Change Management

Change Management within an Organizational Structure

Business is about creating an organization that will develop and implement changes that will lead to growth and success. Organizational change is not easy, but is an integral part that often allows the company and its employees to be prosperous. Dealing with change requires management to understand internal and external driving forces that create organizational change. A company needs to strategically devise a theory based plan that will allow implementation of changes based on driving forces. Management must also anticipate employee resistance to change. Therefore, leaders must employ strategies to minimize resistance to change in order to transform the organization.

Organizations are presented with change when external and internal drivers create a need for change. Awareness of external and internal forces can assist "managers in determining when they should consider implementing an organizational change" (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2004). The simulation presented driving forces that led the company to success of the organizational goal: increase networking solutions by transforming the consumer product. For example, the company, Synergetic Solutions, Inc. wanted to advance in networking globally by increasing productivity, so implementing measures to assess employee absenteeism and work activity was imperative for the manager to perform before initiating change. Market changes also force companies to engage in organizational reengineering. The CEO of Synergetic Solutions, Inc. wanted the company to produce more products so the company would increase revenue. Another external force that created change within the company is the value of one's contribution. Employees did not feel the organization valued their knowledge and skill level, but by implementing measures to train several employees to be "super-users" increased employee participation and job satisfaction.

Internal forces can also lead an organization to change. "Internal forces come from inside the organization" (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2004). For example, the assessment of employee absenteeism led the company to strategically implement ways employees would increase job satisfaction and therefore increase the attendance rate. Another internal driver that led to change was the CEO wanted the organization to move from the present departmental structure to a new team based structure in efforts to increase productivity. Lastly, the development of new human resource policies and programs assisted in the transition of job descriptions, roles, and responsibilities. Once an organization has effectively assessed internal and external driving forces that will inherently lead to organizational change, leadership must develop strategies to assist in the change management process. Theories by Kurt Lewin and John Kotter, and complexity theories often serve as guidelines to administration when implementing organizational change.

Theorist Kurt Lewin believed for an organization to be successful, "there has to be a Ð''felt-need'Ð'--an individual's inner realization that change is necessary" (Burnes, 2004). The CEO of Synergetic Solutions, Inc. felt by turning the business into a networking design "hot-house" from just a computer trading organization would increase revenue and allow the company to be accepted globally. According to Lewin, leaders need to weigh factors that affect human behavior. Burnes (2004) stated, Lewin's theory suggest "unless sufficient psychological safety is created, the disconfirming information will be denied or in other ways defended against, no survival anxiety will be felt, and consequently, no change will take place". Therefore, leaders must design work that will allow employees to "feel safe from loss and humiliation" (2004). Benchmarking can be used as a technique to create motivation in an organization. For example, Synergetic Solutions, Inc. noticed in order to be a competitive business, they would have to create a different marketing tactic to increase their revenue. So, the company's senior management used benchmarking as a tool to unfreeze employees. Because of benchmarking, company process can be "redesigned from scratch" (Strebel, 1994). For example, the simulation company repaired computers and wanted to transform the business into a networking design computer company.

Other influencing change management factors include views by John Kotter, an expert theorist in change management. He believes organizational change typically fails when management "fails to communicate the new vision to employees" (Dirndorfer, Jones and Mento, 2002). Therefore, it is important to continually communicate expectations to all levels of the hierarchy in order for employees to feel empowered to facilitate change. Managers' who assist employees' empowerment share information with all levels, assist in problem solving when needed, task autonomy, self-management within teams, and attitudinal training (Gupta & Kurian, 2006).

During a company's change process, one can expect resistance to implementing changes. Resistance to change should be recognized and managers should "welcome it as a healthy response and an opportunity to openly debate possibilities and treat resistance as a powerful ally in facilitating the learning process" (Atkinson, 2005). There are multiple barriers that can affect the change process: fear of the unknown, loss of control, disruption of relationships, peer pressure, and fear of failure. For example, fear of the unknown occurs when a company attempts to implement changes without communicating and "grapevine rumors fill the void" (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2004). Gossip, assumptions, and fear spark the grapevine effect and administration must tackle the rumors "head on" to prevent tantalizing effects (Atkinson, 2005). Another reason employees resist change is the loss of control. The CEO of Synergetic Solutions, Inc. implemented strategies to improve operational efficiencies and production standards by re-engineering the organizational structure to operate in a team-based approach. The company also allowed employees to increase skill levels and knowledge by employing certification and training programs. These strategies allowed individuals to feel a sense of belonging and desire to implement changes that positively affected the organization and employees. Before restructuring departmental relationships, the company had to ensure a team-based approach would benefit the organization. Disruption of relationships cause "group dynamics to be thrown into disequilibrium" (Kinicki and Kreitner, 2004). A company should consider