Organizational Change and Its Management - Book Report/Review Example

ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE AND ITS MANAGEMENT and Section # of Change management is a difficult job and hence its understanding is really important. The report starts with defining change as the introduction of something new. It moves on to see strategic change as an important area of study and the reasons for that. Next is the forces for change that lead to the perceived need for change. We then study two different sets of types of change. Furthermore, we discuss how change can be initiated in a smooth and efficient manner. Moreover, we study the models given to us by important and renowned men. They are the Lewin's change model, Systems model for change and Kotters 8 steps for leading organizational change. The last step will give us a leadership perspective to the whole change process. We then study a very important aspect of the change process that is the resistance to change, followed by how stress can be managed and the role of corporate culture in change management. DEFININING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Organizational change is the adoption of a new idea or behaviour by the organization. The environment, whether it is internal or external, keeps on changing and it is the task of the organization to be structured in such a way so as to respond to the changes by changing itself in the right manner. Or else it will be left somewhere behind in the race of this cut throat competition. Organizational change is a very big phenomenon that needs to be carefully studied as this factor distinguishes profitable and admired organizations from failing and unimpressive ones. (Patron 2000) Facing the ordinariness of the business life is a task that every organization can do but it is not easy to implement a change which is applicable to the whole organization and do it successfully. It is a task which has to be accomplished with the help of many things within the organization, be it be the leadership available or through the kind of corporate culture that has been developed and is existing over the years. (Richard 2000) STRATEGIC CHANGE AS AN IMPORTANT SUBJECT OF STUDY Strategic change involves changing the organization as part and parcel of long term goals and strategic thinking. It gives the leader an impetus to start the initiative of change as it will reap great benefits in the long run for the company. The environment of todays business world has changed drastically. Trends have shown that it is the learning organization which benefits the most in today's rapidly changing environment. A learning organization is one where everyone who is a part of it is taking responsibility of identifying and solving problems existing within the organization. Thus, enabling the organization to continuously improve itself and outdo its own capabilities every time. Thus, this concept has started the race between organizations which has no end to it. Organizations have been entrusted with the responsibility of continuously improving and updating itself, if they want to survive. Thus, bringing change will be a very normal sign for the company of today. And these changes will always be linked to the strategies of the company as they will give a long term vision as to where the company wants to see itself going through adapting to this change. (Richard 2000) "TRIGGERS" OF CHANGE There are many forces, within and outside the organization, which trigger the need for change. Within all these elements, any factor can make an organization realize that there is change that can make things better. (Patron 2000) Firstly there are external forces, which can be demographic, related to technological advancements, concerned with market changes or simply social and political pressures. In demographics, basically the age, education, skill level, gender and immigration of the people concerned with the organization are studied from time to time so as to gauge any differences that take place with time in the general statistics. It can be the company's customers or employees. Secondly, in technological advancements, new innovations in information technology have to be seen and a feasibility study has to be conducted to find out whether its implementation can make things better within the organization. Manufacturing automations would be a technological advancement which can be incorporated within an organization which has a factory. Thirdly, market changes like mergers and acquisitions, domestic and international competitors and recession at any stage in the economy can set the stage for a change process at an organization. Lastly, among social and political pressures come war, values and leadership which can trigger change as much as any other factor. (Richard 2000) As far as internal forces are concerned, there are two broad factors, human resource problems / prospects and managerial behavior / decisions. When it comes to human resource problems / prospects, the employees of the organizations can have certain needs which are unmet, they can be dissatisfied with their job somehow, absenteeism and turnover is increasing due to some reason, productivity has lowered and due to the participation and suggestion of the employees, a certain need for change has been felt. The managerial behaviour / decisions concentrates on conflict between two managers, the difference between the current leadership style and the kind of leadership that the organization needs to do better, reward systems need to be examined thoroughly for loopholes and lastly, there is a structural reorganization that needs to be done. (Fleming 2006) These internal and external forces, if even one of them is active, can translate into a perceived need for change within the organization. There is a dire need for change when there is a performance gap - the difference between the desired and the existing levels of performance. To bridge the gap, organizations respond to changes that are needed by initiating and implementing it. (Fleming 2006) TYPES OF CHANGE The classification can be made in two ways, one the general nature of the change that is taking place and second, the specific area in which change is being made. As far as the general bifurcation is concerned, there are three types of changes: adaptive, innovative, and radically innovative change. As far as adaptive change is concerned, it is the re-adaptation of some old behaviour or process that the organization had adapted some time ago and it is familiar with the concept. In innovative change, the organization is adapting to a change which is new to the organization but not new to the world. It has been adopted by other organizations in the industry and they have had specific results from the change from which there is a lot to learn from. In radically innovative change, the organization endeavours to bring a change within itself which is new to the whole world. The resistance to change keeps on increasing from adaptive, innovative and radically innovative change. (Richard 2000) The second classification is the factors on which change can be made to happen. They are structural, technology, new-product, and culture/people. Every type of change needs a different approach to it. The most difficult change to bring is in the culture or the people, as the most resistance also comes in this type of change. (Fleming 2006) INITIATING CHANGE After the need for change has been perceived by the organization, the next part of the process is to initiate that change in a successful manner. This is a very important part of the whole process because if acceptance is taken by the human resource at this stage, then it makes things easier for completing the change process successfully. The three ways change can be initiated is through search, creativity and idea champions and new venture teams. (Fleming 2006) In search, an organization scans the internal and the external environment for any recent development that have taken place, and which can fulfill the perceived need for change as triggered by one of the forces for change. Searching in the environment keeps the organization up to date with the best solution to their problem. (Patron 2000) Creativity is a process whereby the organizational problems can be solved through giving novel solutions. This is an art of creative people and they should be nurtured as much as possible within the organizations. It is not just about a single individual. Departments or whole organizations can be made creative. A creative individual is one who has open mindedness, is original in his ideas, less authoritative, is independent, very playful, wants to explore more, is curious, has persistence within himself, is committed to his goals and has a focused approach to life. The creative organization and department are those where there are open channels of communication, teams are used to get work done, the norms of risk taking prevail, people accept mistakes and learn from them, and there is a playful corporate culture. An idea champion is the perfect individual to initiate change. He sees the need for change and then starts productive change within the organization. As far as venture teams are concerned, it is a completely separate unit of people, who d not belong to any other post within the organization and their main job is to think of innovations and make them possible within the organization. (Darwin 2002) Using the above three methods, new ideas can be implemented easily. MODELS OF CHANGE LEWIN'S CHANGE MODEL The step by step process of initiating and implementing a change within an organization needs to be understood if change has to be successfully brought in the organization. Lewin says that bringing an organization change is a three step process, namely 1. unfreezing, 2. changing and 3. refreezing. (Richard 2000) In the first step of unfreezing, participants have to be made to unlearn what they have learned up till now and things that they need to give up in order for the change process to be effective. Aareness has to be spread among the participants and they should be made to be willing to change. This can be done by giving financial information and showing the bad condition of the organization and pursuing everyone that if change does not take place, things will go even worse. Benchmarking can also be used at this stage by saying that this is where the best company lies and we need to reach here, for that we need to change. This step can also be called diagnosis of the change process. The second step is changing, where new behaviour is taught to the participants. This can be done through various ways such as training, seminars, team building, mentors etc. they individuals have to learn the new skills, if any are required. This step can also be called the intervention stage. The third step is refreezing where the change process is reinforced by rewarding the individuals for embracing the change process. By this stage, the individuals have adopted the new skills. This stage is also called reinforcement stage. A SYSTEM'S MODEL OF CHANGE A systems model of change involves the general depiction of how change can take place generally in any organization and the various factors that get affected by it. The major components of the model are the inputs, the target elements of change, and the outputs. In inputs, the company is seeing external components through examining its strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, externally it has to study the opportunities and threats within the environment and act accordingly. (Patron 2000) When this is done, it is seen that on which element change has to be brought. It can be any of the five elements of methods, goals, people, social factors and organizing arrangement. These are factors on which, using the inputs, the process of change can be applied. Lastly, the outputs are either on the organizational level, departmental / group level or the individual level. It has to be carefully seen how each change is affecting people on every level, whether it is individually, in a group or as bring a part of the organization. (Fleming 2006) Understanding the systems model of change gives us a better idea of what are the inputs, process and outputs of the complex change process and thus it can be done in a better manner. KOTTERS EIGHT STEPS TO LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Kotter is one of the leading writers and the change process. Thus, he gave insight as to how change should be managed by leaders. Effective leaders will follow Kotters eight steps, but in the right order. (Richard 2000) The first step is where the leader has to establish a sense of urgency and make everybody see that an important task is at hand, which should be dealt with seriously and in the most effective manner. The second step is to creat a guiding coalition, which will guide the participants of change, usually the whole organization, through the change process, from the start till the end. The guiding coalition will consist of change agents and mentors and they should be people who have high trustworthiness among people so that they can easily persuade and talk to the people during their times of anxiety. The third step is to develop a vision and strategy. Starting a change process without knowing where you want it to take the organization is the worst part. Deciding on the strategy and vision will instill new confidence in the leader. The fourth step is the communication of the change vision to all the people. The participants should be made part of the change process very early and this can be done by communicating the change vision. Participants should know what the top management is trying to do by bringing this change. The fifth step is to empower broad based action. This is about removing obstacles that are there in the smooth implementation of the change process. And encouraging participants to try and adapt to the change. The sixth step is to generate short term wins this is about appreciating even small wins that any of the participants makes while going through the change process. The seventh step is to consolidate gains and produce more change. Victory should not be declared too soon. The last step is to anchor new approaches in the culture by inculcating the elements of the "learning organization" within the company. WHY PEOPLE RESIST CHANGE Change is about moving away from routine, about learning new things. Change is scary. People resist change because of a variety of reasons. Firstly, it depends on the individuals' predisposition towards change as to how he takes the change process. Predisposition is decided due to the upbringing of the individual and how he or she has spent their childhood. Secondly, there is always surprise and fear of the unknown. People do not know what change will bring for them. It is new for them, therefore unknown. Thirdly, a climate of mistrust often develops when such change process is started. People believe that the change process is only being brought so as to make things better for the organization and the top management. They do not trust the intentions of the guiding coalition. Fourthly, there is a fear of failure within individuals that if they fail in the new task that they have to do, then what will happen. (Fleming 2006) Moreover, if people lose their status, they become insecure about their job. And they see high amount of uncertainty in the future. Sixthly, peer pressure is also a factor. If a certain participant is not getting directly affected by the change process, then he will voice his opinions against it just because he has been pressurized by his peers who are getting affected. Seventhly, there are cultural traditions and certain group relationships that get formed when people are working together. Change might mean that they now disperse, resulting into the disruption of these relationships. Furthermore, personality conflicts between various people can trigger the resistance of change. Another factor is the lack of tact and poor timing of starting the change process. Maybe the fiscal quarter is already going very bad and the management initiates change. This is bad timing. Lastly, if the new reward systems are non-reinforcing, it can increase resistance to change. (Darwin 2002) RESEARCH ON RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Research on resistance to change has talked about certain personal characteristics among individuals which help them take change better. The first one among them is commitment to change. If people are made to believe in the good that will come out of the change process, they can be made committed to it. The second is the self concept of people. If people have a positive self concept of themselves, they will gladly be a part of the change process as they are not insecure about what they are and they have high levels of confidence within themselves. Thirdly, the tolerance for risk for every individual differs. Some are adventurous and would like trying out new things whereas some love the monotony in their lives. Lastly, the self efficacy of an individual matters in deciding if he is resistant or not. If a person believes that he can accomplish the new task, he would not resist the change. (Patron 2000) STRATEGIES FOR OVERCOMING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Overcoming resistance to change is essential because if participants of the change process are not made to accept the change process through the various strategies now being presented, it will become really difficult to implement the change. (Fleming 2006) The first strategy is about education and communication. It is about teaching individuals of acquiring the new skill that is needed to bring the change. Effective communication from the top management will be really essential here because people need to know that they have their support. (Darwin 2002) The second strategy is participating and involvement where the participants of the change process are incorporated in the process from the start so that there is greater acceptance of it. The third strategy is facilitation and support where the top management provides all sorts of support, material or otherwise, to the participants of change so that they can be facilitated to pass through the change process with ease. The fourth strategy is that of negotiation which ultimately leads to an agreement between the top management and the change participants. A common ground is tried to be found so that resistance of change is decreased to the maximum. The last strategy is about explicit or implicit coercion. This is the least favored strategy as it might fail to give long term results and commitment to change. (Carnall 2003) MANAGING THE STRESS OF YOURSELF AND OTHERS Stress is inevitable when it comes to initiating and implementing changes within the organization, especially the radically innovative types. Stress is something which can not be avoided and it is inevitable. Therefore, the leader of the change process should manage stress within him and help others do so too. Stressors can initiate from individual, group, organizational or extra organizational level. Coping strategies can be control, escape or symptom management. (Patron 2000) One of the best moderators for occupational stress is the providence of social support to the individual. This support enhances the self esteem of the individual and helps him in getting the task accomplished. (Darwin 2002) Stress reduction techniques can also be used here, such as muscle relaxation, biofeedback, meditation or cognitive restructuring. One of the techniques, the holistic wellness approach, is about a proactive and enduring approach to fighting stress before it happens. (Carnall 2003) THE ROLE OF CORPORATE CULTURE IN CHANGE The corporate culture where the change has to take place should be that of a very adaptive nature. Culture who are always encouraging the experimentation of various things inculcate the same attitude within all its employees and this helps when the change process is initiated as then resistance to change become less. Moreover, a culture where mistakes are accepted and learnt from is important. This is necessary because a change might not always be successful. Moreover, a culture where there is decentralized decision making and more autonomy will be more successful in bringing change. (Fleming 2006) CONCLUSION To conclude it can be said that these are times which are very dynamic. The business world has to respond to these dynamic times by continuously making itself better and inculcating new developments within the world so that it is not left behind. Initiating change and bringing it about successfully is the joint work of leadership, corporate culture, the employees and the top management. Works Cited 1. C.A., Carnall (2003) Managing Change in Organizations. Financial Times/Prentice Hall; 4 edition 2. J, Darwin (2002) Develop Strategies for Change 3. J, Fleming (2006) Organizational Change 4. A, Patron (2000) Change Management 5. D. Richard (2000) Management Read More