Managing Organizational Change - Coursework Example

Organizational Change Name Institution Course Lecturer Date This paper intends to address an issue that is very common in the corporate world, the organizational change. It will specifically look at recent change that happened in our company, a process oriented change. It will scrutinize the various forces that have been causing such changes including the global economy forces, the impacts of this change to the employees as well as the strategies in place to manage the change. According to Jones (2010), the changes in the global economy are a major cause of these organizational changes. Technological advancement is a major contribution to this. If a business continues maintaining a status quo in the way it is carrying out its operations, it automatically get forced out of the economy by the competitors. Change is the only factor that is constant in the business arena and in the global world as a whole. Any business that does not comply with these changes will thus remains behind at the expense of its profitability. It is therefore not an option for a business to embrace these changes, but a matter of survival in a harsh environment The company has lately experienced some changes specifically, process oriented change. This change has completely given the business a new face to insiders and also to the outsiders especially our competitors. The production process has been reengineered completely to meet the modern world standards .The reason for this is to achieve maximum productivity and workflow in the production plant. The company has adopted robotics in the production plant, an issue that has raised heat among workers with fear raising that the organization may lay off some of its workers if not currently in near future (Miller & Dalglish,2011). This type of change has in many companies been associated with retrenchment and many undesirable labor market effects. In our case, though we don’t intend to increase the number of workers, we have no intentions of sending any worker home. The organization’s great fear is that of losing its key workers, something that can greatly affect its productivity and profitability in equal terms. There are many benefits that will come with these modifications. Some of which are increased productivity, high quality goods and increased sales not forgetting efficiency in production and high profits. Our workers will be the direct beneficiaries of these economies of scale. This is because the management plans to check their welfare through increasing their profits as the business profitability increases (Benn, Dunphy & Griffiths, 2014) Managing organizational change is the deliberate efforts in a business organization to plan and implement the change efforts in a way that will reduce the staff resistance and as well as cost to the business as it simultaneously maximize the on the objectives of the change effort. It is hard to plan the organizational change without having an understanding of those factors that have been acting as a stumbling block to change effort. As Armenakis & Harris (2009) explains there are other obstacles that hinder change in a business organizational, but the major one is employee’s resistance. This others includes, insufficient time given to training, communication breakdown and staff turnover in the time of transition. As earlier mentioned, employees resistance is the biggest challenge that businesses face in implementing changes. Many people will prefer stability and practicability and having that in mind, I will use different ways and means to win and dilute any resistance that I have been facing and I may face from the workers in the business. Good leadership is a key determinant for the success of any change. For it to be effective, I will needs to be very dynamic when it come dealing with different workers .Change is inevitable and when it comes such matters it’s the leaders who show the way through selling the vision to the team members. There are a number of things that are important when introducing any change in the business. To be effective in the management of the changes, I will have to see to it that they have been well adhered to. This pertains to the way that the changes were introduced into the company. The stage is a key one because the introduction mode determine whether the employees will accept the change or not The first one is the freezing, a practice that is at the first stage of introducing change. At this point, one takes time to convince the staff members on the need to make changes in the organization. Efforts are made by tabling evidence to the staff members to show that the old ways are no longer good and sustainable. The leaders take time to communicate the need for the changes. The next thing before implementing the planned change is having consensus concerning the change option that need to be implemented. Ensuring that the above steps have been well followed is very key for the success of the change made. Any change if well embraced by the staff members is bound to succeed and the reverse is true (Armenakis & Harris, 2009) Ensuring Professional development for all the employees; the process change that has been initiated by the company has aroused the need for employees training. The technology applied in the change will require some attention and the company is well able to cater for that. This will involve inviting experts (Cummings & Worley, 2014). The leader must always be ready to lead change and is the genesis of change. In implementing the planned changes, I will have to show needed leadership in many ways. Standing as a role model that can be emulated will be a positive move that will see the planned changes reach excellent point. My greatest concern is to see that the new method and way of doing things is well established without the fear of failure .Different incentives are to be used to see to it that change is encouraged. For these changes to be successful there are a number of ingredients that are needed. These include strategy, empowerment, inspiration and motivation. All these will be combined to see to it that the destination needed is reached by the organization it is at such times as these ones that leaders who make things happen use their influence to promote change (Miller & Dalglish, 2011) At my position as a leader, I will have to present myself as a team builder, globally minded person, visioning leader, empowering, rewarding and as one who is able to create various business structures in a way that they can work. This will give the employees a chance to look at me as someone who is reliable and as a proper powerhouse for change (Rost, 1993). Enhancing a learning Organization culture; this will involve adoption of flexible approaches, a case where all the leaders and staff members are fully aligned and committed to the same organization set goals. The provision of this culture an ample environment will support and encourage learning and change as the business organization will be resilient and ready to deal with the changes planed (Gill, 2003) Communicating relentlessly concerning the plan and vision across all the levels will be the backbone of the whole plan. Active communication through use of such means as internal memos and notices will help communicate the vision behind the changes. Any change that is coming with it is also made clear. It is good to use the right language when communicating such information as wrong language will make the employees to turn to rebellion (Miller & Dalglish, 2011). Empowering staff members and actions will entail giving the staff members the needed resources to bring the change about. Empowering action will also involve removing any barrier that may stand before the individuals that are steering the change efforts ahead. Removing such obstacles will promote optimism, inspire and also build confidence around any change effort Creating the short term wins. This emotionally rewards the hard workers, ensure that faith nourishes in change effort, and keep the critic at bay. By creating this and at the same time being open with feedback, great progress is achieved and the workers are greatly inspired. I will also make myself available so as to give the needed explanations as well as manage stress in various situations. The employees work well when their employer appreciate their efforts, listen to them with empathy (Dumaine, 1993). Cultivation of the right attitude in the business; the culture of positive mindedness will ensure that the culture of the business is all about heroic acts and any Villain stories are not entertained in any way. Since stories are known to have a lot of influence, it will be good to develop the vision behind the change into a sweet story that is inspirational and worthy of telling again and again. This story train will help employees develop behaviors good to emulate (Boje, 2008) Giving incentives to employees is another strategy to apply. Some employees can even leave the company if they are not comfortable with the changes. Retention in the midst of change effort is a factor to consider. There are many ways of retaining key employees .These includes use of financial incentives and promotions and even giving them the opportunity to lead some projects. There is a need to keep checking the resistance that may emerge at all levels. Rumors about the change are one big resistance .and if not dispelled, can tear down and erode any efforts needed in implementing change (Jones, 2010). Listening to employees will really assist in the implementation stage. This will help to tap the workers’ commitment as well as their capacity to learn across all the levels .According to Erwin & Garman (2010), inability to communicate coupled with workers resistance to change will result to partial or full change failure Organizing trainings will be specifically designed to assist in the implementation of change efforts. It will also act as a communication channel where the vision behind the change will be communicated. Creating teamwork in the implementation and facilitating team learning. The team will be the first thing to look for here. It formation will have to go through the four stages, that is forming, conforming, storming and performing. According to the sum of the whole team is much greater than the sum total of all the individuals. A team will enhance learning in the new set up as people will be comfortable to try new things even after failing. As Kiedrowski,2006) maintains, an organization can’t learn if a team cannot .In addition to that, teamwork will help all workers develop the right attitude towards the work place .The joint efforts will also involve inviting employees to the implementation stage. My role in the team together with other senior workers will basically be stewardship work, where as servant leaders will be supporting the employees to the organizational good and also ensure that the activities going on are in line with the organizational goals Team building will be key in bonding and re-bonding. It is at this point where the vision for these changes is shared with the team. Sound communication skills are very important at this stage. According to Altman & Iles (1998), for the team to be effective there is a need for the leader to be transparent, give feedback at the right time and be open. Winning the trust of the team members will be very essential in this case. The issue of employee participation will be very fundamental in fighting resistance from the employees’ side. Leadership still play a critical role and as put it, it is their duty to build a sense of commitment as well as installing organizational community. It is good to note that, at the end of the formation of the team, there will be delegation of work. This will further boost the results as it will create a better working environment. The delegation of duties is important as it will cultivate respect among team members, develop a sense of shared responsibility among them all and also allow them all feel empowered (Kotter, 1996) Use subtle efforts will be another technique .By this, I will give those resistant leaders most prominent position in the change effort. This will help me win the employee on my side to dilute any resistance from the others. Also known as Fusion leadership, this creates a sense of ownership and commitment to the plans that would otherwise have been resisted (Daft, & Lengel, 2000). It is dangerous and risky for one to run a long term efforts as one ignore the short term wins. Research has proved that those organizations that carry out this practice at the fourteenth or later from the time of the first initiative stand a higher chance of completing the full transformation. Therefore, to ensure that there is success in long term, the short-term wins have to be unambiguous and visible. The observable wins have to be related to the efforts (Bremer,2010). Appointing other employees to oversee the change efforts .These are the people that will help in sharing the goals for the change .The team appointed is to aim at generating enthusiasms among other employees as well as act as role models. Appointing junior employees in this case will help all the employees that are in junior positions are not left out but are part of the plans (Thomas & Hardy, 2011). In conclusion, for every business to remain competitive, it needs to engage different types of change. Change initiatives are expensive and time consuming. It is clear that for every business to maintain a sound competitive edge, all the leaders and staff members must be committed and clearly aligned to the same organizational goals. Lack of this will see the organization sink with its good plans. It is the duty of the executive in any business to introduce and implement various changes in a way that will be embraced by all the parties. References Altman, Y., & Iles, P. (1998). Learning, leadership, teams: corporate learning and organisational change. Journal of Management Development, 17(1), 44-55. Armenakis, A. A., & Harris, S. G. (2009). Reflections: Our journey in organizational change research and practice. Journal of Change Management, 9(2), 127-142. Benn, S., Dunphy, D., & Griffiths, A. (2014). Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge. Boje, D. M. (2008). Storytelling organizations. Sage. Cummings, T., & Worley, C. (2014). Organization development and change. Cengage Learning. Daft, R. L., & Lengel, R. H. (2000). Fusion leadership: Unlocking the subtle forces that change people and organizations. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Erwin, D. G., & Garman, A. N. (2010). Resistance to organizational change: linking research and practice. 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