Successfully Manage a Radical Change Within a Complex Organisation - Essay Example

?Successfully Manage a ‘Radical Change’ Within a Complex Organisation Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Discussion 4 Critical Evaluation 11 Conclusion 13 References 15 Bibliography 18 Introduction Organisational changes often appear due to wide variety of external environmental forces such as technological advances, social, economic and political forces among others. These forces are decreased market scope, considerable cuts in funding and drastic increases cost of services among others. Contextually, majority of the companies obtain structural, technical and strategic changes within their business operation in order to develop product as well as industrial performance (The University of Adelaide, 2012). Change management is considered as systematic procedures which are used in order to ensure that substantial changes are executed in a controlled and methodical manner. The major objectives of change management are proper alignment of people as well as culture within an organisation and attainment of organisation goals. An inclusive change management strategy should lead to the fulfilment of required objectives and development of an intellectual ownership. Change management facilitates sustained and increased ability of organisation to respond effectively with future changes (Hayes, 2010). Moreover, change can also be originated from internal sources of an organisation such as changes in client requirements, implementation of new HR policies and issue regarding work performance. However, irrespective of the sources, all changes need adoption of new state of mind, policies, laws, technologies and behaviour in an organisation (Jick & Peiperl, 2003). This essay intends to discuss about appropriate change models that can be utilised by organisation in order to manage radical changes. Discussion At present business scenario context, majority of the organisations are operated under certain rules, regulations, policies, advance technologies and need to face turmoil in changing business environment. All these aspects frequently changes according to time, where managers and working personnel face huge changes in every aspect of business activities. The notion ‘change’ can be viewed in various perspectives such as when a company implement re-engineering, reorganisation and cultural transformation, then the entire operational activities face radical changes in three levels. Firstly, changes occur among the personnel who employed within that particular organisation. These changes take place in terms of their attitude, skills, capabilities, attributes and behaviour regarding work place. Top level management should always aware about such behavioural changes which can impact upon the organisational working procedures. Secondly, changes can also take place in organisational structure and system which in turn might transform the existing working culture; procedures reward system and other activities. Thirdly, direct changes can also occur within the organisational culture which might effect upon employees relationship, can develop conflict and can impact on decision making procedures (Government of Jamaica, 2010). In this similar context, changes are completely depends upon business situation and always takes place in order to deal dynamic competitive circumstances. Some of the common changes happen in order to deal with new competitors and new technological innovation. All these changes take place in order to enhance operational efficiency and to obtain long term profitability (Dawson, 2010). By considering the present business scenario, change management is quite significant in every aspect of operational activities. Successful change ensures enhanced organisational ability to perform effectively within the new business environment. The fundamental source of change management is to enhance the capacity of employee to adopt changing working environment. There are some common factors which need to be considered for making a change successful. The first factor is appropriate planning which is considered as a significant aspect for change where management developed specific objectives which are required to attain the organisational objectives. Moreover, leaders also require clear understanding regarding the vision in order to establish proper organisational structures, roles and responsibilities. Appropriate planning and leadership can assist in making the changes effort successful. A successful change also requires continuous commitment in order to guide appropriate behaviours and to motivate the employees with several instances. In addition, management should inform stakeholder regarding the changed working situation. The management should influence stakeholders regarding their contribution and commitment in the changes through implementing better communication strategies. These activities can help to create responsiveness and understanding about the change throughout the organisation (Ryerson University, 2011). In terms of organisational viewpoint, change management is considered as a methodical process comprising ‘unfreezing’, ‘moving’ and ‘refreezing’ procedures within the organisation. Unfreezing refers to the development of an apparent inconsistency between the existing and an ideal state of an organisation that produces an aspiration regarding change. Moving is the second procedure which includes activities such as training, reorganising and education that guide to the improvement of behaviours, attitude and beliefs towards the new working environment. Refreezing, the third procedure refers as re-establishment of a new position within the organisation through stabilisation of a new organisational structure (Manchester Metropolitan University, 2012). There are four major guidelines which are necessary to follow by a complex organisation after adopting the changes. These principles are as follow: Principle 1: Business procedures should support every business needs after agreed the changes. Every changing procedure must improve the organisational value by following business vision and its strategies; otherwise it can decrease the value of changing effort and can raise business risk (Kandt, 2012). Principle 2: For managing radical change, complex organisations need to recruit new personnel who can support and execute business changing process successfully. Support from management personnel at different operational levels is the critical aspects in order to support change efforts. Support can be gained if new personnel get better position. As a result they can encourage the existing employees for adopting the changes and can lead them to follow those changes through various systematic approaches (Kandt, 2012). Principle 3: Planning is an essential factor after adopting the change. Planning is required in order to increase the ‘Return on Investment (ROI)’ and to minimize the business risk during change. Planning is the alternative outcomes regarding successful change. In the planning process, it is necessary to recognize the changing effects, the advantage of the change, the obstacles of the change and other alternatives of change within the organisation (Kandt, 2012). Principle 4: In order to make radical changes, it is necessary for an organisation to assess the quality of products and services. This measurement facilitates the organisation to determine its performance according to changes. Moreover, this assessment of quality can also be useful in order to evaluate the effectiveness of change efforts. Furthermore, quality assessment also allows an organisation to compare the actual changing rate with planned rate. Therefore, it facilitates an organisation to assign the resources effectively in order to fulfil the gaps between actual and expected change performance. In this similar context, there are two models which are necessary to be considered in order to deal with new changing environment. Change models are divided into two types firstly, problem-centred and secondly appreciative (Kandt, 2012). Problem-centred model: Changes in an organisation can create gap between existing and perfect state of affairs. Considering this gap, the problem-centred model is designed and implemented in order to reduce this gap. There are certain steps in this model which comprise evaluation of the gap, establishment of evaluative criteria, development of alternative solutions, assessment of the solutions and execution of those solutions. After clearly identified the problem in change and its solution, there are 8 structural steps which need to be followed by an organisation in order deal with change process (The World Bank Group, 2012). Figure: 8 Structural Steps of Kotter’s Change Model Source: (The National Achieves, 2009). The first step is to create a sense of urgency where top level mangers develop awareness between the organisational members regarding changing market conditions, new competitive scenarios and effective scopes for developing a successful business plan (The World Bank Group, 2012). In the second step, an organisation should develop guiding by incorporating its key stakeholders in order to follow the changes. In the third step, the organisation should create a vision and strategies which are related with the new changes. In this stage, an organisation communicates its changing vision between its personnel in order to inform regarding the change initiative and strategies which are needed for fulfilling the vision (The World Bank Group, 2012). In the fourth step, the organisation entering in the change process should communicate the vision within its employees. In this stage, managers decide an appropriate communication tool by which they distribute the vision and continuously transmit the message within the organisation (The World Bank Group, 2012). In the fifth step the organisation should empower board based action in every aspect of its change effort. In this stage, manages needs to identify the potential barriers that can slow down the new change work process. Managers should abandon or modify the existing policies, structure and system which might create impact upon the changing vision. Managers should develop an effective working environment by which they can foster innovative idea and recognise risks associated with the change effort (The World Bank Group, 2012). The sixth step is attainment of a short-term wins, where managers develop potential scopes during the implementation of changing process. Creating “small-wins” along with the strengthen approach within the organisational member can reflect the success of change procedures (The World Bank Group, 2012). In seventh step organisation can consolidate gains and can progress toward change. The small-wins can help an organisation to leverage the performance within the changing system, organisational structures and policies (The World Bank Group, 2012). In last step, management team will need to broadcast the new changing approach throughout the corporate culture. Moreover, managers in this phase should develop a communication strategy between the new changing behaviours and organisational success. Furthermore in this stage, management team create a leadership cultural program in order to successfully support the new vision and its development. Appreciative Models: Appreciative change effort model initiate with the idea that the organisation is going at the right track. This model promotes evaluation regarding organisation’s values and practices. Appreciative model states that an organisation should augment its capacity by utilising existing strength along with changing work procedures (The World Bank Group, 2012). This model comprises four phases which are as follows: Discovery: In discovery phase, organisations conduct interviews among the personnel in order to create the value regarding the change. For instance, an inquiry should be made regarding the delivery of high-quality customer services along with changing environment (The World Bank Group, 2012). Dreaming: In dreaming phase, the organisation should visualise the idea of change. In this stage, organisations always tend to focus regarding the future perspective by imaging the future business situation with the changes (The World Bank Group, 2012). Dialogue: In the dialogue phase, the managers of the organisation discuss the outcomes regarding the change process. In this phase, a plan should be developed by the management team that can effectively facilitate each employee to successfully perform within changing environment. Dialogue phase implies development of an organisational structure and architect which can support the organisational vision and objectives (The World Bank Group, 2012). Destiny: In destiny phase, the management team discusses the next step of change process. In this phase the managers identify and determine the type of procedures and system that needs to be placed in order to fulfil the vision and dreams that created in the above phases (The World Bank Group, 2012). Critical Evaluation Managing the complexities regarding the changes is one of the critical challenges which are emerging in front of every level of organisations. At present business scenario, organisations are always tends to successfully uphold effective level of performance while facing transformative changes. The changes, affecting today’s organisation are occurring due to societal shifts, economic fluctuation, changing political restriction and rise of new competitors. These changes generate challenges towards the organisational work pattern where managers and employees are forced to perform in new organisational structure., According to the present market condition, one of the complexities which are faced by most of the organisation is reaction of sharp drop in profitability. This complexity may occur due to new entry of competitors who offer similar kind of products and services with affordable prices (Hughes, 2010). Thus, in order to tackle this complex situation and radical changes, it is necessary for an organisation to implement various change effort through several models such as problem centre model and appreciative model. After implementing this model, managers should follow certain guidelines in order to accept the changes successfully. To overcome this complexity situation, managers should bring wide variety of changes effort in terms of technological advancement, product innovation, introduction of certain HR rules and policies, recruitment of new personnel and evaluation of the attitude as well behaviours of the existing employees towards the new changing workplace. There are three types of changes which need to be considered by the managers before accepting the change effort. These are major changes, minor changes and transformative changes which mostly occur within the organisation after facing complex situation. Minor changes refer to that changes which occur within the mental behaviours and attitude of the employees. This type of changes reflects the mindset of the new as well as existing employees whether or not they properly accept the new changes. Major changes happens when an organisation create a new approach and implement new ways of work. In this type of change, a high level of turmoil or conflict may arise in within the organisational work culture. Transformative change refers as a fundamental shift in terms of awareness, observations and values. This type of change implies a thoughtful transformation regarding the existing vision of an organisation. Through this change, an organisation can successfully respond towards the changing complex environment (Burnes, 2009). By considering the radical changing environment, the limitation of major as well as minor changes become understandable to an individual employees and organisation as they struggle to survive and expand within complex situation. In order to tackle complex changing scenario, it is necessary for organisational managers to consider transition changing cycle for evaluating and successfully implementing the change efforts. There are seven stages of transition cycle such as unconscious stage, awakening stage, reordering stage, translation stage, commitment stage, embodiment stage and integration stage (Buckley & Perkins, 2003). Figure: Transition Cycle Source: (Buckley & Perkins, 2003). In the unconscious stage, the transition of an organisation gradually initiates. In this stage, managers try to build a readiness in order to tackle the change. In the awakening stage, the organisation assesses the problems and evaluates the possibilities of change. This can be done with the help of the information gathered from unconscious stage. In reordering stage, an organisation analyse the existing working situation comparatively with the changing scenario. This stage affects largely to the organisational stability and performance equilibrium of an individual personnel. Contextually, in translation stage, organisations formulate a vision through the incorporation of information, personal visions and figurative images which are assimilated from unconscious, awakening and reordering stages. After undertaking the responsibility regarding the implementation of a new vision, a commitment can emerge within the working environment which would show the organisation about a new direction relating to the changes. In Embodiment stage, the organisation achieves a level where vision must be transformed into task for day-to-day operational activities (Buckley & Perkins, 2003). Conclusion The core idea which has been emerged from the overall discussion is that the major challenges which are coming from radical changes for the organisation is to uphold high productivity while facing transformative changes. The change is considered as an impact which might hamper the overall organisational work structure. Subsequently, on the other hand these changes may lead an organisation towards the high productivity. There are various types of models and principles by which an organisation can successfully adopt the changes into their working environment. It has been observed that the process of changes and transformation is significantly considered as an end and re-birth process where an organisation either shut down its operational activities or attain sustainable competitive advantage. Either cases, an organisation needs to experience and tackle necessary transformational changes in order to survive and grow. Successful change of an organisation effectively depends on personnel capability to incorporate changes in structure and work comfortably within new environment. References Buckley, K. W. & Perkins, D. M., 2003. Managing the Complexity of Organisational Transformation. Center Focus International, Inc. 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[Online] Available at: http://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/bitstream/2014/10570/1/02-2625.pdf [Accessed December 14, 2012]. Manchester Metropolitan University, 2012. Change Management: An Introduction. Department of Human Resources. [Online] Available at: http://www.mmu.ac.uk/humanresources/devandtrain/resources/change-management-an-introduction.pdf [Accessed December 14, 2012]. Ryerson University, 2011. Change Management Leadership Guide. Human Resource: Organisational & Employee Effectiveness. [Online] Available at: http://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/hr/management/change_mgmt/docs/ChangeManagementGuide_FINAL.pdf [Accessed December 14, 2012]. The University of Adelaide, 2012. Leading Change, Transition & Transformation. What is Change Management. [Online] Available at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/hr/strategic/leading_change_toolit.pdf [Accessed December 14, 2012]. The world Bank Group, 2012. Change Management. Problem Centred and Appreciative Models of Change. [Online] Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/ChangeManagementweb.pdf [Accessed December 14, 2012]. The National Achieves, 2009. Models of Change Management. Strategy and Working Practices. [Online] Available at: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100202100434/dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/strategy/deliveringservices/servicedirectories/models/changemanagementmodels/ [Accessed December 14, 2012]. Bibliography Harrington, H. J., 2006. Change Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Change Management. Paton Professional. Read More