The Need for Change and Development in an Organisation - Essay Example

Organisational Change and Development

This paper aims to reflect on organisational change and development. With the attendance of several sessions on change management, I was able to evaluate my experience on organisational change. It is clear to me that management of an organisation’s transformation process is an important subject which helps in understanding the importance of change in an institution and how to achieve it. It equips us with new experiences and as well as knowledge of what the changes may bring to our personal lives. Before the training and expertise gained from working in several organisations, it was a bit difficult to understand the need for change and development in an organisation. In the current economy, change is a pervasive topic to an organisation. It is a continuous process and in most cases a fast one because change has over the years become an integral part of an institution’s operations. Two types of activities characterise an organisation which are the custom delivery process and change in activities. The custom delivery process determines the conduct on how the main business is carried out whereas the change in activities is the changes undertaken in the normal running of operations. It can be noted that an external change may be viewed as changing jobs, station or products which have its initial steps in an individual’s mind.

Personal Reflection on Organizational Change

Organisational change has helped me understand the principals, challenges and the approaches used in realising the necessary modifications. I now have some knowledge on how to effectively and efficiently handle dynamic situations. This will also be of great value to me since I can chip in and add my support in effecting change both at a personal level and the organisational level. In addition to the knowledge gained in class, I can say that I am capable of integrating and work in organisations which are founded on different cultures. Change is always perceived as the necessary actions towards improvement. Every institution regardless of the level needs to accept changes for it to cope and adapt better to the changing environment. Typically, most of these transformations start from within an organisation which over the years has been described as the medium for change (LaGuardia, 2008).

According to Chan et al. (n.d), organisational change is a process undertaken by organisations to meet their desired goals and takes place when said institutions restructure their resources in a bid to enhance value and effectiveness. A company on the verge of collapsing seeks to regain its clients; growing corporations develop and introduce new products whereas well strategised organisational change ensures that the stakeholders achieve the maximum value of their input. As in all business settings, organisational change is about initiating necessary transformation into an institution such as adopting new operational techniques. However, competitive advantage, the dynamic changes experienced in the economy and the social responsibility towards the society are part of the key factors that necessitate organisational transformation.

Two types of models can be used when implementing change in an organisation. Models used in organisational transformation present themselves as the basis on how to achieve the desired changes.

Lewin’s Change Management Model

Lewin’s change model comprises of three phases; unfreeze, changing and refreezing. In the unfreezing phase, the problem is thawed into segments where each is studied independently. The changing step is incorporated when the process is still on course to face the solution and the changes proposed. The last stage, refreezing, comes into place when the organisation is implementing the new processes (Changing minds, n.d). As described by Lewin, this can be compared to an ice cube on how it can be changed into another form without letting the water evaporate. Lewin’s model presents a systematic model used in achieving organisational change by introducing a sequence of well-defined processes. By taking a glimpse at the case study from Business Case Studies (n.d) on Blue Circle Cement, it is evident that Lewin's model can still be useful in realising contemporary change. Blue Circle Cement was a company established in the 1980s but due to the constant shifts in the economy and the environment, it slowly lost its competitiveness in the market. With the application of this model, the company was able to sharpen the skills of its employees, redesign its mode of operation and stem its competitiveness in the market. The basis of this model is that the desired transformation and organisational development can be successfully achieved necessary steps are identified and understood (Rees & Hall, 2013).

Strategic Management Model

Most organisations in the sector undertake strategic planning. Strategic management can be arrived at after careful deliberation and the systematic implementation of strategic planning. Apart from Lewin’s model of change, this is also an efficient design that ensures success in an institution’s transition process. An organisation can easily determine its future progress through strategic planning, how to achieve its objectives and how to know if the set goals have been met. While a business plan focusses more attention service, program or product in the market, strategic planning places more focus on the organisation as a whole.

To ascertain whether I possess the ability to effect change as a practitioner, I always compare my knowledge to the competencies of change practitioners in the following way:

A change practitioner should be able to carry out a diagnostic process which helps in the identification and clear understanding of the encountered obstacles. They should also be able to analyse the effects of these constraints on both short term and long term objectives of the institution. This ability can, therefore, be used to determine the requirement for change. As a firm believer of change, I am well equipped and able to assess the problems breaking us to achieve our desired goals. For example, when involved in group activities I can come across problems that hinder me from achieving the expected results. In this case, I can employ my diagnostic ability and evaluate the problem at hand with the associated effect and present to the group why change is necessary.

From the interaction with some of the organisations in my locality, it is clear that change is an inevitable process. Despite change being a dynamic process, the problem-solving ability of the concerned practitioner significantly influences the sorted after solutions for a given problem. And in return, institutions get positive returns due to the input of their members. Throughout my encounters and the study on organisational change and development, I can affirm that I possess the ability and can facilitate change and development with the provision of the reasonable solution and at the same time encourage my team members to get on board with the suggested transition plans.

Communication is a great tool and also useful when hoping for an efficient transition and the existence of a clear definition of the responsibilities and duties assigned to the employees. It is important for the practitioner tasked with the change process to establish an effective communication platform that will ease the exchange of ideas and plans towards a successful organisational change. In this context, I have gathered the necessary knowledge and expertise that will enable me to transfer ideas from one point to the other without there being a distortion of the original message. Honesty is an important aspect of a successful transition; if the agent lacks honesty, then he/she is bound to mislead others thus derail the transformation program.

It should, however, not be forgotten that there exists a deviance in every setting and with organisational change comes resistance. Responses to changes undertaken in an organisation are determinant on the subject at hand (Hanlon, 2014) and during the transformation process, these issues can be significantly affected by several factors such as doubt and distortion of the initial message (Fotaki et al., 2010). Not everyone can be on board with a given idea, and as perceived by some employees, change can be the long awaited opportunity but to others, it may be a threat. To some, change presents a leeway to career development, organisational growth, new energy and nurturing of new talent whereas to others it is demanding and daunting.

Resistance is the opposite of change and will always exist within an organisation, and there is a likelihood that it may occur at all levels of an institution. As known, members of an organisation can resist change when they feel that their operations and beliefs are threatened. This is the last course of action expected by the management and in some cases, if pervasive it will significantly hamper the efforts put in place for the entire program. Resistance should not be ignored which in some situations can cause the downfall of an organisation.

Change allows for an organisation to realise its potential for growth. According to what I have garnered, people can be affected by these events hence the institutions should try their level best not to lose any skilled worker that possess valuable information that can help the transition process.

Recruitment, Selection and Retention

Before, while growing up and even after joining the college, I have always harboured the desire of being an entrepreneur as my primary target. I felt like most of the pillars of the economy were driven by entrepreneurial minds with the approaches taken as the main differences. Because my biggest problem was patience, it was hard for me to take each step after the other and keenly focus on the fundamentals of becoming a successful entrepreneur. The problem with this experience is that it was hard to concentrate on the foundation since most of the attention was shifted on how to be successful. After the realisation of this challenge and trying to make a better entrepreneur, I have come to realise that it is easy to achieve the set business objective. Consequently, this module has greatly influenced my knowledge in the field of business management. Given a chance, I know I can impact useful skills in the administration of an organisation. As part of the training and reason for undertaking management courses, this module started with the providing insight on how to identify a good business idea. From this, I learnt that one has to have an innovative idea for them to become great entrepreneurs. However, being a successful entrepreneur comes along with an efficient workforce. In today’s generation, with the various products and services in the market, one may see it as a hard task finding an idea, but the real task comes from recruiting, selecting and retaining the right staff.

Recruitment, selection and retention of employees is an important mandate taken up by the Human Resource department which is vital to an enterprise is especially due to the competitive nature of this market (Mahapatro, 2010). Employee development is a significant aspect of strategic human resource development. Any business entity determines to meet its set goals as long their clients are satisfied. It is through a strategic human resource development than the outcomes can be achieved. As the expected result, skilled personnel should always be available all times; people should be able to accomplish the assigned duties efficiently

Recruitment

Recruitment is the first step that follows after the job analysis. People are recruited after fulfilling the set targets and requirements by the HR department. The aim of this step is to obtain a given number of quality employees as per the requirements set by the organisation while at the same doing it at the minimum cost possible. As defined by Khumalo, (2010), recruitment is a set of activities used by the human resource manager to attract applicants with given levels of qualifications into applying for a particular position in their institution. This process includes assessing the candidates as per the requirements of the position while at the same establishing a contact with them.

Selection

This is the second step taken once the recruitment phase is over; the suitable candidates are selected. According to Noe et al. (2006), it is through this process that an organisation seeks to identify the suitable applicant with necessary skills, knowledge, abilities that will help it in the realisation of its goals. The main aim of the selection process is to pick from a pool of applicants an individual who as compared to others can efficiently perform the roles of the advertised position. This is a combination of mechanisms and tools implemented by an organisation to ascertain whether the selected candidates meet the set criteria.

Retention

Retention is a process through which the employees are convinced by an institution not to leave due to their invaluable expertise and their pivotal role in the organisation’s success. It is, however, important to note that an employee may opt to quit if the pay is not attractive but beyond a given point it stops to be an incentive that will convince them to stay. It is important for the organisation to try and convince its skilful and talented employs to stay. There should be retention strategy set by the organisation. Institutions are different in many aspects, but all have a common goal of having the best expertise in the sector- the right person for the right job. Recruitment, selection and retention are therefore a critical factor for the Human resource management, but the selected institution’s team must be well prepared for cases like succession.

Competency approach

Through studies conducted it is evident that every organisation aims at achieving maximum out through the input of its staff. This model seeks to identify the required abilities to efficiently performing a given job rather than focusing on personal attributes of an individual. Torrington et al. (2008) assert that the identified qualities can be integrated and used for selection, employee appraisal and rewarding.

Over the years, this model is increasingly being used by organisations in the recruitment of graduates to guarantee future potential (French & Rumbles, n.d). An example of such an organisation is the Graduate Recruitment Bureau, which uses this approach in matching graduates to their desired and more appropriate jobs (grb, n.d). Through the selection of the best candidate for a position in the organisation, the institution is guaranteed to get a quality performance from its employees.

The aim of recruitment and selection processes is to match the potential applicants with given job criteria in a bid to ensure that maximum potential is achieved in regards to their assigned roles (UCL, 2015). Therefore, this process is essential to the efficient operation and growth of an organisation hence vital in human resource management, and this is the reason why most companies emphasise more on what is needed for the recruitment and selection phases. There is a need to increase the effectiveness of recruiting, selection and most importantly the retention of valuable employees; this need is not only important in the UK but a matter of concern to the rest of the world. These approaches over time are seen to be penetrating even the far-flanged areas which are positive sign that there is an improvement management of human capital, an indication that there is an improvement in the quality of the global workforce. Basing on the knowledge gathered from this course, I can attest that it was worth it and has given me substantial knowledge on how to conduct recruitment if I establish a business.