Change management in local government: a case study of buffalo city metropolitan municipality (2009-2011).

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to explore how change can be understood from the change management perspective, especially in the local sphere of government. The study looked specifically at the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality journey through a significant shift or transition from a category B to Category A municipality during the 2011 Local Government elections. Based on change theory and a selected change management model, the framework for change management and issues related to it were constructed. Additionally, a synthesis of the most important phases and interventions in a strategic change process or project was created. The phases included: starting point, planning, implementation and evaluation, and securing. Various literature sources were consulted during the study. Inter alia, these included Lewin’s change management model, which states that change has to follow three stages—including, unfreezing, moving and refreezing. All these stages by Lewin(1951) emphasise the critical management role in driving planned or proactive change in order to address the likely emergence of resistance by observing a systematic process. A qualitative approach was utilized in order to solicit in-depth information using a structured questionnaire. Respondents were visited by the researcher in their offices, to gather data. To this effect, a total 25 respondents from the top management, councillors and middle management were sampled and interviewed accordingly. According to the findings of this study, important change management phases were recognized through researching theoretical literature—starting, planning and implementation phases. Empirical information at the starting phase involves analysis of the current and desired states and the need for change accompanied by guiding coalitions. In the planning phase, the most important interventions is project formulation, action plan development, analysis of prior and current strategic change initiatives and organizational structure analysis. In the change implementation phase the interventions of importance are the launch, quick-wins, creation of a sense of urgency, management of change resistance and communication of the change.