Making Sense of Change Management - Essay Example

Making Sense of Change Management Change management and innovation has evolved as the main focus of the ever expanding body of literature in the recent times. Effective management of organizational change and innovation has been viewed as a central phenomenon for the survival of companies. However, the attainment of successful change is a matter which remains open to considerable debate till date. For certain commentators the present diversity poses a challenge to the organizational change research (Andriopoulos & Dawson, 2009, p.7). Change management is undertaken in organizations as being a structural approach towards shifting or transitioning the organizations, teams and individuals from their present state to a desired state in the future. It accounts for an organizational process which is aimed at the empowerment of the employees towards accepting or embracing a change in their organizational or business environment. The strategy begins with a systematic approach for diagnosing the present situation for determining both the need for change and also the capacity of the organization to implement changes. However, at the beginning of the plan the purpose, objective and process of the change must be specified to every member of the organization. Most organizations have acknowledged the idea of managing innovation in their organizations. In fact the performance of innovation varies greatly across organizations which suggest that both the organizational and structural factors affect the influence of innovation on performance (Bessant & Pavitt, 2005, p.13). The project aims to explore the changes and innovation management strategy undertaken in US based Apple Corp Ltd. It makes an analysis of the effectiveness of the strategy undertaken in the organization in bringing about the change with presentation of suitable arguments to support the topic. Theories The change management strategies are explained in terms of Kotter’s eight steps to change. The theory is one of the most important and most widely accepted texts in modern organizations. It defines eight steps in which changes can be implemented in organizations effectively. Although the steps are primarily meant for organizations, they also find application in personal change initiatives. Successful change management is also explained in terms of the Lewin’s model of organizational change. The model is responsible for the introduction of the force field analysis which identifies both the driving forces and the resisting forces for a given change situation. Explanation of Theories John Kotter’s eight steps model for change John Kotter’s eight steps begin with the creation of a sense of urgency, which is required for initiating a change process. This would draw the people’s focus towards the process of change. This is followed by placing a guiding team for directing the change process in order to confront with any difficulty collectively. This can be in the form of a coaching team or a team of experts. They would be responsible for creating the vision or the strategy which would be the driving factor for the change. The change process must be repeatedly communicated to people to keep the context in the minds of people. People must also be empowered to undertake the change. The change must include short term visions to make the process real and enthusiastic. This would effectively build the momentum for the change process. The consecutive steps must be designed and implemented carefully to increase the momentum and confidence of people. Finally a new culture must be nurtured to ensure that the change lasts for long and awareness prevails (Rock & Page, 2009, “John Kotter’s eight steps to change”). Lewin- Three step model Lewin has proposed which is based on three steps, namely, vision, dissatisfaction and finally the practical first steps. The first step involves the project managers to build a clear vision and a compelling goal. This is translated into two elements in the next step, i.e. clear rationale and a feeling of sense of urgency. Managers must be encouraged to enhance their abilities for the creation of a clear rationale for incorporating the change. They are to set clear deadlines and remain stuck to them, resource the important initiatives and increase the feeling of need for change. This must be followed by talking the practical first steps in the process. This also includes defining their plans in the earliest phases and communicating the plans to the stakeholders and implementers (Cameron & Green, 2004, p.104). Discussion of Arguments Change and innovation has been the main driving factors for the growth of USA based Apple Inc for long. The continuous growth of the corporation has been possible because of ability to adapt and evolve in the changing business scenario and conditions in the market. The following table would depict the company’s position in the market as being the leaders in change management. Figure 1: Apple's position among the world's most innovative companies (Source: Trott, 2008, p.5) Apple Inc’s step to launch new products in the market has been part of its change management and innovation strategy. In fact the idea of generating new products and features has been inculcated into the company’s culture and also accounts for the growth of the company and increase in its revenue (Trott, 2008, p.4). The Lewins three step model can be used to explain the innovative and change management drive of the company. Leaders of the company have perceived innovation as the prime drive for survival in the market. This bears resemblance to the first step in Lewin’s model in which managers and leaders of a company perceives a clear vision and a compelling goal as being the first step towards innovation. For an organization which looked doomed one year back, Apple has been emerged itself as being one of the iconic organizations in the field of managing change and innovation (The economist, 2007). The company has confronted with serious resistances from employees as well as customers in terms of its manufacturing defects and also customer services. Also the company has a lot of criticism for refusing to make its music protection software and operating system available to all. Apple has incorporated its change and innovation management strategies through locking its engineers to bring up new ideas and products on a continuous basis and basing the products on the moments of inspiration (The economist, 2007). This approach is better known as network innovation and does not remain limited to electronics only. The company’s innovative strategies also include cultivating contacts with the academic researchers and start-up organizations. The company has sought to manage resistance from customers by accepting advice from them and then acting as per their requirements. It has built a customer centric culture and aims to deliver such products and features to its products as they are demanded in the market. Conclusion It is seen that the success of change management process in organizations depends largely on the urgency of the need for change and the extent to which people can be involved to believe in the change process and implement the changes also. The situation in Apple Corp ltd in USA is somewhat similar. The change was initiated because the company’s felt need to being about innovation to prevent it from stagnating in the market. This is relevant to the first step in Kotter’s model which says that the organizations must realize an urgent need to change for making the process to begin and keep the momentum going. This was followed by communicating to the employees of the organization that an immediate change was required in order to keep an extra edge over its competitors. The need which was felt was found to be even more than that felt in Microsoft. The resultant effect was that employees were made to believe the requirement for change and the benefit that it would bring to the organization. The change process was ultimately successful because of the involvement of the organizational leaders and the employees too. Reference Andriopoulos, C. & Dawson, P. (2009). Managing Change, Creativity and Innovation. SAGE Publications Ltd. Bessant, J. R. & Pavitt, K. (2005). Managing innovation: integrating technological, market and organizational change. John Wiley and Sons. Cameron, E. & Green, M. (2004). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools & techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers. The economist. (2007). Lessons from Apple. [Online]. Available at: http://www.economist.com/node/9302662. [Accessed on July 18, 2011]. Rock, D. & Page, L. J. (2009). Coaching with the Brain in Mind: Foundations for Practice. John Wiley and Sons. Trott, P. (2008). Innovation Management And New Product Development, 4/E. Pearson Education India. Bibliography Blokdijk, G. (2008). Change Management 100 Success Secrets - The Complete Guide to Process, Tools, Software and Training in Organizational Change Management. Lulu.com. Jorden, J. L. (2007). Mastering SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Infrastructure Design. John Wiley and Sons. Smith, A. & Graetz, F. (2011). Philosophies of Organizational Change. Edward Elgar Publishing. Read More