Change Management Theories and Their Interrelatedness - Assignment Example

Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Change Management Report Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Organizational change management Introduction Change management entails a well structured approach aimed at transitioning an organization from its present state to a much more desired future position. It is therefore a process within an organization whose aim is often to empower the respective organization employees to acknowledge change as well as embrace it within their present business environment. The transformation has essential impacts on the performance of the employees which essentially takes place when there is a variation with regards to how the staff was performing in the past and how are supposed to perform their task in order to ensue the success of the organization. As a perceptible track towards transformation projects, organizational change management supports an organization’s expectations, communicates, and puts together teams as well as managing staff training (Heathfield, 2010). It therefore employs the use of various metrics, for instance leader’s commitment, communication efficiency, as well as the seeming necessity for organizational change in order to come up with accurate strategies, thus shunning change failures or resolving troubled change plans. Organizational change is undertaken under diverse dimensions. This can take place when the organization alters the whole operational approach in favor of its achievement. The organization is capable of eradicating or including various sections in its constitution coupled with the general nature of its action. For the accomplishment of an organization, the people involved have to embark on a variety of important amendments in their progress. The directors must consequently try to make certain that momentous changes in their organizations are present. For they have the responsibility of guaranteeing the organization’s achievement (Heathfield, 2010). Hurdles to Organizational Change Schemes employed by organizational managers towards organizational change may at times fall short of success to an organization. The failures may be as a result of the many hurdles or barriers brought by the structure along with the various procedures employed by the organization or by the organization staff themselves. Among the barriers to organizational change are inadequate planning, lack of consultation and insufficient training. Deficient preparations come about when directors initiate amendments with no preceding training to the employees. People do have psychosomatic requirements that may obstruct them from giving immediate response to commands. The aspect of giving new commands that can be utilized in organizational restructuring may at times not be well embraced if effective training is not given to employees for the major purpose of convincing them concerning the importance of embracing change within the organization (Heller, 2006). It is also rather essential that the organization takes consideration of their overall attitude and perception towards the change process. In a situation whereby those dealing with the strategic change plan are well focused concerning their intended goals, they may sometimes not put into consideration the fact that the alterations or changes being initiated may have an impact on other stake holders within the organization. If the opinions of the staff members are not integrated into the plan, anger may result which may further affect the effectiveness of the proposed changes. The failure to effectively confer with individuals who will be impacted by the changes is another hindrance to effective organizational change. A perception that an organization can just suddenly change may actually result to resistance of the workforce towards the intended plan. In order for change to be effectively accepted in the organization every stakeholder should be well informed and their perspectives on the intended changes be integrated (Shanker, 2010). Those who are required to participate in the process should be consulted and also the experts in a certain field that will be effected. For instance in the Risk and Return History of Telstra Corporation (2010) the restructuring plan which involved the appointing of two chief operating officers which was received by the other employees in the way of grapevine. This resulted to resignation of one of main the executives, an indication that they were not at all checked with when the decision was being put down. Seeking advice from them will assist in eliminating blame in case the plans do not succeed. Another obstacle to organizational change is inadequate training. In addition to the changes that occur in terms of technology, organizational operations are increasingly becoming more sophisticated. Due to the fact that changes have to implemented in relations to the trend in which technology is taking, it is very much essential to give training to employee in order to equip them with effective knowledge of keeping them updated. New technological applications demand for training of the employees completely. Failure to do so can result to the destruction of the entire change process. The managers should also undergo training concerning how to effectively execute the change process; this will give them the ability to guide teams on how to incorporate change. If managers are also not well equipped with knowledge the change process may be difficult to incorporate. Organizational Management Theories and their Interrelatedness According to the contingency theory of organizational management, the ability of a manager to give direction to the employees is dependant on a variety of factors which include his or her capabilities, ideal style, abilities and the behavior of employees towards the current situations. There are various theories of organizational change management that can be utilized in the case of Telstra Company. Among the excellent theories are complexity theory, organizational development theory, system theory, social world’s theory and the systems theory. According to the systems theory, the interdependence interrelatedness of the different departments of an organization has to be put into consideration before effecting any change. Creation improvements in one department require that its dealings with other areas are well evaluated. It is vital to consider elements of the organization such as human resource, technology, financial and technology and its tasks. This is essentially because change can occur through the alteration of one of these factors. In terms of technology, it is apparent in the context of Telstra’s operations that customers are shifting from using the fixed line copper networks into utilizing the wireless broadband through the assistance of their mobile phones. In order to initiate change in such organization, the managing director could put emphasis on varying the aspect of technology.However it is essential for the department dealing with technology to cordiante with other departments such as marketing and human resource in order to effectively intergrate such changes. Organizational development theory is based on initiating intended change through the use of the idea of behavioral sciences. (Kimberling, 2002).As a result emphasis is laid on the importance of the human processes in transforming an organization. The theory highlights that; effective organizational changes have to be grounded on an agreement between the goals of an organization and individuals. Team working is significant for successful improvement of the organization’s performance. In Telstra context, the chief executive usually has two chief operating officers reporting back to him, in order to have additional liberty to concentrate on federal government’s national broadband network. The executive officer doesn’t put into considering the significance of teamwork in organizational change plans. This is because he does not involve other officers in the national broadband network plan. (The Risk and Return History of Telstra Corporation Ltd, 2009). The Complexity theory evaluates organizations that are operated through non-linear dynamics (Hayes, 2010). Organizational changed is therefore attained due to relations between the local agents and the complex organization, and between the environment and the complex organization. The theory proposes that before people plan on how to transform the organization, it is vital that they first understand it. These points out the value of always reviewing the organizational structures in order for the workforce can appreciative and understands what can work better and what needs improvements (Blokdijk, 2008). The Social world’s theory proposes that changes take place due to negotiation between various social worlds. The theory stresses on the importance of who is utilizing the change indicators and for what purpose. Steps that are taken should aim at increasing the work quality at the same time meeting quality standards. In the context of Telstra, the initiated should improve the company’s performance and at the same time fulfill the expectations of the federal government’s of a national broadband network (Telstra, 2008). Models of organizational change Various models employed in implementation change in an organization do exist. Managers always have a desire to initiate change however they do not know how to begin implementing the desired changes. It is therefore of great significance to adhere to the appropriate steps in changing an organization as in the case of Telstra’s organization structure. The frequently employed model of transformation is the Kotter’s 8-step model. The initial step in this model is to come up with urgency for change. For change to occur in an organization, the whole organization must be on familiar terms with the need for it. The need ought to be a stated as a subject of urgency and all individuals ought to feel the urgent necessity for change. Among the things a manager can do to create a state of urgency on the subject are coming up with the possible threats and things that may occur should the change not be implemented (Daft, 2009). The next step is making every individual aware of the significance of the change to the organization. This must include important individuals in the organization who will provide support with regards to favorable ideas. The manager should come up with important individuals within the organization and those who are not within the organizations’ hierarchy but have an influence to persuade the others. To ensure this change is attained, the leader ought to work towards this as a team influencing individuals who may even be in powerful positions within the company. These will help support the process of change (Kimberling, 2002). The other step is to develop a vision for change among the employees affected by change. Having a vision that is clearly stated about the planned change can assist every employee understand the motive behind the intended change. As a result they should fully understand what the strategies are intending to attain, they may take the changes positively since they understand the reasons why they are being asked to act in a certain manner. The fourth step is to present the vision to the members of the organization. This implies informing people of what will happen after the change has taken place. It is important to talk about the vision in every given chance. The vision should be used in making decisions and solving problems. This will help the members to know how the change will help them in future (Shanker, 2010) The fifth step entails doing away with the hurdles that may happen in the change procedure. These may comprise of persons who may be in opposition to the change process in addition to any other obstruction. As a result it is of significance to situate in the essential structures that will permit for smooth flow of the procedure. Eliminating the barriers may assist the relevant individuals to speed up the process. The manager can employ the use of experts in towards the delivery of the preferred transformation. The sixth is to develop short-range wins that can be attained within a short period. This calls for giving people within the organization optimism in terms of succeeding. It is of importance to make the people feel have a taste of achievement early even prior to the change plan is due initiation. This can be accomplished by devising short term objectives that can be attained when the plan of transformation is still on its premature stages (Hayes, 2008) Change implementation is the seventh stage. This requires that the manager does not pronounce victory before the plan is completely established. As a result Victory should therefore be pronounced only when the organizational plans have gone to greater heights. Change entails investing the crucial resources towards the victory of the organizational change initiative. It is of great importance to progress by making more improvements on the plan to make sure it is fully implemented in the end. The ultimate step in accordance to Kotters strategy is fixes the changes within the culture of the organization. This entails making certain the plans are well established within the activities of the organization. A lot of efforts ought to be continually made to certify that the changes are included into all the organizations’ aspects. This will ensure the change has a lasting place into the organization’s culture. The leaders must also be in the frontline in supporting the change. In general, if the chief executive officer, Mr. Thodey would have adhered to the correct steps in trying to change Telstra Corporation’s structure, some officers would have not resigned. The commonly used model of change is therefore the Kotter’s 8-step model. Suggestions for Organizational Management Change in Telstra The Kotter’s 8-step model will be very suitable when implemented by the chief executive officer of Telstra. Telstra’s chief executive’s plan to restructure the organization should therefore have pursued procedures as outlined by Kotter. The chief executive should involve a strong coalition of experts towards the change process. This team could comprise of the other managing directors. This will act as the best team to assist him that in implementing the change. Failure to involve experts would result to failure and a predisposed lack of vision as well as communication to the members of Telstra. The plans for change ought to involve declaring intentions to all the company’s employees. The management change vision ought to enable Telstra resolve issues cropping up from the national broadband in the coming few years. The managers should therefore take keen a keen interest on this and communication be passed over to the employees. By doing this, the chief executive officer will be able to avoid the various barriers that come along with organization change implementation by informing all employees within the company. If all the employees are involved in the plans, then such barriers are bound not to occur (Heller, 2006). Proposed Change Strategies at Telstra A leadership that is effective values its employees along with their reactions to change in either in a negative or positive manner. As a result, it is essential that much emphasis is laid on employ strategies that will assist in elimination of resistance towards change made. Among these strategies are adopting a comprehensible outline prior to initial plan for change. Feelings of resistance occur among the employees if they are not well-versed with the policies as well as guidelines of the proposed changes. The employees need to be informed on how their jobs will be impacted by the developed changes. This is essentially because if employees are not well informed they may reduce their level of engagement and commitment to the organization. (Anderson, 2010). An additional strategy is advocacy. This means offering the employees a chance to put across their opinions with regards to the designed changes. This implies that the employees should be made aware of the designed plans and then permitted to give feedback pertaining to their issues. The leader ought not to be inflexible in his plans. He is supposed to embrace other individual’s opinions as well as putting them into consideration. More over he ought to consider efficient communication. Information should also be well conveyed and the chief executive officer ought to take an initiative to ensure the employees are clearly informed about the anticipated change rather than getting to them in the form of rumors(Van de & Poole 2005). Challenges the Chief Executive Officer might face when instigating the change In the management change implementation process, the executive officer will have to face a number of challenges with a number of them being caused by the performance of Telstra Company. A number of companies tend to fail to do well as a result of human resources and other aspects. It is actually evident that the chief executive officer ought to have begun by streamlining the higher management team. However, if this does not augur well with some of the officers, they will in most cases opt to resign from their positions. The organization’s poor performance will therefore go on to challenge the changes inside the institution. Another challenge facing the change management at Telstra is the pressure coming out of the federal government with regards to the national broadband network. The organization in this case suffered strains from both inside and outside the organization (Telstra Enterprise and Government, 2010). The process of organizational change is basically grounded on the contributions of the central or key implementers who are the employees. In spite of the various initiatives that Telstra Corporation took in terms of insuring that the staff was involved in the change process through development of programs such as training and education the staff about the changes initiated within the organization. The challenge of employee resistance arose, due to lack of suitable strategies by the management of incorporation of changes among the employees. For example if new services were incorporated in the organization during the change process, the implication is that the work load for the employees will definitely rise and this demands of an increase in remuneration. Telstra did not effectively deal with this aspect as result the Telstra's workers Union opted to organize a strike. Conclusion Managing change within the organization can sometimes prove to many organization managers. This basically occurs as a result of the nature of people who sometimes tend to oppose change. Management's capacity to attain maximum benefits out of the management change depends relatively on how efficiently they create as well as maintain a climate that reduces resistant behavior and promotes acceptance and support. However, there are a number of aspects that the management team should limit in order to avoid resistance from employees. This includes the evaluation of theories of organizational change management. For instance the Kotter’s 8-step model and other models of enhancing organizational change are very essential in ensuring that the employees the changes initiated within the organization and that the changes are well integrated into the culture of the organization. These particular strategies assist employees to feel that they are part of the change process being initiated this therefore improves their ability of embrace change. Reference Anderson, D, 2010, Beyond Change Management: Advanced Strategies for Today's Transformational Leaders, Volume 36 J-B O-D (Organizational Development) Series, John Wiley and Sons Publishers. Blokdijk, G, 2008, The Change Management Toolkit: The Missing in Change Management Planning, Process, Theory and Tools Guide - Itil Compliant, Lulu.com. 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