Organisational Change and Reasons for Change - Coursework Example

CHANGE MANAGEMENT Name Institution Professor Course Date Introduction All organisations are in flux: changing their focus, expanding or contracting their activities and rethinking their products and services. Most organisations more than ten years old look nothing like they did even five years ago. And it is likely that in the next year or two organisations will not look as they do today. I concur with this statement because organisational change is inevitable. This is because most businesses continuously attempt to re-examine their future status. Firms adapt to change and recommend major reforms to advance their output. Change is also requisite when firms are unbalanced and their practices and measures already in place become ineffective. Organisational change takes place when major sections or business strategies of a given organisation are modified. For instance, the 2009 merger between PC World and Currys, British Petroleum and Amoco in 1998 instigated changes in the firms’ business strategies, systems and structure. People often consider transformation as a sign of progress and growth. In the modern business environment, the increased shifts in the external environment, modern technology, market pressure and the need to remain competitive creates evolutionary transformations in organisations. A firm that does not implement change does not grow. Change is continuously taking place in organisations, and to guarantee that changes are implemented appropriately, change managers must understand the origin of change, risks and challenges inherent in the process. Organisational Change and Reasons for Change Change entails the reconstruction procedure of a business with reference to its practices and structure. Change in a firm concerns the firm’s structure and practices. Organizational change can be involuntary or planned, but it is established on faith and requisite when conventional means fail to function (Paton & McCalman, 2008, p.18). Organizational transformation necessitates personal effectiveness and those affected by the change can decide to accept it or reject it. As a result, change calls for viable change management policies. There are three varied types of transformations in a firm, and they include change that have an effect on a firm; change that have an effect on systems, and change that directly influences people (Paton & McCalman, 2008, p.45). People-centred change that influences skills, performance, conducts and of employees. Changes linked to firms bring about structural change, leadership transformation, incremental change and strategic transformation while system shift entails unplanned change, development change and revolutionary change (Paton & McCalman, 2008, p.45). According to Tripathi (2008, p.368), all human systems are prone to changes, but much less often as opposed to a business organisation. The shift in organisation is either a piecemeal shift, to tackle routine problems as they occur, for instance, a change in the layout of an office, or planned change that addresses present issues, but with anticipated issues yet apparently observable. Unplanned change is reactive, simpler, cheap, and calls for minimal planning while a planned change is proactive, engrosses greater commitment of resources and time, calls for complicated planning and is significant for organisational effectiveness (Tripathi 2008, p.368). Organisations require adopting change because of major shifts in technology, external environment and temperament of employees. Moreover, with organisational growth, a firm’s decision-making and communication systems may become chocked, hence requiring change. A firm’s punishment and reward systems may lose their efficiency, and its inter-departmental and inter-personal links may deteriorate thereby imposing a change. Change Management Given that changes in organisations are inevitable, managers must prepare to address shifts through a well-defined procedure. The better prepared the management is to address change, the better prepared the management will move through and guide employees through the change procedure with confidence and courage. It may only take a moment for change to take place, but it takes resources and time to adjust to the change, hence the call for proper change management strategies. Sustainable strategies are vital and they require the management to invest resources and time in transforming the organization through accomplishing basic developments and changes. Change management entails the well thought-out approach to transforming teams, firms or persons from the present position to a more desired future position ((McCalman 2008, p. 23). Change management entails the practice by which firms realise their vision. The idea of change begins with an ingrained vision, and change management smoothen the change process thereby instigating the realization of the prospective status of a particular firm. The prime focus of change management is to ease adoption of organisational change by those unswervingly affected by it. Paton and McCalma (2008, p.18) assert that the approach to efficient management and effecting of transformation is conception of the disposition of a certain change. Recognition of the extent of change and the impact of change is crucial in change management process. Determining the disposition of change promotes effective change management. When the disposition of change is realised at a sensible stage, change managers adopt the best approach to the management of change (Paton & McCalma 2008, p.18). Change managers must reflect on amenities, timescales, interests, control, sensitivity, causes and disposition of change while evaluating and effecting change in an organisation. Comprehending the change origin and its disposition facilitates recognition of the best feasible approach to management of change (Paton & McCalma 2008, p.19). In addition, managers must uphold practicable comprehension of the impact of the change to the firm, people and the firm’s systems to successfully manage change. With respect to McKinsey 7-S model, effective change management rely on structure, strategy, staff, style, systems, shared values and skills. Ignoring one aspect in McKinsey 7-S model would be detrimental to the overall desired outcome. McKinsey model is one of the most suitable approaches for engineering change and change programs in any organization (See Figure 1). Knowledge of change management facilitates development of ways through which a shared insight of change is achieved by change managers. In this regard, change management engrosses visible concern and enthusiasm of leaders and agents of a given change Figure 1: McKinsey 7-S Model Source: (Singh 2013). In any work place, change holds the ability to blindside any firm. Apparently, change can swiftly deteriorate productivity, employees morale and customer service if not managed properly. Change occurs in an instance, and it takes in a lot of time and resources to adjust. As results, change managers must operate through different stages before implementing the change. Cisco Systems (2004, p.887) identifies five major steps in change management. These steps include problem identification, problem diagnosis, problem bypass and recovery, problem resolution and problem tracking and management (Cisco Systems 2004, p.887). Problem diagnosis entails determining the actual cause of the change and the action required to resolve the problem linked to the change. Managers should evaluate their current status determine and detect the major factors that instigate a change. The temperament and pace of the assessment fluctuates depending on the effects, sternness and change urgency. The best apposite level of facilities and understanding should be applied to seek for a way out that matches the objective allocated for the change. Problem diagnosis helps in distinguishing problem and their causes. This step ensures that the problem diagnosed in a firm matches the type of change selected for execution. While there are different aspects that affect management of change, understanding the temperament of change and causes helps in identifying the best possible approach to change management. Thriving change management engages suitable planning, diagnosing gaps and establishment of ground-breaking and adequate activities to determine and handle the needed transformation (Cisco Systems, 2004, 887). Problem diagnosis facilitates understanding of the causes and disposition of change. Effectual change management calls for apposite knowledge of origin and the temperament of change, recognition of the superlative approach to the problem, a reliable and steadfast team and backing systems and models. Kishore and Naik (2008, p. 120) underscores crucial steps involved in the process of change management. These steps include initiation, impact analysis, evaluation, planning, execution and closing. Initiation entails the stage where the initiator underlines the reasons why a given change is necessary in a given organization, its benefits and challenges the firm may face if the change is not implemented. The next step in change management as proposed by Kishore and Naik is the impact analysis where the change agent underscores the effects of the proposed change to the organization and its stakeholders (p.121). Evaluation stage entails understanding the status of change. This entails understanding whether the change is approved, rejected or partially approved. After the change is approved, planning commences where resources needed to implement the change are assessed and provided. Following the planning process, change managers implement the change (Kishore & Naik2008, p. 121). For effective change management, change managers must understand the reason for change. According to Lewin’s change theory, impetus for change should be established before occurrence of change (Liu 2012, p.89).Change managers must prepare the organization and its stakeholders to accept that a given change is important. This according to Lewin’s model otherwise known as unfreeze, change-refreeze model entails the unfreezing stage. The unfreeze stage is followed by the transitioning or moving stage where managers examines the change and identifies the suitable propagation mechanism. This stage calls for establishment of a comprehensive action plan and involving people in the proposed change. Refreezing, the final step in Lewin’s theory entails integrating the change into the firm and resuming its equilibrium (Liu 2012, p.89). According to Manning (2012, p.263), there are five major themes essential in managing change. They include strategic thinking, leadership, task management, relationships and resources. Strategic thinking entails identification of prospects and threats, problem diagnosis and analysis. Leadership is essential in change management as it facilitates communication of the overall strategic direction, developing teams to attain shared goals besides developing people with required knowledge and skills for successful change implementation. Task management entails planning activities and tasks, evaluation processes and activities co-coordination. Relationships as a key step in change management entail upholding productive links that facilitates successful change implementation while the resources aspect entails providing required resources that include technical expertise, people, time and money needed to implement a given change. While implementing change, change managers encounter several obstacles in their quest to implement change. These challenges include awareness of the necessity for change, readiness of employees and other stakeholders to partake and support the change, potential to effect the desired behaviors and skills and the strength to sustain the change. Resistance to change is a major obstacle in change management. Resistance to change is attributed to hidebound egotism, misinterpretation, a low forbearance to change and diverse evaluations of the situation .However, managers can address resistance to change through negotiation and agreement, facilitation and support, education and communication, and participation and involvement. Commitment and involvement of those affected by change should be done from the beginning of the change process, that is, from strategy formulation to the implementation phase (Manning 2012, p.263). Conclusion Change is a frequent thread that runs in all organizations notwithstanding their sizes and age. As the world changes, firms must change to match the current technology advancement and market demands. Firms must adopt change to remain competitive in the business world. This calls for effective change management strategies that require proper planning of activities of change management, diagnosing gaps, and creating corrective actions. Obstacles and resistance to change should be carefully handled. These gaps can be handled through education and efficient communication, involvement and commitment of those affected by change. Procedures to effective management and implementation of change entail the consideration potential effect of change and the disposition of change. Managers of change must bump up change exigency by rousing the employees to put together relatable and real objectives. A leading team is elemental in change management, and it calls for input from observant and conversant people. . . Reference List Kishore, S., Naik, K 2001, Software requirements and estimation. New York: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Liu, X 2011, Change management for sematic web services. London: Springer. Manning, T 2012, ‘Managing change in hard times’, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 44 Iss: 5, pp.259 – 267. Paton, R., & McCalman, J, 2008, Change management: A guide to effective implementation. New York: SAGE Publications Ltd. Singh, A, 2013‘A study of role of McKinsey’s 7s framework in achieving organisational excellence’, Organisation Development, 31, 3, pp.39-50. Tripathi 2008, Principles of management. New York: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Read More