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(ii) Self-Interests:
Secondly, many impending changes threaten the self-interests of a
particular manager or unit. So, he may resist such change.
Below you will find 8 essential steps to ensure your change initiative is successful.
There are several layers of stakeholders that include upper management who
both direct and finance the endeavor, champions of the process, and those who
are directly charged with instituting the new normal. All have different expectations
and experiences and there must be a high level of "buy-in" from across the
spectrum. The process of onboarding the different constituents varies with each
change framework, but all provide plans that call for the time, patience, and
communication.
This is the "roadmap" that identifies the beginning, the route to be taken, and the
destination. You will also integrate resources to be leveraged, the scope or
objective, and costs into the plan. A critical element of planning is providing a
multi-step process rather than sudden, unplanned "sweeping" changes. This
involves outlining the project with clear steps with measurable targets, incentives,
measurements, and analysis. For example, a well-planed and controlled change
management process for IT services will dramatically reduce the impact of IT
infrastructure changes on the business. There is also a universal caution to
practice patience throughout this process and avoid shortcuts.
As part of the planning process, resource identification and funding are crucial
elements. These can include infrastructure, equipment, and software systems.
Also consider the tools needed for re-education, retraining, and rethinking priorities
and practices. Many models identify data gathering and analysis as an
underutilized element. The clarity of clear reporting on progress allows for better
communication, proper and timely distribution of incentives, and measuring
successes and milestones.
5. Communication
This is the "golden thread" that runs through the entire practice of change
management. Identifying, planning, onboarding, and executing a good change
management plan is dependent on good communication. There are psychological
and sociological realities inherent in group cultures. Those already involved have
established skill sets, knowledge, and experiences. But they also have pecking
orders, territory, and corporate customs that need to be addressed. Providing
clear and open lines of communication throughout the process is a critical element
in all change modalities. The methods advocate transparency and two-way
communication structures that provide avenues to vent frustrations, applaud what
is working, and seamlessly change what doesn't work.
7. Celebrate Success
The two major factors, which can influence an organizations strategy and its ability to survive and
grow, are: Business Cycles and Industry Life Cycle.
Business Cycles
Just as a biological organism grows and dies, organizations too experience life and death based on
the overall economic activity. Growth in the economy means a growth for the organization and slump
in the economy may reflect in a slump in the business. However all organizations do not respond the
same way to the fluctuations in the economy, some organizations are likely to be more affected as
compared to other organizations.
Parkin and Bade’s text “Economics” gives the following definition of the business cycle: The
business cycle is the periodic but irregular up-and-down movements in economic activity, measured
by fluctuations in real GDP and other macroeconomic variables.
A business cycle is not a regular, predictable, or repeating phenomenon like the swing of the
pendulum of a clock. Its timing is random and, to a large degree, unpredictable. A business cycle is
identified as a sequence of four phases:
In some years most industries are booming and unemployment is low; in other years most industries
are operating well below capacity and unemployment is high. Periods of economic expansion are
typically called booms; periods of economic decline are called recessions or depressions. The
combination of booms and recessions, the ebb and flow of economic activity, is called the business
cycle.
There are two main reasons why organizations need to understand business cycles. First it is easier
to manage organizations in the period of growth than when they are in a slump. Secondly the major
changes which occur during a business cycle like a new product introduction, expanding to a new
market require a great deal of investment by the organization. Improper timing of any of these
changes may threaten the very existence of the business. The underlying factor is that if
organizations want to survive they must learn to face uncertainty since managing uncertainty is the
key to effective change management.
Industry Life Cycle
Just like organizations grow and die, the industry also goes through various stages in its life span.
The three major forces, which have an impact on the life cycle of an industry, are competitive
structure, technology and institutional rules.
The industry life cycle model is a useful tool for analyzing the effects of an industry’s evolution on
competitive forces. Using the industry life cycle model, we can identify five industry environments,
each linked to a distinct stage of an industry’s evolution:
Competitive structure
The competitive structure of the industry in the early stages of embryonic and growth is
disorganized. The number of competitors will be large and the relative position of the competitors
would keep continuously changing. In this stage a competitor who adopts superior technology would
definitely get an edge over the others. Organizations who make investments in their people by
training them to adopt new technology would have a greater chance of survival and growth as
compared to those who don’t.
Ultimately organizations who cannot adopt new technology or who don’t develop requisite skills in
their manpower would be erased from the competition. This stage is the shakeout stage since in this
stage many organizations are shaken out of the competition. The result is that there are fewer
organizations in the industry with a larger market share.
Each organization tries to consolidate their position and this leads to an increase in industry
concentration. (Concentration here refers to the number, size and strength of competitors.) At this
point of time, the market growth slows down and the industry reaches a stage of maturity. From this
stage of maturity the markets grow smaller and the industry may go to the decline stage.
Technological Changes
Technology refers to the “equipment, machinery and information, knowledge and activities that are
involved in the physical transformation of inputs into outputs.” In the competitive environment, which
exists at present, organizations are highly concerned about technology because it is a major
determinant of success. Selecting and using the right technology thus becomes a very important
factor in giving the organization a competitive advantage in the competition.
Technology is basically of two types – general and specific. General technologies or general-
purpose technologies are common and are utilized by all organizations, for e.g.: electricity, steam,
computers and the Internet. Specific or specific purpose technologies are those, which are industry
specific and sometimes are customized by organizations for their purpose. Such technologies give to
the organization an edge over the competition.
Institutional Rules
Institutional Rules refer to the formal or written and unwritten rules, regulations and norms a
company must follow. The formal rules are the statutory compliance’s and legislation’s that an
organization must follow, for e.g., laws regarding environment, health and safety, employment,
consumer protection and wages/salary. The informal rules are the unwritten but implied codes of
conduct for the organization as well as for the employees who work within. Norms and codes of
conduct evolve over a period of time and in some case get institutionalized in such a way that they
become more rigid than legislation’s.
Violation of written laws lead to the organization being legally punished or sanctioned for the offense
where as violation of unwritten and informal norms and codes of conduct lead to social sanctions,
like ostracism, boycott and a loss of credibility and reputation in the society.
Institutional rules evolve rather slowly but when they change, they change the way that business is
conducted in a competitive industry. Those organizations, which are not proactive and cannot
prepare for such a change, will experience a slump in the performance. An example for this would
be the response of nationalized banks towards emerging customer needs. Slow response and
unattractive schemes made the customers move to look for other outlets and this led to the boom for
non banking financial institutions, who came up with very attractive schemes like personal loans, etc.
Organizational Culture
The values and behaviors that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an
organization.
Organizational culture includes an organization's expectations, experiences, philosophy, and values
that hold it together, and is expressed in its self-image, inner workings, interactions with the outside
world, and future expectations. It is based on shared attitudes, beliefs, customs, and written and
unwritten rules that have been developed over time and are considered valid. Also called corporate
culture, it's shown in
(1) the ways the organization conducts its business, treats its employees, customers, and the wider
community,
(2) the extent to which freedom is allowed in decision making, developing new ideas, and personal
expression,
(3) how power and information flow through its hierarchy, and
(4) how committed employees are towards collective objectives.
It affects the organization's productivity and performance, and provides guidelines on customer care
and service, product quality and safety, attendance and punctuality, and concern for the
environment.
Meaning of Organisational Change:
Organisational change refers to any alteration that occurs in total work
environment. Organisational change is an important characteristic of
most organisations. An organisation must develop adaptability to
change otherwise it will either be left behind or be swept away by the
forces of change. Organisational change is inevitable in a progressive
culture. Modern organizations are highly dynamic, versatile and
adaptive to the multiplicity of changes.