Factors for Managing Change

University / Undergraduate
Modified: 12th Oct 2020
Wordcount: 2094 words

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Executive Summary

This report focused on organizational change with real-world examples.  Change is inevitable in any form of organization and changes occur continuously for the better future of the organization.  Change has power to bring fortune and improve the working efficiency in any organizations but changing strategies should have clear road map where the organization is moving. Good changes in the organization will enhance profit margins and satisfaction of both employees and the customers. However, changes are not always in positive path if care are not taken on right, bad change can lead the organization to worse even collapsing or bankruptcy. Therefore, the change to occur must be planned, organized, directed, controlled and channelled effectively to avoid the uncertain circumstances in the organizations. Overall there should have good leadership quality well experienced in the leader and forefront managerial1 to move the organization forward.

The report also highlights some theories of management that was come up by the management thinkers2 at different times. The management models provide basic hints on nature of change and to transect to proposed state more effectively with better performance.    

Real-world example used in this report is introduction on new product in IGA3 store. IGA store is located at Taylor Road, WA. The new products are just adding up some new lines of muffins on existing well flavoured muffins.

The topic includes an introduction, research scope & method, real-world example, theoretical review, change implemented, change required, overcoming of change and conclusion.

1. Introduction

Anything in this world is under mutations for shaping a brighter future.  Organizational change means improving performance within the organization and can be partially or entirely such as change in structure, strategies, operational methods, technologies, or organizational culture. Therefore, every organization is under continuous processes striving in their best way in this competitive world.

For instance, a household as an organization, a change should take in accordance with field situations such as climatic conditions, neighborhood circumstances, internal management factors and so on…. for livelihood of the family’s welfare. Change is inevitable and must occur irrespective of organization’s sizes.  If the changes are not taken on time, then the outcome will be not as expected, and underperformance may lead threat to self-reliance and sustainability. The same applies to any organizations whether private or Governmental through change can get the best out of any resources spent.

Thus, change is the major driving force for any organization to be innovative and experiment with new systems and technologies in today’s globalization. The final goal of bringing change in the organization is long term sustainability.

1.1 Scope of Change

Change has the power to bring a fortune in the organization if it is applied at the right time with appropriate strategies. Organizational change happens to transit from current state to desired future. Change is required because of two major factors such as internal and external, so introducing change removes or reduces the resistances of those two factors and improves working efficiency eventually enhances profit margins and satisfaction of both employees and the customers.

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Change can be a failure too if changing strategies are not aligned with the organization’s change requirement which can affect company badly and at worst even collapsing or bankruptcy. Change occurs must be planned, organized, directed, controlled and channeled effectively to avoid the uncertain circumstances.  Overall there should have good leadership quality well-experienced forefront managers as a driving force of the change to move forward to desired state.

1.2 Research Method for Change

While preparing for change, organizations should go through an investigation on the change requirement and causing factors. Factors can be either internal or external that impacts a huge effect on the success or failure of an organization.

External factors are beyond the control of organization leaders, but those factors can overcome through anticipation and can adjust to these factors to keeping organization on track. However, internal factors are composed within the organization and leaders are main driving force. The way how forefront managers tackle internal forces will have a major impact on the future of organization.

In this report, research methods are followed as below.

  1. Review literature and understanding of change requirements in today’s globalization
  2. Understanding of change theories come up by different management thinkers of different times
  3. Identify the different types of change in an organization and its preparedness for the change.
  4. A simple change occurred as real-world example.

In next session,  will deliberate with a real-world example relating the theories that great management thinkers of different times have come up with the theories and models basically to handle new proposed change depending on the business environment and this will more understanding how change is crucial for an organization to prosperity and progress.

2. Real-world Change

As an example, this report will focus on the introduction of new products in the IGA store. IGAs are common chain of supermarkets in Australia dealing with groceries and general products and also an active competitor next to Coles, Woolworths and Aldi. These stores are under Metcash control but individual IGA are owned independently. Similarly, IGA in Taylor road is one kind run by the owner in rich and busy suburb. The store is opened for 24X7 delivering services to the customers even in odd hours. Deli section is busiest every day amongst many dealing varieties of food itemsranging from precooking to the cooked and ready serving in choice of customers. Though the shopping list differs from one to another, muffins are common items in every list, people just love to eat at any time either breakfast, lunch or dinner. However, the diversity of muffins in the store was only four kinds and it was deemed necessary to introduce more different flavor muffins upon the existing to provide better options of liked flavors.  Five new flavors of muffin products were introduced immediately in the store and this makes of nine variety flavor muffins in total.

3. Theoretical Review 

The organizational changes are nonstop for sustainability, it should occur either planned or unplanned. Different management thinkers have come up with different models at different times, but the following three approaches are widely followed in any change management.

3.1 Lewin’s three-step model:

The most popular theory of change management is Kurt Lewin (1890-1947) theory. The model is simple and applicable to any management changes.  Lewin has divided his model into three stages of unfreezing, change and freeze. 

3.2 Kotter's eight-step plan:

Based on Lewin’s model John Kotter has upgraded the eight-step model. Kotter has mentioned successful implementation of change depends on the eight steps as outlined below. 

  • Create a sense of urgency
  • Establishing a powerful group to guide the change
  • Develop a vision
  • Communicate the vision 
  • Empower staff 
  • Ensure there are short terms win 
  • Consolidate gains
  • Institutionalize the change in the culture of the organization 

3.3 Force field analyses:

In 1951 Kurt Lewin has developed this analysis widely used for decision making, particularly in planning and implementing change programs in organization management.   Force Field Analysis checks and maintains an equilibrium between drive change force and others that resist change. For change displacement, the driving forces must be strengthened, or the resisting forces weakened.  

4. Change Implemented in an Organization

The introduction of new flavors to increase muffin diversity was a change implemented in the organization. There were four existing but additional five different flavors were introduced mainly to provide more options to the customers liked ones to their choice.

5. The Change Required and Expected Benefits

Though the muffins are widely available in other cafes and food courts as well,many often observed are not freshly baked and not well flavored. Either breakfast, lunch or dinner people intentionally come to IGA store for muffins, and some drop-in with other shopping and enjoy it when seen warm and fresh muffins in the shelf, in due course the muffin sale was sharply increased. The change was necessary on the existing muffins to freeze the external force (customers), more muffin diversities were introduced to provide more options of liked flavors. 

6. The Resistance Encountered or Anticipated

Of course, the change was well anticipated from the external forces but somehow the internal (Staff) forces were not in a position to accept this unplanned change immediately. Lack of training, additional hours, management preparedness, prescribed recipes and insufficient supply of ingredients are some to resist from the internal.         

7. Overcoming Resistance to Change

Resistance from the internal is much lighter as compared to external factors. Internal factors are composed within the organization; therefore, the leaders are often called the main driving force.  Above all constraints are in Manager’s hand to tackle and move forward. The manager has just used the Lewin’s classic three-step model for better adoption of change. The constraints were unfrozen and offered better options such as discussions, training, proving proper recipes, making ingredients stocks and monitoring the change frequently until the change are overtaken and then refreeze. 

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8. A Change could have Implemented a more Effective way

As discussed above the inserting a certain change in the well-established market is also a hindrance sometimes because the idea comes ad-hov when the organization is not ready to tackle. If change is not implemented strategically it can be failure too. In this case, the change was very small and transit smooth, however change could have implemented more effectively if management has taken care of  (a) management could have discussed about change with dealing staff a week advance, so that dealing staff get more time to adjust themselves to new working systems, (b) management should have prepared with ingredient stocking, proper recipes and total quantity of muffins to be prepared in day, (c) fixing of certain muffin batches to be prepared in a day and (d) making proper work delegation with time frame. So, following above strategies can build better confidence to tackle the changes in the organization. 

9. Conclusion

As mentioned, change is inevitable any organization must change from one state to another depending upon the internal and external environment. Change can be planned, or unplanned organizations must accept it and change must be prompted to overcome the environmental obstacles. In above real-world example, just putting muffin varieties was a small change and it was unplanned but somehow organization was able to tackle because of external factor demand was stronger than the internal. Moreover, managers are driving force of organization, the quality of leadership possessed by manager have strong capacity to tackle the changes and move forward the organization.

10. References

  • Robbins, Bergman, Coulter. (2018). Management . Australia: pearsonAustralia group.
  • Study.com. (2019, August 12). Study.com. Retrieved from Study.com: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-organizational-change-theory-example-quiz.html
  • Techtarget. (2019, August 12). Techtarget. Retrieved from Techtarget: https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/organizational-change-management-OCM
  • Wikipedia. (2019, August 15). IGA (Australian supermarket group). Retrieved from IGA (Australian supermarket group): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGA_(Australian_supermarket_group)

 

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