Carrying Out a Change Initiative - Essay Example

Introduction Organisations during the contemporary period operate in a dynamic environment that is characterised by constant changes. In order for them to keep pace with these changes, it is imperative for them to adopt change. Change is an ongoing activity and it can be seen that one of the most challenging thing for the manger is to guide an organization that is undergoing major change. Managers today face constant change and they are often exposed to various challenges. Against this background, this paper has been designed to critically analyse the extent to which the concepts of management and leadership impact on the change process in a given organization. The paper is divided into two sections and the first part focuses on the factors that lead to change and it also discusses the success factors when carrying out a change initiative. The second part of the paper looks at the lessons learnt from this subject. The last part of the paper outlines the recommendations that can be implemented when carrying out a change program like the one discussed in patch 1 attached. Managing change Change is either unplanned or planned alteration in the mode of carrying out activities or the status quo (Michael, 2012). Change is about making things differently and in case of planned change, it can be seen that the change activities are goal oriented and they are intentional. Both internal and external factors can necessitate change in a particular organization. The internal factors that can influence change in an organization include human resources issues while external factors include economic, social, political as well as technological issues (Schultz et el 2005). It is important for organizations to conceptualise change as the gap that exists between the current status quo and the desired objective. In order to achieve this feat, change has to be properly planned and there are many issues that are involved in carrying out this initiative. Drawing from the case given in patch1 attached, it can be observed that managing change is a process that requires concerted efforts especially by the leaders responsible for the change process. There are quite a number of activities that are involved in change management such as initiating change, planning, action plan as well as stabilising the change results (Amos et al 2008). Change is an ongoing activity hence it requires proper planning in order to achieve the desired results. Employees in an organization do not readily accept change in most instances as a result of various reasons such as fear of losing their jobs. Some of the employees may resist change because they do not want to divert from the usual status quo in the organization. Therefore, it is the role of the leaders to put concerted efforts in order to influence the employees to accept the change agenda in a particular organization. Basically, leadership is defined as “the social process of influencing people to work voluntarily, enthusiastically and persistently towards a purposeful group or organisational goal,” (Werner 2007, p. 36). The leader has a role to inspire people in the organization to become interested in achieving the desired results. Organizations that anticipate change are in a better position to operate effectively. According to Werner (2007), effective leaders scan the environment to establish the areas that need change and they do the right thing through the use of their personal influence on their subordinates. Robbins (1993) posits to the effect that when initiating as well as managing change, the leader must be in a position to engage people as well as to try to work through them so as to achieve the desired results. The objectives of a change program can only be achieved if the leader positively influences people to share the same vision of the organization. Change is often initiated after realising a problem which ought to be solved. Likewise, the leader is on top of the situation and he should have the charisma to lead people throughout the change process. However, of notable concern is the fact that change is often received with mixed feelings by employees in the organization. Employees often resist change and this is the reason why a holistic approach has to be taken in order to deal with such issues. If the change initiative does not have the support of the people who are supposed to be beneficiaries, then it is likely to be characterised by problems that may result in the organization failing to achieve the desired goals. Apart from resistance, conflicts are likely to be witnessed if the leader does not put measures that are meant to establish a rapport among the people involved in a project. A conflict in an organization is counter-productive since there would be disagreement among the people involved in carrying out the work. Conflicts in an organization have far reaching impacts since the employees may fail to understand each other. The performance of the employees may be impacted and their morale may also be negatively affected. In some cases, lack of trust among the employees may lead to conflicts which can affect the change initiative. The concept of “order” underlies change process as suggested by Marzano, McNulty & Waters, (2005). The authors have identified the first and second orders when carrying out change. The first order change is more or less doing the same thing with slight changes while the second order change is concerned with a total shift from the current status quo. In the case of London council, it can be seen that the change being implemented is second order change. This kind of change is expected to improve the effectiveness of the organization and it requires a new body of knowledge since there will be a complete departure from the current status quo. According to Marzano, McNulty & Waters (2005), this type of change contrasts with the usual values and norms in an organisation and it is likely to be met with resistance by some people in the organization. Learning ought to be promoted so that the employees can gain new knowledge and it is imperative for the leader to work closely with the employees as well as the members of the community likely to be impacted by the change initiative. Kotter (1995 as cited in Amos et al 2008) posits to the effect that a leader should make concerted efforts in trying to identify individuals who have the power to lead other people so that the goals of the change initiative can be achieved. It is imperative for the leader to create a vision that should be shared by all members involved in the change initiative. Change that is not readily accepted by people is likely to fail to achieve the desired results therefore a leader should strive to gain the commitment of the other members of the organization. This can be achieved through the use of effective communication by the leader. Communication in an organization forms the backbone of all activities taking place in an organization (Schultz, 2003). A two way communication channel ought to be established in the organization and the managers should be in a position to give feedback to the employees so that they are also aware of the progress taking place in the organization. Mutual understanding is likely to be created if people involved in the work share the same vision of the organization. Effective managers also ought to listen to the concerns of the employees so that they become part of the change initiative. Implementing change in an organization is not an event but it is a process that should be well thought, planned and conceptualised (Schultz, 2003). It is the duty of the leader to convince other people why change in an organization would be necessary. The leader ought to identify the driving forces of change as well as to identify the resisting forces that can be experienced when carrying out a change initiative. There is need for the leader to be cautious when carrying out change so as to reduce the chances of resistance that can be experienced in the organization. It is also important for the change agent to have a good understanding of employee behaviour at work since this has a bearing on the success or failure of the change initiative. Employees in an organization do not readily accept change for fear of various reasons such as job security or lack of knowledge about the change initiative. In order for a change program to be a success, the leader should create awareness among all the stakeholders likely to be impacted by the initiative (Amos, 2008). People can be educated about the change needed and this can also be achieved through effective communication. The leader should also keep the people informed about the activities taking place in a bid to reduce the chances of unprecedented resistance by some employees. The leader should address issues related to resistance through communication, education, participation, involvement, and providing support to the members (Kotter, 1995 cited in Amos 2008). It is also important for the leader to be careful when timing change in an organization since this can impact on its success or failure. It is also the duty of the leader to control the situation when carrying out a change programme in the organization. Failure to plan the appropriate time to implement change may result in the organization failing to achieve the desired goals. The other important aspect that can lead to the success of a change programme is the leadership style used by the managers in managing change. In the scenario of London council described in patch 1 below, it can be seen that the managers involved in carrying out the change initiative are exemplary in their leadership and management styles. The leadership style used in this particular case is democratic, participatory style. Kleynhans et al (2007) describes this model as ideal given that the managers uses a democratic approach to management where they allow the members of the organization to participate in crucial areas such as decision making process. This leadership style is effective given that it can enhance positive performance of the subordinates if they are given high levels of autonomy in carrying out their work. Mutual understanding is likely to be created if the members involved in carrying out a certain project share common understanding towards the goals and objectives of that particular project. The other advantage of this style is that it is likely to minimise the chances of conflicts that are likely to be experienced when implementing change. As seen in the case described in patch 1, the other advantage of the democratic, participatory leadership style is that the leaders are in a position to communicate a vision of the change initiative and they encourage the subordinates to find solutions to problems in an innovative way. Members of the public are also involved in the change initiative so that they can share the same vision of the council. It is also important for the change agent to ensure that there are open channels of communication so that the flow of information is free. As highlighted in patch 3, employee involvement in a change process is very crucial since they will develop a sense of belonging to that initiative. Any change process usually gains momentum if it involves the ideas of the other employees. It is also important for the leaders to positively change the attitude of the people involved in the change process so that they can put optimum performance in the activities taking place. The structure of the organization also has a bearing on the performance of the employees. According to Kleynhans (2007), employees are likely to feel less alienated from those who make decisions if the structure of the organization is decentralised. Organizations that are flexible enhance better performance of the employees while bureaucratic structures are likely to hamper implementation of change. Another viable strategy for managing change is employee motivation. Motivation is described as the enthusiasm employees have for their work as well as issues that influence them to work hard in their jobs (Jackson & Schuler, 2000). The leaders should persuade the employees to do the work and they must offer them rewards for outstanding performance. Demoralised employees are not productive in the organization hence efforts should be made to ensure that everyone is happy about his or her job. Another important aspect when carrying out change is related to stakeholder involvement. As seen in patch 3, the leaders should make sure that every person involved in a project is given the opportunity to put his or her input so as to develop a sense of belongingness to the initiative. Team work and learning are also basic elements that can lead to the success of a particular change initiative. Leaders should encourage the employees to share their ideas so that they can share a common understanding towards the goals and objectives of the change initiative. Lessons learnt In view of the framework of change management discussed above, it can be noted that there are various lessons that can be learned from the case scenario of London Council. Change is not an event but it is a process that requires a holistic approach by the leaders in order to achieve the desired goals. Any change initiative is likely to be met with resistance by different people. There are many reasons why people resist change in many instances and these factors should be addressed so as to be in a position to achieve the set goals. The following lessons have been learnt from this study. Employee involvement in a change initiative is very important since it helps to reduce the chances of resistance among them. This also helps the employees to support the idea if they are involved in the decision making process. It is imperative for the change agent to canvas for support from the employees so that they can support that change initiative. People who are not happy about the change initiative are likely to resists the idea hence the leaders should persuade the employees to support the idea. The other lesson learnt from this study is that employee motivation is a basic tenet that can positively contribute to the success or failure of the change initiative. Motivated people in an organization are productive compare to people who are demoralised. It is the duty of the management to make sure that employee grievances are addressed before they impact on the performance of the workers. Communication is very important when carrying out a change program in an organization. The leaders should use open channels of communication so that they can create mutual understanding among all the stakeholders involved in the change program. Teamwork and learning in an organization are also important aspects that should be considered by the leaders whenever they are carrying out a change initiative. The ideas of the employees should be given priority so that they can understand what is expected from them. Managers should be exemplary when carrying out a change program. This helps to motivate their subordinates so that they can positively contribute towards the attainment of the desired goals and objectives. The style of leadership also has a bearing on the success or failure of a change initiative. In this case, I have learnt that democratic, participatory leadership style can enhance positive performance of the subordinates whenever a change initiative is being implemented. It is also important for the leaders to empower the subordinates so that they can meaningfully contribute towards decision making in the organization. Conclusion and recommendations Change in an organization is an ongoing activity that requires a holistic approach by the leaders in order for them to be in a position to achieve the desired goals from a specific activity. There are many forces that cause change and these should be carefully considered before initiating a change. Implementing a change is quite a challenging task since there are many obstacles that are likely to be encountered when carrying out the work. In view of the case scenario of London council discussed above, it has been noted that certain steps need to be taken in order for the project to be a success. If I was the manager, I would implement the following steps: I would make sure that the timing of the project does not negatively impact on the welfare of the people. For instance, I would recommend that the project be carried out through different phases so that it does not disturb the smooth flow of traffic in the affected areas. I would also make sure that teams comprised of skilled employees are formed and these should be responsible for different activities. I would also delegate other activities to other team members so that they can carry out different tasks involved in the project. I would also establish information centers that could be used by various stakeholders to access information they may need with regards to the project being carried out. This would also allow the leaders to monitor progress easily since they can get feedback from the stakeholders. (2851 words) Bibliography Amos, TL et al 2008. Human Resources Management. 3rd Edition. JUTA,CT. Bates, B et al 2005, Business Management, fresh perspectives, Pearson Ltd, CT. Brand, A 1998. Knowledge management and innovation at 3M, Journal of knowledge management, Vol. 2 No.1 Jackson, SE & Schuler, R 2000. Managing Human Resources: A Partnership Perspective. NY. South Western College Publishing. Kleynhans, R et al 2007, Human Resource Management: fresh perspectives, Prentice Hall, CT. Marzano, R McNulty, B and Waters, T 2005. School leadership that works. Alexandria VA: Association for supervision and curriculum development. Robbins, SP 1993. Organisational behaviour: concepts, controversies and applications. Prentice Hall: New Jersey. Schultz et al 2003. Organisational behaviour. CT. Van Schaik Publishers. Susan EJ & Randal S 2000, Managing Human Resources: A Partnership Perspective, South Western College Publishing. Werner, A Et al 2007. Organisational behaviour: A contemporary SA perspective.2nd Edition. Van Schaik Publishers, CT. Change Management, Patch 1: Identify a change that has occurred recently within your own area of professional practice. What triggered this change? Identify the change agent (s). What strategy (ies) were used to manage this change initiative. Change is either unplanned or planned alteration in the mode of carrying out activities or the status quo (Michael, 2012). Change is about making things differently and in case of planned change, it can be seen that the change activities are goal oriented and they are intentional. To the substantial segments of a population, change is the introduction and implementation of new action to replace or complement the existent one (Michael, 2012). In the recent past, several organizations have been undergoing change and one of them is the local council in London. Most of the houses under this council were in poor conditions and dilapidated. The council decided to take measures to change this and improve the housing conditions. The council came up with the home renewal system that would change the state of the homes in this council. The council had several objectives, which they hoped to meet by the end of the renewal system. The council had to revise their objectives in a bid to increase their emphasis on environmental sustainability and health. The council also identified key areas of development and it would look at other areas suggested for home renewal. It was also decided that the council would be renewing homes that were not in the renewal program. In this case, the change agent is the local council in London that underscored to implement the change related to home renewal in a bid to uplift the living conditions of the residents living under the local council’s authority. These changes were meant to show the members of the public that the council was committed to uplift their living conditions. The council had previously stayed for a long time with no significant changes in a bid to declare its active role in the public housing sector. The council came up with the plan for home renewal in 2010 but its official launch took place in 2011 after the council’s discussion of the plans. The change was planned and efforts were taken in order to ensure that the council had enough resources to carry out this change initiative that was completed in 2012. The residing public under the request of the council; would have to send in their home renewal plans and suggestion. The council had to review all the plans in order to involve their tenants actively in running their residency under the council. In carrying out this initiative, the council used the facilitation and support tactic in order to win the interests of the intended beneficiaries of the change program. According to Robbins (1993), change agents can offer a range of supportive efforts to reduce resistance when using the above-mentioned tactic. It is also evident from the scenario described above that the local council in London implemented Lewin’s classic three-step model in managing change. “Kurt Lewin argued that successful change in organizations should follow three steps: unfreezing the status quo, movement to a new state, and refreezing the new change to make it permanent,” (Robbins, 1993, p. 676). The status quo can be considered to be an equilibrium state and to move from this state, unfreezing is essential. Figure1 Lewin’s three-step change model Organizations undertaking change should try to emulate the example given in the case of the council in London. Most changes have negative effects because they lack proper planning. A good manager in an organization should have the ability to plan, organize, budget, report, supervise and be charismatic. These attributes help a manager to become a true leader; the ability to plan for instance enables the manager to oversee the future and plan in advance for any form of change with an appropriate course of action. The ability to organize enables the manager to provide the organization with the resources both human and material even after the alterations that come with change (Michael, 2012). In conclusion, well-managed change enables the organization to grow larger. It is essential to note that not all leaders can be managers; this is because in order to lead an organization one has to know how to organize and hand out work effectively. Good managers have the ability to identify constructive change and take risks in manipulating them profitably (Robert, 2008). Bibliography George, V. 2011. 10 Steps to Successful Change Management. American Society for Training and Development. New York. Mark, H. 2006. Change management: a critical perspective. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Indiana. Michael, R. 2012.Change Management. BoD – Books on Demand. Michigan. Robert, A. 2008. Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation. SAGE publishers. New York. Robbins, SP 1993. Organisational behaviour: concepts, controversies and applications. Prentice Hall: New Jersey. Patch 2: Related to patch 1, critically discuss the style and type of management and leadership that was/is operating in your case. Change is regarded as a process and it usually requires the involvement of various stakeholders in order for it to be a success. In order to achieve the set objectives and goals in an organization, a manager or a leader should influence the activities of other members involved in carrying out the work so that they can pull their efforts towards the same direction. Whenever a change initiative is being undertaken, it is imperative for the management to ensure that they put structures in place that promote teamwork. According to Robins.& Roodt (2001), teamwork is where individuals participating collectively, work together towards the attainment of certain goals as well as objectives within a certain organisation. In the scenario described above, it can be seen that the managers involved in carrying out the change initiative are exemplary in their leadership and management styles. The leadership style used in this particular case is democratic, participatory style. Kleynhans et al (2007) describes this model as ideal given that the managers uses a democratic approach to management where they allow the members of the organization to participate in crucial areas such as decision making process. This leadership style is effective given that it can enhance positive performance of the subordinates if they are given high levels of autonomy in carrying out their work. Mutual understanding is likely to be created if the members involved in carrying out a certain project share common understanding towards the goals and objectives of that particular project. As seen in the case described above, the other advantage of the democratic, participatory leadership style is that the leaders are in a position to communicate a vision of the change initiative and they encourage the subordinates to find solutions to problems in an innovative way. Members of the public are also involved in the change initiative so that they can share the same vision of the whole initiative. Leaders who empower individuals to participate in decision making process as well as to solve problems they encounter on their own while providing help or advice to them are in a better position to produce better performance standards (Pfeffer,1998). The other advantage of the leadership style discussed above is that it helps to reduce the number of conflicts that can be experienced when undertaking such change initiative that is likely to change the status quo completely. People are often skeptical for change as a result of many reasons that can pose a threat to their job security. Some people may resist change for the sake of just being against change that can result in them adopting a new style of carrying out business. Therefore, effective leaders ought to take into consideration a leadership style that is likely to produce the best results that can also help towards the achievement of the set goals. Another important element in leadership is related to communication. In the case scenario discussed above, it can be seen that the leaders involved have established open communication channels where all the stakeholders involved can meaningfully interact in a bid to generate ideas that can be used in carrying out the envisaged work in the change initiative. Knowledge management is a virtue in as far as goal achievement in an organization is concerned. This knowledge can be used to develop ideas that can help in improving the performance of the organization. Bibliography Brand, A., 1998, Knowledge management and innovation at 3M, Journal of knowledge management, Vol. 2 No.1 Kleynhans R et al 2007. Human Resource Management: fresh perspectives, Prentice Hall:CT. Locke, EA and Kirkpatrick, SA, 1995. Promoting creativity in organizations. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, London. Pfeffer, J 1998. The Human equation: Building profits by putting people first. Boston MA: Harvard Business School Press. Robins, SP, Odendaal A& Roodt, G 2001. Organisational Behaviour, Pearson Education:CT. Patch 3: What theories of change explain what happened/is happening in your study. In order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization, change should be implemented given that the environment in which organizations operate is dynamic. In this particular case, the London council adopted an action research based approach in carrying out the change with regards to improvement of the housing conditions in this area. According to Robbins (1993) action research refers to a change process based on systematic collection of data and then selection of change action based on what analyzed data indicate. The importance of this approach in a change process is that it provides a scientific methodology for managing change. This process is comprised of five basic steps namely: diagnosis, analysis, feedback, action and evaluation. The change agent often begins by gathering information about the problems and concerns as well as the needed changes from the members of the organization. The change agent synthesizes this information into primary concerns, problem areas and possible actions (Kleynhans et al 2007). The London council first diagnosed the situation and came up with an idea that housing conditions ought to be improved for the betterment of the welfare of the residents in this particular area. Having gathered this information, a critical analysis was carried so as to ascertain the measures that could be taken in order to address the situation. The residents were requested to forward their desired renewal plans for approval and efforts were put in place in order to communicate vital information to all stakeholders concerned. Action research includes extensive involvement of the change targets. That is the people involved in a change program must be actively involved in determining the problems and the action required in finding a solution to the identified problem (Robbins 1993). The employees with the help of the change agent develop an action plan for bringing about the needed change. As noted in the given case, the London council developed a change program based on the input provided by both the employees as well as the residents targeted for that particular program. The action part of the research action sets the process of change in motion. The change agent and the employees carry out specific action in order to correct the problems that have been identified (Robbins, 1993). Finally, evaluation is carried out in order to ascertain the effectiveness of the action plan. This approach when carrying out a change program is beneficial to the organization in that it is problem-focused given that the change agent objectively looks at the problems and tries to find amicable solutions to them. The other benefit of this approach to change is that it heavily involves the employees in the process hence resistance to change is reduced. Involvement of the people responsible for carrying out the change program is very effective when carrying out a change process. A close analysis of the events that took place in this particular study shows that the change program was a success because it was properly planned and all people concerned were involved before carrying out the actual process. The London council took measures that were designed to benefit the residents in this area through provision of improved housing conditions. Bibliography Amos TL et al 2008. Human Resources Management. 3rd Edition. JUTA: CT. Kleynhans R et al 2007. Human Resource Management: fresh perspectives, Prentice Hall:CT. Locke, EA and Kirkpatrick, SA, 1995. Promoting creativity in organizations. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, London. Pfeffer, J 1998. The Human equation: Building profits by putting people first. Boston MA: Harvard Business School Press. Robins, SP, Odendaal A& Roodt, G 2001. Organisational Behaviour, Pearson Education:CT. Patch 4 Blog Communication: Employees in an organization need to communicate with each other so that they can be in a position to achieve the desired objectives. Mutual understanding is likely to be achieved through effective communication in the organization. In a situation where change is being carried out, both the change agents and the targeted people likely to be affected by change should communicate so that they share the same understanding towards the initiative. In this particular case, both formal and informal communication processes should be adopted in order to achieve the desired results. Manager It is my strong conviction that communication should be effective when carrying out a change program. For instance, the mangers should use open channels of communication so as to avoid obstacles like conflicts as well as resistance to change that can derail the process. I also feel that both formal and informal communication channels should be adopted for the betterment of the organization as a whole as well as the targeted people in the change initiative. Leaders should communicate with the subordinates so that the chances of conflicts are minimized when carrying out this work. 10 January 2013 Staff I feel that the employees should be involved in the change process so that they become part of it. This can only be achieved if there are open channels of communication within the organization so that we can share the same understanding towards the goals that ought to be achieved. Barriers to communication should be removed in order for this initiative to be a success. The managers should lead by example in order to appeal to the interests of the employees so that they can put optimum performance in their work. 31 December 2012 Resident We heard that the council is undertaking the initiative to uplift our houses and this is a noble idea. However, I feel that both parties involved should use effective communication so that we can also be in a position to express our own views and ideas towards the change initiative should use effective communication. The residents should access information about this initiative whenever they need it so that they can also keep pace with the changes taking place in their community. 11 January 2013 Residents association We were informed that the council is undertaking an initiative to uplift our houses. However, they should actively involve us in this program since we have full knowledge of the problems that impact on us. The council should hold periodic meetings with our association so that we are in a better position to understand the activities taking place within our society. 14 January 2013 Workers council As workers, we should be directly involved in this initiative since we are the ones responsible for carrying out the envisaged work. We therefore appeal to the management to communicate effectively with the workforce so that we can share the same understanding towards the change program being undertaken. The employees should also be given feedback about the progress being made in this change program. 10 January 2013 Read More