HRM and organisation change - Essay Example

The study of organisational readiness to change is not new; readiness as a concept was introduced by Jacobson in 1957 as a unique construct involved in any change process within several theoretical frameworks (Holt, Amenakis, Feild, Harris 2007, p. 234). According to Backer (1995), even though readiness is not a fixed notion, it can be assessed and enhanced by professionals in order to create supportive change climate within the organisation. Dimond (1995) states that since change is a human process readiness to change is a key prerequisite of success.

It is the reason why the assessment of readiness is complicated but very valuable process that benefits organisational capacity to reduce resistance to change and implement novelties effectively. Different organisations approach readiness assessment in different ways; however, there are some certain thing all of them need to pay attention to if they want to make sure that they are ready for the change. In order to define readiness for change, companies need to conduct readiness assessment which includes the analysis of several work domains.

First of all, one needs to collect relevant data in order to decide whether organisation is ready for change or not. The choice of data collection method depends on the organisation and the ways how the change is going to be implemented (Newton 2007). If organisation hires external consultants, they would rather choose standard methods of data collection because they represented external force in this change. However, if on-board staff members are involved in the change, they can utilise various methods in order to collect detailed data about each person and aspect potentially affected by the change.

It is critical to pay attention to all 3 dimensions at a time because, all in all, ignorance of corporate leaders and organisation development professionals can result in change resistance and failure of the