Role Of Vision In Managing Change - Essay Example

Sayaprakash dixit Academia research June 22, 2007 Role of vision in managing change. Aspects of creating and communicating a clear vision of the organizational future state to successfully implement and execute the change. The primary step to bring about an organizational change is to identify the reason. Change in products or service offerings become necessary due to a scarcity of resources, both human and otherwise.

Negative publicity or product liability issues also provide the impetus for change. Technology and Innovation are other important drivers for change. The environment in which organizations operate today is getting increasingly complex and challenging. In today’s business, an industry or a company environment that is immune from the potential need to change can hardly be imagined. A vision is a realistic, credible and attractive plan for the future of an organization. A vi sion describes a set of ideals and priorities depicting a picture of the future that makes the company special and unique.

A vision defines a core set of principles by which the company abides in order to achieve success. A clear vision today is indispensable for organizational success.” How could any group or individual strive toward greatness and mastery without a vision? Thats exactly the point. They cant. They can maintain they can survive; but they cant expect to achieve greatness”. (Mapes 1991) . A clear vision attracts commitment and energizes people; the motivational effect of vision.

Vision generates enthusiasm about the course the organization intends to follow and the change it is implementing and increases the commitment to work toward adapting to the change effectively. It gives a meaning to the change. A vision allows people to accept the challenge and move on and get better. It establishes a higher standard of excellence. Considering the example of a bank where the old hand written trend of file making and documenting is replaced by modern technology and computers, a vision serves a very important function in establishing a standard for mastering the change.

A clear vision bridges the present and the future. The right vision takes the organization out of the present, and focuses it on the future. A good vision orients the workers on the future, and provides positive direction to the change. .Without a vision, the organization will have difficulty understanding and cooperating with the new plans and procedures. A vision is a road map on which, it has to be identified where the organization is currently and where it wants to be, in the future.

A clear vision is critical for any project. It addresses the overarching goals of the initiative and is relevant and meaningful to all people being affected by the change. A clear vision enables to achieve a consistency of beliefs and actions among those responsible for implementing the change. Now that the role of a clear vision is realized, the next step is to determine the aspects of a clear vision. A vision must be realistic and sensible to be meaningful for an organization. In our example of the bank, if we develop a vision for switching on to TFT monitors overnight, we must be dreaming as our vision is not realistic and achievable.

A gradual step by step plan has to be implemented. The vision must also be credible and believable to be relevant, most importantly to the employees or members of the organization. If the members of the organization do not find the vision credible, it will not be meaningful or serve a useful purpose. One of the purposes of a vision is to inspire those in the organization to achieve a level of excellence in the context of the change. An incredible vision will accomplish neither of these ends.

A vision is not in the present, it is a plan for the future. A vision is not where we are now; its where we want to be in the future. So in developing a clear vision, the future has to be kept in mind always. Switching to modern technology and computers may not be a success if the employees are reluctant to accept the change. How well they cope with the change has to be assessed before implementing the change. It will be a tougher situation to handle to see the speed and transactions decrease rather than increase.

In this context, a part-time computer course before implementing the change can be a good idea. Most importantly, apart from all these, the necessity of change, understanding of the change among employees, accessibility and flexibility plays a vital roles in designing a clear vision. A good vision has to clarify itself on maters such as internal consistency, attitudes, values, technical goals in order to successfully implement a change in an organization. A vision must thoroughly discuss matters on how the vision identifies the specific behaviors that must be exhibited in the future state in the context of the change and if the vision articulates the specific knowledge that people must possess in the future state.

A vision will never be clear and complete if it is not communicated in the right way. The key is to communicate the vision through multiple means. Some techniques used by organizations to communicate the vision include disseminating the vision in written form; preparing audiovisual shows outlining and explaining the vision; and presenting an explanation of the vision in speeches, interviews or press releases by the organizations leaders. The leader of the organization s also may publicly "sign up" for the vision.

We have to “walk your talk" if the vision is to be thoroughly understood and the change be implemented successfully. In our example of the bank, we may discuss catalogues and information brochures to be distributed to every employee in the organization. We can also think of supplying guide books and coaching classes to employees so as to help them to adapt and cope with the change comfortably. Reference: Collins, J. C., & Porras, J. I. (1997). Built to last: Successful habits of visionary companies.

New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Lewin, K. (1952). Group decision and social change. In G. E. Swanson, T. M. Newcomb, and E. L. Hartley (Eds.), Readings in social psychology (pp. 459–473). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston