Assignment – Organization and Management

"Change management entails thoughtful planning and sensitive implementation, and above all, consultation with, and involvement of, the people affected by the changes."
In today’s context people’s thinking patterns are different and therefore their requirements vary.
There is no room for an organization that could survive without meeting these modern needs of the clients. With the introduction and revolution in the technology more things have become automated and elimination of the involvement of human has been given prominence in several sectors. For an example customer turnover of a Bank counter has been diverted to the machines which provide most of the services. All data are being saved in a computer server and no ledger books are maintained. Also certain changes are subject to make the process easy and convenient.
Therefore, it is important for an organization to change its structure, technology or the people, to meet the requirements of this rapidly changing competitive business oriented environment. In addition some of the other external factors are also reasons for some changes in an organization.
Particularly, changes in the economic factors and the rules & regulations of the country will affect the conduct of business of an organization. Sometimes certain internal factors also force on the change to the organization such as change in its strategy of business or activities, changes to the work force and employee attitudes.
Though the changes happen in different ways these will directly affect the employees and the clients of an organization as well. Therefore the changes also need to be managed properly without creating a disaster as these changes are being faced by human beings finally who are more sensitive and emotional. Unwillingness to accept the change by them has become a challenge to the managers of an organization.
Firstly, organization needs to identify the sectors or the areas where the change is needed and should have a descriptive process & procedures in implementing the same. This cannot be a temporary arrangement as change processes involve considerable cost to the organization.
Changes involve considerable cost to the organization. Therefore, the organization should critically evaluate & identify areas that really need to be changed should conduct preliminary & final testing sessions before implementation of a change. Allocation of funds needs to be budgeted well ahead considering every aspect. Evaluation of alternatives and selecting the best option of the process to the change is another challenge to an organization.
Above all, the most important aspect which should be considered as crucial is managing the human factor that is being affected by the change. Therefore, it is paramount important to recognize the strength and weaknesses in their qualities, ideas, expectations, age groups, experience and the competencies of the people who could be affected by the change.
Obviously the reluctance from the employees has to be met at the initial stage as the fear on them about the new arrangement. Their resistance to adhere to the new setup is due to several reasons.
Some of them lack confidence and lack of competencies on adapting to the new environment,

unclear about the new role and the new job description, uncertain about the present job security due to work involved. The perception about the change is incompatible with the organization goals and above all they are comfortable with the present arrangement.
For an example In a large organization with increasing number of employees and their salary scales meeting the pension payments could be a burden to the organization and as a prudent move, a leading private bank decided to dissolve the pension scheme by distributing the built up funds in the pension payable account to the eligible future beneficiaries those who are employed at present. The employees started to make comments about the change and scared about losing their entitlement which is very important after the retirement. At this stage clear awareness and constant communication was passed through reporting lines that foreign expertise were brought down for this purpose and fair allocation will be done considering their number of years of service, present position levels, present salary scales, progress mechanism to the fund and other benefits like obtaining loan facilities against the entitlement.
In another example when a new paperless system is introduced for an operational procedure through network and to avoid hard copies and thereby to save paper cost and also to save the time of correspondence internally. There could be a resistance from the users as they are not familiar and have fear of mistakes that could happen during the process which can affect the job and feel it as a threat. Therefore, proper training program needs to be arranged and constant supporting hands should be provided till they get used to it.
In the second example above, the change is a technical factor and this could be done with a proper plan but the first example really hits on the minds of the people affected as it is to be done with their attitudes and emotions which are more complex.
Any change to the present practices or environment of any place or in any organization must be done step by step to a plan with appropriate time schedule. It is prudent to have preliminary talks about the change where everyone starts discussing the matter as initial step and awareness is made through. This would bring some feedback in different ways according to the perceptions and attitudes of the people affected. Thereby people can be involved in the process. Also constant communication regarding the change should be maintained throughout the process and encourage them to be flexible, could be vital to make them accept the new change.
Nevertheless, there will be characters who still oppose and not willing to accept the change.
They are always pessimistic with negative mindset and try to oppose. While opposing they discourage others as well which is worst. Therefore, providing correct descriptive information explaining the real gain and honest approach towards achieving the target is important to convince the affected people. High level of patience and tolerance is required in this regard. In this as a final resort the organization has to remove or set aside these people without much damage to the process.
In conclusion, today’s business organizations are subject to rapid changes due to continuous change in the external environment and people’s thinking patterns. Therefore, it is a challenge to

the organization to adopt these changes if it is to survive. In adopting the changes of the said environment and the clients, the organization need to make changes to its current structure, systems & processes and people etc.
Making changes could be disastrous unless they are well planned and managed since it could affect the main stakeholders of the organization particularly as employees internally & clients externally. The most challenging factor to be considered in a change is the human aspect that is being affected by the change. People are emotional and resistant to change as they are comfortable with the present arrangement. Therefore, when applying the coercive and legitimate powers managers have to be more cautious in handling them in a change, but rewarding power may useful for same. Change cannot be imposed forcefully in all occasions.
Thus, change management need careful analysis and planning with sensitive implementation.
Further, considering the suggestions and views of the people who will be affected, gives them confident and make them flexible to accept the change. Therefore, the process of change will be easier as their involvement make them committed.

References

1. http://www.businessballs.com/changemanagement.htm

2. www.slideshare.net