Organization and Organizational Change - Assignment Example

September 10, Organization and Organizational Change http www.cartoonstock.com/directory/c/change.asp “We look for people who can quickly adapt to changes in the workplace" (Change cartoon 3 of 685). The cartoon depicted management’s preference for people who could show innovativeness and the capacity to adapt to changes, as required in the work setting. It was humorous since the cartoon depicted an old woman who apparently was able to sit and work on an extremely high-mounted chair to tediously attend to a humongous pile of papers – without complaining. It could be humorous to see the character as such; but in actual work settings, the scenario could be indicative of some innate problems that need to be immediately addressed. The solution might require instituting drastic changes in policies or purchase of new machinery to facilitate the work process. However, as common in contemporary organizations, difficulties in the economic condition make financial resources scarce. As such, organizations usually resort to proposed changes which could be unconventional but feasible – if only in the short run.
http://www.pppmag.com/article/1281/March_2013/Overcoming_Staff_Resistance_to_Change/
The article discussed the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Presbyterian Hospital’s strategies for implementing change with regards to the implementation of the Electronic Health Records (EHR) project; especially ways to address resistance to change (Sesack). One is convinced that overcoming resistance to change requires understanding of the need for the change that is to be instituted and communicating the relevance of implementing that change in the work setting. If the need for the change is justified to benefit various stakeholders in the work setting, over and above the current system, inevitably, implementation for change would ensue in a smooth and conflict free manner. It was therefore commendable that the key to overcoming resistance is the ability of leaders to communicate the need for change and allow the personnel to be affected by the change process to see the benefits of the change that would be implemented. The article therefore asserts that there really is nothing to fear with proposed changes. Managers should be able to motivate workers to see that changes would ultimately benefit all concerned in the long run.
http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/04/change-management-needs-to-cha/
The article focuses on reasons why implementing change in the work setting fails (Ashkenas). The author evaluated the change theories and ways of implementing change to discern if there is a need to change a crucial facet in the process. As asserted, “the content of change management is reasonably correct, but the managerial capacity to implement it has been woefully underdeveloped” (Sesack par. 3). Readers were apprised of transfer of accountability to a community of external ‘experts’ who were apparently consulted in implementing change in the work setting. As such, this often resulted in the inability of managers to feel commitment and dedication to the ideals of change that is supposed to affirm their beliefs in confirming the need for change. This is an important lesson for change management to allow managers or change agents to see through the change management process, from initiation to implementation and monitoring. This would confirm that change is indeed beneficial and transformative to the overall growth of the stakeholders and of the organization.
Works Cited
Ashkenas, Ron. "Change Management Needs to Change." 16 April 2013. Harvard Business Review. http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/04/change-management-needs-to-cha/. 25 February 2014.
"Change cartoon 3 of 685." n.d. cartoonstock.com. http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/c/change.asp. 25 February 2014.
Sesack, Brian. "Overcoming Staff Resistance to Change." March 2013. Pharmacy Purchasing & Products. http://www.pppmag.com/article/1281/March_2013/Overcoming_Staff_Resistance_to_Change/. 25 February 2014. Read More