Change Management Principles - Example

Running Head: CHANGE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES Organisational Leadership and Performance Name Institution Date Organisational Leadership and Performance Organisations have currently been faced with a challenge of implementing positive change successfully especially due to speculations and unpredictable nature of some changes. Though those in the work place may wish that situations and operations remain as they are, it has become increasingly important that organizations and companies adopt some changes if they are to remain relevant and competitive in a place where both technology and mankind knowledge are advancing at a very fast rate (Arnell, 2003). Change management principles have thus become very important in ensuring that the change implementation process is successful. Bearing in mind the importance of employees in designation, execution and adoption of change, their consideration in the planning process is essential. Companies should understand that the actual benefits of a given change can only be reaped when the change has been accepted and adopted at the level of individual employees (Gorelick & Tantawy-Monsou, 2006). As a result, the human aspect should never be neglected where a culture of performance and commitment is to be created while retaining organization’s unique identity and values. The most recent influence to changing the way different organizations operates is the emergency of e-commerce. With increased acceptance and use of internet as a communication tool, businesses have opted to take advantage of this mode of communication to reach clients at either local or global level (Bridges, 2003). Malcomp company has not been left behind in this. The company has for a long time relied on calls to reach customers or having sales persons go round collecting orders. In January this year (2011), the idea of adopting e-commerce was announced by the company’s director to those in management level. This seemed as a threat to many as some perceived the likelihood of losing their jobs in the process. The most threatened group were those in the sales department as the introduction of the new system required that customers make their orders online and would receive responses through the same means. Before this idea came into the light, various consultations were held with those in the management level to achieve their support. This was done by ensuring every person in the management level was involved in meeting forums conducted on why it was necessary for the company to adopt such changes. As implied, the principle of top down process of implementing change was applied. According to Hughes (2006), those in the leadership or management positions must be engaged first to ensure that their behavioral and attitudinal resistance to the proposed change is addressed as this would to a greater extent determine the possibility of the change being adopted by employees in the lower levels. It is for this reason that Malcomp’s director involved managers in various consultation meeting aimed at planning the best way to approach the proposed change. Some of the issues in discussion included the alignment of the proposed change with the organizational mission, goals and objectives. With Malcomp’s mission being “To be the leading supplier of computers and accessories through innovation and creativity”, adoption of this change was not only important, but also a necessity. The required investment was also relatively low since the company had an existing website which was previously used for advertisements and making any necessary announcements. Convinced of the need for change, the managers were ready to offer their commitment and support to see the company succeed in this. However, there was a drawback ahead. As the meetings were progressing, information on proposed changes licked to the team leaders team leaders who by this time only perceived the threat of losing their jobs. If the sales persons were to lose their jobs, then their team leaders would also be on the losing end. Though individuals can align change with their self-interest and belief system, the uncertainty of success and fear of the unknown can be a block to change (Lawson, 2003). This was experienced in Malcomp when news about the proposed change stated spreading to other employees as well. The change was seen as a threat and most employees were quick to criticize the management team. According to Johnston (2000), in most cases, employees may not quite understand the business goals and usually think of themselves asking questions such as “What could be in for me?” Other reasons why employee resists change include their comfort with the status quo and fear of the unknown, organizational history and culture, opposition to the new technologies, requirements and processes introduced by change. Though employees are the main users of the new system on a daily basis, they have little or no say about the particular change itself. Recognizing the harm that miscommunication or lack of relevant skills would mean to the change implementation process, Malcomp management was quick to address employees concerns. The employees were called to a series of meeting and were informed of the importance of the change and what failure to adopt the change would mean to the organization at large. Secondly, the management informed employees that it had the required resources and skill to implement the change and that there was no need to worry as trainings would be offered to their team leaders who would in turn train them. Hughes (2006) states that an organization must ensure that it has the capacity to implement and adopt change before engaging in the process of change implementation. However, the fact that an organization has the required resources to implement a particular change does not mean that it is free from detrimental effects that may result from the change. To address this, a balanced change culture must be promoted through effective communication. This would include identification of the risk factors that would result to failure in the change implementation processes. One of the identified risk factor was resistance from employees that would result from the fear of some of them losing their jobs. E-commerce would mean that the sales representatives who went around collecting orders would no longer be needed. In addition, effective adoption of e-commerce has been associated with reduced task of record keeping and analysis. This posed a threat to employees in the recording keeping and order approval sector . However, the management team was well prepared and quickly addressed this concern by assuring that though some would still lose their jobs, those willing to learn on how to utilize e-commerce and managing online sales would be retained. More employees were also needed to inform their customers on the new service and link adverts with social websites such as Facebook and twitter. Intensive training would also be given to all employees at large to ensure that they were familiar with the new system (Gorelick & Tantawy-Monsou, 2006). Lastly, the change would be adopted progressively giving the employees as well as the customers a chance to adopt the new change. Effective communication plays a great role in change implementation process. Failure to communicate effectively may result to conflicts arising from misunderstandings. It is important in communicating the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders who in the case of Malcomp were the management team, team leaders and employees in lower levels, communicating strategies and processes to be adopted and areas likely to be affected by the change (Arnell, 2003). Malcomp employees were responsible for implementing, managing and using the new system. However, the acceptance of change by this group is to a greater extent determined by those who lead them. If their leaders are reluctant to adopt change, then the barriers in change implementation are worsened (Anderson, A. & Anderson, D., 2001). Though Malcomp had first involved those in the management level, it communicated the intended change before first gaining support from the team leaders at the branch level who were quick to discourage other employees from adopting the proposed change. It was until the support from this team was acquired that the other employees were convinced of the importance of the change. According to Bryant (2006), engaging middle managers and team leaders in the initial stages of change implementation process breaks the barriers to change adoption. Malcomp management team was quick to address this by calling for meetings with these team leaders and holding discussion forums aimed at exploring the possible threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths of the proposed change strategy. This resulted to a form of unity where the leadership supported the proposed change and were ready to put their efforts in ensuring successful implementation. Through communication, the team leaders were able to embrace the vision of the management team and the be committed to it. Boonstra (2004) postulates that real change happens at the lowest level. It is for this reason that leaders are given the responsibilities of seeking support from employees in the lower levels and setting targets. The team leaders in Malcomp were given the responsibility of conducting discussions at team and department levels to encourage those working under them to embrace the proposed changes. These meetings and group discussions involved identification of employees fears and suggestions of the ways forward. Though it took some time, these discussions resulted to employees perceiving the need for e-commerce if the organization was to remain competitive. An understanding at this level meant reduced chances for opposition. Malcomp however made another mistake in that it failed to create ownership through a two way communication system at first. Though employees in the lower levels were explained to the need for adopting e-commerce, they were not given an opportunity to express their views at first. After one month of convincing the employees on the importance of e-commerce, only a handful of employees had embraced it. It is until an analysis of the barriers was done that the management gave the employees an opportunity to give their views and opportunity to express their fears. It was noted that only those who had skills in IT were supporting the ideas though all employees agreed that it was important and necessary. When top-down and bottom-up communication was encouraged, employees opened up. Some of their fears included job loss due to lack of relevant skills. The principle of ownership creation was then brought into play with employees being assured of training and knowledge sharing and learning being embraced. Kotter & Rathgeber (2006) postulates that training and support are essential in the change implementation process as employees are reluctant to adopt change if they do not have the relevant skills. In creating ownership, employees must be made to feel part of the decision making process. Change adoption at individual level was well addressed after employees expressed their concerns. This was evident as team leaders were quick to expel any doubts from those working under them. Recognition of individual efforts was also evident with those who learnt to use the new process being granted promotions. Bonuses were also given for those sales persons who trained their customers on how to use e-commerce depending on how many such clients registered every month for the online services. This encouraged more people to search for knowledge and work hard to learn the system the soonest possible. Bridges (2003) states that employees are encouraged to worked harder when there are perceived benefits of their hard work. In addition, employees were more ready to adopt change when confronted with the reality of a changing business environment (Boonstra, 2004). Though Malcomp valued its uniqueness, this change was not simply any form of change but one that was driven by necessity and increasing global competition. In addition, the company was aware of the increased use of internet among individuals and institutions. It had to take advantage of this to increase its market share, maintain a competitive edge and reach the unexplored markets. With a clear understand that this was soon to be adopted in other organizations, employees did not respond by quitting the job but rather by opting to learn. Malcomp’s strategy of continuous training also contributed to its success. The plan involved training twelve officers first who would later train 50 managers. The managers were then to train 250 leaders. The knowledge was to be released in bits to help build capacity for the organization. This strategy was to be maintained until the change was successfully implemented. As Gorelick & Tantawy-Monsou (2006), knowledge management has become very essential in implementing and form of change especially with an advanced knowledge based society. Malcomp was keen in determining which information to release to the employees and at what time to avoid confusion or the information reaching their competitors. Only the important details relevant to improving employees skills and knowledge in the use of the system was released. In addition, employees were encouraged to go back to school for further education through incentives such as promotion offers and paid education leave so long as they were to remain in the organization for at least 10 years after completing their education curriculum. Measuring and monitoring change has been identified as contributing factors towards organizational success in change implementation process. This cannot however be implemented without a clear understanding of the vision and objectives of a particular change. Malcomp managers drafted the vision and sold this to the team leaders. The vision was “to enhance adoption of e-commerce by the customers and employees and effectively establish skilled manpower by 2012.” After this vision was embraced, a collaboration of employees and the management team was establish to identify adequate instruments for measuring and monitoring change. Adopted instruments included monthly employees appraisals, orals and written tests and a monthly evaluation of the number of customers who had registered for online services. The principle of preparedness was not well observed. This principle involves planning for any uncertainty and being ready to deal with it appropriately (Bridges, 2003). Though much had been to ensure that employees at every level embraced the proposed change, little was done to ensure that customers adopted the change adequately. Sales persons were tasked with the responsibility of reaching them and informing the m of the new system. The employees clearly understood the advantages of the system to the customers but were not prepared to answer some questions. After a lot had been spent on training employees and impacting them with knowledge, the adoption process by consumers was still very low. The management team was quick to call employees to meeting forums through which they realized that some consumers did not have the relevant skills to adopt the new system in addition to personal fears of uncertainties such as late delivery of ordered products. To address this, the management had to mobilize extra resources which had not been planned for this processes. This meant that some time was wasted. Bovey (2001) explains the importance of preparedness for uncertainties and a clear evaluation of possible risks during the process. In conclusion, all change management principles are important if an organization is to reap the full benefits of a given change. This calls for adequate planning and strategizing, involvement of all stakeholders, achievement of commitment using the top-down strategy where leaders and those in support of the change are involved first, effective communication on the proposed change, adequate training and support for all employees and effective evaluation and monitoring of the process to be put in place. From the analysis, it is clear that change cannot be implemented by the management. Participation of all the members is hence crucial to the success change implementation process but the change must also be well aligned with the organization’s mission, vision and objectives. If the discussed principles are applied appropriately, then success would be assure for any organization regardless of the kind of change being implemented. References Anderson, A. & Anderson, D. (2001). The change leader’s road map: how to navigate your organisation’s transformation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Arnell, A. (2003). Managing change in organizations. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Boonstra, J. (2004). Dynamics of organizational change and learning. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, p 127. Bovey, W. (2001). Resistance to organizational change: the role of defense mechanisms. Journal of managerial psychology 16, 7. Bridges, W. (2003). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. New York: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Bryant, M. (2006). Talking about change: Understanding employee responses through qualitative research. Management Decision, 44(2), 246-258. Furst. A. & Cable, M. (2008). Employee resistance to organizational change: Managerial influence techniques and leader‐member exchange. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 453‐462. Gorelick, C. & Tantawy-Monsou, B. (2006). For performance through learning knowledge management is the critical practice. The learning organization, 12(2): 125-139. Hughes, M. (2006). Change management. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development. Johnston, J. (2000). Surviving the Twilight Zone: the psychology of organizational change. Work Relationships.com. Retrieved October 12, 2004, from http://www.workrelationships.com/site/articles/organizational_change.htm Kotter, J. (2003). Leading Change. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press. Lawson, (2003) The Psychology of Change Management. The McKinsey Quarterly, Retrieved September 8, 2004, from http://www.wallacefoundation.org/WF/ELAN/TR/Knowledge Categories/OrgCulture/CultureResource.htm Read More