Many people will approach change in a business environment with pre-conceived anxiety and worries. However, this does not always need to be the case – many employers are using new strategies and tactics to promote business change in a positive light – methods such as empowerment, Kaizen production, and bottom-up change are becoming evermore popular with large companies.
First though, I want to examine why workplace change is such a worry for so many staff. The underlying reason for worries about change is the reluctance to give-up the established organisational culture of a particular department or business – in a sense “the way we do things around here”. This organisation culture may have been established for years, and developed as time, processes and resources have moved it along – although it may sound silly, an organisation culture can be very personal for some members of staff who may have helped develop it, or had to work with-it for a number of years. In most cases (where possible), staff will change the processes they use subtly, perhaps without even realising it themselves, to make the most of the resources they have; for example they may group tasks together to make things more efficient, or take a shorter route using local knowledge to get deliveries made sooner. This can lead to a sense of ownership of the processes in a company – making it difficult for staff to expect imposed and/or radical change.
A traditional view of change is imposed change, typically a senior manager or director deciding on new methods and processes for the department or company. The imposing of these changes are the ones which will almost always result in anxiety or worry for a number of reasons. Firstly as mentioned above the over-ridin...
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...and reviewing improvements achieved from previous meetings. Kaizen is popular in large businesses, and has lead to the creation of Kaizen consultants who help company’s set-up a continuous improvement structure.
In conclusion, theoretically a business can ensure that changes are not bet with anxiety and negativity, however – there are a number of factors affecting this: All of the strategies mentioned above are only effective when carried out properly and fully, a consultation without discussion is no use to anyone. Secondly, all this depends on the basis of the changes themselves; if the change introduced is too drastic, or too excessive, then there will always be anxiety or negativity, and there is little that can be done about it. So, in answer to the original question, I think that it is entirely dependant on what the change is, and how it has been introduced.
Leading Change was named the top management book of the year by Management General. There are three major sections in this book. The first section is ¡§the change of problem and its solution¡¨ ; which discusses why firms fail. The second one is ¡§the eight-stage process¡¨ that deals with methods of performing changes. Lastly, ¡§implications for the twenty-first century¡¨ is discussed as the conclusion. The eight stages of process are as followed: (1) Establishing a sense of urgency. (2) Creating the guiding coalition. (3) Developing a vision and a strategy. (4) Communicating the change of vision. (5) Empowering employees for broad-based action. (6) Generating short-term wins. (7) Consolidating gains and producing more changes. (8) Anchoring new approaches in the culture.
It is important that if you are ever running a business, you change before the change comes to you. Change can have either a positive or negative effect on a business and it is extremely important to strive to make it a positive
The idea of change, regardless of the context of the situation, terrifies. People find security in the routine, comfort in the normal, and safety in the ordinary. Change, however, rocks the boat. Those things that were once agreed upon unanimously, come under scrutiny. Picture in your mind a situation in which you’re given the opportunity to shift the bottom block in a tower.
The only constant in life is change. This statement is especially true within a business organization. Implementing change is a process and managers need to understand the various ways in which people react and respond to any changes made. Depending on how change is implemented, it can strengthen, weaken or stabilize a team or an organization. As managers, we must understand the dynamics of our team or organization and manage change effectively. I will explore two models of change. These two models, the Tuckman model and the Lewin model, focus on different aspects of change. Tuckman focused on team change and characteristics that a team exhibits during the change process while Lewin focus on initiating and guiding change within an organization. Although the focus of the models is on different aspects, both provide insight as to how a leader can provide support and assistance to the team or organization during the process (Cameron, 2012).
Change is the only constant in life. And therefore it should be understood as part of a continuing work in progress that calls for a much broader canvas that seeks out competing voices, and works with the resulting ambiguities, contradictions and tensions of messy reality (Graetz, F. & Smith, A., 2010). In this submission I try to show that organizational change is majorly based on the environment surrounding it much more than the desire of the members or change agents working in that organization. This view diverts from that of Lippitt, (1958) who suggests that implementing planned organizational changes successfully depends on premeditated interventions intended to modify the functioning of an organization. It also diverts from the traditional approaches to organizational change that generally follow a linear, rational model in which the focus is on controllability under the stewardship of a strong leader or ‘guiding coalition (Collis, 1998). In this discussion therefore, comparison made between the different philosophies of change and I try to show that successful change implantation largely depends on an organizations appreciation of what goes on around it rather than what they have planned as a strategic direction.
This paper will be broken down into six sections profiling each critical part of implementing and managing change in an organization. The sections included are; outline for plan creating urgency, the approach to attracting a guiding team, a critique of the organizational profile, the components of change, and how to empower the organization.
In today’s ever changing world people must adapt to change. If an organization wants to be successful or remain successful they must embrace change. This book helps us identify why people succeed and or fail at large scale change. A lot of companies have a problem with integrating change, The Heart of Change, outlines ways a company can integrate change. The text book Ivanceich’s Organizational Behavior and Kotter and Cohen’s The Heart of Change outlines how change can be a good thing within an organization. The Heart of Change introduces its readers to eight steps the authors feel are important in introducing a large scale organizational change. Today’s organizations have to deal with leadership change, change in the economy,
Change is a fundamental element of individuals, groups and all sorts of organizations. As it is the case for individuals, groups and societies, where change is a continuous process, composed of an indefinite amount of smaller sub-changes that vary in effect and length, and is affected by all sorts of aspects and events, many of which cyclic are anticipated ones. It is also the case for organizations, where change occurs repeatedly during the life cycle of organizations. Yet change in organizations is not as anticipated nor as predictable, with unexpected internal and external variables and political forces that can further complicate the management of change (Andriopoulos, C. and P. Dawson, 2009), which is by itself, the focus of many scholars in their pursuit to shed light on and facilitate the change process (Kotter 1996; Levin 1947; et al).
Changing situations throughout the world affect all organizations in business today. Therefore, most organizations acknowledge the need to experience change and transformation in order to survive. The key challenges companies face are due to the advancements in technology, the social environment caused by globalization, the pace of competition, and the demands regarding customer expectations. It is difficult to overcome the obstacles involved with change despite all the articles, books, and publications devoted to the topic. People are naturally resistant to fundamental changes and often intimidated by the process; the old traditional patterns and methods are no longer effective.
For example, managers at the intermediate level may oppose this change. They may instigate the staff concerning the need to avoid or postpone change. The staff, in some organizations, resists any sort of change. According to them, the present system is working well and there is no need to introduce change. In many cases, the staff is critical of the change management process.
Change should be seen as a challenge and embraced with enthusiasm (Marquis & Huston, 2012). In my professional and personal life, I view and respond to change as a way to make improvements to existing regulations and circumstances. I embark upon the quest with determination to succeed at whatever task is presented to me. Life without change can become unchallenging and stagnant (Marquis & Huston, 2012). As society and technology advance, you must incorporate the necessary transformations that arise with it.
In business, when we approach change, whether it is about cost reduction, merger or supporting a new technology we need to treat it as a seriously disruptive and stressful activity for all involved especially those leading the change.
The change process within any organization can prove to be difficult and very stressful, not only for the employees but also for the management team. Hayes (2014), highlights seven core activities that must take place in order for change to be effective: recognizing the need for change, diagnosing the change and formulating a future state, planning the desired change, implementing the strategies, sustaining the implemented change, managing all those involved and learning from the change. Individually, these steps are comprised of key actions and decisions that must be properly addressed in order to move on to the next step. This paper is going to examine how change managers manage the implementation of change and strategies used
The world is constantly changing in many different ways. Whether it is technological or cultural change is present and inevitable. Organizations are not exempt from change. As a matter of fact, organizations have to change with the world and society in order to be successful. Organizations have to constantly incorporate change in order to have a competitive advantage and satisfy their customers. Organizations use change in order to learn and grow. However, change is not something that can happen in an organization overnight. It has to be thought through and planned. The General Model of Planned Change focuses on what processes are used by the organization to implement change. In the General Model of Planned Change, four steps are used in order to complete the process of change. Entering and Contracting, Diagnosing, Planning and Implementing, and Evaluating and Institutionalizing are the four steps used in order to complete the process of change in an organization. The diagnostic process is one of the most important activities in OD(Cummings, 2009, p. 30).
The environment contributes resources to the organisation only if the organisation returns desired goods and services to it.