essay on management change

• Undergraduate
• High School
• Architecture
• American History
• Asian History
• Antique Literature
• American Literature
• Asian Literature
• Classic English Literature
• World Literature
• Creative Writing
• Linguistics
• Criminal Justice
• Legal Issues
• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Political Science
• World Affairs
• African-American Studies
• East European Studies
• Latin-American Studies
• Native-American Studies
• West European Studies
• Family and Consumer Science
• Social Issues
• Women and Gender Studies
• Social Work
• Natural Sciences
• Pharmacology
• Earth science
• Agriculture
• Agricultural Studies
• Computer Science
• IT Management
• Mathematics
• Investments
• Engineering and Technology
• Engineering
• Aeronautics
• Medicine and Health
• Alternative Medicine
• Communications and Media
• Advertising
• Communication Strategies
• Public Relations
• Educational Theories
• Teacher's Career
• Chicago/Turabian
• Company Analysis
• Education Theories
• Shakespeare
• Canadian Studies
• Food Safety
• Relation of Global Warming and Extreme Weather Condition
• Movie Review
• Admission Essay

Annotated Bibliography

• Application Essay
• Article Critique
• Article Review
• Article Writing
• Book Review
• Business Plan
• Business Proposal
• Capstone Project
• Cover Letter
• Creative Essay
• Dissertation
• Dissertation - Abstract
• Dissertation - Conclusion
• Dissertation - Discussion
• Dissertation - Hypothesis
• Dissertation - Introduction
• Dissertation - Literature
• Dissertation - Methodology
• Dissertation - Results
• GCSE Coursework
• Grant Proposal
• Marketing Plan
• Multiple Choice Quiz
• Personal Statement
• Power Point Presentation
• Power Point Presentation With Speaker Notes
• Questionnaire
• Reaction Paper
• Research Paper
• Research Proposal
• SWOT analysis
• Thesis Paper
• Online Quiz
• Literature Review
• Movie Analysis
• Statistics problem
• Math Problem
• All papers examples
• How It Works
• Money Back Policy
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• We Are Hiring

Change Management, Essay Example

Pages: 3

Words: 909

Hire a Writer for Custom Essay

Use 10% Off Discount: "custom10" in 1 Click 👇

You are free to use it as an inspiration or a source for your own work.

We live in an increasingly competitive world because globalization has increased trade between countries, opened more markets to the market players, and human and capital resources have become more mobile than they were in the past. Thus, it has become even more important to successfully manage change so that organizations continue to learn and evolve in order to remain competitive and maintain profitability. Different change process theories have been proposed over the last few decades such as Lewin’s Change Management Model, ADKAR Model for Change Management (ADKAR), and Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model.

Lewin’s Change Management Model proposes that change be bought in three steps which have been called Unfreeze, Change , and Refreeze in the model. The first step is Unfreeze which means that the organization should challenge the existing culture and work practices and prepare everyone for an impending change. The management also explains why a change has become inevitable and how it will benefit the organization and all the stakeholders involved in order to secure everyone’s support. The second step is Change where the actual steps are taken to implement change and new behaviors and work practices are adopted. The third step and the final step is Refreeze when people have started embracing the changes. Thus, it is time to establish the new changes as the norm (MindTools).

ADKAR is a goal-oriented change management model. ADKAR breaks down the change process into multiple steps and the results are evaluated at the completion of each step to determine whether the stated objectives were achieved or not. The benefit of ADKAR is that it helps to identify specific factors that may be working against the overall change process and address those specific factors. ADKAR model is composed of two dimensions which are Business dimension of change and People dimension of change. Business dimension of change includes elements such as business need or opportunity, project definition, business solution, proposed processes and systems, and implementation of the solution. People dimension of change includes elements such as awareness of the need to change, desire to participate, knowledge of the final form of change, ability to implement the change, and reinforcement to keep the change in place (Prosci).

Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model as the name suggests, consists of 8 steps which are establishing a sense of urgency, creating the guiding coalition, developing a chance vision, communicating the vision for buy-in, empowering broad-based action, generating short term wins, never letting up, and Incorporating changes into the culture(Kotter International). In short, Kotter’s model provides a step by step guidance to implement change and is more specific than other models which is not surprising since it is relatively new. Thus, it has the added benefit of taking into account the challenges being faced by most organizations in their quest to introduce flexibility. The model introduces a step-by-step guidance to successfully pave the way for a flexible culture within the organization.

People usually resist change because it means learning new skills and doing things different from what they are used to. Some fear their performance will be negatively affected. People are also interested in as to how the changes may impact them and behave accordingly. Because change is often adapting to new way of doing things, the fear of unknown also results in resistance (Peter Barron Stark Companies). If the change is expected to make the organization lean, some people would oppose it especially if it means loss of power and authority. The paste experience may also result in opposition especially if the previous experience resulted in disappointing outcomes. Some think that because the organization seems to be doing fine, there is no reason for change. Moreover, change always carries some risk and different people have different attitude towards risk. The people may also resist change if they feel the decisions are being imposed on them without taking into account their concerns and opinions.

The managers/leaders can take several steps in order to secure the support of the subordinates and other stakeholders. First of all, the management should communicate to the stakeholders as to why the change is being implemented. People are more likely to support change if they can see the relationship between the desired change as well as the organizations’ overall objectives. Second, the management should involve subordinates in the discussions and seek their opinions/feedback. When people feel their opinions are being listened to, they will be more willing to cooperate.

The management should communicate how the change will impact/benefit the subordinates in order to ease their concerns as well as make them aware of the benefits that will flow to them from the change. The management may also tie a portion of the employees’ overall compensation plan to the progress in organizational change. This will give the employees an incentive to contribute towards the success of the overall change process. The management should also take efforts to keep the employees informed of the progress because this will help build trust between the management and the subordinates. Some employees may be skeptical of their ability to adapt to change so the management should provide training wherever needed in order to help employees feel comfortable in the new working environment.

Kotter International. (n.d.). The 8-Step Process for Leading Change . Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.kotterinternational.com/kotterprinciples/changesteps

MindTools. (n.d.). Lewin’s Change Management Model . Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_94.htm

Peter Barron Stark Companies. (n.d.). Why Employees Resist Change . Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.peterstark.com/why-employees-resist-change/

Prosci. (n.d.). “ADKAR” – a model for change management . Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.change-management.com/tutorial-adkar-overview.htm

Stuck with your Essay?

Get in touch with one of our experts for instant help!

The Decline of Spain Bibliography, Annotated Bibliography Example

Impact of Obesity and Knee Osteoarthritis, Essay Example

Time is precious

don’t waste it!

Plagiarism-free guarantee

Privacy guarantee

Secure checkout

Money back guarantee

Related Essay Samples & Examples

Voting as a civic responsibility, essay example.

Pages: 1

Words: 287

Utilitarianism and Its Applications, Essay Example

Words: 356

The Age-Related Changes of the Older Person, Essay Example

Pages: 2

Words: 448

The Problems ESOL Teachers Face, Essay Example

Pages: 8

Words: 2293

Should English Be the Primary Language? Essay Example

Pages: 4

Words: 999

The Term “Social Construction of Reality”, Essay Example

Words: 371

Change and Change management: A Business Essay

• Introduction

Change and change management are two common terms used in organizations today. In some instances, it has been noted that they are used interchangeably though they have different meaning. Change is movement from the current position to a future position through a transition state while change management is supporting the individuals affected by the change during the transition state and adapt to the new organizational paradigm (Burnes, 2014, 9-10). The industrial revolution which started in Britain and spread to other parts of the now developed world initiated the scientific management which saw a shift from the traditional way of business to the new approach. It was realized that the traditional management was no longer relevant in achieving the objectives that came as a result of the capitalist economy. Large companies and the governmental institutions started to shift to a better management approach that was viewed as more ideal. In the modern world, change is perceived as a continuous process and both the employers and labour force have to catch up in order to remain competitive in the market.  This synopsis is meant to establish change and how it has evolved with time, how change is managed in an organization, and the challenges that face change and change management. This will be done through review of available literature on the topic of change and managing change.

• Background information

During the industrial revolution, it was realized that the approaches to labour that were used were not enough to steer companies to the realization of the new goals and objectives. Excessive research was carried by several people who wanted to have the optimum productive of the employees. Leading the pack were Weber, Taylor and Fayol who coined scientific management in the 19 th century. Though they were writing form different environments and constraints, the idea was behind the approach and the proponents were the same. Classical approach as is commonly referred to changed the whole perception on labour and that organizations were just made of individuals. It came into being as managers realized that the methods used then were inconsistent to responding to new challenges and opportunities. However, the classical approach soon became obsolete. Critics argued that it was limited to a single dimension of the human motivation (Burnes, 2009, 15-30: 2014, 15).

The classical approach began to face opposition both at an intellectual and practical level in the 1930s. Human needs were viewed as dynamic and money was not the only thing that gave motivation to the labour force. This bore the human relationship approach which was the new paradigm that companies and individual were required to adopt. As expected, it faced opposition from the traditionalists who viewed it a radical system to the already established code of operation (Burnes, 2014, 33-40). A new approach come into being, the contingency theory, which viewed organizations as open ended system each having a unique way that works best for it. It was favoured since it came at a time when technology was increasingly finding applications and being incorporated into management. Many viewed a simple approach to understand compared to the previously developed ways. A company will have good performance if it adopts a structure than aligns their environment, technology and size (Burnes, 2014 74-80).

• Research questions
• What is change and change management as used in the business organizations and governmental institutions?
• How has the approach to change and change managed evolved since the dawn of the new thought during the industrial revolutions?
• What are the barriers to change and what are the mandates given to the management team during the execution of the different strategies?
• Literature review

Competition and globalisation are constantly increasing in the modern world hence change management becoming increasingly important. A systematic view of change management has been proposed that provides a characterization of change management from the viewpoint of modernism. The approach to changes should be logical and executed in an orderly manner and takes it classification and relationships as alternatives to managing change. The systematic view has three approaches to change management; modernism, post modernism and structuration, which all provide a framework for the developing and an improved understanding of the problem situation which is characterized by diversity and interactions of the organizational change (Cao & McHugh, 2005, 480-488). Managing change is one of the critical parts during the implementation of the new strategies that will make the organization remain relevant in the otherwise competitive markets (Burnes, 2009, 188).

There are several reasons why organizations opt to adopting a new system or structure of doing business. Whether for corrective measures, matching up with the prevailing market trends or even for steering the company ahead, the management at one time will have to make the some decisions that alter the normal approach of doing business (Porras and Silver, 1991, 51). Both the internal and external environments significantly influence how businesses operate and the changes that they can make. Organizational politics, power and culture have significant influence on the process of change since they are key factors to the final decision and implementation process (Burnes, 2009, 250).

The magnitude of change varies which demand different action to be taken by those in authority. Change or success does not require people to do dramatic action but just ordinary things done by the ordinary people in a competent way. Managers have the ability to influence on the course of events and steer people to achieving the desired goals and objectives. In the same way, they are able to lead the subordinate staff into adopting the new set rules and guidelines that are deemed necessarily by the change. Understanding the group dynamics is very vital while dealing with change. In any society, there are the ring leader and the less subtle section that tend to follow the majority side.  Discovering these connections is very vital since the reception of the new ideology, structure or technology will be greatly influenced by these forces within the organization (March, 1981, 563-577).

To have a better approach to the change management, the change process has been characterised as either planned or emergent. The planned change approach was developed prior to the 1980’s(Porras and Silver, 1991, 52-55). According to Lewis Kurt, planned change aims at resolving conflicts by bringing together the various parties; managers, employees and change consultants. During the planned change process, self esteem and performance are significantly affected. The coping cycle was developed to show how people in an organization responded to the implementation of the planned changes. In the initial stages, there is a lot of denial which is followed by defence as people feel threatened by the new approach. The management and the organization as whole then enter the discarding stage where the traditional ways are dropped, adaptation and finally internalization of the changes. This method has been categorically being called the three steps model which include unfreezing, moving and refreezing. It relation to the five stage and effects on both performance and self esteem are shown below.

Figure 1: Relation between the five stages and the three steps model (Adopted from Burnes, 2009, 340)

Emergent change approach counteracts the proposition that there are universally accepted rules for change as proposed by the planned approach method. Rather, it outlines five determinants that affect the success levels of change. Organizational structure, organizational culture, organizational learning, power politics and managerial behaviour are listed as the key factors that should be given considerations while managing change. Change is achieved when all the people actions are linked at all levels of business. Some scholars, however, have proposed some flexible and general guidelines that should be followed under this method. The proponents of this approach argue that the operating environment is changing rapidly, radically and in a very unpredictable manner.  The internal environment is thus forced to have continuous change so that it matches with the trends in the market (Burnes, 2008, 380-410).

• Managing change

The day’s approach and the general views are constantly changing hence the need to adopt the newer systems which lead to a better realization of the set objectives and goals. Dealing with the change is the most challenging part since people are generally resistance and comfortable with the existing methodologies. It has been noted that for people to be more accepting, the end results should be in their favour. Over the last century, there has been varying approaches that companies have used in executions of their mandates. However, it has been pointed out that there has always been a rift between the approaches used by the different parties involved. It becomes crucial that those in power have the know-how on how to deal with the system (individuals) as they undergo through the transition stage and employ the new set code of action. If this is not taken into account, rift and strife will be prominent which will further hinder the process of changes. Understanding change and change management become crucial in order to be in a position to fit in into the new system.

• Barriers to change

To overcome the resistance to change, one should first understand the cause (Peter & Kaeufer, 2000, 1). Several qualitative researches have been done to establish the core issues that impede the process of change. Though done by different authors the core issues that influence how the individuals involved accept or reject change were found to be almost identical (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 28). Peter & Kaeufer (Peter & Kaeufer, 2000, 2) points out that the failure to trust when it matters limits many change initiatives. Some of the key reasons why individuals and organizations resist change include misunderstandings, emotional side effects, lack of trust, fear of failure, personality conflict, uncertainty, fear of outcome, poor training, threat to job and breaking of work group. The weight given to the above factor varies as per individual and the context of application. It is worth noting that throughout the different managerial approaches that have been in force, the factors for the resistance to change have been consistency (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 28).

• Challenging resistance to change

As much as change is expected in any system, people are not always receptive of the new organizational paradigm and in many cases tend to cling on the old methods. The term resistance to change appeared in the 1950’s as authors tried to explain the methods can be used to have a smooth transition. Several authors through research works, speeches and even films in the 1950’s proposed methods that can be used to overcome the resistance to change. They argued that whether it is an administrative, technological or structural change, they will all face some resistance since the problem was psychological at an individual level. Resistance to change is a normal phenomenon that should be expected in any organization. It can be frustrating to managers if their efforts are not implemented by the subordinate staff.  It was shown that the management need to draft some strategies which would help implement the new development and managerial approaches (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 33-35).

The methods that were proposed to be ideal in overcoming change included education, participation by the affected parties, discussion, financial benefit, discussion, facilitation and negotiation and political support (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 28). In this case, it is assumed the resistance to change is more of a psychological problem and to overcome it, one needs to change the mindset of the affected individuals and make them more receptive. Alternatives to this psychological approach, strategies for overcoming change are offered regardless of the intended change. Changes can results to certain negative effects such as loss of status by employees. However, these difficult situations should not be labelled as resistance to change that that perception will further impeded the process of change (Dent & Goldberg, 1999, 28).

• The process of change in an organization

Changes can be termed as episodic or continuous (Quinn & Weick, 1999, 362). Episodic change describes organizational changes that are infrequent, discontinuous, and unintentional while continuous changes is used to group together the organizational changes that are cumulative, evolving and tend to be ongoing (Nutt & Backoff, 1996, 333-340, (Burnes, 2009, 460). Several management practitioners and authors had come up with different approaches to the change process and common cycle that are undertaken for both continuous and episodic change. For example, Mintzberg & Wetsley (1992, 39-59) wrote about detailed cycles of organizational change and how they affect they are affected by internal and external environment of the organization. It is agreeable that the organization should set the right framework for change to be effective. The range of situations that are faced determine to the right approach that should be followed (Burnes, 2009, 432; 2014, 307-8).

The change process can viewed as a triangle with people, objectives/outcomes and planning forming the edges. The process begins with establishing a team that will be involved in planning the change and setting the objectives and the intended outcomes. The people within the organizational are then informed of the new strategy and its implementation process. It is the responsibility f the team to monitor the progress and issue corrective measures to align the progress to the set goals (Burnes, 2009, 460-465).

The driving force behind the change of organizations has been a central and enduring quest by scholars and practitioners in the field of management. It has proved to be hard to find the sequence of events that lead to the unfolding of the events of change. Several theories such as the evolutionary and teleology (Van Den Ven & Poole, 1995, 522) have been developed in attempt to explain the cycles and motor of change. It is the responsibility of the management to steer the organization in achieving the desired change. One of the key problems that the management are facing today is the effects of globalization. The unified market has brought a new edge in sustainability, workforce diversity and business ethics (Hage, 2006, 598-622)

The management is therefore required to devise new ways of approach to and implementation of change (Burnes, 2009, 495-500). They are expected to adapt or shift managerial roles since each single decision they make as far reaching effects and profound implications on within the organization and even in the society. A clear line should be drawn between the role and responsibilities of a manager and a leader and managers meant to understand when and how to act (Burnes, 2014, 430-1).

Change has been described as an inevitable process whether at a personal level or in organization. Since the onset of the industrial revolution, there have been drastic changes in business process as the management of various organizations and corporations try to remain equally competitive in the otherwise stiff market. It has seen the emergence of newer theories and management approaches which were then replaced by newer methods and strategies while in search of the ultimate solution. The systems have been known to be very opposing to changes despite the positive outcome. Individuals as well as the top management have rejected changes that they termed as not in their favour or against their beliefs. This has resulted to a new genre of management that deals with specially managing the change and the change process.

• Burnes, B. (2009). Managing Change. Harlow: Pearson Educational Publishers.
• Burnes, B. (2014). Managing Change (Sixth ed.). Pearson Educational Publishers.
• Cao, G., & McHugh, M. (2005). A S ystemic View of Change Management and Its Conceptual Underpinnings. Systemic Practice and Action Research , 18 (5), 475-491.
• Dent, E., & Goldberg, S. (1999). Challenging Resistance to Change. THE JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE , 35 (1), 25-26.
• Frances, W., & Henry, M. (1992). Cycles of Organizational Change. Strategic Management Journal , 13 , 39-59.
• Hage, J. T. (2006). Organizational Innovation and Organizational Change . Annual Review of Sociology , 25 , 597-622.
• March, J. (1981). Footnotes to Organizational Change. Administrative Science Quarterly , 26 (4), 563-577.
• Nutt, P., & Backoff, R. (1996). Fashioning and Sustaining Strategic Change in in Public Organizations . Public Productivty & Management Review , 19 (4), 331-337.
• Peter, S., & Kaeufer, K. (2000, October 04). Creating Change. Execurive Excellence , 2.
• Porras, J., & Silver, R. (1991). Organizational Development and Transformation. Annual Review. Psychol , 42 , 51-78.
• Quinn, R., & Weick, K. (1999). ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT. Review Pyscho. , 50 , 361-386.
• VAn De Ven, A., & POOLE, M. S. (1995). EXPLAINING DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE IN ORGANIZATIONS. The Academy of Management Review , 20 (3), 510-540.

INSTANT PRICE

Get an instant price. no signup required.

We respect your privacy and confidentiality!

Share the excitement and get a 15% discount

Introduce your friends to The Uni Tutor and get rewarded when they order!

Refer Now >

FREE Resources

• APA Citation Generator
• Harvard Citation Generator
• Chicago Citation Generator
• MLA Referencing Generator
• Oscola Citation Generator
• Vancouver Citation Generator
• Turabian Citation Generator

New to this Site? Download these Sample Essays

• Corporate Law Thesis
• Political Philosophy
• Legal Writing Rules
• Sample Philosophy Thesis

Send me free samples >

How The Order Process Works

• Order Your Work Online
• Tell us your specific requirements
• Pay for your order
• An expert will write your work
• You log in and download your work
• Order Complete

Amazing Offers from The Uni Tutor Sign up to our daily deals and don't miss out!

Contact Us At

• e-mail: info@theunitutor.com
• tel: +44 20 3286 9122

Brought to you by SiteJabber

• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2002-2024 - The Uni Tutor - Custom Essays. 10347001, info@theunitutor.com, +44 20 3286 9122 , All Rights Reserved. - Terms and Conditions   |   Privacy Policy

The Uni Tutor : We are a company registered in the United Kingdom. Registered Address London, UK , London , England , EC2N 1HQ

Managing Organizational Change Essay

Organizational change is carried out to enhance the functioning of the organization or a section of the organization. Change should not just be done without reason but should be done to improve the organization’s performance. Thus, thorough research is required before embarking on it.

This paper studies the need for change in organizations. It first examines the external and internal environments that affect change. It examines the driving forces of change by focusing on stakeholder analysis, SWOT analysis, and Kotter’s vision on organizational change. It studies the types of change and the major elements of change, resistance to change, and the assessment of change.

Organizational change takes place, especially when an institution changes its general success policy, gets rid of or adds an important practice or department or intends to change its way of operation. It also takes place when an institution advances through various life stages. For development to take place in an organization, it has to go through several changes at various stages in growth (Coghlan, 1994). Managers often strive to achieve success as required by their jobs.

Need for a strategy

Big performing organizations successfully influence their companies more efficiently than competitors and get more than 64% on profit from each worker than next-level performers. Fewer organizations; however view their companies strategically as they should – which is shocking looking at the degree to which institutions potentials and performance steer today’s business importance. Today’s businesses are not well equipped to give the expected business results of tomorrow (Tushman & O’Reilly, 1996).

Various changes are necessary to ensure that strategic objective is totally accomplished. Unfortunately, many organizations change their business strategies into specific and workable plans, but the same extent of rigor is seldom given to the institutional allegations of the strategy (Ford & Ford, 2009).

Efficient organizational strategy allows an organization to grow into a company that can convey its strategy. Organizational strategy shows the importance of change in an organization and gives the strategy of the business plus a workable plan to execute the change.

Causes of Organizational Change

The technology used in organizations is often replaced over time. This implies that an organization requires to be open to innovation in technology. The skills of employees also need to be improved with the improvement in technology. Organizations which are not ready for change are less likely to exist in the coming years (Laurie et al., 2006). Organizations that want to be successful must be ready to embrace change and adapt to new environments.

Organizations undergo transformation times that can lead to stress and reluctance. Organizations must advance in production technologies, make new products demanded in the market, improve the skills of its workers and instigate new systems of administration. Organizations that successfully adjust are always profitable and respected. Managers are supposed to compete with every aspect that has an effect on their organizations (Tushman, Reilly & Charles, 1996).

Factors that affect the environment are clustered into external factors and internal factors. External factors include social/cultural, political/legal, physical/natural technological, competitive, and global market factors. Internal factors include the company’s stability, people, attention to detail, innovation, and risk-taking (Kvernbekk, 2011).

External Analysis

No organization can exist without the influence of other organizations. It has to interact with others over time, including the customers, stakeholders, the government, suppliers, and unions (Coghlan, 1994). Every organization has responsibilities and objectives connected to each other in the business environment.

External factors manipulating change as mentioned above include social-cultural, political, natural, technological, competitive, and international market factors. Changes in these forces can lead to organizational changes like economic control, relations in the management of labor, production process, and the environment of competition (Isaksen, 2007).

Technology changes over time because of globalization. When a slight change is experienced in technology, organizations reduce their efficiency in costs and their competitive positions are weakened. These companies have to comply with the change and accept the new technology. This means that new software should be purchased affecting the running of the organization.

Given that all organizations export their products, they have to encounter competition in the global market. There are various forces that may influence the competitive place of an organization – these are other companies supplying the same outputs, and consumers that are not purchasing the output.

Any alterations in these forces needs appropriate changes in the organization. With a liberalized economy, there are very many international organizations in the market. This implies that organizations should have to restructure themselves to comply with the new situation (Paton, Beranek & Smith, 2008).

Buyers have constant changing demands on the products and services offered in the market. Organizations will therefore need to change their products to meet the requirements of the buyers (Petrescu, 2011).

Socio-cultural changes are evident in the daily lives of people in terms of their methods of working, needs and objectives. They affect the behavior of the workers in organizations and are as a result of different educational backgrounds, urbanization, self-governance and globalization. Adjustments are therefore necessary to tone with people.

Legal and political factors majorly describe the activities that can be undertaken by an organization and techniques that will be pursued by it in reaching those interests (Kereber & Buono, 2005). Any changes in these factors may influence the running of the organization.

Internal analysis

Any alteration in the internal factors of an organization may demand change. Such changes are needed due to changes in management personnel and insufficiency in present organizational customs. There is always a change in managerial positions within organizations due to retirement, dismissal, promotion or transfers.

Every leader works in whatever way they know best. When a new leader is appointed, he brings in his own ideas with him (Maurer, 2011). Employee – management relationship often changes due to new management. To add on that, the personnel will change their outlook on operations even though there are no changes thereby forcing the organization to change.

The nature of the personnel changes with time. Employees who are above 50 years are loyal and respect their employers. Employees between 30 and 40 years are only loyal to themselves. Employees below 30 years only respect their careers and are loyal to them. The personnel profile is rapidly changing too (Tushman, Reilly & Charles, 1996).

The new generation of employees is well educated and concentrates on personal value and even query the authority of the management. They have a very complex behavior, thus driving them to achieve organizational success which is difficult for the managers.

The stability of an organization is a major internal factor of change. When an organization has financial problems, the management will have to look at every possible alternative for the business to survive. These alternatives may include reducing operations, doing away with programs, which are not profitable and cutting operating costs.

Cutting costs may even mean reducing the number of employees. Downsizing of employees often brings numerous problems caused by overworking, which may lead to employee strikes (Isaksen, 2007). The management usually faces hard times as they are confused on what measure to take. It is important that they consult different constituents to come up with the best solution that will not greatly affect the running of the organization.

Stakeholder Analysis and Management (Kotter)

Stakeholder analysis is not a very simple task to perform. The leader has to come up with decisions that may affect or be affected by needs of stakeholders. Stakeholders have the capacity to oppose changes made in an organization or influence them (Kotter, 1990). Stakeholders’ interest is not only in the financial benefits of an organization but also on its management.

The importance of analyzing the various interests of stakeholders in an organization is to invent a plan that can get the biggest support. This involves doing away with barriers that could hinder the change from taking place.

Stakeholder analysis entails involving stakeholders at every stage of the organizational change to enhance the efficiency of programs and services.

The process of solicitating interests, priorities, and concerns of stakeholders in the initial stages of monitoring and evaluation, helps in addressing the needs of stakeholders and also assists in behavioral change. Involving stakeholders and putting their opinions to account gives prospects to inquire on assumptions and investigate other explanations and add to innovation and learning. It also enhances the acceptance of change (Kotter, 1990).

Identification of Customers, Suppliers, and Competitors (Porter’s 5-Forces Model)

Rivalries usually develop among organizations competing for the same market. Competitors employ methods of advertising, warranties, and competitions of prices to improve their market share in specific industries. Rivalry may sometimes cause slow growth in industries and price cutting and investments of high-stake. Changes that may be introduced in any organization should be positive to give it a competitive edge.

The strength of suppliers is enhanced when a group of companies run them because there will be no substitute products. The organization has no control over these effects. Organizational changes should always be strategized to modify the power of suppliers (Stonehouse & Snowdon, 2007).

The power of buyers is vital. Buyers are capable of pushing prices down and demanding better quality products and services. Buyers are more powerful when they are in large numbers, the products and services are important aspects of the buyer, switching costs are minimal, and the buyer has complete disclosure on supply, costs, demand, and prices. The bargaining power of buyers varies with time and the competitive strategy of an organization.

The threat of new entrants relies on an industry’s economies of scale, switching costs, product differentiation, government regulations, and requirements of capital for entry (Potter, 1998). New organizations can anticipate barriers like technology, labor forces, and strategic planning in the business.

Driving and restraining forces

Driving forces encourage the process of change to have effect. They easen the process of change as they push people toward the direction of change, and cause a move in equilibrium towards change. Restraining forces oppose driving forces. They prevent change as they make people go against change. They therefore influence a shift in equilibrium, which counters the effort of change (Humphreys, 2005).

Passive resistance

This is a method of protest that does not involve any violence against laws so as to force a change. It involves acts like strikes, demonstrations, and boycotts. Passive resistance has characteristics like worrying and complaining about the strategy of change management. Passive resistance is a serious case and needs to be reviewed. It is a distraction that can reduce the pace of the whole organization’s rate of learning and acceptance of the strategy of change management.

Aggressive resistance

Aggressive resistance is expressed in hostile behaviors that show aggression. It can be defined as a personality disorder expressed by negative attitudes and resistance in work-related situations. This type of resistance is manifested in procrastination, stubbornness, and deliberate failures in completing tasks that one is assigned (Ford & Ford, 2009).

Embracing change

For the continued existence of organizations, it is necessary to adapt to new environmental and market demands. Employees and organizations that embrace change are more successful, unlike the resistors who eventually accept change. Sometimes change is so difficult that it is sometimes resisted. The process of change needs determination and vision. During the process of change, motivators, and trainings are necessary. The environment should be conducive enough to allow change.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT signifies the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of an organization. SWOT analysis evaluates the internal weaknesses and strengths of a company with threats and opportunities in its external surroundings. It is an important planning tool when evaluating an organization.

It is founded on the notion that managers can use it to choose the perfect strategy to ensure the success of an organization. An organization’s strength is very important as it grants a competitive advantage over other similar companies. It gives an organization a good position in the market. Organizations should ensure that they do not affect their strengths while implementing changes (Tushman, Reilly & Charles, 1996).

A weakness on the other hand, puts an organization at risk. It is a disadvantage of the company, and it makes it viable to competitive forces (Paton, Beranek & Smith, 2008). Weaknesses need to be scrutinized closely as they can cause the downfall of organizations. Weaknesses may include lack of a clear vision, poor image, poor technology and facilities, and low employee motivation.

An organization should ensure that implementation of any change is aimed at reducing the weaknesses in the organization and not enhancing them. Change should always do away with the weaknesses if not reduce them.

Opportunities are conditions that favor the organization and can be employed for constructive reasons. Opportunities are usually presented by the outside environment, and it is up to the company to maximize on them (Kereber & Buono, 2005).

These opportunities may be brought about by a conducive change in the environment or by the government in making the external environment suitable for them. Examples of opportunities may include new improved technologies, vertical integration, and powerful economies. Leaders should ensure that any change implemented will maximize all the organization’s opportunities.

Not all changes have a positive impact in the organization. External changes may also be a threat to the organizations. Leaders should be able to foresee such probable threats and impact changes that will neutralize the threat. New regulations, economic recession, and cheaper technology are examples of threats. Organizational changes should help in the reducing the effects of these threats and not enhance them.

Kotter’s view on change

Sense of urgency.

For change to take place, it is easier if the whole organization needs the change. A sense of urgency on the need for change needs to be created. This assists in enhancing the initial plan of making things happen (Kotter, 1990). It should be a very convincing talk on the current status of the market and what the organization’s competitors are doing that has necessitated change. If employees start discussing the change, it is as good as done.

This talk should include the identification of possible threats to organizations and demonstrate what could take place in the future. The leader should look at the opportunities that can be exploited by the organization should the change be implemented. Initiate a powerful discussion that will convince the employees and get them thinking.

Consultation to support the argument can be sought from stakeholders and customers that are not directly linked to the organization. Kotter stresses that change cannot be effective if three-quarters of the organization are not for the idea. Therefore, the need for change should be stressed to employees for them to understand and buy into the change (Kerber & Buono, 2005).

Formation of a strong Coalition

People need to be convinced that they need the proposed change. This requires powerful leadership and evident support from the top management in the organization. Change should not just be managed but sustained. A coalition is therefore important to persuade the employees who have different sources of power like political significance, status, and skills.

When the coalition is organized, it should move together as a team and continue to develop the urgency and force surrounding the need for change (Humpreys & Langford, 2008). For a coalition to be formed; the leaders need to be identified and emotional support sought from them. Team building also has to be reinforced in the coalition. Weak areas in the team need to be discovered and filled. The team should also have various employees from different sections and levels of the organization.

Develop a vision for change

Before a vision is developed the organization needs to know its current state and what it intends to achieve from the change. When a vision is clear, employees get to understand the importance of change and why they should embrace it. When employees get the picture of what the change will do for them and for the organization, they will see the reason for change and accept it.

The most important values need to be sought first followed by a statement of the expectations of the change in future. The vision should be executed by creating a strategy that can execute it. The coalition formed should understand the vision and practice it most of the time (Mathews, 2009).

Communicating the vision

Conveying the vision after its formation is very important. The vision needs to be communicated regularly and powerfully to make it more effective. It should also be inclined with everything that happens in the organization. The vision should not just be communicated in meetings but all the time. It should also be employed in the handling of issues in the organization and making of decisions. It should be top of the mind in every employee’s mind and demonstrated by the leaders (Isaksen, 2007).

Do away with obstacles

The above steps done, it is assumed that the employees will concentrate on the changes. Although all this is taking place, the management should ensure that there are no barriers disrupting the process of change. Doing away with obstacles can help in empowering of employees implement the vision and assist the process of change forge ahead.

Types of change

There are three types of change that are interrelated. These are guided, planned, and directed change. Directed change is propelled from top management and depends on authority, conformity, and persuasion. Leaders develop and state the change and try to convince the employees to embrace it, according to the importance of the business, emotional pleas, and logical reasons. Directed change exposes a quick, important approach to initiating change in an institution.

Planned change, which is very common, originates from any point in the organization although it is supported by the top. Leaders of change and initiators look for involvement in and loyalty to change by employing the use of particular actions, categorized through experience and investigations, which moderate the normal opposition and productivity damages linked with directed change (Coghlan, 1994).

Rather than developing and proclaiming a change, planned change gives an approach to the process of change. It tries make people participate in the process of change, recognizing, and supporting major stakeholders to take part in the outline and execution of the change.

Guided change is a completely different type of change. It originates at any level in the organization. It is founded on the loyalty of the employees and their input to the objective of the organization. In the competitive environment of today, this is the best method as it maximizes the skills and creativity of employees, as natural changes surface and develop, reorganizing current models and practices, and analyzing new concepts and perspectives (Paton, Beranek & Smith, 2008).

Guided change is a process of interaction of previous understanding and design, execution, and improvisation, gaining knowledge from the sharing the knowledge with others, bringing about constant re-interpretation and restoration of change as required. This learning contributes to constant enhancement of existing efforts of change and the capacity to produce new changes and resolutions. Each of the above types of changes has their positive and negative effects.

When directed change is not properly utilized, employees are forced to adjust to the reactions of the receivers to whom the change is imparted. These reactions include anger, loss, denial, bargaining, and sadness. Likewise, even as planned change develops a significant potential in the organizations of today when not well used it can lead to major drops in productivity, overcome the employees with its density, and isolate major stakeholders as a consequence of partial participation and good impact in the process.

Planned change has a similar shortcoming when there is no flexibility in the conditions of change. Efforts of planned change many a times restrain the capability of the company to reach its set goals.

To add on that the trouble for commencing and maintaining the change is still put directly on the management, from recognizing the importance of change and developing an image of aspired results to determining which changes are finally feasible (Petrescu, 2011). Guided change if not well employed can play a part in organizational problems, as constant changes and evolutions complicate and frustrate instead of enlightening employees and other major stakeholders.

Driving Forces of change and resistors to change

For change to occur, the driving forces should be more powerful than the preventive forces. A number of employees resist about any type of change. The leaders and managers should be able to handle the opposers of change and pay attention to their fears and remarks. When the opposers realize that their concerns are listened to, they will also give in to other opinions. In some situations, however, resistors of change need to be done away with regardless of their opinions.

Leadership role is very important in the execution of a major change. The leader is required to have a plan that focuses on the launching event, training, and orientation, monitoring, reward, progress report, and institutionalization. The launching event is very important as it gives the leader a chance to state the change with reasons for, and how the employees will gain from it.

The leader is also required to state the major challenges that will come with the change and explain the execution program. This event is supposed to be exciting and inspiring. This can be done by issuing of t-shirts, and souvenirs connected to the change program (Lewis, Schmisseur, Stephens & Weir, 2006).

Change needs employees to act in new ways. It is good to give employees the training and skills that they require for the change. A needs assessment is therefore important to know exactly what is missing and what is needed. Acquiring the correct training program is the next step (Laurie et al 2006). At this point, just-in-time training is advisable.

Monitoring and measuring of the change is important. The results of the change need to measured to know just how good or bad the change is. The leader is mandated to monitor the whole practice and keep the employees up to date with the progress. Execution of any big change needs course rectifications and adjustments.

Rewarding and recognizing the efforts made by the management, and the employees is very important (Maurer, 2011). It builds momentum and motivates people to continue working and embrace the change the more.

Progress reports keep people updated with the process of change. This should be done via the organization newsletters, memos, meetings, videos, and e-mails. The leader should hold meetings regularly with the management to state pressing matters.

Institutionalization needs the absorption of change into the strategies, job descriptions, and the organization’s practices. The company infrastructure should be able to sustain the new changes for the change to be permanent. Revising the manuals and procedures to incorporate the change makes it more permanent (Isasken, 2007).

Implementing an organizational change is not an easy task. The leadership role at this point is very crucial, and the leader must understand the functions and responsibilities of the project manager and employees and his own role in implementing the change.

Cost of change

When a change is very costly, the chances of executing it are very slim. Cheap changes are easily implemented that major changes. Change involves training. Education is not cheap, especially for the entire organization as they may need a week’s training or training until change has been fully executed. Labor changes are also very expensive. Conducting of interviews and employment of new staff is also very costly (Tushman, Reilly & Charles, 1996).

Resistance to change

There are numerous ways in which resistance to change can be conquered. Education and communication assists in realizing the need for change. This can be done by presentations, discussions, reports or journals. For this to work there has to be trust between the leaders and the employees. Employees have to trust their leaders in order to listen to them and follow their orders.

Participation and involvement entails the whole organization. When employees take part in the process of change there is a very small chance that they will resist it. Participation makes the employees committed to the change and enhances the reason for change.

Facilitation and support from the leaders is very important when implementing change. This includes being open-minded, letting the employees share their views, and using their ideas (Kereber & Buono, 2005). They should ensure that the work environment is accommodative and pleasant for workers. Training where necessary is recommended.

Negotiation and appreciation requires the leaders to offset resistance by giving incentives to the employees who cooperate. This may include increasing of salaries and giving of bonuses.

Manipulation takes place when the leaders are choosy on the employees who get news, how much news they give, the accuracy of the news, and when to circulate the news to improve the possibility that the change will be triumphant. Cooptation entails a major role in the process of change (Humpreys & Langford, 2008). The advice of leaders is required to get their support. Manipulation and cooptation ways are not costly, and they manipulate probable resistors of change to embrace change. However, these methods can fail if the employees get to know that they are being deceived, thus destroying the reliability of the leaders.

Benchmarking entails setting up measures of performance by use of relative data on major operations of the organization from competitor organizations in the industry. Management can push organizational change by employing insights obtained from benchmarking on the practices of the industry and the perceptions of customers (Michelman, 2007).

Before going into benchmarking, it is important to ascertain the target customers who describe their particular needs. It also helps in widening the potential industries and customers lying within the benchmarking scope of the company. Classify the drivers of business present for each product and service given by the organization. These can be the major drivers of business capable of managing costs of operation. Statistics about the competitor companies should also be accessed.

This can be derived from government sources, publications or the Internet. The organization’s performance should be compared with that of the selected company. The operation should be on internal, financial, and production matters as compared to the benchmark position of the organization.

The benchmark research should be used to initiate change. The benchmark research assists the leaders in implementing organizational change as it gives explanation for change. On the other hand, business intelligence derived through benchmark research can force internal changes and help organizations in responsibility of its destiny (Tushman, Reilly & Charles, 1996).

Coghlan, D. (1994). Managing organizational change through teams and groups. Leadership & Organization Development Journal , 15(2), 18-23.

Ford, J., & Ford, L. (2009). Decoding resistance to change. Harvard Business Review , 87(4), 99-103.

Humphreys, J. (2005). Developing the Big Picture. MIT Sloan Management Review, 7(1), 96-112.

Humphreys, J., & Langford, H. (2008). Managing a Corporate Culture ‘Slide’. MIT Sloan Management Review, 49(3), 24-27.

Isaksen, S. (2007). The Climate for Transformation: Lessons for Leaders. Creativity and Innovation Management , 16(1), 3-15.

Kerber, K., & Buono, A. (2005). Rethinking organizational change: Reframing the Challenge of Change Management. Organizational development Journal , 23(3), 25-38.

Kotter, J. (1990). A force for change . New York: The Free Press.

Kvernbekk, T. (2011). The Concept of Evidence in Evidence-Based Practice. Educational Theory, 61(5), 515-532.

Lewis, L.K., Schmisseur, A., Stephens, K., & Weir, K. (2006). Advice on communicating during organizational change. Journal of Business Communication , 43(2), 113- 137.

Mathews, J. (2009). Models of Change Management: A Reanalysis. ICFAI Journal of Business Strategy , 6(2), 7-17.

Maurer, R. (2011). Why Do So Many Changes Still Fall? (Part Two). The Journal for quality & participation, 33 (4), 33-34.

Michelman, P. (2007). Overcoming Resistance to Change. Harvard Management Update , 12(7), 3-4.

Paton, B., Beranek, L., & Smith, I. (2008).The transit lounge: a view of organisational change from a point in the journey. Library Management , 29 (1/2), 87-103.

Petrescu, R. (2011). The Importance of Communication in Organizational Change Process. Young Economists Journal , 9(16), 81-84.

Stonehouse, G., & Snowdon, B. (2007). Competitive Advantage Revisited: Michael Porter on Strategy and Competitiveness. Journal of Management Inquiry , 16(3), 256-273.

Tushman, M., & O’Reilly, C. (1996). Ambidextrous organizations: Managing evolutionary and revolutionary change. California Management Review , 38(4), 8-30.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, May 10). Managing Organizational Change. https://ivypanda.com/essays/managing-organizational-change-essay/

"Managing Organizational Change." IvyPanda , 10 May 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/managing-organizational-change-essay/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Managing Organizational Change'. 10 May.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Managing Organizational Change." May 10, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/managing-organizational-change-essay/.

1. IvyPanda . "Managing Organizational Change." May 10, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/managing-organizational-change-essay/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Managing Organizational Change." May 10, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/managing-organizational-change-essay/.

• Managing Organizational Change: Resistance to the Change
• Drunk Driving vs. Texting While Driving
• Resistance to Change and how to Reduce Resistance to Change
• Understanding and Managing Resistance to Organisational Change
• Change Management: Process, Resistance & Solutions
• Why People Should Study Driving?
• Employee Resistance to Change
• Managing Change in an Organization
• Employee Resistance in the Workplace
• Resistance to Organizational Change
• Project Marketing to Improve Project Success
• Quality Management in Organizations
• Designing and Evaluating a Wellbeing Intervention Program
• Factors that May Contribute to Inefficiency in Introducing Company’s Change
• Security Policies in HATI

Organizational Change Management Essay

Managing organizational change.

Change is an ever-present feature that has become a constant in organizational life. This is because change is inevitable for companies that wish to stay competitive and profitable in a shifting environment. However, in employees, organizational change often induces fear and resistance which can have serious damaging organizational consequences. Therefore, it is important to discuss all the ways of how changing work conditions can impact workers and develop coping strategies.

Reactions to organizational change vary from resistance to compliance and the enthusiastic support of the change, though the latter is rather an exception. There are two types of resistance distinguished, active, and passive (Palmer, Dunford, & Buchanan, 2017). Employees engaged in active resistance may sabotage the change efforts, start rumors, undermine the work process, arguing the need for change, and being overly critical about it.

In turn, employees who resist passively seem to agree in person but do not follow what they are told to do. These workers may procrastinate, feign ignorance, and do nothing allowing change to fail. Such passive resistors dislike the change quietly and can even seek a new job without expressing their concerns about the change. Another way of how workers can be impacted by changing work conditions is to become apathetic. In such a case, employees do not resist change but also do not support it; they just serve their time.

However, some workers may show grudging or formal compliance, which means that they do not fully embrace the change but do enough of what is asked of them. Workers who show genuine compliance not only do what they are asked to but also understand the benefits of the change. Employees who show enrollment devote their time and energy to the change implementation and are enthusiastic about it.

Special attention should be paid to individual reactions which have to be considered by change management when implementing change. For some people, the organizational change can appear to be rather traumatic, and they need to go through several stages before accepting it. These stages are denial (a person does not perceive new information), resistance (a person actively or passively resists as the stress increases), and exploration (a person reflects on the benefits of the change). The last stage is a commitment when an individual fully embraces change. However, it should be mentioned that while some employees can go through all these stages, others may become stuck at a certain one.

A suitable plan of action is a key thing in managing change. Change implementation and management is an ongoing process that takes not only time but also the dedication and a high level of expertise. Choosing a change management approach is an important step in successful change implementation. The most widely used models are the DICE model, the ADKAR change model, and the model offered by McKinsey.

The DICE model is used to determine whether a change program will succeed or fail by identifying four factors, which are “duration, integrity, commitment, and effort” (Palmer et al., 2017, p. 321). If the duration is short with frequent reviews, duration scores highly. If an organization has a skillful leader and employees are enthusiastic, integrity and commitment score highly. The factor of effort considers the actual effort the staff needs to exert apart from the current workload. The evaluation results are divided into different categories, which are win zone, worry zone, and woe zone, depending on potential risks (Palmer et al., 2017). The DICE framework allows a change manager to create a plan of action based on identified weaknesses.

The ADKAR model is based on five components, which are awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement (Palmer et al., 2017). This framework is a diagnostic and planning change management tool that can be used for several purposes, in particular, to identify why change is difficult and develop communication strategies. This model pays specific attention to individual perceptions of employees whose enthusiasm and support are key to successful organizational change.

The McKinsey checklist includes several tactics that contribute to the success of the change. These tactics are goals, structures, involvement, and leadership, which allows for saying that the model is concentrated mainly on organizational, management, and leadership properties. By evaluating each of the tactics, a change manager can identify weaknesses of the change and gain insight into what should be improved. The checklist highlights that a successful change is possible only when these four powerful components are combined.

However, all three models are only theoretical guidelines that determine factors that should be addressed rather than explaining how. Organizations must always improve their performance to get a competitive advantage and produce greater profits (Anderson, 2017). An indispensable part of all the above-discussed models is the establishment of the need for change with further communication of this need to all the staff. Clear and timely identification of the need for change contributes to the successful process of transformation.

As a system, an organization depends on several factors that influence its functioning. These factors can be both internal and external and act as reasons for the organizational change. Among external factors, there are geopolitics, hyper-competition, reputation, mandate, demography, and fashion (Palmer et al., 2017). Fashion means following trends in organizational change with a low perspective of achieving benefit. Demographic changes are related to the aging of the workforce and the change in its composition. Geopolitical driving forces are associated with the intensification of global business relationships, technological innovations, and international trade.

Among internal organizational drivers, there is growth, new chief executive, integration and coordination, power and politics, and corporate identity (Palmer et al., 2017). Growth generates problems of a required increase in scope and complexity. Integration and coordination are common problems for larger organizations requiring better communication between different departments. A new chief executive can set a new direction and bring new ideas. Corporate identity provides for a shared goal, which is a valuable asset for any kind of organization. Power and politics drive organizational change and depend on the interests of stakeholders.

A comprehensive leadership model should include the following steps:

• Identification of the need for change based on both internal and external driving factors.
• A clear understanding of the type of driving factors and pressures that trigger organizational change.
• The rationale for what a leader wants to achieve as the result of the change.
• A clear view of the expected effects of a leader’s actions.
• Choosing an appropriate strategy for promoting change.

Depending on the type of change, in particular, the type of pressures driving it, there are different images of a leader. A leader has to act as a director if the change is a result of strategic pressure or low internal efficiency (Anderson, 2017). A leader has to act as a navigator if there are strategic threats. A leader has to act as a caretaker if there is a great number of pressures to an organization that cannot be managed at a time. In such a case, a leader has to care for an organization while it is subject to threats. A leader has to act as a coach if there is a need for coordinated teamwork aimed towards a common purpose. A leader has to act as an interpreter when an organization faces many internal and external pressures and they have to be communicated to the staff.

Any organizational change must be aligned with a clear vision and business idea. In such a case, it will be easier for a change manager to ensure that all the subsequent activities and interventions are coordinated and consistent. Visions help the personnel identify with an organization by motivating people to achieve corporate and personal goals. Whether vision describes a future scenario, the mission is focused on what a company is and what it does (Palmer et al., 2017). Therefore, before reporting a change initiative, it is crucial to do a “revisioning” exercise to determine how well an organization follows its vision and mission.

The plan of an organization’s change initiative thus includes the following components:

• Setting the direction (analyzing mission, vision, and strategy).
• Establishing a sense of urgency. This step involves the examination of market conditions and competitive realities with the identification of weaknesses and possibilities for improvement.
• Applying the opportunities to the vision and mission identified. Developing strategies to achieve that vision by an organization’s resources and capacities.
• Forming a powerful team. The members of the team should have the power and dedication to lead the change among employees.
• Communicating the vision and mission to employees.
• Empowering others to act on the vision. Identifying obstacles to acting on the vision and changing organizational structures that undermine the vision.
• Aiming to achieve short-term wins and motivating employees with monetary rewards.
• Consolidating gains. This step involves the change of policies and structures that do not correspond to the vision of an organization as well as choosing appropriate employees who can implement the vision.
• Shaping the corporate culture following the new vision and mission. Institutionalizing new approaches and linking the behaviors with corporate success.

Speaking of the cultural implications of the proposed plan, it should be mentioned that it includes reshaping corporate culture by the defined vision and mission of an organization. This may entail changes in both the social and cultural values of employees which should be promoted by leaders. If employees lack cultural identity, another component should be added to a plan of organizational change, which is a cultural change program. It should be established to enhance the commitment of staff, improve customer service, and strengthen the identity of an organization.

The selected organization is GE Capital, which is the financial services unit of General Electric. The causes of the organizational change are the following ones: slow decision making, lack of competitive advantage and, as a result, lower than expected profitability of the business, and, finally, lack of internal processes coordination. All the causes should be addressed by planning and implementing a deep organizational change.

The suggested change management model that can be used for summarizing a plan of action is the 7-S framework which considers that successful change depends on several factors (Palmer et al., 2017). They are the structure, strategy, systems, style, staff, skills, and subordinate goals.

In terms of the 7-S framework, the following components of organizational change should be addressed. Speaking of strategy, the product range should be expanded by acquisition. Speaking of structure, there is a need to provide decentralized decision making to give the departments more freedom as well as responsibility for the production processes (Palmer et al., 2017). Speaking of systems, a system of monetary rewards should be established to motivate employees to achieve short-term wins concerning change and thus orient them towards strategic objectives. Speaking of style, a new clear vision has to be created by a change strategy. This vision has to be delivered to employees to promote a performance-oriented focus.

Speaking of staff, the commitment of the personnel should be built to ensure that customers get only the highest-quality services and products. Communication strategies should be elaborated to educate the staff about the importance of quality and efficiency in building the company’s reputation (Palmer et al., 2017). Speaking of skills, special attention should be paid to the training and development of human resources, which is a direct responsibility of the human resources department.

Organization Change Management Essay Conclusion

In some cases, the senior management of the organization should consider hiring specific HR managers to address this component of the 7-S framework. Speaking of subordinate goals, the approach is vision-driven, which means that the organization’s vision has to be regularly communicated to the staff. The expected outcome of the implementation of the given change management model is an increase in profits, a faster decision-making process, improvement of internal processes, and boosted employee morale.

Anderson, D. L. (2017). Organization development: The process of leading organizational change (4th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.

Palmer, I., Dunford, R., & Buchanan, D. A. (2017). Managing organizational change: A multiple perspectives approach (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill Education.

Cite this paper

• Chicago (N-B)
• Chicago (A-D)

StudyCorgi. (2021, January 16). Organizational Change Management Essay. https://studycorgi.com/organizational-change-management/

"Organizational Change Management Essay." StudyCorgi , 16 Jan. 2021, studycorgi.com/organizational-change-management/.

StudyCorgi . (2021) 'Organizational Change Management Essay'. 16 January.

1. StudyCorgi . "Organizational Change Management Essay." January 16, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/organizational-change-management/.

Bibliography

StudyCorgi . "Organizational Change Management Essay." January 16, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/organizational-change-management/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "Organizational Change Management Essay." January 16, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/organizational-change-management/.

This paper, “Organizational Change Management Essay”, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: February 23, 2023 .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal . Please use the “ Donate your paper ” form to submit an essay.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Springer Nature - PMC COVID-19 Collection

Change Management: From Theory to Practice

Jeffrey phillips.

1 University Libraries, Florida State University, 116 Honors Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306 USA

James D. Klein

2 Department of Educational Psychology & Learning Systems, College of Education, Florida State University, Stone Building-3205F, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4453 USA

This article presents a set of change management strategies found across several models and frameworks and identifies how frequently change management practitioners implement these strategies in practice. We searched the literature to identify 15 common strategies found in 16 different change management models and frameworks. We also created a questionnaire based on the literature and distributed it to change management practitioners. Findings suggest that strategies related to communication, stakeholder involvement, encouragement, organizational culture, vision, and mission should be used when implementing organizational change.

Organizations must change to survive. There are many approaches to influence change; these differences require change managers to consider various strategies that increase acceptance and reduce barriers. A change manager is responsible for planning, developing, leading, evaluating, assessing, supporting, and sustaining a change implementation. Change management consists of models and strategies to help employees accept new organizational developments.

Change management practitioners and academic researchers view organizational change differently (Hughes, 2007 ; Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Saka ( 2003 ) states, “there is a gap between what the rational-linear change management approach prescribes and what change agents do” (p. 483). This disconnect may make it difficult to determine the suitability and appropriateness of using different techniques to promote change (Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Hughes ( 2007 ) thinks that practitioners and academics may have trouble communicating because they use different terms. Whereas academics use the terms, models, theories, and concepts, practitioners use tools and techniques. A tool is a stand-alone application, and a technique is an integrated approach (Dale & McQuater, 1998 ). Hughes ( 2007 ) expresses that classifying change management tools and techniques can help academics identify what practitioners do in the field and evaluate the effectiveness of practitioners’ implementations.

There is little empirical evidence that supports a preferred change management model (Hallencreutz & Turner, 2011 ). However, there are many similar strategies found across change management models (Raineri, 2011 ). Bamford and Forrester’s ( 2003 ) case study showed that “[change] managers in a company generally ignored the popular change literature” (p. 560). The authors followed Pettigrew’s ( 1987 ) suggestions that change managers should not use abstract theories; instead, they should relate change theories to the context of the change. Neves’ ( 2009 ) exploratory factor analysis of employees experiencing the implementation of a new performance appraisal system at a public university suggested that (a) change appropriateness (if the employee felt the change was beneficial to the organization) was positively related with affective commitment (how much the employee liked their job), and (b) affective commitment mediated the relationship between change appropriateness and individual change (how much the employee shifted to the new system). It is unlikely that there is a universal change management approach that works in all settings (Saka, 2003 ). Because change is chaotic, one specific model or framework may not be useful in multiple contexts (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992 ; Pettigrew & Whipp, 1991 ). This requires change managers to consider various approaches for different implementations (Pettigrew, 1987 ). Change managers may face uncertainties that cannot be addressed by a planned sequence of steps (Carnall, 2007 ; Pettigrew & Whipp, 1991 ). Different stakeholders within an organization may complete steps at different times (Pollack & Pollack, 2015 ). Although there may not be one perspective change management approach, many models and frameworks consist of similar change management strategies.

Anderson and Ackerman Anderson ( 2001 ) discuss the differences between change frameworks and change process models. They state that a change framework identifies topics that are relevant to the change and explains the procedures that organizations should acknowledge during the change. However, the framework does not provide details about how to accomplish the steps of the change or the sequence in which the change manager should perform the steps. Additionally, Anderson and Ackerman Anderson ( 2001 ) explain that change process models describe what actions are necessary to accomplish the change and the order in which to facilitate the actions. Whereas frameworks may identify variables or theories required to promote change, models focus on the specific processes that lead to change. Based on the literature, we define a change strategy as a process or action from a model or framework. Multiple models and frameworks contain similar strategies. Change managers use models and frameworks contextually; some change management strategies may be used across numerous models and frameworks.

The purpose of this article is to present a common set of change management strategies found across numerous models and frameworks and identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these common strategies in practice. We also compare current practice with models and frameworks from the literature. Some change management models and frameworks have been around for decades and others are more recent. This comparison may assist practitioners and theorists to consider different strategies that fall outside a specific model.

Common Strategies in the Change Management Literature

We examined highly-cited publications ( n  > 1000 citations) from the last 20 years, business websites, and university websites to select organizational change management models and frameworks. First, we searched two indexes—Google Scholar and Web of Science’s Social Science Citation Index. We used the following keywords in both indexes: “change management” OR “organizational change” OR “organizational development” AND (models or frameworks). Additionally, we used the same search terms in a Google search to identify models mentioned on university and business websites. This helped us identify change management models that had less presence in popular research. We only included models and frameworks from our search results that were mentioned on multiple websites. We reached saturation when multiple publications stopped identifying new models and frameworks.

After we identified the models and frameworks, we analyzed the original publications by the authors to identify observable strategies included in the models and frameworks. We coded the strategies by comparing new strategies with our previously coded strategies, and we combined similar strategies or created a new strategy. Our list of strategies was not exhaustive, but we included the most common strategies found in the publications. Finally, we omitted publications that did not provide details about the change management strategies. Although many of these publications were highly cited and identified change implementation processes or phases, the authors did not identify a specific strategy.

Table ​ Table1 1 shows the 16 models and frameworks that we analyzed and the 15 common strategies that we identified from this analysis. Ackerman-Anderson and Anderson ( 2001 ) believe that it is important for process models to consider organizational imperatives as well as human dynamics and needs. Therefore, the list of strategies considers organizational imperatives such as create a vision for the change that aligns with the organization’s mission and strategies regarding human dynamics and needs such as listen to employees’ concerns about the change. We have presented the strategies in order of how frequently the strategies appear in the models and frameworks. Table ​ Table1 1 only includes strategies found in at least six of the models or frameworks.

Common strategies in the change management literature

A = ADKAR (Hiatt, 2006 ); AA = Ackerman Anderson and Anderson ( 2001 ); B = Bridges ( 1991 ); BB = Buchanan and Boddy ( 1992 ); BH = Beckhard and Harris ( 1987 ); C = Carnall ( 2007 ); CW = Cummings and Worley ( 1993 ); FB = French and Bell ( 1999 ); GE = GE CAP model (Neri et al., 2008 ; Polk, 2011 ); K = Kotter ( 2012 ); KSJ = Kanter et al. ( 1992 ); L = Lewin’s Three-step model (Bakari et al., 2017 ; Lewin, 1951 ); LK = Luecke ( 2003 ); M = McKinsey’s 7-S framework (Cox et al., 2019 ; Waterman et al., 1980 ); N = Nadler and Tushman ( 1997 ); PW = Pettigrew and Whipp (1993)

Strategies Used by Change Managers

We developed an online questionnaire to determine how frequently change managers used the strategies identified in our review of the literature. The Qualtrics-hosted survey consisted of 28 questions including sliding-scale, multiple-choice, and Likert-type items. Demographic questions focused on (a) how long the participant had been involved in the practice of change management, (b) how many change projects the participant had led, (c) the types of industries in which the participant led change implementations, (d) what percentage of job responsibilities involved working as a change manager and a project manager, and (e) where the participant learned to conduct change management. Twenty-one Likert-type items asked how often the participant used the strategies identified by our review of common change management models and frameworks. Participants could select never, sometimes, most of the time, and always. The Cronbach’s Alpha of the Likert-scale questions was 0.86.

The procedures for the questionnaire followed the steps suggested by Gall et al. ( 2003 ). The first steps were to define the research objectives, select the sample, and design the questionnaire format. The fourth step was to pretest the questionnaire. We conducted cognitive laboratory interviews by sending the questionnaire and interview questions to one person who was in the field of change management, one person who was in the field of performance improvement, and one person who was in the field of survey development (Fowler, 2014 ). We met with the reviewers through Zoom to evaluate the questionnaire by asking them to read the directions and each item for clarity. Then, reviewers were directed to point out mistakes or areas of confusion. Having multiple people review the survey instruments improved the reliability of the responses (Fowler, 2014 ).

We used purposeful sampling to distribute the online questionnaire throughout the following organizations: the Association for Talent Development (ATD), Change Management Institute (CMI), and the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). We also launched a call for participation to department chairs of United States universities who had Instructional Systems Design graduate programs with a focus on Performance Improvement. We used snowball sampling to gain participants by requesting that the department chairs forward the questionnaire to practitioners who had led at least one organizational change.

Table ​ Table2 2 provides a summary of the characteristics of the 49 participants who completed the questionnaire. Most had over ten years of experience practicing change management ( n  = 37) and had completed over ten change projects ( n  = 32). The participants learned how to conduct change management on-the-job ( n  = 47), through books ( n  = 31), through academic journal articles ( n  = 22), and from college or university courses ( n  = 20). The participants had worked in 13 different industries.

Characteristics of participants

( n  = 49)

Table ​ Table3 3 shows how frequently participants indicated that they used the change management strategies included on the questionnaire. Forty or more participants said they used the following strategies most often or always: (1) Asked members of senior leadership to support the change; (2) Listened to managers’ concerns about the change; (3) Aligned an intended change with an organization’s mission; (4) Listened to employees’ concerns about the change; (5) Aligned an intended change with an organization’s vision; (6) Created measurable short-term goals; (7) Asked managers for feedback to improve the change, and (8) Focused on organizational culture.

Strategies used by change managers

Table ​ Table4 4 identifies how frequently the strategies appeared in the models and frameworks and the rate at which practitioners indicated they used the strategies most often or always. The strategies found in the top 25% of both ( n  > 36 for practitioner use and n  > 11 in models and frameworks) focused on communication, including senior leadership and the employees in change decisions, aligning the change with the vision and mission of the organization, and focusing on organizational culture. Practitioners used several strategies more commonly than the literature suggested, especially concerning the topic of middle management. Practitioners focused on listening to middle managers’ concerns about the change, asking managers for feedback to improve the change, and ensuring that managers were trained to promote the change. Meanwhile, practitioners did not engage in the following strategies as often as the models and frameworks suggested that they should: provide all members of the organization with clear communication about the change, distinguish the differences between leadership and management, reward new behavior, and include employees in change decisions.

A comparison of the strategies used by practitioners to the strategies found in the literature

Common Strategies Used by Practitioners and Found in the Literature

The purpose of this article was to present a common set of change management strategies found across numerous models and frameworks and to identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these common strategies in practice. The five common change management strategies were the following: communicate about the change, involve stakeholders at all levels of the organization, focus on organizational culture, consider the organization’s mission and vision, and provide encouragement and incentives to change. Below we discuss our findings with an eye toward presenting a few key recommendations for change management.

Communicate About the Change

Communication is an umbrella term that can include messaging, networking, and negotiating (Buchanan & Boddy, 1992 ). Our findings revealed that communication is essential for change management. All the models and frameworks we examined suggested that change managers should provide members of the organization with clear communication about the change. It is interesting that approximately 33% of questionnaire respondents indicated that they sometimes, rather than always or most of the time, notified all members of the organization about the change. This may be the result of change managers communicating through organizational leaders. Instead of communicating directly with everyone in the organization, some participants may have used senior leadership, middle management, or subgroups to communicate the change. Messages sent to employees from leaders can effectively promote change. Regardless of who is responsible for communication, someone in the organization should explain why the change is happening (Connor et al., 2003 ; Doyle & Brady, 2018 ; Hiatt, 2006 ; Kotter, 2012 ) and provide clear communication throughout the entire change implementation (McKinsey & Company, 2008 ; Mento et al., 2002 ).

Involve Stakeholders at All Levels of the Organization

Our results indicate that change managers should involve senior leaders, managers, as well as employees during a change initiative. The items on the questionnaire were based on a review of common change management models and frameworks and many related to some form of stakeholder involvement. Of these strategies, over half were used often by 50% or more respondents. They focused on actions like gaining support from leaders, listening to and getting feedback from managers and employees, and adjusting strategies based on stakeholder input.

Whereas the models and frameworks often identified strategies regarding senior leadership and employees, it is interesting that questionnaire respondents indicated that they often implemented strategies involving middle management in a change implementation. This aligns with Bamford and Forrester’s ( 2003 ) research describing how middle managers are important communicators of change and provide an organization with the direction for the change. However, the participants did not develop managers into leaders as often as the literature proposed. Burnes and By ( 2012 ) expressed that leadership is essential to promote change and mention how the change management field has failed to focus on leadership as much as it should.

Focus on Organizational Culture

All but one of the models and frameworks we analyzed indicated that change managers should focus on changing the culture of an organization and more than 75% of questionnaire respondents revealed that they implemented this strategy always or most of the time. Organizational culture affects the acceptance of change. Changing the organizational culture can prevent employees from returning to the previous status quo (Bullock & Batten, 1985 ; Kotter, 2012 ; Mento et al., 2002 ). Some authors have different views on how to change an organization’s culture. For example, Burnes ( 2000 ) thinks that change managers should focus on employees who were resistant to the change while Hiatt ( 2006 ) suggests that change managers should replicate what strategies they used in the past to change the culture. Change managers require open support and commitment from managers to lead a culture change (Phillips, 2021 ).

In addition, Pless and Maak ( 2004 ) describe the importance of creating a culture of inclusion where diverse viewpoints help an organization reach its organizational objectives. Yet less than half of the participants indicated that they often focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Change managers should consider diverse viewpoints when implementing change, especially for organizations whose vision promotes a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Consider the Organization’s Mission and Vision

Several of the models and frameworks we examined mentioned that change managers should consider the mission and vision of the organization (Cummings & Worley, 1993 ; Hiatt, 2006 ; Kotter, 2012 ; Polk, 2011 ). Furthermore, aligning the change with the organization’s mission and vision were among the strategies most often implemented by participants. This was the second most common strategy both used by participants and found in the models and frameworks. A mission of an organization may include its beliefs, values, priorities, strengths, and desired public image (Cummings & Worley, 1993 ). Leaders are expected to adhere to a company’s values and mission (Strebel, 1996 ).

Provide Encouragement and Incentives to Change

Most of the change management models and frameworks suggested that organizations should reward new behavior, yet most respondents said they did not provide incentives to change. About 75% of participants did indicate that they frequently gave encouragement to employees about the change. The questionnaire may have confused participants by suggesting that they provide incentives before the change occurs. Additionally, respondents may have associated incentives with monetary compensation. Employee training can be considered an incentive, and many participants confirmed that they provided employees and managers with training. More information is needed to determine why the participants did not provide incentives and what the participants defined as rewards.

Future Conversations Between Practitioners and Researchers

Table ​ Table4 4 identified five strategies that practitioners used more often than the models and frameworks suggested and four strategies that were suggested more often by the models and frameworks than used by practitioners. One strategy that showed the largest difference was provided employees with incentives to implement the change. Although 81% of the selected models and frameworks suggested that practitioners should provide employees with incentives, only 25% of the practitioners identified that they provided incentives always and most of the time. Conversations between theorists and practitioners could determine if these differences occur because each group uses different terms (Hughes, 2007 ) or if practitioners just implement change differently than theorists suggest (Saka, 2003 ).

Additionally, conversations between theorists and practitioners may help promote improvements in the field of change management. For example, practitioners were split on how often they promoted DEI, and the selected models and frameworks did not focus on DEI in change implementations. Conversations between the two groups would help theorists understand what practitioners are doing to advance the field of change management. These conversations may encourage theorists to modify their models and frameworks to include modern approaches to change.

Limitations

The models and frameworks included in this systematic review were found through academic research and websites on the topic of change management. We did not include strategies contained on websites from change management organizations. Therefore, the identified strategies could skew towards approaches favored by theorists instead of practitioners. Additionally, we used specific publications to identify the strategies found in the models and frameworks. Any amendments to the cited models or frameworks found in future publications could not be included in this research.

We distributed this questionnaire in August 2020. Several participants mentioned that they were not currently conducting change management implementations because of global lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because it can take years to complete a change management implementation (Phillips, 2021 ), this research does not describe how COVID-19 altered the strategies used by the participants. Furthermore, participants were not provided with definitions of the strategies. Their interpretations of the strategies may differ from the definitions found in the academic literature.

Future Research

Future research should expand upon what strategies the practitioners use to determine (a) how the practitioners use the strategies, and (b) the reasons why practitioners use certain strategies. Participants identified several strategies that they did not use as often as the literature suggested (e.g., provide employees with incentives and adjust the change implementation because of reactions from employees). Future research should investigate why practitioners are not implementing these strategies often.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed how practitioners implemented change management strategies. Future research should investigate if practitioners have added new strategies or changed the frequency in which they identified using the strategies found in this research.

Our aim was to identify a common set of change management strategies found across several models and frameworks and to identify how frequently change management practitioners implement these strategies in practice. While our findings relate to specific models, frameworks, and strategies, we caution readers to consider the environment and situation where the change will occur. Therefore, strategies should not be selected for implementation based on their inclusion in highly cited models and frameworks. Our study identified strategies found in the literature and used by change managers, but it does not predict that specific strategies are more likely to promote a successful organizational change. Although we have presented several strategies, we do not suggest combining these strategies to create a new framework. Instead, these strategies should be used to promote conversation between practitioners and theorists. Additionally, we do not suggest that one model or framework is superior to others because it contains more strategies currently used by practitioners. Evaluating the effectiveness of a model or framework by how many common strategies it contains gives an advantage to models and frameworks that contain the most strategies. Instead, this research identifies what practitioners are doing in the field to steer change management literature towards the strategies that are most used to promote change.

Declarations

This research does not represent conflicting interests or competing interests. The research was not funded by an outside agency and does not represent the interests of an outside party.

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Contributor Information

Jeffrey Phillips, Email: ude.usf@spillihpbj .

James D. Klein, Email: ude.usf@nielkj .

• Ackerman-Anderson, L. S., & Anderson, D. (2001). The change leader’s roadmap: How to navigate your organization’s transformation . Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
• Anderson, D., & Ackerman Anderson, L. S. (2001). Beyond change management: Advanced strategies for today’s transformational leaders . Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.
• Bakari H, Hunjra AI, Niazi GSK. How does authentic leadership influence planned organizational change? The role of employees’ perceptions: Integration of theory of planned behavior and Lewin’s three step model. Journal of Change Management. 2017; 17 (2):155–187. doi: 10.1080/14697017.2017.1299370. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bamford DR, Forrester PL. Managing planned and emergent change within an operations management environment. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 2003; 23 (5):546–564. doi: 10.1108/01443570310471857. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Beckhard, R., & Harris, R. T. (1987). Organizational transitions: Managing complex change (2 nd ed.). Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
• Bridges, W. (1991). Managing transitions: Making the most of change . Perseus Books.
• Buchanan DA, Boddy D. The expertise of the change agent. Prentice Hall; 1992. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bullock RJ, Batten D. It's just a phase we're going through: A review and synthesis of OD phase analysis. Group & Organization Studies. 1985; 10 (4):383–412. doi: 10.1177/105960118501000403. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Burnes, B. (2000). Managing change: A strategic approach to organisational dynamics (3 rd ed.). Prentice Hall.
• Burnes B, By RT. Leadership and change: The case for greater ethical clarity. Journal of Business Ethics. 2012; 108 (2):239–252. doi: 10.1007/s10551-011-1088-2. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Carnall, C. A. (2007). Managing change in organizations (5th ed.). Prentice Hall.
• Connor, P. E., Lake, L. K., & Stackman, R. W. (2003). Managing organizational change (3 rd ed.). Praeger Publishers.
• Cox AM, Pinfield S, Rutter S. Extending McKinsey’s 7S model to understand strategic alignment in academic libraries. Library Management. 2019; 40 (5):313–326. doi: 10.1108/LM-06-2018-0052. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (1993). Organizational development and change (5 th ed.). West Publishing Company.
• Dale, B. & McQuater, R. (1998) Managing business improvement and quality: Implementing key tools and techniques . Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
• Doyle T, Brady M. Reframing the university as an emergent organisation: Implications for strategic management and leadership in higher education. Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management. 2018; 40 (4):305–320. doi: 10.1080/1360080X.2018.1478608. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Fowler, F. J., Jr. (2014). Survey research methods: Applied social research methods (5 th ed.). Sage Publications Inc.
• French, W. L., & Bell, C. H. Jr. (1999). Organizational development: Behavioral science interventions for organizational improvement (6 th ed.). Prentice-Hall Inc.
• Gall, M., Gall, J. P., & Borg, W. R. (2003). Educational research: An introduction (7 th ed.). Allyn & Bacon.
• Hallencreutz, J., & Turner, D.-M. (2011). Exploring organizational change best practice: Are there any clear-cut models and definitions? International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences , 3 (1), 60–68. 10.1108/17566691111115081 [ CrossRef ]
• Hiatt, J. M. (2006). ADKAR: A model for change in business, government, and our community . Prosci Learning Publications.
• Hughes M. The tools and techniques of change management. Journal of Change Management. 2007; 7 (1):37–49. doi: 10.1080/14697010701309435. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kanter, R. M., Stein, B. A., & Jick, T. D. (1992). The challenge of organizational change . The Free Press.
• Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change . Harvard Business Review Press.
• Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social science: Selected theoretical papers . Harper & Brothers Publishers.
• Luecke R. Managing change and transition. Harvard Business School Press; 2003. [ Google Scholar ]
• McKinsey & Company. (2008). Creating organizational transformations: McKinsey global survey results . McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from http://gsme.sharif.edu/~change/McKinsey%20Global%20Survey%20Results.pdf
• Mento AJ, Jones RM, Dirndorfer W. A change management process: Grounded in both theory and practice. Journal of Change Management. 2002; 3 (1):45–59. doi: 10.1080/714042520. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Nadler, D. A., & Tushman, M. L. (1997). Competing by design: The power of organizational architecture . Oxford University Press.
• Neri RA, Mason CE, Demko LA. Application of Six Sigma/CAP methodology: Controlling blood-product utilization and costs. Journal of Healthcare Management. 2008; 53 (3):183–196. doi: 10.1097/00115514-200805000-00009. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Neves P. Readiness for change: Contributions for employee’s level of individual change and turnover intentions. Journal of Change Management. 2009; 9 (2):215–231. doi: 10.1080/14697010902879178. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pettigrew AM. Theoretical, methodological, and empirical issues in studying change: A response to Starkey. Journal of Management Studies. 1987; 24 :420–426. [ Google Scholar ]
• Pettigrew, A., & Whipp, R. (1991). Managing change for competitive success . Blackwell Publishers Ltd.
• Phillips, J. B. (2021). Change happens: Practitioner use of change management strategies (Publication No. 28769879) [Doctoral dissertation, Florida State University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
• Pless N, Maak T. Building an inclusive diversity culture: Principles, processes and practice. Journal of Business Ethics. 2004; 54 (2):129–147. doi: 10.1007/s10551-004-9465-8. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Polk, J. D. (2011). Lean Six Sigma, innovation, and the Change Acceleration Process can work together. Physician Executive, 37 (1), 38̫–42. [ PubMed ]
• Pollack J, Pollack R. Using Kotter’s eight stage process to manage an organizational change program: Presentation and practice. Systemic Practice and Action Research. 2015; 28 :51–66. doi: 10.1007/s11213-014-9317-0. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Raineri AB. Change management practices: Impact on perceived change results. Journal of Business Research. 2011; 64 (3):266–272. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.11.011. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Saka A. Internal change agents’ view of the management of change problem. Journal of Organizational Change Management. 2003; 16 (5):480–496. doi: 10.1108/09534810310494892. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Strebel P. Why do employees resist change? Harvard Business Review. 1996; 74 (3):86–92. [ Google Scholar ]
• Waterman RH, Jr, Peters TJ, Phillips JR. Structure is not organization. Business Horizons. 1980; 23 (3):14–26. doi: 10.1016/0007-6813(80)90027-0. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

ESSAY SAUCE

FOR STUDENTS : ALL THE INGREDIENTS OF A GOOD ESSAY

Essay: Change management

Essay details and download:.

• Subject area(s): Management essays
• Reading time: 4 minutes
• Price: Free download
• Published: 16 December 2019*
• File format: Text
• Words: 1,096 (approx)
• Number of pages: 5 (approx)

Text preview of this essay:

This page of the essay has 1,096 words. Download the full version above.

Change is the process of becoming different or undergoing alteration or a transition or going from one phase to another. It is the process of modifying, altering or replacing one thing for another. Many people fear change and doing things differently. Change is something that causes fear in many people as it ask us to let go. It ask us to do things that are different from what is familiar. There are many reason why people fear change. People may not want to change a system that they are familiar with. Workers may not want to embrace a new system that is inferior in many way to the older method of doing things.

Change management concerns using methods to transition team, organizations and people using a variety of methods. This concerns redirecting budget allocations, resources, or business processes. Change management is a tool for change within and organization. Change management uses a structured approach to make sure that changes are implemented as efficiently and smoothly as possible in the hopes of lasting long term benefits. Change management can be considered as a type of structured period of transition from situation a to b in the pursuit of effecting lasting change in an organization. Change management does not have to sweeping or minor. Change management can be from continues improvement to small constant changes to even radical large changes that involved organizational changes. Change management has the ability to be proactive or reactive and can be initiated for a variety of reasons in reaction to an organizations external environment such as legislation, politics or economics or internal factors (Change management, 2011).

There are many reason for change in a company or organization in our modern day society. Globalization and technological innovations have create a rapidly changing business environment. Modern day technology such as cellphones, the internet, computers and other innovations have revolutionized business and fostered an environment of rapid change. Readily available information has created new possibilities and requirements in today’s business climate. Organizational change is even more important in today’s world, but this type of change can often be a difficult thing. Many companies or organizations have a structure and culture that often times reflects traditions built up over decades of time which may be extremely resistant to any type of change good or bad. In the modern day society change is often caused by exterior factors rather than internal factors. Companies that cannot or refuse to adapt to change will be at a competitive disadvantage (Change management, 2011).

Many organizations and companies can be extremely complex and often time company leadership may decide to bring in assistance in making changes within the company or corporation. Organizations will assign people to help making those changes. These individuals are change agents who have the ability to understand and interpret various situations within an organization. The human performance technology field tries to make certain that there is the necessary motivation, skills and knowledge and support is available for workers to perform their jobs at a high level. These change agents may collect information using meetings, worker surveys, and focus groups and individual meetings (Gould, 2015).

In coach image the general idea is that change managers or change agents have the ability to form the organization organizations in specific ways. Similar to a sport teams coach the manager has the capability to shape the teams abilities in pursuit of success. The coach uses specific methods such as creating positive values that are useful for organizational members to draw upon to ensure a succeful outcome. The change manager acts in similar ways to a coach structure certain activities to teach workers or members to solve problems and perform better. School book

The interpreter image concerns the change manager creating meaning for members in the organization. These change agent’s different events, actions and situations within the organization. It is the duty of change managers to explain to staff what these events mean in a manner they can comprehend. With an organization there may be multiple understandings and competing interest. Change interpreters have to have the capability to give logical arguments and reason as to why company actions fit within the situation and should be seen in a legitimate manner.

Sense making helps managers understand different facets that influence interpretations. The  Sense making approach  can be understood in any situation, it offer an approach to the organization with current approaches, it help organization deal with human reality in a continuous process, by helping the organization the action taken (Schouten & Remm, 2006).Sense making approach is a set of meta theoretical assumption that is about a approach to methodology that gives appropriate methods of forming questions, conducting an analyses and gathering information to help come to a substantive theory, Sense making approach gives a more clear idea of how to proceed (Palmer,  Dunford & Akin, 2009).

The Organizational Development (OD) approach as associated with the coach image have been proven to make a great impact on an organization, when coaching is added to an initiative people will have a greater focus on their jobs. Coaching is used  for coaching employees and training, making sure all are up to standards, Coached give an organization a competitive edge an advantage  (Palmer,  Dunford & Akin, 2009).

Sense making approach is a person that has the ability to understand it help human being make sense out of different approaches, this pertains to organizational experiences and how they performed using certain labels, Sense making is a cognitive approach that deal with reality and it help in a continous learning process, it is based on simplifying situations, arriving at a clearer focus (Bien, B., & Mitchel Y., A. (2008). The  Sense making approach  can be understood in any situation, it offer an approach to the organization with current approaches, it help organization deal with human reality in a continuous process, by helping the organization the action taken, it has to do with the perception of chaos,  (Schouten & Remm, 2006). The interpreter’s image   interprets the tone of every intention and feeling of the message , the interpreter determined what an organization needs, they translates the change, they target complex challenges (Palmer,  Dunford & Akin, 2009).The interpreter image is used to create meaning for an organization members,. The coach manageres image  is used to shape an organization, they are used for shaping the organization capabilities our book the interpreters survey multiples goals and how to make them workout (Kerr,  Lance & Rago, 2000). With sense making people want to understand issues and event , that are confusing and how event affects organizational change, it deal with development  and how to grown an organization

...(download the rest of the essay above)

About this essay:

If you use part of this page in your own work, you need to provide a citation, as follows:

Essay Sauce, Change management . Available from:<https://www.essaysauce.com/management-essays/change-management/> [Accessed 05-04-24].

These Management essays have been submitted to us by students in order to help you with your studies.

* This essay may have been previously published on Essay.uk.com at an earlier date.

Essay Categories:

• Accounting essays
• Architecture essays
• Business essays
• Computer science essays
• Criminology essays
• Economics essays
• Education essays
• Engineering essays
• English language essays
• Environmental studies essays
• Essay examples
• Finance essays
• Geography essays
• Health essays
• History essays
• Hospitality and tourism essays
• Human rights essays
• Information technology essays
• International relations
• Leadership essays
• Linguistics essays
• Literature essays
• Management essays
• Marketing essays
• Mathematics essays
• Media essays
• Medicine essays
• Military essays
• Miscellaneous essays
• Music Essays
• Nursing essays
• Philosophy essays
• Photography and arts essays
• Politics essays
• Project management essays
• Psychology essays
• Religious studies and theology essays
• Sample essays
• Science essays
• Social work essays
• Sociology essays
• Sports essays
• Types of essay
• Zoology essays

Home — Essay Samples — Business — Management — Change Management

Essays on Change Management

Benefits of change management, analyzing a company's change management and organizational learning, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

How The Theory Links to a Sustainable Model of Leadership Change Management

Reflective journal on change management unit, leading and change agent in the work environment, the right way for change management, let us write you an essay from scratch.

• 450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
• Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Managing Organizational Change: Lessons and Reflections

The changing in the top management, the kind of framework that would be required in the creation of change, leading change by embracing diversity, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

Restructuring and Change

Case study analysis to investigate whether an airline can cut "turn times" without adding staff, the management model of imaginary change: why this is the basic structure for putting in place key chances at mammoth equipment & exhaust, the significance of governance in the management of nurses, a report on strategic change management and its function, change management in nestle: implementation of erp system, understanding the dynamics of change management, exploring the intersection of leadership and change management, relevant topics.

• Comparative Analysis
• Time Management
• Decision Making
• Business Ethics
• Supply Chain Management
• Leadership and Management
• Project Management
• John D. Rockefeller

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

How to Become More Comfortable with Change

• Kathryn Clubb

Overcome these three (very common) change-averse mindsets.

One of the most common unconscious mindsets is that “change is temporary,” but when you see something as temporary, you tend to cope with it instead of accepting and embracing it. The reality is that change is a constant, and you’ll need to navigate it often in your career.

• The authors identify three common change-averse mindsets: receivers, resistors, and controllers. Receivers see change as something that happens  to  them that shakes up their sense of control.
• Resistors push back against change, falsely hoping it might go away. And controllers find change overwhelming and isolating.
• By consciously examining how you approach change, you can adopt these strategies to move toward a more change-ready mindset, and welcome change as an opportunity.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

The pace of change has increased massively in light of the pandemic. Managing it now requires a strategy akin to whitewater rafting. New and unpredictable obstacles will continue to present themselves every day — and not just for companies, but for workers themselves.

• Kathryn Clubb  is head of  change and transformation  at  BTS , an organization that works with leaders at all levels to help them make better decisions, convert those decisions to actions, and deliver results. After being a partner in Accenture’s Strategy Practice, Kathryn was the Chief Innovator at WHWest, Inc. With decades of experience helping companies transform and execute strategy, Kathryn has extensive experience working with a variety of top global organizations.
• Jeni Fan  is a senior director at  BTS  and leads  change and transformation  for the East Coast of the United States. She serves as a strategist advisor and thought partner to clients undergoing large-scale change: from culture to strategy, to pre- and post-M&A. Taking a human-centered, evidence-based approach, her work focuses on alignment and building sustained systemwide change at all levels of an organization. Her work spans multiple industries and sectors.

Partner Center

Essay on Change Management

Introduction .

Change management is an integral part of every firm as organisational change is inevitable. Improper application of strategies during the process can lead to eventual failure or closure of a firm, as has been witnessed in the business world. Consequently, it is critical for the management of any firm to follow the proper process in implementing change to avoid dire consequences. Diverse models have been propagated to decode the appropriate change process, including Lewin’s change management model and Kottler’s change models. Both of these models recognise that change in any firm is met with resistance owing to several reasons that are explained in this study. Change management follows three stages according to Lewin’s change management model: freeze, change, and refreeze.

Cameron & Green (2015) assert that change in any organisation is faced with resistance from the workers. This calls the managers to embrace the psychodynamic approach to change in the event of managing change. The Kubler-Ross model is the best example of the process that individuals face when faced with change. The model states that if workers envision a change as unfavourable, they undergo a grief process in the order of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. In the denial stage, the employees or workers deny the recommended change, and they tend to stick to the status quo (McGuinn, 2019). They proceed to the anger stage where they realise that they cannot continue denying the change as it is inevitable. Consequently, they mostly exhibit frustrations and anger. They then go to the bargaining stage, whereby they gain a false hope that the incumbent change can be evaded as they look for trade-offs to remain at the status quo. The individual may then sink onto depression in the fourth stage, whereby they familiarise themselves with the change taking note of the downside it causes them while trying to accept the advantage the change brings. The final and firth stage is acceptance, where the workers show stamina emotionally, and they become more retrospective. Cameron & Green (2015) recommend change leadership whereby leaders must be aware of the different phases that individuals working under them face so that they use the right strategies to manage change effectively.

Change Management Strategies

According to Lewin’s change management model, the change process should be done in three main stages, which are: unfreeze, change and refreeze. The process helps in remodelling a firm to accommodate all the required changes. Unfreezing involves recognition or the creation of the need for change. In this stage, the management is concerned with preparing the firm to accept the need for change at whatever level it is needed. Creation of awareness among workers is essential so that nothing eventually comes to them abruptly as that would yield more resistance. The leaders in this stage are expected to manage the doubts and concerns of the workers regarding the change as change is naturally met with resistance, as shown in the Kubler Ross model above Cameron & Green (2015). Unfreezing stage entails preparing the workers to see and accept the need for the change. This stage requires the upper management to fully engage in supporting the workers to understand and see the need for change. Some of the information which may need to be communicated and made clear at this stage includes low sales, poor financial achievements, negative surveys from clients, or data that is clear to all that a change is needed. At this point, the aspect of questioning the current culture, values, behaviours, and attitudes is vital to modify the foundation to ensure that the firm does not collapse (McGuinn, 2019). The second stage of the Lewin’s change management model is called change. This is the stage in which the management begins to resolve any uncertainty that was created in the first stage of the change process. The management also looks into new strategies in which they can do things in the firm. People begin coming on board as they envision the change, albeit this happens gradually. The gradual nature of the process could be explained by the Kubler-Ross grief process model, whereby employees are still getting used to the change while still trying to figure it out. Burke (2021) states that the process of transition is not flawless since most people take time to embrace the changes, and this leadership must be patient and supportive while ensuring the workers take part in the process positively. Communication is highlighted as one of the key tools that the leadership should use in this stage, whereby they often reassure the people, empower them to take positive action, and dissipate all negative rumours. This stage allows the leadership to use their experiences and learn from them, as described in the Kolb’s learning theory. The final stage of the change process, as per the Lewin’s change management model, is the refreeze stage, which only begins when all parties involved are actively involved in attaining the new desired structure. Some of the significant signals that this process has taken shape are a stable working environment and constant understanding of the job descriptions and specifications in attaining the new vision. Clearly, the clear engagement of all workers shows that they understand the vision and are willing to work towards its attainment for the betterment of the economy. The leadership is faced with the need to offer ample support, mainly in terms of training to the workers. It’s impossible to attain the new state with the old mindset, thus the need for new skills and strategies to the workers. The changes are then sustained in the firm only via the deliberate effort of all workers. After a while, these are incorporated into the corporate culture making these embedded in the fabric of the organisation even in later times.

Change management is a process that can be explained using several theories and models. However, most of these all indicate that change is a process that is faced with resistance requiring the management to actively involve and communicate with the workers for an easy transition. As described in the Lewin’s change management model, the process takes three stages which are: unfreeze, change, and refreeze, respectively. Taking time in the first two stages helps the workers get through the grief process of change that is explained in the Kubler-Ross model.

Reference List

Burke, L., (2021).  Restructuring: the game change . American Enterprise Institute.

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015).  Making sense of change management: A complete guide to organisational change models, tools, and techniques (4th Ed. ). Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page.

McGuinn, P., (2019).  Leading  Change . Centre for American Progress.

Cite This Work

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below:

Related Essays

Internal and external business environments, stevens textile co., a discussion on the relationships between globalization and human development, business development proposal, critique of degeorge’s position and argument on whistle-blowing, johnson and johnson case study, popular essay topics.

• American Dream
• Artificial Intelligence
• Black Lives Matter
• Bullying Essay
• Career Goals Essay
• Causes of the Civil War
• Child Abusing
• Civil Rights Movement
• Community Service
• Cultural Identity
• Cyber Bullying
• Death Penalty
• Depression Essay
• Domestic Violence
• Freedom of Speech
• Global Warming
• Gun Control
• Human Trafficking
• I Believe Essay
• Immigration
• Importance of Education
• Israel and Palestine Conflict
• Leadership Essay
• Legalizing Marijuanas
• Mental Health
• National Honor Society
• Police Brutality
• Pollution Essay
• Racism Essay
• Romeo and Juliet
• Same Sex Marriages
• Social Media
• The Great Gatsby
• The Yellow Wallpaper
• Time Management
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Violent Video Games
• What Makes You Unique
• Why I Want to Be a Nurse
• Send us an e-mail

Change and Change Management essay

Changeand Change Management

Student’sname:

Related essays:

• TABLE OF CONTENTS essay
• Viacom Strategic Analysis essay
• Crisis Management in Workplaces Abstract essay
• Abstract essay

Changehas become an inevitable aspect of the modern society. It can eitheroccur within an individual, society or even business organization.With the massive developments being undertaken today, changes havebecome rampant. More so, there are different driving factors behindthe change. For example, technology, business strategies, etc. whenit comes to organizational change, this is the process through whichan organization changes its strategies, methods of operations,structure, technologies or the culture and in turn adopting a new setof each. Change management, on the other hand, is an initiative ormeasures that are adopted by an organization to ensure the changesare effective achieved without negatively impacting employee andorganizational performance (Sofat et al, 2015). Having gone throughtheories and models of change, as well as techniques of changemanagement, this paper will involve the application of knowledgeacquired in answering three questions.

QuestionI: SixEnvironmental Pressures for Change Faced By Managers

Thereare different pressures that are known to force an organization toundergo change (s). The two well know factors are organizationalpressure and environmental pressure. The environmental factors arealso known by the name external factors that cause change.Environmental factors are regarded as factors that emanate fromoutside the organization or else, they are factors that anorganization has very little power over them. One of these factors isthe Geopolitical Pressures. These include long-term re-arrangementthat is experienced or even crises. According to Kotter, the 4geopolitical pressures include technological, maturation and slowdown a greater economic integration and also the fall of nationsregarded as socialist (Benson, 2016). Another factor is the MarketDecline. This whereby whenever there is a decline in the market forgoods and services offered by an organization, it exerts pressure forsuch an organization to remain relevant in terms of being competitivein the market. Thirdly, there is the issue of Hyper-CompetitionPressures. This the way an organization reacts to consumer andcompetition changes in order to maintain top performance within themarket and at the same time attract and maintain their customers.Reputation and Credibility are the other factors under environmentalpressures (Sofat et al, 2015). Every organization has to maintain thereputation and its credibility to the customers. This, in turn,exerts pressures to the managers as they have to balance performance,credibility and reputation. Another environmental related pressure isthe Fashion Pressures. With the demand for modernity, professionalismand to maintain progressiveness, organizational managers are requiredto change the organizations in order to align with the latestinnovations (Palmer et al, 2009). Finally, there is the sixth factorwhich is, Mandated Pressures. Mandated pressures entail organizationstaking in changes such as the ones with other organizations in thesimilar industry due to the demand of the external world such as thecustomers. Mandated Pressures come in two types which are the Formaland informal Coercive pressure.

QuestionII: SixImages of Managing Change and How Each Can Affect an Organization

Focusingon the change implementation process, different images areresponsible for an effective management of the process. For everyorganization to achieve the best or successful change implementation,the different images play different but important roles toward thechange process. These change images in an organization include theorganization Director, coach, Navigator, Interpreter, Caretaker andthe Nurturer. The 6 images are entitled to different functions withinan organization which includes controlling for the director, shapingwhich is done by the coach, the navigator focuses on intended change,and finally there is the partially and unintended change.

Fig1.1 Images of change (Nalband, 2016).

Eachof the 6 images has a different effect on an organization and more soduring the change implementation process. The directors provide theright tools for change implementation. This includes making theenvironment conducive for the change implementation and managementprocess. In the case of the coach, he ought to ensure that, the rightset of skills, values that look to be the best are drawn to theprocess of change management. This, in turn, helps to achieve thedesired organization results both in change and performance. Thenavigator, on the other hand, ensures the control of the process iseffective as it is the heart of change management process (Nalband,2016). Ineffective evaluation of both external and in term changefactor may result in failure in the process. Hence, it’s thefunction of the navigator to ensure there is an effectivesense-making organizational change. Finally, there is the caretakerand the nurturer who’s their contribution is equally immense to thechange process as it is the change process. Their effect is measuredwith regard to the extent to which any change process is implemented.

Thesix images of change play three key roles in every organization.First is that they make highlights in terms of every assumption thatevery manager in charge of change process ought to make, henceincreasing the awareness in terms of different approaches to change.Secondly, they help towards drawing notable attention to the imagesthat are dominating in terms of the change process in anorganization. Finally, they offer at varying ranges of perspectivesthat may be available to the managers in charge of the change process(Kang, 2015).

QuestionIII: Waysa Manager Can Determine if the Organization Is Ready To Change

Oneof the determinants of change implementation and management successin an organization is the ability to determine the readiness time.Change readiness is the ability of an organization to adapt andrespond to change in such a manner that it gives the maximum benefit,less change resistance and at minimum risk. As a manager in anorganization, it is key to evaluate and understand when anorganization ready for a change. This can be determined through a setof ways. One way is the evaluation of organizational culture. Thishelps the manager to understand, whether the organization culture isflexible enough to absorb change. Secondly, the manager can evaluatean organization change mechanism. For an organization to be passed asready for change, change mechanism should promote clear goals,ability to integrate changes in the already working system as well asbehavior change management. Next, there is the change reaction, whichentails the evaluation of how ready are the rest of the employees andleaders ready for a change (Nalband, 2016). Lastly, there is changeagility and awareness as another set of ways that a manager candetermine whether an organization is ready for the change process.Readiness entails the ability for an organization to refine itselfwhile agility is the ability to engage relevant people in theprocess. Change readiness determination is key to the successfulchange process. This due to the fact that is helps an organization tomaximize the desired results, hence avoiding unnecessarydistractions.

Inconclusion, with the ever cases of change implementation, changes andchange management in organization have become key to their success.Change management is the plan that is adopted within an organizationto prepare and support the change process. Ranging from the internaland external forces of change, to the ways to determine whether anorganization is ready for the change process, every change strategy,approach and process is crucial in every organization.

Benson,D. (2016). Embracing Change: Four Critical Concepts.&nbsp PhysicianLeadership Journal ,&nbsp 3 (3),36-39.

Kang,S. `. (2015). Change Management: Term Confusion and NewClassifications.&nbsp PerformanceImprovement ,&nbsp 54 (3),26-32.

Nalband,N. A. (2016). Change… Changes the change?.&nbsp Journalof Competitiveness Studies ,&nbsp 24 (1),35-49.

Palmer.I., Dunford, R., &amp Akin, G. (2009). Managing OrganizationalChange: A multiple perspectives approach. (2 nd ED.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Sofat,K., Kiran, R., &amp Kaushik, S. (2015). Management of OrganizationalChange and its Impact on Commitment: A Study of Select Indian ITCompanies.&nbsp GlobalBusiness &amp Management Research ,&nbsp 7 (3),69-86.