Reflective Journal on Organizational Change - Essay Example

Insert Name Course, Class, Semester Institution Instructor Date WEEK 1 Change in any organization is inevitable. It is described as deviation from the normal way of doing things and embracing a new approach to business so as to attain different and better results. From the first lecture, it is of great importance that organizations to be aware of the surrounding business environment they operate in order for a business to excel, it has to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that the business faces from both internal environment and external environment. The internal environment consists of working conditions, entities and factors within the organization that which influence its activities and other choices. The external environment consists of the political environment for business, government policies and competition among others. For example, the government of the day may pass policies that pose a threat to a business. This means that for an organization to survive, it has to change and conform to the stipulated guidelines and rule from the government. Personal mastery is very important amongst the employees. It is a discipline and it encompasses; continual clarification that which is important for change and adopting a different perspective so as to see current reality more clearly. ‘Creative thinking’ is as a result of a combination of vision and a clear picture of the current reality. Learning goes in tandem with change. This means that change is driven by learning which means the expansion of the ability to produce the results that are sincerely needed in life. People with a high level of mastery of their work are in a never ending world of perpetual leaning. Commitment to a type of work comes along with a high level of mastery coupled with a deeper sense of maturity. Any non compliance to the government regulations and rules can be detrimental to an organization as it risks being stripped its operating license and end up closing the business. Another eventuality is that the business may fail to keep up with the cut throat competition which results to the business incurring losses and consequently running bankrupt. This means that the business eventually closes its activities as a result of not instituting change in its operations so as to be in tandem with the threats from the external environment. Therefore, both internal and external factors play a very big role in determining the continuity concept of any business. According to my understanding, any business entity needs to come up with better and manageable ways of managing change effectively. In doing so, businesses ensure growth and consequently mitigate chances of employee turnover rate. Continued and sustained growth by organizations enables businesses to keep abreast with the dynamics of the market in which they operate in. organizations that embrace change succeed as opposed to those that are resistant. A good example is Nokia which was resistant in addressing customer preferences and has since been overtaken by other brands in mobile phone technology. However many organizations are reluctant to adopt personal mastery which consequently brings change. This is because personal mastery is perceived to be ‘soft’ base in part on unquantifiable concepts such as intuition and personal vision. Again it is difficult to discuss some of the premises of personal mastery. Finally some organizations have a fear that personal mastery would threaten the established order of a well managed company. WEEK 2 “…give me the right tools, information, technology … and I will do it”. This lecture has aided me in understanding the meaning of discipline as regards to rules and regulations. It is through this understanding that a distinction is made between autocratic led organizations and learning centered organizations. Today’s problems come from yesterday’s ‘solutions’. As much as it is important to initiate change in any organization, change becomes practical when it able to provide better solutions, in other words, one has to envision the whole picture and view the world from a different perspective. It is prudent therefore that staff members to be visionary in order to bring in ideas that would change the organization in line with its objectives and goals. Dialogue being a great tool for successful teams in an organization it makes it possible to effectively to share and transmit knowledge and also technological ideas. This lecture has enabled me to understand the criteria for recognizing organizations that embrace learning and those that offer better environments for change. A detrimental aspect of change is failure by staff to differentiate their personal positions from that of the organization. Most organizations fail to make an understanding of the disabilities associate with the learning process. They opt to be reactive to organizational changes rather than being proactive. In addition organizations should try to do things differently and change for the better. For example, Pizza Hot Dine Inn, Dominos’ Pizza, and Delivery more are fast food joints and if one comes up with Pizza Up it is sure to claim a market niche. A close look at the corporate social responsibility by some organizations, it makes them stand out if properly managed. For example, in the 12980’s the founder of Dominos donated $1 million to charity work, Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, runs numerous charity organizations worldwide where he makes donations. Proper management enables these organizations thrive. However, it does not mean that experience justifies that a policy adopted by an organization is right. Small changes in an organization should not go unnoticed as they can contribute to a down fall for an organization a good example is Kodak which has vast experience but have since been overtaken by other brands in the sector. Organizations have to evaluate whether its employees are changing, trying out new ideas or innovation in line with its objectives and goals. Organizational change begins with the employees which can be emulated from Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. WEEK 3 From this lecture, in have gained an insight about what leveraging is. It is basically the use of fewer resources to make ideas work for the lager benefit of the organization. Low leverage intentions would be less much alluring if it were not for the fact that many actually work in the short term. The phenomenon of short term improvements leading to long term dependency is common and is nick named ‘shifting the burden to the intervener’ amongst the system thinkers. It enables organizations to combine and manage resources effectively toward achieving their objectives. Availability of resources and innovation skills complement each other. Successful organizations use this synergy with vision and appropriate strategies to achieve set goals. Organizations that spend a lot of resources on research and development often fail in training its staff on acquiring relevant skills. I have also understood the human resources function as a narrow scope which considers the knowledge of relevant skills and innovation while having the right attitude towards work in an organization. Knowledge expressly refers to the expertise and imagination which enables an individual to come up with feasible ideas. Skills on the other hand refer to all type of skills that relate to experience that an individual possesses. These can be technical or social skills that assist one to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. Attitude is also one of the crucial parts of human resource function and refers to the motivation and enthusiasms towards work and the environment. Through an effective human capital, organizations scale to greater heights of success. For example, in the late 1940’s, Visy company started a recycling company in Melbourne, Australia. By collecting garbage and recycling it to make reusable products such as plastics and packaging materials, the company identified an opportunity and leveraged it against the market threats to create a market niche for the company. WEEK 4 This lecture has aided me in understanding the human resource concept and it importance to the organization learning system through systematic thinking. It has helped me view an organization as a system and a way of deciphering complex organizational structures, their interrelation and interdependence. System thinking has a phenomenon; ‘compensating feedback’ which when well intentioned interventions call forth responses from the systems that offset the benefits of the intervention. Complexity in organizations is often divided into detail complexity where many variables are involved and dynamic complexity where the involved interventions are not openly laid apart. Systems thinking in organization is initiated by the shift of mind which involves a focus on inter relationships and processes of change. It is a two way process that has a cause and effect. Most management scenarios therefore require an organization to focus more on dynamic intricacy. Another crucial process of organizational learning is feedback which helps in the realization of the future vision of the organization. Feedback takes two forms; reinforcing which is an engine for growth in that it shows how small things can grow to be great. In addition, Psychologist Robert Merton identified a phenomenon known as the “self-fulfilling prophecy”. In reinforcing processes such as the Pygmalion effect, a small change builds on itself coupled with the kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement. The other feedback style is balancing is used under goal oriented behavior. It discovers the source of stability and resistance in equal measures. The behavior that results from a reinforcing loop is either accelerating growth or accelerating decline. Through reinforcing a feedback system, it becomes possible to improve on the efficiency of a system. The minimization of delays in the system plays an important role as they increase customer satisfaction levels and minimize complains. For organizations to growth it is important for them avoid pushing growth and instead remove the factors that hold back growth. It is therefore important for organizations to recognize the means of achieving leverage by establishing the limits that lie on the balancing loop other than on the reinforcing loop. Through an understanding of long-term orientation and a shared vision it becomes possible to strengthen the elementary responses. The important thing that organizations should realize is that system thinking lies in the. Underlying structures that generate change in the organization WEEK 5 The discussion in this lecture focused on personal mastery, which encompasses clarification of significant matters, continual learning, and use of personal strengths to find viable solutions. The lecture elaborated on how mastery of a concept by an individual can be used to enhance creativity thus expanding the horizon of a person and increasing his or her ability to succeed. A close study at Face book gives insight to personal mastery. Face book began as simple hostel project and has since grown to a multi-billion dollar company. Most organizations require staffs who embrace the concept of personal mastery since they can take initiative and have a deeper sense of responsibility. This graph below shows the growth of Facebook between 2005 and 2012. Personal vision has to be incorporated with personal mastery in order to yield good results. Personal vision is only attainable from within. People generally find it difficult to discuss their vision due to creative tension. However, the lecture elaborated that the principle of creative tension is a prerequisite in the achievement of personal mastery. For some reasons, some organizations may not encourage personal mastery. This is because they view personal mastery as an unquantifiable skill, which falls in the same category as intuition and personal vision. Moreover, in a capitalistic culture, it is hard to define some of the premises that govern personal mastery. An example of such is where the manager of McDonalds encourages staff to make decisions on intuition. This may be a recipe for the company to go under. WEEK 6 From this lecture, it can be deduced that an individual may achieve personal mastery but may be harboring beliefs that hamper their concept of personal mastery. These conflicting beliefs are thought to be structural conflicts and are brought about by a feeling of powerlessness or even unworthiness. An individuals’ perspective of the world and reaction to the surrounding is greatly determined by the mental model possessed by the individual. Mental model are like ideas that shape the actions of individuals. By adopting clear mental models, organizations may speed up the learning process of its staff. Managers in organizations need to be trained on advocacy too in order to discern problems and provide solutions. At this point it is worth noting the importance of sharing vision amongst organizations. Visions enable organizations to determine the change to bring forth and means of actualizing the objective. I n my opinion, the organization vision needs the support of staff for it to succeed as it affects the manner in which people relate in an organization. On the other hand, organizations need a small aspect of conflict. This is to enhance productivity stemmed from competition within the organization. Competition makes innovative idea to be brought forth and this goes a great way to enabling an organization achieve its goals and objectives. In order to proceed, the fear factor has to be put aside. For example, Noodles Box started as a university project by Chinese students which has become a big business now. Other good examples are the giant companies, Apple Inc and Microsoft. Face book started as a small website and has ended up becoming the biggest social site in the world with a value of over $400 billion. In general, this lecture puts emphasis on self belief, having a vision, keep learning and improving. WEEK 7 In this particular lecture, it gives an insight into the beer game. It is a game that was developed by management professors to demonstrate the key principles of supply chain management. From this particular game, it can be deduced that competition is good for the continuous improvement and success of an organization. The beer game the dynamics and intrigues of supply chain management and its focus towards satisfaction of the customer. The principle behind this process is to be able to meet customer demands through an efficient multi supply chain with minimum resources on orders and inventory. The game of beer distribution brings more insight and helps in understanding system thinking. This is achieved through the members of teams involved and discipline is achieved by following the rule in which players are not supposed to converse with one another. The game further helps me in understanding the importance of internal and external relationships through the feelings of frustrations that are often experienced by members in the same supply chain. It is through the cooperation of players in the same supply chain that winning becomes possible and realizable. WEEK 8 This lecture study provides further discussion on system thinking. The concept of system thinking revolves around two types of complexities which are; detailed and dynamic complexities. The detailed complexities relates to where there are many variable involved. The latter relates to where the cause and effect of the complexity cannot be interrelated. I think the concept of detailed complexity is a bit similar to the problems, which people understand the cause. Therefore, they can easily solve the situation. A good example of a detailed complexity is a case of Nokia decline in the market. The company has been facing a shrinking market for it product. The CEO’s of the phone manufacturing company understand very well the dynamics of the market and the steps they need to embrace in order to try and regain their lost glory. This is because companies have the capability to deal with detailed complexities at both the conscious and subconscious levels. Its worthwhile noting that for matters to do with dynamic complex system of thinking intervening cannot produce the desired results. From the lecture study, it is important to also note that the human subconscious can be trained so as to operate in a desired manner. This can be achieved through various methodologies including culture, beliefs and even use of certain subtle language. This preposition be supported by an experiment by Pavlov on conditioning that showed people can be trained to adapt to certain new manners. This lecture was highly informative as it explains o how the learning organization can be an important tool for enhancing intelligence. This study provides insight into prototypes which in essence are important in testing an idea before full implementation. Many organizations today are in the stages of invention and innovation whilst incorporating the dynamic market demands. Such an example is twitter and other social media. This study points out politics and gaming in the organization does not supersede the organization. Politics entails authoritarianism and people wield arbitrary power over others in a political environment. To make sure that a non-political environment is maintained in the organization openness is a prerequisite. The concept of openness as pointed out by the lecture, shows that, people must speak honestly regarding issues that affect the organization. Individuals in an organization ought to have the ability to challenge each other mentally in relation to work. This can be equated to a democracy where people can question the ideas of their leaders without fear of oppression. One has to engage in reflective thinking before presenting ideas. In instances where personal interests inspire organizations, there is a possibility of development of a political environment. Visionaries however on the other hand do believe that people want to be part of a vision and thus when organizations come up with shared visions, they attract the interest of the people who want to be part of something bigger. Nevertheless, people are still bound to behave in a manner that may drag in politics to the working environment. The embracing of participatory openness may lure people to be less rigid in the decision making process. At some point, it may loosen the chances of interference by politics. Despite all this, participative openness does not in any way guarantee better decisions for an organization. This is simply because it does not change the thinking process of another person. On the other hand the art of reflective thinking comes in handy as it requires one to be skilled rather than have good intentions. It is therefore, the manager’s responsibility to ensure that a political environment does not prevail in the organization. Leaders ought to lay out goals and objectives of the organization and ensure they are met. WEEK 10 This lecture study has shed more light and aided me in realizing the evolution of learning organization and to distinguish between innovation and invention. The best way for traditional organizations to conquer internal politics is by maintaining openness of their structures. Openness is divided into two parts; participative openness which is concerned with honesty in expressing personal views and reflective openness which is concerned with the capacity to continually challenge one’s own thinking capacity. An important aspect for an organization is to have a shared vision which helps in doing away with the traditional dominant personal interest that is mainly self-centered. Organizations need to be conversant with the source of problems. This lecture has been able to bring out the main division of problems. Problems can be convergent with a solution or divergent and without a solution. Organizations characterized by openness help in building lasting relationships for all systems and enabling freedom that desired results can be achieved. Through equitable distribution of power, control can be achieved in a way that can avoid undesirable dominance. Checklist for personal values In running an organization, personal values are important. Choices have to be made and the moral principles. The effect of these values on the subordinates has to be considered such as; Achievement, An organization should be able to progress and attain its goals. Excellence, Customer satisfaction is a key driver in any form of business. Creativity, Some level of creativity in production and packaging is crucial to attract and retain a market niche. Cooperation, Staff that is motivated produces good results, loyal and work as a team. Leadership, Success of any organization depends on its leader. Good leadership skills are crucial to ensure goals and objectives are met. Challenging problems, Challenges help organizations to develop and implement new business strategies. Moreover, they teach people to work as team in order to accomplish a common goal. Personal development, There it is important to embrace diversity for the organization’s benefit and also personal development. Community, It is prudent to give back to society as a way of corporate social responsibility. This has many advantages in the long term for an organization. Growth, this entails expansion of a business. Bigger companies are more resistant to economic crisis and are trusted more. Efficiency, This refers to using less to produce more. For an organization to prosper, it has to make its services as efficient as possible. The first five values can serve as a good basement for any organization. Leadership plays a major role as it combines the other values. However, cooperation is a combining factor as it brings together creativity, excellence and achievement. Achievement is very crucial as it can be used to serve as motto for the whole company and presupposes all the other values listed. These values are meant to have a positive impact on the staff in an organization to produce good results. Cycling back: current reality and revision This exercise helps to observe the progress of self development and is aimed to make a view from the other side on your personality. My results are in the table given below; Title Current state How it has changed Self Image Young, strong, smart, ready to meet new people and face challenges It has changed positively, now I know what I want to change in my character. Tangibles I have not more than I need, but enough It has changed into philosophical one. Less care about the material, more thoughts about spiritual Home Currently live with my parents Satisfied with the place I live in Health Strong health Started to care about my health more Relationships Currently single Started thinking about long-term relationships Work Part-time, enough to spend on myself Became more responsible Pursuits Self-development, self-control, traveling Added development of leadership and creative skills Community Try to care about people who surround me Every day I care I receive feedback from community Other Try to do my best combining work and studying Developed time management skills Life purpose To prosper, to create strong and healthy family Remained the same. As it can be seen from the table, the progress is visible. But still, every time you come across this information you can add something, because every day life gives you a new task to maintain and as a result you change your attitude towards some points. Vision of the Organization Being a small organization, it will be customer centered with a highly developed team spirit and good core values. It can be either little cafe that will provide clients with breakfast and dinner in cozy atmosphere or a tourist agency that will assist travelers in choosing their destination, booking hotels and tickets, supporting clients while they are abroad. The organization is aspiring to have the best reputation and earn respect from both customers and competitors. With the best policies to govern the organization, it would give discounts and a professional customer care. Having chosen the service sector, the organization will assist customers in choosing destinations, booking travel papers and offer other general travel services. The mission of the organization will be to provide the best services and showing the beauty of the world to the people. Working with the ordinary people and being able to meet their demands is paramount. The agency itself should be bright and eye-catching; its physical environment should remind the customers about hot exotic countries. Also it should look attractive enough, not too extreme, and seem to be comfortable for families. People would work in as a team, where work is shared. Maintaining a good working environment is equally important with an atmosphere that will be strong through the best and worst of times. Read More