Challenges with Initiating Change in an Organization - Essay Example

?Organizational Change Management Introduction Many organizations are faced with several challenges in executing their daily operations; there are many problems that they face in accomplishing their objectives. Sometimes, like in the case of Silkeborg Council, the problem emerges from the employees not being comfortable with the way management of the organization considers there contributions. In such a case that a problem in the organization is realized, there should be need to mitigate on the impact of the problem by identifying the right tool to be used in solving the problem. Silkeborg Council for the elderly care has experienced certain problems, which relate to absenteeism from work by the employees of the council, there has also been neglect of duty, and the workers not showing up for their duties lose most of the time. In this regard, the council, through a consultant has been advised to use Appreciative Inquiry 5D to overcome the problem facing the organization and to allow them offer better services to the council. The use of AI 5D involves identifying the strengths rather than weaknesses to bring change in the organization, this paper then discusses the use of AI 5D in bring the necessary change in the council (Englund, Graham, and Paul 2006, p.35). Definition The main concern of the change process in the council is necessitated by the higher levels of absenteeism by the employees who abscond their duties most of the time, they do not show up to take care of their duties and this has led to the emergence of some of the problems associated with absenteeism. The department that was worst hit in this case was that of the elderly care in the council, the care managers then became concerned about the situation as it aggravated the condition of elderly in the council that needed the support of the employees. With the absenteeism rate spiralling, there are a number of issues that became apparent for action to be taken so that change could be brought. One of the salient problems that became out of control was the decline in the quality of the services that was being offered by the council, due to the widespread absenteeism, the quality of the services that was being provided by the council experienced significant drop owing to the fact that there were few employees who showed up. This made it possible for the work to be strenuous to the few individuals who turned up and the demands of the department could not be fully achieved hence decline in the quality of the services (Tennant 2012, p.47). The absenteeism factor also created another problem in the council’s department where the employees who turned up for their duties were subjected to more duties than prescribed so that they could cover for the duties that were to be done by the other workers who decided to be absent. Because of these, it became strenuous and stressful to the few workers who maintained reporting for their duties, they worked more than necessary and it was envisaged that if the trend continues, there would be possibility of breakdown and burnout that will definitely impair the performance of the employees who showed up for their duties every day. This consequence too made it prudent for the organization to find a solution to the challenge that was facing the organization as it was bedevilling the performance in more than one way (Reed 2007, p.53). The colleagues that were absent for work had to be covered for by those who turned up, this explains why there was more duties for those who showed up resulting into stressful work (Kluwer 2008, p.58). Lastly, absenteeism also had serious economic consequences for the council, ordinarily employees should be paid for the services that they offer to the organization that employs them, if these services are not offered, then there should be no payments given to the employees. If this happens, there will be obvious losses incurred by the organization, in this respect, the employees that had been out of their duties in the organization were causing serious economic pinch to the organization by making them pay on services that are not offered by the employees and this was leading to the council experiencing losses. The other way through the council experienced economic losses was failure to meet the duties that gives them income due to the shortage of the employees (Sithole, 2006, p.36). The council is only able to get there resources when the employees shows up for their duties and does them with enthusiasms, if this does not take place, there is possibility of not making the projected income and the council will not be able to meet some of its financial obligations(McMillan 2005, p.38). The council then realized that for them to remain traced by their objectives, they had to consider changing the council’s culture. Bringing change in the way things are done in an organization has not always been easy, there are challenges that comes with initiating change in an organization, these challenges particularly comes from the employees in the organization (Kotter 2012, p.18). Most of the employees have acclimatized themselves with the normal way of doing work, flow of orders and the organization sequence of handling issues. In case of any change then, it will not be unusual to find that many of the employees are resistant to change and are not ready to curve in for it, Silkeborg Council is experiencing this problem. The organization’s culture and politics also plays a vey significant role in resisting change in any organization and thus strategies have to be developed so that the change process can be accepted without much resistant. In this regard, the council is obliged to improve the way the council will be handling the employees, the way they will be appreciated for the role that they play, and the perception that they will be given. It is expected that this change of system will allow the employees to feel that they are recognized and give them the zeal to dedicate more time in there work for the council. Discovery Given the challenge that has manifested itself in the organization, there has to be a remedy for it so that the council can get the full potential of the employees. In order to achieve this, the council has to use some of the models that have been tested to effectively bring change in an organization (Anderson and Linda 2010, p.43). The change that is required in this place is to ensure that employees have the feeling of appreciation and that they are allowed to air their challenges, this will rejuvenates them and allow them not to absent themselves from work as has been the case in the recent past. In order for the council to take control of the challenges, it would be better is they engage one of the tools that are proposed for bringing change in an organization. In this case, John Kotter’s proposal of guiding coalition is most appropriate to bring the required change. In his guiding coalition proposal, he asserted that leaders alone could not bring meaningful change in an organization; it takes a guiding principle to bring such change in an organization instead. Kotter’s notion states categorically that for leaders to succeed in bringing new strategies into place, they have to ensure that the organization is comprised for enthusiastic team of volunteers from which they will constitute the team taking part in the guiding principle. In this regard, the council should consider creating that enthusiasm in the employees so that they can be tolerant and receptive to the change process. In this regard, the managers should not just use their own strategies without engaging the employees on issues of change. When the employees are engaged in the change process, they will be more receptive to the process and there will be no possibility of rejecting the process, as they will be part of the team that will be driving change to take place in the council. One key factor that the council has to mind is the diversity; this is one of the pillars that ensures that guiding principle works to its best. In the diversity requirement, all the employees within the department from all cadres are expected to take part in the change process, this is particularly important in that of all the employees in the department, there will be possibility of having a myriad options from which the organization which choose the most innovative and feasible option. Given the diversity, most of the employees are endowed with different experiences, unique skills, networks as well as perspective that they will be willing to share on the table, this collection of different people are essential for it allows the whole side of an issue to be looked into. It then presents a wide perspective through which an issue can be looked into for the best solution to be realized. The varied titles and roles exhibited with such diversity always brings in some credibility to the change process while the enthusiasm, helps in pushing the campaign forward with momentum and speed that would realize success. Again, within the guiding coalition that was proposed by Kotter, the council needs to go for the behaviour and not personality when determining those who should be participating in the change process through the guiding coalition (Tiem, and Rosenzweig, 2006, p.72). It is true that not all of the employees in a department interact most of the time, it is this realization that the council should look into when deciding on those who will be participating in the guiding coalition. If this is not put into place, the manager’s risk going for personality and not behaviour as should be the case; this is determined by the employee’s day-to-day action within the department. Even when going for the behaviours, there are those that should be kept at a bay when constituting a guiding coalition that is tasked to bring change. They include nay saying, selfishness, and destruction (Cummings, Thomas, and Christopher 2009, p.35). Nay saying is prone to impairing positive and open dialogue that works negatively by avoiding the guiding coalition from developing ideas that are creative as well as identifying those opportunities necessary for growth. The destructive behaviours will also make the team be steered off the course while selfishness also pulls down the effort to move forward as such behaviours come with hidden agendas-in the guiding coalition, all the members are required to have the organization in mind. On the other hand, a guiding coalition needs some behaviours such as introversion and extroversion coupled with unconventional thinking (Gratton 2005, p.32). These behaviours are very essential in bringing creative ideas that are based on experiences, it also brings in free thinkers who will bring in novel ideas through which success will be achieved (McDonnell 2008, p.23). Dream Having resolved on the discovery as stated above, it is important that the managers now projects on the dream of when and what strategy should be put into place to give a solution to the challenge. The management of the council now should identify the most appropriate tool to be used in bringing the desired change and in what period. The change management practice that would be required to make the employees of the council deem it necessary that they should come to work every day and steer the council’s performance to greater heights, the change management practices should also be given the time line through which the organization is expected to have complied with the necessary changes. These changes are expected to fully revamp and revitalize the old order system that is blamed for the absenteeism that the council has experienced for the considerable period. How the employees will be made to have a different perspective about the work place and put the interest of the work place before any other issue is very important for the survival of the council. This is provided in the dream section, when and what the strategy is going to be, there are a number of factors that must also be considered by the management for a smooth transition of the old order to the new order. In order to bring the much-needed change in the organization, bottom-up approach should be developed. This will be an effective way of bringing the change given the fact that the front line workers will be used to ignite views for the rest of the employees, and then there will be evaluation on how they respond to the views before further action is taken. The managers in this case should not pass their views onto the employees without close consultation with them, it if this fails to take place, the employees might not be corporative enough to adopt the system that is proposed. The managers in this situation should only act as catalyst that will be accelerating that which is supposed to be done as agreed by the employees themselves under the guidance of the management. The decision passed should also not be rushed to be implemented without considering other factors that may impede the process of implementation. Workshops in this case are highly encouraged so that the employees can be taken through the stepwise process of understanding the whole process and appreciates its implementation. The workshops and the collaborative departmental groups will be useful in addressing the needs of the employees; it is through these channels that the employees get to learn from one another, they also have the opportunity to learn from other departments on how to go about their businesses. They will then appreciate the that there working lives in the council should be that which changes lives, they will appreciate one another efforts in contributing to the betterment of the council through consistency in the work place and dedication(Lewis, Passmore and Stephen 2008, p.49). Following the workshops, every member will have a significant contribution and will definitely be sure of what should be done when faced with such challenges. Design The best program that can be used by the organization will be to consider employee assistance program (EAP), this program can be used by the employer that is the council to help the employees recover from their personal problems that might have contributed to absenteeism witnessed in the council (Singh and Dianne, 2005, p.65). Most at times, the employees might be having personal problems that impair their performance in the work place, like in the council of Silkeborg, the employees might be having personal problems that might be taken care of by their employer though taking them in a process that will enable them to rejuvenate from the challenges that is facing them. In opting for the EAP to find a solution for the employees of the department, the council will have to use short-term counselling for the employees and some referrals with the members of their families (Cooperrider, David, and Diana 2008, p.61). The counselling sessions will help the employees who have developed the tendency of absenting themselves to appreciate the need to be at work and perform the duties expected of them. In providing counselling for the employees who have been absenting themselves from work, the counsellors will have to consider doing assessment of the challenges facing the employees; this will provide them with the background chronology of the events that has necessitated the current problem (Cooperrider, David, and Diana 2005, p.41). It is through this that the counsellors will be able to give a proper solution to the challenges that are facing the employees, it is important that the counsellors understand the challenges for the employees so that they can also give appropriate measures through advice to the employees to make them recover from the challenges facing them. Through the EAP, the employees can benefit in a number of ways, the program when well implemented having known the problem of the employees will enable them be become more productive than before, they will also incur lower medical costs, and reduce the turnover rate as well as absenteeism of the employees (Clinton 2007, p.26). The council can also use the provisions of the EAP to provide other extra services to the employees that touches on such issues like critical incidences services, training and education programs, support for the work team that is troubled with issues, and supervisory consultations. The whole of this counselling should take three months before it is evaluated for its efficacy and effectiveness in the next half a year. Destiny Given the proposed way of giving solution to the challenges the council is facing, there are obviously some challenges that are inherent to the proposal. Changes that are effected from bottom to up have the challenge of taking much a longer time to be accomplished given the kind of commitment and championship associated with them (Beerel 2009, p.39). This is particularly threatening the fact that the proposed plan for the above project to be accomplished is shorter than that which will be taken when implementing the project, it will thus require that the period be adjusted, and thus it is not prescribed for urgent implementation of any proposal designed to give a solution to a problem. In order to balance these limitations then, there has to be advance planning and preparation for the execution of the vision; these will ensure that vision is maintained as the focal point and that focus is not lost on the dream as earlier stated (Carnall 2009, p.54). To mitigate on what might cause delay in the implementation of the dream, the management can also consider blending the implementation with other methods of initiating change in the organization. In the Lewins mode of bringing change in an organization, there are proposed three stages; unfreeze, change, and refreeze. In the unfreezing stage, the employees are to be informed about the change and made to accept the change process after which it is changed and then refreezing again after the new system has been accepted and the employees have acclimatized to the new system of operation, it is then refreeze (Bambo 2011, p.31). This method of bringing change in an organization when coupled with the other methods can mitigate on the possible issues that may bedevilled the organization to effectively realize the solution to the problem in the organization. With a good planning and reorganization, the organization can have its destiny as envisaged in the vision or the dream above. 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