Change in organizations is inevitable. It is because of the evolving state and emerging issues in the industry. Both leaders and workers should be prepared for the change to enable them win a competitive edge (By, Burnes& Oswick, 2011, p. 5). However, change management has experienced many obstacles. In this paper, concepts of leading change will be analyzed with the help of the provided article. Moreover, critical analysis of the article, which is the strengths and weakness of the article, will be discussed. Finally, a personal critical analysis of the change models will be carried out.
There are several concepts of leading and managing change. Jonathan Palmer has reflected three models of change in his article on why change fails. ADKAR model is the first article evident in the article. The model aims at bringing in change by first creating awareness of why change is essential and later ensuring there is the desire for stakeholders to take part in implementing change (Palmer, 2016). Further, it guarantees that people have the required knowledge to implement change and the ability. According to Pugh and Mayle (2009), there is the need manage change effectively. The management’s mandate is to ensure the turbulent environment is handled with caution (Pugh &Mayle, 2009, p. 87). Notably, for change to be sustained, reinforcement should be done (Demers, 2007, p.45). Kotter’s 8-step model suggests that for 75% success of change, there should be buy-in from members. Kotter’s suggests that first, it is essential to establish the urgent need for change and second develop a coalition to guide change (Senior & Fleming, 2006, p.98). The third step is to create a change vision, and the fourth step is communicating the vision for buy-in. The fifth step is to endow for change. The other steps are to develop short-term wins. The final step is to embrace change in the organizational culture (Gingrich, Haley & Tyler, 2008, p. 56). The last model reflected in the article is the Lewin's 3-stage model. During the unfreezing stage, the organization takes the opportunity to prepare for change. The change stage involves understanding change and its benefits. Coherently, the refreezing stage is where change takes place.
Palmer (2016) was able to bring out adamant opinions towards change management. One of his strongest opinions he felt that for change to be successful, there should be a changing culture. The culture enables the members of the organization embrace change easily (Greener & Hughes, 2006, p. 207). The other strong opinion pointed out was change resistance is avoided using a well-thought process. The other strong opinion is change require clear methodology and objectives. The weak opinions of this author are that he felt that resistance is healthy. Resistance can be healthy, but it means proper change process was not well observed, and that is why there was resistance. The other weak opinion is independent manager can bring change. Successful change requires everyone to be on board for an easier transition (Griffith, 2001, p.300). From a personal point of view, the positive points in this article are, if resistance is not responded to, it can affect the performance of the organization. The other positive point is leading change require having a change strategic direction (Newton, 2010, p. 200). Finally, it is important for leaders to allocate enough time for prompt transition and execution of change in an organization. On the other hand, the negative point of the article is that change actions should be acted on quickly. Change requires enough time to ensure everyone understands what one is expected (Ponti, 2011, p.42).
The change models offer managers with strategies to ensure they implement change in the organization without resistance from the stakeholders (Van, 2009, p.150). When introducing any significant change proper communication should be done. Change managers should ensure the key stakeholders in the organization own the change process (Oss & Hek, 2011, p.200). When they own the change, it ensures sustainability and avoids unnecessary resistance (Readiness for Change, 2010, p.446). For instance, the ADKAR model suggests that participants should have the desire for the change.
It is paramount to communicate change. The models analyzed places large emphasis on the essence of communicating change. The other important element as seen in the change models is communicating change. There should be clear channels of communicating change, which will ensure every person understands what change entails. Objectives and processes of change should be well-communicated (Klonek, Lehmann-Willenbrock & Kauffeld, 2014, p. 300). For example, in Kotter’s 8-step model one can see the emphasis made on communication. Similarly, communication elements require clarity. Hence, he management move to have audible devices ensure that the intended information is received. It helps avoid confusion and time wastage in implementing the change.
Conclusively, change models are effective in the management of change. The models in the article include ADKAR model, Lewin’s 3-stage model, and Kotter’s 8-step models. It is good to ensure there is a clear change process and provide clear objectives for the change. It is also essential to give enough time for the change implementation and develop a changing culture in the organization (Murthy, 2007, p. 135). Moreover, the models of change suggest that for change to be successful, it is essential to have change ownership, communicate change, and have clear change activities.
Bibliography
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