This paper shall discuss the barriers encountered by an organization in implementing change.
Change is inevitable in organizations as the business environment is dynamic and constantly changing yet in the process of implementing change organizations face several barriers some of which are discussed in this paper.
Poor Leadership: Proper leadership is required to inspire people and motivate them to direct their energies to the new policy being implemented by the organization. Employees want the way shown to them.
Unclear goals and objectives: An organization should state in clear terms the objectives and goals of the new policy it seeks to implement. Unclear goals and objectives do not specify the performance standards and leads to the employees having no clear vision and also could result in poor priorities in resource allocation.
Inadequate Communication: Adequate internal and external communication is necessary for proper implementation of a policy change. Organizations in which top management do not keep the employees up-to-date on the change of policy being implemented face resistance as employees may interpret it as conspiracy by management against them. Organizations also need to communicate with the suppliers and customers especially in circumstances in which the change of policy affect the external parties. Proper communication builds credibility around the change.
Organization Culture: The culture of the organization defines the “unwritten rules” of the organization. The organization culture can lead employees to resist change of a policy especially if it threatens to change the way they have always done business.
Financial Constraints: Lack of capital can be a barrier to implementing a policy change that is necessary for the organization to gain a competitive edge.
Inadequate resources and bad allocation of resources: Policies will more often than not require resources set aside implementation. Lack of resources is likely to hinder such change. Bad allocation of resources results when management makes decisions that do not optimize the use of the available resources which are in most cases limited.
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