Change Management and Production Process - Essay Example

? Change Management No matter the position of leadership, any individual leading in a certain organization often faces hostility to change by employees. These leaders can; however, channel change by being practically involved in the changing process. These leaders realize the importance of change when it is too late (Cameron 2009). Therefore, they start making regretful reflections. These reflections often reflect a people failure due to lack of advocating for change in these organizations. In fact, in a recent study carried out on managers of fallen organizations, when asked what they would change if given a second chance, they illustrated that they would implement a successful change pattern in their companies. These managers did not, surprisingly, point out on technology as being the cause of their failure. Often, a lot of challenges are faced in the event of reaching out for change. Some of these challenges include: Managers who would not offer the resources needed for a certain project to succeed. These projects could turn out to be the effective tools leading to change required in the organizations. In addition, these managers fail to allow their representatives enough time to participate in the change process. In some instances, these managers could filter out key messages or spread negative messages regarding the change. The other challenge is employees’ often-becoming distracted and loose interest in their line of duty. Thus, impacting profoundly on the production level of the organization and the number of customers involved in the organization. In some organizations, valued employees often leave the organization for various reasons. This is a formidable challenge because some of these valued employees can bring visible change in the organization (Cooke 2009). Another challenge is many employees taking sick leaves, unforeseen challenges that tend to emerge from certainly nowhere in particular, and lack of funding for these changes. The management of change can prevent business risks from happening. The most unfortunate thing is that most top managers do not take their role of carrying out effective change in the respective organization. The key elements of change management are on how to achieve it globally. Despite the desirable outcomes being the same, the means of getting there are totally different. For example, international organizations need not change using the culture of their job market. The focus on this change remains firmly on nuts and bolts of this organization’s change (Desmond 1992). Life has peaked to the extent that change is constant and inevitable. In addition, managing and producing change is the task of leaders. Thus, a full use of human expertise is more powerful than any other activity. This enables knowledge to be passed throughout the organization. Those in lower levels are trained more specifically than those in higher levels. Further, they are likely to be close to consumers and to the problem in need of being solved (Geen 2007). Therefore, there is a dire need to reduce power gap between the top managers and workers. With globalization expanding at a higher rate, there is this dire need for valuing and extreme use of differences. In an organization, there is the OD. This is a form of organizational change that significantly focuses on all levels of the organization. These levels include organization individual, group, inter group, total system and inter organizational without limiting the practice. The contents on the OD should include detail like the details and purpose of the organization, strategy, leadership management and about culture change (Hayes 2002). The underlying theory for OD practice is the open system theory. Any organization is rated on the basis of its input from its external environment and output. Most OD practitioners say that it is paramount to look for the importance of the said individual and the goals of this organization in question. This is to search of the better options for the individual employee and vice versa. It should also promote honesty and openness in relationships between an individual and the top managers, provide equal opportunities for all members of the organization to learn and develop the individual potential fully. Additionally, address any choice between individual choice and freedom and organizational constrains. Too much constrains administered at the same time is harmful, pursue collaborative change as imposed to imposed collaborative, minimize power discrepancies between individuals and levels in the organization, and lastly surface all the conflict that emerges and the conflict should be dealt with directly and should not be avoided, or ignored (Hiatt 2006). As we earlier stated, change is not necessarily that technology is used for a change to occur. In some cases; however, advanced technology takes place. This has its demerits mostly reducing the number of employees in an organization. This happens when a certain new machine is brought into the organization to perform a certain duty. This machine replaces the number of people performing the duty in question. This advanced technology may involve machine like the tele banking, a 24-hour service that enables one to enquire balance and enquiries made over the phone. Another threat is on security of an organization (Kotter 1996). With the advanced technology, unscrupulous customers or other individuals come up with criminal weapons that can be used in committing the crime. Other more intelligent ones individuals design some cards that they use in getting money illegally from the ATMs in the banks. All in all, if you force the change on people, then change will not be the result. Change ought to be realistic, and achievable the first step in establishing is by checking that the people in question agree or understand the immense importance for change. Always maintain face-to-face eye contact and communications to handle some extremely sensitive issues of organizational change management. Email and other written sources are far too weak at conveying understanding (Mehta 2009). In addition, if one feels like making a quick change, one need to ask oneself if the reasons behind the change are urgent. Quick change; however interferes with rightful consultation and involvement leading to difficulties that turn out to be too difficult to resolve. In dealing with difficult changes, it is advisable to make arguments with these consultative communicators to agree or often gain the required support for change. This process is called project management. There are also some questions that facilitate personal and organization’s change through innovation and change (Parton 2008). Moreover, in a bide to signal change, one should be in a position to know more about the personalities of people and how each one of them reacts differently to change. An organization should also be in a position to use workshops for an organization that involves new actions, processes and objectives for a large group of people. This is to achieve involvement, measurable aims, understanding, plans and commitment of the group. These workshops would be exceedingly crucial in the management where effective changes are to be met (Passore 2010). These principles are extremely applicable in tough changes. However, one ought to be exceedingly careful when passing the distressing news. It is not always advisable to hide the hurting truth from people for a long time. Leaders who consult with people and help them understand are not week. Leaders who do not like to consult and involve others in managing this news are seen as weak often-lacking integrity. Staff surveys helps to repair damage and lack of trust among staff members (Reisner 1998). Researchers suggest that there are certain change management principles. These principles include; involving and agreeing support from people within the given system, understanding where you are at the moment, plan the development towards above hall 2, communicate, involve, enable and facilitate people’s involvement as early and as openly as possible. In addition, an American author came up with the eight models for effective communication: increase urgency, which encouraged people to make everything real, building the team to guide; that is, get the right persons in place with the best mental capacity and with the require mental illness, get the vision of right by coming up with a strategy and focus on emotional and aspects of creativity capable of driving service and efficiency, communicate in a group of as many people as possible, appeal to people’s needs, empower action, removes all the hindrances, enables feedback and support from leaders and recognized achievements, and creation of shorter term wins. This sets achievable aims. Therefore, changes in the industries or organizations are particularly crucial in enhancing the best of the organization. These changes are in line with the advanced technology to ensure that the production of an organization is increased (Cameron 2009). Apparently, force should not be used when installing changes in these organizations. The required protocol should be followed to the latter in ensuring that the subjects of change are well aware that certain changes are bound to happen. When people are confronted with a bid to change, they might become emotional. These emotions might be passed on to the manager enforcing the change. Therefore, analogies are crucial in establishing a persuading a person to contain change (Desmond 1992). The strong resistance to change originated in deeply historical conditions. A lot of patience and tolerance is needed to assist people in these situations. The psychological contract is a crucial aspect of change offering diagrams in understanding and managing change (Geen 2007). This is offered at a level that is so fundamental in the aspect of change. In addition, different categories of people often find change so uncomfortable that they resist these changes. People who welcome change without much hesitation are not the best in trying to work reliably, and follow processes. This is because these reliability capabilities are often direct opposite characters to mobility abilities. Thus, there are certain staffs in some organizations that require an increased reliability personality profile. Age is another emergent factor. This is because people's preferences and motivations are often different in different stages of life. Moreover, the more one understands the way of life of a certain group of people, the more impact one can have on changing them. One should take into considerations of a person’s strengths and weaknesses. This is because not everyone welcomes change gladly. Hence, understanding of their strong points and weak points can help curb future disappointments. In the situation where one is sent over to certain organizations to trouble shoot reasons behind the constant failure of the organization, one should not panic. The reason behind this is to curb attainment of failure. Often this reason is resistance to change by the workers in the institution. Once that challenge is gone, then one is in a position to evaluate the organizational goals and objectives, how the employees feel about them and how the customers in general feel about them (Hiatt 2006). Protocol ought to be exceedingly followed by firstly introducing oneself and trying to explain to the employees about your intentions. It is extremely wrong to perceive that one is allowed to be secretive or gain access or entry without permission. To introduce change, a person should ask for permission, help, and introductions among other requirements. People, at this point would be unendingly sensitive, so it is advisable to accord them respect while talking to them politely. In the event, a lot of questions are required for employees to speak out about how they feel towards the customers and staff. The question why should be avoided at all times unless the employees you are advocating for change tremendously trusts you. This is because this question why often leads to the employees in question defending themselves. Customers relationships with the employees are one notable focus that points out on were to start exercising change in the organization (Kotter 1996). Though advanced technology has had some threats to the organization, the merits it brings across are powerful than threats. For instance, you find that cases of duplication of data by malicious employees have declined. This is because of the introduction of single data entry points at the organization with the help of these machines. In addition, a lot of work is done in a short spurn of time compared to the work one could do without the help of his machines. Though most organizations work on the basis of specialization and differentiation, introduction of machines with the new technology tends to make work easier and faster (Hayes 2002). To access whether the change is working, one evaluates the performance of the employees and gauge it with respect to various performances. In addition, customer’s feedback can also reveal whether there has been a change in the organization. In the event of change, customer’s feedback will undoubtedly be positive, but change has not yet taken over, then the customers will have the same feedback they had given some times back. The production of the organization should also improve markedly in the event of a change (Reisner 1998). Managers in this organization also would reduce the gap between them and employees and work in cooperation with them. Managers would actually fund projects in their organization and involve their assistances to contribute in the production process. Employees; on the other hand, would readily accept change and the consequences that come about with it to the extent that this change would be visible. Measures would be instituted to ensure that any unforeseen challenge that comes along is well prepared for by the organization. This is because some of the challenges that blur change in an organization are challenges that emerge out of nowhere. These unforeseen challenges diminish chances of attaining the desired change in an organization (Hiatt 2006). The top managers often are keen on spreading rumors about a certain desired change in an organization to learn some courtesy. They become the first liners in campaigning for change in these organizations. In conclusion, the desirable change together with advanced technology can lead to a long lasting profitable organization. Change is a continuous process in an organization and is dynamic. This change in an organization is highly crucial in improving the profitability of the organization in question. This is because if an organization is well organized in the inside, the consumer outside will sense this change and more and more of them would be in a position to seek for association with the organization. As a result, the organization in question will attain high returns in terms of monetary value. This is because of the seen coordination between the employees in the organization and the top managers. In addition, it is evident that the production process is not easy and is faced with numerous challenges. However, these challenges can be overcome in a series of enough seminars and education of each of the employees no matter the ranking. Moreover, it is evident that emergent technology poses a serious threat to employees and to the organization itself despite having numerous advantages. More to that, employees in an organization make an integral part of the organization such that for the organization to undergo these changes, they have to be put into much consideration. This means that despite the fact that the top managers have their own share of decision making in changing the system of work in an organization, employees are the most important in this cycle. This is because without ample cooperation of the employees, this desirable change cannot take place because the managers cannot exercise or advocate for this changes alone. Therefore, efficient measures have to be put in place to ensure that the employees are well convinced of the benefit of change in their working areas. They should not be forced to undergo change because it can never work that way (Passore 2010). Bibliography Cameron, E, 2009. Making Sense of Change Management: A Complete Guide to the Models, Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change. New York: Kogan Publishers. Cooke, S, 2009. Changes in Management Excellence. Kogan page: Chicago. Desmond, K, 1992. Industrial Organisation. Chicago: Adventure Work Press. Geen, M, 2007. Changes In Management Masterclass. Chicago: Kogan page. Hayes, J, 2002. Theory and Practise of Change Management. New York: Polygrave. Hiatt, J, 2003. Change Management: The People Side of Change. Chicago: Prosci publishers. Kotter, J, 1996. Leading Change. Havard: Havard Business Press. Mehta, A, 2009. Organisational Development. New York: Oxford University Press. Parton, R, 2008. Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation. New York: SAGE Publications. Passore, W, 2010. Research in organisational structure. Denmark : Loonely Press. Reisner, S, 1998. Narratives of Organisational change and learning. New York: Oxford University Press. Shaw, P, 2002. Changing conversations in organisations. Havard: Havard business press. Read More