Reliant Energy HL&P
Defining the Problem
Change may be inevitable but it can make us very uneasy. At present, Reliant Energy HL&P is a company soon to be renamed CenterPoint Energy is in the midst of massive change because of deregulation of the electric industry. Employees that found complacency within the organization now experience a risk environment because of uncertainty of the future. The reduction in workforce is evident at all levels. For one, supervisors are placing greater demands on their staffs and have very high expectations. Employees are trying to adjust to major reorganizations, including downsizing, increased hours, cross training and survivor guilt for those who were retained. Reliant Energy HL&P and Reliant Energy Entex have merged their call centers into one. At the present time, only a few employees from the electric side have been cross-trained for both gas and electric inquiries. The explanation for this is that these employees were picked because they have the skills, knowledge, and ability. This decision has placed an undue burden on these employees resulting in feelings of being overworked and burned out. The rest of the employees are resisting the training and do not want to change the status quo. The top management is positioning the company and empowering the employees to be flexible and quickly adapt to change, explore new ideas, increase their skills, and be productive. However, this has not been communicated well. All the employees hear the whole day is complaints from unhappy customers. Most of the time they are caught between what the customers wants and company policy. They are not sure whom they are supposed to keep happy. Misinterpretation in the midst of changes in the company has been ...
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Broadway Broker’s management team is faced with the challenging task of downsizing and consolidating the organization. A thorough investigation as to how to execute proposed changes will need to occur before the organization can forge ahead. Change processes must be executed in a fashion that portrays compassion and consideration for all involved. For change to be successful the management team must have understanding and empathy for the psychological impact of imposed change and how employees will react. Most humans are fearful of change and do not embrace change in a positive manner. The road ahead will be difficult for the management team at Broadway Broker’s, however; with proper planning and understanding positive change can sustain the future of the organization.
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This paper will examine Robert C. Solomon's Emotions and Choices article, to best identify what anger is, and to what extent a rational human being is responsible for their anger. Firstly, Solomon's argument must be described. A quick summation of Solomon's argument can be found in the following four points: Emotions are judgements, emotions are chosen, emotions serve a purpose, and emotions are rational.1 To quote Solomon, he explains that “Emotions are not occurrences, and do not happen to us. They ... may be chosen like an action.”2
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Elite Engineering has been unable to successfully implement change because they haven’t been able to get the employees to see the need for the change and to believe in the change. “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.” (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008) Change is often met with resistance. When it comes down to it many people fear change. At Elite Engineering, the engineers were happy with the way things were being run. They enjoyed the billable work they were doing and did not want to take the time to collaborate with others, as it would take away time from their billable work. The engineers saw the billable work they were doing as a way to ensure they received their bonus at the end of the year. However, they were failing to see that the litigation business was going to begin to shrink and in order for them to remain competitive, changes needed to be made. Kotter and Schlesinger state that there are for common reasons that people resist change. The four reasons are the desire not to lose something of value, a misunderstanding of the change and its implications, a belief that the change does not make sense for the organization, and a low tolerance for change. (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008) At Elite Engineering, I think upper management was unsuccessful at implementing change because the employees didn’t want to lose their bonuses (something of value to them), they misunderstood the change, and they didn’t feel that the change made sense for the organization.
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,
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.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss organizational change and the management of that change. I will talk about the different drivers of change, the factors a leader needs to weigh to implement change effectively, the various resistances a leader may encounter while trying to implement change, and how various leadership styles will effect the realization of change. I will also discuss the knowledge I have gained through the completion of this assignment and how I think it might affect the way I manage change in my workplace.
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Crys Tel is facing external and internal forces which require attention to change. The external force requires Crys Tel to look into widening its market share by increasing product offerings. The internal force that is causing a need for change is departmental fragmentation; there is no cohesiveness with departments. Crys Tel may face resistance to change. The following top ten reasons explain why People usually resist change. An individual's predisposition toward change is personal, people fear surprise and fear of unknown, there is a climate of mistrust, fear of failure, loss of status or job security, peer pressure, disruption of cultural traditions or group relationships, personality conflicts, lack of tact or poor timing, and non-reinforcing reward system. Crys Tel has gone through constant change since it was founded. Crys Tel employees did not have a problem with change but they have to work on the department's weak and strong parameters which will have an impact on the company's business. The following models for change has helped Crys Tel successfully manage change implementation.
Unfortunately, most change managers may feel reluctant in sharing information with employees as they fear the unexpected events that may occur and threaten outcomes. Change managers are also apprehensive in communicating as they are scared their competitions be on alert or employees may leave due to fear. Hayes (2014), advises change managers to develop a communication strategy in order to better communication with employees. He identifies steps to take in order to create a communication