Organisation Change Management - Example

Change Management Name Class Unit Introduction Organisation change is a transition process of an organisation from its current state to a new state. Change can occur as a mean of reducing operational costs, crisis intervention and managing competition among other goals (Spector, 2007). The process of organisation change is very vital in an organisation. Organisational change can be explained through three main theories which are; life cycle theory, dialectical theory and teaological theories. Change can be targeted to organisation culture, leadership, structure, strategy and vision among others. Organisation change management is the process of transitioning change in an organisation. It’s mostly associated with the most important part of change which is people (Rainey, 2009). Change management involves use of a change agent who initiates and manages change in an organisation (Creasey, 2007). This report will look at the account of two organisation changes I witnessed firsthand. The report will critically appraise each of the examples. The main areas that the report will critically consider are; rationale behind change, appropriateness and success of the decisions and actions taken and the attention that was given to impact of change on those affected. The report will use frameworks based on literature on managing change. Example 1 Rationale The first case of organisation change that I witnessed was cost cutting measure carried out by an organisation I was working with. The company had carried out a personnel audit and came into a conclusion that there was work duplication in several departments hence need for layoffs. The company also noted that if it started sharing resources among departments, they would cut costs. This led to employees layoffs in departments where there were duplications. The company also started subletting some of its office space which led to some employees sharing desks and resources. There are two ways in making money in a business. The means are; cutting costs or increasing revenues. For an organisation, future costs are easily predictable than revenues. By reducing payroll, one is able to increase organisation revenue. Thus, the organisation was trying to cut costs and enhance their earnings through layoffs (De & Marks, 2003). The organisation saw the need to reduce waste and inefficiency that was in the organisation. How sensible was it The decision to conduct layoffs was very sensible. The firm carried out restructuring as the last resort to cut costs. The organisation had always viewed employees as assets to be developed. The management were looking into means in which they can utilise their employees more efficiently without task duplication to save costs. There was also need to ensure that the available resources such as office space were utilised properly (De & Marks, 2003). Communication Communication is a major pillar for change implementation (Creasey, 2007). The workers are always curious on what is happening and why. The company had informed stakeholders on their efforts to cut costs. They had informed the workers the need for reduction of task duplication and efficient utilisation of resources. This helped in reducing misinformation among employees and change resistance. Failure to communicate leads to an environment of uncertainty and encourages grapevine. Workers will only trust their leaders if there is open communication and their position is clear. According to empirical rational change management strategy, human beings are rational and are only able to follow their self interest when it has been revealed to them. This implies that change can only be successful if it’s communicated well (Carnall, 2008). Employees are reasonable hence they can be communicated with. The organisation thus did their part in informing workers on the need for change. This process requires use of change agent. The change agent should be able to convince others to accept the change (Anderson, 2011). This influence is achieved through constant flow of information. Appropriateness and success of decisions made and the actions taken Despite the fact that the organisation needed to cut costs, the decision to lay off some employees and rent up some of the office place was implemented wrongly. The organisation failed to look at the long and short term goals. The firm did not consider the effect that restructuring would have on the ability to meet their goals. The organisation eliminated some of the best performers whose offices were found duplicating jobs. After the downsizing, the organisation did not consider a change in way of doing things (Creasey, 2007). The decision led to those who were left behind losing morale in their work. What could have been done more effectively? The decision to downsize is a major one and should be handled delicately. The management despite informing the employees on the need to downsize failed in several areas. The process of downsizing should have been carried out selectively (De & Marks, 2003). Despite the fact that there was duplication of work and need to cut costs, losing the best performers was a great risk to organisation perfoamcne. The organisation should have done all possible to retain best performers despite the need to lay off some employees. After the layoff, there was need to change the ways of working (Anderson, 2011). This is due to fact that the workload had to change on the employees. After downsizing, the firm did not seek for feedback from the stakeholders. This would have enabled them to know the results of the change on the organisation performance before it became uncontrollable. The success or failure of organisation change is affected by several factors which are; focus on change rather than results, poor change management, poor planning and insufficient readiness (Năstase, Predişcan & Roiban, 2013). All these factors would have been considered when carrying out change. Fig.1, Steps in change management (Stephen, 2010). Handling the emotional impact of the change on the people affected Being a learning organisation, the change had a great impact on employees’ emotions. The organisation ineptly handled the employees who lost their jobs. Those who were affected by job layoffs were not treated with dignity since they were just handed the termination letter. The organisation did not manage survivors effectively. After layoff, employees’ morale is highly affected. Survivors suffer from high levels of stress and sense of betrayal. Those who survive become risk averse and this lowers their productivity (Murphy, 2002). The organisation downplayed the emotional damage caused by their layoff. Effectiveness and how could this aspect have been handled more successfully The organisation did not look at the ways in which other stakeholders would be affected such as suppliers and customers. The organisation did not take measures such as training the supervisors on handling the emotional support to the laid off staff. For the laid off staff, the organisation would have offered emotional support. This could have been done through guidance and counselling, outplacement and financial support (Green, 2007). The decision was carried in a short span of time hence it was bound to have a great effect on the employees. Effective cost cutting is based on having effective management of the human resources. There is need to carefully consider the effects and the rationale behind layoffs. Organisation is supposed to invest in analysis of the impacts the process will have on those leaving and employees who survive layoff. There is need to ensure that survivors are given a reason to stay in the firm and ensure that there is prospective for new hires (Beerel, 2009). The surviving employees are the people which the organisation will depend on to achieve its goals. The organisation is supposed to do everything possible to ensure that they are committed and their trust enhanced. The employees and management are also supposed to be taught the new ways of operating (Stephen, 2010). Second example Rationale The second case of change management I witnessed was implementation of lean manufacturing. The rationale behind this change was waste reduction and enhances efficiency in the organisation. This was a process change that included improving and changing the company production process. The company wanted to enhance their competitiveness in global manufacturing process. The organisation was supposed to apply a full set of lean tool and use multi skilled workers (Shah & Ward, 2003). This was to be followed by teambuilding, transparency, all inclusive management, network relationship. The organisation planned changes in human behaviours within the organisation and ensures there were decentralised responsibilities and autonomous leadership. How sensible was this? Changing the traditional manufacturing to lean manufacturing was a very sensible idea. Lean production helps an organisation to improve on its production efficiency, quality and enhances the organisation response to customer needs. There is also waste reduction, minimising inventory, reduce costs and reduce time to market (Shah & Ward, 2003). Communication The company made communication a priority in implementing this process change (Murthy, 2007). The management used line managers as change agents and were supposed to communicate to all staff both long term and short term effects of the proposed change to lean manufacturing. The company ensured that the concept of lean manufacturing was well conveyed in whole organisation. The management came up with a communication plan where information on lean manufacturing was disseminated and feedback later collected from the employees. There were weekly meeting between the management and workers in the manufacturing department. The organisation also used bulletin boards and newsletters. For change to be effective, the members must understand the need for change. This can only be done through communication (Anderson, 2011). There must be adequate flow of information related to the need for change and the goal that is intended to be achieved. This ensures that there is low resistance to change. Appropriate and success of the decisions made and the actions taken The decision to move from old manufacturing was very appropriate. The organisation followed Kotler 8 step model in implementing change during the transition to lean manufacturing. The steps followed were; establishing the urgency for change, coming up with a guiding coalition, developing a vision and strategy, communicating change, coming up with short term wins, consolidating gains and anchoring the new approached culture (Kotter, 1996). The organisation used a systematic change process that was able to support the implementation of lean manufacturing process. The organisation underwent a major organisational change within. The company trained their employees on the new concepts and working methods. There was employees’ empowerment and use of reward system. This made it possible for the employees to adapt to new changes and sustain them (Carnall, 2008). The change management process was successful and the organisation was able to absorb change. Despite this, there was resistance by some of the workers who felt that the current way of doing things in the company was working hence no need for change (Radzi & Othman, 2014). This led to crisis during implementation. These were the beneficiaries of the old manufacturing process who wanted to maintain the status quo. In some cases, there was process disruption which affected customers as the process was implemented. Fig.2, Kotler model of implementing change (Kotter, 1996) Fig.3, (Burke, 2011) What could have been done more effectively? Despite the fact that the process was successful, there is need to involve employees as team in the activities of lean manufacturing. This would have enhanced a sense of ownership among the employees (Cummings & Worley, 2001). Since the resistance to change was anticipated, the organisation should have implemented crisis management. The management is supposed to have listed the possible resistances to implementation of the process and their impacts. There was also need to ensure that the adoption of lean manufacturing did not conflict with organisation objectives. The organisation would have put in place a method of minimising the impacts of service disruption to customers. The organisation would have engaged their customers in the process change. This would have enhanced cooperation and reduce resistance (Oakland & Tanner, 2007). Handling the emotional impact of the change on the people affected The organisation handled the emotional impact on members using change agents. The organisation had selected change agents who were able to understand the feeling of the employees especially those who were against change. This was done by explaining to them the need for change and assuring them that their work process would not be negatively affected (George & Jones, 2007). Effectiveness and how could this aspect have been handled more successfully Use of change agents to handle the emotional impact of change on members was a great move (Anderson, 2011). The process was effective in ensuring that there was reduced resistance to change. Though there was resistance, it would have been greater if change agents had not handled the emotional impacts effectively. Despite this, there was need for the management to be involved in handling the emotional impacts (Stephen, 2010). This would have eliminated the resistance that was witnessed in several instances. Change agents may become overwhelmed in this mandate due to large number of workers being affected by implementation of lean manufacturing processes. Change is a costly process and consumes a lot of time (Dawson, 2010). Implementing change successfully is thus needed to ensure that the process is justifiable and brings appropriate rewards to the organisation. Quality change management is thus needed to ensure that feasible outcome is attained. Management must be capable of managing the employees, customers and competitors and other stakeholders who feel the impacts of change (Carnall, 2008). In both examples, implementation of change is very vital and leads to success or failure in an organisation. Conclusion The two examples on change show how change management is implemented in different scenarios and the outcome. The first example has been able to analyse how to implement lay off in an organisation properly using the change management literature. The second example has illustrated process change and how to implement it successfully based on change management practices. People are rational being according to the empirical rational change strategy. This leads to a need for communication for change. There is need for flow of information since human beings are reasonable hence can be reasoned with. Communication acts as a foundation for effective change. Through effective change management, an organisation can be able to transit from one state to another. Organisation change management enables an organisation to manage change in a comprehensive manner. References Anderson, L. A. 2011, The change leader’s roadmap: How to navigate your organization’s transformation. New York, NY: Routledge. Beerel, A. C. 2009, Leadership and change management. Los Angeles: Sage. Burke, W. W. 2011, Organizational change: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Carnall, C., 2008, Managing change in organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Creasey, T. 2007, Defining change management, Prosci and the Change Management Learning Center. Cummings, T. G.., & Worley, C. G., 2001. Organization Development and Change. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing. Dawson, P. M. B., 2010, Managing change, creativity and innovation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. De, M. K. P. & Marks, M. 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