Change Management

1. Introduction

Change Management is the process of developing a planned approach to change in an organization. It is designed to maximize the organizational and staff members' benefits and to minimize the risk of failure in the process the change implementation. Both sides have to work together for results. Change management provides organizations with knowledge, tools, and resources of change that provides organizations with a key process to achieve their business strategies.

Managing changes requires the answers of basic questions such as:

* Where is the organization going and why?

* When does the organization is going to reach the vision?

* How does the organization know if it has accomplish

its vision?

* How does the organizationis going to reach it?

* Whats are the signpost alog the way?

* How does the organization is going to be aware of its success?

* What will the organizations is going to do it and when?

* How is going to provide the guidance

and support along the process of change to the organization?

In different words, the company needs a vision, long term goals, a strategy and an action plan. The company needs to provide an specific purpose and sense of direction, to create a vision and to abolish uncerteainty. In addition, the company has to make sure of the total involvement in the process of change of the stakeholders, in oreder to generate ownership in the change development. It also requieres the company to establish communication structures and channels to make easier the information flow and facilitate effective feedback.

2. Resistance to Change

Resistance to change by organisational stakeholders is an action taken when they perceive that the change that is occurring is a threat to them, and they put a strong restraining force. It is common that individuals resist change not only on emotional fields but for reasonable and predictable reasons. Numerous authors including Kotter cite reasons why stakeholders may resist to the change, most of them include the following factors.

a. Parochial Self Interest

Parochial self interest is problematic because individuals or stakeholders expect to lose "something" valuable as a consequence of the change implementation, it might include factors such as: loss of power, loss of face, additional workload, loss of income, job insecurity.

b. Resentment

Resentment develops either with particular people who are sponsoring change, with change in itself (often called change fatigue), or due to the increased presence of power and authority as a result of the number and range of instructions that almost inevitably flow from management in implementing change.

c. Different Perceptions of Change

There are different perceptions of change. They often depend on an individual's position inside an organisation and how much access to the information do they have, in order to have a clear understanding of the mission of the change itself.

d. Misunderstanding or Lack of Trust

Misunderstanding or lack of trust occurs when stakeholders misunderstand the meaning of the change and they feel that the cost of the change itself is going to be higher than the gain. This is a clear symptom of poor organisational communication.

Few organizations can be characterized as having a high level of trust within the organization or between employees and managers; consequently, it is easy for misunderstandings to develop when the change is introduced.

e. Low Tolerance for Change

Low tolerance for change tends to be based on the fear of being unable to learn new skills or work behaviour. Human beings are definitely limited in their ability to change, some are much limited than others. Organizational change some times requires people to change too much in a small period of time.

It is because of limited tolerance of the individuals for change that stakeholders sometimes resist a change even though they now it is for good. For example, a employee receives a promotion as a result of the organizational change, he or she will probably be very happy. But it is just as possible for this employee to also feel afraid and put some resistance to accept it. A new and very different job will implicate new and different behaviour and relationships. If the changes are significant and the individual's tolerance for change is low, he might begin actively to resist the change for reasons even he does not consciously understand.

3. The main reasons of the failure in the change process

The theories of change management make change look really easy. Then why so many organizations fail implementing change? Change is a process expensive, highly developed and visible, and the result is no often successful (Beer, Eisenstat, Spector, 1990). Despite the best efforts of senior management, the success rates of major change programs are estimated in between 20% and 50% (Fortune 1000). The reason is simple employees and leaders have a different perspective of change. The leaders contemplate; change is an opportunity, while for employees it is confusing and disturbing. One of the complexities of change is that during the time of change trust is extremely difficult to establish. If the organization is in the middle of change effort, lack of trust automatically emerges as a serious barrier. In time of change trust is based on two things: predictability and capability (Duck, 1993). The stakeholders want to know that the process of change n has a predictable, known route, and that they will be treated fairly. They also need to now that those in charge are totally capable of delivering great results.

Increasingly, managers have to take carefully develop, designed and implemented programs for change, this programs must take into account the external world and its pressures, professional groups, and the internal world of the organisation, its culture, rules and staff behaviours.

4. Dealing with Change Resistance

a. Education & communication

Education and communication before starting