In most cases organization find the need to undergo changes in the processes and activities organizations find the need to incorporate some changes to cope up with the demands of the environment. The organizational change is often influenced by the factors that are external to the organization such as changes in market opportunities, changes in funding and changes in technology among other business environmental factors (The University of Adelaide n.d.). Most organizations undergo change in order to overcome the challenges such as increased competition from the international markets, global economic crisis and other external drivers such as government regulations. Therefore, organizations have to undergo the necessary changes and improve the way they deliver services to different customers or how they manage or handle different contingent situation that arise in the organization (The University of Adelaide n.d.).
Many organization face substantial changes and undergo radical transformation processes so that. Therefore, those organizations that intend to succeed in the dynamic environment have to ensure that they are able to adapt to the changes that arise so that they can maintain their competitive advantage and deliver on their strategic objectives. The change management should be comprehensive and lead to the achievement of the desired objectives and create a sense of ownership (Queensland Health, 1999). Effective change management also entails making improvements and building capacity that will help in responding effectively to the future change. The leadership of the change process is very significant since it can either make the change implementation process to succeed or fail. Therefore, the leadership has to play its role in ensuring that the change is effectively implemented. The leadership must inspire the entire organization so that they may implement change effectively.
Managing Resistance to Change
In most cases change is often resisted by the members of the organization. Many change processes that have failed are as a result of the resistance to change initiatives. Resistance to change normally contributes to the delays and added costs when implementing the change and should be taken into consideration when managing change process (Manuela & Clara n.d.). However, in some cases resistance to change is considered as a source of information that can be used to provide a platform on which an effective change process can be developed. Therefore, it has to be considered very carefully so that an organization can implement change more effectively. The main sources of resistance to change in an organization are wrong initial perception of the need for change, low motivation for change and lack of a creative response (Manuela & Clara n.d). During the implementation stage change is also likely to face some form of resistance. The main sources of resistance at this stage are political and cultural deadlocks to change and the nature of leadership such as leadership inaction among other issues.
The leadership has to ensure that change is effectively implemented amid resistance from the different stakeholders. Therefore, the change leader has to ensure that he understand the nature of the resistance so that it can effectively be managed to achieve the goals of change (Lee, 2011). The management should adopt the strategies that help in reducing the resistance to change. One of these ways is involving the interested parties in the planning of change so that their ideas can be incorporated (Harvard Business School Press, 2005). The members should be able to feel that they are part of the change process. The management should be in a position to effectively communicate the need and issues of change (Maltz, 2008). They should also identify the ways in which the needs of those who are affected can be addressed. The change process also needs to be open, transparent and honest so that each member is able to participate. There is also the need to focus on the positive aspects of the change so that people may be committed to change process (Williams, 2011).
Leaders or management can lessen the resistance change by employee by increasing their participation ion the change process. By participating in the change process the employees are able to increase their knowledge about the change and reduce the fear that may be associated with change or innovation (Baker, 1989). It also helps in building the confidence of the employees as they feel some sense of control over the change process.
REFERENCES
Baker, SL. (1989) “Managing Resistance to Change,” Viewed on September 20, 2012 <https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/7649/librarytrendsv38i1h_opt.pdf?sequence=1>
Harvard Business School Press (2005) “Managing change to reduce resistance,” Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press.
Lee, S. (2011) “Managing Resistance to Change,” Business Improvement Architects. Viewed on September 20, 2012 <http://www.bia.ca/articles/chng-managing-resistance.htm>
Maltz, M. (2008) “Managing Resistance to Change,” Viewed on September 20, 2012 <http://triadllc.com/pdf/ManagingResistance.pdf>
Manuela, PV & Clara, MF n.d., “Resistance to Change: A Literature Review and Empirical Study,” Viewed on September 20, 2012 <http://www.uv.es/~pardoman/resistencias.PDF>
Queensland Health (1999) “Managing Organizational Change: How to Guide,” Viewed on September 20, 2012 <http://www.health.qld.gov.au/publications/change_management/man_org_chnge.pdf>
The University of Adelaide n.d., “Leading Change, Transition & Transformation,” Viewed on September 20, 2012 <http://www.adelaide.edu.au/hr/strategic/leading_change_toolit.pdf>
Williams, C. (2011) “Management,” 6th Edition, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, OH.
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