Factors that Make Change Challenging, Intense, and Difficult to Achieve - Coursework Example

FACTORS THAT MAKE CHANGE CHALLENGING Author’s Name Class Name Professor’s Name School City and State Date Introduction The perception of change varies from one organization to the other. Change is an exciting opportunity to grow to some organization whereas to others it is a threat. Moreover, other organizations perceive it as a disruption of the normal routines. Change involves a total overhaul in the mindset, structure, and policies in a setting, whether enacted on a small part or the greater part of the organization. Agents of change range from external influences such as technological changes and change in government policies to internal factors within the organization. These internal changes include changes in human resources and new production methods among others. Most organizations invest heavily in project management and change management, but the major question here is why a most of those organizations are unable to achieve their envisioned goals. Several factors may cause the inability to meet a vision during the implementation process. The human force is not always receptive to change. Getting them to change their mindset is often one of the major derailing factors. Among other factors that make change unattainable are inclusive of corporate culture, lack of change expertise, inadequate resources, lack of motivation among the employees to implement the change and an uncommitted management team. It is so challenging, intense, and so difficult to achieve success when planning and implementing change because it involves factors that are deep-rooted in an organization and affects every aspect of it (Zhu 2013). These factors are planning, committed leadership, aligned human force, defined governance, and informed stakeholders. Factors that Make Change Challenging, Intense, and Difficult to Achieve Each organization has its best approach to achieve its target goals. Any organization undergoing change management has to be aware of the kind of change it is anticipating, why they want the change and how they are going to achieve the change (Mayle 2009). Despite having many other factors necessary for successful change management, there are common factors crucial for change management success which when overlooked lead to failure. The extent to which the above factors apply will depend on the amount of change required. Some projects have a specific timeline but when it comes to change, change is a gradual thing (Blaber 2004). The success of the envisioned change will become the norm and should be incorporated fully into the system. Improvements can later be made for the success of the organization. Planning Planning is crucial for goal-realization as the organization will develop and lay out objectives that act as a success gauge. Proper planning is directly proportional to successful change. Planning helps, an organization to identify the current position, project what is to be achieved, and put down into details the firms’ objective. More also, it helps the organization to access the effect of the change applied to the organization and ensure that the change strategy is aligned with the business strategy. By looking at the plan, the company can identify whether the proposed change will be beneficial to the company or not even if the change was directive (Fullan 2014). A change planning process should involve the following. Setting a clear vision The success of change planning is highly dependent on having a clear vision of the impact the change expected will yield. A clear vision rules out the possibility of dissolving efforts of the stakeholders in directionless tasks but instead encourages commitment. With a clear vision, the organization can get adequate resources required for the changing process. The case Vision change Many initiatives have floundered because inadequate strategic thought is given to communicating the justification and the expected impact of the change. A clearer picture should be available to provide clarity to the stakeholders. It should explain why the initiative for change is being undertaken, what the outcome of the objectives will lead to, and the benefits that the stakeholders will accrue after the change has been implemented. A successful project offers a clear outline of the project and the expected problems as well as how to solve them (Ponti 2011). Develop Change Plan Measures All changes need to be guided and navigated. A crucial part of establishing a change vision is to identify and agree on the expected organizational support required for change implementation. The organization has to adopt new technology, adopt new business policies, or even hire new human resource. Defined governance According to Hewitt-Taylor (2013), organizational roles, responsibilities should be well outlined to both the employees and the stakeholders focused on the vision. Each change process is different from the other. That means that a different governance structure will be set up, with its specific goals and objectives for meeting the particular change process. The following are basic change governance tools crucial for establishing a change governance structure. Steering Committee Steering committee is a committee set up to provide the overview of the change process, define the direction necessary in tackling the change and provide leadership. The committee is also tasked with ensuring that the change process remains aligned with the strategic goals and vision of the organization. Change Sponsor Change of sponsor deals particularly with the leaders from the different departments within the organization. The Change Sponsor has final accountability for the change and the responsibility of instigating a strong commitment to the perceived change within the organization Change Agent The change agent is the overseer of the overall change management and its day-to-day implementation. The agent is also supposed to coordinate different work streams required (Conner 2006). Work Stream Owners Work Groups and streams involve a set of activities that will yield a certain outcome and identifiable output. They may be formed because of breaking down a change initiative. The Workforce breakdown depends on the complexity of the change. Commitment Leadership Leaders should show commitment and good organizational behavior for the team to be led to the top. Change starts at the top. For a successful change management, the leaders must be visionary, good team leaders and perfect role models for change. The receptiveness of the change being introduced in the organization will largely depend on the atmosphere that the organizational leaders create. A leader should show maximum commitment for the success of change management. Change is bound to cause disruption in the setting of the organization; the employees look up to the leaders for support and direction. The leaders should empower the junior staff and offer them support during the change (Mayle 2009). The leaders should also be fully involved in the process of change through constant review of their objectives and taking some time to resolve issues that arise during the implementation of the change process. Informed Stakeholders Stakeholders should be well informed about the change throughout the organization. Change does not occur by itself. It needs people such a group of motivated stakeholders to initiate, implement, and monitor it. For a smooth transition, the stakeholders need to know the reasons behind the change implementation. They should be given a platform to address their concerns. Research has shown that there are higher success rates when the stakeholders are fully engaged. Purpose of communication It is human nature that when change is anticipated, people will be hungry for information. Effective communication is meant to clear all doubts and explain the necessary support action. The easiest way to build teamwork and propel full commitment to the change is to elaborate the benefits that the stakeholders will accrue from the change (Carmichael 2006).Effective communication helps to win the hearts and minds the stakeholders as illustrated: Effective communication helps win the hearts and minds the stakeholders asillustrated: The best time to introduce any stakeholders change is at the beginning of the project. Well, communicated information will help understand the change and learn to appreciate it. Communicating to the workforce should never be an afterthought, and if the latter occurs, then no change will be achieved (Horney 2000). How to communicate Change Most of the organizations fail because they lack good communication approaches. When addressing upcoming change, remember to do it early at idea conception stage. Clearly outline why the change is very much needed. The organization should also diversify theirs on their communication methods. Both visual and audio methods should be employed to aid in creating a clearer picture of the anticipated change. Additionally, stakeholders should be regularly reminded of the vision, and the management should constantly guide the stakeholders throughout the process. Stakeholders should also be given a platform to air their views and clear any uncertainties (Cummings & Worley 2014). Aligned Workforce The organizational work force should have their mind set on the changing goals. Research has shown that organizations that have successfully managed change started by developing a workforce to organization towards achieving their set vision (Kerzner 2001). The workforce planned also had a great impact on the post-change success. For the success of planned change, workforce planning has to take place. The organization takes into account the competence of their current workforce and how they will be of help to the changing environment. According to Bhasin (2012) an organization identifies the expertise required in the post-change environment and look for appropriate ways to close the niche. Workforce development must also be exercised. Workforce development is the most important key when trying to qualify for the gap that exists between the current workforce proficiency and organizational needs. Workforce development involves performance management, creating individual development plans, and education and training. Performance management is crucial in reinforcing and sustaining change. It’s a great asset to an organization as it helps develop workers with skills that are allied to the organization's vision change. It also highlights employee weaknesses and when their skills need development. Creating individual development plans plays a critical role in helping employees who are bound to get affected by the change. Their knowledge and competence may become obsolete to the change. Individual development plans help them to identify developmental activities to help them cope with the change. On the education and training aspect, the organizations should set aside a budget that aid personal development, encourage job training, classroom and computer-based approaches necessary to improve their skills. Organizations should also implement on the on the job training and encourage more mentoring (Kerzner 2001). Even thou the larger component of achieving change to have skilled employees, employee performance cannot be totally brushed off. Change success will depend largely on employee performance as employee success that tasks the organization with the task with the duty of coming up with a culture that motivates and upholds the change (Horney 2000). Workforce performance helps to identify and appreciate positive approaches and performance in the process of change. More also it helps to advance employee performance plans that correlate to the change goals. Lastly, it helps to draft measurable objectives for optimum employee performance that will support the success of the change program (Fernandez & Rainey 2006). The success of change implementation depends on the alignment of the workforce to change. The workforce needs to be guided on what to do, how to do it and they should be supported with the necessary incentives. By doing that, the management will soon win the mind sets of the stakeholders to the organizational culture that supports the change vision. Conclusion Organization Change can only achieve when it’s treated as part of strategic planning cycle rather than something that the organization hopes to achieve. It should be strategically monitored through plans, programs projects and managed portfolios. Change is inevitable, and it is bound to happen. Every organization that wants growth is bound to change. The more the change is worked upon and not dreamed upon, the faster the growth rate. Like any other efforts at change, introducing new systems and structures is bound to be opposed from the leaders’ viewpoint, the competitors and even the employees’ view point. Change does not happen overnight. It’s a journey of resistance and difficulties in some instances while it is a journey of relief others. At the end of the day; it is bound to pay off. Organizations should plan for the direction and the condition of the road they will tread on while implementing change in today’s business environment. References Bhasin, S 2012, An appropriate change strategy for lean success, Management Decision, 50(3), 439-458. Blaber, P 2004, Change management, Carlisle Barracks, PA, U.S., Army War College. Cameron, E & Green, M 2004, Making sense of change management a complete guide to the models, tools & techniques of organizational change. London, Kogan Page. http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=787 Conner, D R 2006, Managing at the speed of change: How resilient managers succeed and prosper where others fail, Random House. Cummings, T & Worley, C 2014, Organization development and change, Cengage learning. Carmichael, D G 2006, Project planning, and control, London, Taylor & Francis. Fernandez, S & Rainey, H G 2006, Managing successful organizational change in the public sector, Public administration review, 66(2), 168-176. Fullan, M 2014, Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook, John Wiley & Sons. Harrington, H J, Conner, D & Horney, N L 2000, Project change management: applying change management to improvement projects, New York, McGraw Hill. Hewitt-Taylor, J 2013, Planning successful change incorporating processes and people, Nursing Standard, 27(38), 35-40. Kerzner, H 2001, Project management a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling, New York, John Wiley. http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=2380. Ponti, M D 2011, Why change fails. Nurse Leader, 9(4), 41-43. Pugh, D S & Mayle, D 2009, Change management, Los Angeles, SAGE Zhu, P 2013, Why is Success Change So Difficult?, Future of CIO, viewed at http://futureofcio.blogspot.co.ke/2013/05/why-is-successful-change-so-difficult.html .  Read More