Leading Organizational Change Course - Successful Change Management Programs - Assignment Example

Leading Organizational Change - Successful Change Management Programs Introduction Leading successful change management within an enterprise seems like a Herculean task. It is indeed a very difficult task that needs attention on the part of just about everyone within the organization, as well as the ones who are outside the organizational domains yet somehow remain in close connection with it. It must be understood that change management does not come about in an automated fashion. It requires consistency, planning and afterthought. It requires hard work, commitment and diligence on the part of everyone. What is even more significant to know is that change management programs are focused on delivering value, which indeed is a much sought after proposition in this day and age. This paper studies how organizational change management programs turn into successful ones with sound planning and adequately designed frameworks. This paper also takes a look at the elements that make change management programs successful as well as the failure regions which must be looked into by all and sundry for avoidance. An effort has been made in this paper to learn the basis of change management and to document the same within different headings. This paper will therefore act as a good touch point that pinpoints change management within the domains of understanding business and its varied facets. What is Change Management? Change management deals with doing things differently than these were handled in the past. This embodies the basis of understanding that change management is essentially an understanding derived from alternatives that can be explored into and new pathways which are found for the betterment of the business regimes. Change management takes into consideration issues that remain significant from an organizational philosophy. It is at the very heart of performing tasks and activities which focus on delivering the value tangent. This value is based on delivering results for the sake of the organization that one wishes to have change management implemented within. This change management therefore comes into full effect with the adoption of changing norms and procedures that remain significant from a number of different angles and perspectives. The need is to understand how change management shall shape up the beliefs of the people who want it to be embedded within the organizational tenets and do it in such a way that it comes out as a pragmatic approach all along. The change management premise thus acts on the beliefs of the people that they hold for it and the manner under which their pertinent measures are drafted, aligned and executed. The essential basis of understanding change management is to make sure that its need is there (Weber 2001). Another feature is to make others comprehend where this change will be executed and under what levels the different aspects shall be resolved in order to make sure that there are no ambiguities at any level. The managers who believe in the dictum of change management have to understand that it is for their own good but if there is no need to implement it, then it is better that they save the organizational resources and the budget that could be used elsewhere. It is for them to weigh the proposition and thus act upon the same in order to gain an insight for change management and the related consequences. This paper discusses how change management has been an important metaphor for modern day business and how it has been able to shape up beliefs and ideas that the individuals working within these organizations have. The role played by the people who make decisions and the ones who undergo such decisions has to be on the same level in order to have change management implemented in a successful way. This paper will also take a quick look at how change management within organizations leads up to new results and processes which shall come up and which will form the basis of achieving the success that is being spoken about here. Successful change management programs are always seen with an eye of skepticism by all sorts of people. This is because change management is an area where they have confusing perspectives and they would like to have guaranteed success under all levels and ranks. Hence in entirety change management is the factor that plays the dominant role within organizations of today and will continue to be so in the times to come. How does Change Management Apply to Modern day Business? Change management applies to modern day business by manifesting its due role within the different processes and activities. What this implies is an understanding that change management is for the betterment of the business in the long run. The application of change management has taken place due to mundane processes running by without any sign or hope of a fresh change. This calls for a fresh vision on the part of the business to get things sorted out afresh. Within modern day business, change management holds a very significant position and quite rightly so for a number of reasons. Business hubs and regions have relied heavily on how change management has been able to manifest its truest basis through hard work of the people and the proper allocation of the resources. This change management philosophy has depended a great deal on how businesses have been able to bring in value and how this value has been shaped up the right way through hard work and commitment of the organizational concerns. The need is to know who is going wrong due to which change management has to be applied and that too within quantifiable proportions. Then again, this might not be the case and change management could be fitted in within an organization because it is the need of the hour. Perhaps the industrial concerns and competitive spirit leads to bringing about a change which is much needed in this day and age, and hence the need for having a change management program in the first place. A number of scenarios may come about in the wake of change management making headway under the organizational umbrella and this is deemed appropriate within the relevant thick of things. Hence within modern day business, it is pertinent to comprehend where change management will come about and how it is going to make its mark on not only the organizational level but also in an industry wide context. Also modern day business does not give chances time and again to an organization to come back again and implement the change management programs (Tanner 2007). This is usually a one-time activity that stays for a limited duration and does have major effects. In addition, the change management programs must be encouraged within the organizational tenets to make sure that any anomalies which might arise in the future are taken care of by the relevant concerns. Therefore the modern day business has a responsibility to make sure that the change elements are successfully manifested and without any such difficulties at any level. This will be a good omen for the organizations to seek learning from and to find out new pathways to make sure that any learnings that come about are seen as handy in the long run. Modern day business keeps changing and the change management concerns have to make sure that they are in line with the same. This is a much needed step that wins many favors in entirety and can leave lasting impressions on the minds of the people who are directly or indirectly involved. Elements of Successful Change Management The elements of a successful change entity will depend a great deal on how change management is getting shaped up and how beliefs are in line with the actual philosophy of change management. These elements include quite a few tangents due to which change management is documented in a fair way. These elements comprise of urgency, a compelling story change, discovering the current strategy, understanding the vision and values, communication all along, creating a dialogue of sorts, comprehending the culture that is present at the time of change management, visualizing how the change management journey will look like, measuring the results beforehand, creating win-win scenarios, aligning performance management with change management, and lastly looking out for inconsistencies in a consistent manner. Going through each of these elements of successful change management, one must learn that these need to be combined as well as kept in isolation in order to reap success. The first element is of urgency which discusses how such change management programs must come about quickly because they are at the expense of the company’s financial performance, rivalry in the relevant industrial zone, the position in the market of the organization, the changing technological trends and so on. The need is to know if urgency is not shown, then this shall mean that there are problems on a number of different counts, and all of which need to be covered in an instant fashion. The second element is to tell the employees a compelling story change which shall motivate them in essence and ask of them to understand the philosophy behind having this very change. People need to discern the problem at hand which forces the organization to conduct this very change. When they are convinced about something that they feel motivated about, change management programs will actually come about easily. The third element of successful change management is based upon the current strategy. Revisiting the current strategy can resolve quite a few issues beforehand and must always be considered (Saka 2003). The fourth element behind leading a successful organizational change management premise is in terms of understanding the vision and values. It must be remembered that every successful change management entity depends a great deal on the kind of future that the organization wishes to enact for its employees, the processes and the organization in totality. These discussions of vision and values keep the focus on the project at hand without deviating from any facts at any stage. The emphasis remains bent on getting the job done with a clear headed approach – an approach that sees things through without any ambiguities at any level possible. The fifth element is in terms of the communication hierarchies that need to be developed in order to have a clear cut approach as regards to change management. The sixth element is in terms of creating a dialogue which means that the employees should be involved right from the beginning. They must know what is required of them and how they shall play an active part towards understanding the domains of change management that is coming into effect within the terrains of the organization that they work for. The seventh element surrounds the basis of culture because this is basically the most difficult one to change over a period of time. The eight element is visualizing the journey upon which change will be built. Telling the employees where they stand within the change management scenario at each and every stage is an important undertaking that a business can have within its fore. The ninth element of change is measuring how much change would be deemed as necessary while the tenth element discusses small wins that teams can have for their own selves, which shall make them realize how change management as a whole is when success is eventually drawn upon them. The eleventh element is related with performance management to drive the required behavior changes while the twelfth and last element is to consistently lookout for errors, misgivings and issues which may arise from time to time. How does Success tie in within Change Management? Success and change management are inter-linked especially when the latter is given the room that it requires to manifest its basis. This is the reason why success is defined in diverse proportions by stakeholders all over the world. Success has to come in within the change management regimes because it is an outcome as to why change management is embedded in the first place. If success is not envisaged, there is no use why change management should be deployed at all. Now this is an important metaphor for understanding that change management will depend a great deal on how things within the organizational tenets are deemed as successful because a general lack of the same would mean immensely grave problems for all and sundry. Success relates itself with change management when there is a will and determination on the part of the management to make sure that this change is manifested in a proper manner. Any criticism at any end is taken care of so that the success is envisaged right from the very beginning. All major programs shall come to a halt to make sure that change management remains supreme at the end of the day. The management needs to look at the bigger picture in order to comprehend what they can achieve with proper planning and a solid framework that exists within the fore of change management. This is a much needed step and one that shall reign in immense success within the related ranks of an organization. Success and change management are also inter-related because there is a general belief that change management shall have drastic consequences for an organization and mostly negative, which is not at all true (Diefenbach 2007). Organizations change because they wish to have a fresh perspective and with that the mission, vision and policies also get a new lease of life. This is equivalent to starting all over again though with the experience gained at the organizational end. This is a much needed step which brings in immense success for all concerned, if looked upon at without an eye of skepticism. Success will be managed on its own if change management tenets are planned in a way that the latter is able to manifest its own self truly and without any worries. Factually speaking, change management and success have to make it work for one another because organizations cannot go back and adopt the old policies and ways once change has been documented within its entirety. This would be deemed as a failure of sorts, and the need is to know how success shall come in within quantifiable proportions. For success to be seen as the mainstay, there is a dire requirement to set things right at the resource allocation stage, within people to people interaction, in the ranks of manpower that shall be needed in an organization and other similar factors. All of these must lead to success which is the final outcome behind change management. This truly ensure that success has crept in within the related levels of the organization that one is talking about here. Real-life examples A few examples that would suffice here in terms of successful change management surround the basis of some of the biggest names in the business world. These include Nike, Coca Cola, IBM, Adidas, HP, Facebook, Microsoft and so on. The manner in which the change management premise is documented within these companies must have had many eyebrows pulled up yet somehow what matters most is the way under which change management has been believed in and hence been applied. The need is to comprehend where change management was needed and how it was properly delivered in a quantifiable way. The manner is also discussed in the light of change being an important metaphor to bring about solidity all along. This is reminiscent of understanding that change management programs have been able to manifest their truest selves through hard work, conviction and dedication under different angles and pathways. These are some of the biggest names within the corporate world and their decision makers have strongly believed in having change as a helping force that shall shape up optimism all along. Going into the depth of a real-life example of a firm that has had change embedded within it is British Airways. It was in the year 1981 that British Airways brought forward a new chairperson. This new chairperson upon his hiring found out that the company was wasting quite a few resources and the company was being hailed as inefficient. In order to make sure that profits would not stop coming in, this chairperson introduced restructuring in order to bring about a change management premise which would benefit British Airways largely in the long run. His vision was to have this restructuring done in such a manner that a change methodology management plan was put in use (Jones 1996). The company cut down on its workforce in a systematic fashion. This chairperson provided the reasons why it was deemed feasible for British Airways in a strategic fashion. He told them of the leadership vision which he had in mind. Also he privatized the company to make sure that the British Airways lived up to its name. In essence, he was able to turn around the company within a few years as this time was filled with immense difficulties that could have turned hugely destructive without a proper change methodology management plan in place (Street 1994). Why do Change Management Programs Fail? Change management programs seem to fail because they are not aligned properly with what is expected of them. If there are issues that need to be taken care of, then this must take place beforehand. If at a later stage some issues are discovered, then this means that there are severe anomalies at a number of levels. Since change management has to make headway within the organizational processes and norms, the need is to comprehend where to start from. Once this is done, minor issues can be taken care of in an easy way. However, failure comes in when change management is analyzed wrongly. This is the basis of knowing that any hiccups experienced at any stage must be thoroughly scrutinized and checked for the change premise. It is evident that any process can fail at any stage but there remains a very minute chance of failure if things are handled amicably well right from the beginning. This has to be the mainstay within the change management concerns and should be as such right till the very end, until change is truly manifested and implemented. Failure within change management is considered a sin as far as the execution stages are concerned because failure is tantamount to going wrong somewhere down the lane which was someone’s mistake all along. Also failure is a sin because heavy budgets and resources are allocated for change management to come into action. Now the money, resources and man hours cannot just all go down the drain. There has to be a positive result in the end in the form of sound processes, better planned activities, cutting back on redundant jobs and so on. Otherwise change was not needed in the first place. The need is to understand where change management has to be shaped up and how this means success for all and sundry, i.e. within the relevant concerns and ranks. Some suggest that change management programs fail because there is lack of planning right in the beginning. Then there are people who say that change management programs become a failure because individuals who are a direct part of such programs never actually believed in the premise of this change. The need is to rationalize who is right and who is not. But then again, this is not the solution behind understanding why change management programs essentially fail. Perhaps it is the collective failure of the people, in terms of allocation of resources, in the ranks of comprehending what to do where and so on. The need is to decipher what is happening at each and every level, and then to go about doing it the right way so that change management cannot be regarded as a failure either during its implementation or right at the very end. This is why change management programs usually wait till the very end to make sure that their failure is discounted for and is not documented at any level whatsoever. All-out efforts are made to ensure that change management remains the key in terms of the success criteria that has been set for it from day one (Leighton 2007). The reason why failure is not highlighted much within the implementation stages is because it is a negative aspect and can have a demeaning effect on the people who are bringing about a change or the ones who are considered as the stakeholders of this change in essence. Therefore a balancing act works wonders here for everyone because this is the key behind understanding who is doing what within the change management premise and what leads to failure or the lack thereof within the entire process. Hence this is the key behind gaining an insight into change management programs being termed as a failure and how to avoid such issues to gain success. What can make these Change Management Programs Work? Change management programs work well when there are concerted efforts to derive value for the business, its processes, different tasks and activities and so on. When this happens, any issues that arise are resolved instantly. Change management programs work adequately well when the mission behind this change is well-known. If this objective is left unexplored, there is no use why change management would be needed in the first place. These change management programs tick when there is belief laid on the diverse contexts upon which change is dependent. Also no discounts should be applied towards this philosophy of change management because then there would be wholesale issues which cannot be put solely upon the relevant concerns. A single-minded focus seems to work wonders here for everyone - both for the organizational top heads and the stakeholders who would wish to get this change premise implemented in a quantifiable proportion. This shall work wonders for them because change management essentially resolves their long standing issues and gives them a completely new look within the business environments (Edgelow 2012). What is even more interesting to note is the fact that change management will gain more eyeballs within the organization and put the people in relative association with one another. This will be the basis of achieving immense success and accomplishment within the realms of the organization. These change management programs come into full effect when the approvals for implementing them are given by the top most authorities and when these top management concerns take full ownership and responsibility for both the good and the bad aspects. It is then when these change management concerns are able to derive value and solidity from the related ranks of change management. When the discussion centers on how change management programs shall be applied towards achieving goals and objectives, one thing that has to be comprehended here is that the middle management looks up to the top management concerns for their insights and instant approvals. When this happens in a free flowing way, things start becoming more apparent and visible within the relevant thick of things. It helps shape up new ideas and gives the middle management which is essentially the lifeblood of an organization something constructive to think about and act upon. What this does in essence is to start building a positive vibe all along regarding the change management programs which have now been implemented within the organizational concerns. People start talking about these programs thus building upon their interests, and learning something new on their own time and again. It makes them realize where they were lagging in the past and how new adjustments are much needed for their own well-being and success under the organizational tenet. It will also make them feel in line with the advancements and enhancements that have shaped up the modern day business hubs and how a tool like change management can bring wonders for an organization in the long run. This is the basis of finding out the right from the wrong and discovering novel attributes related with change management. How is Organizational Improvement and Transformation in Business Organizations planned in the wake of Change Management? Organizational improvement is something that happens automatically when change management is given the green signal to get implemented. Similarly a whole round of transformation within these enterprises becomes a norm when change management is handled well and in an adequately sound manner. Change management makes sure that the organizational processes do not get affected yet become comprehensive from a number of different angles. It is due to such initiatives that change management has been seen as one of the most potent forces behind getting the job done, especially in organizations where there is a requirement to set many things right. Immense learning makes headway and this leads to breaking new grounds and touching new realities as far as business avenues and innovations are concerned. The planning of organizational improvement and transformation within business organizations comes about when the decision has been made at the top most level and when there is a dire need to understand where the business has been going haywire for a long period of time. This shall reign in efforts from the relevant quarters and make just about everyone realize how success shall come in within the relevant equations (Ingham 1994). When crucial elements within change management are skipped, then this is tantamount to failure. But when these very important elements are given the room to manifest their truest selves within the business enterprise at the time of bringing in the change, then this leads to success in the long run. The need is to understand where change management will make headway and where it shall remain stationary for other processes to be given the headway as far as change management premise is concerned. There is a marked difference between what a short level change is and what a long term initiative remains. The need to understand here is that the organizational improvement and transformation must come about in a quantifiable manner so that success can be envisaged easily. This success is translated in the form of change management that one is talking about here. This is the basis of learning where new adoptions shall be made and how change is going to be properly documented. In essence, organizational improvement and transformation in this day and age, as far as business organizations is concerned, remains a much required phenomenon and especially with change management making its mark at all relevant levels. The vision needs to be set in such a manner that there is immense success for all concerned and that in the case of any hiccup or problem, this shall be resolved amicably. When this happens, one can easily suggest that the change management domain has taken place easily and without much ado, new processes and strategies can be adopted and thus reforms can be made. This is the basis of learning where success will be related with change management and how change management as a whole leads to new quarters time and time again. In other words, change management will always be dependent upon the people who make it possible in the strategic frameworks. Will Change Management always lead to good things or will there be issues at any end? Change management usually leads to a positive omen for an organizational basis. This is because it manifests a fresh look which was missing in the past. Having said that it is not only the change premise that will bring in the much needed change. The role of the stakeholders, allocation of resources, and other factors also play a significant role towards change management and how it is embodied. If there are any issues at any level, these depend a great deal on how change was implemented. If there were issues within the implementation and execution levels, the change management premise cannot be blamed for that. The people who played a direct part within the change management concerns have to be the ones who must take responsibility. Through the examples given here, it is apparent that change management has been able to come across as a successful metaphor and there is no reason why this should not be the case in the future as well. Having said that there is always room for immense improvement as far as the change management premise is concerned and business organizations can do their utmost to make change management seem like a feasible proposition. What is even more enticing is the fact that change management eventually brings in the benefits and the ‘fruit’ that one is talking about here. This is the reason why change management looks all the more appealing in the very end. Without success being a seriously significant factor, the organizations would tend to think again and again before implementing it. However, when they know for certain that the change management elements are going to give the results that are expected out of them, then the work on the part of the management becomes much easier and hence the approvals are given easily. Now this change could be a part of their own plans and positions as well which need to be understood within adequately sound contexts. Perhaps they would have to compromise on some of their amenities for a given amount of time but then again this is an understandable aspect because change management ensures that the luxuries enjoyed in the past will exponentially increase once the benefits of change management reign in within the future (Brightman 2001). The need is to know where to draw the line and keep it that way, for the benefit of the organizational concerns and the personnel that are deployed within its fore. This helps shape up quite a few difficult issues which had never been planned this way and which are now a part of the change management regimes. The onus falls on the shoulders of the people who believe in change management and make it possible so that the end results are there for one and all to see and gain insights from. This is the manner under which change management is deemed as a successful entity and shall always lead to good results come what may within an organizational realm. It has been proven time and again by the people who have long believed in change management and its related features. Conclusion To bring to an end this discussion on change management and the related programs, it is imperative to understand the due role of the decision makers within the said equations. They are the ones why change management exists in essence and hence a great deal of credit must also rest on their shoulders. What matters now is a vision to set things right for the future to win as many accolades as possible. This is the basis of knowing how change management has been a pivotal force within the world of business and how it has shaped up the beliefs of numerous people around the globe (Holt 2003). All said and done, change management is appreciated by businesses and people worldwide and this is the reason why it is earmarked as the single most potent basis for understanding shortcomings that businesses have at a given time. Bibliography Brightman, B., 2001. Leading Organizational Change. Career Development International, 6(2) Creating Organizational Transformation, McKinsey Global Survey Results. Diefenbach, T., 2007. The Managerialistic Ideology of Organizational Change Management. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 20(1) Edgelow, C., 2012. 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