Summary of the Interviews
The mission for the oil and energy company required the organization to meet and exceed expectations of their customers, workers and shareholders while providing a safe, profitable and career advancement for the shareholders and employees. The mission for the Galveston District is to operate and maintain flood controls and navigation facilities and at the same time administer laws pertaining to civil works. The mission statements for these two companies show that they strive to offer advancement in terms of organizational development.
Both companies value developments at individual and organizational level. This is evident in the cultural aspect where each company values discipline and togetherness in order to achieve excellence in the businesses. The employees of the oil company strive to be leaders in every business that they conduct. The employees value honesty, integrity and excellence in their jobs. In the government company, the corporate culture emphasizes on engineering performance and excellence.
The oil company seems to be experiencing many changes in different departments. There are changes in the upper management, new computer systems, hiring procedures and diversification in new fabrication service. The government company is experiencing changes in terms of new culture being introduced in to the business processes. The changes occurring can be said to be a focus on team work, customer service and an introduction to new Project Management Business Processes. The two companies seem to be coping with changes in the technology due to introduction of new systems. The government company seems to be going through a difficult time due to the fact that the government is cutting back on its budget.
The two companies use communication as a way of making the employees accept changes in the organizations. The employees are involved in the organizational changes from right before the implementation so as to enable them to understand all new dimensions of the changes.
Organizational changes
Organizational changes refer to changes that occur in an organization such as different roles in an organization, cultural changes and changes involving business processes (Poole, 2000). It involves all major and significant changes that may involve re organization of processes or new products or services. Organizational changes do not include the minor changes such as a new computer procedure; rather it involves various major dimensions.
One of the major changes that can occur in an organization may be caused by a major reorganization, collaboration or restructuring. An organization may changes some aspects of its culture such as removal of a product from a subsystem. The other type of change that may occur in a company is transformational change that refers to quantum changes that may involve shifting from traditional hierarchical processes to modernized structures. For example, a company may decide to improve the quality of its product or it may decide to increase efficiency of computer processes.
There are other types of changes that are referred to as remedial changes that usually focus on remedying a current process. This is usually caused by the need to rectify a major issue and that is why they are usually taken quite urgently. Organizational change can also be development so as to make a current good process even more efficient and successful. Also, it is good to note that other changes are unplanned for and they usually occur as a surprise to the organization (Senior, 2010). This can be caused by a sudden vacancy gap left by an employee or manager that was not expected.
Challenges faced during Organizational changes and ways of overcoming them
According to the two interviews conducted, managers need to evaluate on how to handle the changes in terms of the employee’s enthusiasm. When changes occur, a challenge is posed as to whether the employees will continue working with the same energy as before. This is because in some instances, workers may feel demoralized. The way to handle this change is to ensure that employees are involved in the process of change. If it is a new system that has been introduced, it would be important to ensure that they are told about the expected change and preferably they can be trained about it before implementation. This will ensure that they remain energized, and they can be given an opportunity to air their concerns so that they can feel that they are part of the change.
Also, the issue of prioritizing projects and resources can be said to be a challenge in organizational changes. The companies involved in this interview were large companies which consist of many projects and the resources are few. This poses a challenge during the implementation of organizational changes. For example, in the government organization, the manager cited the issue of money as a challenge to the company. After initiating the organizational changes in various business processes, the manager had realized that money was not enough for implementation since the government had cut down on the budget. An organization can drop the less important projects in an attempt to handle the challenges that come with organizational changes and to prevent the failure of the business processes.
Sometimes many changes can occur at the same time. For example, the oil and energy company seems to be going through many changes at the same time according to the interviews. For example, the manager noted that there were changes in the management, computer systems, hiring procedures and diversification in a new fabrication service. The managers felt that there is a need to be in a position to manage the cultural shift that comes with the organizational changes of that kind. The leaders should understand that change is inevitable and managers should find ways to sustain it. It is vital for the managers to realize that the need to manage and sustain various organizational changes that may occur in an organization.
The two managers may have been going through different types of changes in their respective companies but they have some similar attitudes towards organizational changes. They believe that the changes occurring in their organizations will help in improving the performance of the company and increase the employee’s morale. However, this will not be possible without various challenges. Every organization anticipates and encounters different types of challenges that come with the implementation of organizational change. The two managers believe that the best way to counter these challenges is to ensure that employees understand the importance of the changes. This can be done together with training that will enable the workers to understand the new systems or changes. Also, employees should be given an opportunity to air their concerns and views about the new changes. For example, the manager of the oil and energy company expected to train the employees of the company on how to operate the new system. Also, the manager of the government organization emphasizes on the need to communicate with the employees and increase their morale by assuring them that none of them will be laid off.
Conclusions
The mission statements for these two companies show that they strive to offer advancement in terms of organizational development. This is demonstrated in their handling of organizational changes in their respective companies. The two companies use communication as a way of making the employees accept changes in the organizations. The employees are involved in the organizational changes from right before the implementation so as to enable them to understand all new dimensions of the changes.
The managers of these organizations have realized that the changes in the company will lead to increased productivity in the work place. For example, if a company wants to embrace the latest technology, it will most probably implement the most efficient systems for the business processes. Thus, most organizational changes occur to develop the individuals and the company at large. If it is a new system that has been introduced, it would be important to ensure that they are told about the expected change and preferably they can be trained about it before implementation. It is vital for the managers to realize that the need to manage and sustain various organizational changes that may occur in an organization. The two managers believe that the best way to counter these challenges is to ensure that employees understand the importance of the changes that are occurring in the company. This can greatly help the employees to handle the new systems with ease while at the same time assuring them that the changes will not affect them negatively.
References
Poole, M. (2000). Organizational change and innovation processes: theory and methods for research. New York: Oxford University Press. Pp. 100- 137.
Senior, B. (2010). Organizational change. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Pp. 45- 69.
