Organizational readiness for implementing sustainable change initiatives

Change
The term "Organizational Change" denotes implementation of change in an organization's routine business processes and plans. Such change can be minor (within organizational sub-departments or minute sectors) or major (department-wide or company-wide change). The area of Organizational Change Management or OCM can be defined as an orderly framework that gets around the structure propelling novel business processes; it also includes changes to corporate culture. OCM's alternative perspective that outlines its human resource side has been labeled "change management."

Harvard Business Review (2010) states that a few organizations (such as Apple Inc.) capitalize on market changes whereas others (such as General Motors) appear to be struggling even with minor alterations demanded by the market or minor internal changes. A broad gap exists in acceptance of change and a corporation might or might not introduce it until it is prepared to adapt itself to such change. A number of factors -- internal as well as external -- come into play in the context of OCM. External factors take the form of technology, governmental policy, societal norms, accumulated costs, and so forth. Meanwhile, internal factors include managerial abilities, worker/trade unions, low profitability, low employee motivation, etc.

Therefore, this paper will delineate factors that ascertain whether change is required in a firm and its preparedness to support this change. Change must aim to bring about improvements to the company and should include cultural improvements and factors.

In today's competitive environment and efforts towards international market acquisition, a firm can only survive if it adapts itself to change. An organization requires this bridge for growing and progressing; without it, the company will go downhill and can even end up insolvent. Organizational change encompasses certain strategic models and theories, and through implementation of a medley of those models and theories, corporations will be able to structure their approaches and demographics. Identifying specific elements forms the key to ensuring a change is necessary for a company. These elements include:

• System Structure; facilitating a process potentially capable of streamlining corporate aims and objectives, and assessing management operations using physical resources.

• Human Resources; Managers, employees and external stakeholders who are involved in the many processes associated with operation restructuring. Interaction and participation of the above entities is vital. Such motivation leads to active engagement and information-grasping.

• Target Oriented; Organizational change plays a role in company growth, and one among the most effective methodologies is providing an outcome-based timeline.

Such a structure and human resource allocation guarantees progression of implemented policies and approaches in the right direction. A cultural or behavioral (workforce's emotional attitude) obstacle may be faced by some companies, and stakeholders may try to resist change. If a company comes across such resistance, one may conclude that it faced conflicting or difficult directives or routes when adapting to the change in question. Theory recommends providing some measure of leniency for simultaneously achieving both desired outcomes.

Insight (2009) claims a firm that wishes to effectively implement change must be prepared for it. That is, its structure and human resource should be capable of, and ready to adopt, change.

Four mechanisms have been defined in the Harvard Business Review (2010) for ascertaining if a company is change-ready:

1. Change awareness; Deals with an organization's capacity of defining its ability. It must concentrate on JIT (just-in-time) and innovation. The process identifies and keeps a constant eye out, on environments and for opportunities. It entails market trend analysis and taking note of new developments.

1. Change agility; Deals with engaging human resource for stimulating pending changes. The internal process is highly crucial to successful corporate strategy implementation. If a firm successfully stretches out or shifts its financial, material or human resources, it can make maximum difference within a given time-scope.

1. Change mechanisms; Construe coherent alignment of goals across diverse company functions and enable accountability and change integration into these systems.

1. Change reaction; Represents the capacity of analyzing nuisances and gauging risks. Management of personnel behavior is another aspect. This can catapult sustainable everyday working routine. Further, through timely response, firms will be able to neutralize and weather such risks. References
Insight. "Being Ready for Change." Cimaglobal.com. N.p., 2009. Web. 10 Aug. 2016.

Musselwhite, C. and T. Plouffe. "Four Ways to Know Whether You Are Ready for Change." Harvard Business Review. N.p., 2010. Web. 10 Aug. 2016.