Managing Human Resources - Guide the Organisation through a Major Change - Research Paper Example

One of the most challenging roles of a leader is to guide the organisation through a major change. Organisations operate in a dynamic environment which is constantly changing and for them to remain viable, change is inevitable in order to be able to keep pace with the developments taking place in the business environment. In this case, the leader plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the organisation undergoing a change process. Against this background, it is important to begin by highlighting some of the factors that influence change in an organisation and the role played by the leaders in guiding this transformation process and their influence on the other employees. Change can be described as a transition from a current situation or the status quo to the desired future state (Amos et al 2008). Change is usually necessitated by both internal and external forces. The internal factors include human resources problems such as low productivity while the external factors include global and national dynamics that impact on the organisation such as technological changes, market, political, social and economic changes (Schultz et el 2005). Thus, the business person needs to conceptualise change as the gap between the current reality and the desired situation for the betterment of the organisation. Each business is primarily concerned with achieving set organisational goals and these can be impacted by changes in the environment with the passage of time. The process of managing a change initiative consists of a number of stages namely determining the need for change and initiating it, planning the change, implementing the change, being prepared for the resistance to change and managing it as well as stabilising the results of change (Amos et al 2008). Change is not an overnight event since it requires proper planning and implementation. In most cases, change initiative is not readily accepted by the employees hence the need by the leaders to carefully entice them to buy the idea. The workers form the backbone of an organisation and this is the reason why the leaders have to effectively influence them to share the same vision for the organisation. In some instances, workers are sceptical about change for fear of losing their jobs or being rendered powerless by the initiative. On the other hand, leadership is generally defined as the social process of influencing people to work voluntarily, enthusiastically and persistently towards a purposeful group or organisational goal (Werner 2007). In most cases, leaders add an inspirational and emotional dimension to the organisation by creating a shared vision and inspiring people to become passionate about achieving that vision. It is widely believed that winning companies are those who anticipate change and react to it in time. Against this background, the effective leader seeks out situations that require change, does the right thing and operates by using personal influence (Werner 2007). In initiating and managing change, the leader must be better positioned to engage people by working with and through them to achieve successful change. Thus, the leader needs to be able to positively influence the others to work towards the attainment of the desired goal in a changing environment. Leaders play a pivotal role in an organisation and they need to anticipate forces in the organisation’s external and internal environment that necessitate organisational change. However, this is a complex scenario in an organisation where individuals within it are likely to respond differently to change. Implementing a new order in an organisation is concerned with change of the current system of doing things and in most cases, change is met with resistance by many employees as a result of many factors. The forces against change are multiple and interrelated in most cases and they require a holistic approach (Schultz 2003). Various constraints are likely to be encountered and in any case where change has been initiated, one notable response by the employees is resistance to change that may result in sabotage in the event that there is lack of understanding of the whole project by them. If the employees are not happy with the new initiative, it can be difficult for them to support it. Usually, a change strategy that does not have the support of the individuals within an organisation who are intended to play major roles is likely to face challenges right from the preliminary stages up to the implementation stage. Resistance to change may be a result of the employees lacking knowledge about the initiative to give their support. In cases where employees do not know the benefits of the change initiative, they may not readily accept it as would have been anticipated. Various organisations have cultures which determine the way they operate and these cannot be promptly changed without proper consultations first. Other individuals will resist change because they are afraid of losing their positions within the organisation. Change usually brings about restructuring of the organisation in a bid to increase competition and productivity by employee involvement and participation. As a result, there would be likely chances that some employees may lose their jobs and this is another reason why they resist the initiative. Change in an organisation is likely to result in conflicts emerging. A conflict is an active disagreement between people with different opinions, values or interests (Kleynhans 2007). Thus, there are different causes of conflicts in an organisation but their impacts in most cases have far reaching consequences with regards to performance of the employees. For example, conflict can arise as a result of a decision to change the structure and operations of an organisation. Whether for the betterment of the company or otherwise, change is one aspect which is often treated with suspicion by the employees. It may be problematic to convince the employees about the benefits that would be brought about by that particular change. As a consequence in this case, there may be a decline in employee morale and performance can be adversely affected which can result in decline of production. Concerted efforts are ought to be made in order to carefully deal with conflict which can derail progress if not properly managed. Lack of trust among the employees or management in an organisation is another response that is likely to be witnessed as a result of attempts to implement change. This may be a result of other powerful people in the organisation imposing changes that are likely to benefit only a cliché of well connected members within an organisation at the expense of the other workers. Against this backdrop, it can be noted that lack of trust especially among the employees may result in difficulties being encountered while implementing change as some of the disgruntled workers would do everything possible to scuttle the efforts. Other co workers are susceptible to peer influence in an organisation in the face of implementing change. There are people who are often regarded as opinion leaders in many organisations and these can influence the other employees to resist the initiative to implement change for different reasons. Some of the individuals in an organisation may simply resist change citing that it would inconvenience them in their day to day operations. In view of the above mentioned factors that can affect change, it can be noted that implementing change can be a daunting task that may be difficult unless concerted efforts have been put in place to counter any negative development that can derail change. Given the complexity of implementing major change in an organisation, Marzano, McNulty and Waters (2005) developed a framework of leadership that describes how leaders can positively impact on student achievement. The basic principle underlying the model is the concept of “order” that attempt to distinguish between the magnitude of change. They identified two categories namely the first order change and the second order change. The first order change is change that is usually related to prevailing values and norms in an organisation which is more or less doing the same thing that is already being done. This kind of change is generally agreed by all the people within an organisation and it can be implemented using people’s existing knowledge and skills. For instance, upgrading the floor staff in a retail shop can be regarded as first order change since there will be nothing very new to be learned but just adding to the already existing knowledge. This process can be reversed and there is no new knowledge gained. However, change becomes second order when there is a complete departure from the usual way of doing things. There is a transformation to something quite different and it is not very obvious how the proposed change will make things better for the organisation. The second order change requires a new body of knowledge where the employees are required to learn new approaches to the new system. This particular type of change often conflicts with the prevailing values and norms within a given organisation and can be met with resistance since it requires new learning which can be challenging to the employees. Change of this magnitude is irreversible and affects the operations of the organisation as a whole. Individuals are also affected and it is impossible to easily revert to the old way of doing things once started. For instance, launching a new information system which replaces manual filing of company and individual profiles is a complete transformation to something totally different and this may result in some of the office staff being dropped since their task will have been replaced by a computer aided system which is efficient. New knowledge through learning is required and this second order often requires the leader to work deeply with the employees and the community. The major components of the change process consists of a number of stages and these include the following: determining the need for change and initiating it, planning the change, implementing the change, being prepared for resistance to change and managing it, stabilising the results of change and learning from the process (Amos et al 2008). Particular attention in the discussion of the major change process regarded as “second change” will be paid to the actions the leader needs to take to understand the impact of the magnitude of change on the individuals within the organisation. Different individuals in an organisation respond differently to proposed change programmes and this has a bearing on the way the organisation will achieve the goal of the change initiative. Determining the need for and initiating change is a point where it becomes noticeable that a gap or a problem exists within the organisation that needs to be redressed. Basically, leaders in all organisations should constantly monitor both the external and internal business environments to ensure that the organisation is alert of the changes taking place in the environment. Having identified the need for change, the change agent who is the leader in some instances needs to realise that he has some support of the others in the change programme. A key consideration at this stage is to try to understand the magnitude of possible responses of all individuals in the organisations where plans should be developed in order to address both the supporters of change as well as those opposed to it. According to Kotter (1995 as cited in Amos et al 2008), considerable effort by the leader should be taken in identifying the individuals with enough power to lead change. In some instances, certain individuals may use power to block the proposed change hence the need to form a coalition with such kind of people. The leader has to create a vision as well as the desire for change among the individuals within an organisation such that they are ready to accept it. An important component of gaining commitment to the proposed change by all the members of an organisation is effective communication. Communication forms the backbone of all operations taking place in an organisation hence the need to establish a two way communication channel in an organisation so that there is feedback from both ends. It is imperative that the change agent creates an environment that promotes involvement of all the members of the organisation. This helps create mutual understanding where every member feels to be part of the change programme. Successful change does not simply happen, it has to be well thought, conceptualised, planned in detail and implemented (Rostow 2008). The leader needs to think why change is necessary, what needs to be changed as well as project a desired state. Thus, in formulation of an implementation strategy, it is useful for the leader to identify the driving forces which support change as well as the resisting forces to change. Having identified these, the leader would need to further identify those forces which can be influenced and attempt to reduce those forces that maintain the status quo. The leader ought to take extreme caution when adding new driving forces as these may increase the chances of resistance by the other members of the organisation. The change agent must have a thorough understanding of the human behaviour at work. In most cases, employees feel threatened by change and they adopt a negative attitude towards it hence they will resist it. The leader ought to consider how people are going to be affected by change and involve them in planning the change process. One needs to create awareness of the need for change, the nature of the change required, the methods planned to achieve the change as well as the ways in which progress will be monitored (Amos 2008). This kind of awareness can be created though education about change as well as the need for change. The leader also ought to create a clear communication strategy related to change so as to be better positioned to positively influence all the members of the organisation. It is imperative for the leader to keep people informed about the planned change as well as progress of its implementation to avoid undue resistance by the employees. The implementation stage is where the organisational components of change such as people technology for instance are changed. At this stage, it is very important to remove the obstacles to change (Kotter 1995 as cited in Rostow 2008). There is need for the leaders to address the resistance that people experience as change becomes a reality. This can be achieved through education, communication, participation, facilitation and providing support to the members (Kotter 1995). Timing for implementing change is very important as far as achievement of the goal initiated is concerned. The leader must be in a better position to control the situation. The change agent must also take a leading role in ensuring that the change plan is converted into action that can bring about the desired goals as stated in the change pan. Whenever initiating a change programme in an organisation, the leaders should always anticipate that it will be met with resistance by different individuals within an organisation. This stage forms the crux of the change programme since it is responsible for determining the success or failure of change. Resistance to change is a natural phenomenon but if it is ignored, it will hinder the efforts and likely to result in waste of resources. Thus, the successful management of resistance to change is the key factor in any change process. As going to be elaborated below, the forces against change are multiple and interrelated in most cases and they require a holistic approach (Schultz 2003). Any change programme within an organisation is likely to usher in different methods of conducting business of which the employees may lack knowledge about the new initiative. Training is the most ideal technique that can be adopted in order to successfully implement change as it is concerned with generating knowledge. Training is mostly in the form of mentoring and coaching. Mentoring is an important support tool that an organisation can use to help young inexperienced employees to develop a better understanding of the work through the guidance of an older, more experienced employee or mentor (Jackson and Schuler 2000). On the other hand, coaching is a planned one on one instruction method where a coach working with only one learner at a time sets a good example of what is to be done (Kleynhans 2006). The difference is that mentoring is concerned with using guidance where a young employee is expected to follow the footsteps while coaching is a one on one process involving teaching and giving instructions to an employee but most importantly, they are all concerned with training the employee to improve performance standards especially with regards to meeting the new standard expectations initiated by change within an organisation. An effective leader in implementing change should utilise coaching as a strategy to achieve the change goals. A one on one coaching situation is suitable for a situation where there are changes being implemented since there would be likely chances that the employees would quickly understand the requirements of the new ways of operating in an organisation since it would be hands on experience. Whilst normal work would be carried out, the employee would benefit through gaining experience which would help remove the fears associated with lack of proper knowledge about the change initiative. A coach motivates an employee, helps him develop skills and provide continuous feedback on his progress which is one effective way of ensuring success in the implementation of the change project against the backdrop of likely resistance from employees due to fear of different factors. It can also be noted that mentoring can also play a critical role during the implementation process of change where an established employee can take a leading role in guiding the development of a less-experienced worker in a bid to increase his competencies, achievement and understanding of the new change initiative. This would remove unnecessary fears among the employees as they would immensely benefit from the knowledge of senior and experienced workers in a cordial fashion which encourages growth of interpersonal relationship. Where there is mutual understanding among the workers, there would be likely chances of success as far as achieving the goals of the organisation is concerned. Employees are likely to be highly motivated if they are being led by an exemplary person who creates an open and free environment that promotes mutual interaction so that the employees would not be threatened by the introduction of new changes. The change agent should ensure that there are open channels of communication where there is free flow of information. This would allow the employees to take a big role in contributing towards decision making as a way of creating a sense of belongingness. In a decentralized organisation, the employees are likely to feel less alienated from those who make decisions that affect their daily operations at work. Thus, adaptive organisational forms which emphasize the flexibility to adapt to change can enhance better performance while bureaucratic structures will inhibit it (Kleynhans 2007). It can be seen that the magnitude of the employees’ attitude towards a change initiative is likely to be soft if there is involvement in the decision making process than having the change initiative imposed on them. Communication has to be effective in order to convince and persuade the employees to have a positive feeling towards the implementation of new changes. Motivating the workers is one viable option of managing change. Basically, motivation is the enthusiasm employees have for their jobs and factors which influence how hard they may try to do the job (Jackson & Schuler 2000). The employee must be persuaded and inspired to do the job since he would know that he would get some form of reward for the effort put. A person who is demoralized would not be very happy to continue working when there are clear indications that he will not benefit. Indeed, the workers need to be motivated in order to be part of the change programme. They ought to be positively influenced such that they would develop a sense of belonging to the organisation rather than just treated as workers who have no needs. The success of an organisation is usually dependant on the productivity of the workers. Change is a process and it usually requires the involvement of various stakeholders particularly the workers. For this to happen, there is need for the change agents to promote team building with the aim of creating a conducive environment for knowledge creation and management as a way of minimising the negative impacts of resistance to change. The process of team formation is influenced by different factors. Basically, the process begins by identifying multiple skills among the workers who can play a vital role in ensuring meaningful contribution towards change. This process also involves identifying people with experience and skills in a bid to effectively utilize employee talents. Thus, according to Robbins et al (2001), teamwork is where individuals participating collectively, work together towards the attainment of certain goals as well as objectives within a given organisation. Real learning which forms the basis of teamwork takes place in teams where team members learn from each other, learn from their achievements and mistakes, and continuously learn to optimise their efforts and contribution towards the achievement of organisational goals. From this assertion, it can be noted that the underlying principle towards the success of teamwork is sharing of ideas and the willingness to learn from other team members among the team which is supposed to be the guiding principle for change leaders. Where there is consensus among the team members, there would be little chances of misunderstanding since the decision to implement change would be collective. Stabilising the results of change is another very important stage in the change process. Once people accept the new state, there is need to freeze this state of affairs by the change agent and the human resources management can also play a vital role through human resources development (HRD). Basically, HRD refers to all the methods an organisation uses to help its employees to improve the way they work (Kleynhans et al (2007). From this assertion, it is highly recommended that every organisation undergoing major change should underscore to take HRD which is primarily concerned with identifying the skills needed by the employees, designing and putting into place training and development programmes that are meant to equip them with the knowledge to cope with often challenging scenarios as a result of changes that would take place in the operations of the organisation. It is important that change should be regarded as an ongoing process. Learning from the process is another stage involved in implementing change. The change agent should be better positioned to develop capacity for critical self-reflection and regulation which often involves constant monitoring of the implemented change where new action can be taken in order to ensure conformity in the whole process. The employees can still respond differently to the change programme implemented hence the need to constantly monitor the situation prevailing on the ground and put measures in place that can be used to keep the programme going as per the expectations of the leaders. This stage is important in that it allows the leader to take note of the checks and balances and see whether if there is any progress made from the change programme. Thus, a protocol that can be used to gauge the employees’ responses throughout the change process will involve the following brief steps. As far as determining the need for change and initiating it are concerned, employee responses can be measured from their willingness to know what the change will be all about. Upon receiving such news, the employees become inquisitive to know more details about the programme. The employees should be seen taking part in planning the change if they are happy about the idea. Somehow, the employees are expected to respond whether positively or negatively as far as change is concerned and this particular type of response helps the leader to take appropriate action to put in place. Implementing change usually requires concerted efforts and the support given by the employees can be used as a measure to gauge their response to change. The leader is also expected to be prepared for resistance to change and managing it and he can use the amount of willingness or unwillingness by the employees to be part of the change programme to gauge their response to it. Where there is stability, it will become easier for the leader to gauge the results of change and this can promote learning from the process. Over and above, it can be noted that organisations operate in a dynamic environment which is constantly changing and for them to remain viable, change is inevitable in order to be able to keep pace with the developments taking place in the business environment. In this case, the leader plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the organisation undergoing a change process. There are likely to be different responses from different individuals in an organisation with regards to change. However, one of the most challenging roles of a leader is to guide and organisation through a major change where individuals within it are likely to respond differently to it. Implementing a new order in an organisation is concerned with change of the current system of doing things and in most cases, change is met with resistance by many employees as a result of many factors. If the employees are not happy with the new initiative, it can be difficult for them to support it. Usually, a change strategy that does not have the support of the individuals within an organisation faces failure. As noted from the discussion above, the change process is comprised of different stages namely: determining the need for change and initiating it, planning the change, implementing the change, being prepared for resistance to change and managing it, stabilising the results of change and learning from the process. The leader plays a vital role in anticipating change and understanding the impact of the magnitude it has on the individuals within the organisation. Bibliography Amos T.L. et al (2008). Human Resources Management. 3rd Edition. JUTA Jackson, S.E. & Schuler R. (2000). Managing Human Resources: A Partnership Perspective. NY. South Western College Publishing. Kleynhans R. et al (2007), Human Resource Management: fresh perspectives. CT. Prentice Hall. Marzano R. McNulty B. and Waters T. (2005). School leadership that works. Alexandria VA: Association for supervision and curriculum development. Robins S.P., Odendaal A.& Roodt G. (2001). Organisational Behaviour. CT. 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