Change Management Ability of the Management - Coursework Example

Running Head: LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT Leadership and Management [Writer’s Name] [ Institution’s Name] Leadership and Management Introduction Change takes place in every organization. Mostly this change effects the relationship between the management and the employees, such change usually gives rise to conflict usually organizations need to implement change management plan in order to reduce the tension and resistance. The change is often needed when an organization is in trouble, sometimes change is needed to make to move further as it’s growth is stagnant. Change usually involves processes like mergers, acquisitions, changes in management ect. These changes usually leave the employees confused and unsecure about their jobs. This is what makes them resist changes. This paper shall analyze the issue of change resistance and change management strategies. Change is usually the main cause of tension in an organization, thus this paper shall analyze this issue in depth. Resistance due to change is something which causes a lot of discomfort for the management. A detailed analysis of such resistance must be carried out by every organization as its is important for the success of the change process. . Theorists and models of change management are used to give a better understanding of the change and resistance management used by organizations. Thus this paper provides a complete understanding of the entire change management and ability to mange resistance during the change process. Analysis Organizational change may be defines as the changes which take place in organizational entity. The changes may result in change of infrastructure, policies, management, culture ECT. At times even an entire new organization may be merged (Van de Ven and Poole, 1995) . Organizational changes are usually implemented deliberately by the management , they may introduce a complete new vision and set of policies which in turn may affect the way they are supposed to behave in the organization (Schalk, Campbell and Freese, 1998). The main objective of organizational change is an adjustment to the new environment being introduced . At times it may even be implemented in order to enhance the. These changes usually leave the employees confused and unsecure about their jobs. This is what makes them resist changes. Resistance may be considered as a behaviour or act which may have diverse effect on the ongoing change process, it may cause it to be delayed or effect it’s beginning, causing barriers or hampering the implication of the change, thus it may effect the economical condition of the organization (Ansoff, 1990). Resistance is present in every behaviour which may attempt to maintain the status quo, it may be considered to be like inertia, as it main function is that its hampers the change process (Maurer, 1996).in the above mentioned sense it may be said that both the before mentioned concepts are not negative, as change is not always something positive for organizations. This may be considered by the fact that resistance could help change managers to realize certain characteristics which they have overlooked while implementing the change (Waddell and Sohal, 1998). However, resistance is mostly may be the reason behind unsuccessful change processes. As resistance to change usually causes conflicts between the managers and employees. Resistance as mentioned before not only effects the time management of an organization, but also the budget which has been allotted for the implementation of change as it may be delayed (Ansoff, 1990). Without doubt, resistance to change is an important phenomenon for change management and must be studied by every organization to help them during the process of transformation. It may also be noted that the resistance can be controlled by various method of change management. These strategies are given below. Change Management Ability of the Management A question always remains is that can managers prevent resistance before it takes place? .There may not be general suggestion to avoid resistance to change, nevertheless, according to the above given analysis , one could advice mangers to pay special attention to particular conditions. In order , to reduce resistance due to deep-rooted values, managers must pay attention to their organizational culture and make sure if it is compatible with change objectives. They should also try to find out to make the culture compatible before they start implementing the change process . The above mentioned cultural consideration may improve and strengthen the management and employee relationships and help the organization to move in the right direction towards change. Another important notion for managing change and reducing resistance is training. Training may help in resolving the surpass communication difficulties , this in turn will help reduce resistance which has taken place due to communication barriers, it may also play a vital role in reducing the gap among current condition and the ability needed effectively manage the change process. The way in which changes may be managed the may be Kotter & Schlesinger (1979) outlined as there strategies to manage conflict regarding change . These were; - Education and Communication; - Participation and Involvement; - Facilitation and Support; - Negotiation and Agreement; - Manipulation and Co-optation; and - Explicit and Implicit coercion The management’s focus should be towards the positive approaches education, communication, participation, involvement, facilitation and support over the more direct and negative aspect. The management should use education and communication as a way to ensure there was not a lack of information concerning the changes that were being made. The use of seminars to explain the new operations and practices to the HR staff can help managers express to the employee the logic and reasoning behind the changes thus reducing the conflict. Making clear exactly what was happening and changing ensures that unfounded rumours are not spread the increases the level of resistance. Addressing the way in which people were educated in the changes is one aspect highlighted by the emergent school of though into change management. Pettigrew etal (1992) and Wilson (2003) of the learning aspect of the emergent school highlighted how an increased willingness to change can be bought about by educating the employees of the situation and bringing the crises to the employees, they realize there is no other option. Using the seminars to educate of the job cuts and the bad press in the media, meant that the HR employees became more committed to the changes as they knew the risk to them of not supporting the changes and thus causing conflict. Clarke (1994) also suggested that using education like seminars to express the benefits towards the employees in terms self development encourage commitment as well as a sense of shared ownership. If an organization which is undergoing change wants to succeed in managing the resistance of the employees and reduce the conflict they must ensure that they developed upon this sense of ownership and made the employees proud to work for them. Martin and Nicholls (1987) three pillar model of committed shows how ensuring a sense of belonging through the seminars and bringing a sense of excitement of the job through the dinners and reward schemes introduced. Went a long way to ensuring commitment. The introduction of two-way communication session as well as the 'Talk-About' programs between management and employees where employees can inform management of potential problem and suggest solution, has also helped continue in developing the sense of ownership idea amongst the employees Hickson and Pugh (1995) of the emergent school also highlighted that in order to generate a change culture; those employees involved in the changes should be able to aid in the diagnosis and development of solutions. This opportunity for participation (2-Way conversation/talk-about programs) was another aspect of Kotter & Schelsinger's (1979) model. They argue that involving them in this way will ensure they are more likely to 'buy-into' the changes and this reduces the conflict . This shift in management thinking to start considering the employees opinions is supported by the emergent school and helps lead onto its effect on commitment and conflict. Shifting the manager's so that they became facilitators (another aspect from the Kotter & Schelinder (1979) model) and aware of there change conscious workers as well as committing to long term staff so that the managers may gain the support, and may help to increase the effectiveness of any further changes. This was the 'central argument' of Dawson (1994) from the power/politics aspect of the emergent school. The general understanding to address the culture of an organisation when implementing positive change is highlighted by both the emergent school and the OD school. Baron (1985) from the emergent schools perception suggested, that in order for change to be successful, the change needs to be attached to the organizations culture so that resistance associated with the change can be reduced. The facts from the outcome of the culture shift/organisational commitment show that there has been success whichever model you hold it against. Resistance can only be reduced through sense of ownership, commitment and communication. A successful change process is one which not only successfully implements the change by hook crook but one that implements a change while handling all issue of it’s employees as well. Many organizations have seen success in tackling the resistance issues that arise in their organization they have implemented so far, but they cannot rest because at times there are many problems regarding the financial situation to address during the change process . If the resistance issues are not managed properly it may also effect the of competition and their position in the market Failure to continue commitment in investing in there employees as well as supporting the changes may take them back to square one as resistance will arise in the organization and this may lead to strikes and unhappy workers . Organizations undergoing change processes have to hold presentation, dinner and award ceremonies to try and encourage employees to further adapt a to the 'identification' level of commitment, where the employee are proud to be associated to the firm this ensures management of resistance The success of such dinners and ceremonies indicate that the employees are showing more of willingness to be associated with the firm. These aspects of the change management in an also shows there awareness to employee needs on a higher level, Conclusion Resistance to change may be an important factor for every organization which are undergoing a change process, as good management of resistance certainly helps in making the process successful. By the analysis given above it can be concluded that, by addressing the HR department and staff morale using more positive techniques of involvement, communication, facilitation, etc has helped when conflict between the management and employees regarding change needed to be controlled. References Ansoff, I.H. (1990), Implanting Strategic Management, Prentice Hall International, Ltd. London Baron, R. A. (1985). Reducing organizational conflict: The role of attributions. Journal of Applied Psychology. 70, Clarke, L (1994); The Essence of Change, Prentice Hall International Ltd., London, Dawson P, (1994); Organizational Change: A Processual Approach, Paul Chapman Hickson, DJ and Pugh, DS, (1995); Management worldwide: the impact of societal culture on organizations around the globe, Penguin Books, London Kotter, J.P., Schlesinger, L.A. (1979), "Choosing strategies for change'", Harvard Business Review, pp.106-14 Martin, P., Nicholls, J. (1987), Creating a Committed Workforce, Institute of Personnel Management, London. Maurer, R. (1996) “Using resistance to build support for change”, The Journal for Quality and Participation, 19 (3), pp. 56-66. Pettigrew, AM, (1992), The Character and Significance of Strategy Process Research, Strategic Management Journal, 13:5-16 Schalk, R., Campbell, J.W. and Freese, C. (1998) “Change and employee behaviour”, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 19 (3), pp. 157-163. Waddell, D. and Sohal, A.S. (1998) “Resistance: a constructive tool for change management”, Management Decision, 36 (8), pp. 543-548. Van de Ven, A.H. and Poole, M.S. (1995) “Explaining development and change in organizations”, Academy of Management Review, 20 (3), pp. 510-540. Wilson, F. (2003), Organizational Behaviour and Gender, 2nd Edition edn, Ashgate Read More