Managing Change

Managing Change

Introduction

Managing organizational change is the process of making the plans and decisions, then taking the actions required to implement those plans and decisions to bring about a new, different set of behaviors in a group of people working together in an organization. This is no simple task.

Discussion

To manage organizational change, first a set of goals and objectives must be established. This is necessary to provide unified criteria for success once achieved. Next a plan must be made in sufficient detail to describe what steps must be taken and how those actions must be implemented to move the organization toward the achievement of its goals and objectives (Palmer, Dunford and Akin, 2008).

Although the preceding steps seem clear and straightforward, they are not. Often people—management and companies—do not understand how to effectively manage, because the causes and effects of their actions are separated by so much time that the relationship between them is obscured and no learning results. To effectively manage organizational change, four points must be accepted as valid:

* There is much to be learned from studying the past—or many mistakes will be repeated.

* People are the most important factor in success, yet we often mistreat them and seldom value them enough.

* Technology is essential but not sufficient for success without the involvement and cooperation of people.

* Knowledge is power. Education and information combined with experience is the source of knowledge. (This is the basis for a new competitive advantage.)

In organizations today, getting people to change is still the greatest obstacle to managing organizational change. It is often necessary to move people out of their “comfort zones” before they will even consider changing. Consider the following groups of people (Palmer, Dunford and Akin, 2008).

Frequently the largest challenge is to get executives to understand that the leaders must change or the whole initiative will fail because it lacks their understanding and support when things get tough.

Middle management ranks often face the most difficult dilemma in managing organizational change, because they are caught in the middle between hourly employees who aren't sure why they should change in the first place and top management who thinks it doesn't really need to change if everyone else will.

the area of resistance to change is better understood and the forms of resistance recognized, it is time to move on to what to do to manage organizational change:

1. Develop a vision, mission, strategy, and operating plan that ...