Managing Change in Business
· What is change?
· The impact change has on people/the organisation.
· Charles Handy opinion of managing change.
· What a manager can do in the face of change.
· A manager’s responsibility during times of change.
What is change?
More and more organisations today face a dynamic and changing
environment. This in turn is requiring these organisations to adapt.
“Change or die!” is the rallying cry among today’s managers worldwide.
Change is when something different happens, and there are two types of
change, small and organisational (large). Small changes such as adding
a new person, modifying a program, etc. are fairly easy to manage.
Organisational change, as in regard to organisation-wide change is
much harder. Examples of organization-wide change might include a
change in mission, restructuring operations (e.g. restructuring to
self-managed teams, layoffs, etc.), new technologies, mergers, major
collaborations, new programs such as Total Quality Management,
re-engineering, etc.
Usually organisational change is forced by some major outside driving
force, e.g. substantial cuts in funding, dealing with new
markets/clients, need for dramatic increases in productivity/services,
etc. Typically, organizations must undertake organisation-wide change
to evolve to a different level in their life cycle, e.g., going from a
highly reactive, entrepreneurial organization to a more stable and
planned development. Changeover to a new chief executive can provoke
an organization-wide change when his or her new and unique personality
pervades the entire organization.
The impact change h...
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...s a personal role in the change effort will help
achieving the change goals.
As the complexity increases, effective managers must have a strong
knowledge of the people in the organization and the tasks they
perform. And they must have the skills to use that knowledge in
practical and flexible ways.
Aggressive, forward thinking, and humble managers, are the silver
bullet for companies who desire to create an environment of change.
Bibliography
· Introduction to Organisation Behaviour – Helga Drummond
· Organisation Behaviour – Stephen Robbins
· Understanding Organisations – Charles Handy
· Organisational Behaviour – Tyson & Jackson
· Analysing Organisations – Sandra Dawson
· Explaining Organisational Behaviour – Lawrence Mohr
· Understanding Gender and Organisations – Alvesson & Billing
Leading Change was named the top management book of the year by Management General. There are three major sections in this book. The first section is ¡§the change of problem and its solution¡¨ ; which discusses why firms fail. The second one is ¡§the eight-stage process¡¨ that deals with methods of performing changes. Lastly, ¡§implications for the twenty-first century¡¨ is discussed as the conclusion. The eight stages of process are as followed: (1) Establishing a sense of urgency. (2) Creating the guiding coalition. (3) Developing a vision and a strategy. (4) Communicating the change of vision. (5) Empowering employees for broad-based action. (6) Generating short-term wins. (7) Consolidating gains and producing more changes. (8) Anchoring new approaches in the culture.
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Often times when one hears the word “change” in any aspect of life, they are often, put off, and intimidated by the word itself and the intended implication. This is a normal and understandable reaction for anyone engaging in any type of change. In terms of organizational change, this type of behavior often seen as, but is not limited to pushback, resistance, lack in productivity, turnover, drop in overall customer service, etc by team members. Thus, as organizational leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure that any change management implemented is smooth and has lasting benefits; by considering the impact on the organization as a whole and most importantly, the impact it will have on the team members within the
Organizations are preserved by change and constant renewal; otherwise, they will stagnate and die (Marquis & Huston, 2015). Leading change can be one of the most challenging tasks for a leader. Many times attempts at change fail because the person trying to implement the change was ill prepared to deal with resistance and used an unstructured
Change as defined by Thompson (2010) is “a process through which people and organizations move as they gradually come to understand and become skilled and competent in the use of new ways.” Change is not a process that happens in just one day. It is something that takes time to build and strengthen amongst an organization. The people involved in the process of change need to have the same goals and have the same clear ideas; this so they can be in the same mindset and be able to work together towards success. Communication is crucial during the process of change to facilitate the work for the people involved in the organization.
Graetz, F., & Smith, A. C. T. (June 2010). Managing organizational change: A philosophies of change approach. Journal of Change Management 10(2), 135–154.
Changing situations throughout the world affect all organizations in business today. Therefore, most organizations acknowledge the need to experience change and transformation in order to survive. The key challenges companies face are due to the advancements in technology, the social environment caused by globalization, the pace of competition, and the demands regarding customer expectations. It is difficult to overcome the obstacles involved with change despite all the articles, books, and publications devoted to the topic. People are naturally resistant to fundamental changes and often intimidated by the process; the old traditional patterns and methods are no longer effective.
Change is a fundamental element of individuals, groups and all sorts of organizations. As it is the case for individuals, groups and societies, where change is a continuous process, composed of an indefinite amount of smaller sub-changes that vary in effect and length, and is affected by all sorts of aspects and events, many of which cyclic are anticipated ones. It is also the case for organizations, where change occurs repeatedly during the life cycle of organizations. Yet change in organizations is not as anticipated nor as predictable, with unexpected internal and external variables and political forces that can further complicate the management of change (Andriopoulos, C. and P. Dawson, 2009), which is by itself, the focus of many scholars in their pursuit to shed light on and facilitate the change process (Kotter 1996; Levin 1947; et al).
The transformation of a company requires hundreds, sometimes thousands of employees to adopt a new view of its future, a future they must regard as essential. Change management involves managing the process of achieving this future state. Change can be viewed from two vantage points, that of the people making the changes and that of the people experiencing the changes. In the top-down, or strategic viewpoint associated with management, the focus is on technical issues such as the investment required, the processes for implementing the change, how soon the change can be realized, and the outcome. In the bottom-up viewpoint of the employee, the focus is on what the change means to the ...
Change in an organization occurs when an organization identifies an area of where necessary change must be undertaken, examines it thoroughly and adapts to it. This may lead to gaps where employees may not adapt to a certain change and therefore it is important that an organization takes into considerati...
The idea of change is the most constant factor in business today and organisational change therefore plays a crucial role in this highly dynamic environment. It is defined as a company that is going through a transformation and is in a progressive step towards improving their existing capabilities. Organisational change is important as managers need to continue to commit and deliver today but must also think of changes that lie ahead tomorrow. This is a difficult task because management systems are design, and people are rewarded for stability. These two main factors will be discussed with reasons as to why organisational change is necessary for survival, but on the other hand why it is difficult to accomplish.
Robbins et al. (2011, p. 186), states ‘Change is an organizational reality and affects every part of a manager’s job’. Today’s wave of change primarily created by economic condition so change is now such a constant feature of organization life (Goodman, E. 2011, p.243). Organizations need to be changed at one point or another in structure, technology or people. These changes are defined as organizational change (Robbins et al. 2011, p.18). Organizational change is important because changes can increase effectiveness and efficiency, the innovation of products, services as well as dealing with changes in external and internal forces (Goodman, E. 2011, p.243). However, ‘the bottom line is that organizational change is difficult because management systems are design and people are rewarded for stability’ (Lawler, E.E. & Worley, C.G. 2006, p.11).
The change process within any organization can prove to be difficult and very stressful, not only for the employees but also for the management team. Hayes (2014), highlights seven core activities that must take place in order for change to be effective: recognizing the need for change, diagnosing the change and formulating a future state, planning the desired change, implementing the strategies, sustaining the implemented change, managing all those involved and learning from the change. Individually, these steps are comprised of key actions and decisions that must be properly addressed in order to move on to the next step. This paper is going to examine how change managers manage the implementation of change and strategies used
Why do organizations change? With time goes by, rapid development of science and technology had led us to a world full of competitions. Change and stay alert to keep up with the current trend is essential asset to survive in this aggressive global economy. As the framework indicated by Pettigrew, there are two key context factors makes a great deal of effects on the reason for companies to change. Those are outer context and Inner context. Outer context could refer to the surrounding environment around the firm and the global economics status, etc. Inner context could be downsizing, restructuring the Gestalt, or the problem with coherent design archetype. Under the stress of the outer and inner context, forces or triggers will bring out the revolution. Change can be seen in a short term way and also in a long term way. Short term change could be a sudden, discontinuous and frame-breaking rupture which has an impact on the whole organisation, or new forms of management ad structure of the firm itself, or the breakthrough created by the major innovations or even can refers to the impact of new product and new market opportunities. Normally, financial crisis will be an initiative as a trigger to revolution. At first of the revolution, there would probably already has small changes in normal management and structure. As a long term way to apply the change, change agents are needed to do an ongoing, continuous and gradual progression or give some simpler initiatives such as improvements to existing products and product range.
Organisations as machines, political systems, organisms, and flux and transformation are particularly common assumptions that are often used by managers, writers and consultants to make sense of how organizational change works. In reality most organizations use combinations of approaches to tackle change and not just one of the above, however these provide useful insights into the process of organizational change (Cameron and Green, 2012). This essay will try to make sense out of these assumptions to understand what organisational change is. By doing so, insights will be drawn on how organizational change can be managed and led.