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Organizational Change Organizational changes are constant in both the public and private sector. Some changes are small and easily managed and others are large scale vision changes. With organization-wide changes, such as a redirection in the organizations vision, strong creative leaders are needed to ensure the vision is sold to the employees and that the change is implemented smoothly. The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) has recently changed visions to strengthen the way we create long term public safety. This change in mission and vision statements was a smooth process but has not been implemented without its share of issues. Change usually comes with resistance in any workplace because change disrupts the employees’ sense of safety and control (Lewis, 2012). Kurt Lewin (1951) created a three step process for assisting employees with organizational Change (Lewis, 2012). The three stages are Unfreeze, Change and Refreeze. These are the steps to a smooth transition for change within organizations. Further, these steps are not possible without good communication from upper Management through line staff. Communication was consistently listed as an issue in surveys conducted by the department. In November of 2010, the VADOC underwent a face lift with its hiring of Harold Clarke as its new director. When Director Clarke took over leadership the state’s recidivism rate was around 26 percent (VADOC, 2014). Director Clarke was interested in changing our vision from humanely treating offenders to a concentrated vision of reducing recidivism to enhance long term public safety. To enact this type of change would require statewide reform in nearly every aspect of our corrections system. Before this change was to be made, Di... ... middle of paper ... ...ouse, 2016). Managers humbling themselves to make their employees comfortable at work by creating a learning environment usually results in a positive work environment. I have supervised employees with negative behaviors who wish to be left along to simply do their work with no desire to promote or be social. These are not necessarily bad employee but are employees who need the additional caution in their team placements. I use servant leadership as much as possible and where appropriate. I also ensure structure and integrity in the subordinate’s line of supervision are followed. Assisting is fine when coaching employees to better performance but as coaching occurs the level of coaching should progressively decrease with employee increased competence. When employee’s needs begin to affecting operations, I believe another style of supervision needs to be deployed.
When envisioning a prison, one often conceptualizes a grisly scene of hardened rapists and murderers wandering aimlessly down the darkened halls of Alcatraz, as opposed to a pleasant facility catering to the needs of troubled souls. Prisons have long been a source of punishment for inmates in America and the debate continues as to whether or not an overhaul of the US prison system should occur. Such an overhaul would readjust the focuses of prison to rehabilitation and incarceration of inmates instead of the current focuses of punishment and incarceration. Altering the goal of the entire state and federal prison system for the purpose of rehabilitation is an unrealistic objective, however. Rehabilitation should not be the main purpose of prison because there are outlying factors that negatively affect the success of rehabilitation programs and such programs would be too costly for prisons currently struggling to accommodate additional inmate needs.
Visher is the Principal Research Associate at The Urban Institute, a Washington DC-based think tank that conducts policy research and offers solutions. In the article, Visher begins by asserting that the United States’ criminal justice policies swing from “tough on crime” to “rehabilitation.” The problem of prisoner reentry no longer focuses on just the offender and his/her circumstances, but the broader approach to find new evidence-based solutions. Policy makers are now extremely aware of the prison situation and is now a topic of interest. Although a larger number of prisoners have been released since the 1980s and 1990s, most of them come back. The admission rate of prisoners is higher than that of releasing them. Prisoner reentry is a main policy concern at the state, local and federal level for several reasons. First and foremost is the public safety problem. The recidivism rate has not changed in the past decade or two. One-third of all prison admissions nationwide, are offenders who are being returned to prison for new crimes or technical violations. The second reason is the fiscal implications the prisoner reentry phenomenon has on society. Expenditures on the correctional system has increased six fold in just 25 years. As a result, policy and political attention in the United States has grown, that councils have passed resolutions to deal with the crisis. Some examples of new legislation include the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI)
“The Heart of Change,” by John Kotter and Dan S. Cohen can act as a diagram for any organization facing challenges that come with implementing change. In the 21st Century in order to stay competitive with your competitors you have to implement changes, new systems and approaches to keep the organization relevant. With changes there comes errors that a company may encounter, sometimes these errors if not fixed can make the change within the organization impossible. Employees are reluctant and can’t see the views or their leader, and this makes change unsuccessful. That’s where Kotter’s eight step change model can give an organization a guideline and understanding of some of the challenges that they may encounter with change. Comparing Kotter’s
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
Organizational Change "The effectiveness of organizational change is greatest when a firm’s strategy is consistent with environmental conditions and there is internal consistency." (D A Nadler, 2003:204) The only thing that is constant in this world is change and this is widely acknowledged by many in the world, may it be a corporation or a social forum or a governmental body. What comes in this world has to experience change in the light of environmental elements and pressures and influences, internal or external. The study of organizational behavior gives that environmental factors are the political, legal, economic, demographic, technological, social and societal. While these are the external environmental factors that are and cannot be counted among the controllable factors for an organization, they do in fact influence organizational structure, policies and strategies. In turn, the internal environment of the organization, that is very much controlled by the management of the organization and comprises of the top to bottom managerial levels, the staff, the employees, the board of directors, the owners etc. this internal environment, is to a great extent the result of external environmental factors, the change of which results in the direct impact on the internal environment of the organization. As such in lieu of external environmental factors; change agents with in the organization tend to accept the change in their external factors and tries to bring about a compatible change within the internal environment of the organization. The effectiveness of the change that is being brought about with in the organization as a result of the changing external environmental forces is best when, as described by Nadler, the internal facto...
“The history of correctional thought and practice has been marked by enthusiasm for new approaches, disillusionment with these approaches, and then substitution of yet other tactics”(Clear 59). During the mid 1900s, many changes came about for the system of corrections in America. Once a new idea goes sour, a new one replaces it. Prisons shifted their focus from the punishment of offenders to the rehabilitation of offenders, then to the reentry into society, and back to incarceration. As times and the needs of the criminal justice system changed, new prison models were organized in hopes of lowering the crime rates in America. The three major models of prisons that were developed were the medical, model, the community model, and the crime control model.
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).
One of the change models of Organizational Development was created by Kurt Lewin. It includes three phases: unfreeze, move or change, and refreeze (Lewin, 1951, 1958). Lewin’s model recognizes the impormance of changing the people in organization and the role of top management involvement to overcome the resistance of change.
Organizations need to understand the ten principles presented by Hall and Hord (2001): Change Principle 1: “Change is learning- It is as simple and complicated as that” (p. 6). Moreover, the name change implies a learning process for each and every participant. Sometimes knowledge can be fun and easy for some individuals, but at times, it might be a problem for others. In the process of transformation, the people need to be permissive for new ideas to flow in order to learn and understand the changes that are going to take place in the organization. Change Principle 2: “Change is a process, not an event” (p.8). This principle guides the leaders to make sure that the staff understands that implementing a change is not something that is just going to happen in one occurrence, but rather it is a process that is going to take time. Leaders or staff will not be able to determine the extent of the change they are trying to adopt. Change Principle 3: “The school is the primary unit for change” (p. 9). The staff has to be aware that their individual actions wi...
Organizational change is a very big risk for organizations. The process of change can be very difficult for employees as well as the leaders implementing the changes. The changes are usually planned to improve the company. However, sometimes change can destroy a company when things don’t go as planned. From a change in management to a change in the company structure, or way of doing daily task, organizations must carefully execute the process of change and use change strategies that will ensure success.
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...
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
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.
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.
Johnson, R. (1976). Management, systems, and society: An introduction. Pacific Palisades: CA, Goodyear Pub. Co.