Discuss about the Managing change and innovation in public service.
Leadership is a critical component of an organization’s success. The ability of a leader to hold together different aspects of organization does not only promote organizational growth but also the growth of the employees. A favorable working environment that is founded on the principles of teamwork and autonomy is a breeding ground for innovative ideas. Innovation and change in the corporate word have gained momentum in the recent years. Organizations have been faced with the need to change and innovate in order to meet the changing need of their consumers, Conform to established legislation and meet other market demands such as competition (Aguilera et al., 2007). In ovation refers to the process through which organization creates value for their services by implementing new ideas. Innovation comes in the form of new products and services or processes, enhancement of the existing systems or processes or the abolishment of outdated processes, systems or services. On the other hand organization change is a process through which organization s change their technologies, operation methods, structures and corporate culture in order to influence critical changes aimed at streamlining operations (Baregheh, Rowley and Sambrook, 2009). Change in organizations can be on a continuous basis or for a specified time period. In this report, I will explore the concept of change and innovation on Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (B.B.K).
Benefits of innovation and change for the Bank
By adopting an innovation, the company will come up with new and more efficient ways of carrying out their operations. Innovation will enable the bank to improve their connection with customers and improve their marketing strategies. Organizations become more competitive when they implement new original ideas that are not necessarily copied from competitors. Through innovation, the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait will be will come new ideas that will attract more customers hence putting the Bank ahead of its competitors (Birkinshaw, Hamel and Mol, 2008).
With the change, comes new strategies and new experiences.Sometimes an organization can get comfortable with routine operations that might not be necessarily the most productive. Change can help bring new faces into an organization. It can also help bring new approaches to routine workflow. Change and innovation will help the organization to introduce new technologies and approaches in its banking operations which will help it become more efficient in its operations (Jay, 2013).
Change and innovation can help an organization to get rid of ineffective systems, technologies, and unproductive employees and replace them with more efficient ones.By adopting change an innovation the Bank will be in a position of streamlining their operations which will help it to reduce its operating costs.
Through innovation and change, the organization will introduce new and better operation strategies that will not only streamline its operations but also increased the overall productivity of its workforce. Systems such as homegrown tracker system will help the organization to monitor the progress of its employees, assign and prioritize tasks. It will also enable the organization to meet the changing organizational need more easily.
Barriers to Change and innovation
Resistance to change is a common phenomenon in many organizations. Some people will even be willing to accept a lower salary to get into organizations that rarely change.Several reasons can make people resist changes.One of the most common reason for resistance to change is the fear that changes might lead to loss of a job or make a job to become more complicated beyond the ability of employees (Armstrong, 2016). Resistance to change can have an impact on organization change as people either become more aggressive or use political influence in order to maintain status quo
Ineffective Communication strategy
Communication is an important aspect of change. Any intended change in an organization must be communicated to every level of the organization to facilitate a smooth transition. Failure to communicate effectively makes implementation of change to be an uphill task. Failure to involve of people at all levels in an organization can make it hard for the organization to implement change (Brown and Osborne, 2012).
Autonomy refers to the ability of employees to make key decisions regarding their job. An organization that values autonomy puts more trust in their employees by eliminating the aspect relying on the top management for all decision making (Crossan and Apaydin, 2010). Failure to give more decision making freedom can hinder their ability to be more creative and innovative which leads to reduced innovation in an organization.
The implementation of innovative ideas in an organization at times might require an organization to be endowed with the resource. While in some organizations this could be a reality, in others, this is used as an excuse by leaders who fear change (Damanpour and Schneider, 2008). Such excuses demoralize employees which affect their ability to come up with creative ideas.
Practical Ways of overcoming barriers to innovation and change
Communication-related barriers can be overcome by initiating an honest and clear two-way communication. This strategy ensures that no inaccurate information is being peddled around. An informed employee is more likely to accept change. Lack of proper a proper communication channel leaves a room for lies regarding the job security of employees and other aspects of change.
One of the main reasons for resistance to change is the lack of employee involvement in the formulation and implementation of change. This challenge can be solved by involving employees in the decision-making process. Apart from making them feel more valued, it will also increase their understanding of what entails the new change. This will make them feel to be part of the change and therefore they will embrace it (Tuominen and Toivonen,2011).
Reducing the reliance of employees on the top management for decision making can significantly improve their ability to be more creative and innovative. In the course of trying to solve complex challenges associated with their job employees are likely to find out more efficient ways of going about their daily work routines. Such ideas can be adopted as innovations that can be used for the benefit of the entire organization.
The challenge of lack of resources can be solved by Organizations setting aside a special kitty for innovation during their budgeting process. This will ensure that no innovative ideas are aborted for lack of resources
Techniques for managing innovation and change
Bureaucracy in organization exists where important decisions within the organization are made by the top management . Bureaucracy, especially in a large organization, has been found to be a huge hindrance to innovation in organizations. Because of the hierarchies that are involved action is slowed which leads to the slow implementation of innovative ideas or lack of implementation (Helfat, et al., 2009). Reducing bureaucracy will lead to faster implementation of innovative ideas within an organization. With the faster implementation of innovative ideas employees are motivated to come up with more innovative ideas. Reducing bureaucracy can, therefore, be used to promote innovation
There is a motivation aspect that comes with rewards and recognition at the workplace. Rewarding individuals or groups that come up with innovative ideas will make the employee become more competitive in coming up with innovative ideas.
A sense of ownership comes by making employees develop a feeling that they are a valuable part of their organization. An ownership mentality can make employees come up with more innovative ideas. It develops in them the reason to go an extra mile in bettering an organization which they are part of (Sarros, Cooper and Santora,2008). Creating a sense of ownership makes employees understand that their efforts matter in the success of their organization. This makes them become more involved in organization matters.
In organization change, communication strategies should be prioritized. Effective communication is important in both pre-implementation and post-change implementation. A communication strategy ensures that employees are informed of the impending changes and their likely impact on their individual jobs (Quatraro, 2009). It also ensures that there is a well-defined channel that can be used for the monitoring of the change implementation process. This strategy usually involves important timelines and channels of communication that are to be used in the process.
Involvement of stakeholders in all stages of the change process can be an effective change planning, monitoring, and review tool. Through involvement, stakeholders get a firsthand understanding of what the change entails. It also gives them an opportunity to monitor every stage of the change process ensuring that all stages are as per the initial plan (Mayle, 2009).
Communication is an integral aspect of change in any organization. There is need to exchange ideas and get the feel of the people within an organization regarding the change at hand. Effective Communication can ensure successful implementation. Several reasons make communication an important consideration in change management . The most important is that communication informs stakeholders about an impending change in an organization, the reasons why the change must be prioritized as well as the impact of adopting and failure to adopt the change. Through communication, stakeholders are able to understand the role that they will play in the change process (Dobni, 2008). They are also able to understand how they will benefit from the change which makes them be part of the change. Failure to communicate can leave room for rumors associated with the change to spread within the organization leading to resistance to change. Communication, therefore, facilitates a smooth transition within an organization by ensuring that everybody is part of the change and eliminating the potential resistance to change
Both positive and negative effects can result from innovation and change within an organization. Change and innovation directly affect people and teams within an organization.
A change aimed at streamlining the operations of an organization can have a direct impact on the productivity of employees and teams. Changes such as the introduction of new technologies in an organization or introduction of an organizational culture that values teamwork or the change of organizational leadership can make employees and teams more efficient .more efficiency leads to increased to productivity (Ford, Ford, and D’Amelio, 2008).
For organizations that offer rewards and recognition to the creators of the most innovative ideas, unhealthy competition can arise. People tend to compete within their groups by creating the most innovative ideas in order to be rewarded and recognized. Internal competition can hinder teamwork making an organization to be counterproductive (Lindgardt et al., 2009).
Apart from pay related causes of employee turnover, employees can also leave their organizations where they feel that their abilities are underutilized. Organizational changes such as giving more autonomy to employees can increase employee satisfaction hence reducing the rate of employee turnover.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Innovation and change are important components of organizational success. Some of the benefits that come with change and innovation in an organization include improved employee productivity, increased the competitiveness of an organization, reduced costs and introduction of new approaches in an organization. However, barriers to change such as resistance to change, ineffective communication strategies, lack of resources and employee autonomy can have an impact on the change process. Such changes can be overcome by adoption of appropriate communication increasing employee autonomy and setting aside a fund for supporting innovative initiatives within an organization can overcome these barriers to innovation and change. Change an innovation can also affect individuals and teams within an organization by making them productive, improving their levels of satisfaction and reducing their turnover rate. However, it can also lead to unhealthy competition within teams.
References
Aguilera, R.V., Rupp, D.E., Williams, C.A., and Ganapathi, J., 2007. Putting the S back in corporate social responsibility: A multilevel theory of social change in organizations. Academy of management review, 32(3), pp.836-863.
Armstrong, L., 2016. Barriers to innovation and change in higher education. URL: https://www. tiaainstitute. org/public/pdf/barriers-to-innovation-and-change-in-higher-education. pdf (???? ?????????: 22.03. 2016).
Baregheh, A., Rowley, J., and Sambrook, S., 2009. Towards a multidisciplinary definition of innovation. Management decision, 47(8), pp.1323-1339.
Birkinshaw, J., Hamel, G., and Mol, M.J., 2008. Management innovation. Academy of Management Review, 33(4), pp.825-845.
Brown, K. and Osborne, S.P., 2012. Managing change and innovation in public service organizations. Routledge.
Crossan, M.M., and Apaydin, M., 2010. A multi?dimensional framework of organizational innovation: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of management studies, 47(6), pp.1154-1191.
Damanpour, F. and Schneider, M., 2008. Characteristics of innovation and innovation adoption in public organizations: Assessing the role of managers. Journal of public administration research and theory, 19(3), pp.495-522.
Dobni, C.B., 2008. Measuring innovation culture in organizations: The development of a generalized innovation culture construct using exploratory factor analysis. European Journal of Innovation Management, 11(4), pp.539-559.
Ford, J.D., Ford, L.W. and D’Amelio, A., 2008. Resistance to change: The rest of the story. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), pp.362-377.
Helfat, C.E., Finkelstein, S., Mitchell, W., Peteraf, M., Singh, H., Teece, D. and Winter, S.G., 2009. Dynamic capabilities: Understanding strategic change in organizations. John Wiley & Sons.
Jay, J., 2013. Navigating paradox as a mechanism of change and innovation in hybrid organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 56(1), pp.137-159.
Lindgardt, Z., Reeves, M., Stalk Jr, G. and Deimler, M., 2009. Business model innovation: When the game gets tough, change the game. Own the future: 50 ways to win from The Boston Consulting Group, pp.291-298.
Mayle, D., 2009. Managing innovation and change. Strategic Direction, 25(6).
Quatraro, F., 2009. Innovation, structural change and productivity growth: evidence from Italian regions, 1980–2003. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33(5), pp.1001-1022.
Sarros, J.C., Cooper, B.K. and Santora, J.C., 2008. Building a climate for innovation through transformational leadership and organizational culture. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 15(2), pp.145-158.
Tuominen, T. and Toivonen, M., 2011. Studying innovation and change activities in KIBS through the lens of innovative behavior. International Journal of Innovation Management, 15(02), pp.393-422.
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