Change from the Perspective of Organizational Culture - Assignment Example

Self-Reflection Portfolio Organizational Change Approx. Words: 2400 Introduction This self-reflection portfolio has been compiled in order to present my learning regarding the organizational change and analyze the content which we have studied according to the module. The module covered almost every aspect linked to organizational change for example, nature of organizations, causes of any change, realities of change, how change process is initiated, change from different perspectives i.e. knowledge management, organizational culture etc. and how to implement the change. We also attended seminars in which case studies and related experiences were discussed in open sessions. This essay would not only include the learning from our seminar activities but also from the already available literature on the subject. This portfolio would help in reflecting my own performance and identify any shortcomings in the knowledge that I have gathered from the study. Though, this module has helped me learn a number of new concepts however in this portfolio, I am going to give an account of my learning about three topics from the module which we have studied. I would critically reflect the knowledge from the seminar activities and how I think it can be applied and integrated in actual life. 1) Change from the Perspective of Organizational Culture The seminar on this very topic included a presentation and O2 and Pace, two companies, that faced a downfall but by introducing new changes they were able to create a marked difference in their performance. The discussion revealed that culture is a shared set of beliefs, values and assumptions according to which an organization carry out its functions. These values and beliefs take time to develop and influence every aspect and operation of the firm (Wortmann, 2008). In a broader perspective, culture is the rituals, artefacts, myths, stories, symbols, strategies etc. that circulates in an organization and employees need to get these integrated in themselves to work appropriately. Now I believe that stronger the culture, the greater would be the organizational performance (Pennington, 2003). Moreover, having a culture similar to large number of firms would not help in achieving any competitive advantage. So, I think firms need to understand this fact before it’s too late. A culture could be the policies of rewarding the customers and employees for their loyalty which was implemented by O2. It believed that by doing so, employees would feel more engaged and sense of belongingness would enhance their performance. Similarly, Pace manufactures set-top boxes and it faced bankruptcy at a time when it felt the need to increase the communication between its employees and bring the management and the lower cadres close to each other. This improved the operations of the company and created a positive impact on its profits. Keeping such facts in view, the organization’s management need to constantly keep up with the changing needs and have to evaluate their performance on an ongoing basis. In addition to that, a strong culture has high learning tendencies and it should not be imitable for the competitors. Only then a firm could achieve sustained competitive advantage. I also learned that proper categorization of what type of change has to be introduced and at what particular time, is critical to the success of change implementation. When there is felt a need that firm is not performing up to the mark, theories of organization and culture should be discussed with the employees. At next stage, a comprehensive account of artefacts, values, symbols etc. should be taken and evaluated for any changes. Then deep meanings of every aspect must be extracted and platform should be developed for bringing improvement in case of any misalignment (Kimberly Buch, 2001). I think if any change has to be brought in an organization, it should be kept in mind that it is a very complex process. It creates an impact on every element related to the organization. In the discussion, types of cultures like exploitative, consultative or participative were explained. Similarly, Handy and Harrison model was also discussed introducing four types of cultures i.e. the power culture, role culture, achievement culture and support culture. Whatever the type of culture an organization have, it should be measured for the level of risk involved when the change is introduced and how fast it provides feedback on performance. The discussion was also fruitful in identifying the need for change and how the proposed changes are announced and explained with the help of change agents. The change agents perform a very crucial role in proper execution of a new culture. Proper training and coaching campaigns should be scheduled so that it could help the individuals to deal with a change (Merv Wilkinson, 1996). In addition to that, it also revealed that stories also have a great impact on the integration of a change in an organization culture. They emphasize the change ideals and provides a framework for future. In this way, not only the change is implanted smoothly but it also helps in knowledge transmission (Elizabeth Briody, 2012). Hence, they are called the most powerful way of bringing a change in culture. So, I came to know that by developing right techniques a change can be effectively incorporated into an organizational culture. There is a need to take the human factor under consideration. Joint projects, employee involvement, appropriate and timely training can increase the chances of success in change implementation. This learning also helped me in improving my practical knowledge about the organizational culture. 2) Change from the Perspective of Knowledge Management and the Learning Organization This topic was covered with the help of discussion on an article written by Bernard et al. in 2003. It depicted that learning organizations are those which are quite flexible and keep on evolving with the changing trends by incorporating new knowledge and modifying the behaviors according to the requirements. Here, people are free to change the ways of doing the jobs as per need. This learning could be on-the-job where, instead of, formal training sessions the employees learn through small tasks they are assigned or it could be learning through the experiences that already exists in the organizational memory. Utilizing this organizations respond to changing needs and demands of the customers (Ortenblad, 2004). Such organizations facilitate the individuals working for it to evolve in terms of their work and personalities. Seminar on the topic also brought Chris Argyris into light who is among the pioneers of the development of the concept called learning organization. He exclaimed that it is essential for organizations to learn continuously so that it can ensure success in a dynamic world. The discourse made me understand that learning organizations are, hence, in a better position to transform and introduce changes according to their needs. They can accept a change more favorably than any other organization. The idea of learning has emerged from total quality management which focuses continuous improvement with the help of regular learning, knowledge sharing and its management. And by learning, it does not only means here a formal learning but also self-managed development which is only possible when employees work in an open environment. Such flexible climate of the organization allows the individuals to accept even the big changes easily. Along with that appraisals and rewards for good work increase the likelihood of superior performance and ultimately larger profits for an organization (Geeta Rana, 2014). The essence of the success of the learning organizations is in their knowledge management. The research has revealed that knowledge sharing and managing it is the source of earning competitive advantage. Now, organizations no longer rely on tangible assets alone rather they have been focusing intangible and intellectual assets. It has been found out that performance of the organizations has enhanced with the help of knowledge of employees and applying that knowledge to accomplish the future goals (Riccardo Silvi, 2006). IT has helped in managing, storing, retrieving and sharing the knowledge database across the organization. By doing so, any information can be acquired which could assist in understanding a particular problem and find a better solution if a situation emerges again. In this way, not only time is saved but efficiency is also achieved. The learning organizations are not only concerned towards the internal knowledge dissemination but they also are equally committed towards the customers and suppliers (Bernard Burnes, 2003). Therefore, turning into a learning organization can help in multiple ways either in earning long-term success or making the individuals empowered and creative. But, according to my perception the concept of leaning organization may not be applicable on every type of firm. There could be organizations which need a centralized approach. Yet, research says that incorporating skills and knowledge in the employees not necessarily affects the powers of the leadership. In addition to that, a related concept to learning organizations is that of organizational learning. The organizational learning is a certain activity or an experience while learning organization is a whole climate and organization in itself. In fact, a learning is the one which values organizational learning and they both need to co-exist (Gorelick, 2005). There are proper databases and strategies established to share knowledge to the very basic level. This approach increases the sense of belongingness in the employees and they become more responsive towards the organizational needs (Nory B. Jones, 2003). The Knowledge Officers are also called the change agents. They influence the internal and external customers and are responsible for carrying out innovation in an organization. But, I think every type of knowledge cannot be made public for every type of user. This is the task of knowledge workers and managers to identify and sort out that which type of information has to be made accessible for a certain individual. Thus, it can be said that it is all about survival of the fittest like in any other walk of life. The organizations giving due consideration to the changing demands and newer trends have better chances of victory over competitors and earning goodwill among its customers. 3) Managing Personal Transition During this session the Pfizer case was studied and experiences of stress and its impacts were brought to light. One of the most important issue in change implementation is the resistance of employees to this. Because the world is moving at a fast pace and is evolving rapidly so, the firms need to make the employees adaptable to the change initiatives (Choi, 2011). They have to identify the reasons that why employees resist a change and how important it is to give consideration to manage their transition. The need for managing personal transition and this resistance is the biggest hurdle in change initiatives (Hendrickson, 2012). In order to achieve success it is essential for the organizations to motivate its employees to accept a change. Because whenever a change is brought it likely changes the individuals’ narrative of self. Now, I recognize that there is required a certain attitude towards a change in the form of behavioral tendencies to deal with it. There can be seen a clear wave of stress and anxiety among both the employees and managers when a new thing is introduced in an organization. If a firm need to emerge as a successful change implementer it must focus both the strengths and weaknesses (Luthans, 2002). There are myriad of causes behind a resistance towards organizational change. The leadership is sometimes itself not ready to implement a change and this leads towards a failure. Managers do this because they fear that it would cost them in terms of power and resources (G. B. Hoag, 2002). Secondly, the human factor is ignored by the management. They divert their full attention towards the technical aspects of change implementation and the emotions and feelings of employees related to it are pushed aside (Bovey, 2001). Thirdly, there are also linked many uncertainties attached to the change and employees feel that that their interests will be compromised. In addition to that, the absence of a social support system in the form of rewards, incentives and appraisals also leads towards cynicism. It does not only harm the organization but the employees as well. From this learning, I think resistance towards a change needs to be dealt with firm and positive approach. First of all, there is a need to bring change in the attitudes and behaviors of the individuals. They should be properly communicated the need for change that why it is necessary to be incorporated and how the organization lags behind in its absence from its competitors. It is also beneficial for organization to make its employees aware of their importance for bringing this change and it must be made clear that what resources organization has for doing this (Armenakis, 2002). I have developed an understanding through literature regarding the remedies for this issue. Bovey & Hede, (2001) have given an information-based approach which says that sharing knowledge with employees and increasing their understanding to deal with the change can create great ease. More the employees are aware about the details of a change, more readily they will be able to accept it. For that very purpose, a message including necessary information about change information can be floated to make everybody understand the need for change and importance of their role in it. This message can reduce the perceived fear, anxiety or mistrust. Another way of dealing with this issue is counseling of the employees. This helps them to identify their attitudes and perceptions. It can be done through training and educating the individuals. In short, this generates self-awareness among them and induces a participative culture leading towards a successful change. There are risks linked to these interventions like participation can be time consuming and complex while training can cost high. However, choice of strategy hinges upon the situational factors like nature of resistance and its amount. Hence, organizational change is an important phenomenon. But various personality and emotional factors of employees and leadership’s lack of vision and will reinforces resistance to any change. It hurts the organization and also decreases the motivation and job satisfaction. The leadership should play effective role in sharing information and taking the employees in confidence instead of ignoring their emotions. Only a participative and learning culture could lead towards a successful change. Conclusion This course has been really helpful in explaining various factors related to the subject of organizational change. A comprehensive and gradual learning was inculcated with the help of a sequenced knowledge. It started with nature of organizations that carry out a change process, different perspectives to view this change, its implementation and issues which could emerge meanwhile. I have learned a lot regarding the subject with proper know-how about its integration and application in an organization. I believe this would not only help me in understanding how organizations can implement it but also tell how a change can be incorporated in daily personal life. I think change is imperative and inevitable for growth in life. Without it we would be stagnant and there would not be any chances of improvement. So, I view this knowledge as a source of personal growth which if applied well could yield great performance. References Armenakis, A. A., & Harris, S. G. 2002. 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