The Competitive Advantage in the Leading Change by Kotter - Book Report/Review Example

Best Way for Managers to Bring about Change in the Organization This paper is on the topic "This paper is on the topic, best way for managers to bring about change in the organization". This will be discussed in terms of the phases put forward in the book by Kotter titled Leading Change, as well as theories by various other scholars like Taylor, Porter and others. Establishing a Sense of Urgency In the book Leading Change, Kotter has used the word urgency to describe the first phase so as to get a head start into the process of transformation. This has to do with taking stock of competitive and market realities with a focus on crises and opportunities. (Kotter, 1996) This has been paralleled in Organizational Behavior and Management through a focus on competitive advantage which can be described as follows: (Ivancevich et al, 2004) This brings us to a discussion on the technicalities of the model proposed by Porter. Porter's Five Forces model provides suggested points under each main heading. When taken into consideration individually, each of these gives rise to the development of a broad and sophisticated analysis of competitive position. This may further be used during the creation of a strategy, plans, or even where making investment decisions about a business or organization is concerned. These five competitive forces determine industry profitability and attractiveness apart from being responsible for shaping the prices that firms can charge, the costs they have to bear, and the required investments to engage in industry level competition. We are concerned with the fact that Porter's essentially ahistorical approach cannot provide a full account of either a nation's competitive advantage and corporate strategies or the growth and development of industrial clusters. (Porter, 1998) Creating the Guiding Coalition According to Kotter, this phase has to do with teamwork and leadership with a focus on integrating the two so as to bring out the best in each individual employee. (Kotter, 1996) To begin with, the way Ivancevich et al have described the principles of teamwork closely resembles the principles of scientific management as laid down by F W Taylor. Developed by Frederick W Taylor in the early 20th century, Scientific Management is a science based system of organizing the operational areas of the organization so as to ensure the existence of and implement various elements. These included placement of the right man at the right place, at the right time. Also, scientific management propagated a study of the motions and material handling practices within the organization, so as to find the fastest and easiest way of carrying out an activity. In this regard, there was a high level of focus on the implementation of cost accounting in all areas of operation activities so as make operations within the organization more cost effective. Further, Taylor regarded the de centralization of responsibility and authority so as to place a group of men under the supervision of one man, as an important element that could trigger greater efficiency within the operational sphere of the organization. Finally, one of his most important principles was the division of work. He suggested this through the creation of room for four to eight functional foremen who will take care of various aspects of the overall task, so as to ensure that each sub task is carried out as regards minimum motion and cost per worker. (Taylor, 1947) These were the broad underlying principles upon which F W Taylor fashioned scientific management. This school of management thought followed experimentation and scientific rigor to demonstrate various findings. (Taylor, 1947) The principles of Taylor and scientific management have become obsolete in today's environment, Further, the modern day theorists like Ivancevich et al (2004) have defined the role of the new HR in the following light in order to demonstrate how the personal goals can be integrated with those of the organisation. These include business partner, change manager, monitor and innovator. These four categories are most basic to the functioning of the modern day organisation. The human resource or human capital element in the organisation ahs emerged as one that perpetuates this role at every level of the organisation through an effective integration of personal and organisational goals. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) Developing a Vision and Strategy As per Kotter's vision, this phase adheres to the function of creating the scope for change management which is a phenomenon of globalization and competitive advantage working in tandem. (Kotter, 1996) Ivancevich et al, have proposed a theory of change management that parallels this phase. The modern day economy is one that is changing with each passing day. The state of commerce is not what it used to be, say, a few decades ago. This is basically due to the fact that the new rule of thumb is that the only constant is change. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) The face of politics has greatly shaped the way the economy of a country and therefore, that of an organisation, operates. In this way, there is a sense of constant interaction with the dynamic environment within which organisations today thrive. The role of communication and technology in this regard, is also an important one. With the advent of the communication and information era, there is a slow redefinition of borders and geographical demarcations. It is now possible to sell products and manage businesses anywhere in the world, from anywhere in the world. This has had a large bearing on the state of the balance of payments of entire countries and the organisations that thrive within it. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) This balance of payments is dependant on the exchange that flows to and from it. In this way, there is an impetus to change with the changing world, depending on how that change might affect the balance of payments or any other socio economic aspect of the country and the organisation. Therefore, change has become a vital part of the organisation's life, owing to the fact that there is a constant need for reinvention in order to keep with the changing times and the changing levels of exposure. In this regard, change management has thus become a vital part of every organisation's agenda. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) In this regard, the HR elements of the organisation, or its employees, are the major precursors of change within the organisation. They are the ones who implement the change management process at the following levels of activity: Communication Planning Resource Utilisation Cost effectiveness in Operations (Ivancevich et al, 2004) This makes the employees or the HR, change managers within the organisation. The impetus to change and grow with these changes comes from the fact that the modern day organisation is made up of people from various corners of the globe, with the ability to reach into their own varied personal experiences. Thus in turn, is a major factor that helps them cope with change and learn to keep changing with the changing times and trends. Also, sometimes change comes from within the organisation owing to the growth of exposure with the growth of the organisation or with activities like development and training. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) This initiates the employee into a process of embracing and implementing change in order to do away with any monotony that may exist in the operational area of the organisation that they thrive in, due to repeated activities and other such factors. The basic role of change management is to develop a system or structure within which there is a strong sense of being able to forecast change, and adjust to the same accordingly. This change management structure is an informal one that is carried out by the employees in the organisation. The role of change management is as follows: (Ivancevich et al, 2004) To help recognise change. To help recognise the areas in which these changes must be implemented within the organisation. To help the organisation integrate its goals or modify the same, with a change in the external environment. To help the HR understand the change and grow with it. Phase 4: Communicating the Change Vision This phase involves motivating the coalition through a specific channel of information that will create perfect understanding of the organizational goal; as well as integration of the same with personal goals. (Kotter, 1996) This has been supported by Ivancevich et al through a role that resembles that of a business partner. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) The first role of the human resource in today's organisation is that of a business partner. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) At an informal level, the term business partner can be used to denote the modern day human resource base. This is due to the fact that the human capital in an organisation today is motivated enough to integrate the personal goals with those of the organisation in an effective way. In this way, the goals are achieved at both ends. The management of an organisation attaches great importance to the act of motivating the human capital through the use of incentives that may be material or immaterial. The material benefits include bonuses, promotions and other such means, while the immaterial ones include good reports and feedback. This helps the employee gain confidence and self esteem. Also, it caters to the employees need to achieve a certain social standing. Thus, the employee begins to realise that only by forwarding the goals of the organisation will his or her own goals be met. In this way, the human resource has emerged as a business partner that works in tandem with the organisation as far as goal achievement is concerned. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) Empowering Broad Based Action This phase deals with handling hindrances, using a change vision to support change and improvement within the system as well as a focus on risk taking abilities. (Kotter, 1996) This has been paralleled by the control system defined and discussed by Ivancevich et al (2004). A control system in organizations largely influences its ability to recognize the social and cultural modes of control within it so as to lay down in clear terms the role of the entrepreneur when it comes to deliberating social control over the employees concerned. A management control system essentially consists of various elements including the management accounting practices employed by a particular organization. In this regard, it is imperative to state that the control systems employed by the management are a result of evolution of various systems and beliefs over a period of many years. This is what formalizes and assists in the quantification of various information - financial and other. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) In doing so, the management identifies various elements of the control system that have to do with the external information relating to markets, consumers, competitors and their decision making mechanisms. This helps the management take decisions of its own. According to Ivancevich et al, the organization's control mix and the strategic choices arising out of the implementation of this mix to real time operations in the organizations are the basis of the various frameworks under which the organization's management control system operates. Even though the disciplinary separation between comparative policies and social relations within the organization has been regularly challenged, in the traditional theories it continues to persist as a result of institutional inertia and hiring practices. The traditional perspective describes control as a means of regulation and a means of setting certain standards for inspection. In this regard, the traditional perspective more often than not seeks to restrain rather than enable in order to manage and exercise control. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) Generating Short Term Wins This phase has to do with generating improvements in performance through a focus on "short term wins" or goal achievement programs. This in turn motivates the employee and gives him or her the impetus to work harder towards the larger and long term goal. (Kotter, 1996) This has been substantiated by Ivancevich et al (2004), through the model for performance management. It has been said that in order to be effective, one must be affective. This has important implications for the modern day organisation which is run on the basis of a plethora of experiences that comes from various kinds of people who serve various goals. In order to tie these people up together, there is a need to focus on the fact that any action needs to be affective first in order to be effective. This is where entrepreneurial orientation comes in. It has been described as a process that integrates personal and organisational goals so as to form a common value base. This act in itself will help in garnering better performance standards through better allocation and optimum utilisation of resources. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) Consolidating Change and Producing more Change This phase proposes the use of credibility in order to change systems as well as policies and elements that do not complement the transformation process within the organization.(Kotter, 1996) This phase has been contradicted by Ivancevich through a focus on knowledge management. One of the most important roles or functions of the HR is to monitor various things within and outside the operational sphere of the organisation, so as to make the necessary modifications that will correct any deviations in the path towards the achievement of organisational goals. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) The monitoring system in the modern day organisation thrives on a system of knowledge management. To monitor anything, there is a need for garnering knowledge about the same through communication and information. This needs to follow the flow of the organisational activities so as to give the right person, the right information at the right time. In this regard, many scholars have felt that there is a need to lay well defined lines of informal communication as these are important to bridge any gaps that may have taken place in the formal lines of communication. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) Knowledge and information have become almost interchangeable in their ability to transform workplaces and make the rest of the aware of the various activities that take place within it. This can be further substantiated by the diagram below: (Source: Wilson, 2002) This diagram depicts the growth of titles using knowledge management. In this regard, information management may be defined as something that involves deploying new technology solutions, e.g: content or document management systems, data warehousing and portal applications. It covers all the systems and processes in an organization for the creation and use of corporate information. Information is the most pervasive element across all human actions and interactions. Managing information has become one of man's most difficult tasks. Variety of information sources has changed information from mediocrity of data to a natural efficacy and requirement. Information management involves people, processes, technology and content. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture This phase has to do with qualitative improvement through a focus on development and effective management. (Kotter, 1996) This has been paralleled by Ivancevich et al through a focus on training and development. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) Any modern day organisation and its HR need the strong backing of innovation for the following purposes: To meet goals effectively. For smooth flowing operations within the organisation. To imbibe an element of freshness into otherwise monotonous activities. To help the employees grow so as to fuel organisational growth and development. To gives the employees the satisfaction of learning something new everyday. To give the organisation the confidence to branch out into new fields. With these functions, it is important to have a process of training and development which will help show the employees how they can channel their energies into constant innovation so as to serve the organisational goals, and achieve their personal ones in the bargain. Training and development are essential activities for the maintenance of organizational health. Therefore, training and development processes may either be diagnostic or based on future role play. In this case, the kinds of training followed by an organization may be categorized into on the job and off the job training methods. Both these kinds of training help imbibe a certain quality of innovation within the organization so as to give each member of the HR a unique identity that will be well utilized and appropriately respected within the organization. The need to tap into a pool of potential can be met only through the right training and development process which will steer the employee towards doing so for the benefit of the organization. The conversion of this need into a full fledged reality is the role of training and development. This role is a major element of innovation. (Ivancevich et al, 2004) References 1. Ivancevich, John M.; Konopaske, Robert; Matteson, Michael T (2004) Organizational Behavior and Management 8th Edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin Company 2. Kotter, John (1996) Leading Change, New York: Harvard Business School Press. 3. Wilson, T D (2002). The non sense of Knowledge Management. Information Research, 8(1). Paper No. 144. Last accessed at http://informationr.net/ir/8- 1/paper141.html 4. Taylor, F. (1947). Scientific Management. NY: Harper & Row. (Originally published 1911). 5. Porter, Michael E. (1998) The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Free Press. Read More