Change is easy; transition is hard

I once read a book that stated that change is easy; transition is hard. Having review the concepts of piecemeal versus systemic change, I find it hard to believe than any organization of significant size can actually perform a systemic change if the same personnel will be used in the reorganization. If you picture organizations like ocean liners, one could characterize these organizations as massive with little rudders. The chapters equated piecemeal change to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. To take the analogy further, implementing change and transition at the systemic level like SUTE and GSTE is akin to changing the rudder on the Titanic while it is headed for the iceberg. The result can be significantly worse than expected. The size of the organization will have an effect on its ability to change and how that change must take place. I think in many cases our desire is to have systemic change because we want the end product as fast as possible, but piecemeal is an excellent approach for large entities.

What I find interesting in our book, Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology, is that it speaks of problem versus process or piecemeal versus systemic. The true fact is that in my experience the best form of change that helps people accepts transition is one that is systemic implemented via a piecemeal process. The only advantage that a true systemic change gives the organization is speed. Does the benefits of speed out weight the affects of the transition? In many cases it does not so the concept should be a process of systematically approaching the concept laid-out in the systemic change.