Abstract
Management can generally refer to either an art or a science of completing a task by using other people, according to Dale (1969). In an organization, management is a way of using available resources to make employees meet certain objectives and achieve set goals in an effective and efficient manner.
It includes planning, organizing, recruitment, guiding, and showing the way in order to achieve the set target. An issue in management can be an event that causes significant, mostly sustained, news coverage and open examination. Issues in management are numerous and diverse, however, the purpose of this paper is to single out organizational change issues in management.
Organization change management, on the whole, has its own right become a powerful business. Organization change in management is beneficial, but one never fails to notice its shortcomings and the mounting challenges. The challenges can be overcome with careful planning by managers and attention to the way the change is conducted.
Organization Change Management and Role of Mangers in Change
Often, a good number of companies employ various organization change programs. As it has already been mentioned, organization change management, has become a powerful business. For example, it stands for billions of dollars in developing programs, implementing and training fees for consultants. For senior managers it can be a way to survive, profit and grow. For customers, it means better and efficient service, while for employees it can mean a chance for job improvements.
Change in management is beneficial, but one never fails to notice its shortcomings that include the following three examples. In case organization change is seen to have failed, senior employees or managers may be dismissed, which finds its way into the equity of shareholders.
Secondly, whether it fails or it succeeds, a lot of fundamental changes will likely lead to loss of jobs, demotion and dissatisfaction with the introduction of new ways of working. The third point is, the unwanted change experienced with customers can make them dissatisfied or decline the services.
Organization change process nowadays is much shrouded in fear and threat as it is part of a powerful discourse of management in the present world. A quick look in any newspaper in the business section, journals on management, magazine or management articles will show that a key management discourse is organizational change (Mills, 2008).
While the focus may vary, the fundamental message is the same. If the company has not been involved in some sort of change initiative, there are chances that it may be operating below its full potential. Indeed, those who have been doing well at advancing change have been elevated to expert-status.
Although present discourse of change consists of many basics of the earlier, pre-1980 approach to change, the difference between then and today is that organization change has come to be thought of as a holistic, rather than the piecemeal approach to organizational effectiveness (Mills, 2008).
The focus of change in the past used to be on strategies for managing. According to Mills, organization engaged in OD techniques to improve the behavior or structural levels of the company (2008). In that way, the organization was guaranteed to capitalize on its effectiveness.
Nowadays the emphasis on organization effectiveness and customer satisfaction are often seen as cutting edge. Despite the application of the latest techniques, the senior manager can derive satisfaction from the knowledge that he/ she will be seen as a forward-thinker in their attempts to ensure company survival and growth in a global economy.
Many case studies carried out in management issues show a set of accounts of what took place in a certain business, organization, or industry within a certain period if time. The organization is a complex system, which is confronted with many challenges, as a result of external and internal influences. Change management at the level of the organizational, according to Badescu, is a key issue in ensuring most appropriate strategic way for realizing competitive advantage in the business atmosphere (2005).
People are always afraid of change and are nervous whenever change occurs, such as an organizational change. Most will resist it both consciously and subconsciously. Many a times, those fears are strong that the change will result into a negative effect for them. However, the target people to embrace change will eventually recognize that the change was intended for the better.
The speed of change is always increasing, especially, with the emergence of the internet and swift installment of modern technologies, methods of doing business and demeanor of one’s life. Organizational change management strives to find out the attitude of the target people and work together to enhance effective and efficient delivery of change and passionate support for the good results. The major concern of organizational change management is to win the target people to change their behavior and the way of life.
Change is often a shift in technology or internal hierarchy, when a key change is experienced by a company; it demands a response where the organization makes a significant alteration in the way the work will be done. During the change, the following guidelines should be considered for changing corporate culture.
In order to get a satisfactory result, the target group should be given a concrete reason to accept the change. A respected person should be put in charge and should involve all parties in change. For smooth running of the program create a management team to oversee change, and provide necessary training in work methods and expected new values.
Organization needs to adequately prepare for implementing the change successfully through a process of change management. The first stage is preparation which involves preparing employees for the change, describing the changes comprehensively to the target group, researching on the proceeding of the last change which occurred in the organization, assessing organizational readiness and making additional changes that are critical.
What follows next is planning for change. This stage is referred to making contingency plans, which impact personal performance and productivity, encourage employee input and set timetables as well as objectives to measure change progress. The third stage is creating transitional structures.
Special activities required at this stage include creating a transition management group to oversee the change, develop temporary policies and procedures during the change, create new channels of communication and arrange frequent meetings to provide feedback on the change progress.
The fourth stage in organization change management is its implementation. Implementing change covers appropriate training in the new skills, encouraging the self-management, provision of frequent feedback that will help people to forget the old and to adjust to changes within the shortest time. Finally, acknowledge the people who have made the change in the process of work.
The manager plays a pivotal role in organizational change management. Their duty is to move or lead employees and teams through a change process, in an efficient way possible in spite of how well or poor the change has been introduced. A manager will have to choose the approach and plan to change, create a favorable climate for change and culture for sustainable change.
References
Badescu, C. (2005).Case Studies in Management Issues. Bucharest. Editura Mica Valahie
Dale, E. (1969). Management: theory and practice, McGraw-Hill series in management. California. Rex Bookstore Book Inc.
Mills, J. H., Dye, K., & Mills, J. A. (2008). Understanding Organizational Change, Edition illustrated. Milton Park. Taylor & Francis.
Organizational Change Management. Why, What, How? Available at http://www.epmbook.com/orgchange.htm Retrieved
Sheedy, C. November/December, 2010. Australian Institute of Management. The Key management Issues. Available at http://www.epmbook.com/orgchange.htm Retrieved