Facilitator:
Change entails introductions of a situation or a way of doing things that is variant or different from the norm. Organizations have a defined culture, with spelt procedures of performing different functions like planning, organizing, staffing, and controlling. However, due to changing society and increased competition, need arises for the organizations to alter such functions. At the same time, the morale of different people in the organization should not be affected.
Leadership in any firm is the engine of any program for change. Management coordinates different functions although the key function of management in any organization is planning. This function coordinates the adoption of change in an organization. For the right change to happen, the management should establish how the change would drive the organization towards the right direction in attaining the goals of the firm. According to Helfer (2006), when the plans of an organization fails, counter production is common as there are many goal pursued by the players in the organization from different angles. Planning in an organization occurs at three different levels; the strategic level deals with the long term goals of the firm, the operational planning stands in for the daily activities of the firm while the task planning deals with allocation of duties to different people and partners in an organization. The task planning level is in a wider sense, the level for change management in an organization. Imperative in the planning process is the fact that a person, in a high position acquires the role of an overseer. This person spearheads the implementation of the set plans (Helfer, 2006).
Present day management dictates that planning must be extensive and the overseer must have skills necessary to perform their functions within their jurisdiction. For example, the overseer must be well equipped to communicate different information to the people he/she is working with. Leadership skills are inevitable for the overseer as he/she coordinates the future direction of the firm. One mistake in undertaking their roles leads to a wavy direction in the organization. When a change comes into an organization, it may be the right thing for the firm or the wrong one. It is imperative therefore that the organization evaluates whether the change is effective. There are many ways to know whether a change is working well or not. The first sign that a change is the right one is the output per person (Syfox 2000). In groups that are informal, the yield a member gives to the group in terms of the effort devoted is the scale. A happy worker is one who does all the activities dedicated to them zealously and relentlessly. However, when the member of a particular system are not under the right motivation, they are likely to devote little to the organization and the produce everyone of them gives is bound to decrease drastically.
When cooperation increases as the change systematically encrypts in the organization, the change is the right tool for the firm. Willing working in an organization is the best way to give service to an organization at all levels of employment. Most of the times, organizations find it challenging to get the people working with little supervision and without being followed around and reminded to do things. In case there is change in an organization, viewing how the people work under the new system can help the management determine how good the new environment is for the people (Syfox, 2000). When the new environment is not good, the change is certainly not among the best things that the organization can bring into play at the time of inception. Manifestation of the same occurs through constant absconding of duty and reluctance to work from different quotas. However, when the new environment is attractive, the people become livelier and there is willingness among the staff to be involved in different tasks with no pressure from the supervisors. Understanding the sorts of reactions from the people in the firm is a crucial tool for the organization to manage change in the organization.
Any time there is change in an organization; there are different kinds of barriers that work to bring down the change. One of the barriers is the institutional barriers; these arise from the operations of the management and the institution of the structure in the organization (Syfox 2000). Lack of efficiency among the management teams and the leaders of the team posses a huge challenge to the people overseeing change in an organization. Management is the heart of any firm and coordinates the working of all other institutions. Often, wrangles among the managers begin when the achievements of the people are ignored. However, the management leading to ill feelings among the people may fail to cater for the achievements. Such lead to divisions among the people expected to unite and lead the organization to success. When the divisions come in any organization, witch-hunting among the people may be experienced in the leadership. At times, there are many divisions to a state that there is no leadership at all. When change comes at such a point, resistance may happen (Syfox, 2000).
Contractual barriers oppose changes that aim at affecting the conditions set for the contracts. Most of the contracts that the management enters into exist to the best that they do because the state they made into still exists. When an organization has made a contract with a certain organization, which provides that a certain state should be existent for the relationship subsisting in the contract to hold, the organization will reject any hinge that alters the states. For the contractual barriers, elimination challenges many organizations because solutions to the barriers exist outside the organization (Martincic, 2010). Human resource barriers are the barriers instituted by the work force and the employees of the organization. When change comes in the organization, workers are the first people who rise against the new circumstances. Most of the people in organizations are comfortable with the status where they work. They are comfortable to continue in the conditions without the change meaning they will definitely be against the change that comes. Resistance of change by the workers manifests in many ways. According to Martincic (2010), low morale, low engagements, and quick return to the old ways are some of the ways the workers use to show that they are not for the changes introduced.
Furthermore, environmental factors play special roles in resistance to change. While people work at their places, there are many engagements that they make which for blocks causative to change resistance. Environmental factors include factors like the competition and market dynamics. When many people in the marker are using a certain systems, which yield high returns, a rare occurrence is for a firm to adopt variant systems (Helfer, 2006). Many organizations tend to fear the effects of adopting systems that are opposing to the environmental factors. In case the market forces expected to change, organizations fear adopting changes in the transition periods because there is a feeling that they may go against the changes in the market and lower their returns. In the world of business, uncertainty controls most of the activities that take place in the market. Management systems in many organizations face the uncertainty syndrome, manifested through fear of the unknown. The future may be unknown to the organization; thus, there is fear that adopting the change may be unprofitable (Martincic, 2010).
Strategic barriers are the most rigid barriers to change in organizations. At the time of formation, an organization has to formulate goals that govern the way its run as well as the visions and missions for which it has formed. When a change comes in the organization, they are bound to stay with the organization for a comparatively long time. When a change comes in the organization, the goals have to focus on strongest barriers to change (Hodge & Coronado, 2007).
Whether or not change is effective is measurable in many ways. One of the ways to know if the change instituted is effective is through observation of the activities of the people linked to the organization. Most of the changes brought into the organization either build or deteriorate the focus of the workers. This means that positive reception of change manifests by increased focus among the employees as opposed to negative reception of the change that de-motivates the workers and leads to loss of focus among the employees and different groups. When the parties to the firm are not satisfied, they are more willing to take up responsibilities, which highlight definite achievement of the strategic goals (Hodge & Coronado, 2007).
Satisfied workers are committed to their work; thus, they work hard all the time to produce more. Change has the ability to create two situations, although the two cannot come at the same time. Satisfaction comes when the change occurs to be the best thing among the workers. This shows by increased output per worker, which leads to an increase taken together output. When workers are satisfied, it means that they feel comfortable in the new environment due to the feeling that they appear covered by the change (Helfer, 2006). However, when the workers feel insecure due to the change, they will remain resilient and resistant; thus, their output lowers effectively.
Conclusively, leadership stands at the helm of management of change in any organization. If the leadership of the organization is functional, planning is likely to be efficient that means that the change will come in the best interest of all parties in the firm. However, lack of good and all-inclusive leadership may lead to resistance to change.
References
Helfer, L. R. (2006). Understanding change in international organizations: Globalization and innovation in the ILO. Vanderbilt Law Review, 59(3), 647-726. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/198884533?accountid=45049
Hodge, B., & Coronado, G. (2007). Understanding change in organizations in a far-from-equilibrium world*. Emergence : Complexity and Organization, 9(3), 3-15. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214154232?accountid=45049
Martincic, R. (2010). Change management in adult educational organizations: A slovenian case study. Managing Global Transitions, 8(1), 79-96. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/902847393?accountid=45049
Syfox, J. (2000). Globalization and cultural change in organizations. Management Research News, 23(2-4), 86-87.
