One timeless factor that has impacted all industries and businesses to some level is the need to deal with and handle change. Change comes in many forms but change always comes and organizations must be able not only to survive change they should learn to manage and even thrive with change. In order to adequately manage change organizations must be able to handle change on two different levels. Organizational change, employee or workforce change. By learning and developing a plan to manage these change factors organizations increase their ability to have sustained success in whichever market they operate in.
Change happens in and at all levels of an organization. From the people who have charge to lead, to the people who are responsible for
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One way a good leader helps organizations handle change is by taking a real assessment of where the organization is beginning. Leaders must assess the current or future culture, capacity, commitment and capability of the organization (Campbell, 2014). The culture of an organization will either be conducive or resistant to change, and with the fact that change is inevitable working to create a culture encourages change is important. The next place a leader must assess is the capacity of their organization for change. Change capacity is the ability of an organization to successfully handle changes as they occur. Change capacity is highlighted by ongoing learning and adjustments that enable an organization to thrive in the midst of ambiguity and uncertainty (Ramezan, Mohammad, & Hassan, 2013). Change capacity does not happen organically, instead leaders must take actions to teach employees how to adjust to change and continue learning when the opportunity …show more content…
Having employees that are able to handle the organizational change is just as important as having a good change management plan. Employee selection cannot be underestimated when discussing change capability. Not all employees have the ability to process information quickly and efficiently and If the capability is lacking there will be issues. Capability might also be an issue from an organization’s infrastructure. In order to be able to handle change effectively an organization must have resources available to not only survive but thrive in change. For example, if a company is planning to change physical locations they must ensure that the new building has everything needed to help the organization go to a new level. Important factors like office space, internet connections and closeness to customers would all need to be factored into the organizations capability to handle the change. If not the change could have a negative impact on the organization. Lastly commitment can be the difference between a change culture and complaining stagnant culture. Organizations must gain a commitment to change from all
Leaders benefit from building a team to create and implement change, this is a key theme in the Kotter model of change. This teambuilding engages employees throughout the process. Allowing employees to be a part of the change process gives them the opportunity and trust to be creative moving toward the future (Cochrane, 2002). Leaders can create opportunity for employees and leaders to dialogue about the change, which can help troubleshoot the process. Leaders who engage employees throughout the organization from various levels of the organization will receive perspectives from the entire organization helping them make better-informed decisions. Employees want to be allowed the opportunity to help an organization they believe in, in a way that enhances the
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.
Podmoroff (n.d.) describes “When you manage change effectively, you can move your organization into the new "business as usual" state swiftly, and you'll find that other people are quick to accept change”. Change management is frequently directed by a powerful change management model; this provides people with a foundation that can be used to comprehend the process and what is expected of them (Connelly, n.d.). Kurt Lewin’s theory...
Change is actually one of the things in life that can never be avoided, no matter how hard we try; it is the one constant in life. When it comes to organizations however, change can often be difficult, if not impossible, depending on a number of factors including employee receptiveness. There have been many studies completed on the cause of resistance to change. In Coch and French’s research study (1948) they asked two important questions surrounding resistance, “(1) Why do people resist change so strongly? and (2) What can be done to overcome this resistance?” Most change program experts will certainly name resistance to change as one of the largest obstructions to successfully executing change programs.
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
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,
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
This paper will be broken down into six sections profiling each critical part of implementing and managing change in an organization. The sections included are; outline for plan creating urgency, the approach to attracting a guiding team, a critique of the organizational profile, the components of change, and how to empower 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 constant and ingoing process in an organization. Change can be defined as one of the many characteristics of organization development. The change efforts are based on the analysis of particular problems and their purpose is to attain specific goals. Change is not an easy thing to implement and anticipate. It is a difficult and a challenging process; therefore the management has to take certain steps in order to prepare them for antedating the change in business environment. The senior management can prepare themselves for a change through studying and researching about change, by having a sound awareness about the change process and by understanding the necessity of change and by being mentally tough about the change process. All in all, a constant change is ...
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.
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 ...
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).