Overcoming and Dealing With Change, Term Paper Example

Organizations change because either their business model has become outdated in the face of emerging business practices or they want to gain strategic edge over their competitors by being more flexible and efficient. But change is usually met with resistance and lack of enthusiasm. This is because employees become used to existing way of doing business and they fear loss of efficiency. In addition, change often requires going through training and re-learning process. Thus, it falls upon the management to not only lead change but also ensure that the change process is wholeheartedly embraced by everyone. This is because without employees’ real commitment to change, the organization will fail to reap the benefits it seeks by becoming more flexible and dynamic.

The organizations should not force change on their employees but instead help employees understand the reasons for change and its impact on them (Reh) including the benefits. Resistance from employees is often due to the fear of unknown but once they better understand the reasons behind change, they will be more cooperative. The management should try to identify employees’ specific fears so that it can keep their morale high. When employees will see a connection between change and personal benefits, they will actually embrace it and considerably increase the probability that the organization achieves its objectives.

Organizations can also improve employees’ dedication to change by involving them in key decisions and tying compensation incentives with performance(Worley & Vick, 2005). When employees feel they are being part of the decision making process, they will feel important and be more enthusiastic. In addition, the management will also benefit as employees may provide information about the daily operations which management didn’t have before. Organizations should also ensure they have properly planned the whole change process because poorly implemented change is often worse than no change at all and it will also change the attitudes of the employees towards change. On the other hand, successful change will help make the organization more flexible and its employees more receptive towards future change initiatives. It is also helpful to develop tools to measure change progress so that the management can discover and tackle problems before they get out of hand.

The management should also take into account the fact that there is no one-size fits all solution to gaining employees support. People have different personalities; some employees are confident of their potential while others are skeptical. Some are better at coping with change while others need more help and similarly, some like responsibility and self-management while others prefer guidance(Goman, 2000). Thus, the management should ensure that it addresses the concerns of all employees in ways that suit their respective personalities. Management science offers various tools to group employees by personalities and work attitudes.

The organizations should also not lose of the fact that change progress doesn’t always go according to the plan. Mistakes occur and the management should not be discouraged by occasional mistakes but learn from them just as Virgin’s Chairman Richard Branson advised Virgin Media’s call-center employees (Branson, 2011). Change planning should always be flexible because many of the problems that occur during the change process are difficult to predict because organization-wide changes are always new experiences.

Thus, organizational change is an evolving process whose success requires employees’ dedication and commitment. Organizational change has become inevitable in today’s fast paced competitive environment but the companies that continue to evolve successfully are rewarded with hug economic rewards and are able to strengthen their competitive positions.

References

Branson, R. (2011, January 14). Richard Branson on Managing Change. Retrieved August 10, 2011, from Entrepreneur: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217944

Goman, C. K. (2000, December). The Biggest Mistakes in Managing Change. Retrieved August 10, 2011, from http://www.winstonbrill.com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/501-550/article506_body.html

Reh, F. J. (n.d.). Managing Change: Managing People’s Fear. Retrieved August 10, 2011, from http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/MngChng092302.htm

Worley, C. G., & Vick, Y. H. (2005). Leading and Managing Change. Retrieved August 10, 2011, from Graziadio Business Review: http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/leading-and-managing-change/