Information Technology and Change Management - Research Paper Example

Information Technology and Change Management Analyze the potential resistance from stakeholders for a change in business process using IT. Stake holders will oppose a change in business processes because of many factors. In such scenarios, there is not a single element that makes people oppose a business process change especially a change using IT. The most common reason for people to oppose it is because they find IT changes alien to their experiences. They consider it a burden to learn something new that they will have to operate. Decisions makers of any corporate, company or any institution are worried about the actual changes in the direction of future events (Singh & Kasavana, 2005). The greater the difference between the forecasted change and the real change the greater the risk for decision makers and stakeholders. A change which is anticipated has a minimal impact on the people that are ‘expected’ to get affected by it; this is exactly like that security price which is already predicted by financial analysts and market watchers. People get ready for that change beforehand and it is less successful in moving the market. While on the other hand, the unanticipated aspect of the change is a great source of risk for stakeholders. People are habitual creatures, they like designs, patterns and repetition. If there is sudden change in their expected pattern (habit) the brain goes into a puzzled mode and starts figuring it out, which is laborious. IT changes represent a change in the patterns and designs, a different path from what people normally use for their everyday tasks. And the biggest ‘problem’ with IT processes is that they keep on changing. So people need to keep up to date with that data base. Putting the debate into Its perspective, it would be best to understand the changes in business process by considering the lodging industry as an example. Five functional areas that constitute the primary concern (Singh & Kasavana, 2005) are as follows; 1. Size and structure 2. Human resource management 3. Management of the Information System 4. Marketing management 5. Financial management All of these constitute a significant place in the standing of an organization. A change in either or all of these will put the management (stakeholders) on a resistant behavior. The resistance of stakeholders to change is natural and if the fundamental understanding of change “process of moving from one defines state to another” (Soomro & Bashir, 2012). It is this “moving” that the stakeholders resist. •Evaluate Kotters (2007) change management theory and its applicability to a business change management plan.  John Kotter is a leadership and change management guru. He is a professor at Harvard Business School and is an expert on change management. Before diving into Kotter’s theory about change management theory, it would be wise to separate two types of changes that the corporates face; Change management and change leadership. These two terms are not interchangeable. In this paper, the focus is on change management but here is a brief account of why it’s wise not to mingle it with change leadership. Change leadership deals with driving forces, processes and visions that propel large scale transformations while change management refers to the tools and processes that are used to keep the change under control. The goal here is to diminish the impact of the change (Kotter, 2011). Kotter’s change management theory is governed by certain factors that define the impact of the change. No matter what the type of the organization, a change in management needs to be contained. A) It must not get out of control B) The number of problems associated with it Part B of change management theory requires intense thought process as this is the category that many corporates have trouble dealing with. The problems that are created with management change are rebellion among ranks and bleeding of cash (which the majority of firms simply can’t afford) (Kotter, 2011). Wherever the talk of a management change takes place, it is not so much to do with the actual change but the efforts to try to control the change, to minimize disruptions (Kotter, 2011). Change needs to applied effectively and efficiently. While in the process of implementing change, there is no need to go over the budget. The wise thing to do is to have special team inside the organizations or hire them from professional service providers that are truly trained in implementing the change in an organization. The eight step change model from Kotter (Hallet, 2012) states that; 1) Create Urgency 2) Form a powerful coalition 3) Create a vision for change 4) Communicate the vision 5) Remove obstacles 6) Create short-term wins 7) Build on change 8) Anchor the change in corporate culture These steps can be applied with a little modification to any business model. These eight steps are very comprehensive and have been deduced after sweat breaking studies and intense corporate experience. Develop a change management plan to improve stakeholder acceptance level of the IT project, supported by relevant change management theories. A communication plan The communication plan or channel is probably the most crucial aspect in making the stakeholders more comfortable with the changes in business processes. This communication is not a onetime thing, a constant professional relationship needs to exist between the people who initiate the change and the ones who will be affected by it. For instance, an employee who is working for a certain corporate for twenty years, and suddenly he/she has to learn a new IT program in order to cope with the company’s policies. Considering that he/she is already a senior employee and probably enjoys some sort of social dominance within the office, the new IT process can pose a threat to his so far unchallenged office position. It would be hard for such an employee to get rid of the hostile feelings towards the new IT process. Communication can be very beautifully expressed in terms of coaching, although the coaching aspect can be easily put under employee training heading, however the way Kinlaw (2000) defines coaching it would be hard to consider it only an aspect of training. He says that coaching is mutual conversation, but lead by a predictable process and translates into superior performance, promise to constant improvement and positive relationships (Wikina, 2008).   Employee training plan  From a change management perspective where IT changes are included, on-the-job training is the best way to prepare employees for the change. This way tacit knowledge will be transferred from person to person without making it explicit (Bloodgood & Salisbury, 2001). To execute this plan, IT can be used to catalog the person that possesses the necessary knowledge, and then the people of the organization can coordinate face to face meetings. The plan is to execute it in a social environment, and make the training a social activity (Bloodgood & Salisbury, 2001). Process for involving stakeholders in the decision-making process  Before making efforts to include the stakeholders in the decision making process, this needs to be understood clearly that it is not an easy process. This can be referred to as aligning the frames when an IT management strategy is going through a change. This would also include manipulating other groups’ understanding to align with the framework (i-e the change). Such political tactics are risky and are no way flawless however they have been proven successful (Davidson, 2006). This way of implementing IT change also contributes towards organizational improvement and the obvious goal of executing the change (Davidson, 2006). When stakeholders consider themselves as part of something big, something meaningful, they would want to strive for improvement. They will consider their inclusion in decision making process a token of respect from the change implementers. Works Cited Bloodgood, J. M. & Salisbury, Wm. D, (2001) Understanding the influence of organizational change strategies on information technology and knowledge management strategies, Decision Support Systems, vol. 31, pp. 55-69. Davidson, E. (2006) A technological frames perspective on information technology and organizational change, The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, vol. 42, issue.1, pp. 23-39. Hallet, T. (2012). Mind tools. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm Kotter, J. (2011, July 12). Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2011/07/12/change-management-vs-change-leadership-whats-the-difference/ Singh, A. J. & Kasavana, M. L. (2005) The impact of information technology on future management of lodging operations: A Delphi study to predict key technological events in 2007 and 2027, Tourism and Hospitality Research. vol. 6, issue, 1, pp. 24 Soomro, T. R. & Bashir, A. (2012) Comparative study on change management, International Journal of Computer Applications, vol. 39, issue. 1. pp. 32-36. Wikina, S. B. (2008) Effective performance improvement and management strategies for the information, Performance Improvement, vol. 47, issue. 9, pp. 19-25 Read More