Planning and implementing Successful Change Process - Coursework Example

1  If adapting to new circumstances is an ever present challenge to organisations, why is it so challenging and intense and so difficult to achieve success when planning and implementing change? Planning and implementing Successful Change Process Name Institution Course Date Planning and implementing Successful Change Process Introduction Change is considered the most intimidating but necessary process that every organisation should undergo. Change often leads to uncertainty of the unknown that creates fear of failure. However, failure is very possible without change. Business leaders in organisations regardless of discipline, look for techniques that will help in successful planning and implementation of change to overcome challenges that come with it (Prabhakar, 2005). The goal of any type of change process is to successfully initiate and implement a plan to generate desired objectives and results that are capable of shifting the current status quo and allow long sustainability of the change. Achieving this goals and objectives requires understanding why change is required and what exactly require change, how to pursue the change process, the agent required for successful implementation, and the challenges that result in the change process. Managing change is very hard. Each organisation experiences these challenges over time. The important question to ask is whether these organisations have the ability to thrust upon the challenges that result from the change process, or whether they would be drained by the changes and fail (Cummings and Worley, 2005). In general, change, either incremental or quantum, may lead to significant challenges in organisations brought about by difficulty of a number of groups or individuals to adapt to change. Business success and survival is highly dependent on the capabilities of organisations to respond and manage changes and development of strong leadership team that would guide the process. This paper focuses specifically on the reasons for change, and the process of change that will enable clear understanding of the reasons why it is difficult to achieve success when planning and implementing change in any organisation. It is the nature of all human beings and firms to resist change. Therefore, planning and implementing change is a very difficult task. Thus, the first important step in approaching any type of change is to analyse the reasons for change (Prabhakar, 2005). After exploring the reasons an organisation pursue change, it is important to select the processes needed to change. Change in business must take place since all environments undergo changes over time, and any organism, biological or organisational therefore must adapt to the changes in order to survive. Organisations are in a dynamic environment; they should exhibit the required ability to internally adapt as a result of these changes. This environmental changes often affect business domains firms exists in, such as changes in: raw materials, financial resources, market demand, industry features, economic conditions, government regulations, social culture to name a few (Cummings and Worley, 2005). Changes occurring in this variable require an exclusive modification by the organisation. These change variables, and how an organisation adapt to these variables create a paradigm that individuals in an organisation acquire to understand the environment (Cummings and Worley, 2005). Paradigm explains how individuals expect to perceive the environment around them. When the world around and the organisation fits the perception of the paradigm, then no change appear necessary. However, in an event of changing environment, paradigm shift is necessary, and thus change appears necessary too. Successful business organisations have a clear and accurate plan for handling uncertainty and commitments to things that will never change. Changing environment requires a changing organisation. Important question to ask in highlighting reasons for change is ‘what must change?’ (Prabhakar, 2005). Creation of an organisation’s vision is the answer to the question; “what must change?” Organisation vision is often the guide to what to change. The company’s vision is made up of two components: the expected future and core ideology. The core ideology represents the values that will not change as it unites the organisation and what it stands for. Identification of the core ideology of an organisation is very important as anything else that is not part of the core ideology is open for change in any organisation (Prabhakar, 2005). The second component of a company’s vision is the expected future that involves ‘audacious goal’ that describes how a business will look like after the accomplishment of the goal. These goals motivate an organisation to utilize its strengths and opportunities to create the future. They continuously grow and are prone to changes as the environment changes and evolve as a business develops. The organisation plan and implement change in its quest to pursuing envision future (Prabhakar, 2005). The vision of any organisation therefore is all about selecting opportunities for change, whose decisions are founded on values. Change decisions are based on what organisation will pursue effectively. Individual change action is expected to add value to business by assisting an organisation become efficient and effective. In an attempt to keep up with the surrounding, organisational change may occur as just a mindless act with no justification. Business organisation should use long-term approach to defining purpose and short-term, value adding approach to making decisions on what to change and what not to change. This will yield success in planning and implementing change (Prabhakar, 2005). A process that enables change to be achieved may lead to a successful implementation of organisational change. The process for change entails the individuals that will take part in change process and the model for change (Gibson et al, 2006). The first step required in the change process is the selection of the agent of change. The features of the change agents often impact the success and sustainability of the change process. Defined features of the change agent are similar to that of leadership. The change agent is expected not to fear uncertainty, he should accept and succeed in risk situations, keeping in mind that lack of structure may lead to change implementation failure. True leader often takes his team from original the status quo (Prabhakar, 2005). Leadership entails preparing and leading other individuals through change by motivating and desiring and setting direction for the rest to follow (Kotter, 2001). Successful agent of change is supposed to put all his attention on the positive aspects of change and should use the time framework of change to re-emphasize what the organisation stands for by re-enforcing existing values and vision. The change agent also should vary his leadership style according to the present situation: coercive, democratic, authoritative, coaching, pacesetting, and affiliative (Goleman, 2000). Authoritative leadership styles should be used by the change agent to initiate the change process as it mobilizes the employees towards a set vision and values. Affiliative styles enhance good relationships and rebuild broken trust (Gibson et al, 2006). All the six leadership styles should be used by the change agent at the right situation of the change process to enable successful planning and implementation of change in an organisation. With the defined change agent to pursue change, an organisation must develop a model that would sustain change by overcoming negative parts of change and promoting positive aspects of change. For change to take place, an organisation must ‘unfreeze’ existing attitudes, behaviours and operational processes (Yoong, 2010). This enables individual adapt new status quo. This can be done by minimizing forces preventing change. An organisation must also change the unbalanced system before ‘refreezing’ the changed system by allowing it to obtain a new equilibrium of the desired change. Instead of forcing change, leaders are required to include the employees in the change process as their agreement and participation is very paramount (Gibson et al, 2006). This allows the elimination of resistance to change and thus change takes place smoothly with high level of acceptance. Change process is faced with many problems and is very difficult for it to be successful. Resistance is considered the most articulated barrier to the change process and all change agents should address it (Yoong, 2010). Bringing together a comprehensive plan and going as per aforementioned steps of the planning step can reduce the resistance to change but cannot completely eliminate it. Thus, the change agent should undertake measures to understand the existing resistance and do the best to remove it. In order to prevent resistance, the forces preventing change should be eliminated instead of continuing with the change process (Gibson et al, 2006). To successfully plan and implement a change, the change agent should take into consideration the sources of opposition. Resistance can be due to perceived threat to status quo within the organisation. Other sources of resistance are unconsciously recognised and develop when an employee convinces himself that he is not part of a particular change (Yoong, 2010). For example, even though an employee may support a change process such as an initiative to improve productivity, he may be afraid of losing workplace relationships or may be nervous of failure involving the new responsibilities. Due to this, the employee may apply physical and mental resistance to the particular change (Stanley et al, 2003). In this specific case, there might be no open opposition but just an ‘immunity to change’. Resistance may occur on organisational level. Situation taking place in an organisation at particular time of the change process may decrease the ability of the firm to transform. For instance, if the leader is does not create a positive attitude among the employees towards the change; success of the company is limited. Another challenge that causes difficulty to achieve success during planning and implementation of change is leadership incapability (Kegan and Lahey, 2009). No business organisation is perfect with enough great individuals to execute successful change. Senior leader also are reluctant to engage great performers to take part in change processes since regular work can suffer. In order to execute successful change process, the quality of team involved should be great and thus organisations should free up some staff while ensuring that every day business operation do not falter (Yoong, 2010). Since team members take part in a number of activities, external stimuli, resources etc., they must be well led. Generally, the agent of change must be at their toe to ensure effective change process. Lack of focussed leaders may be a challenge to planning and implementing change. Another challenge to successful implementation of change process is lack of communication (Yoong, 2010). Reinstating strong communication methods can assist in avoiding the misunderstanding that result to thwarting of best-laid change plans. Good communication starts with defining clearly the goals and vision. If clear articulation of the plan of change is not possible within a speculated time, then misunderstanding may occur. One way of overcoming miscommunications is by creating a stakeholder analysis in order to involve every group and individual in execution of a plan (Rooke and Torbert, 2005). Lack of alignment and accountability is another challenge facing change process. This concept is fundamental to the long-term success of the change process. When a project is not an intimate part of one’s goals and objectives and he is not being counted accountable for the result, then it may not command the required level of commitment. Many organisations tend to progress ahead without considering if there is clear accountability and alignment between objectives and goals and performance and that individuals are considered accountable for the results (Rooke and Torbert, 2005). To improve alignment and accountability, right management structure should be established and skimping on the planning process avoided in the change project. Also, inadequate system and structure leads to failure of a change process. An organisation can increase chances of successful change process by ensuring appropriate system and structures that will assist the change initiative. For instance, establishment of appropriate systems and structures may involve providing the correct computer systems and software, establishing correct performance management structure and developing the best strategy leading to change (Rooke and Torbert, 2005). To sum it up, the available challenges of change process demand an effective and systematic strategy to achieving the change. These challenges lead to difficulties in planning and implementing successful change process. Deciding to plan and implement a new approach is not hard. The hard part is planning and implementing the new approach and make it stick. In whatever form a change takes, a large amount of advance planning together with preventing and solving common roadblocks will benefit the change process. The paper successfully established a reason why change is needed by defining the why and what of change. This was preceded by the process for change that entails selecting the change agent and change design. The mentioned concepts helped in establishing the reason why it is difficult to plan and implement change process. Some challenges facing the change process include, resistance, lack of communication, inadequate system and structure and lack of management and accountability. Therefore, successful change process is possible by responding to the challenges facing the change. References Cummings, Thomas, and Worley, Christopher 2005, Organization Development and Change, 8th Edition. Thomson South-Western, Mason, OH. Gibson, et al 2006, Organizations: Behavior, Structure, Processes, 12th Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York. Goleman, D 2000, “Leadership that Gets Results”, Harvard Business Review, March-April. 78-90. Kegan, R & Lahey, L 2009, Immunity to change: how to overcome it and unlock potential in yourself and your organization, Boston, Mass, Harvard Business Press. Kotter, Jn2001, “What Leaders Really Do”, Harvard Business Review, December, 85-96. Prabhakar, G 2005, Switch Leadership in Projects: An Empirical Study Reflecting The Importance of Transformational Leadership on Project Success in Twenty-Eight Nations.  Rooke, D and Torbet, W 2005, “Seven Transformations of Leadership”, Harvard Business Review, vol. 83, no. 4, April, 66-77. Stanley, Robert, et al 2003, “Emerging New Paradigms: A Guide to Fundamental Change in Local Public Transportation.” TCRP Report 97. Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC. Yoong, P 2010, Leadership in the digital enterprise issues and challenges, Hershey, PA., Business Science Reference. Read More