Achieving Organisational Change - Case Study Example

Achieving Organisational Change Student: Professor: Course: Date of Submission: Achieving Organisational Change Change is the only constant in life (Randall, 2004). The same applies for organisations; change is a normal part organisational life. However, change is not always desired by people within the organisation. Change disrupts the normal rhythm of life and harmony in organisations thus creating certainty. It is important to emphasis the fact that change is a necessary process in many situations to enhance competitiveness and preparedness in organisations (Graetz, Rimmer, & Smith, 2012). According to Randall (2004), the change process may be challenging due to people and structural obstacles along the path of change. Lack of leadership and vision may also make the change process unsuccessful. Lack of effective communication and cooperation within the organisation may also impact the change process negatively (Simerson, 2011). Despite the challenges involved in planning and implementation of change, organisations can successfully effect change by avoiding the common pitfalls in the change process. In light of this understanding, this paper will outline some of the factors make the change process challenging and unsuccessful in some cases. This will be achieved under appropriate headings. Lack of Support People in organisations do not always welcome disruptions to what they are used to. It is important to build a case for change by convincing people that change is necessary. This can only be achieved by clearly outlining the current situation that the firm is going through and the desired future. Successful change management must involve the people who are affected by the change. People do not support change efforts if they have the perception that the change is being forced on them (Brunetto & Farr-Wharton, 2004). According to (Kotter, 1995), change process can only be successful when 75 percent of organisation’s management buy into the change. This means that senior managers need to spend a lot of time and energy convincing the implementing team that change is necessary. Convincing people in the organisation that change is necessary goes beyond managing the processes but also participating fully in the process through leadership. Leadership entails identifying different people in the organisation that have the greatest influence on others. Once the key people have been identified, they should be a core team in the organisation that will lead the change process (Kotter, 1995). After management has formed a core team that will lead organisational change, it should go ahead and build an emotional commitment to change in each and every team member. There should be a strong synergy between the team members for there to be effectiveness in achieving team goals (West, Tjosvold, & Smith, 2005). It is important, therefore, for top managers to focus on building a strong change team that will assist in implementing the change process in the organisation. Unclear Vision People in the organisation understand why some decisions and actions are critical to the goals and objectives of the organisation, when management defines the vision of a business. Vision interprets the long terms objectives of a business or a leader (Schein E. M., 2004). When it comes to change planning and implementation, the same principle applies. People in the organisation need to understand why a change process is important and how it will benefit them. When top management fails to clearly articulate the vision of a change process, change implementation is bound to fail (Kotter, 1995). Top management needs to identify the values that will lead the change process. The values should guide the conduct and commitment to change of everyone in the organisation (Kotter, 1995). Values are important to the vision as they prevent people from veering off the main agenda in the change process. Management should also provide a vision statement relating to goals of the change process. This statement captures the future of the organisation as envisioned by the leadership (Rumbles & Rees, 2013). The change team should clearly identify with the values and vision statement of the change agenda. Top management should have a clear strategy to execute the vision for change. Without a strategy, the vision will be implemented haphazardly without coherence in the change team efforts. Lack of a vision and a strategy to execute the vision are, indeed, major contributors unsuccessful planning and implementation of change in organisations (Furrer, 2010). Ineffective Communication Organisational communication can be defined as the process of exchanging ideas and information between individuals in an organisation. Communication ensures that projects are well coordinated and processes are completed in time. Without efficient and effective communication, organisational projects will be difficult to implement (Peng & Litteljohn, 2001). The same case applies with planning and implementing change in the organisation. Top managers need to first come up with a simple and elaborate message that will communicate the vision and key goals of a change process to the members of the organisation. The effectiveness of the message will determine how well the members understand what is required of them in the change process. The message should, therefore, be simple to understand and identify with (Iqbal, 2011). Management should communicate the message frequently to make stick in people’s minds. At every opportune moment, top managers should re-emphasize the organisations commitment to the vision of change. Notice boards, staff social areas, and any other appropriate medium should be used to communicate the vision of the change agenda (Peng & Litteljohn, 2001). Top management should also address people’s concerns and complaints regarding the change process. This will help in reducing opposition to change. People must first own the change process for it to be successful. Change should not appear as a managers-only agenda but rather an agenda for the whole organisation (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, 2012). Most importantly, top management should not only communicate verbally, but also through actions meant to emphasize their commitment to the change agenda (Reading, 2004). Lack of clear communication and dialogue between leaders and followers, often limits the success of a change process (Ireland & Hitt, 2001). Managers should, therefore, adopt open communication in change processes. Lack of empowering actions After creating articulating and communicating a change vision, management should ensure that the people within the organisation and the structures in place do not act as obstacles to the change process (Kotter, 1995). Bureaucratic and rigid organisational structures are known to inhibit growth and change processes. Entrepreneurial and flexible organisational structures have been proven to accommodate and nurture change in organisations. A change agenda cannot be successful without critical focus on organisational structure and the contribution of people in the organisation (Baligh, 2006). It is imperative that top management redefines the roles of change team members and refine organisational structure if necessary to ensure the change process receives minimal structural and people opposition. Management can constructively engage people who oppose change processes with a view of increasing their commitment to change. Top managers should lay emphasis on the reasons why certain change is critically important the organisation and unavoidable (Tidd & Bessant, 2013). Ejecting people, who are opposed to change from the organisation, may only send the wrong signals to the rest that personal opinions are not tolerated. Organisations can reformulate job descriptions, reward and compensation systems as well as the organisational culture to support change efforts. With the same resolve, management should also reward people who play an active role pin making change happen in the organisation (Simerson, 2011). This will motivate tem and encourage others to also add more effort in implementing change. Long-tern nonspecific goals Having long-term nonspecific goals may derail or halt the change process in the organisation. Nonspecific goals do not motivate the people in the organisation to continue focusing on the change agenda. People are motivated once they have a notion of success in the mind (Kotter, 1995). Instead of having long-term nonspecific goals, organisational can adopt short-term specific goals that are easily attainable. The short-term goals should cumulatively achieve long-term nonspecific goals. Short-term objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely). Having the SMART objectives allows organisation achieve some quick wins in the change process which motivate employees towards the greater goal (Linstead, Fulop, & Lilley, 2004). Critics and pessimists within the organisation can also be encouraged to join the change process by realizing there is progress towards the change agenda. The short-term targets should be designed in a way that guarantees little or no room for failure. All the same, they should be functional enough to ensure progress towards the long-term goal (West et al, 2005). Having early targets that are difficult to attain will build a case for the pessimists and change opponents to legitimize their opinion. Short-term targets should have a system of reward for those who help in attaining them as a form of encouragement (Kotter, 1995). It is clear, then, that long-term undefined targets only contribute to loss of momentum towards an important change target. Long-term targets should be split into small, achievable short-term targets. However, every quick win should offer a chance to analyse what was done right and what went wrong. This way the organisation can be able to build on the small successes to achieve the bigger target. Complacency after a few quick wins will only result in failure to achieve the ultimate goal of the change process (Rumbles & Rees, 2013). Lack of Institutionalisation of change Once change has been achieved, it should be made part of the new outlook and culture of the organisation. Some organisations fail to institutionalise change and therefore lose all the gains that had been achieved by the change process. Change should be seen in new policies regarding recruitment, reward and compensation, strategy formulation, operations and leadership style. It is important though to maintain the best practices that had provided for successful implementation of change (Graetz et al, 2012). Culture according to (Schein E. H., 1985) is a people’s way of doing things. It is reflective of the values and principles that guide an organisation. Change of practices and mindsets should be embedded in the culture of the organisation; since culture is a critical determinant of success in as far as organisational effectiveness is concerned. Some issues such as organisational structure may need review for there to be compatibility between structures, processes and the change. Flat structures are efficient and effective in achieving successful planning and implementation of change. However, flat structures are not effective in maintaining change. Hierarchical structures are effective in maintaining change even after the initiators of change leave the organisation (Baligh, 2006). It is critical therefore, that managers institutionalise change in organisations as a new way of doing things that should reflect the culture of the organisation going forward. Lack of commitment and loyalty to change erodes gains made by change processes in organisations. Conclusion From the analysis provided in this paper, it will be justified to draw the conclusion that change can only be successful in organisation when it is well understood, planned intensely, implemented step-by-step and institutionalised in the corporate culture. Management should first understand what the change process entails and how it will benefit the organisation. The next step should involve identifying key stakeholders in the change process and selling the change agenda to them. Once key stakeholders are on board, the vision of the change process should be well articulated and communicated to everybody in the organisation. Breaking the long-term goal into short-term, easy-to-achieve-targets helps in evaluation of progress and motivating people towards the ultimate change agenda. Continuous improvement and unrelenting focus will eventually lead the organisation to the prime change objective. Once change is achieved, it should be made a way of life for the organisation. Followers’ attitude towards the change process is improved by development of an appropriate organisational structure that promotes change. Individual efforts in implementing change should be appreciated and rewarded by a rewards and compensation system. Leaders should also be at the forefront in showing commitment to change targets and the vision of the change agenda. If organisations fail to observe some or all of these steps in the change process, they are likely to be unsuccessful in planning and implementation of change. References Baligh, H., 2006. Organization Structures: Theory and Design, Analysis and Prescription. Springer. Brunetto, Y., & Farr-Wharton, R., (2004). Does the talk affect your decision to walk: a comparative pilot study examining the effect of communication practices on employee commitment post-managerialism. Management Decision , 42 (3/4), pp.579-600. Furrer, O, 2010. Corporate Level Strategy: Theory and Applications. Routledge . Graetz, F., Rimmer, M., & Smith, A., 2012. Managing Organisational Change-Third Australasian Edition. John Wiley & Sons. Hitt, M., Ireland, D., & Hoskisson, R., 2012. Strategic Management Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization. Cengage Learning. Iqbal, T., 2011. The Impact of Leadership Styles on Organizational Effectiveness. GRIN Verlag. Ireland, R., & Hitt, M., 2001. 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