Leadership as a Key to Successful Organizational Change - Case Study Example

Table of Contents Introduction 4 Leadership can be described as a process of influence in the society that enables one to support and aid others in achievement of particular common goals or tasks. Generally, leadership is the source of change in an organization. According to the behavioral theory, leaders are not born rather leaders are prepared by learning. Since a leader is responsible for motivating employees, Leadership skills are important in motivating employees or people towards the achievement of a main goal. Kotter (2003) says that leaders are the vehicles of change in the incremental theory which describes eight stages through which leaders go to ensure positive change. The Organization change has been due to the need for the organization to adapt to the environmental changes. Main changes of organization include rapid advancement of information technology, change in the quality and value of money, decentralization, flatter structures and downsizing as explained by Rowland & Higgs (2009, p. 59). Hay Mcbler’s transformational theory of organizational change describes change as using new approaches of achieving outcomes. 4 According to Jex (2002, p 443) the capability of managing change in order to meet shareholders need and wants depends on the managers and leaders in an organization. A good leader must have good communication skills in order to ensure good flow of information. In a case shown by Birch and Paul (2003, p.151), is that of a division in an electrical company. The leaders of the electrical company embarked on organizational change based on nonorganic elements without consideration of employees’ elements such as communication and culture. The change never took off because the employees did not support the course for change since the management did not consider their needs. It is important to note that the lack of support of employees’ issues in organizational change can lead the failure of leaders implementing change in the organization. In this paper, the analysis of leadership for change will be based on the leadership skills for change such as communication skills, team building skills, environmental scanning, and adaptation skills such as analytical and listening skills, team-building skills such as motivational skills. Leaders need to be analytical to the environmental surroundings so that the can ensure that their organizations are able to survive in the business environment. Therefore, the leaders must be the champions of change in the organization. The analysis of the role of leaders in the process of change will show that leaders are critical in the process of change and without them complete success of the process of change is not possible as explained by Birch and Paul (2003, p.155). 4 Leadership Skills for Change 5 As demonstrated by Amado (2001, p. 25), transformational theory of leadership describes the skills of leadership as the abilities of a leader which enables him to promote capacity development among his followers. The aim of transformation leadership is therefore to bring change through ensuring that employees of an organization are committed to the set objectives. 5 Jex (2002, 438), states that the behavioral theory states that leaders are as a result of learning and leaders are not born as stipulated by the great man theories of leadership. The leadership skills should enable the leaders to plan develops strategies for change, and implements change. Leaders should be imaginative and innovative in applying models and technology for organizational change. The leaders must have models, application of the necessary technology, and ideas. The two most important factors that contribute to change are the technology and globalization and require flexibility and adaptive skills to cope with the changes. According to Chew (2006, p.64), the leaders must possess skills to analyze the needs of the organization and innovate ways of fulfilling these needs. The other skill necessary for change is the ability of the leaders to perform their duties professionally. The leaders should perform their duties with due diligence taking in to consideration the mission, vision, and objectives of change in the organization. The leaders provide development and training for the employees in order to adapt change. The leaders should be able to develop and train workforce in order to ensure flawless in delivering value to the demand made by the customers. Change requires the employees to acquire new skills in completing tasks that have been changed. The leaders should organize seminars and training workshops to help the employees acquire new skills. The leaders for change must possess the skills to collaborate and work as a team. Positive transformation in an organization is made possible is leaders are able to respond effectively to change. Moreover the leader must motivate the employees so that they contribute in effecting the change as illustrated by Chew (2006, p. 61). 6 The main factor that affects the rate of change process in an organization is the response of leaders to change. Good leadership is accompanied by the technical leadership skills provided by the information technology in an organization. The conceptual theory of leadership has taken leaders as the owners of the pacesetters of information processing and understanding. Therefore, all the leaders in an organization should have the technical knowhow of an organization regardless of change in technology as explained by Birch and Paul (2003, p.154). 7 An example of the leadership failure to be sensitive of diversity and competition is illustrated by Birch and Paul (2003, p.152) with reference to the case history of Apple Computer Company, the management decided to downsize their employees in 1998. The reason for downsizing was to minimize costs. The results of downsizing employees saw the company face leadership stress, as the employees who were left were less motivated to work for the fear of losing their jobs. The employees who were fired went with their ideas to other computer company, which developed massive competition against the Apple Company. The leadership of Apple at that period faced irreparable damage. 7 Leaders as Organizational Change Champions 7 Role of leaders in driving change 9 Leaders, Change, and Performance 10 Conclusion 11 Bibliography 12 Amado, G 2001, “The Transitional Approach to Change”, 2 Ed, London: H. Karnac Books Ltd, pp. 10-29 12  Birch, C and Paul, D 2003, Life and work: Challenging Economic Man. Sydney: University of South Wales Press Ltd, pp. 150-154 12  Carter, L., Ulrich, D and Goldsm M, 2005, Best practices in leadership development and organization change: how the Best Companies ensure Meaningful change and sustainable Leadership. Mason, OH: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 129-134 13 Rowland, D., and Higgs, M 2009, Sustaining Change: Leadership That Works. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley &Sons, pp. 52-59 13 Leadership as a Key to Successful Organizational Change Introduction Leadership can be described as a process of influence in the society that enables one to support and aid others in achievement of particular common goals or tasks. Generally, leadership is the source of change in an organization. According to the behavioral theory, leaders are not born rather leaders are prepared by learning. Since a leader is responsible for motivating employees, Leadership skills are important in motivating employees or people towards the achievement of a main goal. Kotter (2003) says that leaders are the vehicles of change in the incremental theory which describes eight stages through which leaders go to ensure positive change. The Organization change has been due to the need for the organization to adapt to the environmental changes. Main changes of organization include rapid advancement of information technology, change in the quality and value of money, decentralization, flatter structures and downsizing as explained by Rowland & Higgs (2009, p. 59). Hay Mcbler’s transformational theory of organizational change describes change as using new approaches of achieving outcomes. According to Jex (2002, p 443) the capability of managing change in order to meet shareholders need and wants depends on the managers and leaders in an organization. A good leader must have good communication skills in order to ensure good flow of information. In a case shown by Birch and Paul (2003, p.151), is that of a division in an electrical company. The leaders of the electrical company embarked on organizational change based on nonorganic elements without consideration of employees’ elements such as communication and culture. The change never took off because the employees did not support the course for change since the management did not consider their needs. It is important to note that the lack of support of employees’ issues in organizational change can lead the failure of leaders implementing change in the organization. In this paper, the analysis of leadership for change will be based on the leadership skills for change such as communication skills, team building skills, environmental scanning, and adaptation skills such as analytical and listening skills, team-building skills such as motivational skills. Leaders need to be analytical to the environmental surroundings so that the can ensure that their organizations are able to survive in the business environment. Therefore, the leaders must be the champions of change in the organization. The analysis of the role of leaders in the process of change will show that leaders are critical in the process of change and without them complete success of the process of change is not possible as explained by Birch and Paul (2003, p.155). Leadership Skills for Change As demonstrated by Amado (2001, p. 25), transformational theory of leadership describes the skills of leadership as the abilities of a leader which enables him to promote capacity development among his followers. The aim of transformation leadership is therefore to bring change through ensuring that employees of an organization are committed to the set objectives. Jex (2002, 438), states that the behavioral theory states that leaders are as a result of learning and leaders are not born as stipulated by the great man theories of leadership. The leadership skills should enable the leaders to plan develops strategies for change, and implements change. Leaders should be imaginative and innovative in applying models and technology for organizational change. The leaders must have models, application of the necessary technology, and ideas. The two most important factors that contribute to change are the technology and globalization and require flexibility and adaptive skills to cope with the changes. According to Chew (2006, p.64), the leaders must possess skills to analyze the needs of the organization and innovate ways of fulfilling these needs. The other skill necessary for change is the ability of the leaders to perform their duties professionally. The leaders should perform their duties with due diligence taking in to consideration the mission, vision, and objectives of change in the organization. The leaders provide development and training for the employees in order to adapt change. The leaders should be able to develop and train workforce in order to ensure flawless in delivering value to the demand made by the customers. Change requires the employees to acquire new skills in completing tasks that have been changed. The leaders should organize seminars and training workshops to help the employees acquire new skills. The leaders for change must possess the skills to collaborate and work as a team. Positive transformation in an organization is made possible is leaders are able to respond effectively to change. Moreover the leader must motivate the employees so that they contribute in effecting the change as illustrated by Chew (2006, p. 61). The main factor that affects the rate of change process in an organization is the response of leaders to change. Good leadership is accompanied by the technical leadership skills provided by the information technology in an organization. The conceptual theory of leadership has taken leaders as the owners of the pacesetters of information processing and understanding. Therefore, all the leaders in an organization should have the technical knowhow of an organization regardless of change in technology as explained by Birch and Paul (2003, p.154). An example of the leadership failure to be sensitive of diversity and competition is illustrated by Birch and Paul (2003, p.152) with reference to the case history of Apple Computer Company, the management decided to downsize their employees in 1998. The reason for downsizing was to minimize costs. The results of downsizing employees saw the company face leadership stress, as the employees who were left were less motivated to work for the fear of losing their jobs. The employees who were fired went with their ideas to other computer company, which developed massive competition against the Apple Company. The leadership of Apple at that period faced irreparable damage. Leaders as Organizational Change Champions In the case presented by Chew (2006, p 62-63) of Melbourne Restaurant Industry shows that manager’s actions have an impact on the process of organizational change. Chew and partners conducted a study on the role of managers in overseeing the implementation of change in the organization. The research found out that managers are the ones who carry out actions of change and the employees follows the leaders in adopting and accepting change. The research found out that the communication between the leaders and the employees promoted positive attitude and perception of change by looking at the actions done by the managers in a work environment. Managers should be proactive in determining employees’ reaction to change in the organization. When employees are resistant to change, conflicts in work place constantly arise among managers and employees. Leaders should be able to understand the employee’s willingness and acceptance to support and apply change in order to reduce employee turnover and bad customer reception. Motivation and continuous improvement of the work environment will always provide a room for organizational change (Ellinger 1999, p. 12) According to Kotter (2003, p. 107), the incremental theory of organizational change demonstrates that leaders become champions of organizational change by going through eight major stages. The leaders must first create a sense of emergency and then provide guidelines before developing a strategy and vision for change. The change is then communicated by the leader before empowering employee action. The incremental change is then made possible through generating wins which lead to more change and finally consolidating the change in the culture of the organization. In an interview with BBC Top CEOs in 2001, Jim Clemmer the then CEO of the Clemmer Group stated that leaders are especially the middle level managers. The middle level managers are the leaders who mostly interact with the employees and are involved in the day-to-day activity management of an organization. The skills approach of the trait theory explains that the middle level managers have the conceptual and the human capital skills for dealing with the employees. The middle level managers also have the technical skills required in the completion of every activity in their area of specification. Clemmer further stated that senior and middle level managers grasp the power for balanced implementation of change and without the commitment of leaders the best plans for the organization are headed for failure. Managers hold their positions because the stakeholders feel that they have the necessary leadership skills for leading an organization. According to Amado (2001, p.11), the employees in an organization require an authority figure to guide them in performing their activities. Role of leaders in driving change According to Rowland & Higgs (2009, 52), the role of leaders in an organization is analyzing the need of change for the organization. Rowland& Higgs (2009, 53), insist that the leaders as the champions of change once they recognized change they should communicate the needs to the employees. The leaders also need to provide objectives and reasons for the proposed change. The leaders need to create an atmosphere or environment in the organization to promote change adoption. The leaders are responsible for defining and initiating change. The leaders have to identify the advantage are for change in the process activities and workforce behaviors and habits. Such habits can only be achieved through participative theory of leadership where leaders are involved in the performance of an activity but they have the final say. The leaders are responsible for translating the vision or mission of an organization to reflect change. The leader specifies the specific initiatives to promote change and makes these initiatives known to the whole organization. Carter, Ulrich and Goldsm (2005, p. 129) says that leaders are responsible for directing the organization towards opportunity windows and managing activities that require complex change process. Amado (2001, p.22) asserts that leaders should use their skills, knowledge and experience to motivate change based on the background of the organization. A research conducted by PriceWaterhouse Coopers in 2002, showed that leaders in the organization initiate the management of employee’s performance. Jex (2002, p. 443) states that the organizational leaders are the main developers of an organizational strategies, missions and culture. The organizational leaders are involved in making procedures and internal policies in order for the organization to adapt to the external environment. Since organization change involves work systems and processes, the leaders have the last say in the work system and processes. In one case, office managers stated that if it were not for the delay caused by office management software known as Sap, they would have completed their report. The office manager stated that he was ready to roll up his sleeves and manually work on the report with the employees. This case shows that the leaders are well aware of the work systems and processes. The leaders are involved in training their staff on job specification and responsibilities as explained by Amado (2001, p. 25). Leaders, Change, and Performance According to Rowland & Higgs (2009, 58), the performance of the organization is always tribute to the leaders. Whenever an organization does not perform well it is the leaders in the organization are always blamed for the failure. The leaders have a role to play in motivating employees and encouraging them to grow. The relations between the leaders and employees are important in the process of change. Looking at the above case of Apple Company, lack of the leaders to motivate employees led to poor performance. The poor performance by the apple company in that year almost leads to the collapse of the company. The leaders should be able to form teams and coalitions that promote performance in the organization as well as change. The contingency theory and the participative theory encourage leaders to involve themselves in the process day-to-day activities of the employees. Ellinger (1999, p. 12) says that the middle level managers should participate with the employees in their day-to-day activities to monitor employee behaviors and points that need change for effective performance. The leaders are responsible for challenging the status quo by making an ideal vision for change. Conclusion The promotion, development, and selection of an organizational manager should be based on the ability of an individual to create, facilitate coaching and learning of employees. The organizational leaders should be able to encourage and facilitate continuous improvement in organizational operations and process innovation. Transformational theory of organizational change guides leaders to make a positive transformation in their organization. The incremental theory of change provides for progressive growth of an organization. Contingency, participative, and path goal theories also describe organizational change. Transformational leadership theory brings out leaders as leaders who are lifelong learners, agents of change, value driven leaders, visionaries, courageous and believers of individual improvements. A transformational leader will be able to influence his employees or followers because the leaders have to act as role models for the employees or followers. The biggest challenge for leaders in the process of change is resistance from employees. The recommendation for leaders who want to successfully experience the smooth flow of change in their organization is to carry out the guidelines stipulated by the transformational leadership theory. Bibliography Amado, G 2001, “The Transitional Approach to Change”, 2 Ed, London: H. Karnac Books Ltd, pp. 10-29  Birch, C and Paul, D 2003, Life and work: Challenging Economic Man. Sydney: University of South Wales Press Ltd, pp. 150-154  Carter, L., Ulrich, D and Goldsm M, 2005, Best practices in leadership development and organization change: how the Best Companies ensure Meaningful change and sustainable Leadership. Mason, OH: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 129-134 Chew, M 2006, Implementing Organizational Change: Case of the Restaurant Industry in Melbourne. Journal of Global Business and Technology Volume 2(1), pp. 62-63 Ellinger, D.A, Watkins ,E. K., and Bostrom, P 1999 .Human Resource Development, pp. 12-13 Jex, M 2002, Organizational psychology: A scientist-practitioner approach. 2nd Ed. New York: John Wiley& Sons, pp. 441-447 Kotter, J.P, 2003, “Leading Change”, Harvard Business School Press, Massachusetts, USA Quarterly Journal on human resource development., John Wiley & Sons, 10(2), pp. 105-125 Rowland, D., and Higgs, M 2009, Sustaining Change: Leadership That Works. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley &Sons, pp. 52-59 Read More