Competencies for Managing Change, Essay Example

Introduction

Roles and responsibilities in the workplace environment require an organized and detailed approach to accomplish the desired goals and objectives. However, achieving organizational skill is a complex process with many intricacies; therefore, it must be addressed on a continuous basis. Furthermore, an organization is unsuccessful if it does not possess the proper level of authority in its activities, as leadership and authority are essential to organizational success and achievement. Authority enables the organization to have a direction and focus and to be recognized for its value. This process also demonstrates the importance of delegating authority as necessary to those individuals with the appropriate levels of knowledge and experience that make a difference for the organization and its people. Authority encourages individuals to take risks and to recognize that without risk, there is no potential for rewards. This process is essential to the discovery of new strategies to enable those in positions of authority to make a difference in the organization.

Analysis

Throughout organizations, change is imminent and ongoing, and represents an opportunity to improve the organization in many different ways. However, resistance to change is very common and requires leaders to recognize that culture may play a role in this resistance (Danisman, 2010). Existing processes and methods are likely to be difficult to change in many cases, particularly as individuals become accustomed to these practices and do not wish to modify them (Danisman, 2010). Existing cultural norms may be to blame and therefore, many employees are unwilling to accept changes that could ultimately make a significant difference for the organization as a whole (Danisman, 2010). In this context, the unknown is a frightening proposition and therefore, the inability to change the norm is highly likely (Danisman, 2010). This process requires further support and understanding so that change will be welcomed over time, particularly when it is introduced on a gradual basis so as not to frighten employees with a widespread change effort (Danisman, 2010).

Initiating change within an organization also requires employees to embrace change, and this is a difficult task to achieve in many cases (Ijaz & Vitalis, 2011). From this perspective, an organization’s employee infrastructure is accustomed to specific policies and procedures, and when these are changed for any reason, the response is likely to be negative, at least in the initial stages (Ijaz & Vitalis, 2011). Therefore, many organizations experience change as a burden that is difficult to manage (Ijaz & Vitalis, 2011). It is necessary to convince individuals that the change effort will introduce positive results so that there is a greater potential to achieve the desired results when the change is fully implemented (Ijaz & Vitalis, 2011). At the same time, many employees are likely to recognize the benefits of change, even if they are unwilling to fully embrace it in their organizations (Ijaz & Vitalis, 2011).

Managers who are involved in a change effort at an organization must be convincing in their arguments that the change will be effective over the long term (Crawford & Nahmias, 2010). In this context, it is important to identify the resources that are required to ensure that the change effort will be effective and that full participation in the change will achieve the required objectives (Crawford & Nahmias, 2010). Managers must lead by example and fully support the change effort in their own right so that others within the organization will also provide support to the change as it evolves (Crawford & Nahmias, 2010). This process is an essential component of communication regarding the change and how it might evolve into a much larger opportunity for the organization and its people and from which many benefits may be realized over a period of time (Crawford & Nahmias, 2010). Managers must work diligently with employees in order to make convincing arguments that change is likely to benefit their roles and the organization as a whole. This requires an ongoing shift in the culture of the organization so that change is fully embraced and supported by employees across different divisions. It is important to identify these factors and to take the steps that are required to implement change in a manner that is consistent with key principles and objectives that will satisfy the need for change and the level of progress that is made.

Conclusion

In recent years, a high profile change took place at JC Penney that led to significant controversy, a loss of sales and customer loyalty, and many lessons learned that had an impact on the organization and its vision for the future. After hiring a former Apple executive as its CEO, JC Penney experienced a significant strategic shift that was largely unwelcome by its customers and by many of its employees. This change simply did not fit the organization’s largely successful strategy to retain customers throughout sales and clearance items. When this process was abolished in favor of an environment where sales no longer existed, customers were confused and frustrated with the company and eventually left in droves. Before too long JC Penney saw a significant drop in its revenues, thereby signaling that a change was required so that the organization could attempt to restore its former glory. This process was essential in order to curb the tailspin and to convince customers to give the company another chance. This change effort was wildly unpopular and did not provide any real benefits to the customer base, thereby creating a tumultuous environment that did not coincide with the historic culture of the retailer and the brand. Therefore, after many lessons learned, the organization has begun to bounce back with a strategy that shifts back to its original culture so that the firm and its customers would achieve greater satisfaction and steady sales growth.

References

Crawford, L., & Nahmias, A. H. (2010). Competencies for managing change. International journal of project management, 28(4), 405-412.

Dan??man, A. (2010). Good intentions and failed implementations: Understanding culture-based resistance to organizational change. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 19(2), 200-220.

Ijaz, S., & Vitalis, A. (2011). Resistance to organizational change: putting the jigsaw together. International review of business research papers, 7(3), 112-121.