Change Process What, When, How and Why

Change Process

WHAT, WHEN, HOW and WHY

Organizational Change

Change happens everywhere and all the time (Jeritt, 2013). Everybody knows and sees this and must cope with it. It is evident in one's private world and beyond it, in the large physical environment and elsewhere. Elsewhere includes structured environments like organizations where business is conducted and problems develop and seek solutions. Problems and change appear either at random or from cause, frequently or seldom. Organizations have adapted themselves to see where and how problems develop, their causes and prepare for these. Many have adopted a proactive posture towards problems in anticipating them (Jeritt). The one response that business organizations know they must make in problem situation is change. It may be a sudden one during rough and unexpected economic situation or a threatening competition. It may also be a graduate one, which comes from a build-up of an understanding of the process and the change event itself through time (Consador, 2013). The second type gives the organization a better chance to prepare for the change demanded by the situation. Gareth E. Jones and Jennifer M. George, authors of Contemporary Management, define organizational change as the progress of an organization from its current state to a desired future state in increasing both its efficiency and effectiveness. In that transition, managers need to strike a balance between improving present operations and adjusting to new and unpredictable situations (Consador)

The Manager's Role

A manager is expected to encourage change and lead his subordinates through the experience and the process (Rawlings, 2011). He will be a role model to them and as such, should display the behavior required by a climate of change. He should communicate management plans for undertaking change. He directs the attention and priority of his subordinates to the long-tem goals of the organization instead of the ongoing disruption, which is considered short-term. He should assist his subordinates in the search for solutions to issues or situations they can somewhat control. He should develop a shared vision of the future. In so doing, he should set standards and e expectations for that future. And he should provide his subordinates with opportunities to analyze the question and explore the process (Rawlings).

He may follow a certain sequence of discussion on the change initiative with his subordinates individually or as a team (Rawlings, 2011). Before the group or employee, the manager should first describe the current situation in the greatest detail possible and where it is heading to. Next, he should discuss the current perceptions and feelings about the disturbing situation, not any solution. He should deciper. This means gathering ideas, questions, feelings and perception about how to proceed with the situation. At this step, he should manage to obtain information from the employees on the problems occurring or like to occur, resources and the consequences of moving forward. He can go back to the discussion step and then back to the decipher step. From there, he and his group move to the decide step, the last one. He initiates any course of action possible at this time and given all the circumstances. He seeks out the mutual commitment of the employees and they commit to attend a follow-up meeting. He assigns each responsibility to the employees present. And he summarizes the agreements for the group (Rawlings).

Of the tools and techniques to use during change, the manager may select Kurt Lewin's, which consists of three steps (Rawlings, 2011). These are unfreezing the present, changing, and refreezing the new state of things. In the first step, the present state equilibrium, which supports current behaviors and attitudes, is modified. This is done through the use of data collection and analysis, dialogue and feedback from employees, customers and clients. In the second step, new responses, structures and processes are developed to achieve the targeted change and improvements. And in the refreezing step, the changes are implemented in a way that insures their becoming part of the normal work processes. This can be done through policy, procedures and an aligned reward system for employees (Rawlings).

How to Manage Employee Resistance

Management should first ease employee fears about the forthcoming change initiative (Baker, 1989). It should disseminate as much advance information about the actual change considered. It should inform employees to be affected about the reason or reasons for the change. It should provide them with all the explanations needed to satisfy them. And it should give them enough time to consider the effect of the proposed change on them. Management's explanations should allay fears about employees' job performance, participation in the change, its social consequence, the need for the change, sufficient resources for it, its connection to improved service to customers, and the right climate for the change. Other positive steps that management can take consist of convincing employees about the true reason for the change and that sufficient resources have been committed for it for the transition stage. Managers should also connect the change to improving customer service. He should also continue to build a climate for employees, which will allow them to explore new ideas and try them out under the new state of things and in a new direction. It must be remembered that change should be implemented only when there is a performance gap or high dissatisfaction over an aspect of a task or process (Baker).

Steps in the Change Management Process