LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Change Management Models

Change Management Models

Introduction

In order to achieve benefits which last on long term basis, a structured approach, named as organizational change is implemented. Organization is reported of facing rapid changes due to the effect of the modern business environment. The reason behind the evolution of the business environment is the wide array of affects of globalization and successful innovation brought about by technology. Businesses have felt revolutionizing effects of the world adapting new technology such as smart phones and social media (Holmes and Marcus, 2005, pp. 235--252). As a result, the field of change management is on a rise due to the increasing need for change. The increase in availability can be seen to as a secondary effect brought by the growth in technology, there also increasing the accountability of knowledge (Kramer and Magee, 1990, pp. 1293--1306). Stockholders and media have demanded unprecedented scrutiny because of the easy access to information (Bruke and Litwin, 1992). The pressure on executives who are struggling has been increased, and the stakes of failing companies have been raised. There have been a lot of changes in the modern business world, making it necessary for an organization to learn how to adapt rapidly to changes. Thus, one of the essential requirements for a workplace in the modern world is to manage and adapt to organizational changes.

Change management and leadership

In order to deal with change, both at the individual level and organizational level a systematic approach, such as the change management approach should be used (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy, 2006, pp. 81--103. Change management is argued to be an ambiguous term, which involves three diversified aspects. These three include, adaptation regarding different changes, controlling change, and effecting change. With the use of these core activities, a proactive approach towards dealing can be build. From the perspective of a firm, change management is essentially, defining and implementing of different technologies and events with respective to change in the environment in which the business resides and how to use the change to create new opportunities for profit (Winfield and Bishop et al., 2004).

The author of 'Paulson on change', Terry Paulson has been reported to quote his uncle's advice regarding change. His uncle said, “It's easiest to ride a horse in the direction it is going." In different words, he said that individuals should not afraid of changes that be looking forward to learning from these changes so that they can use the change for their own advantage (Paulson, 1996).

Change models

In the modern world, we see three change models being adapted by individuals and different organizations. The aim is to learn from the changes and use them for their own advantage (Van Der Aalst, 2001).

Lewin's Change Management Model

Kurt Lewin created this change management model in the early 1960's. Lewin being a psychologist by profession, reported saying that people operate in their own marked safety zones (Levasseur, 2001, pp. 71--73). Although, for this change management model to deliver returns require time, but still is used ...