Managing Organisational Change - Example

Managing Organisational Change Name: Course: Lecturer: Institution: Date: Introduction Change management in an organization is a very important aspect in the contemporary society of management. However, unlike in the past where management of organisational change was seen as a reaction to a situation or a certain event that has occurred, in the modern society managers have started to realize that change should not be done to react to the past but strategically prepare for the future and therefore remain competitive in the global environment . On evaluating the relative importance of this course to my knowledge, perceptions and philosophies, I will take view on how it has changed or impacted on my view about change management. This is more especially with regard to various change agents as discussed in our previous case studies. Further, I will take a look on the underlying assumptions that are considered to have caused organizational change initiative and in general the implications of my current perceptions about change management organization change (Paton and Mccalman 2008). The perspective (assumptions) of managing change held by major change agents studied in your group case study Throughout this course and in my discussions with fellow classmates, it has come to my notice that various change agents such as Steve Jobs, Grossman, Tailor and many others came to agree on certain factors as key drivers of organizational change (Paton and Mccalman 2008). With this regard therefore they assume that change should not be motivated by a single factor which is a problem but should be founded on a number of factors. To my opinion, these assumptions are key pillars and can never be underestimated since they carry a lot of importance in ensuring that the organization is fit in many ways to deal with different and emerging issues. For instance, to my knowledge it has come to be clear change in technology which has resulted into various ways to approaching business has greatly triggered the trends in which organizations are operating. This is because as technology is continuing to change, customer specifications and demands are also changing. This to means that change therefore in any organization is expected to place the business strategically in terms of customers’ requirements (Leadersphere 2008). Take for example the introduction. Like many other managers and my colleague students, has been change is more costly to many organizations and the costs always outweigh the benefits realized. This is because the acquisition, installation and maintenance pose very serious challenges to the organization. However, now through my experience and after carefully considering what change has been and managed to course to the organizations, change should especially be enacted in order to support and be compatible with new technologies (Leadersphere, 2008). Take the example of the iPhone and the iPad, many companies offering these commodities have managed to prosper their businesses because of the change that they have enacted. Further, more than every before, technology has persistently increasing and it has continued to improve on the delivery of quality of services to the customer. A good example is the Apple Company which has managed to make good sales because of the internet enabled technology (Chou, 2012). In addition, change is seen by the agents is seen as a process towards investing in research and development in order to develop new products that are compatible in the market (Chou, 2012). this in the past looked to me as unnecessary approach has it could not easily switch the minds of many of the customers in real case have come in terms with the truth and accept that new goods and products are available in the market and can serve the market even better. My view on research and development as considered by many agents as one of the reasons as to change management should be enacted in various organization, is a valid argument. This is because, through marketing, the consumers are now very aware of what is happening in the market and what they can get at the market. With this regard therefore is my view is that organizational change should be appreciated in order to promote the company towards producing goods that meet the customer demands (Kotter and Dan 2002). An explanation of how these assumptions impacted upon the processes and outcomes of this organisational change initiative The case involved, the Apple Corp. which deals in online marketing of technology related goods such as iPads and iPhones to the market. The assumptions proved to be very critical for the company as they helped it increase its sales which were declining. This is because through organizational change, the company managed to create new leadership through its CEO, Steve Jobs (Kotter and Dan, 2002). This greatly allowed for flexibility within the company as it managed to work on improved technologies that are customized and could easily lead to increase in its sales. For instance, take the example of global competition, there is every reason to understand why organizational change or change management have to be enacted, in order to support its business globally. Further, it’s through these assumptions that Steve Jobs came to improvise and create and enabling environment in terms of leadership in order to support its operations (Taylor-Bianco, and Schermerhorn 2006). This is what caused Steve Jobs to work on establishing partnerships with companies such as Motorola in order to work on a formula of creating a new cell phone which was enabled to play Apple’s iTunes and called it ROKR E1. However, after failing to perform at the market, the CEO employed another strategy of using the engineers to investigate into the features of the phone which later led into the development of the smarter phone. In essence what implies in this case is that whether assumptions or not, what the agents have proposed are very critical and ought to be considered (Chou 2012). This is because they are important in streamlining the company’s objectives with those of the markets in which they operate. Change therefore is inevitable as in the current contemporary society. In addition, based on the assumptions that have been proposed by the agents of change, it has further, come to my notice that organizational change is more particularly based on good leadership and governance. This is because leadership is expected to focus on what should be achieved in the near future and later as long-term goals and what are the forces that affect those changes. This can be demonstrated by Steve Jobs who encouraged collaborate leadership which takes into account the interests of various stakeholders and thereby creating a kind of leadership where opinions and ideas can be shared and developed for long-term success of the business (Kotter and Dan, 2002). Finally, the success of Apple Company has been attributed to the overall change in the organizational structure which allowed for greater globalization and partnership with other company. This particularly is important in allowing for adaptation and simplification of the company investment and expansion plans. In general therefore, this case study has come to help me come up with a conclusion that applications of the various assumptions for change such as technology change, innovation, economy and globalization should be carefully applied in various organizational contexts for changing the company picture and increase productivity as argued by Burke (2002). How your personal perspective (assumptions) of managing change has changed over the semester Given the time I have attended the course; my experience about change management in an organization has been very reach. I believe am now prepared to be an agent of change at workplace. This is after realizing potentially realizing that the company can achieve a lot of success if change is well planned and implemented based on appropriate models. However, what has come to my notice as a student, change is not an easy task. It requires commitment and participation of all key stakeholders whoa are allowed to contribute positively on how to work about bringing change (Burke, 2002). This semester more than ever before, has helped open my mind on how to focus organizational change and what the role of each in change should be. This is to mean that change starts with everybody and no single person should be expected to bring any reasonable change into an organization if there is no goodwill by all the stakeholders to do so. In the same line, based on my experience on the case of Apple and my experience in class lessons, I have come to conclude that change is continuous and should not be implemented as a surprise (Palmer et al 2009). This is change has to be done prior to any eventually in order to put in place appropriate strategies to cover for any challenges that the company is likely to find under the new experiences. Further, the semester experience has enabled me to understand the role communication plays in organization change and management change. First, it helps in reconciling all ideas into one object that is acceptable by the majority and willing to support. Second, communication is important in making sure that the need for change and the strategies that have been put in place to support and the role of each and every stakeholder to the change process (Burke, 2002). Further, communication is also preferred when there is need to address issues related to conflicts more especially when individual roles and responsibilities overlap (Boyle 2007). On the other, it has also come to my understanding that change is likely to succeed if the community is not involved. This especially important in determining what the customers need and if in deed the anticipated change will be able to serve their interests. In addition, the change in an organization is about the framework. A framework in any particular context is used to provide a guideline on the reason as to why change has been initiated and what the objective of the change is. With this regard therefore, change should be clearly defined and so as to attract the support of each and every member. Further, change cannot take place if there is no clear guideline which needs to be supported by the available framework. Finally, change to me as come to be known to bear success if it can be sustained. Therefore change ought to very well correlate with the company capacity in terms of resources, skills, competencies and goodwill (Axelrod 2000). The implications of your present perspective on your approach to future organisational change Based on my comprehensive experience from discussions with my colleagues, subject lessons and my own personal experience, I can comfortably say that student manager, am well prepared to take part in any situation where organizational is taking place and have the capacity to contribute positively to its success (Axelrod, 2000). I hope that my experience is very critical in ensuring that my future performance as a manager cannot be put under any doubt. For instance, I have come to realize that change is a collaborate effort and must attract the interest of the majority. Therefore as a student who is preparing in future to lead in change management, I have come to understand that good leadership should always be focused and must identify earlier enough in what the company wants to achieve and the strategies that should be employed at each level according to Zook and Allen (2012). With the same regard, I am meant to strongly believe that change is almost inevitable and should always be encouraged to occur continuously as part of the company’s operations. This is because the kind of environment we are operating in is very competitive and very dynamic and therefore change should be continuous to address any emerging issues. Finally, it’s also understandable that not every change will be success. But, however, success from change management will come into being if change can be sustained. For instance, change sustainability can be achieved in a number of ways including redesigning of roles and responsibilities, change of reward systems, link the chosen decisions with the objectives and finally act consistently with the advocated changes by Black and Hal (2002). In conclusion, this course has been so informative and has real helped change my mind focus on the ways in which used to perceive change management in organizations. This is course has also given me the opportunity to discuss and evaluate the applicability of various change assumptions proposed by different agents of change. As a matter of fact, these assumptions are important in the contemporary society of management and can never be overlooked (Axelrod 2000). Finally, the semester has been very important in preparing me future roles in change management. This is by helping in understanding how change can fail and how sustainability be enhanced for long-term success of the company. This is so essential for making me understand the importance of good leadership in organisational change. References Axelrod, R 2000, Terms Of Engagement: Changing The Way We Change Organizations, San Francisco, California: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Black, J and Hal, B 2002, Leading Strategic Change, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Boyle, S 2007, "Impact of Changes in Organisational Structure on Selected Key Performance Indicators for Cultural Organisations", International Journal of Cultural Policy, Vol. 13, no. 3, pp.319–334. Burke, W 2002, Organization Change: Theory and Practice, Chapters 8-10. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Chou, S 2012, How Apple Changes the World, Social Science Press, March 2012. Kotter, P and Dan, S 2002, The Heart Of Change, Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press. Leader sphere, HR Intelligence Report Organizational Diagnostic Models: A Review & Synthesis 2008, viewed 15th May 2012 from http://leadersphere.com/img/OrgmodelsR2009.pdf Palmer, I., Dunford, R and Akin, G 2009, Managing Organizational Change: a multiple perspectives approach, 2nd Edn, McGraw-Hill Irwin: New York. Paton, R. and Mccalman, J 2008, Change Management a guide to effective implementation,3rd edition, Typeset by C&M Digital Ltd Chennai, India. Taylor-Bianco, A &Schermerhorn, J 2006, ‘Self-regulation, strategic leadership and paradox in organisational change’, Journal of Organisational Change Management, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 457 470. Zook, C & Allen, J 2012, Repeatability: Build Enduring Businesses for a world of Constant Change, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston. Read More