objective and multilateral; and base on these, the different awareness and opinion will be received

A fter interview com pletion, information will be sum up and consolidated withnrevious collected information to infer findings for research To have accurate and

reliably information, above findings will be confirmed by the organization representative

3.2.4 Analysis & Recommendations

Findings from the documents and interview are mam material for analysis following organizational change theories that are presented in the chapter 3

Perspectives o f analysis contains:

3.3.1 External Environment Context

The Vietnamese Government's policy o f pursuing 'M arket Socialism ' is all set to continue throughout its Socio-Economic Development Strategy for 2001-2010 The policy intends to promote the positive aspects o f the market mechanism while limiting and overcoming its negative impacts V ietnam 's economy doubled in size during the 1990s and the poverty' rate has fallen to 29%, from 35% in 2000 and 70%

in the 1980s Us impressive performance is reflected by 7.4% growth in 2003

The state retains a strong role and the private sector is rapidh gaining strength, but the developm ent o f local NGOs has been hindered by the lack o f an NGO law This could underm ine the governm ent's attempts to implement good governance (through public adm inistrative reform, legal reform and the control o f corruption) and deal with the increasing instances o f embezzlement o f state funds For example, som e S750,000 (out o f S 15 million) o f state funds allocated to 700 projects under the National Program m e for Poverty Reduction (Programme 135) was reportedly embezzled The G overnm ent has started implementing its Com prehensive Poverty' Reduction and Growth Strategy to translate the 10-Year Socio-economic Development Strategy into concrete measures for action It provides a set o f targets

to be met through the local application o f the Millennium Development Goals However, us im plem entation presents several challenges Poor coordination between ministries ‘0 realize the goals, lack o f proper understanding of Com prehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy by stakeholders and their participation m im plem entation and monitoring, lack o f concrete action plans with timing ana ;osttng o f activities, and a lack o f prioritization are some o f the

' 1