Manage Organisational Change - Changes as an Integral Part of the Business - Essay Example

Executive Summary Organizational changes in as aspect of business whose importance has grown with passing time as increasing competition has made it important that strategies are developed through which the productivity improves and the organization is able to facilitate the changes. This report highlights the manner in which organizations need to lay stress on managing organizational change. To ensure it the business has to look towards taking the help of the specialist and look towards identifying the different reasons for changes. Along with it cost benefit analysis has to be conducted which will help to understand the underlying reason for change and will ensure that the strategic objectives are achieved. This thereby helps to understand the different areas working on which the overall effectiveness in the process can be ascertained and productivity improved. Table of Contents Introduction 3 Purpose of the report 3 Organizational Change 3 Using change specialist 4 Reasons for strategic change 5 Strategic Objectives 6 Cost benefit analysis for change 7 Planning Process 8 Recommendations 9 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Businesses looking to keep abreast with the competitor and changes have to look towards ensuring strategies which facilitate changes. This makes it important that employees are willing to change as employees on an individual basis accept changes but when the changes are huge obstacle are generally encountered from the employees (Weiner, 2009). This makes it imperative that the underlying reason for change in ascertained and based on it strategies are developed through which changes can be implemented. This will facilitate the development of strategies and help the organization to conduct its business smoothly. Purpose of the Report To understand what organization change is To identify the manner in which change specialist will benefit business and the manner changes can be accomplished To find out the different underlying reason for change and the manner in which the different strategies will help to accomplish it To develop a cost benefit analysis so that strategies can be developed to achieve it Organizational Change Organizational change is defined as a process where the business looks towards making alterations so that the business objectives can be achieved in the most efficient manner (McNamara, 2008). The changes that the business looks towards could be change in process, employees, technology or any factor which will help to improve productivity. Making different changes helps the business to gain efficiency and ensures better use of resources through which operational efficiency can be achieved (McNamara, 2008). Using Change Specialist The changes that an organization aims at can be either small or large ones. The small changes or the minor changes are usually accompanied by changes in the staff which can be easily made. Structural or major changes usually aim at changes in strategies and require a lot of inputs and changes in different directions so that maximum benefit can be achieved. To ensure maximum benefit and implementing changes organization thereby look towards specialist who can contribute and ensure that the changes are achieved systematically. Change specialists are person with specialized knowledge who can contribute immensely towards the goal and using their skills the organization will be able to ensure the changes easily. Change specialist are specialized person with the require knowledge and skills who can ensure that during the process of change they are able to motivate the workforce so that the changes are effective and easily implemented (Mary, 2010). Another benefit of using a change specialist is that they are better placed and can deal with different situations in a better way. Their experience and knowledge will ensure that they are able to review all the key aspect and are in a position to develop corrective measures which will help in dealing with the process of change better (Mary, 2010). Change specialists are also able to ensure that the time frame to complete the change model is appropriate (Mary, 2010). This reduces the chances of failure and ensures that better coordination is achieved through which the process of change can be easily achieved. It is true that using the services of a change specialist will mean increased cost for the business but being able to use them wisely will ensure that the benefits that the business gets is more than the cost. This will thereby benefit the organization in the long run and help to achieve the difficult task of implementing changes in a better way. Reasons for Strategic Changes There are different reasons based on which an organization looks towards implementing changes. It is important that the different underlying reasons are understood properly before implementing the process of change. Some of the underlying reasons which make a business look towards organizational changes are as Change in strategy of the manner the business looks towards conducting its business as the old methods have become outdated and is not providing the same benefits (McNamara, 2008) When a certain part in the entire process is acting as a hindrance and requires some changes for maximum benefit To develop a training and motivational program which is aimed at making the employee deal with the organizational changes and ensure effectiveness in rendering services (Handbook, 2010) Equipment or technology which was used has become obsolete and require changes to ensure that the productivity of the organization improves A merger or an amalgamation which has changed the functional sharing and requires major changes to ensure effectiveness Change in the organizational structure which require changes to be made elsewhere so that the overall process is able to understand the process of change and make alterations at the different areas to get maximum benefit External condition like changes in government policies, tax structure and aspect which are beyond the control of the business has made it mandatory to implement the required changes Thus, the above are few of the underlying reasons which could vary depending on the organization and the purpose which will be achieved through whose changes. Strategic Objectives Organization look towards implementing changes as it helps to improve the focus on the objectives and provides the necessary push through which better services can be achieved. This thereby helps to achieve the following strategic objectives Firstly, it helps to clearly understand the aim and objectives of the business and also determines the process which will help to achieve it (Seel, 2006). This will thereby improve focus and help to deliver better services. Secondly, it helps to improve the interactions between the inputs and outputs (Seel, 2006). This thereby directly helps to motivate the employees as the output due to changes improves which thereby ensures that the employees are better committed and help them to work on the areas which will help them to gain operational efficiency. The above strategic objectives are inter realted and help to ensure that one leads to the other. To be able to achieve the changes it is imperative that that a proper guide and steps as highlighted below is followed so that the changes can be effectively made The changes that are being made should be “realistic, achievable and measurable” (Chapman, 2010). This will provide the required direction and help the employees to work towards achieving the goals in a proper way The change process thereby should be realistic and should make the employee that they can achieve it. The goals should be such that it incites the employees to use their efforts towards accomplishing. In addition to it the goals should be clearly measured so that the employees are able to ensure changes. This will help to motivate the employees to be able to ensure that there performance can be monitored which will thereby help to measure the changes effectively. It is also important that the change process should be such that it can be achieved within the stipulated time frame. This will help to gain maximum benefit and will help to create the required synergy through which better performance standard and goals can be achieved (Chapman, 2010). Cost Benefit Analysis for Change Organizations have to look towards identifying the benefits and the cost that will be incurred while implementing the changes so that business is able to identify the manner in which the growth can be facilitated for the business. Since change management involves different steps and directions it is important that the process, system, work force and design is such that it looks finding out the manner in which the cost and benefit will be evaluated. Organizations that are able to ensure that they look towards using the framework in the correct direction will be able to garner larger benefits and ensure that the cost is low. Planning Process The change management process has to follow a certain part and look towards adhering to the time limit so that the process can be successfully implemented and maximum benefit based on it can be achieved. This can be achieved if the organization looks towards the following Firstly, organization has to ensure that urgency is created so that the workforce look towards implementing the changes by making relevant changes in different directions like people and process (Kotler, 2010). This will help the employees understand the importance of change which will thereby facilitate changes easily Secondly, organization has to ensure that the management and the employees are convinced that the changes will benefit them (Kotler, 2010). Doubts or uncertainties will make the entire process become ineffective and will reduce the level of motivation. Thirdly, clearly stating the objectives of the changes program so that the employees are able to fall in line and work on the model through which changes can be effectively made (Kotler, 2010) The organization then should ensure a clear communication process so that employees and others are able to understand the process, objectives and work in that manner (Kotler, 2010). This will help to understand the time frame, develop training programs and ensure that the employees are better committed towards the goals as it will help to fix responsibility and providing the required authority will help to bring maximum productivity and gain for the business. During this process it is important that stress is laid on removing the obstacles and determining the strategies through which maximum effectiveness will be gained (Kotler, 2010). This should be matched by proper monitoring and changes when required so that the overall process the same benefits and the organization is able to ensure maximum productivity. Recommendations Organizations has to look towards implementing changes by identifying the manner in which the changes can be made and while looking towards doing so it has to look towards working on the cost benefit analysis so that the required fundamentals through which better change management strategies can be determined. This will also require that the business looks towards developing the required strategies through which the changes can be better implemented which will thereby ensure that overall effectiveness can be gained. This will help to make the change process to be implemented effectively and will provide overall effectiveness can be gained. Conclusion Changes are an integral part of the business and looking towards implementing the changes will ensure that the business is able to gain overall efficiency and ensure that maximum productivity is gained. This will help to ensure that the business looks towards overall productivity and will help to increase the chances of gaining effectiveness. References Chapman, A. (2010). Change Management, Leadership and management Handbook. (2010). Human Resource, Training, and Labor Relation Managers and Specialist. US Labor Bureau of Statistics Kotler, L. (2010). Kotler’s 8 step change model, Mind Tools McNamara, C. (2008). Organizational change and development. Retrieved on November 18, 2012 from http://www.managementhelp.org/org_chng/org_chng.htm Mary, T. (2010). Change Management Description, Change Management Tutorial Series, Global Conference Weiner, B. (2009). A theory of organizational readiness for change. 23 (3), Retrieved on November 18, 2012 from http://www.implementationscience.com/content/4/1/67 Seel, K. (2006). The nature of Organizational Change. Retrieved on November 18, 2012 from richard@new-paradigm.co.uk Read More