Importance of Communication during Change Management - Essay Example

Importance of Communication during Change Management Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 2 Analysis 3 Organizational change at Al Foah Company 3 Positive impacts of communication during the organizational change 4 Impacts of poor communication in the organizational change at the company 7 Conclusion 7 References 9 Introduction Al Foah Company is one of the prominent organizations in the UAE and it was established in 2005 when it became a member of General Holdings Corporation. The company owns several assets in the UAE which include Al Foah farm in Al ain city and is considered as the largest organic farm in the world. The company also has four different brands and it has led to the growth and development of the company. Al Foah employs more than six hundred employees who include 71 locals and 654 expatriates. The products of the company are consumed in more than thirty three countries all over the world where the company also has branches. Organizational change is an important concept that has to be experienced by any organization at a particular time (Barrett, 2002). The reasons for organizational change vary depending with the situation facing the organization. The paper critically discusses the importance of communication during organizational change in relation to Al Foah Company. Analysis Organizational change at Al Foah Company The company experienced organizational change that occurred in three stages at different times. Each of the changes had a significant effect on the company as well as the employees. The first stage of the changes occurred when the merge of all the factories was done. The methods of operations as well as the management styles of the company had to be changed. This first phase of change had a lot of negative consequences on the employees as the communication process regarding the change was poor. The second phase of the change was implemented after the management style was changed. This involved the change in the top management team of the company. This was necessary as the new management team had a role of achieving the new goals and objectives of the company. The success of the first phase of change also required new leadership styles as well as new leaders at the management level. The final stage of the organizational change occurred in 2012 when the company had to be transformed from a semi autonomous government agency to a company fully owned by the government. This change at third stage was easy to adopt as the strategies for successfully implementing organizational had been put in place. Positive impacts of communication during the organizational change The organizational change at the company was quite disruptive as most of the employees were not used to the new concepts. According to Bednar et al (2002), the communication process however played an important role in terms of unfreezing the old behaviors of the employees and ensuring that they adapted to the new concepts. The communication process played an important role in terms of mediating the changes that the organization was supposed to implement. This is important during the process as it ensures that the employees understand the reasons behind the changes. The communication process was also important for the employees as it enabled them to make sense of what was happening at the company. This provided an important step for the employees in terms of dealing with the changes facing them. The communication process was also an important factor in guiding the employees towards achieving the intended results (Van der Waldt, 2004). This was important for the organization in terms of achieving its goals and objectives. During the first stage of the changes, the company had all the resources at hand to implement the change. However, the communication process was the most effective tool that enabled the company to successfully implement the change. Communication is thus quite important for an organization in terms of giving directions to the employees. The communication process was also important to the organization during the second stage of the change. This was important as the company was under new members of the management team. Through the communication process, the members were able to understand the intentions of the new management team and hence supporting the organizational change efforts. The communication process also played an important role in the organization in terms of assessing the progress regarding the organizational change. The monitoring of the organizational change is important to an organization as it determines the steps to be taken by the organization top achieve the intended goals (Denning, 2005). The communication process was also important to the employees as it enabled them to forward their complaints and concerns regarding the process. This was particularly useful during the second stage of the changes. Through the communication process, the employees were trained on the importance of the change and as a result they learned about the benefits of the changes. Most of the employees were happy during the third stage of the changes as the benefits and importance of the changes were communicated to them effectively. The communication process is thus important in terms of changing the perception of the employees regarding the changes. According to Rugaas (2000), the change process for the organization involved a lot of anguish and pain for the employees of the company as they were used to the old ways. This has the potential of reducing the performance of the organization as well as affecting the process. However, the communication process during the organizational change played an important role in convincing the employees that the management is aware of the difficulties facing them. Effective communication during the implementation of change is also important in terms of eliminating speculations within an organization. The speculations in most cases may cause panic to the employees and hence reducing their performance. False information may also result from speculations during the organizational change and hence affecting the operations of the organization. The communication process was thus important for the organization in terms of ensuring that the employees have the right information regarding the changes going on. The company was also impacted positively by the communication process by ensuring that any changes are communicated to the employees. The trust level of the employees within an organization can be raised through the use of an effective communication process. The company was able to gain the trust of the employees through an effective communication process. This was particularly important to the company during the third stage of the changes. Effective communication plays an active role in preparing the employees for the changes. It ensures that the employees are ready for the changes as they know what to expect and how to handle the changes (Gallois, et al, 2004). The company was able to gain positively from the effective communication during the second and the third stage of the communication. The employees were informed in advance of what to expect and the impacts that the changes may have on the organization. This led to the success of the organizational change where little resistance was experienced during those stages. The communication process is also important during the organizational change as it enables the employees to give their views regarding the changes. The company was able to put into consideration some of the issues raised by the employees during the process. An effective communication process during the organizational change also empowers the employees (Smith, 2006). It ensures that the employees are not mistreated during the process regardless of their position in the company. Some organizational changes may lead to loss of jobs on the basis of qualifications. The employees of the company were thus protected from any form of exploitation through an effective communication process. Impacts of poor communication in the organizational change at the company The company was faced with several problems during the first stage of the implementation of organizational change. Most of the problems faced by the company could have easily been solve through effective communication. The lack of clear procedures during the implementation was responsible for employee resistance. The situation was worsened by the poor communication between the employees and the management. The employees did not know the reasons for the changes and the position of the company regarding the changes. Most of the employees who resisted the changes thought that the changes would impact them negatively and hence the resistance. The resistance of the employees during the implementation of changes is quite costly to an organization (LeTourneau, 2004). All the activities and operations of the company are usually affected by the resistance of the employees. The trust in the company is also reduced during the employee resistance to change. The communication process is thus important in terms of ensuring that the employees are in touch with what is going on in the company. This played an important role during the second and third stages of the organizational change at the company. The use of effective communication benefited both the organization and the employees and hence the success of the organizational change. Conclusion In conclusion, the communication process is an important tool that can be used to manage changes within an organization. Al Foah Company was able to implement the changes at different stages through the use an effective communication process. The organization was also able to avert several problems associated with the organizational change through creating an effective communication mechanism. It also evident that the organization learnt of the importance of the communication process after the first stage of organizational change which experienced employee resistance. An effective communication process is therefore beneficial to the organization and the employees. References Al Foah, (2012). About us. Retried on 4 January from, < http://www.alfoah.ae/> Barrett, D. J. (2002). Change communication: Using strategic employee communication to facilitate major change. Corporate Communication: An International Journal, 7(4), 219-231. Bednar, C. et al. (2006). A library communication audit for the twenty-first century. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 6(2), 185-195. Denning, S. (2005). Transformational innovation: A journey by narrative. Strategy and Leadership, 33(3), 11-16. Rugaas, B. (2000). Management basics for information professionals. New York: Neal- Schuman Publishers, Inc. Gallois, C. et al. (2004). Organization communication: Challenges for the new century. Journal of Communication, 54(4), 722-750. LeTourneau, B. (2004). Communicate for change. Journal of Healthcare Management, 49(6), 354-357. Smith, I. (2006). Communicating in times of change. Library Management, 27(1/2), 108-112. Van der Waldt, D. (2004). Towards corporate communication excellence in a changing environment. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 3, 134-143. Read More