Making Sense of Change Management - Assignment Example

1. “Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge through experience which leads to an enduring change in behavior” (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2010). Explain this statement, showing how it relates to a learning theory and to your own approach to learning. Youth today lives in a world of intense competition, where, education, learning and experience together when come under one umbrella can have a drastic transformation in an individual’s personality. The thought can be well versed in clear meanings when the change takes place in one’s life through practical application of knowledge in either personal or professional world. The terminology that strikes the mind in relation to behavioral change is Personal Development. The development of potential capabilities, recognition of goals and targets, improving standard of living, and developing economically, personally and professionally all are the characteristics that defines personal development. While an individual works towards the development of his/her behaviors, they consciously or unconsciously may act as a guide or role model for the enhancement of others’ personality as well. In this context, the role of an individual can be of a teacher, coach, trainer, or instructor. An organization can work towards the development of employees’ performance through diverse processes of evaluations, monitoring of work and feedback system. To evaluate if the change has occurred or not, whether it be personal or institutional, a person needs to design specific visions and outline an agenda for the achievement of aims, as a person is his/her own boss (Rose, 2008). Learning is an essential component in human’s life as it continues since the time of birth until the death. With the passage of time, the person notices a changing trend in his behavior, which initiates from schooling and moves ahead to his professional phase. Throughout his learning journey, one comes across many people with different backgrounds and experiences that influence his performance by a great deal. This can either inspire or encourage an individual to move towards his goals with determination or can leave de-motivating impact that may lead to decline and poor quality of his learning. Motivation is one of the fundamental aspects that lead to increase in possibility of positive learning. Reward is amongst the best examples of motivating one towards achieving his targets because it is human psychology that wherever a person finds a chance of gains, his work efficiency increases by a historic proportion. Constant guidance from senior workers and feedback on the quality of the work presented assists in gaining experience because they act as an expertise in the particular field (Rose, 2008). In view of some scholars, learning is “the process leading to relatively permanent behavioral change or potential behavioral change” (Cotton, 1995). Learning enables humankind to respond to the activities happening in the surroundings. In relation to it, learning also effects one’s perception about the issues due to the reason that it provides with quality information that gives us the knowledge to differentiate between right and wrong. Researchers (Rose, 2008) who have studied the impacts of learning on human behavior termed it as Behaviorism. The learning or a skill that a person attains through any kind of experience, commonly referred as experiential learning is crucial and critical for change in behaviorism. Every individual has its own niche in the society for which a person works according to his approach and behavior that may have a positive or adverse influence on others’ behaviors. Moreover, the above discussion is justifiable by a real case scenario that has an enduring impact on my life. Initially, I was a person that used to leave a bad influence on my surroundings along with a non-earnest attitude towards work and life. I used to mess around with others and did not pay any attention as to what opinion people had of me. Even my strong educational background was not able to leave any positive imprint on my behavior as my circle of friends who were famous for their non-conduct, left an appalling impact on me. As time passed by, my professional environment brought a dramatic change in my behavior. The surroundings of the workplace highly motivated me and convinced me to become a focused and responsible person. In addition, the organization played a significant role in facilitating me to transform my behavior. The management team not only introduced me with the business culture, but also made sure that I adopts and follow the norms of the culture. Furthermore, personal grooming sessions were conducted which helped me realize that change is necessary. I got opportunities that gave me a chance to prove my skills and capabilities and developed responsible attitude in me. As an outcome to all the highlighted episodes, extensive knowledge and experience that I gained, helped me in presenting a new behavioral change in me. Human psychology is one of a complicated thing to understand, however, all the aspects related to human behavior including how and why it changes is more complex to comprehend. The results of the researches conducted by the professionals, many of the practices that have come into identification have foreseen long lasting positive changes in the behavior of an individual, which have begotten from the learning and experiences. 2. Why would managers want to change employees’ attitudes? Comment on the approach you might take as a manager, giving reasons. In today’s time when the globe is confronting unprecedented economic meltdown, organizations are constantly putting in effort to restore its economic position before recession phase was in experience. The above statement reflects the fact that organizations are in need of a constant change whether it relates to business rules and policies or the approach of the employees. When one talks about this, the term that comes into focus is Change Management. In particular, “change Management is an organized, systematic application of the knowledge, tools, and resources of change that provides organizations with a key process to achieve their business strategy” (A. Paton & McCalman, 2008). Change Management plays a vital and crucial role for a business due to the reason that people often hesitate to accept change whether it is a new process, technology, business rules and policies, or structure. Furthermore, change management is equally affecting all sectors of commerce including government, private and non-profit organizations. Due to the rapid growth in technology, organizations are adopting and implementing innovative systems to enhance their productivity that may beget the success of the business. The process of change management not only entails planning and implementation of the change but the employees’ participation in accepting the change is similarly essential. The time when the company battles with the crises, the change is inevitable for either a proportion or the entire organization. In all circumstances of change management, whether it is an implementation of a new system or change in policies, the drastically affected stakeholders would be its employees. The changes would bring the fair share of blessings and adversities to the organization. A change can be conducive to success when the organization adopts it with seriousness and execute an on-going practice to the change. On the other hand, strong oppositions of employees are apparent when they are unaware concerning the reason of change, which could lead to collapse (Cameron & Green, 2004). One of the major aspects that need consideration is the rationale for brining in the change management. It has been an observation that the problem arises when employees demonstrates a non-serious approach towards their job responsibilities and do not consider them to be accountable for their mishaps. Coupled to it, due to unhealthy competition, the employees are not faithful to their co-workers and team members, which create a haphazard and unmanageable outcome of their jobs and tasks. In view of the same context, the time of recession has brought a constant dread to the employees of losing the jobs that has affected their work quality in an inefficient way. All of the mentioned factors lead to decline, creating a bad image and inadequate production by the company resulting in dissatisfaction of its customers, consequently the change is inescapable (A. Paton & McCalman, 2008). Some schools of thoughts believe that employees should be involved while putting the change into practice rather than compelling them to accept it. Involvement of employees in setting a change is of prime importance, rather than coercing change management on them. The sole responsibility of bringing the change within the organization rests on the shoulders of the people of executive level, therefore, they should bring it in such a way that their employees could move ahead with them in a positive and productive way. In addition, it is the core responsibility of the manager to convey the importance and significance of implementing the change in such a way that employees accept it since they are the fundamental assets to the organization and success or failure are the factors that depends on their work behaviors (Cameron & Green, 2004). The approach that reinforces change management requires strategic planning that comes under the umbrella of manager’s tasks. If I would have been the manager, I should have let the employees be acquainted to the details about their job responsibilities and roles at the time of orientation. In addition, I would also ensure them that their performance is of paramount importance to the organization. To make the employees feel privileged and trustworthy, and to gain respect from them, it is vital to share specific information about the company. I would have had a periodic evaluation of employees’ attitude and factors that have an impact on their work. I will keep a clear picture in front of the employee about their unconstructive behavior and will present an idea about the way the outcome is affected. In contrast to it, I would give ears to the concerns that the employees have in the workplace. Moreover, a practice of one to one communication with the subordinate would have been my approach to exchange the ideas about his/her performance and express the thought to help him/her progress. I would also discuss the observations specifically in relation to their attitude and get an action plan from them for their development. Lastly, I will get the feedbacks from the other team members in accordance with any change in the attitude and behavior of the employee with issues and let the employee know about the verdict. (A. Paton & McCalman, 2008) In concluding my discussion, I would like to highlight the fact that change in any organization is one of necessary components in present time where everything is powering ahead at a phenomenal pace. Although not everyone welcome change wholeheartedly, yet, it is fundamental for the company to flourish. 3. Choose FOUR barriers to communication that you have studied on this module. Suggest, as a manager, how you might overcome such barriers. Since the existence of the earth, communication is one of the fundamental means of interaction. The most primitive communication method used, which dates back to Stone Age comprised of cave paintings and carvings. Later on, this method became outdated; instead, speech evolved as a mode of communication, which later on presented into black and white. Centuries later, technological boom allowed telegraph technology to transmit messages over thousands of miles. Nowadays, communication has made human’s life much improved as the information from around the world can reach multitudes without any difficulty via television. With the advancement in technology, referred to as Internet, transfer and exchange of communication has gone beyond the limits as it provides a dual way of sharing the information. In view of generalists, Communication is “a process of transferring information from one entity to another” (Guffey et al., 2006). Therefore, it is a network consisting of a sender, a message, and a recipient, which completes the communication circuit. With communication comes a bundle of barriers. Communications barriers occur when individuals have wrong insight of the phenomenon, thus, entail an adverse effect on the organizations. There are innumerable barriers of communication, out of which a few will come in discussion. The world comprises of heterogeneous collection of social backgrounds, languages, religions, and races. This diversity dominates every facet of human society. Therefore, the first barrier that is of immense concern is, Language Barrier. When a sender fails to convey the message in an appropriate language, the receiver faces difficulty in understanding the message, thus, it results in confusion and the receiver is unable to comprehend the idea presented in the sent message. The misconception arises when both the sender and the receiver are unaware of each other’s native languages and expressions. It is a matter of benefit internationally if the sender knows the language of receiver and vice versa, as it makes the communication effective and overcome the language barrier (Hogan & Stubbs, 2003). The world population has branched themselves into smaller groups and societies. Each society has its set of norms, values, and traditions that they follow, preferably known as Culture. Culture is another significant barrier that has the possibility to raise the communication dilemma. It is an arduous job to communicate with people of diverse cultures, as culture governs the vision, beliefs, thoughts, and actions. Two individuals with different cultures will have different perspectives on a particular subject. Therefore, the cultural barrier comes into play when translation is required between the two languages of the culture (Hogan & Stubbs, 2003). Since the world came into existence, the enormity that has an effect on almost every faction of society is Gender discrimination, which is also one of the communication barriers. According to an observation, invasion of women in business community has led to men and women work in association, which has inclined to several problems. This barrier has come to an ascend due to the fact that both genders have different approaches to communication as directed by the nature, which makes them feel awkward to work in co-relation in the work environment (Hogan & Stubbs, 2003). While talking about communication barriers in a corporate world, another aspect that worth sky-high is the Physical barrier. This barrier comes into picture when the business units of an organization are not under one roof, or are confronting the environmental hazards. This means that if the two units are functioning in different premises, conventional technologies fail to build the bridge between them, thus hindering the working quality within the organization. Elaborating the effect of environmental deterioration on the working condition, it disrupts the attention of the staff obstructing their work efficiency (Hogan & Stubbs, 2003). As few major communication barriers have been in discussion earlier, solutions to overcome those will be in limelight. While talking about the language barrier, it is advisable that use of a language shall be in such a manner that portrays clear and appropriate terms to convey the message. In addition, the language should aim to present the descriptions rather than judgmental statements. Therefore, I would suggest as a manager to have a survey analysis for my team members to investigate the level of training for the language barrier required. After the compilation of the results, a proper course of trainings shall be in practice. Taking into consideration, to overcome the cultural barrier one should be cognizant of the cultural values and background of the others while making them aware of the environment of the workplace. Being the manager, I would make the new employee comfortable by introducing the cultural surroundings of the company, as well as social gatherings would take place often in order to make employees comprehend the norms and values of the work place intensely. Talking about the third barrier, gender barrier is important to overcome due to the reason that favoritism of one-gender leads to the assertion of rights of the other gender, therefore, I would make sure that gender discrimination do not hinder at the recruitment time and employees are hired on the basis of their qualifications and experiences instead of gender. Same policies would be applied when salaries and rights at the work place is considered. Lastly, to eliminate the physical barrier, I would upgrade the outdated systems that interrupt the well functioning of the company by introducing advanced technologies that even cuts down the poor quality of noises that exists. A closer look around the corporate world draws an attention to an opinion that effective communications have many barriers. Despite of these enormities and problems, people compromise with them for the survival in the business community, as at the end of the day they are the breadwinners for their families. 4. Create a formal letter applying for a job as assistant manager in a company and sector of your choice. Attach your CV and link it to the application wherever possible. To, The Director, Human Resource Department, [Company name], [City, Country]. Dear Sir/Madam, With reference to, the advertisement placed in XXX dated XXX; I would like to submit an application for the position of Assistant Manager, Human Resource Management. My educational background, qualifications, experience, and career interests make me a strong candidate to acquire a position in your internationally recognized, dynamic, and esteemed organization. As the position demands, I am a post-graduate form XXX University, enclosed my resume noticeably classify my course of studies and highlights my majors, which includes business communication, administration, and human resource management. The other aspect of my resume will give you a detail idea about my experience in the professional world. I have been in the world of commerce for the past XX years particularly in the field of human resource. I started as a HR recruiter where I got a valuable chance to enhance my skills in dealing with people. I even got the opportunity to work in other sub-departments of HR through which I acquired the experience of Compensation & Benefits that includes the duties of analyzing, creating and modifying policies, as well as working on monthly wages of employees. Training & development, Performance Management was also a part of my career practice where employees loop holes were identified and trainings were organized for them in order to have greater performance for future. Lastly, I got involved in Career Planning and Policy & Rules Management where HR policies and guidelines were developed and updated as per company’s requirements and demands. However, lastly I have gained invaluable experience in management positions since XX years, where I have widen my skills specifically in team management, working under pressure and meeting deadlines, counseling, and providing guidance and assistance to its team members, to resolve conflicts between employees, monitoring of employees to ensure that they turn out to be high performers. I am confident that my potentials will contribute positively, efficiently and effectively to the growth of your concern, and provide me with such an environment that is challenging for me, while endorsing my interest, skills, and knowledge. If the company wishes to have an interview with me, kindly call at 0000-0000 as I will be available at your convenience. Thank you for the consideration. I am looking forward for positive response from your company. Sincerely, [Signature] [Name] Enclosure: Attached is my resume that will elucidate my accomplishments in detail References A. Paton, Robert, McCalman, James. (2008). Change Management: A Guide to Effective Implementation. SAGE Publications. Ltd. Cameron, Esther, Green, Mike. (2004). Making sense of Change Management. Kogan Page Limited. Cotton, Julie. (1995). the theory of Learning: an Introduction. Education Guffey, Mary Ellen, Rogin, Patricia, Rhodes, Kathleen. (2006). Business Communication: Process and Product. Nelson Education Ltd. Hogan, Kevin, Stubbs, Ron. (2003). Can't Get Through: 8 Barriers to Communication. Pelican Publishing Company, Inc Rose, Chris. (2008). The Personal Development Group: The Student's Guide. Karnac Books Ltd. Read More