An organizational change is a planned intervention that is implemented by business organizations to improve their processes, operations, productivity and performance. Since the spread of globalization and liberalization, the business world has become highly complex and competitive, which has made market survival tough for business organizations (Carnall, 2018). Because of globalization, the internal and external environment factors are changing at a rapid pace and are forcing business organizations to change as well. Sometimes, business organizations are also required to undergo workplace changes because of shifts in stakeholder interests or just in order to remain competitive (Anderson & Anderson, 2010).
ABC Groups of Hospitals is one of the leading hospitals in Melbourne that provides health related services to almost 1.5 million people in a single year. The hospital was found in 1987 and has been taking care of its patient’s health since then. The hospital was started with just 2 departments but as of today, the hospital specializes in ENT, Geriatrics, Urology, Gynecology, Orthopedics, Cardiology, Rheumatology, Neurology, Gastroenterology, etc. The hospital also has multiple laboratories where all kinds of tests are done. ABC Groups of Hospitals is planning to start its expansion over some major Australian cities and give a stiff competition to some leading hospital chains in Australia.
The hospital has given tough competition to some of the leading hospital chains in Australia but since the past few years, the board of directors has discovered a gradual decline in their patient footfall. After a number of surveys and studies, it was discovered that the hospital had inefficiencies in its patient management process, which was leading to longer queues and waiting times, mismanagement of information, lack of information sharing and communication amongst various departments. To deal with the challenges, the board of directors decided that they need to change their traditional management methods and adapt a new ERP system for managing their work operations and for better Customer Relation Management system.
The change program being planned for implementation at ABC Groups of Hospital is a change being forced by the changing technological factors. The company is still using the traditional paper and pen method to manage their operations while most of the leading hospitals in the world have their own IT wings and ERP software’s, which are being used for management of patient information. The change program is aimed at improving the work operations and efficiency of the hospital by giving up the use of paper and pens and switching to ERP systems for information and patient management. A brief overview of the change program is discussed below:
The objectives of the change program are discussed below:
Resistance to change is a natural process experienced by change managers. It is defined as the resistance that is offered by the stakeholders to a change program when they perceive the on-going or an upcoming change program as a threat to their work life or their personal life. Resistance to change is one the prime reasons that leads to the failure of change programs, which is why change managers are always suggested to be ready to deal with resistance to change.
The change program being planned for ABC Groups of Hospitals is an organization wide change program i.e. it will have an impact on the entire organization. The change is being derived by technological factors, which makes it a major or a transformational change. Hence, the change program will definitely receive a lot of resistance from the stakeholders, especially the healthcare staff. Some factors that might lead to resistance to change are discussed below:
A major barrier to the change program, which might lead to resistance amongst the employees, is the fact that the culture of the organization would undergo a change altogether. From being a traditional type of an organization, the hospital will become a completely technology-based workplace and the employees might not be ready to experience such a major shift in their work culture (Baker, et al., 2010).
Transformational changes require a lot of careful and efficient managerial governance. It becomes important for managers to communicate the vision, mission and the benefits of the change program to the employees. In absence of efficient managerial governance, it might become difficult for the hospital to keep the employees engaged in the change program (Moser & Ekstrom, 2010). As a result, lack of managerial governance and employee management might act as a barrier to the change program.
There are a number of employees at ABC Hospital that have been working since its very foundation and have no prior experience with technology and ERP business suites. For such employees, such a transformational change might not be easy as it would have a huge impact on their work lives. Their work routine will undergo a change and they would also have to undergo extensive training and development programs that would enable them to operate ERP business suites and other information systems, which might also have an impact on their personal lives as they will have to spend more time at work (Hayes, 2018).
At times, one of the greatest barriers to change programs can be unavailability of resources and budget. The change being planned by the management of ABC Hospital is a major workplace change and would require a lot of resources to succeed. The company would have to invest a lot of money in acquiring the required IT infrastructure and also in training and developing their staff so that they are able to use the acquired information systems properly. Thus, unavailability of resources or finances will act as a barrier to the change program (Davies, Nutley, & Mannion, 2000).
Change theories or change models are frameworks developed by pioneers of the subject. These frameworks provide a planned approach, which is used by business organizations and human resource managers to plan, implement and evaluate a change program successfully. There are a number of change models, such as Kurt-Lewin’s change theory, McKinsey 7-S model, Lotter’s theory, Nudge theory, The ADKAR model, Bridge’s transition model, The Satir change management model, etc. and the selection of a model for implementing a change program can vary from one company to another and is largely dependent on the type of change being implemented (Worley & Mohrman, 2014).
For implementing the desired change in ABC Hospital, the management can use the ADKAR model, which was developed by Jeff Hiatt, the founder of Prosci. ADKAR model is a change theory or a change model that guides individuals thorough an organizational change. The model is an acronym and stands for awareness, desire, knowledge, ability and reinforcement, which are five stages of a change management program. In the first stage or the awareness stage, the management of the company will have to spread awareness about the change program and inform all the stakeholders about the importance of the change program. This stage involves a lot of top to bottom communication so that the employees do not develop a fear towards the change program. The second stage or the desire stage is about creating a desire amongst the employees to participate and support the change program. Once the change program is communicated and an awareness is created, the management will have to start implementing strategies to engage the employees in the change program. Once the employees develop a desire to change, the next stage is the knowledge stage in which the management will have to support the employees in acquiring all the skills and competencies that would be required to implement the desired change in their behavior or work operations (EBA, 2016). The fourth stage is to develop the ability that is acquired by the employees through training and development programs in the third stage. In the last stage or the reinforcement stage, the management will have to reinforce the changes that would have been accepted by the employees by rewarding them with monetary or non-monetary incentives. Reinforcement is one of the most important steps in change implementation as failure to reinforce the right behavior amongst the employees can make them switch back to their old behavior, routine or work processes (Mitchell, 2013).
The ADKAR model will provide an analytical approach to the management of the ABC Hospital and would guide them throughout the change management process. By following the change management theory, the management will be able to ensure successful planning and implementation of the change program.
Change agents are those people who help an organization in implementing workplace changes by introducing planned interventions. A change agent can be a person from within the organization or can belong to a third party which is hired to help an organization in implementing workplace changes (Battilana & Casciaro, 2012). The role of a change agent in a change program is described below:
A change agent is required to be eyes and ears of the management and to report all the happenings during a change program to the senior level management. It is the responsibility of a change agent to facilitate bottom to top communication.
A change agent should be the person to whom the employees listen and has the ability to make others follow himself or herself. Such a change agent will always be able to keep the employees engaged and ensure employee buy-ins during change programs.
At times, during a change program there can be conflicts between individuals and groups. In such cases, a change agent acts as a mediator and helps in resolving workplace conflicts.
A change agent is also responsible for counselling the employees by communicating the benefits of the change being implemented and how to will have a positive impact on the stakeholders. By doing this, a change agent can convince the employees to accept a change (Grimsley, 2015).
For ABC Hospital, the change agents can be selected from within the organization as well as from the outside of the organization. The internal change agents can be the head of the departments because they would have a better understanding about the vision, mission and benefits of the change program. Thus, they will be able to communicate it to the other employees as well and will be able to convince them to accept the change program. In this case, external change agents can also be brought in by the management to ensure employee engagement and to buy them in. External change agents can be any member from the firm that would provide information technology solutions to the hospital. Having such a person as a change agent can help the company in creating awareness about the benefits of the change program and the ways in which it would be beneficial to the employees in offering better services to their patients.
The change program being planned by the management of ABC Hospital is completely feasible if the management is able to select the right change agents, as discussed above. With a lot of careful planning and implementation, the management can successfully implement a technological change in the workplace and start its vision of expanding into other major cities. Some positive and negative implications of the change program are discussed below:
The change program being planned for the hospital will require heavy investment of important resources, which makes it important that the effectiveness of the change program is evaluated after its implementation (Hall). The evaluation of the change program can be done using the following steps:
Conclusion
It is not easy for business organizations to implement major organizational changes that require support from each and every person in the workplace. Natural tendency of humans to resist workplace changes also makes the process more difficult but workplace changes have become inevitable and the change being planned for ABC Hospital is a change that it would have to implement sooner or later. If the planned change is not implemented at present, the organization might have to fight to survive in the industry. Therefore, it is important that the management of the organization plans, implements and evaluates the change program using the right techniques and methods, which are discussed above.
References
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Baker, R., Camosso-Stefinovic, J., Gillies, C., Shaw, E. J., Cheater, F., Flottorp, S., & Robertson, N. (2010). Tailored interventions to overcome identified barriers to change: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 3.
Battilana, J., & Casciaro, T. (2012). Change agents, networks, and institutions: A contingency theory of organizational change. Academy of Management Journal, 55(2), 381-398.
Carnall, C. (2018). Managing change. Routledge.
Davies, H. T., Nutley, S. M., & Mannion, R. (2000). Organisational culture and quality of health care. BMJ Quality & Safety, 9(2), 111-119.
EBA. (2016, March 7). ADKAR Change Management: creating change in Individuals . Retrieved December 15, 2018, from EBA: https://www.educational-business-articles.com/adkar-change-management/
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Hall, G. E. (n.d.). Evaluating change processes: Assessing extent of implementation (constructs, methods and implications) . Journal of Educational Administration, 51(3), 264-289.
Hayes, J. (2018). The theory and practice of change management.
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Mitchell, G. (2013). Selecting the best theory to implement planned change. Nursing Management, 20(1), 32.
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