Basic Change Strategies - Research Paper Example

 Basic Change Strategies -Managing in Social Change Abstract Managers of change must be aware of the dynamics of managing change if they are to succeed in managing and implementing change. Change is always about people, and without involving people in the change process, problems can always arise from the process. Introduction Change management is the art of implementing change within a social environment. Any change process will involve to some extent some people, and this will require that the agents of change to be well aware of the social dynamics of change. Informing, educating and involving the people who will be affected by the change will help in making sure that the change is successful. Failing to understand these dynamics of change will lead to negative effects and cold even lead to very adverse effects. Involving people will start by educating them about the change and the necessity of the change. Change agents will also have to be ready to buy people into the change process by showing them how the change will affect them positively and at the same time reassure them that they will not be victims in the change process. Resistance to change There is an inherent fear of change by all human beings (Shea, 2012). Experts of human behavior have tried to come up with a number of explanations why human beings are fearful and resistant to change. One of the most common explanations is the argument that people are afraid of change because they are generally afraid of the unknown. Change always involves moving from a comfortable familiar environment to an unknown environment. This shift makes people to be wary of change because they don’t know whether they will be as comfortable in their new environment as they are in the current environment. In the business world, the reason for fear of change is probably history bound. In almost any change process, some employees especially in the lower ranks have always being left to a disadvantage. For instance, during the computer revolution when businesses were changing from manual information system to computerized information systems, many employees lost their jobs during the change process. This history of the change process has left many employees to be afraid of change because they feel they may be victimized. With this kind of understanding, it is crucial that people understand some extremely crucial factors to consider when implementing change. Failing to consider and to apply these factors will only lead to disaster where change management is involved. These involve the following. Informing people about the change and why it is necessary Most of the reasons for resistance to change are caused by lack of information. In the lack of information, people are left to imagine anything. Propaganda also thrives best in the absence of correct information. When implementing and managing change of any type, it is increasingly critical that those who will be touched by the change be informed about the change that is about to happen. People should not just wake up one day and understand that their lives are about to be changed. Informing the people will involve telling them way before the change process has been started. This will aid them to come to terms with the change and to also have the chance to forward any issue they may be having (Judge & Bal, 1996). Informing will have to have two phases. The first phase is informing the people that there is a change process that is imminent. This will prepare them psychologically and will also help them to accept the change process slowly. After information, the people about the change process about to happen, the second phase is to try to inform the same people about the importance of the change process. This is beneficial because it plays a number of roles in the change management processes. Informing people about the importance of the change process will be able to erase any fear that the change process is designed to harass them. Once they understand the need to transform, they are highly likely to accept the change and even help with the change process. It is crucial that the people understand the need for change because somehow they will be part of implementing the change and this will aid them to be able to have a useful role in helping with the change process. The rationale for this is that in any change process, involved persons are captains of the ship of change in one way or the other. Failing to provide each of these “captain” with the right information will only lead to disaster because the ship of change will be steered in as many directions as there are people in that change process. Informing people about the importance of change will act as a way to reduce the resistance to change and help in making sure that each of the people will contribute positively to the process of change. Once every person understands the necessity of change, the change process will be easily managed because people will have one purpose, which is to make the change process a success. Information acts as the grease that lubricates the gears of change and, therefore, the more of it the better for the change process. Every manger should be able to understand the importance of having this change process and why they are supposed to support the people who will be affected. Involving the people While informing the people who will be affected by the change about the change process is paramount in reducing resistance and increasing they support for the change process, it is not necessarily enough to guarantee a successful change process. As Maney et al (2012), argues, involving the people in the change process helps them to not only feel secure about the change process, but also helps them to own the change process. The people should be made to feel that they are part of the process and that they are part of the solution. Change process always involves solving a specific problem, regardless of the nature of the change. Once people have been informed about the need for change, the change managers should be able to have mechanisms through which people will be involved in developing the solution or solutions. This will help in making sure that everybody in who is being affected by the change to own the problem, as well as the solution. Failing to involve the people in the development of the solution can only lead to a situation where people may accept the change but fail to do the necessary things that will make the change as effective as it should be. The importance of involving the people in the change process is to make sure that beyond just eliminating the resistance to change, they will be willing to take the change new environment and make is productive. A good example to illustrate this point is what would happen in a business environment when a new computerized information system is being implemented. If the managers only inform the employees about the implementation and its importance to the firm, they will manage to mitigate the resistance to change. However, without involving the employees in the implementation of the system that will be implemented may useless to the employees because they will not own it. To help in making such a situation not to occur, the managers should involve the employees as much as possible to ensure they will own system and feel that they were part of the solution. This should be applicable everywhere, regardless of the kind of environment or change that is being implemented. Change agents must work out a way or a mechanism through which to involve the subordinate in the change process. This is the first rule of democracy, and in a modern world where democracy has taken precedence over any other form of rule and government, it is increasingly crucial they feel that they are being involved in deciding which direction their lives will take. Having a clear change policy According to McGreggor (2010), in most cases, change is not a onetime process, but a continuous process that will need to be implemented on a continuous basis. In light of this, having a proper change policy will help in making sure that that any change process will be managed in a way that is helpful and in a way that will aid in making sure that the change is successful. As already seen, the success of a change process is determined not only by whether the change has taken place but also by how the change has achieved its goals. Having a clear change process will help in making sure that the communication is easier and that the people who will be affected by any change process are already aware of the need for change. A clear change policy will also help in making sure that only the right change process and change projects will be taken. This is because not all change processes are weighty or productive. In some cases, change agents may introduce a change process due to selfish interests. If such a thing ever happens, the trust by those who are affected by such a change would be demisted and thus making any future change projects to be regarded with suspicion and mistrust.To help in avoiding these kinds of change that are driven by selfish people who want to benefit on themselves, it is essential to have a clear change policy. Having a clear change policy will work together with the above mentioned change strategies as a way to give the subordinate the power to decide what is good for them. A clear change policy is like a constitution that can be used by even the least person to shoot down such selfish change ideas. This is also an extremely beneficial way of making sure that only useful change processes can be initiated. Conclusion It is evident that implementing change successfully will involve at least three strategies that will not only reduce resistance to change, but that will also help in making the change useful to those it affects the most. Mangers of change or agents of change will have to inform the people who will be affected by change and at the same time prove to them that the change process is valuable and helpful to them. They will also need to involve them in the change process and in solution development. Creating a clear policy on change will also help in making sure that the people in the change process can have a better way to participate in the change management. References: Judge, P. & Bal. (1996). Strategies of Social Change in India. New Delhi: M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. Maney, G. E. (2012). Strategies for Social Change. Minnesota : U of Minnesota Press. McGreggor, P. (2010). Manatging Change in A Democratic Space. Journal of Social Development , 8, 5: 12-19. Shea, A. (2012). Designing For Social Change: Strategies for Community-Based Graphic Design. Princeton : Princeton Architectural Press. Read More