BA580 STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE

BA580 Strategies for Change

BA580 Strategies for Change

1. According to Kotter: Describe the three patterns of ineffective communication.

Ans. Communication is simply a method of sending a message from one person or a group of persons to another.

a) Infrequent communications

It is of vital importance to a business, because it involves all the persons and organizations connected with the business-employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, creditors, debtors; and a whole range of people outside. Such as journalists, television reporters, tax authorities, local government and national government officials, and indeed, any person or organization throughout the world with which the business has any contact.

No professional skill has been more urgently needed for success in the contemporary business world than communication skills. Today there is a multitude of ways to communicate with employees: newsletters; email; voicemail; bulletin boards; annual reports; brown-bag lunch discussions. They need to realize that successful communication is no one-way process. Given the will, the bleakest of situations can be turned around for the better.

b) Only the head of an organization communicates effectively, not the managers?

Ans. At work and at home, the ability to effectively articulate personal goals, needs and objectives and to non-judgmentally clearly understand each other is essential for workers, managers and all other interpersonal relationships. In the rapidly changing social, economical and technical business world we live in, change creates anxiety which in turn plays out as fear-based behavior playing out as an atmosphere of hostility, criticism and conflict in the workplace and at home, rather than cooperation and collegiality. (Kotter, J. 1996)

c) Some key individuals act “antithetical to the vision” and cynicism grows among employees.

Management must face squarely the challenge of formulating strategies to encourage personnel to communicate effectively. Additionally, with face-to-face communication, obtaining feedback and effective listening are critically important for communication. Communication is as much a matter of human relationships as it as about transmitting facts.

2. What are the three kinds of change?

Ans.

a) anticipatory

b) reactive

c) crisis

(a)Anticipatory change is done in the absence of threat, and in preparation for anticipated environmental changes. Failure to anticipate can be deadly.

(b) Organisational changes are initiatives of a mixture of reactive and proactive changes. However, in the current globally competitive environment, few organisations can afford the luxury of reactive change. In fast-phased markets, resorting to reactive change will seriously compromise an organisation's competitive position. Firms that engage in reactive change tend to follow-rather than lead-their competition. Therefore, and despite its difficulties, managing proactive change is vital for an organisation's survival as well as growth.

(c ) Crisis change can be overcome by Radical transformation to good governance with able and efficient management.

3. Why do change efforts so often fail?

a) Allowing too much complacency

b) Failure to create a sufficiently powerful guiding coalition

c) underestimating the power of vision

d) Under-communicating the vision

e) Permitting obstacles to block the vision

f) Failure to create short term wins

g) Declaring victory too soon

h) Neglecting to anchor changes in the corporate culture

Ans. Today prevailing theories of science communication do not help ...