Consider an organisational change that you have recently experienced or are currently experiencing. Write a report that considers the potential people issue pressures that managers face to participate in organisational change.
Change is an essential part of every organization. It is important for the company’s growth and development. It is in fact one of the most inevitable aspects of any business. However, dealing with change is also a strategic move that organizations need to adopt. The senior management of the business has the responsibility to ensure that all the planned and unplanned changes in the organization do not have an adverse impact in the business performance as well as employee satisfaction (Cummings & Worley, 2014). There are various people issues that need to be addressed throughout the change process that an organization undergoes. It is important that these people issues are times and effectively addressed so as to ensure employee satisfaction and participation in the change process.
Change management is a strategic move that managers must adopt to ensure that all the employees of the organization support and move forward with the accepted change (Cameron & Green, 2015). This report throws light on the recent change management issue that I am facing in my workplace. The change was very sudden and is adversely impacting employee performance as well as employee satisfaction in my workplace. The change conducted demonstrates ineffective communication and demotivation in employees. The report explains adverse impact of the change as well as recommendations to improvise the same.
The organization in reference is a media agency headquartered in Sydney. I and my team members are journalists and a major part of our work involves writing stories that need to be uploaded on the online platforms. I have been working in the business for over 2 years. On the first day of the job, all the employees are provided a company laptop which has an upgraded system. Over the last few months the company has been facing the problem of absconding employees stealing the laptops. The management of the organization then finds it difficult to trace those employees and their laptops.
Owing to this problem, the organization decided that employees of the business will not be allowed to take company laptops home. The announcement regarding the same was made during the weekly meeting that is conducted every Friday. In accordance to the announcement, the new policy was effective from the coming week, giving employees a mere notice of two days to make arrangements.
The current working hours of all the employees are morning 10 to evening 7. Hence, such a rule will make it difficult for employees to work for the remaining hours of the day. One of the biggest advantage of working as a content writer is the mobility of the job. Moreover, the media industry requires us to be aware and available 24 hours a day. Since not everyone has a personal laptop at home, the absence of a laptop will make it difficult for us to respond to publish events that take place after 7pm.
One of the major issues associated with this change was the way it was communicated. The problem faced by the firm is completely understandable however it is difficult for employees to respond to sudden changes. The moment this policy was announced, there was an immediate retaliation from the employees expressing their concerns regarding the issue. Unfortunately, the decision had come from the head office and there was nothing that our reporting manager could do about the issue. Hence, the retaliation as well as the employee grievances hit deaf ears.
Communication plays a vital role in ensuring that the desired change is adopted and accepted by all the entities of the organization in an effective manner (Burke, 2017). Therefore it is important that organizational changes are communicated in a transparent manner to the employees. This makes it easier for employees to accept the change and make necessary requirements.
It has often been noticed that employees find it difficult to adopt changes of the organization if they have not been a part of the change process. In the given situation as well, the change was simply announced to the employees without asking for their opinion on the same. This not only led to hampering employee performance but also adversely impacted employee motivation in the business.
This model of communication focuses on informing the desired message with a focus on deepening understanding and making sense. Social construction model of communication believes in multiple points of views. The communication between these multiple viewpoints leads ongoing dialogues and it further results into the desired and acceptable change. Applying this model in organizational changes will make it easier for employees to have an increased sense of ownership for the business change.
Unfortunately, inappropriate communication to change builds resistance to change and hence makes it even difficult for employees to accept the change. Moreover, managers must make sure that the exact content of the change is transparently communicated to the employees. Half knowledge of the issue can make employees retaliate further which will bring about negativity in the business.
Leadership is an imperative part of organizational change culture. This leadership refers to the ability of the managers to motivate employees in case of an inevitable and undeniable change in the firm (Goodwin, 2016). In order to ensure a positive reaction to change, managers must put efforts in creating a culture which is willing to change and leading employees in such a manner that they accept the change for the betterment of the business.
The organization in reference has its headquarters in Sydney. However, the organization has over 7 branches across Australia with over 150 employees in each brand. All these branches have their respective branch managers and 7 or 8 team leaders. The top management of the organization are based out of Sydney and they frequently keep visiting all the branches to ensure their effective working and to address grievances if any. Unfortunately, this change policy was adopted by the top management of the business and was communicated to all the branches.
The leadership roles played by the top management of the business play an important role in managing the change at the workplace (Bolman & Deal, 2017). In the current organization, the leadership is not clearly defined. Even though there is a branch manager and team leaders, they are given almost no authority to question or participate in the changes introduced by the top management. It is obvious that the branch managers would have a more clear understanding of the employees in their respective branches. Therefore, at least sufficient authority must be given to them to be able to address such changes.
It is the responsibility of the organizational leaders to identify gaps and lead the change in the firm (Doppelt, 2017). However, it is also the responsibilities of these leaders to manage the team effectively and communicate that change in an effective manner. The leader-dominated approach has various drawbacks including employees’ feelings a lack of ownership and hence retaliating to the changes announced in the business.
An important aspect of effective leadership in any organization is their ability to facilitate interpersonal interactions and positive working relations among the employees of the organization. In the example stated, the absence of decision making leaders in the branch and the inability of the branch managers to respond to employees made the change process more difficult and inconvenient to the employees.
In such a situation an effective leader would be in a better position to address employee grievances, communicate the decision more effectively and also be able to motivate the employee towards the change by yearning a grey ground (Pugh, 2016). The support of a charismatic and coordinated leader during the change process in any business is highly effective for the change to be conducted in a smooth manner.
Conclusion
Change is an inevitable aspect of every organization. It is important that managers of the business ensure that the changes adopted in the organization are not just approached technically but rather employee satisfaction and performance is preserved in the process. For employees to be able to accept the change in a coordinated manner, the following changes are recommended:
Communicate effectively: In order to make sure that employees are able to adopt the change, the communication of the change must be a two way process. Rather than simply announcing the change that needs to implemented, transparent communication with employees, addressing their grievances and attempting to solve their problems is a more effective way of bringing about a change without hampering employee performance.
Employee participation: So as to ensure that employees are able to accept the change that is being introduced in an organization, employee participation should be encouraged. This would instil a sense of ownership in the employees and hence will help them adopt to the change without retaliation (Kaner, 2014). In the given example, if the employees were allowed to participate, it is largely possible that the company would have been able to bring about better policies to address the issue.
Time: The time taken to find a gap and implement a change is very important. This largely effects how employees react to the change. If a major change in the organization is announced suddenly then the employees will retaliate to the change and it would make it difficult for them to accept it. However, if the employees are given a sufficient amount to time, they would be able to prepare themselves and hence this would make it easier for them to adopt the change and grow with it. In the given example, if the employees were given one or two months’ time to accept this change, they would have put efforts into arranging their own laptop device at home and hence the change would not hamper their performance. Such a step would have been a win-win for both the parties.
Leadership: The leader plays a vital role in ensuring that the change process in the organization is effectively implemented and all the employees are able to cope up with the same. The branch leaders are the direct reporting managers to most of the employees. These leaders must have enough authority and sense of responsibility to be able to tackle the change and prepare employee for the same in an effective manner.
Addressing grievances: If any kind of change in the organization is absolutely inevitable and has to be adopted irrespective of time and situation, then the least that could be done is that the grievances expressed by the employees should be addressed in a transparent and understanding manner. This makes employees feel they are heard and that their problems are at least being understood by the management (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Such a level of compassion from the organization can go a long way in instilling trust and responsibility between the employee and their employers.
Change is one of the most unavoidable aspects in any organization. Change is required for the company to grow and develop. Sometimes changes faced by the organization are due to its internal environment and sometime the changes are due to changes in the external environment. In either of the scenarios it is important that the changes are addressed in an effective manner by the management of the organization (Marchington & Wilkinson, 2016). The impact to which these changes would affect the employees must be considered by the management rather than considering the change a technicality.
The organization in reference is a media agency which has recently and suddenly adopted the policy where the employees of the organization would not be allowed to carry the laptops provided by the office to their homes. Such a policy is largely impacting the writers of the business whose job is to ensure that they are able to post the news on online platforms as and when it occurs.
The change adopted by the company is a sign of ineffective communication and misguided leadership. In such a scenario, the employees retaliate which adversely impacts their performance as well as their levels of satisfaction. Such a change can be efficiently managed by the business if it is communicated in advance and employees are given time to prepare for the same. Applying effective change management strategies can lead to smoother process of change which is beneficial for the organization as well as all its employees (Latreille, Saundry & Ashman, 2016).
References
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Burke, W.W., 2017. Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications.
Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage learning.
Doppelt, B., 2017. Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for business, government and civil society. Routledge.
Goodwin, M., 2016. Change management and leadership. In WCOM (World Class Operations Management) (pp. 185-196). Springer, Cham.
Hayes, J., 2014. The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kaner, S., 2014. Facilitator’s guide to participatory decision-making. John Wiley & Sons.
Latreille, P., Saundry, R. and Ashman, I., 2016. Reframing Resolution: Innovation and Change in the Management of Workplace Conflict.
Marchington, M., Wilkinson, 2016. Human resource management at work. Kogan Page Publishers.
Pugh, L., 2016. Change management in information services. Routledge.
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