Managing Strategic Change Is Fundamental to Business Success - Essay Example

Managing Cultural Change By Key words: Lewin’s Model, Strategic Management Introduction Change isnecessary in any organization that aims to grow rapidly and those that manage their changes well become successful than those that fail to adopt changes especially in this technological era. Change management as a concept in business is widely known and practiced but the method used to incorporate changes in a business varies from one business to another depending on the people involved, the change itself, and the nature of the business. Understanding the change is a key part of the process (Bond 2013). Lewin’s model His model, also known as (unfreeze-change-refreeze) model involves three stages of change. Lewin attempted to explain organizational change by using the example of the physical changes an ice cube undergoes over time. He noted that if you have an ice cube that you want to change to a cone of ice, you melt the ice cube (unfreeze) then you model (change) the water into the cone shape you want by freezing the water (refreeze). By analyzing the change as a process, with specific stages, a manager can begin to monitor and manage the transition. Understanding the reason why the change has to take place is very important in any successful process of change. During the unfreezing stage, some factors have to be accomplished. The organization is prepared in order to accept the changes required. It entails breaking down the existing procedures and management strategies to facilitate the adoption of changes. An important aspect of this process is identifying and developing a good reason why the organization cannot continue in its current way of doing things. Pointers such as poor financial results, declining sales figures, negative feedback from customer satisfaction surveys can be useful in developing the message necessitating the need for change that other people can see, preparing the organization for the impending changes is necessary and the process begins at the center of the organization. Beliefs, attitudes, values, and behaviors that are currently held must be challenged to pave way for the implementation of the needed changes. This is the most problematic stage because by disrupting the way things are usually done, you destabilize people in the organization who depend on routine to perform their daily duties, which may evoke very strong reactions from the people affected. There is uncertainty created. Through challenging the organization to change, a controlled crisis is created that can be a tool for motivation in order to establish a new equilibrium where people are comfortable with the new changes. At this stage, the manager needs to ensure that they have strong support from the upper management by using stakeholder management and analysis to establish the key people in the organization and win their support by framing the issue as of importance to the whole organization (Goltz et. al 2008). The change stage is characterized by people in the organization trying to adopt new methodology for achieving their goals. The people change their perspectives and begin acting in ways that are aligned with the new direction the organization is taking. However, the transition from unfreeze to change takes place gradually since people need time to internalize and understand the new direction adopted and be proactive in supporting the change. For the change to be successful, people need to understand how the new strategic change(s) is going to benefit them. It should be noted that not everybody would accept the changes or perceive the changes as beneficial meaning that managers have to be careful at this stage. This is because a portion of the people will be negatively impacted by the change especially those who enjoyed the status quo prior to the changes while others will not reap the benefits of the changes immediately. These situations necessitate the need for the manager(s) to be vigilant for controlling the situation. There will be a lot of rumors by employees and in order to curb their fears ,questions should be answered openly and transparently as possible ,problems should be dealt with immediately and need for change should be related to the operational necessities. The manager should also provide opportunities for employees to participate in the change and mandate the supervisors to provide direction on a daily basis. For the change phase to be successful, communication and time are important. People require feeling connected to the organization, which is only achieved through the period of transition, and they need time to fully comprehend the changes occurring in the organization. Hands on management are necessary to achieve changes needed since the process is time consuming and requires the application of effort (Schein 1996). The refreeze stage is characterized by people embracing the changes and the changes yielding the desired results. Organizations that have successful adopted management strategic changes are perceived externally by consistent job descriptions and stability in the organization’s chart. At this stage, the management is tasked with helping the organization and the people institutionalize the changes by making sure that the changes implemented are used on a daily basis and are implemented in the daily routines of the business activities of the organization. An effective campaign by the management will result in employees feeling more comfortable with the changes and a sense of stability in the organization (Walker et. al 2007). Critics argue against the rationale of developing a new state of stability in a volatile business environment therefore negating the need for the refreeze stage. However, the refreeze stage is an important stage because in its absence, employees get confused as to the procedure to be followed due to the effects of the transition phase. It leads to a situation where there is no full capacity building and when there arises a situation requiring another change; implementation of the required changes becomes hard due to the confusion associated with the change phase. Change will as a result be perceived as for the sake of itself since people will question the integrity of the new changes if the previous changes have not yet been implemented up to the refreeze stage. Celebrating the success of the refreeze stage is important in enabling the people believe in the success of future changes, enabling them find closure and for boosting staff morale by thanking them for their endurance and corporation in the process of change (Levasseur, 2001). Besides celebrating the achievement, the manager should also ensure leadership support; adapt the structure of the organization. Create a reward system and promote feedback systems from the employees such as the use of suggestion boxes. To further, sustain and develop the changes, there is need for the organization to offer support and training services, which will help management and employees to be constantly informed. Application Lewin’s change theory has been adopted by the Institute of Safe Medication Practices in Canada through the adoption of bar coded medication in hospitals. In today’s medical care system, nurses are bombarded with the need for technological change with the aim of reducing inappropriate use of medication by the patient while in the custody of a medical care give such as a nurse (Manchester et al 2014). The medication errors are a global phenomenon with dire consequences resulting in harm, death, and loss of money estimated to be $5,000 per error. Many health care organizations have adopted the theory with the aim of understanding human behavior relating to changes/patterns of resisting change. In the unfreezing stage, the need for the implementation of a bar code system that scans medical delivery in large psychiatric facilities was established and communication was opened to include the frontline nurses, administration, managers, and the relevant stakeholders. By including the front line staff in the planning and decision-making, the nurses were able to feel a sense of empowerment regarding the issue. Discussions were held with the purpose of weeding out the restraining factors and aid in identifying the barriers to be overcome. Restraining factors were found to be staff resistance to the use of computerized devices, lack of experience in computer use, the possibility of loss of jobs, and lack of trust in the organization. The driving forces were identified as support from upper management, adequate financial support and the potential that the new system will be easy to use. In the moving stage, it involved the implementation of the bar code system in the completely organization-clinical information services, program managers, nursing, pharmacy, IT, administrators, and clinical nurse educators. There was need for effective planning because different departments would adopt the system differently which was inclusive of the employees with greater emphasis placed on the nursing staff. Other factors were considered such as the reliability of the equipment effects on workflow, organizational leadership and culture, timelines for the implementation and the appointment of a project leader. The refreezing stage is characterized by the current support for the frontline nurses and IT support to the involved stakeholders and users of the system to ensure they are comfortable. A summary of problems experienced throughout the process is being recorded for future reference. Conclusion Managing Strategic change is important to the expansion and development of all businesses. It represents the crafting science and formulates the long term and short-term initiatives that are directed to achieve the objectives of an organization. The management of the strategic change is linked to the vision and mission statement of a company. The elements constitute the main concepts that enable a business to execute some of it objectives. The strategic change of a company needs to be improved and edited so that the demands of an external environment will be attained. Therefore, change management as a concept in business is widely known and practiced but the method used to incorporate changes in a business varies from one business to another depending on the people involved, the change itself, and the nature of the business. References Levasseur, R. 2001. People Skills: Change Management Tools-Lewins Change Model. Interfaces, 71-73. Manchester, J., Gray-Miceli, D., Metcalf, J., Paolini, C., Napier, A., Coogle, C., & Owens, M. 2014. Facilitating Lewins change model with collaborative evaluation in promoting evidence based practices of health professionals. Evaluation and Program Planning, 82-90. Schein, E. 1996. Kurt Lewins Change Theory In The Field And In The Classroom: Notes Toward A Model Of Managed Learning. Systems Practice, 27-47. Goltz, S., & Hietapelto, A. 2008.Using The Operant And Strategic Contingencies Models Of Power To Understand Resistance To Change. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 3-22. Walker, D., & Tobias, A. 2007.A pragmatists perspective on models in manufacturing management: Muddles dressed as models. Strategic Change, 295-301. Bond, M. 2013. Refining Lewins formula: A general model for explaining situational influence on individual social behavior. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 1-15. Read More