Departmental and Organizational Implementation - Term Paper Example

Change Management Name: Institution: Course: Lecturer: Date: Table of Content Abstract......................................................................................................................................3 Introduction...............................................................................................................................4 Summary....................................................................................................................................4 Situation Preceding Change.......................................................................................................4 The main Issue...........................................................................................................................5 Value of Change........................................................................................................................5 Departmental Implementation...................................................................................................6 Organisational Implementation.................................................................................................8 Process of Change and Change Management...........................................................................9 Benefits of Automated System................................................................................................12 Conclusion................................................................................................................................14 Bibliography.............................................................................................................................15 Abstract As increasingly powerful systems get designed, developed and hence implemented, they inevitably impact larger groups in an organisation. In turn, a sizable number of challenges regarding system success are behavioural than technical. Successful introduction of automated system to organisations require effective blend of excellent technical and organizational skills. Change is not always welcome by all people in equal measure and may fail due to resistance. However, effective leadership can play a critical role in reducing behavioural resistance including new technologies. The analysis below gauges the main features of paper-based system. The value and benefits of automated system are analysed. Moreover, implementation of change within the organisational units as well as the whole organisation is discussed. Furthermore, the paper looks the overall change process and how to manage change. The analysis concludes with a discussion of the issues highlighted. Introduction Automated performance management system offers numerous benefits that include improved employee efficiency, information security as well as productivity. The system uses programs and software tailored to suit the intended purpose of the organisation. Using automated system is as per company preferences. There are several firms still operating under paper-centric environments. For these firms, automated system could signify streamlining daily workflow whilst decreasing overall costs. Summary In this analysis, review of my organisation’s use of paper-based systems is done. Literature is thus presented which identifies issues as well as risks associated with paper-based ecosystems. Moreover, review is done to describe the enormous benefits that result after implementing paperless management performance systems. The review also provides sources which highlight best practises towards transition to paperless environment, which includes alternative tools, procedures as well as technologies. The analysis focuses on common challenges involved, including difficulties regarding change of organizational culture. Situation preceding the Change Prior to implementing automated system, the performance management system involved management of physical documentations, photocopying, archiving and retrieval of documents from file cabinets. The process was marred with ineffectiveness, valuable office space and heighted risks. The filling systems called for allocation of huge physical space which spawned inefficiencies while retrieving documents. The average cost related to renting the physical space accounted to 6 percent of the total revenue (Dykman & Davis, 2012 p.117). The organisation faced security risks arising from the loss of documentation, damaged files, cases of misfiling and issues related to mishandling of files. Quite often, this situation resulted to conflicts within the workplace. Moreover, the process of keeping physical employee records added the already burden faced by the firm. In most cases, the employee files that required regular retrieval for regulatory purposes were stashed in disparate locations. As such, without a secure and proper automated system, the firm required such files to be filed in a single location for easier retrieval during performance review and evaluations. Not only was the entire process slow, but it was also expensive in terms of time spent to file and search for the records. Perusing through the filing cabinets as well as binders to locate requested information especially during staff evaluations proved an arduous task. It resulted to errors in misfiling, incorrect tagging of records and recreating information that already existed since previous data couldn’t be found (Paton, Robert & James, 2008). The main Issue The burden of conforming to regulatory compliance regarding employees’ rights while at the same time maintaining required sales level kept the firm from implementing automated performance management system. Ironically, it is the same shift which could have enabled the company makes the compliance process automatic and less burdensome, and hence focusing more on maintaining required profitability levels. This means that manual system could not have been an effective tool in aligning the organisation goals with the employees’ performance (Dykman & Davis, 2012 p.117). Value of Change The value related to implementing automated performance system could not be quantified. The electronic system enabled the organisation to hardwire into its system by automating the entire process related to capturing of records. While the largest share of benefit was directed towards employees’ welfare, the automated system benefited other areas of the organisation such as change management, quality systems management as well as requirements management (Todnem & Rune 2005, p. 371). Departmental Implementation Normally, an automated system is implemented within the whole organisation and in departmental units. While implementing via the departmental units, the following issues are taken into consideration; that is, goals, competencies, the managers’ tools, employees’ tools as well as rewards and recognition. In regard to goals, the automated system provides reference point and communication point to both employee and manager to assist improve project productivity and personal development. These goals tie on the performance evaluation plus how employee and manager realize what is required of their work. Goals are classified as annual, quarterly, monthly and or projected-based. They can also be classified in accordance to weight percentage or via weight factor. The progress against goals is easily monitored while goals rating are done by managers; however, employees also perform self-evaluation rating. The automated process ensures goals alignment with the firm’s objectives (Paton, Robert & James, 2008). Simplification of the evaluation process is achieved through automating the procedure. The evaluation system places each employee into a performance group where competency is assigned. Competencies specify the exact expectations required from each performance group. This means that competencies are all similar for members of the same performance group. They are self evaluated by the staff and finally rated by the managers. In this context, employees have the option of proposing area of strength within their profile. The system allows notes to be added along individual competencies to give extra information (Todnem & Rune 2005, p. 377). With its advanced integrated and configurable characteristics, the performance module provides new identity to the traditional performance appraisals. The system goes beyond traditional employee ranking system by enabling managers ease developing their team through provision of a performance review. This improves the entire goal-setting process as well as necessitates the manager to be constantly aware of departmental progress and therefore step-in wherever necessary. The system set fresh goals for each subordinate, approving or rejecting any departmental goals proposed. It also leaves comments on specific goals and suggesting corrective actions. The self-evaluation performance process of the staff is assessed, approved or rejected. Managers also highlight the strengths as well as development need pertaining to their team. The system easily identifies the top performers hence allocating training wherever needed (Aladwani & Adel 2001, p. 271). An automated performance system works at the benefit of the workforce by engaging them within the evaluation process. The engagement ensures that both managers as well as the employees collaborate in aligning their actions as well as goals. The resultant ease of communication makes the employees identify their strengths plus areas of improvement. In-turn, managers use these tools in developing their team. The system mandates the staff provide their feedback during the end of the evaluation. Continuous feedback between the department and manager is also made possible. The performance management system facilitates recognition and rewards the allocation of the workforce. The inbuilt reports configurations reflect bonuses, payouts, commissions as well as other compensations. Organisational Implementation The system that automates employees’ performance processes saves the firm considerable amount through reduction of time evaluating employees. Moreover, automating enables the organisation to align the goals of the staff to those of the organisation. The system delivers accurate as well as consistent staff evaluations via linking staff expectations and accountabilities with the firms’ objectives whilst building company’s strength via development of competencies as well job skills. The resultant effect is improved workflow, that is, between the organisation and the employees which necessitates focus and debate on improvement areas plus opportunities for improvement (Aladwani & Adel 2001, p. 268). Organisational Alignment: the automated performance management system mandates the organisation to compile her goals in one central place making them accessible to employees. Employees are then given a chance to link their individualised goals to the higher level firm’s goals which enable them to carry a continuous documentation of their progress. Organisational managers are then able to ascertain how the staff goals are contributing towards the firm’s success plus any notable problematic areas or opportunities. This makes the managers make informed decisions that the right individuals are handling the necessary tasks. The alignment of such goals boosts the employee engagement which instils performance. It gives the staff first-hand information on how their individualised tasks are impacting the firm’s performance (Anderson, Dean, & Linda, 2010). Organisational Strengths: Job skills as well as descriptions highlight how the staff should work as compared to what they ought to be working on. In order for the competencies to be effective, they should form a basis of the firm’s talent management initiative. Automation enables this to be achieved via listing of job skills as well as description in one database. Starting from the hiring process to the performance evaluation, an automated system mandates managers to cultivate the workforce according to the firm’s overall objectives (Burchell 2011, p. 24). Improved Feedback: In order to be aligned and realize the firm’s goals, staffs require ongoing feedback about their individualised performance. This is in regard those excellent areas and also the areas that need improvement. The automated tool necessitates easier feedback in a substantial number of ways. The system makes performance evaluation fast as well as easier for organisational managers to complete. As a result, participation rates of the evaluation rises dramatically. The automated system also provides description regarding ratings and scores. This give a thorough comprehension about the achieved ratings that makes employees take feedback more seriously. Process of Change and Change Management Readiness Assessments: the assessment tools are employed by the change management team and or project leader to gauge the firm’s readiness to change. The assessment may entail organisational assessments, cultural assessments, employee assessments, sponsor assessments history assessments as well as change assessments. These tools provide the project team with ideas about challenges and opportunities which may face the firm within the change process. In this respect, the project managers assess the following: the magnitude of change, the number of people affected and whether the change requires gradual and or radical change. The next step is to assess the readiness of the firm affected by the impending change. In this respect, the project manager will check the existing change, value system of impacted groups and the type of resistance which is expected. The project manager should assess strengths of change management team as well as sponsors, in order to take the steps of enabling them lead the process of change effectively (Aladwani & Adel 2001, p. 269). Communication: the following components are considered by effective communicators; the audience, what is being communicated and the time of communicating. The initial step in change management is concerned with building awareness of the need for change as well as creating desire among employees. This means that initial communication is about informing the importance of change and the risks for not changing. During the change process, the design of communication should ensure that right messages are conveyed at the right moment. The plans for communication should commence with an analysis of audiences, the main message and timing of the message. Project manager should therefore design communication plan which addresses pertinent needs of executives, supervisors as well as frontline staff. Each audience demands specific information as per their individualised roles in implementation of change (Burchell 2011, p. 27). Sponsor Roadmaps: business leaders as well as executives play an important sponsor role during the change process. The project manager should then plan about sponsor activities and assist business leaders in carrying out these plans. According to research, sponsorship acts as critical success factor. A company’s CEO may offer full support of a project but may not be a sponsor. Sponsorship entails visible participation of the executives throughout the change process which entails building coalition with other leaders and having a direct communication with the staff (Aladwani & Adel 2001, p. 274). Change Management Training: managers play a pivotal role in change management. Ultimately, managers have more influence on employees’ motivation than any other individual. Unfortunately, managers may turn out to be the repelling group and hence difficult to convince about change. They may act as source of resistance. It is then critical for project manager to gain backup of managers as well as supervisors. Individual change management practises should be used in assisting managers through the entire change process. Once managers are on board, the project manager should come up with a strategy for equipping managers to coach their subordinates through the change. The firm will therefore consider the need of offering training to guide managers, including usability of individual management tools (Brusco 2011, p. 14). Training Development: training is the foundation for instilling knowledge regarding change as well as the skills-set that the firm will need to succeed in future. Project manager ensure that people receive the right training at the right moment. This means that training should be carried out if the targeted group is made aware about need for change plus the desire to give support of the change. Project manager together with project-team members will need to develop training prerequisites basing on skills, knowledge as well as behaviours that are essential to implement change. The training requirement will act as the starting point for training group to develop as well as deliver training programs (Todnem & Rune 2005, p. 375). Resistance Management: resistance to change is a normal occurrence in every organisation. Resistance to change happens to every level of the organisation. This means that such resistance should not be perceived on subordinates only, but also the senior managers. The fact that employees are always used to the contemporary ways of doing things don’t welcome the change process lightly. Such resistance is normal and should be proactively addressed. Persistence resistance however, may act as a threat to a project. The project manager or change management team should therefore identify, comprehend and assist managers manage resistance within the organisation. Resistance management process therefore entails the actions of managers, executives as well as change team to handle employee resistance (Anderson, Dean, & Linda, 2010). Employee Feedback: the involvement of the employees is always necessary as well as integral in managing change. Feedback from the staff while implementing change is an important element of the change process. It is the duty of change managers to analyse the feedback given hence implement corrective action as per the feedback ensuring full adoption of changes. Success Recognition: the early adoption and successes coupled by long-term win should be recognised as well as celebrated. Individual recognition plus group recognition is an ideal component regarding change management which cement and reinforces change in the firm. Continued adoption therefore needs to be closely monitored to ensure that employees do not undertake their traditional ways of working. After-Project Review: this is the final step within the change process. This project mandates the project manager to stand back from entire change program to evaluate successes, failures as well as process changes for next project. This is an ongoing and continuous improvement process for the firm which ultimately results to change competency. Benefits of an Automated System An organisation leaps massive benefits from an automated performance management system. This is discussed as under; Performance Objectives: while setting goals, organisations use the term SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely) to set her goals. The acronym denotes best practise in creating the performance goals for staff. In regard to automated system, best practice is always encouraged since it is built on the framework. Automation instils communication about goals which allows stakeholders to adjust the staffs’ goals to the firms’ objectives (Brusco 2011, p. 14). Increase Visibility: a sizable number of employees do not have ability to track their progress regarding performance goals. Moreover, employees lack awareness of how their individualised goals fit with firm’s objectives. Automated system provides real-time and constant available information about progress in both ways. Automation mandates ease production of progress reports which increases visibility of the firm’s objectives. This is in particular where firm’s goals depend on effort of many employees. The system allows these employees view their collective progress which encourages shared accountability (Anderson, Dean, & Linda, 2010). Creation of Improved Compliance: manual system require constant follow-up with supervisors with a view of meeting performance deadlines. The manual systems are also subjective which results to inconsistency in evaluation process. For instance, employees and executives may end up altering forms or failing to complete important portions. In the automated system forms are centralized. The forms are not accessible to unauthorized personnel. The system will also monitor compliance as well as automatically generate reminders. Furthermore, completion of the form is as per the parameters set by the firm which is readily monitored by the entire system (Paton, Robert & James, 2008). Effective Evaluations: the automated system mandates managers track the performance of the employees frequently. The real time progress measurements enable managers identify gaps as well as make corrections. Importantly, automated system improves the overall quality of feedback. As set by nature, a sizeable number of people are normally reluctant to criticize in order to avoid confrontation. As such, managers and senior executives are not different. Automated system is always tailored to provide managers with information of the required areas of improvement. Moreover, it mandates manager to provide detailed feedback by providing specific metrics regarding employee’s performance. For instance, how the performance of the employee compare to that of the entire organisation. It can then allows the manager certify that the points obtained have been reviewed together with the employee. Automated systems are not in way replacement for management skills. Rather, they act as effective tools in enabling these skills. The ease of use in this regard, boosts employees’ participation (Brusco 2011, p. 16). Conclusion The benefits of an automated performance management system surpass what is derived from the paperless system. This analysis has highlighted the common features of a paper-based system. It is obvious from the analysis that paper-based system is marred with inefficiencies, high cost of operations and time loss. On the other hand, an automated system boosts effectiveness of evaluations, improve compliance and increase visibility of the company’s objectives. The analysis has highlighted how change fit within the departmental units as well as the overall organisation. From the paper, change process is not easy. It is faced by enormous challenges such as resistance at the lower and higher levels. This is depicted through the entire process of change and change management (Anderson, Dean, & Linda, 2010). Bibliography Todnem By, Rune. "Organisational change management: A critical review." Journal of change management 5.4 (2005): 369-380. Aladwani, Adel M. "Change management strategies for successful ERP implementation." Business Process management journal 7.3 (2001): 266-275. Anderson, Dean, and Linda Ackerman Anderson. Beyond change management: How to achieve breakthrough results through conscious change leadership. John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Paton, Robert A., and James McCalman. Change management: A guide to effective implementation. Sage, 2008. Brusco J., Trending toward paperless. AORN Journal, 94.1 (2011): 13-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2011.04.020 Burchell J., Anticipating and managing resistance in organizational information technology (IT) change initiatives. International Journal of The Academic Business World, 5.1 (2011): 19-28. DykmanA.,and Davis K. Addressing resistance to workflow automation. Journal of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 9.3, (2012): 115-123. Read More