Understanding of Change Concepts - Research Paper Example

Understanding of Change Concepts In addition to, if the change managers in an organization are dysfunctional, this will hinder the probability of successful change. This paper explains theories that can be adopted to monitor and evaluate the change process in an organization. The Drivers of Change There has been a paradigm shift in organizational change as from a gradual to a continuous process. Continous change means that there new things happening in a never ending fashion. It is therefore imperative for firms to develop a culture that facilititates the exploitation of change as a competitive advantage.

Change is driven by three aspects which include extensive globalization, technological advancements and growing customer expectations. Globalization leads to increased competitition, exposure to global economic presssure and more complicated trade policies. With regards to technological advances, companies should keep up with the changes in their respective industries and changes in the market trends. Finally, there has been an increase in customers’ expections owing to growing customer awareness and value for money.

The Grieving Model for Change This model was brought forward by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross who asserts that change evokes emotions similar to those experienced during the grieving process. Her work of the grieving process draws numerous equivalents to change. Basicallly, the grieving process goes through five main steps which are denial, anger, bargaining, depression as well as acceptance. (Kubler-Ross & Kessler, 2007). Change managers must acknowledge that the change process may have a stressful effect on staff members.

There are common cases of employee resistance and this calls for managers to prepare them suitably for the change(Kubler-Ross & Kessler, 2007). It has been noted that during the change process the employees are predisposed to concentrate too much on process characteristic s forgetting the impacts of change. Managing this requires outstanding and practiced leadership skills. Cohen’s Concepts of Organizational Change Preparedness Risk taking is an inherent feature of leaders in the 21st century , most importantly when dealing with change.

Nevertheless, leaders are highly cautioned to undertake in calculated and cautious risk taking when handling change (Cohen, 2005; Judge, 2012). Change leaders must ensure that the company has the right resources and is well prepared for the change. The leaders should so see to it that the process goes through the stipulate stages for successful completion. Judge’s Organizational Capacity for Change This model which defines the aspects of an organization’s capacity for change is based on the idea that leaders should concentrate on innovation for the future as well as be skilled at responding to issues facing companies in the contemporary world (Judge, 2012).

It has been observed that although leaders have the necessary skills, they lack the necessary innovation approaches. It is imperative for change managers to be spontaneous and readily adjust to the change the determines success of the organization. Change leaders should be in a position to manage the eight dimensions of leadership that are important for effective change management. The first four dimensions focus on human skills while the last four focus on practices within the organization. The eight dimensions include: trustworthy leaders, cooperative followers, capable champions, systems