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Contemporary issues in managing change
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Recommended: Contemporary issues in managing change
Organizational Change
Organizations today are going through constant change brought about by
competition, economics, business innovation and a realization that
remaining stagnant may mean organizational death. As the business
environment increases in complexity and changes rapidly, organization
and management consequently experiences significant transformation to
cope with these changes. On a micro level (company level), these
changes would include the transformation of the internal corporate
culture as well as enhancements in the management of human resources
in response to increasing workplace diversity and the evolving needs
of the workforce. Therefore, the ability to change is an important
part of the organization's business environment while the ability to
help it adapt to change is equally a critical business challenge for
the leadership.
Change is imperative
Organizations can't escape change. So what is change? - It is
adjustments, transformations, transitions, and revolutions which is a
never-ending cycle of birth, growth and death (Topping, 2002). Change
disrupts everyone's life; the only question is for how long.
Leader - the change agent
When an organisation is at the crossroad of change, it is in the
crisis stage. DuBrin (1989) defined crisis as a turning point for
better or worse, or a situation that has reached a critical phase.
When a company is in a crisis, it requires decisive and bold
leadership to identify, isolate and manage the crisis (Topping, 2002).
Leadership now requires very different behaviour from the leadership
tradition that we were used to. It requires leaders who are able to
speak to...
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...kills: A leadership wake-up
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Change affects more than just a program or a process within an organization, change affects employees, collecting data on employee’s readiness and willingness to accept a change will help leaders know if the organization is socially ready for change (Cole, Harris, and Bernerth, 2006). A change might be positive for an organization but if the employees who will be affect by the change are lost in the process then it could create a greater issue than not making the change. Leadership needs to communicate and inspire the employees to be positive toward the change, seeking to enhance their job satisfaction not make changes that will increase their desire to leave. This data is best collected early in the change initiative allowing leadership to properly cast the vision while addressing concerns. This requires leadership to create platforms for employees to engage in the change initiative freely (Ford, 2006). Employee attitudes can be measured through these dialogues providing leadership with necessary measureable data (Hughes, 2007).
Pierce, Jon L. and John W. Newstrom (2011) 6th edition. Leaders and the Leadership Process.
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B., (2007). The leadership challenge, (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
In today’s ever changing world people must adapt to change. If an organization wants to be successful or remain successful they must embrace change. This book helps us identify why people succeed and or fail at large scale change. A lot of companies have a problem with integrating change, The Heart of Change, outlines ways a company can integrate change. The text book Ivanceich’s Organizational Behavior and Kotter and Cohen’s The Heart of Change outlines how change can be a good thing within an organization. The Heart of Change introduces its readers to eight steps the authors feel are important in introducing a large scale organizational change. Today’s organizations have to deal with leadership change, change in the economy,
Change is a double-edged sword (Fullan, 2001). Change is a word that might inspire or put fear into people. Leadership is challenging when it comes to dealing with change and how individuals react within the organization to the change. Marzano, McNulty, and Waters (2005) discuss two orders of change in their book School Leadership that Works; first and second. Fullan (2001) also adds to the discussion in his book Leading in a Culture of Change, with regard to understanding change. In Change Leadership, Keagan and Wagner (2006) discuss many factors of change and the systematic approach to change. Change affects people in different ways. Leaders need to be able to respond to the individuals throughout the change process.
Change is something that is necessary for the survival of a company, but can sometimes be difficult to instate. That is what is discussed in the book A Sense of Urgency by John Kotter. The central theme of this book is leadership, and how it is required to initiate change.
Valackienė, A., & Virbickaitė, R. (2011). Conceptualization of Crisis Situation in a Company. Journal of Business Economics & Management, 12(2), 317-331. doi:10.3846/16111699.2011.575192
Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
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).
Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge is an organizational management book written by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus for those who aim to become better leaders. The authors emphasize that having executive positions or being a manager does not automatically make one a leader. A leader is one who inspires his staff, help them find purpose in their work, and effectively implement their plans. They separate the book not quite into chapters on different topics, but rather by four strategies that they have determined are vital for any leader to take on. The strategies are effectively concluded as attention through vision, meaning through communication, trust through positioning, and the deployment of self. A prominent feature of Leaders is the various
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.
A crisis can be defined as an extraordinary event, disclosure, or set of circumstances that threatens, or is perceived to threaten, the welfare of one or more staff, customers and stakeholders, or the integrity, objectives and reputation of the organisation. Crisis management is the application of strategies designed to help an organization deal with a sudden and significant negative event. (Janes, T 2010)
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.
In the article “Working to Transform Your Organization”, the issue of tackling an organization’s needed changes amongst a bureaucratic national system is a difficult one. Fortunately, they become very attainable if certain steps are taken. These outlined concepts when combined with an opportune situation yield a positive result, it seems, when associations are no longer relevant or efficient. The Department of Defense, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Veteran Health Administration were all examined. It was determined within their case studies that eight common lessons emerged among them. These lessons are proven that when implemented, they have the opportunity to make the pertinent modifications to bring the largest organizations in line with their purpose. These ideas could be used on an organization such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, otherwise known as the NAACP.