Change Management and Its Importance - Term Paper Example

?Managing and Leading Change Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Change Management and Its Importance 3 Challenges Faced by the Organization 4 Communication & Management Plan 7 Conclusion 10 Analysis 11 References 12 Introduction Change Management and Its Importance Change is a necessary and ubiquitous phenomenon which is and has become prominent in all the organizations. Change management has been in existence for over a century and despite the huge amount of investment by the companies in implementing tools and software there has been a 60 to 70 percent failure rate for organizational change projects (Ashkenas, 2013). Traditionally it was observed that in spite of availability of multiple theories of change management the problem lay in the implementation of the project. It was observed that the key element for the successful implementation for the change theory would be the complex interaction that takes place between the different elements of change process in the organization. Organizational change is a structured approach in an organization for ensuring that changes are executed smoothly and successfully to achieve long lasting benefits. In the modern business environment, organizations are facing constant change. Globalization and rapid innovation of technology has resulted in a constantly evolving business environment. The growth in technology has had a positive effect of increasing the availability of knowledge. Changes in an organization are in response to the economic and non economic events. Therefore, the ability to adapt and manage to organizational change is an essential requirement in today’s workplace. Organizational change has a significant contribution to the five managerial dimensions strategic thinking, leadership, task management, resources and relationships. Change management enables the managers to solve a management problem by thinking creatively and independently. It enables the managers of the company to adopt a leadership approach which facilitates proper communication among the teams and develop proper flow of communication. Change management has also contributed significantly to the task management by smooth coordination of activities between the departments and proper planning and control of activities. Change management also helps in acquiring and proper utilization of human resources. Managers have to understand that change is natural and not a highly programmed process which begins with the identification of problem and selecting the preferable solution (McCalman and Paton, 2010). Managers and the organizations will be judged upon their capability of handling change in an effective manner. According to authors Cloke &Goldsmith change management helps in improving the organizational culture especially in a bureaucratic organization (Brantley, 2005). Change management compels the managers to adopt a change in the leadership approach which focuses on improving the relationship between employees and managers. Therefore one of the main purposes of change management would be to increase the organizational commitment among the employees and restructuring the organizational environment. The rationale for adopting a transformational leadership style would be to prevent the problems existent in an organization. Challenges Faced by the Organization It is observed from the above case study that the organizational structure, process and leadership approach will change completely for the required organization. Presently, the organization follows bureaucratic approach which means that the employees and managers follow the hierarchical order, clear defined policies to attain the goals and objectives of the organization. The organization plans to expand further into retailing which requires a different leadership and management style to be adopted. The organization had tried to implement changes earlier however the strategic team was successful only in framing the policies and not implementation. A newly built change management team was formed for revamping the structure, process and policies of the organization at the initial stages however it was observed that the team was facing challenges and required assistance. The Human Resource (HR) department was appointed to assist the change management team by providing technical expertise for implementation of policies and procedures. The strategy team and the HR department would research about the world class global policies which would act as a benchmark and help in attainment of goals and policies easily. As mentioned before that planned approach to organizational development is not rationale however traditional change management was influenced by the planned and emergent approach as formulated by Kurt and Lewin during the 1950’s (Selwyn, 2011). The Kurt and Lewin 3 stage process is composed of three elements Unfreeze, Change and Refreeze. Figure 1:Kurt Lewin Model (Source: Bauer, 2011) Unfreeze: This stage is one of the most important transition changes where the employees who are unwilling to accept change are mentally prepared by the managers to accept the changes. This stage will highlight importance of change and make people understand that change is a natural process. In this case the employees of the organization are being restructured completely by the implementation of new policies, procedures and practice and the team is focused on communicating the plans to the employees Change (Transition): After the employees have unfrozen, the next action plan focuses on implementation of change procedure within the organizational environment. In this case the organization is still in the planning phase and not implementation phase. The employees of the organization should regard change as a transitional process and not as an event Freeze: Once the changes have been implemented, managers ensure that they are being executed smoothly. This stage emphasizes about being stable once the changes are implemented. In this case the managers should ensure the smooth execution of the policies and procedures. The eight stage process proposed by the Kotter helps in determining the various stages of change (Selwyn, 2011). Determines the urgency of change: This phase focuses on creating a sense of urgency among the employees and managers. For example in the case study the organization is plans to expand on a global scale hence the urgency of organizational restructure is needed and is communicated to the employees (Selwyn, 2011). Strong nucleus: Develop a small team of leaders and managers which represent the entire organization. The strategy team is composed of selective leaders and managers and they would test the feasibility of the policies and procedures (Selwyn, 2011). New Mission and Vision: The vision and mission should be well defined, realistic and attainable. The strategy team would coordinate with the HR department to create new vision of the company which would be clear and well communicated to the employees. Communicate the newly established vision to the employees and managers. Empower the other employees to act upon the vision by determining the organizational barriers (Selwyn, 2011). Creating a short term win: After the barriers have been defined the management needs to create short term wins which would help in overcoming the barriers. In this case the barriers were present in the initial planning stage and understanding of these barriers would help employees to coordinate within the organization. Maintain a state of emergency always. In this case the employees should understand that the implemented policies should be executed under all circumstances. Employees should consider the change as part of the organizational process. In this case the strategy team should state the reasons behind the implementation of change and welcome the change with open arms. Communication & Management Plan A well laid communication plan is prerequisite for the support of large scale projects to be performed by multinational corporations. The key objective of communication plan should be sending and receiving important messages. Once, the communication plan is executed smoothly the employees and the managers would be able to understand the impact of change. An effective communication plan would help in increasing the organizational and employee performance (Manning, 2012). Excellent communication plan would lead to better quality and lower cost delivery. The communication plan would consist of 3 stages like introduce, engage and sustain. This is also known as communication vehicle. Figure 2: Communication Plan (Source: Process change, 2013) Although the stages of communication plan is easy and comprise very minimal elements but it is the factors like timing, quality of message and the mode of message that decides the effectiveness of the communication plan. The key message will include components like strategy, duties and responsibilities while implementing change, reasoning factor for resistance to change. The frequency, timing of the key message, and target receivers should be well decided and as per the requirements and convenience of organizational change (Process change, 2013).The communication plan should be estimated after the estimating and evaluating the risk factors associated with each and every element. The communication plan would be serving the purpose of a schedule which would depict the timings, delivery mode and the receiver (Process change, 2013). One of the major factors would be evaluation of the communication process by collecting feedback from the receiver. Figure 3: Feedback Collection Method (Source: Accenture, 2011) Figure 4: Frequency &Timing of Key Message (Source: Process change, 2013) Since, the organization will undergo a complete restructuring by establishment of new policies, procedures the strategy team would require efficient technical and managerial expertise which would have appositive impact on the organizational development. The initial stage of the management plan would be identification of the needs of the new organizational structure and preparing plans accordingly. After the plans have been prepared it is vital that the managers focus on elements like building leadership commitment by adopting a management style which focuses on the positive transformation of the organization (Accenture, 2011). The prepared plans needs to be implemented and proper training should be imparted to the employees for communication of the plan. Conclusion Thus we have observed that change is an inevitable process of the organization and needs to be embraced positively. However, there is no particular conceptual change management theory which can increase the organizational performance and commitment. An effective and structured communication and management plan would enable the management to achieve the goals and objectives systematically. Currently the organization is facing difficulty in preparation and implementation of policies and procedures. A high degree of discretion and flexibility with focus and sincerity would enable the HR and strategy team to develop effective plans. The well defined communication plan would ensure that the key message is delivered accurately to the receivers. The three stage model proposed by Kurt Lewin would not only enable the employees to understand the importance of change but would ensure that the managers and employees adapt to the changes smoothly without facing difficulty. The eight stage model formulated by Kotter would enable the managers to understand the change process clearly. Managerialistic change is often not accepted easily by the managers and this model would enable the managers to understand how the change process can be suitable to the existing practice of the organization (Diefenbach, 2007). Analysis There are various change theories which can serve the purpose of guide and provide benefits. However, the management of the organization should follow a particular theory as per the convenience of the organization. According to author Caldwell the successful implementation of the change theory is a result of the complex interaction between the different departmental units (Andrews, Cameron and Harris, 2008). The change development is not a result of hard work put in by a sole leader rather change is facilitated by the employees and managers of the organization. The process of change cannot be handled by a manager singularly rather the transformation is a result of the entire team. There are usually four types of agents in an organization who are responsible for the change process senior leaders, middle level managers, external consultants and teams. Although, it is observed that middle level managers and senior level mangers face the complexity of the interactions. Aram and Salinpate (2003 cited in Andrews, Cameron and Harris, 2008) states that organizational theory can only be implemented in the organization after the determination of the difference between explicit and tacit knowledge. Socialization occurs when there is exchange of tacit knowledge among employees and managers. Combination occurs when the managers combine the existing explicit knowledge with the new explicit knowledge. Externalization occurs when the managers convert the explicit knowledge into tacit knowledge. Internalization occurs when managers take the best components of the explicit knowledge and apply it in the tacit knowledge and practice. This theory laid emphasis on the externalization and internalization as per the convenience of contemporary management approaches. The theory formulated by Caldwell can act a purposeful guide to the strategy team for the planning of policies. The theory by Aram and Salinpate can be applied for identification of organizational barriers and the employee’s resistance to change. References Accenture, 2011. Change management and communications plan. [pdf] Available at: < http://www.doa.nc.gov/procurement/documents/reports/ChangeManagementCommunicationsPlan_2011.pdf > [Accessed 27 May 2013]. Andrews, J., Cameron, H. and Harris, M., 2008. All change? manager’s experience of organizational change in theory and practice. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 21(3), p.300-314. Ashkenas, R., 2013. Change management needs to change. [online] Available at: < http://blogs.hbr.org/ashkenas/2013/04/change-management-needs-to-cha.html > [Accessed 27 May 2013]. Bauer, T., 2011. Organizational change. [online] Available at: < http://www.peoi.org/Courses/Coursesen/orgbeh1/contents/frame14b.html > [Accessed 27 May 2013]. Brantley, W.A., 2005. Organizational Leadership and change. [pdf] Available at: < http://billbrantley.com/pdfdocs/KAMVIDepth.pdf > [Accessed 27 May 2013]. Diefenbach, T., 2007. The managerialistic ideology of organisational change management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 20(1), p.244-261. Manning, T., 2012. Industrial and commercial training: Managing change in hard times. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 44(5), p.259-267. McCalman, J. and Paton, R.A., 2010. Change management: A guide to effective implementation. California: SAGE. Process change, 2013. Elements of a communication plan. [online] Available at: < http://processchange.blogspot.in/2010/07/elements-of-communication-plan.html > [Accessed 27 May 2013]. Selwyn, 2011. Kotter’s 8 steps – A quick summary. [online] Available at: < http://www.selwyn.org/selwyn/node/16 > [Accessed 27 May 2013]. Read More