The Changing Work Environments - Example

The Changing Work Environments Insert Name Tutor Date Changing work environments Introduction The world today is changing due to globalization and also the developments that are taking place in information and telecommunication technology. The nature of work is also changing to keep up with these changes in technology and so the workplaces. Some of the jobs that existed before are becoming obsolete while other new ones are being created. Changing that are being experienced in workplaces include workforce diversity as businesses turn global, new ways of doing things due to new technologies and also development of new skills. The roles and responsibilities of supervisors are therefore changing due to these changes in the workplace. Supervisors and managers therefore need to prepare themselves so that they can adapt to the changes that are taking place in work environments. Failure by the managers to adapt to these changes will make their organizations to lag behind. However, most of them are facing many challenges in doing so. This paper therefore looks at the factors that are contributing to the changes that are taking place in the work environments and the challenges that managers are facing in dealing with these changes. Factors contributing to the rapidly changing work environments The two main drivers of change in the working environments are technology and globalization. New technology has enabled easier and inexpensive preparation and dissemination of information. On the other hand, globalization has brought faster and easier transportation methods with instant information transfer which has made the world a one giant marketplace. How technology has contributed to changes in the work environments Technology has brought many changes in the workplace and is expected to bring more changes since innovations are continuing. A lot of information can be accessed plus the faster avenues of accessing this information have made it easier to deliver a lot of information at an exponential rate. Therefore to manage all these technology enabled processes, organizations must have teams of experts to lead the way. However, with the technology enabling faster communication and quick decision making, organizations are facing the challenge of managing this highly specialized information. Technology has therefore changed how work is organized and also the structure of firms. This is because when an organization adopts new technology; it has to make significant changes in the how the work is organized so that it can realize the potential benefits of this innovation (Ayandele & Adeoye, 2010). Technology has also changes labor relations as well as policies on human resources. Management teams are therefore being forced to make plans on how the new technologies will be adopted and also to develop new systems of job classification and compensation. New technologies have also changed policies of health and safety in workplace through bringing in new demands to departments that regulate workplace hazards. How globalization has contributed to changes in the work environments Globalization has resulted to elimination of barriers to trade therefore promoting migration and investment across different countries. This has changed the composition of workforces and organizational structure in both the developing and the developed countries. Globalization has also resulted in changes in consumer preferences as many varieties of goods and services are being brought into the markets. Organizations are therefore being forced to turn global so that they can also remain on track. Globalization has brought changes such as cultural diversity within the workforce. This is because people have moved to seek for employment in different countries thus diversifying the workforce. Organizations must also diversify their workforce so that they can enjoy benefits of skills, knowledge and technology that is available in other countries. This diversity within the workforce has also brought changes in earnings. Due to increased competition due to globalization, organizations may require to outsource employees that will enable them gain insights into different global markets. The outsourced employees may have different wage demands which organizations must cope with. Workforce diversity has also necessitated employee training that will enable the employees to cope with each other regardless of their cultural differences. This will require changes in training policies (Drori, Meyer & Hwang, 2006). Globalization has also enabled companies to invest in foreign countries especially those from the developing countries. This has required them to raise their standards so that they can offer safe workplaces and better working conditions. Generally, globalization has brought need for organizations to change their working environments so that they can enjoy the benefits that it has brought (Jayasuriya, 2008). The changing theories of management Management involves coordination and overseeing that way other people are doing the work to ensure that they complete their activities in an efficient and effective manner (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2009). Traditional theories of management are changing with the changing work environments. For example, according to Henri Fayol, the functions of managers in an organization are planning, organizing, leading and controlling as described. Planning involves setting the organizational goals and defining strategies that will enable achievement of those goals and also making plans for integrating and coordinating activities. Organizing involves arranging how work will be done in order to accomplish those goals. Leading involves working with and through people in accomplishments of the set goals while controlling involves monitoring the performance of employees towards achievement of the set goals and taking action where required. Fayol also stated that these roles were universal since all managers perform them during their work in various organizations (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2006). These roles are however changing in the modern organizations due to information and communication technology and globalization. The changes in the work environment have changed the work of managers in that they will have to adopt new ways of managing this change (Stoner, Freeman & Gilbert, 2003). Some of the factors that are influencing change in the managers’ work include the importance that has been attached to customers. Quality has therefore been given a lot of priority and therefore employees have been highly valued so that this quality can be maintained. The other factor is innovation. Managers need to promote an innovative culture within the organization. This culture will drive innovation that will enable the organization to cope with the changing work environments. The other factor is sustainability. This implies the ability of an organization to meet the needs of its customers today without affecting the ability of the coming generations to also meet their needs. Sustainability also implies the ability of an organization to achieve its goals and also increase the shareholder value in the long term through incorporating social, economic and environmental opportunities is its growth strategies. Therefore on top of the previously known management functions, managers in the modern organizations have to incorporate other functions that will include a focus on the changing customers needs, increased innovation and how to ensure sustainability of their business operations (Holbeche, 2005). Challenges faced by managers going through change in their organizations In the previous years where technology had not taken its place as it has today, managers’ work was very simple and with few challenges. However, as the working environment is changing, managers are facing many challenging in ensuring that their organizations are not left behind by these changes. Some of the main challengers that managers are facing today include: Responding to globalization Globalization has reshaped the business environment by bringing in new competitors that require new marketing strategies. The market situation has therefore become increasingly dynamic making it hard for managers to predict a substantial strategy for developing their business organizations. Managers are therefore working with short term strategies as they watch the turn of events (Drori, Meyer & Hwang, 2006). Secondly, the dynamic global market situations make it difficult to predict changes in profits and losses that businesses may expect. Managers are therefore being forced to redefine their organizational models to respond to these impacts of globalization. Many aspects are changing simultaneously such that managers do not have time to manage each change at a time. Managers are therefore facing the challenge on the type of management that they need to take and also how to reshape their organization to cope with these changes (Cao & McHugh, 2005). Managing diversity in the workforce The main challenge that managers face with a diverse workforce is due to the perspective of majority and minority of the teams of employees. In most cases, a particular race or ethnicity may dominate the workforce. For example local people may be more that foreigners in any organization. The managers have the role of managing the differences, preventing discrimination and also ensuring that there is inclusiveness. Prejudice and discrimination in a diverse workforce may lead to loss of the most productive personnel and this may reduce an organization’s productivity. The heterogeneity of the workforce is also a challenge to the managers due to differences in ethics, working culture and motives of employees from different countries (Grieves, 2010). Changing the existing workforce With the changing technology, human resource managers are also facing the challenge of aligning the human resources to the new business strategies. This will involve changes in resourcing, recruitments, and retaining of the experts. This will come with a cost because employees who are expertise in a certain technology will be on high demand. For an organization to retain such an employee there has to be better wages. Human resource managers will also have to recruit people who have skills and knowledge in the current technology who will also be expensive to hire (Sahu & Pathardikar, 2007). Employees’ resistance to change Aligning the existing employees to new work environments is also a challenge to human resource managers. Employees tend to resist change due to factors such as ambiguity and the uncertainty that is brought by change, being very used to old ways of doing things, concerns that they may lose their personal status or their convenience being interrupted and perception on incompatibility of change to the goals and values of the organization. Clearing this notion from the employees may be a difficult task for the managers. Managers may therefore be forced to use various drivers that may overcome this resistance (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, Coulter, 2006). The cost of the changing work environment Keeping an organization in track with the changes that are taking place in the workplace is a costly event. Organizations have to invest in technology which will require installation of the required modern equipments and the necessary expertise. Managers have therefore the challenge of increasing the productivity of the organizations in the modern ways and at the same time maintain profitability. Managers are also forced to take steps ahead to ensure that their organizations fit in the global markets. This may require a lot of networking and investing globally. This calls for a lot of funds that must be generated by the existing organizational structures (Lewis, 2011). Increasingly complex legislative and regulatory frameworks This challenge may be especially due to the need for organizations to respond to globalization through investing across borders and also through outsourcing. Different countries have different legislations guiding investments in ways such as licensing and labor relations. Managers must be aware of such legislations before they venture into those countries. There are also different legal frameworks guiding how business is done in various countries. Different states may have different requirements for setting up various types of businesses. For example businesses on alcohol and cigarettes are highly regulated in Australia. Managers may face a challenge coping up with such regulations that they are not used to. There are also different labor laws across the globe that may be a challenge to managers. For example the minimum wage may be different across borders and managers must observe all these. The number of working hours may also differ across various countries. Other regulations on occupational health and safety, control of pollution, and corporate social responsibilities may be different (Kanter, 2003). How managers can overcome the challenges Since change must take place and organizations must cope with this change, it is important for managers to find ways of implementing this change without making the working environment difficult for them and the employees. Change cannot be entirely predictable but since it is inevitable, managers must prepare themselves and their employees for change. Some of the things that managers need to do include planning, communication, availing themselves, following up and listening. Planning Planning ahead is very important in today’s changing work environment. This involves acquiring adequate information on the likely changes and how they may affect the organization. This will enable the managers to easily deal with the change since they will be well equipped with information. Planning will also enable the managers to put up the necessary structures such that the change does not disrupt the existing work. These structures include legislation and legal frameworks, ways of financing the cost of change, and also putting in place the required expertise (Lunenburg, 2010). Communication This involves proper communication with the employees when change is being introduced in the workplace. This communication should involve both the manager and the employees. The manager needs to get feedback from the employees and give them a chance to ask questions. This will help in preventing resistance to change because they will feel that they have a voice regarding the organizational restructuring and that their concerns will be addressed and their ideas considered. This will leave them prepared for the change and once it comes, they will be receptive of it. Information will also make them be comfortable in the new working environment. This should however continue even during the implementation of change for those who will be affected. Basically, communication in the changing workplace can help everything to move smoothly and can attract even the involvement of the employees in implementing the change (Lunenburg, 2010). Availability During the time of change, it is very important for the managers to be available to his or her employees. This is important because the employees will ask a lot of questions when things start changing. Employees may have the required training but some issues may arise during the implementation of the change. Knowing that the manager is present will make the employees feel secure when taking up their new roles since they know that their concerns will be addressed. Following up Successful implementation of change in the workplace requires adequate follow up to check on the progress of the employees. The manager needs to enquire on how the change has impacted on the employees, any needed adjustments or any expected outcomes. Issues that are identified during the follow up should be addressed (Jon, 2010). Listening It may not be possible to address some difficulties experienced by the employees especially those who are resisting the change but it is important for the manager to listen to them. This is because some of the employees may have solutions to some problems experienced as well as great ideas on how to go about the change. Listening will also indicates to the employees that they are working together with the manager in implementing the change. This will therefore make them take the changes positively. Failure to listen to the employees may cause them frustrations and this may make some of the quit the job. They therefore need support during the change process to make it successful (Amagoh, 2008). Conclusion With the continuing trends in the global economy, managers may not be exempted from the changes that have been brought by globalization and technology. Failure to adopt these changes will make the organization lag behind as others turn to global markets as well as new technologies. It has been a challenge for many managers as they face the challenges that have been discussed in this paper. However, since change has to happen, the managers must work on overcoming these challenges. Planning, communication, availability, following up and listening are some of the ways that have been shown to help managers to overcome the challenges. The job of the manager is therefore not to only give the information required by employees for implementing change but also to make a follow up to ensure that change positively impacts the organization. Listening and availing themselves as well as maintaining proper communications ensures that even the difficult changes are successful. These will ensure that change is well received by the employees and also in overcoming any obstacles to the implementation of the change. Bibliography Amagoh, F., (2008), Perspectives on Organizational Change: Systems and Complexity Theories. The Public Sector Innovation Journal, Volume 13(3). Ayandele and Adeoye, O., (2010), Changing work Environment through Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Challenges to Secretarial Staff. International Journal of Computer Applications 9(10):35–40. Cao, G., and McHugh, M., (2005) “A systemic view of change management and its conceptual underpinnings”, Systemic Practice and Action Research, 18(5), 475-490. Grieves, J., (2010), Organizational Change: Themes and Issues, Oxford University Press. Holbeche, L.,(2005), The High Performance Organization: Creating Dynamic Stability And Sustainable Success, Boston, Routledge. 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