Types of Change:

All changes are not same in nature. Some changes remain on happening on their own and a few are planned. Three kinds of change might be identified:

• Evolution
• Revolution
• Planned change

These might briefly be elaborates as follows:

• Evolution is the type of change which comes as a natural process, in little adjustments or shifts in response to emerging problems.
• Revolution is the type of change brought about by applying force on others to comply by coercion or suppression to resolve conflicts.
• Planned change takes place while efforts are made to make others feel the requirement for change, determine the ideal or desired situation and strive to achieve the ideal or desired state by planned actions.

Behavioural and Social scientists have advocated diverse approaches to understand the change procedure and described the subsequent four types of change:

A.  Exceptional Change: A particular modification is accepted as an exception if there is otherwise no change in the ongoing aspects. An existing belief is not changed but exact change is introduced separately, as an exception.  For instance, introduction of flexi-time in one division of an organisation could be termed as an exception if all other divisions continue along with the existing system.

B.  Incremental Change: A gradual change that is not even felt initially through those who experience it is said to be incremental modification. Computerisation in offices has been introduced as an incremental change in many of the organisations.

C.  Pendulum Change: Change from one extreme point of view to the opposite is known to be pendulum change. The shift from open tendering procedure to single tender on negotiation basis in a company is an instance of pendulum change.

D.  Paradigm Change: While new information about an event, behaviour, object, and image is integrated and leads to the emergence of a new belief, the change is known as paradigm change. A paradigm in easy words might be understood as a cognitive model of how things are or a standard for how things should be. A familiar example is change within the power sector in perceiving electricity as a business and the notion of 'profit centres'. Change has also been elaborates as a continuum among two extremes

Figure: Approaches to Change

The No Change Position indicates the zero condition of inertia - sticking to traditional view, valuing the past conservative thinking in which new is definitely bad.  Some change or deviation from the past is perceived as a threat - a threat to beliefs, preferences, habits, norms and prevailing order. While performance management system is being evolved & constantly sticking to the previous technique (where boss does it alone) becomes an example of the no change position.

The main advantages of this position are stability, less effort, comfort, less risk but it also brings no growth, dissatisfaction, boredom, stagnation and conformity.

Constant Change, at the other extreme, is a dynamic approach along with continuous focus on future. Within this approach, new is taken as always good. Any modification is seen as positive; resistance is seen as bad and equated with not moving along with times and as an opposition to the norms, values and progress. Although implementing changes along with this type of an approach, not much regard is provided to the opinion of the affected people.

The Productive (pragmatic) Approach to Change lies among these two extremes and focuses on the existing state (what is happening). A Change is seen as inevitable in this approach. The emphasis is on explaining the requirement for change and making a conscious choice without having a fascination or inertia for the past or a compulsion for rapid change.