Facilitating a Climate for the Social Construction of Change and Involvement - Essay Example

Facilitating a Climate for the Social Construction of Change and Involvement Name Institution Date Introduction A senior management consultant ones said that the notion of change agency, traits and attributes of change have an important impact on the success or otherwise of change program. This statement has implications in facilitating a climate for social construction of change and involvement. Creating an enabling climate for social construction of change and involvement involves identification of key players in organization change. Other than beneficial aspects of change, they are also considered risky. According to Kaminski (2000), change interferes with some organizations operations while it is implemented. These factors are challenges that are likely to be faced during the social construction of change process and will determine its success or failure. Change implementation committee must be well versed with the factors that influence change so as to develop strategies for minimizing or eradicating them. This essay provides a discussion on implications the senior management consultant’s statement will have on facilitating a climate for the social construction of change and involvement. To achieve this, the essay illustrates Change and different aspects of change including empowerment, change agency, change resistance and communicating change. Change Change is adapted by organizations for the purpose of competitiveness. Social construction of change involves global and industrial changes of consumer interests that if an organization does not provide, then its competitors do. Leaders play a major role of incorporating changes for consumer needs and create a favorable environment for adapting change. Leaders as individuals are likely to have a major impact on the change process. Organizations must adapt change and learn to implement it in the organization units. The responsibility of implementingchange and maintaining the culture of change in the organization through their functions is in the hands of leaders and implementers. According to Beaudan (2006), when leaders give up their will to on change, followers and employees fall out too and change becomes insignificant. Change stalls and needs to be re-energized. Beaudan (2006) states that organizational change loses its energy at one given point without any warning. Leaders are therefore expected to be in a position to identify the signs indicating chances of change fatigue so as to device ways of making adjustments. The author suggests six symptoms that might indicate change fatigue which are also supported by other authors. The first sign is questions which outsiders are likely to pose concerning the company’s value and its objectives in terms of efforts of implementing change. A second sign can be pressure on the part of change effort leaders and coordinators that might result to them leaving office. Another sign of change fatigue in the organization is reluctance by people within the organization when they are needed to make comments on the efforts of change. Empowerment Empowerment is vital in creating a facilitating environment for social construction of change in an organization. According to Conger and Kanungo (1988), empowerment involves practices of the management. The management must employ empowerment as a relational concept to exercise appropriate power and control. Power building involves ability of leaders to bring together their followers to work towards attaining a common goal and not working alone. It is the networking ability of leaders. Delegation of work by leaders cannot be avoided and ensures involvement which leads to effectiveness. My mission in this aspect of leadership is the creation of synergies within and outside the organization so as followers can work together among themselves and together with the management of the organization. Team building will require positive orientation and probity among members and with the leader together with the right personality. Progressiveness will also be required in team building to ensure business continuity and continuous achievement of team goals. Participation and involvement is one of the most efficient change approaches that organizations apply in change management. Being a leader calls for more involvement of people in the organization activities. Harris and Crane (2002) states that, the leadership and organization governance should ensure that people are motivated and that their attitudes towards work are being led and influenced positively. Through employee involvement in leadership, the organizational culture is influenced. People within the organization are able to be identified with the authority imparted on them by the positions they hold within the organization. Power and role culture motivates staff through team work and individual consultations. Leadership involves setting and clarification of corporate objectives while establishing plan of how the goals are going to be attained within specific time spans. The leadership concept of involvement then ensures that all stakeholders are at par with the goals and plans of the organization. This is achieved through effective communication to individuals and teams, vertically and horizontally (Conger & Kanungo, 1988). A leader’s personality is vital. An outgoing ability is a developing personality that allows me to enjoy working with a crowd and will instill confidence among subordinates through interactive bases. There is also charisma, sense of humor and warmth towards other leaders and subordinates which ensure effective leadership. Change Agency and Attributes of Change Agents Change agency in organizations and attributes of change agents involve the human resource segment and managers or leaders play a major role in this sector. Caldwell (2003) states that any change initiative is challenging and leaders are the ones who can make the staff also give up on change gain more momentum. When the leaders loosen their will, followers also give up on the change. This is because, when a change initiative starts to get twisted, the leader can easily make mid-course adjustments and bring change back on track. According to Beerel, (2009), leaders of organizations are also leaders of change within the same organization. They initiate implementation, coordinate and manage change to the final stage. Employees also look up to leaders as mentors and coaches and are likely to withdraw incase the mentors withdraw. Kaminski (2000) states that, leaders are obligated to manage change and are therefore expected to make change initiatives perceptible and not theoretical. They are also expected to arouse the zeal among followers and bring a sense of ownership of change among them in within the organization. It is up to the leadership to link strategic decisions they make with the actual implementation of the change decision within the organization. Since leaders are directors and pacesetters, they can change their followers’ attitudes to accepting change from an avoidance attitude. This can be achieved by adapting acceptance questions instead of avoidance questions. Leaders as individuals are likely to have a major impact on the change process. Organizations must adapt change and learn to implement it in the organization units. Leaders are responsible for the implementation of changes and maintaining the culture of change in the organization through their functions. According to Beaudan (2006), when leaders give up their will to on change, followers and employees fall out too and change becomes insignificant. The biggest challenge that current organizations are facing is change fatigue. Resistance to change might affect the implementation of organizational changes which are beneficial. Leaders can solve the problem of fatigue in implementation of change through mastering ways in which they can incorporate mid cause adjustments so as to renew people’s energy on efforts to change. Although organizations need change for continuity and survival, it also poses a risk the organization operations. It is therefore important for the organization leaders to identify the risks and derive ways of re-energizing their followers. When key leaders start missing reviews for change progress, it is an indication that the change fatigue has crept into the organization. According to Caldwell (2003), the symptoms of change fatigue are indicated by the key playerswithin the organization. Employees, customers and part or whole of the change initiative team are likely to behave in manners to indicate the setting in of change fatigue. He states that, when employees start exhibiting characters like reporting late to work and leaving early, missing their goals on performance and taking long breaks like two hours for lunch, then it is a sign for change fatigue. Leaders might display the same by unwillingness to address employees, displaying frustrations and anxiety openly and often submissions of requests for communication change. Change resistance According to Ford et al (2002), change resistance is most of the time caused by rebellion by parties within the same organization. The background conversations of change need to encourage change and minimize resistance to any changes implemented in the organization. When implementers of change in the organization understand factors that impact success and change program, they will be able to minimize or avoid resistance to change. According to Beudan (2006), failure of the change plans to forestall resistance from within the organization result to failure in executing change. This includes other internal factors which disrupt implementation of change in the organization. The author notes that, resistance towards change results from people being tired of change. According to O’Brien (2008),resistance might arise as a result of leaders underrating the levels of reactions by their followers in case change is introduced in the organization. Other than underestimating rate of reaction, the response of management to people’s resistance may also encourage or elucidate the resistance.Singh (2010) notes that, when leaders implement one change after another, employees become exhausted and lament instead of appreciating any further change. This in turn affects their commitment towards organizational changes and they become resistant towards any changes proposed by the leaders (Ford et al, 2002). Followers are likely to develop ignorance towards latest organizational changes due to frequent changes in direction before they even settle down after implementation of a previous change. Beaudan (2006) argues that, individual and team resistance to change varies every time a different change is introduced. Ford et al(2002) states that, individuals are likely to change their views from active supporters of change to neutral, active or passive change resisters as time goes by unlike at the beginning when they were active supporters. This is related to the political arena where people’s political attachments are likely to vary with time; same applies to demand for change initiatives. Burke et al (2009) supports this argument stating that the leaders’ statement about everyone resisting change is wrong since different people resist specific changes. He explains that, an individual is not likely to support the next change introduced by management because he or she embraced a previous change which was introduced. Communicating change Quirke (1996) states that, subordinates are motivated when communication within the organization is effective. Efforts to enhance both vertical and horizontal communication on formal and informal bases are on-going. All the elements of my personal model aims at motivating followers and enhancing the communication element of the organization. Management practices together with motivation and communication lead to effective leadership which the main goal. Motivation of followers is a major trait that must be developed so as to get people to work under less supervision and work effectively. According to McHugh (2009), this includes putting in place motivating aspects of the employees such as incentives, good working conditions and invention of new and better qualities. Kotter’s change model provides that for change to be implemented and accepted, the leadership should create a sense of urgency to ensure that the general company wants it, therefore motivating adoption. Creation of a clear and attainable change vision is important in providing a focus for the group. This vision must be communicated to the team and general organization stakeholders. A vision in change identification and implementation determine whether it will be a success. According to Kotter (2008), a powerful coalition also helps to offer support. This involves convincing people in the organization to form a strong team from different organization levels and a strong leadership is equally important. Conclusion Different players in the organization influence sustainability and organizational change. It is evidence that all organizational stakeholders, especially the society and company management system are responsible for performance and change to happen. Change requires participation and involvement of players in the organization. It shades light on involvement and participation through creation of a team and communication to stakeholders. Leadership and change are inseparable such that leaders are also managers of change in respective organizations. Change fatigue occurs when people lose interest in the change initiatives proposed by management and leaders. Leaders are obligated to influence their followers towards change acceptance and minimize change resistance and change fatigue so as to sustain change implementation in the organization. References Kaminski, J. (2000). Leadership and Change Management: Navigating the Turbulent Frontier. MSN. Beerel, A. C. (2009). Leadership and change management. Los Angeles, SAGE. http://books.google.com/books?id=ToUoAQAAMAAJ. Beaudan, E. (2006). Making change last: How to get beyond change fatigue. Ivey Business Journal Singh, K. (2010). Organizational behaviour: text and cases. Chandigarh, Pearson. O’Brien, M.J. (2008). 5 approaches to leading successful organizational change: How CFOs handle staff resistance to change is crucial. Healthcare financial management Caldwell, R. 2003, 'Change leaders and change managers: different or complementary?', Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 24, no. 5/6, p9.285-293. Jabri, M., Pounder, J.S. 2001, 'The management of change: A narrative perspective on management development', The Journal of Management Development, vol. 20, no. 7/8, pp. 682-690. Retrieved from Emerald database. Ford, J.D., Ford, L.W. and McNamara, R.T. 2002, 'Resistance and the background conversations of change', Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 105-121. Retrieved from Emerald database. Quirke, W. 1996, 'Communicating for change', in Communicating Corporate Change: A Practical Guide to Communication and Corporate Strategy, McGraw-Hill, Berkshire, UK, pp. 75-133 Conger, J.A. &Kanungo, R.N. 1988, 'The empowerment process: Integrating theory and practice', Academy of Management Review, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 471-482 Read More