OB assignment essay on: Leading Organizational Change

Organization is an entity which binds the employees, itself and the technology. Change is permanent that helps in managing from present state to the desired state addressing various organizational and individual issues. It requires involvement of people, understanding of the current situation, and its requirements in future. Organization change process is large collection of actions which ultimately support the change initiative. Before initiating any change it is being evaluated from stakeholder’s viewpoint. It requires a proper understanding of the business imperatives. The changes which are categorized in organization are of four types. They are known as contextual, content, process & criterion changes. Content change focus on the conditions of the organization and the result based on the individual and organizational performance. Contextual change is a kind of change that focus on external and the internal environments. Process change is a kind of change which deals with sequence of activities and the initiatives to tackle with the external, internal and individual problems. Criterion change is based on the ability to handle various outcomes or the situations. An organization can develop well if it is able to manage these various types of changes. The various reasons why organizations need to change are to adjust into right situations, manage the required things, search for opportunities to grow, and originate as a new entity (Harold S.Resnick   2012).

Organizational change process invites lots of disagreements and contradictions. It is a going process but is not a smooth sailing process. To implement a successful change it requires a proper change plan and a dedicated team to handle it (Mind Tools   2012). According to Kotter’s there are 8-Steps to manage the change. First step is to create urgency, which means to identify what are the company’s opportunities that could be exploited. Second step is to form a coalition which means to identify the leaders from various department of the organization who can convince people for the change process. Third step is to create a vision for change which means the ideas & initiatives which revolve around the organization should align with the company’s mission and vision. Fourth step is to communicate the vision that will determine the success by addressing the issues of the employees. Fifth step is to remove the obstacle by the proper recruitment process, framing appropriate Job Description, and recognizing people. Sixth step is to create short term wins that will motivate the employees to perform well & to manage the change. Seventh step is to Build the change which explains that victory should not be declared too early rather should learn about Kaizen process which means continuous improvement. Last Step is Anchor the changes in Corporate which explains that tell the success stories repeatedly to recognize the performance & contributions of key leaders. There can be various reasons for change and some of them are the mergers and acquisition between companies, restructuring of the management, Using of new technology, and relocation of business buildings & premises. The key elements for successful change in the organization are proper long term planning, appropriate channel of communication, empowering people, effective use of resources, establish forums for discussion purpose, and conducting workshops for the training purpose. In 1951, Kurt Lewin has also explained how organizations can lead to the change process. There are three stages of change (Clinical Psychology USA   2011). The three stages are Unfreezing, Moving to a new level changing, and Refreezing. Unfreezing is the method which makes people to overcome with the old process which was not so effective. Moving to a new level of change include change in thoughts, feeling and behavior. It can be made transparent to people by the process of communication. Last step is Re-freezing which helps in stabilizing and combining with new pattern. There are various pillars of organizational change process such as Strategic Planning, company leadership, client and market, Data & Information Analysis, Human Resource, Process management & Business Standards, and Business Results. There are various types of Organizational changes (John Wiley & Sons   2012). Planned change is the process of taking deliberate action at organization. Emergent change takes place when it needs to respond on a spontaneous external factor. Episodic change is discontinuous in nature and is radical. Continuous change is an ongoing process. Developmental change is taken for the improvement process in any organization. Transitional change process is taken when the organization want to change according to its requirement. Transformational Change takes place when the individual & his thought process try to get the desired result. Whole Systems change process takes in an organization when it wants all the constituents part to change accordingly. To manage change in any organization leaders need to have certain characteristics like Goal Setting, Resource allocator, Risk Evaluator, setting a habit of acculturation and supporting process & structure. Organization transition is a phase which manages two distinct conditions like present and future. The process starts due to changes in the external environment related to technology, employees and etc. The Leaders need to have various skills to manage the change in the organization. Political skill is required to understand the change game. Analytical skill is required to take the appropriate decisions. People management skill is required to work well in a team. System skill is required to manage the external and internal system as well as the subsystems. Business skill is required to manage all the activities and also to understand the work. Leadership qualities like participative, supportive, directive, which is also required to manage the change (Benson Payne Ltd   2007).The other competencies required by the change agents are mentality to accept the suggestions, emotional stability, Problem solving approach, Active listener, proper time management, and Unbiased. There are various change management strategies like Normative, Rational, Power and Action-based strategies. Normative strategy believes in changing norms, attitude, of an individual which leads to change in the behavior. Rational Strategy emphasize on changing for the self interest. Power Coercive strategy is required for the application of power at work. Action-Centered Strategy focuses on implementation of the solutions and solving the problems (Technology Partners International, Inc   2009). For implementing the above strategies we need to design the Change framework properly. Implement the strategy by making it clear to all the employees. The last step is to deliver the desired output by engaging the leaders as well as the employees. The people mindset changes during implementing the change process in any organization. According Rosabeth Moss Kanter people change as per situations like denial, emotional, Resistance, acceptable and a committed person. Denial is a typical change in the early stage of change. Emotion is expressing anger, anxiety and fear. Resistance is having the negative quality in oneself. Acceptance is the process of agreeing towards the change. Commitment is the process of cooperation and collaboration at work (Linkage   2012). To implement the change process some sort of development is also required in an organization. Power and leadership have got significance impact on Organizational change. Power is an ability to influence the decision making process. Leadership is the ability to show the direction and help in decision making process. David McClelland has defined the needs in terms of Power, Achievement, and affiliation. To implement change he has said that achievement helps to excel at our work. Affiliation states the belongingness towards the organization. Power is of two types, and they are personal power and Organizational power. Personal Power is of two types. Expert power based on skill and knowledge. Referent Power is based on individual resources. Organizational Power is of three types such as coercive, reward and expert power (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc    2010). Coercive power is based on fear. Reward power is an ability to distribute something. Legitimate power is based on ones position he is holding. Empowerment is also a process to implement a successful change. Empowerment will help in providing autonomy to the employees and they can understand the change process easily. Leaders need to implement certain qualities within employees before they implement the change strategy like empathy, objectivity and self awareness. While implementing a change process technology should be one of the competitive strength. New innovation and technology management provides a competitive edge over others. Organization need to manage the technological challenges recognizing its importance, getting the line management concerned, taking corrective action, anchoring strategic planning, budgeting, and creating relationships with vendors. For implementing successful technological change it should be organized, realistic, and helpful in achieving the goals of the organization (Wharton University of Pennsylvania     2012). Change is also vital for the growth & survival in this competitive business environment .Many Researchers have offered valuable insights to enrich the leadership qualities to have a successful implementation of the change management process (Harvard Business School   2012). Organization wants to seize the emerging opportunities as soon as possible to have the stability in the market. The change management strategy will differ from one organization to the other because the difference lies in the resources, staff, technology, structure, management, style, system and etc. The legal associations of the companies or the organizations also differ in terms of their standards and their growth. If the change process is not being accepted by the employees and by the management then it becomes very problematic situation for the organization to have its stability (Enlightened Leadership Solutions   2012). Employees also need to have a positive behavior and an attitude of acceptance towards the change management process. Change according to time helps the organization to develop its employees and itself. It has been often seen that during the change management process the conflict arises expertise leaders must be there to deal with such situations. In such case practical live examples of the organizations should be given to the employees and explain about the benefits of the change management process. It is about managing the impact of some core activities that hampers the organizational performance. Effective change helps to focus on technology, employee’s involvement, and work process. Change must be from top to down to provide the clarity about the vision, and also anticipate tomorrow’s environment. Every change implemented should form a cyclic process for implementing and developing the strategies. The management must be able to identify the gap from the change management process. It is a process of continuously renewing directions, capabilities and the structure. New rules and regulations must be there as the change process is being implemented. Whenever any change is announced in the organization it will affect the individual differently. During the change management process the strategy formed must focus on vision, capability building, Program Management, and deploy the change from top to bottom. We also need to design the change model to coordinate with Information Technology, Process, and etc. The implementing phase will help in measuring holding and tracking the realities. The process of lead to organizational change will help in building the leadership team, accept cultural interchange, and design the program. It will also help in identifying the major change agents, create proper communication channel, and also facilitate from top to bottom. It also helps to confront the reality and demonstrate faith within the organization. The change management should also focus on the soft side of employees. 

If you want OB Management Assignment Help study samples to help you write professional custom essay’s and essay writing help.

Receive assured help from our talented and expert writers! Did you buy assignment and assignment writing services from our experts in a very affordable price.

To get more information, please contact us or visit www.myassignmenthelp.Com