The Change Management Strategy of Education and Communication - Essay Example

Management of Change Student’s Name: Subject: Professor: University/Institution: Location: Date: Organisational change occurs when an organisational entity alters its technology or organisation structure in an endeavour to attain efficiency and may face resistance in its implementation. However, resistance to organisational change has a bearing on the success of an organisation’s management making it an area of interest for studies on management. The essay examines the reasons for resistance to organisational change, resistance to organisational change as pertains to productive and counterproductive positions and ways of managing resistance to organisational change. It further delves into the ethical nature of organisational change. Finally, it discusses an organisational change management programme. Individuals oppose changes that negatively impact on their personal welfare. People are likely to resist change when it is perceived as reducing pay or other benefits (Jones 2010). In addition, organisation members might desire to uphold their status of wellbeing in society. For instance, organisation members might offer opposition to a new proposed usage of technology that ultimately increases efficiency but will replace some of them in the organisation rendering them jobless as well as resulting to loss of social status that comes with the job. People react and view occurrences and situations in a dissimilar fashion. An intended alteration in the way an organisation conducts its operations will elucidate different views and reactions from the employees. The reception of the change process by an employee is reliant on a subjective evaluation of the change grounded on personal interest. A change that is considered beneficial to an individual will be readily accepted but there is resistance towards change regarded by organisational members as contrary to personal motives (Benn, Dunphy & Griffiths 2014). In addition, modifications or alterations in the organisation’s usual way of doing things may be considered as infringing on liberty of employees or troublesome resulting to resistance. Individuals react to circumstances and changes in a habitual manner. Habits are known to serve as a means of safety and comfort that increases the likelihood of proposed changes to habits being resisted (Robbins & Judge 2012). The personal sense of security factor plays a vital role in the propensity of a person being resistant to change. Consequently, insecure members of the organisation are prone to oppose change more as compared to their less insecure counterparts. Managerial and technological changes pose a threat to power bases in the organisation triggering resistance. Consequently, the changes are being perceived as jeopardy to the power as well as authority in the organisation structure. Organisational members may not be comfortable with changes that reduce their authority previously enjoyed and afforded by the organisation hierarchy. Specifically, organisation members who rely on their superiors for approval of tasks executed may find a new system that requires one to work with more autonomy unfulfilling. In addition, there may be conflicts arising from more delegation of power overtime (Cummings & Worley 2014). Resistance to organisational change is commonly perceived as being against the interests of the organisation and is manifested through unenthusiastic efforts or even refusal of doing what is needed by employees. However, resistance can be beneficial to the organisation in prevention of mistakes that are costly (Jones 2010). For instance, managers may in the process of initiating change, unconsciously maximise risks and minimise benefit. In addition, managers whose reputations and careers are at stake may misrepresent benefits and risks to salvage themselves. Resistance to organisational change is seen as being destructive and entailing sabotage of organisational operations through disquiet or reluctance in the execution of duties. However, employees might only be revealing their anxiety or requirement for additional information. In addition, organisational members might be having genuine moral beliefs and feelings such as opposing a proposed change because of it resulting to more damage than improvement (Tushman & O'Reilly 2013). In the education and communication change management, persons in the organisation are made knowledgeable on the characteristics as well as the necessity of change preceding its implementation. In addition, the reason of change is elaborated. The change management strategy of education and communication is appropriate when resistance to change in the organisation is based on imprecise and lack of information (Jones 2010). Participation and involvement strategy of change management entails allowing people to plan, design and implement the desired changes (Stark 2011). There is a provision for members of an organisation to give views and feedback making them to be part of the change process. The participation and involvement strategy is suitable when change initiators have insufficient information pertinent to designing the changes. In addition, it is appropriate when there are some powerful members of the organisation having the required information and are in a position of opposing the change processes. Facilitation of change management comes with support to organisation members. It entails offering of material and emotional help to employees by the management so as to ease organisational change. Organisational members whom the changes touch on and that may be possibly affected are engaged in a consultative forum by management on the impending changes (Cummings & Worley 2014). In addition, the organisation might come up with a support centre to offer counselling while at the same time receiving valuable feedback. Consequently, their ideas that have merit are used in the implementation of change. The facilitation and support change management is of help when organisational members find change to be an overpowering phenomenon in the event of adjusting to organisational change (Cummings & Worley 2014). Negotiation and the use of agreement inducements change management is used to lure those that presently resist or any prospective future opposition to change into accepting change (Harmon 2010). Those who resist change are given unique benefits that soften their stance on resisting change resulting to their acceptance of change. The technique comes handy when the change resisting person wields immense power and the organisational change will make the powerful person to lose something of worth. Manipulation change management strategy employs the provision of the required resources as well as the laying down of the change processes in such a manner as to influence the desired end outcome of change (Agboola & Salawu 2010). The change management technique is utilized where other techniques have failed to realise change. Sandelands (2010) argues that explicit and implicit coercion change management entails managers implementing change using their organisational given power to exact employees to follow their directive of desired for the organisation. Threats of dire consequences befall defaulters of change initiating manager’s directive. The explicit and coercion change management is appropriate in crisis scenarios that necessitate speed and those implementing the change wield immense power. However, coercion as a change management strategy is known to cause aggravation, fright, vengeance and estrangement that cumulatively give rise to performance that is substandard, dissatisfaction among those who are coerced and poor turnover. Ethics in organisational change entails transparency where the data pertaining to change offered to stakeholders is precise, timely and truthful. In addition, stakeholders or even outsiders can easily engage in the change process (Burnes & By 2012). Facilitation of independence by management ensures that potential conflicts of interest are minimised in the change process. Independence is achieved through objectivity and balancing of the interests of stakeholders via having change policies that protect stakeholders at all times (Hughes & Wearing 2012). Accountability in organisational change comprises of having a clear hierarchy of the tasks as well as their corresponding responsibility and accountability in the change process. In addition, those mandated with change initiatives are to act responsibly to all stakeholders. Anderson and Anderson (2010) stipulated the transformational and transitional model of change that engages organisational members in the process of change. In the model, there is initial acceptance of there being a problem that requires to be addressed and then the leader sets the vision of the desired outcome. Alternative ways of reaching the desired change are then looked into in a critical mode all those involved. The best outcome is arrived at by the change team. There is ongoing alteration of the desired outcome as per the unfolding dynamic needs of the organisation as the successes are celebrated all the way to desired change attainment. In summary, resistance to organisation change can be beneficial to an organisation as it points out the possible costly errors of management such as the misrepresentation of risks and benefits by management in an attempt to secure their jobs. However, it harms the organisation when it emanates from the self- centred nature of individuals necessitating ethics in organisational change such as accountability. In addition, the selfish interests of management and employees can be mitigated by employing the various ways of reducing resistance to change and the transformational and transitional model of change. References Cummings, T, & Worley, C, :2014, Organization development and change, Cengage Learning. Anderson, D, & Anderson, L, A, :2010, Beyond change management: How to achieve breakthrough results through conscious change leadership, John Wiley & Sons. Hughes, M, & Wearing, M, :2012, Organisations and management in social work: everyday action for change, Sage. Burnes, B, & By, R, T, :2012, Leadership and change: The case for greater ethical clarity, Journal of business ethics, 108, vol.2. p. 239-252. Sandelands, L, :2010, The play of change, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 23 vol.1. p. 71-86. Agboola, A, A, & Salawu, R, O, :2010, Managing deviant behavior and resistance to change. International Journal of Business and Management, 6 vol.1, p 235. Harmon, P, :2010, Business process change: A guide for business managers and BPM and Six Sigma professionals, Morgan Kaufmann. Cummings, T, & Worley, C, :2014, Organization development and change, Cengage Learning.. Stark, J, :2011, Product lifecycle management ,pp. 1-16, Springer London. Jones, G, R, :2010, Organizational theory, design, and change, Pearson. Benn, S, Dunphy, D, & Griffiths, A, :2014, Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge. Robbins, S, P, & Judge, T, A, :2012, Organizational Behavior 15th Edition. prentice Hall. Read More