Organizational change is a positive development involving the organization, its employees, and leaders going through a change process. The goal of organizational change is to improve how an organization does business, how it operates and what it does on a day-to-day basis. The process involves identifying the type of change needed within the organization and then implementing it according to some set plan. According to Kotter (2007), a proper understanding of organizational change can help leaders and managers agree on the needed change. It also helps identify the necessary strategies and plans for initiating a successful change process and gather feedback from employees to ensure they are moving in the right direction.
However, some challenges face Valley Company when it comes to organizational change. They include lacking a sense of urgency when it comes to change, and when the leadership team introduces change, it is not received with enthusiasm and acceptance but with resentment and anger. Valley Company finds it challenging to accept change because its culture tends not to accept change. They resist outside ideas, do not support the change process, and tend to react negatively when changes are implemented. Kotter (2007) explained that there are different ways to overcome such challenges, such as educating leaders on creating an inclusive, positive environment for change. Leaders must understand that if they raise the bar, they must ensure their team members are prepared for that change by continually providing feedback and information. The organization should have a strategic approach when making changes to manage the change process.
If change is introduced in a systematic, orderly manner and with a plan, it will be seen as a positive change, and everyone who has to implement it will have confidence in the person making the change. It is because people will know that person is competent and knowledgeable about this business area. According to Kouzes and Posner (2017), change is essential to Valley Company because organizational changes will help them reach goals through the Change Process Model. This tool can help understand organisational change since it is a five-step process that guides leaders and their followers as they create necessary change(Kouzes & Posner, 2017). Another challenge that Valley Company face when it comes to organizational change is that the leaders and managers in the organization tend to be closed-minded when it comes to listening and sharing ideas on how best to deal with organizational changes. Thus, an organization can create leaders who can identify change opportunities from within the organization when it takes place and those who can recognize opportunities with outside organizations when possible.
In order to manage the change process, Valley Company should conduct a baseline study to understand how the organization operates today. It is because it will make the leaders understand how processes work and where these processes meet the organisation’s goals (Luecke, 2003). It is essential because it will ensure that Valley Company may stay within its goal while implementing the change process. The senior executives and managers of Valley Company who are involved in the change process within Valley Company provide a picture of each person’s role in addressing organizational change at Valley Company. It is because managing change and transition requires a strong understanding of the organization and its people. It will enable the organization to have clear, concise policies, goals, objectives and procedures for all job roles(Luecke, 2003). Thus, the organization will be capable of forming committees from within the organization to promote change and ensure all employees are knowledgeable about the change process.
Also, Valley Company should set up a project management system to organize and manage the change process. If the change process is not well managed, chances are that employees will not accept the change agenda and may create various problems. Making necessary changes in organization structure and processes means that Valley Company should make necessary changes in organization structure and processes to improve its efficiency. Valley Company should make necessary changes in work tasks. It means that the company should make necessary changes in work tasks to increase job satisfaction. Thus, if all these steps are taken correctly, then Valley Company should be assured that employees at large will accept the organizational changes.
Valley Company should create scenarios to achieve better performance. It means that the company should involve employees in the process of change and ask them to give their opinion on how they want to continue the company’s business (Luecke, 2003). In addition, an organization should develop a communication plan that helps employees feel connected to the change process and builds their trust in the change initiative that will be introduced. It is essential because it will create team spirit in the company and make employees feel more sense of belonging. Thus, Valley Company’s strategy is to implement a new organizational structure that focuses on empowering employees rather than managing them based on skills or position in the company.
If the change process is to move forward successfully, the conditions that Valley Company must address include ensuring that it has clear, concise organizational charts for all positions that are identified. Employees must be presented with all current organizational charts and all positions involved in this change process. It will help make the change process successful by confirming that the organization clearly understands which individuals, positions, and titles are involved in this change initiative. It will help identify concerns or issues with this initiative’s senior leaders. The organization must ensure strong leadership and management support for this initiative. To ensure that everyone is on board with the change initiative and knows they are working toward a common goal, the leaders and managers at all levels of the organization must hold a meeting. The organization must ensure it has an implementation plan for bringing about organizational change.
In conclusion, Valley Company needs to have a proper change management program that enables them to develop complete organizational charts, involves employees in the change process, hold meetings with employees, and create communication plans to ensure everyone is on board. This way, they can manage the change process more effectively and reduce resistance. With its new organizational structure, Valley Company should see an improvement in its productivity levels when it takes effect. Valley Company’s entire organisational structure revolves around teams, so this will improve teamwork capabilities at the organisational level, and employees will be able to address problems before they affect business operations. Employees will also have better recognition for their performance and contribution, improving employee satisfaction levels. For the change process to move forward successfully, the organization should have a clear and concise organizational chart for all positions involved and intense leadership and management support for the change initiative.
References
Kotter, J. P. (2007). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. In Museum Management and Marketing (pp. 20-29). Routledge. Web.
Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations. New Jersey: Wiley Publishing.
Luecke (2003). Managing Change and Transition. Are You Change-Ready? Preparing for Organizational Change, Harvard Business Press (pp. 1–18).