The Social Construction of Climate Change - Essay Example

Running Head: A сlimаtе fоr thе sосiаl соnstruсtiоn оf сhаngе and invоlvеmеnt A сlimаtе fоr thе sосiаl соnstruсtiоn оf сhаngе аnd invоlvеmеnt Customer’s name: Institution: Customer’s Course Tutor’s Name 25th July, 2014 Introduction Social construction and change in organizations are aspects that current day managers cannot be able to avoid. All human beings are in a way addicted to communication and mundane talk. In reality conversation seems to be more than just a carrier of the information. In talks and conversations we deal not only with the issues we believe in relation to people and events, but also based on how we are supposed to live. In the mundane talks and conversations we usually come up with norms that will in a way govern our lives and based on these we come up with issues that will be considered to be morally right or wrong or those that are rational. All employees working in modern day business environment acknowledge the fact that change is inevitable. In spite of how organizational change can be planned it cannot be implemented effectively unless it is communicated to the employees in a way the resistance is overcome, fear is assuaged and confusion is minimized. Thus, conversation and mundane talks are essential social bedrocks and it is through these issues that can foster change in organizations. Discussion Managing change and ensuring that employees get involved can at times be a tricky affair in an organization. When some may view it as being an opportunity other may view it as a situation that instills fear, loss as well as anxiety. Conversations and mundane talks usually act as catalysts for change and better working relations in a great number of the organizations. Based on the competitiveness in the 21st century, a trend to rapid change is being experienced in organizations. Viable and accurate communication plays a role in increasing individual receptiveness as well as organizational preparedness to change. It is obvious that good conversation and communication are seen as crucial aspects of successful change this is solely based on the fact that change usually calls for ample conversation so as to reduce any forms of confusion and the realignment of structural patterns in support of the new direction. The implementation and formulation plans in conversation related to change, therefore, play a crucial role in moving the change to the planned direction (Smith, 2006). Conversations relating to change are usually crucial since they aid in the unfreezing of some old behaviors and it is during this time that the transition to new behaviors occurs. Actually, Ford and Ford 1995, asserts that change cannot take place on it is not mediated by conversations and mundane talks, meaning that conversation is the context within which change occurs. In regard to this there are four major types of conversations that move the change process through all of its successive phases. The first one is the initiative conversations and it is the one that begins the change process and it does so by focusing all the participants attention on what needs to be accomplished. The second one is the conversations of understanding and it is during this stage that participants seek to make sense of the issue at hand and come up with ways of dealing with it. The other one is the conversations about performance and it concentrates more of arriving at the intended result and the last one is the conversation of closure and it is in this stage that the change process is termed to be complete (LeTourneau, 2004). Nevertheless, having high performance conversations seems to be a major challenge for executives. HR directors are usually faced with the problem of unwillingness and inability of holding or conducting difficult feedback discussions. All essential conversation and mundane talks, though they may seem difficult need to be dealt with very carefully. In instances when they are handled well a strong bond will be created between the team members and the managers and thus it will unlock all the permanent improvements for organizations and individuals. Change and involvement seem to be communicated based as well as communication driven phenomenon. In more precise terms, it tends to focus more on the various types of conversations that managers can make use to in creating, sustaining, focusing and completing a change. The idea that conversations have an important and leading role when it comes to the production of change is not new. A great number of writers have for a long period stresses the role conversations and mundane talks in the change process (Van der Waldt, 2004) some have even gone to the extent of suggesting that at times change may be viewed as a major communication problem that can be solved by making people have a better understanding of change and the role they are supposed to play in its implementation (Farley, Broady-Preston & Hayward, 1998). In this regard, mundane talks and conversation can be viewed as tools for explaining and announcing changes, preparing individuals for both the negative and positive impacts of change (Adamson et al., 2006), and for others increasing their awareness of change and their commitment to change (Smith, 2006) and reducing resistance and confusion brought about by change. Conversations and mundane talks play a supporting role to change and involvement. When organizations are undergoing change program conversations and mundane talks facilitates change in that it offer a more comprehensive support system for all the individuals who will be involved in the change (LeTourneau, 2004). These functions that are played by the mundane talk and conversations seem to be vital in the life and operation of all organizations and currently are usually rehearsed by all that are involved. Communication is viewed as one of the major factors leading to change process in organizations, tend to deal with all the issues that are closely connected to both the external and internal communication. It deals with aspects such as methods of communication, timings and the content of the messages being delivered. In instances when communication is excellent during the change process, all individuals in the organization tend to understand the need for change in instances when conversations and mundane talks are poor only the firm managers are aware of the necessity for change, how changes needs to be done and the impact that the changes will have on the business (Kotter, 1995). With the aim of avoiding these managers needs to adapt their communication in their organizations. Conversations and mundane talks clearly depict that effective communication is vital for all the phases in the change process. Conversations and mundane talks will be used to aid in explaining the future status in terms that are more relevant and concrete to the organization’s employees at all levels. Thus, these calls for an urgent need to communicate to the employees the vision of the change which will be altered and translated to more concrete actions that can be viewed (Jones et al., 2004). Also the creation of the vision in itself calls for conversations and mundane talks to take place in the whole organization, with a great number of employees from all levels being involved for them to provide feedback as well as input. Earlier authors such as Evans, Ward, & Rugaas 2000, Kotter 1995, Ford and Ford 1995, places a lot of emphasis on the use of conversations and mundane talks in promoting change in modern day organizations. Barret 2002 added more value to their work by developing a strategic employee communication model which acted as a tool that can be used by organizations to assess the effectiveness of the communication channels that are in place in their organization. The model outlines four major components which interrelate in the well functioning companies to strengthen strategic objectives. Barret 2002 further makes a number of recommendations on how to measure effectiveness of the employees when organizational change is taking place. The power of Lewin’s (Evans, Ward, & Rugaas, 2000) unfreezing – changing – refreezing model in regard to change can be viewed in Van der Waldt’s (2004) representation of change communication as undergoing three major stages. In the first stage of change, employees in the organizations tend to loss all the old ways of doing things and this need a lot of support in these initial stages by conversation and communication that tend to acknowledge the loss and is aware of the difficulty that is involved when letting go the past (Farley, Broady-Preston & Hayward, 1998). In the second stage, employees in an organization are more likely to face uncertainty as well as confusion as they try to adapt and cope with new and improved ways of doing things. Van der Waldt describes this as the ‘neutral zone since he views it as a way station sandwiched between the old and the new, and clarifies that during this stage communication ought to recognize and at the same time attempt to alleviate the isolation that may eventually lead to confusion among the employees. Based on these short term, attainable and measurable goals need to be set and this will play a role in heightening employee morale during this time. The third stage usually occurs as the employees in an organization begins to internalize the changes that are occurring and move on and the communication at this stage is usually characterized by aspects such as the acknowledgment of what each individual in the organization has achieved to date and also offers a more better understanding of the role played by each individual in the new system characterized by change (Evans, Ward & Rugaas, 2000). Organizational change may be disruptive in nature and may at times involve the disruption as well as the uprooting of some norms that enabled the company in succeeding in what it is to date. For the change to succeed, the management team and other organizational staff need to enthusiastically and voluntarily disrupt their own work habits and plans to move into the unknown (Denning, 2005). Thus, in such situations, organizational leaders need to make good use narrative so as to communicate the change and also implement other communication techniques so as to achieve the required level of buy in to make the change workable. Also aspects such as storytelling can also be used to as shown in reality the leader’s vision. Denning 2006, also outlines a number of narrative techniques that can be used in all the different stages in organizational change. For instance the use of the springboard stories this kind of conversation and mundane talks can be used so as to spark action and at the same time assist in enhancing enthusiasm for change. The stories need to simple as well as straightforward in terms of their content with the goals of sparking the imagination of the listeners and making them is able to imagine their own stories that are clearly related to the change that needs to be implemented (Chalmers, Liedtka & Bednar, 2006). Also, organizational leaders can also make good use of the stories so as to defuse or deflate rumors and thus prepare the employees for changes to be implemented in the future. Thus the core aim of this kind of narrative will be to alter the listeners’ behaviors so that they align with the managers or leaders objectives. Additionally storytelling can also be used as a means of making the employee think and talk about the organizational changes (Adamson et al., 2006). Based on these, organizational leaders and managers need to be able to walk their talk in that they must at all time act in ways that are aligned with the organization’s vision for change. Though at times may be expressive of their values and vision, if their behavior is contrary to the rhetoric, a great number of employees will not have faith and respect in them. Conclusion In conclusion, though change may be viewed as ubiquitous, it is also the unnatural provision through which most organizations operate in. In general, change is bound to bring about a crisis in instances hewn it disrupts the expectations on important events and issues. As such, the confusion brought about by change, sometimes becomes inevitable to a degree that has more far reaching consequences on the pertinent stakeholders and the internal employees. Face to face communication can be made use of so as to optimize the negative reactions due to change which usually stems up from having insufficient information or through the use of communication channels that are ineffective. References Adamson, G., Pine, J., Van Steenhoven, T., & Kroupa, J. (2006). How storytelling can drive strategic change. Strategy and Leadership, 34(1), 36-41. Barrett, D. J. (2002). Change communication: Using strategic employee communication to facilitate major change. Corporate Communication: An International Journal, 7(4), 219-231. Chalmers, M., Liedtka, T., & Bednar, C. (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. Denning, S. (2006). Effective storytelling: Strategic business narrative techniques. Strategy and Leadership, 34(1), 42-48. Evans, G. E., Ward, P. L., & Rugaas, B. 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