Organisational Change and Development - Essay Example

Question 2 Introduction Organizations need to operate efficiently for them to achieve their goals and objectives. Organizational change is a process that involves the use of different approaches of management to achieve sustainable change within an organization. Change management in an organization is done through the use of different strategies enabling organizations to run effectively and efficiently. Organizational Change Perspectives Change management in organizations is conducted differently depending on the management structure in charge of the organization. The different approaches used in change management have led to the development of theories and functions associated with different organizational change perspectives. Change management techniques continue to change depending on technology and new approaches developed in managing organizations. The first perspective in organizational change was the structural and functional approach. This approach focused on an organization as a ‘functional mechanical’ unit and as such its focus was on the arrangement of tasks or procedures of each organizational part. The structural functional approach looked into reorganizational of each organizational part as a contribution to the whole (Cummings, 2008). Another change perspective that was adopted is the multiple constituencies’ approach that centered on people as the driver of change in an organization. This perception main strategy was to focus on resource needs of people and how people contribute to change in an organization. The organizational development perspective was another approach used in organizational management. This approach embraces the combination of the two earlier perspectives with the focus on systems, stakeholders and governance. The multiple constituencies approach relies heavily on governance with a focus on changing organization through methodologies. The last perspective in the organizational change management is that of creativity and volition which reveals the challenges or assumptions of critical theory. This perspective outlines that people are the most important factor in bringing about change in the organization (Murphy, 2010). This last perspective departs from other perspectives by focusing on rational change while ignoring emergent processes which create problems for the organization. Value Systems in Organizations Organizations are managed by individuals who are involved in the management of individuals and systems for effective and productive output. However, organizations are cooperative systems that adapt to the social environment. Understanding organizations’ processes is essential since people have to comprehend that an organization is made of complex-interdependent systems relying on each other. Several theories have been advanced towards this course such as the systems theory. From the structural functional analysis point of view, organizations are studied as bodies constituted by individuals but are adaptive to the environment in which they operate in (Yaeger, 2009). Depending on the organization, there are five imperatives that are useful in the maintenance of the organization and they include security of the organization, stability of the lines of authority and communication. Other factors are related to the ability of an organization to take action based on a certain policy while taking a common outlook based on the character of the organization. An organization operates depending on the inputs from the environment and the inflow of materials whereby human capital is not constant. The view of an organization as a whole is important in the fact that we can view an organization as a complex system. Thus, an organization is similar to a social system which is socially constructed to accommodate relationships between people (Argyris, 1970). Organizations can be described as social systems due to the fact that technical systems within the organization need to be operated by people and the needs of people need to be incorporated in into technology use. Within the organizational environment, there are competences including competences of employees. Their enthusiasm and management are important aspects that affect an organization. As a result, it is important to incorporate employees in the design of change in the organization. The process of change management in an organization should be done through practical interventions of organizational development and critical volition (Murphy, 2010). Organizational development entails the organization through making changes on technology, work performance production levels within an organization. This humanistic approach to change recognizes the process of consultation through employees in the process of achieving corporate social responsibility (Argyris, 1970). Through organizational development, managers can learn of barriers that affect organizational change at a personal level. In the social development of personnel in the organization, change management occurs on three levels of personal, group and organizational levels. At the personal level, the values those are most important to the organization are enhanced through training and personal management. An employee can be treated as an individual and through improving his behavior and skills has an overall improvement on the organization (Cummings, 2008). While at the group-level, employees are treated as a responsible collective group responsible for making decisions in situations where problem solving is required. Organizational level is another social interaction level whereby the most important reason is social progress through the use of empirical and rational interventions. Organizational level interaction involves the dissemination of general knowledge and personnel selection to address organizational problems. Development of research is strategic at this level since the process involves developing systems whereby people can easily interconnect with processes to achieve efficiency. A different organizational change perspective is through creativity and volition whereby an organization is characterized by conflict, stress and change. According Beckhand (1969, 87), organizations witness conflicts between its employees before the situation escalates to a standoff. The process of change is a continuous process whereby changes emerge from solution of conflicts. This perspective advances the thought that change is possible though imposition of orders and meaning in different situations. Conclusion Change management within organizations is significantly critical to the achievement of efficient and effective organizational management. The process of change management is viewed from different perspectives advancing practical and theoretical practices to change management. Depending on the period, change management practices have evolved from a structural-based process to encompass a combination of procedures. Change management involves people, systems and processes working together in an organization. For instance, the structural and functional perspective looks into organizations as a mechanical unit while the creativity and volition perspective focuses on people. These perspectives are used undertaking change management in organizations while, some of them like the creativity/volition perspective are in use currently by several organizations. References Argyris, Christopher, 1970. Intervention Theory and Method. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Beckhand, Richard, 1969. Organizational Development: Strategies and Models. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Cummings, Thomas and Worley, Christopher, 2008. Organization development & change. Chicago, IL: Cengage Learning. Murphy, James and Willmott Henry, 2010. Organization theory and design. Boston, MA: John Wiley and Sons. Yaeger, Therese and Sorensen, Peter, 2009. Strategic organization development: managing change for success. Austin, TX: Penguin Publishers. Read More