Change Management Methods - Essay Example

April 2009 Change Management Methods Management Methods Change Management Methods Change is an aspect which is always constant and itprovides lot of effect in the management field. Change management methods and the implementation issues involved in organizational change. How the change management is important to an organisation? What are the methods applicable for change management in an organisation? Management Methods 2 Management is an intricate process and requires lot of skill and expertise in implementing the same in an organization. Also, this process has evolved over a period of time. The concept of management has changed drastically. With the advent of Globalization and Liberalization major changes have been implemented in the management theory. The companies from the old school of management had to change their thought process and mould their techniques to adapt to the present requirement of the new era. Business strategies and implementation have also seen substantial amount of change. Marketing strategies are no longer constricted to the job itself. Relationship building has now become a major aspect in the new age management. Managers can no longer remain autocratic; a democratic approach is more viable. The employer and employee relationship has changed to become more stable form of relationship. Each employee becomes a part of the organization. Thus wherever you look the word ‘change’ is quite distinct. The core purpose of this paper is to analyze the concept of change management and how it affects an organization. When an organization changes its overall strategy for success, adds or removes a major portion of its management or changes its management practice, the effect can be felt. It also occurs when an organization evolves through various life cycles, just like people must successfully evolve through various life cycles. “For organizations to develop, they often must undergo significant change at various points in their development. Thats why the topic of organizational change and development has become widespread in communications about business, organizations, leadership and management” (Organizational Change and Development. 13 Nov’ 08).There are Management Methods 3 different types of organizational change, including planned and unplanned. Change management involves considerable amount of planning and requires insightful implementation. And above all, the people who are affected by the change must be consulted and involved in the entire process. If you want to enforce a change one can usually find lot of people related problems arising out of it. One must remember that the change must be achievable, measureable and realistic. (Change management. Businessballs.com) Organization-wide change in corporations should involve the Board of Directors. Whether the members are closely involved in the process of change or not; they should at least be aware of the change project and monitor if the results are being achieved. Changes in management can be divided into two categories. One is based on individual change while the other is based on the organization. There a re few principles of change management. These are as noted below: 1. Involve the people and at all times support them from within the system. System is equivalent to processes, environment, relationships, culture and behaviours. It can either personal or organisational. 2. Try to comprehend where you as an individual or as an organisation are. 3. Understand where you want to be. Why, when and what measures is required to get there. 4. Make appropriate planning towards point no. 3 with achievable and measurable stages. Management Methods 4 5. Involve, communicate, facilitate and enable people involvement at an early stage. Also be open with them when you are considering a change management. (Change management. Businessballs.com) Normally the organizations won’t change. But the individuals can change. A large project usually associates lot of individuals. The success of the project depends on the collective efforts of the employees. Even one employee’s negligence can spoil a large project. The individual change management principle lies in the understanding and appreciation of how one person makes a change. In regard to this aspect one must have well defined plans to manage the change. There are eight successful steps to manage the change. These have been modeled by John Kotter in his highly acclaimed books, ‘Leading Change’ (1995) and ‘The Heart of Change’ (2002). These are mentioned hereunder: 1. Increase urgency - Inspire the people to move, make the objectives relevant and real. 2. Build the guiding team - Get the right people in the right place. They also must be committed and have varied mix of skills and levels. 3. Get the vision right - Get the working team to institute a simple strategy and vision. Ask them to focus on the creative and emotional aspects which are necessary to drive the organisation efficiently. 4. Communicate for buy-in – Try to involve as many people as possible. Communicate the essentials in a simple way and appeal and respond to the needs of the people. Always Management Methods 5 ensure that the communication is without any clutter and do use the technology to work for you and not against you. 5. Empower action - Remove the obstacles. Enable a constructive feedback and induce substantial support from the leaders. Reward and recognise the progress and the achievements. 6. Create short-term wins - Set short term aims which are easy to achieve. Finish the current stages before you start the new ones. 7. Dont let up - Encourage determination and persistence. Encourage the progress report on the ongoing projects. Highlight the achieved and future milestones. 8. Make change stick - Strengthen the value of thriving change via proper recruitment, promotion and the new change leaders. (Change management. Businessballs.com) Change can be quite difficult to accomplish in a successful organization. The organizational change management means the change in management of the organization as a whole. Effective communications and training can bring the whole organizational change. The organizational change management involves a lot of complicated processes. The project managers and the business leaders should develop proper methods of training to cater the needs of all the employees working in the organization. There are companies which were sick units earlier became profitable organizations under the guidance of new management. Effective leaders will identify the root causes of the organization and they will find out solutions for it. Management Methods 6 There is no single method to make the changes happen. There are a few set practices, techniques and tools. These involve the following: 1. Address the “human side” systematically - Any major transformation creates “people issues.” The new leaders will be required to move up, job profile will change, new skills and potentials should be developed, and the employees will also be uncertain and resistant. Dealing with such issues on a spontaneous, case-by-case basis puts morale, speed, and results at a risk. A prescribed approach for overseeing change — starting with the leadership team and then bringing together the key resources and leaders — should be developed at an early stage and adapted frequently as transformation moves through the organization. 2. Start at the top - Since change is intrinsically unsettling for the employees at all levels of an organization, hence, when it is on the sphere of change, the focus will turn to the CEO and the leadership team for support, strength, and direction. The top management themselves should accept the new approaches first. This will both act as a challenge and also motivate the rest of the organization. They must be united and speak with a single voice and model the required behaviours. The executive team also must understand that, though its public image may be one of harmony, it, too, is a collection of individuals who are might be going through stressful times and requires support. 3. Involve every layer - As change programs progresses from defining the strategy and then setting the targets to design and execution, they will affect different stages of the organization. Change efforts should include the plans for spotting the leaders all through Management Methods 7 the company and also pushing the job for plan and implementation down, so that the change can flow through the organization. At each level of the organization, the mangers, which have been identified and taught, must be united to the vision of the company. They must be well equipped to execute the definite mission, and also motivate the rest to make the change happen. 4. Make the formal case - The individuals are essentially rational and will always question that to what degree the change is required, whether the concern is headed towards the right direction, and whether they want to entrust personally to make the change happen. The expression of an official case for change and the formation of a written vision statement are priceless opportunities to produce or induce leadership-team alignment. 5. Create ownership - Leaders of massive change programs must always over perform during the change process and be the champions who generate a significant mass amongst the work force in favour of the change. This will require more than just a mere submissive agreement that the course of change is suitable. It also demands ownership by the top leaders who are willing to accept the responsibility to make the change happen in all the levels and influence or control it. 6. Communicate the message – All too often the leaders of change make a mistake of supposing that others will understand the concern, and feel the need to transform. The best transform programs underpin the core messages through habitual and timely suggestion that is both inspiring and practicable. Communications will flow from the Management Methods 8 bottom ad to the top, and are usually targeted to offer the employees the right to information at the right time. 7. Assess the cultural landscape - Successful transformation programs pick up pace and intensity as they move down, making it very critical and important that the change leaders recognize and account for behaviours and culture at each of the levels. Companies in most cases make the mistake of gauging the culture either too late or not at all. 8. Address culture explicitly - Once the organisation has understood the culture, it should be addressed as methodically as any other area in a transformation program. The change leaders must be explicit about the culture and the fundamental behaviours that will best sustain the original way of doing the business, and find prospects to mould and reward such behaviours. 9. Prepare for the unexpected - No change management program goes absolutely as per the plan. People do react in the most unanticipated ways; areas of probable confrontation fall away; and the exterior situation shifts. Effectively managing any change requires constant re-evaluation of its effect and the willingness of the organization and the ability to adopt the next signal of alteration. Fed by the actual data and sustained by information and concrete decision-making methods, the change managers can then formulate the modifications essential to preserve the momentum and also drive the results. 10. Speak to the individual - Change is a journey for both the organisation and the person. People spend numerous hours each week at employment; many consider their colleagues as a family. The individuals or teams must know how their job profile will change, what Management Methods 9 is now expected from them during and after the change program. How their performance will be measured and what will be meant by their success and failure. The team managers should be absolutely honest and open as possible. People usually react to what they observe and take notice of around them, and should get involved in the entire change process. (10 Principles of Change Management. ) Leaders and managers continually make efforts to accomplish successful and significant change. Some are very good at this effort while others continually struggle and fail. It is very difficult for some of the old managers to adjust with the organizational changes. For example total computerisation of all departments sometimes causes problems to old managers who are not aware of the new systems and software. The old traditional management style will be questioned by the new technology savvy managers which will create problems for the old mangers. It is concluded that the individual change management and the organizational change management are linked together. In order to succeed in organizational change management the individuals or the employees should change themselves to the requirement of the new organizational changes. For the success of the organization these two change management mechanisms should work together. The top management should carefully monitor the change mechanisms and they should keep an eye on it until it stabilizes.   Management Methods 10 Reference: 1. Organizational Change and Development – Retrieved on 13/11/08 2. 10 Principles of Change Management. John Jones, DeAnne Aguirre, and Matthew Calderone 3. Change management Read More