Change Management and Management Styles - Essay Example

Change Management and Management Styles To say that management styles have changed through the years would already qualify as cliché. To date, management has seen the emergence of new trends, new issues and new tensions brought about powerful forces such as globalization and its effects like those in the supply chain. Managers have to cope with a world that is constant flux. There are three important changes in organizational life today. First, there is the case of changing the organizational goals and objectives. An organization passes through a life cycle and that, configurations and modifications have to be effected in order to address and adapt to the challenges and opportunities that face the organization. Managers, in these cases, adopt strategic changes in order to adapt to emergent set of management and operational issues (Stam and Andriessen, 2009, p. 136). Secondly, there is cultural change. It is the next logical step once a strategic change is adopted or when management decides to change the organizational goals and objectives. The rationale is that in order to achieve effective change in that direction, a gradual change in mentalities must be achieved as well (Hamalainen and Saarinen, 2004, p.143). This is crucial in changing the organizational behavior. A more specific change transpiring within organization would have to be the shortened organizational life cycle. Essentially, this is the life stages of an organization beginning with its birth, growth, maturity and its inevitable decline and potential revival (Nelson et al., p.258). These stages experience radical shifts today because of the advances in technology, project management and product design. For example, new computing solutions streamlines product development, radically shortening the operational process of the organizational subunit tasked with such responsibility. These three examples of organizational changes are highlighted in cases where organizations expand and internationalize operations, when mergers and acquisitions transpire, or when new market requirements emerge such as how sustainability issues are informing purchase decisions. A change in organizational culture is called for in order to thrive and compete in a highly integrated and competitive global market. Change management theories provide effective frameworks in better understanding organizational change. For example Beer and Nohria (2000) posited two change management theories, which they merely labeled as Theory E and Theory 0. The first theory sees organizational change as critical in the way organizational economic value is changed. Initiatives, policies and strategies adopted to implement this model follow the so-called “hard” approach to change, emphasizing shareholder value and maintaining it as the only barometer of organizational success (p.134). On the other hand, Theory 0 approaches organizational change according to organizational capacity. Beer and Nohria calls this the “soft” approach to change in an effort to introduce organizational change through initiatives and policies that builds organizational culture on individual capability and learning. This is supposedly the strategy that Hewlett-Packard adopted amidst a flagging performance during the 1980s and involved “the process of changing, obtaining feedback, reflecting, and making further changes” (p.134). Finally, one could cite the Change Management Theory for a general framework explaining organizational change. Several authors have contributed to this theory such as Lakomski (2001) and Lewin (1951). Lakomski posited that organizations are in constant need to balance forces of change with the requirement for stability. Lewin explained that this constitutes a stalemate that is only broken once the force for change outweighs the resistance, paving the way for a change in the organizational equilibrium. The case of Lenovo is an excellent example of an organization grappling with change. In the process of addressing new change issues and implementing change interventions, it has adopted change management strategy that can be explained by Change Management Theory. This is evident in the manner the organization has adapted to the strategic and culture changes within the organization. Lenovo has embarked on a rapid internationalization strategy in response to the opportunities provided by favorable Chinese business environment and globalization. For this purpose, the company has radically revised its organizational objective: from local to global tech domination (Liu, 2007). In addition, the organization with purely Asian corporate culture had to drastically adopt a new culture that would satisfy the requirements of a truly global organization, with strategies and business practices that are markedly different from what Lenovo was used to. This is highlighted when the company acquired IBM in 2003. Today, Lenovo is the world’s second largest manufacturer of personal computer, indicating a successful change management strategy. The trajectory of Lenovo’s international expansion is amazing. It began as a subcontractor for IBM and within a decade, Lenovo was able to wrest control of its personal computing business. It indicates that an effective and strategic change management strategy could address the complexities of the management issues entailed in running global organizations today. It holds the organization together so that it is focused on its goals and objectives. This demonstrates the huge opportunities in organizational change management today. It underpins the relevance of managers in the global business landscape that is typified by constant change. Those who have better understanding of change are in better positions to respond to them, dealing with challenges and seizing opportunities effectively. They are also able to formulate and adopt successful management styles amidst the inconsistencies and changes in the business environment. This is made more important by the fact that change intervention strategies involve changing mentalities and behavior, tasks that are not easy to accomplish. Managers are in precarious positions, needing to balance change with stability so that change interventions do not backfire. One of the problems in the field of change management is the lack of standardized approach or a set of universal best practices that will ensure consistency and systematic framework. For example, communication helps to reinforce change intervention strategy. However, the lack of a standard method or strategy to effective organizational communication impedes its efficacy. It is imperative to establish what has been effective so far and empirical studies are crucial in this respect. Assessment mechanisms on change management strategies are also important. These will quantify positive performance and, hence, help establish a reliable model. References Beer, M. and Nohria, N. (2000). Cracking the Code. Harvard Business Review, May-June 2000, 133-141. Hamalainen, R. and Saarinen, E. (2004). Systems Intelligence - Discovering a Hidden Competence in Human Action and Organizational Life. Helsinki: SAL Research Reports. Lakomski, G. (2001). Organisational change, leadership and learning: Culture as a cognitive process. The International Journal of Educational Management, 1(4), 306-321. Lewin, K. (1951). Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harpers. Liu, C. (2007). Lenovo: An example of globalization of Chinese enterprises. Journal of International Business Studies, 38(4), 573-577. Nelson, D., Armstrong, A., Condie, J. and Quick, J. (2012). ORGB. New York: Cengage Learning. Stam, C. and Andriessen, D. (2009). Proceedings of the European Conference on Intellectual Capital, IN Holland University of Applied Sciences, Haarlem, The Netherlands 28-29 April 2009. Reading, UK: Academic Conferences Limited. Read More