The theories of change implementation are of great relevance to various for-profit organizations. This paper is aimed at reviewing some of the models developed by scholars, in particular, Kurt Lewin’s model, Kotter’s approach, and ADDIE framework. Furthermore, it is necessary to give recommendation to a software company Blue Cloud Development that currently attempts to introduce new strategies in order to achieve growth (Spector, 2013).
Overall, one can argue that a new policy or strategy can be successfully implemented provided that it relies on the continuous cooperation between organizational leaders and frontline personnel. This is one of the issues that should be taken into consideration business administrators.
It is possible to distinguish several theories that are employed by business administrators. For instance, one can speak about the three-step-model developed by Kurt Lewin who tries to describe the process of organizational change. In involves several important tasks. First of all, it is necessary to “unfreeze” the existing policies or models adopted within a business (Levasseur, 2001, p. 72).
In other words, leaders should demonstrate that current strategies are not effective and one should modify them or develop new ones in order to remain sustainable or competitive (Levasseur, 2001, p. 72). The second step is to adopt the policies that can help a company improve its organizational performance (Levasseur, 2001, p. 72).
At this stage, employees have to overcome some confusion, because it is difficult for them to adjust to new rules or procedures (Levasseur, 2001, p. 72). At this point, it is vital to communicate the benefits of the new models and gain the support of workers. The final step is to turn the new practices into a rule and make sure that every person is able and willing to follow new workplace procedures.
These are the main steps outlined by Kurt Lewin. Another theory of change implementation is the 8-step Change model developed by John Kotter. It is often used by managers who want to introduce some innovations in the workplace (Scheeres, 2012). Again, at the very beginning, administrators should highlight the need for change.
One should prove that current practices of an organization can sometimes prevent a company from achieving its long-term objective (Scheeres, 2012, p. 24). Secondly, a manager should form a coalition or a group of employees who are willing to develop and advocate new strategies (Scheeres, 2012, p. 24). This coalition is critical for the later implementation of any new policy developed by the leaders (Scheeres, 2012, p. 24).
Furthermore, leaders should develop a vision or objective that a company has to reach within a certain period. Later the management will have to communicate new policies, allocate duties, set short-term tasks, and eventually turn new policies into a norm. This is another approach that the CEO of Blue Cloud can take. The main advantage of this theory is that it provides specific instructions to people who implement change.
Furthermore, one can speak about the so-called ADDIE model which is also employed by managers. It consists of such steps as “analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation” (Dublin, 2011, p. 39). This framework is based on the premise that organizational change should be a continuous process during which administrators implement changes, evaluate effects, and modify the policies if they do not yield the expected results (Dublin, 2011, p. 39).
The main strength of this theory is that it shows how organization should modify their policies in response to the feedback offered by workers (Dublin, 2011, p. 39). This principle of this model should not be overlooked by organizational leaders. These examples suggest that there are several characteristics of effective organizational change.
First of all, one can speak about the commitment of employees who should be committed to the organizational goals that a business should attain. Without this motivation, leaders are not likely to achieve any of their objectives. Furthermore, they should understand the need or rationale for change and support the policies developed by the company.
Finally, leaders should be able to modify their policies provided that they do not yield the expected results. Therefore, leaders should have regular meetings with workers in order to detect possible changes at an early stage. These are the main principles that one can identify. By following them, business administrators can better implement change in their organizations.
At this point, it is vital to discuss the challenges faced by such a company Blue Cloud Development. They were willing to introduce such a model which is called Agile. In the opinion of the company’s CEO Shel Skinner, this approach can increase the productivity of the teams working on software development (Spector, 2013).
It should be noted that the company implemented this policy for over a year, but the management received mixed responses from the employees. Some of them were enthusiastic about the new strategy while others people believed that this strategy had been flawed (Spector, 2013).
Additionally, some of the workers did not know what innovations had been brought by the new business model. In other words, they did not see the rationale for this change. At this point, Shel Skinner is not unsure whether the so-called Agile should be continued (Spector, 2013). In this case, the main barrier to implementation is lack of support that Shel Skinner expects from his colleagues and employees.
These are the main obstacles encountered by this company. It is possible to provide several recommendations to Shel Skinner and other leaders of Blue Cloud Development. First of all, at this point, they should not end the implementation of the Agile strategy because judging from the opinions of Shel Skinner, it can greatly benefit the firm.
Yet, the CEO should learn more about the responses of software designers who can better identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Agile strategy. In this way, the management can modify their strategies and make workplace procedures more effective. Secondly, Shel Skinner should form a group of employees should make sure that the principles of Agile are fully implemented by other software designers working in the company.
These people will play a vital role in promoting the ideas of the leaders. Furthermore, these professionals should determine to what extent a new strategy is effective. Apart from that, they management should organize workouts every two months. During these meetings, they can discuss various aspects of the policies, its benefits and drawbacks. So, this time will not be spent in vain.
These are the actions that leaders of Cloud Development should take. In this way, Shel Skinner will better assess the Agile policy and implement it. Overall, this discussion suggests that various change implementation model and theories such as 8-step Change model or Kurt Lewin’s approach can greatly benefit modern companies.
The recommendations that have offered in this paper are partly based on these theories. There are several principles that one can distinguish, namely regular interaction between employees and leaders, evaluation of the progress, and gaining support the workers. By adhering to these rules, Shel Skinner can introduce business models and enhance the performance of the company.
Reference List
Dublin, L. (2011). Learning Is Still a People Business. Chief Learning Officer, 10(11), 38-41.
Levasseur, E. (2001). People Skills:Change Management Tools–Lewin’s Change Model. Interfaces, 31(4), 71-73.
Scheeres, D. (2012). Transition management: Making it personal. Industrial Engineer: IE, 44(12), 24-25.
Spector, B. (2013) Implementing Organizational Change: Theory into Practice. New York: Pearson Education Inc.