Learning Objectives

• Pressures of change – the dynamics of competitive markets and increasing demands to provide more with less.
• The role project managers play in organizational change management.
• The use of tools and templates to facilitate change.
• The value of project tools – especially communication and readiness for change.

Many companies are experiencing pressures to transform. No sector is immune to these pressures of change and it's the project manager who is looked upon to address the needs of organizational change. The role of the project manager as change agent is obvious since projects are the means by which companies address problems (pressure from competition, regulation, customer demands, financial standings, workforce dynamics, etc.) and it is the project manager who is responsible for projects. Although projects and project managers have always been responsible for delivering change, this role has only recently been considered critical to the discipline. This new role has new expectations. Gone are the days of determining success as on time, on budget and on scope. Today's project manager is responsible for not only the triple-constraints, but also the effective transformation of the business.

The project manager relies on many tools to deliver successful change. Unfortunately, the project manager does not yet have all the tools necessary to consistently deliver success. According to Karp (2006), the track record for successful change endeavors has been poor. This is in support of Burke's (2002) claim that most efforts to change an organization “do not work” (p. 1). Roughly 80 percent of all project change endeavors fail to meet targeted objectives. This is an issue of paramount concern. As organizational leaders demand greater results from change endeavors, project managers seek better tools to facilitate success. This presentation details the most important tools used among project managers today.