Current Issues in Management - Term Paper Example

Running Head: CURRENT ISSUES IN MANAGEMENT Topic: Current Issues in Management Executive Summary The paper focuses on change management issues as some of the aspects that organizations are constantly trying to cope with. It highlights some factors that hamper the change process in organizations, which are based on the relationship between the change managers and the employees as well as the organizational stakeholders. It highlights various problem areas that are affected by failure in change management such as lack of accomplishment of organizational goals. Some approaches that can enhance change management have been highlighted. The paper focuses on Asseco SEE, which is one of the successful organizations in South Eastern Europe that operates in a highly unstable environment that requires continuous change. Some techniques that are applied by the organization in the change management process as well as some issues that are faced in the organization’s change management have been highlighted with reference to the literature. Introduction Organizations in the contemporary operating environment are more often than not faced with change management issues related with the efforts of the managers to define and integrate corporate approaches, frameworks, processes and tools that can be useful in trying to cope with the constant transformation in the business environment, which originate from external forces. This paper is a critique of the change management issues that affect organizations. The paper focuses on change management as a complex aspect of organizations that involves identifying and inspiring the adoption of new values, approaches, standards and conduct in business, which are significant for performance improvement and flexibility that allows positive change to take place. It also involves promotion of consensus among all the parties involved in the business to help in the accomplishment of organizational goals and satisfaction among the stakeholders. The change managers plan, try and oversee the processes involved in the transformation of the organization to the desired state. In essence, change management is focused on ensuring that the organization benefits from the changes occurring in its operating environment. Reviewing the literature will help in understanding change management issues in the contemporary organizations, and also to identify the steps that can be taken to help managers to be effective in change management, which on the other hand promotes the realization of organizational objectives. The literature review begins by highlighting the change management issues and their impact on organizational performance, followed by the various remedial measures that organizations can take to cope with the issues. A case study of the change management issues in Asseco SEE follows, which is a real situation demonstrating the application of the literature in practice. Change management issues Uncertainty and Lack of Information Uncertainty is one of the major issues that affect organizations whenever they make considerations of embracing change. Ivancevich et al. (2007) argues that the fact that the change mainly involves moving from an assured position to the unknown while expecting improvements may at times cause doubts to people. In many situations, business stakeholders usually prefer straightforward processes that are likely to convince them that the business is moving in the right direction. They are usually unable to endure the ambiguity involved especially if a project is expected to take long. According to Mourier & Smith (2001), when people are unable to visualize the benefits that may be derived from the change, they may not be interested in it. In other words, everyone needs to understand how the change affects the workplace routine. Uncertainty mainly affects the laggards in organizations as they tend to wait and see what the change does to others for them to embrace it. For example, change managers may be focusing on introducing new organizational systems that are meant to improve the interactions between employees and clients. They may be in form of modern communication systems that may require some induction training. When uncertainty takes over the employees, their performance may be lowered as they may be worried about the impact of the changes on their work (Chew & Choo, 2008). Others may even fear losing their jobs due to changes. Under such situations, the change managers may not accomplish their objectives, which may slow down the organization’s growth. Apart from the employees lacking understanding in regard to the vision of the change managers, issues in organizations also arise as a result of the differences in the information possessed by the change managers and the technical staff (Lines, 2004). For example, the computer specialists may possess the understanding regarding changes that are necessary in the organizational systems, which is information that the change managers may not possess. Lack of proper communication between staff and the change managers is usually a major issue that leads to the loss of opportunities to bring change to organizations. The information acquired from research and development may not be useful if there are no measures to ensure that every person in the organization is informed regarding the outcome of the research. In essence, this communication breakdown is a major issue since as Bridges (2003) observes, there can be no success when members of an organization function as individuals rather than as a group. Teamwork is significant in the accomplishment of organizational goals, and it also helps in developing strategies that accommodate the views of every person in the organization. People’s Views Regarding Change The viewpoint of the organizational employees and other stakeholders regarding change is significant in the success of change management. It is one of the major issues that change managers encounter in implementing their plans. Kotter (1996) observes that some people may be excited about changes in the organization, especially if they fully understand how the processes take place. For example, the automation of banking services was a major improvement for many financial institutions as they were able to serve a large number of people over a short time and at their convenience. This was a major marketing tool for customers chose the services of the fully automated bank. Mourier & Smith (2001) argue that in case the change managers are dealing with situations whereby it is easy to realize the benefits, the change process is likely to be successful. With people who are enthusiastic in regard to the change process, any breakdowns can easily be detected. However, organizations are frequently dealing with people who care less regarding the change process. Such people usually care less about the changes and may not make contributions or criticism to the change. According to Ivancevich et al. (2007), for change to be accomplished, the interest of the people in the entire organization is important regardless of whether the change affects them directly or indirectly. In other words, it does not help when some people deliberately fail to take note of the changes taking place due to the view that it does not concern them, with the perception that if their work continues as usual, there is no point to participate. The junior employees are usually affected by lack of concern regarding such changes. In essence, they lack ownership of the organizational strategies and view the managers as a completely different group from them. It is the lack of essential knowledge regarding the organizational objectives that makes employees to lack interest in the change process (Sherman & Garland, 2007). For example, if the employees are not convinced that their personal development is among the organizational objectives, they only work for remuneration and may not cooperate in the change process. There are people who may hamper the change process if not given a chance to air their views to the change managers. They mainly focus on the gains that they are likely to realize from the change, and usually have certain targets that they would like to accomplish if their views are considered (Lines, 2004). If managers ignore their demands, such employees may take an unnecessarily long time before accommodating the changes, which may delay success in the organization. In addition, resistance to organizational changes is a major issue that is associated with a negative attitude among members of an organization. Resistance may be passive whereby the employees fail to acknowledge the use of the new procedures and systems without the knowledge of the change managers. On the other hand, it may be active whereby the employees refuse to use the new procedures openly with various reasons that they perceive to have a negative impact (Sherman & Garland, 2007). In other words, they consider the benefits that they can derive from the changes and the negative aspects, thereby resisting the changes. The change process can not be accomplished with such drawbacks. The views of the change managers regarding the change process may also act as barriers to the accomplishment of change. Bridges (2003) argues that managers make the mistake of forcing the changes to give the results that they expect, rather than allowing the change to yield even the unexpected. In other words, if the process does not result in what the managers would like to see, it is thought to be a failure. This prevents the management from exploring new opportunities presented by the changes. Moreover, when a problem arises, there is usually a problem trying to make out the fundamental cause of the problem mainly because the change managers are concerned with a restricted extent of analyzing the problem based on their expectations. With such kind of approach to problems, the managers tend to lean on one side of the problem thereby ignoring some of the important aspects; hence the organizational goals can not be accomplished (Bennett & Durkin, 2000). Failure to use different approaches towards problem solving leaves some of them concealed, making them permanent in the change process. Bridges (2003) observes that the information obtained in the change management needs to be analyzed and sorted out to distinguish between the vital information from the irrelevant. Failure of the change managers to make out the difference in such information leads to the presence of surplus data that makes the tasks even more difficult. Such situations cause exhaustion and low morale in implementing the organizational activities, and the change process may be abandoned before the change management goals are accomplished. On the other hand, there is a tendency for managers and data collection staff to make assumptions that they collect all the information that can be accessed while they do not. In other words, improper judgment regarding the information received by the change managers leaves substantial information that might be useful to the management unexploited. The change managers can not exploit the full potential of the information that is obtainable (Lines, 2004). Failures occurring from the inability of the organizational processes to provide the necessary information required for evaluation and assessment is therefore a major issue facing change management in organizations. A major issue that affects the success of change management is the management and the staffs’ understanding of the situation that necessitates change in the organization. In other words, sometimes changes are implemented without a clear knowledge of the reasons why they are needed in the organization. Bridges (2003) observes that organizational strategies need to be focused on specialized needs to transform the organization from the status quo to a better state in future. It is therefore pointless when the change management is not based on a particular need, meaning that the resources sacrificed for change may as well have been reserved for future needs. On the other hand, visionary leaders are sometimes faced with drawbacks in convincing the stakeholders that the change is essential. When analyzing the need for change, failure to involve them leads to misunderstanding since they tend to view it afterwards as a process imposed on them by the management. It generates a negative perception regarding the change process, which may lead to failures in the accomplishment of the overall goal. There is also the perception by the change managers that the decision they settle on is enough for change to be accomplished. They fail to take in to consideration the fact that there are many alternative solutions that can help in solving a number of issues in the organization. Without choosing from a number of available alternatives, the change managers may lose important opportunities for the change process (Bennett & Durkin, 2000). Moreover, the transformation needs to take place in a steady pace to allow the staff to acquire the necessary skills to utilize the new systems. Approaches to Effective Change Management It is important for change managers to be open for new ideas that may be significant in the change process, which encourages all the stakeholders involved to participate and own the organizational objectives, thereby making it possible for the change managers to accomplish their tasks. Kotter (1996) observes that change management also requires that the important decisions be defended from denunciation by other players who might not be informed or whose interest might only be focused on resisting change irrationally. If change managers allow new ideas to be dismissed in such a manner, there can be no progress. However, while defending the ideas against criticism, it is important to consider the suggestions of others who might have a different perspective in regard to approaching change. For example, technical personnel who understand the organizational systems better can offer essential advice regarding the necessary changes that are beneficial. Flexibility in decision making is important for change to be accomplished. In other words, change managers need to disregard the manner in which they have always approached matters related with decision making. They need to allow flexible practices that broaden their scope of thinking, which allows them to identify new opportunities and methods of working. Rigidity in decision making hampers innovativeness in organizations since they do not open up to change (Szamosi & Duxbury, 2002). In other words, organizational culture is important in determining the success of the change process. It may hinder or promote change and therefore change managers should be keen on maintaining a culture of flexibility in organizational decision making. Promotion of flexible working is also important to ensure that the employees are aware that the typical procedures followed in the workplace can be changed at the realization of any opportunity for improvement, which is significant in avoiding resistance to change among the organizational staff. According to Ivancevich et al. (2007), successful change management involves learning from past experiences. The change managers can use examples of situations where they failed in the past and apply the knowledge to avoid undesirable occurrences in the change process. In choosing the approach towards implementing new ideas, it is important to keep focused on the positive aspects instead of looking at the possibilities of encountering difficulties in the implementation process. Focusing on potential difficulties leads to undesirable pessimism that may hamper progress. Risks also need to be shared by forming strong partnerships that are also significant in developing new ideas (Szamosi & Duxbury, 2002). Change Management Issues in Asseco SEE Asseco SEE is one of the most successful firms in South-Eastern Europe in regard to change management. It deals with a rapidly developing industry where new inventions are continuously replacing the old technologies. The change managers have to be on the look out for new software that may offer better services to clients. The firm deals with software as well as provision of services to clients and therefore to maintain the market share and competitiveness in the industry, the firm needs to maintain a strong system for managing change. Dealing in software requires the presence of a secure and straightforward method of managing the organizational activities. The organization manages its change management process through various managers who specialize in their activities, such as the configuration manager who deals with issues related with operational issues, IS manager who mainly deals with issues of the information systems and also a manager who deals with development issues among others. Generally, all the managers play a major role in change management although there is a change manager who approves changes to the technical managers. Without such co-ordination, the organization can not accomplish its change management objectives (Dannemiller Tyson Associates, 2000). The major issues faced by the organization in regard to change management mainly result from the high frequency of changes as a result of technological advancement, which have to be checked to ensure that they are cost saving and while on the other hand maintaining effectiveness in the organizational processes. Kotter (1996) argues that when organizations operate in highly volatile environments, change management becomes a major aspect for the managers to focus on for if there are no constant checks, the process may result in unnecessary losses. The personnel in Asseco usually work as a team with each of them ensuring that his/her department is represented in the change process. Collaboration and partnerships are usually significant in maintaining competitiveness in the industry. This is because the number of firms providing information systems and technology continue to increase, thereby increasing competition and as Ivancevich et al. (2007) observes, the advantage of partnership is the fact that rather than competing, organizations tend to work together to accomplish a common goal or to create barriers to entry in to the industry for emerging firms. Change management in Asseco therefore integrates employees and other stakeholders for a successful change process. This approach has been significant in the maintenance of competitiveness of the company since its inception in 2007. For example the collaboration between Asseco and ACSC helps the organization to deal with its change management issues and also making it possible for the change manager to identify and respond to the highly unstable operating environment. The collaboration is also significant in the change management and decision making process. Conclusion Change management is a major issue facing organizations in the contemporary operating environment. Uncertainty among the staff members may hamper change in organizations, hence the benefits of change need to be clear to all, so that the change managers can draw the interest of all stake holders. Change management may fail as a result of lack of proper communication between the change managers and the technical staff which is an indicator of lack of team work in the change process. The employees and other stakeholders need to be integrated in the change process for success to be accomplished. Change managers may face resistance to change by people who may be disenchanted by the change while on the other hand the change managers may fail to succeed by not evaluating all the available alternative approaches to the change process. Solutions to major drawbacks may not be accomplished if the managers narrow down to a few ideas. Instead, all organizational aspects need to be put in to consideration in decision making. All the available information needs to be accessed by the decision makers for strategies for change to be made based on a broad perspective. The managers also need to defend the change decisions from critics while on the other hand they should be flexible to accommodate new ideas. It is also necessary to learn from experience for success in future organizational changes, and also engage in meaningful collaboration that is significant in risk sharing. Asseco SEE manages change through coordination of all the organization’s departments, and also uses collaboration as a major tool for maintaining competitiveness. The highly volatile operating environment makes change management a complex process for Asseco. Teamwork has helped the organization to accomplish success in change management and also in decision making. References Bennett, H. & Durkin, M. 2000. The effects of organizational change on employee psychological attachment. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 15, 1, pp 126-147 Bridges, W. 2003. Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, 2nd edition Da Capo Press. Chew, Y. T. & Choo, S. M. 2008. A study of change management and challenges in a bank, Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, 16, 2, pp 100-118. Dannemiller Tyson Associates, 2000. Whole-Scale Change: Unleashing the Magic in Organizations, Berrett-Koehler Publishers Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R. & Matteson, M. (2007). Organizational Behavior and Management, McGraw-Hill/Irwin Kotter, J. P. 1996. Leading Change, 1st edition, Harvard Business Press. Lines, R. 2004. Influence of participation in strategic change: resistance, organizational commitment and change goal achievement. Journal of Change Management, 4, 3, pp 193-377 Mourier, P. & Smith, M. R. 2001. Conquering Organizational Change: How to Succeed Where Most Companies Fail, Project Management Institute Sherman, W. &. Garland, G. E. 2007. Where to bury the survivors? Exploring possible ex post effects of resistance to change, Sam Advanced Management Journal, Vol. 72, 1 pp 52-62 Szamosi, L. T. & Duxbury, L. 2002. Development of a measure to assess organizational change, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 15, 2, pp 184-201 Read More