Theories and Perspectives of Change Management

Table of Contents

Change management

school of thoughts

The individual perspective of change management

The dynamic school of change management

The open system

part 1

task 2

Report

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Case study 1:

The Aotea youth symphony

Case study 2:

The Sony

Part 2

Conclusion:

References

Change management

“Organizational Change Management (OCM) is a framework structured around the changing needs and capabilities of an organization. OCM is used to prepare, adopt and implement fundamental and radical organizational changes, including its culture, policies, procedures and physical environment, as well as employee roles, skills and responsibilities” (ocm, n.d.) The change management is a process where the change in the business organizations takes place in a systematic manner which includes the transition of technology or the process and the goals of the organization. the process of change will have a procedural way of handling the changes where each aspect of the organization will have the impact of the changes that have taken place. “Change management has been defined as ‘the process of continually renewing an organization’s direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of external and internal customers”  (Moran, 2000). The change is a constant attribute where it is present throughout the organizational lifecycle. The change is a necessary factor which enhances the growth of the organization to help adapt to the globalization. So, to help the organizations cope up with the current trends the skill the change management is a much essential process that must be adopted and implemented.

Need for change management

“A “one-size-fits-all” approach is not effective for change management. Think about these changes

  • Acquiring a company of the nearly equal size
  • Getting suppliers to use a new web-based form and process
  • Relocating office spaces within an existing building
  • Implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning solution
  • Releasing a new product” (change management strategy, n.d.)

school of thoughts

The individual perspective of change management

The necessity for the individual change model is that it makes the organization more effective. The individual perspective can be viewed in terms of two broad classifications, the behaviorist category argues that that the positive reinforcement will have a positive impact in the organization whereas the physiologist believes that the external environment and the reason are also the key factors that should be considered. The change management has two influential changes which are used widely they include the reward and incentive programs and the other influential factor is the level of the participation from the employees with the reasoning and the critical understanding as the core basis.

For example one of the warehouses in the United Kingdom implemented an enterprise resource system in its business for the effective business performance. There were products which need to be shipped to different countries, but the employees were told that the system is not programmed for such processing even though the new ERP system can do it. This situation was due to poor change management in the organization.

The dynamic school of change management

This theory was proposed by Kurt Lewin in Germany. The theory was initially used to resolve the social conflicts in the environment. The theory states that the learning process will lead to many significant changes among the individuals which will lead to other substantial changes in the environment. The theory emphasis mainly on the actions that must be taken place for the change to occur. The theory also has its influences on the groups where the individual behavior will take a key role. According to the theory, the group change will have a more positive impact on the members. The members of the group are pressurized to gain the desired change and the values.

The concept of teamwork has been derived from this theory where the set of skilled members will be formed to achieve a specific task. The influence of this approach is more effective to achieve the desired change. Various organizations now follow this approach in their business environment which is proved to be more successful.

The open system

The open system views the organizations as a diverse set of an entity that is formed together to achieve a common goal. According to the theory the organizations has different subsets and units. The individual unit’s productions rate will be low as compared to working together as an interrelated group. The organizations are always considered as the open systems where inputs and the outputs will be gathered from the internal and external factors to help in change. The internal and the external factors will communicate with each other to achieve the desired objective. The systems are interdependent where the change in one part will affect the other related part. According to the open system to achieve the complete organizational change the change should be made at the interconnected units to achieve the complete change.

These are the three school of thoughts on the change management

part 1

  1.          For this assignment, I will be taking into consideration two theories for the further analysis.

The three changes will be analyzed regarding the two selected theories which will include structural change, technological change, and people change.

Structural changes

Structural changes How does the individual perspective of change management help to cope up with the structural change How does the open system help to cope up with the structural change
  

 

 

 

 

  • The individual perspective change emphasis on the way the change management will transition itself.
  • The structural change can be possible by implementing reward programs
  • and, by making sure the vision and mission of the organization are being completely understood by the employees.
  • The open system has proposed a structured way of functioning where the various subparts are integrated to form a complete organization.

Example of structural change:

Microsoft is the best example of the structural change, the company specializes in various products like the Microsoft suit, operating systems. the business was not being updated with any new releases rather than the updates to the current products, the CEO of the company Sathya Nadella decided to change this situation by implementing a restructuring strategy which includes the redesign and implementation of the cloud platform. For this purpose, the new mission and vision were created according to the new strategy where the employees were motivated and there was more employee engagement which helped the organization to succeed which apparently made the structural changes a success factor.

Technological change

Technological changes How does the individual perspective of change management help to cope up with the Technological changes How does the open system help to cope up with the Technological changes
  

 

 

 

 

the individual perspective of change is focused on the individualistic approach rather than the technological part. The theory is proposed for the human behavior that will have an impact on the people.
  • The technology is used to change the given input into the output.
  •  According to the open system theory, the technological changes will be a part of the in the organizational change where it will be integrated and worked alongside with the other change management process to achieve the desired change in the organization.

Example of technology change:

Shell is the oil company that specializes in the providing fuel. The company was said to be in the crises in the year 2004. The company analyses and partnered with one of the technology partners to establish a technological change in the organization. this change was adopted in all the countries of its operations, within few months of implementation the company showed a significant growth with its improved invoicing system and reporting. This was achievable by the technological change the company opted in its growth strategy.

 

People change

people changes How does the individual perspective of change management help to cope up with the people changes How does the open system help to cope up with the people changes
  

 

 

 

 

  • The theory mainly focusses on the behavioral pattern of the people where the change in people occur when they are rewarded for the work they do. The people tend to change their behavior when there is a positive reinforcement.
  • To adapt to a change needs external stimulus by which the individual will get triggered by the incentives and rewards.
The major focus of the open system is to enhance the overall process where they work as a separate entity and gets integrated at the end to achieve a common goal of the organization. individualistic aspects are not much of a concern according to the open systems.

Self-change                                      

Self-changes How does the individual perspective of change management help to cope up with the self-change How does the open system help to cope up with the self- change
  

 

 

 

 

The self-change is possible by the process of reasoning. By the process of reasoning the situations and the The teams will be working in individual units where there will be subunits which will handle a different set of tasks. The change in the team structure will have an impact on the self that will help to cope up with the prevailing changes.

 

 

 

 

Team-change

Team changes How does the individual perspective of change management help to cope up with the Team changes How does the open system help to cope up with the Team changes
  

 

 

 

 

  • The team members will be given training and continuous learning programs to help them cope with the change.
  • Learning helps in changing the thinking pattern and the perspective which will, in turn, reflect the change in the behavior.
  • As the system proposes to use the concept of working in subunits the workforce will be divided into various teams that will be working individually but will be interconnected by the common goal.

Organizational change

organizational changes How does the individual perspective of change management help to cope up with the organizational changes How does the open system help to cope up with the organizational changes
  

 

 

 

 

  • The individual perspective helps the organizations by helping its employees analyze themselves and the situations by questioning
  • According to this open system, the change in the subsystems of the organizations will help the organization to achieve the complete change.
  • The change in one level of the organization will have effect in the other units as they are interconnected.

Factors the individual perspective of change management contribution the contribution of the open system Compare which fits best to each change 

 

  

 

 

Self-change

 

 

the individual perspective of change contributes to the self-development of the individuals which helps in the self-change. 

 The open system helps the individual groups to Perform better to achieve the common organizational goal. regarding the self-change, the individualistic perspective of change will have the best fit in when self-change is concerned.
  

 

Team change

The individual perspective of change has its focus only on the individuals where the individuals are analyzed based on the behavior and the physiological aspects to help cope the change management. the open system helps in team change where in the organization the workforce is divided into various sub-segments where different segments work individually, and they process is integrated at the end to achieve the organizational goal. From both the analysis, the open system has contributed to the team change which helps the organization cope up with the change as groups.
  

 

 

 

Organisational change

the individual perspective school of thoughts used the incentive programs and employee participation programs which help employees of all levels to cope up with the change and help the organization.  In this school of thought, the organization is considered as an open system where the organization will be divided into a number of subunits. This subunit will be work individually and will help in achieving the organizational goal. The organizational change here will be implemented in the subunits rather make sure that the change is incorporated to cope with the changes. 

Both the school of thoughts here strives to implement the organizational change. But with a varied approach. Both the school of thoughts have an equal contribution towards the organizational change.

Factors the individual perspective of change management The contribution of the open system How does both the school of thought assist (help) managers to cope with the situation of these changes
  

Structural change

 

 

the structural change regarding individual perspective is achieved by implementing the policies and procedures. 

The modification in job descriptions and the specifications are the structural factors

  • In the open system, the structural change can be the redesign of the workflow and coordination.
  • The process of modification in the communication system is also one of the structural changes according to the open systems.
  • One of the benefits is the decentralization.
  • The other factor is that by the implementation of the two thoughts the cost can be reduced.
  • There will be more control towards the workflow among the subunits.
  • The motivation factor for employees will be fruitful.
  • There will be more and sustained flexibility in the workforce.
  

Technological change

 

The technological part of the individual system will be that of having an improved work method which will help the individual to perform better and enhances the productivity. The open system will emphasis on using different technologies that will help the subunits to perform better. As the groups are divided into parts when the equipment is used this will lead to improved efficiency.
  • Here the emphasis is on both the equipment and the method of work.
  • The automation has a significant part regarding the technological advancements.
  

 

People change

  • The individual system emphasis on the growth of the individual to help the organization.
  • The competencies that human possess are a vital factor.
  • The behavioral change and the change of attitude is of prime importance.
  • The expectation level of employees has its own impact.
  • The open system considers the internal and external environment when its analysis. The people are the most important part of the business where everything in business is based on them.
  • The units where people work in the group have a common goal which must be achieved to lead the organization in the desired way.
  • The managers can help employees with training programs and motivational programmes which will help employees to stay focussed towards the organizational goal.
  • The importance should be given to the welfare of the employees which will make them feel better.

(iv)

What do you understand by planned change and unplanned change? (100 words)

  1. How does individual perspective of change management assist at the time of planned and unplanned changes?

Planned change

 

  • The planned change which is smooth will have a positive impact in the minds of the employees which will help to in future for further changes.
  • The employee’s level of confidence will be raised which will have a positive effect on the productivity.
  • The organization can have a competitive edge in the marketplace.
  • The changes to the organization’s workflow strategy by changing the framework can help in bringing change to the organization.

Unplanned change

  • The changes that occur in the composition of the demographic phase will have an impact in the way the business is conducted. For example, if an organization plans to employ more women workforce this change will have an impact on the productivity.

 

  1. How does open system change management assist at the time of planned and unplanned changes?

Planned change

  • The communication is an important key factor that helps in assisting the change management.
  • The management has the responsibility to make sure the visions and goals of the change are familiar to the employee units.
  • The strategies must be adopted to make sure the workflow is in sync with the organizational changes. This will help in a significant change in the organization

Unplanned change

 

(v)

  1. How does individual perspective of change management impede (oppose) at the time of planned and unplanned changes?

Planned change

  • The planned change can cause inequality in the level of the equilibrium.
  • The individuals may not have a clear understanding which will lead to lass efficiency.
  • The level of the work satisfaction will be decreased.
  • The job security issues will be triggered which will lead to dispute.

 

Unplanned change

  • The unplanned activity that has a negative impact here will be the lack of the diversification options.
  • The uncommon demographic conditions for the organizations are some of the unplanned changes that oppose.
  • The depletion in the profits of the organization due to the gaps in the performance will have an adverse effect on the organization
  1. How does open system of change management impede (oppose) at the time of planned and unplanned changes?

 

Planned change

  • The difference of opinion between the groups of people will exist which will lead to many consequences.
  • The resistance towards change will be high at the group levels as the influences will be prominently high.
  • The changes in the organizational level may take a longer amount of time than expected which will have an insignificant level of trust.

 

 

Unplanned change

  • The change in the regulations and policies.
  • The economic downtime is also some of the unplanned changes that can occur.
  • the natural disasters and man-made disasters will pave way for unplanned changes to occur.
  • the changes will be in many forms like that of either process oriented or that of the people-oriented or the change in the strategic ways.

task 2

Report

“When change is implemented in an organization, there is often resistance. This resistance often stems from people’s fear—of change in the work itself, of change in the process of completing work, or of the possibility that the change may result in the loss of their job. As a result, managers and organizational leaders should have a strategic approach to enabling change that ensures it is maximally effective in the organization.” (managing change for employees, n.d.)

Part 1

Three reasons for people’s resistance:

Economic factors:

The economic factor is one of the major reason why the people resist the changes. The economic aspect is closely related to the financial situations. The employees will have a thought that the new job role might lower their earning capacity where this leads to the fear in the employees. Also, the other reason that arises fear in employees is that they also have a concern that the new job roles might be hard to cope up where the pay is closely associated with the performance of the employees.

Security:

The security is the other factor that people resist change. The nature of human being is that they need to be secure all the time either it be financially wise of physical security.              The people have a threat about the new business processes and structure where there is a complete shift of job roles and responsibilities which creates the threat to the employee’s current state of position and the fear of losing the power in the job.

Habitual patterns:

The habitual pattern plays a key role in the regards to resistance to change. The nature of human being is that he always has a set of habits to follow always regardless of the change. Everyone human being is customized to behave in a certain way when there is a need for change in the habitual pattern it is hard to cope up initially until the new habits get as a routine activity. This will lead to the resistance to change.

Three reasons for system’s resistance:

Planning:

Planning is the most important aspect that is the reason behind the resistance. Most of the organizations fail here in this phase of development by not identifying the proper way of change management which often leads to resistance of the system and at some stages it will lead to the failure of the complete system. For example, if the company implements a new billing system which takes care of the shipping and if there is not necessary taxing policy applied to the domain it will lead to the failure and resistance to change.

Coordination:

The lack of coordination is the other factor behind the resistance to change in the systems. In a business, if there is an implementation of change the various departments should be inline with the goal for change if there is any non-coordination from any one of the departments this will set a drawback to the change. The top-level management is responsible for implementing the change in the organization. employees at all the levels of the organizational hierarchy must cope up with the desired change in the organization.

Communication:

Communication has a high influence regarding change management. The lack of communication will lead to insignificant consequences in the organizations. The employees will have misunderstanding and fear if the changes are not communicated properly. The employee must be informed about all the major and minor changes of the organization. the employees must be updated regularly to make sure they know what is going on around them in the organization.

Strategy to overcome the resistance:

From the above analysis of resistance in people and the system a strategy has been identified to help cope up with the changes.

Providing an integral communication and support system:

As communication is one of the for foremost aspect it needs a structured outlook to make sure it is being implemented properly in the organization. The employee in the organization must be updated regularly about the changes in the organization. the top-level management has the responsibility to make sure they communicate the driving factors that are the reason for the change. The communication helps the employees to get out of misunderstanding and misinterpretations. Most of the organizations lack in communicating the core logic behind the change in the organization where the employees feel uncertainty which must be clarified by the management. The communication channel can be a meeting, webinars, mail communication, notice boards and individualistic approach if it is a small organization.

Support from management:

Change is often a stressful experience in both the small and large organizations. This will have an impact on the individual and the organizational level. The management should make sure there are a proper training program and counseling sessions to help the employees in the workplace. The stress management is something that must be given more importance which will have a positive impact on the employee’s ability.

Part 2

Impact of stress and ambiguity on individuals:

Stress:

The change can lead to mental tension among the individuals. The reason behind this is the occurrence of several changing factors in the organization within a short span of time. The employees feel stressed because of such conditions. Also, they sometimes fell the unfairness from the management end due to such drastic measures. The lack of proper communication by the employer is also one such factor that leads to stress in employees.

Reduced level of loyalty:

There will be situations where the organizations implement changes to cut back the employees. In this situation, the employees have hardly left out with two options either they must search for employment elsewhere or they must continue working with the same organization voluntarily by tolerating all the changes from the management. This will lead to reduced level of loyalty among the employees.

 

Changes in the lifestyle:

The organizations drastically implement changes which will affect the lifestyle of the employees like that of changes in the salary level and relocate the employees to the new workplace and change in job positions. These changes will have influence not only to the employees but also to their families.

Impact of stress and ambiguity on teams:

The change will have an impact on the groups in the organization. if their organization has multiple subunits where the employees are diverse in different sections of working the implementation of change is a critical process. The change to the individuals can be attained easily but when it comes to the group there are several impacts and consequences that must be faced if the change is not implemented in a coordinated way. In some situation, the organization must completely shut down the section as it is no longer needed because of the change management, in that case, the choice for employees is to choose an alternative employment or must work for low wages.

Impact of stress and ambiguity on the organization:

The change management can have an adverse effect on the organizational level if not implemented properly. The level of employee resistance will be high as the change made by the organization sometimes don’t match their skill set. Lack of the clear understanding is another drawback where the assumptions of the employees don’t sync with that of the organizations.  The organization must bear the expense of the change where they will be no production because of the changes. The lack of employee support to the changes will have a negative impact if the employees don’t follow or not sure of the newly implemented policies and procedures. The effect of inconsistent change management will lead to low morale in the employees towards the management which will incur an economic loss to the organization.

Recommendation of two measures to minimize these negative impact:

Measure 1:

Implementing an improvement system for employees:

The need for continuous improvement system is that the organization will be implementing the change throughout its life cycle, so having an improved and continuous improvement system will help the employee in the smooth transition of the change without affecting the organization and its working. The continuous system will make sure that the changes are communicated properly to the employees and system makes sure that the employees are up to date with the current trends that are necessary for them to work effectively and efficiently by not affecting the quality of the work.

Implementing a communication and rewarding system:

The necessity to implement a new communication system is that this will reduce the drawback of the change management in the organization by helping employees with a clear understanding of the policies and procedures. The new communication system will be of a two-way system. The management has the responsibility of informing the changes that will occur in the initial stages with transparency in the level of the approach. Regularly updating the employees for changes to the system will help them with a clear change.  Employee recognition must be present to make sure that the employees are rewarded for the contribution and effort despite the changes to the organization which will improve the efficiency of the employees

These are the two measures to remove or minimize the negative aspects of the change management in organizations

Part 3

Case study 1:

The Aotea youth symphony

A general description of the organization:

The Aotea youth symphony is a community orchestra which was established in Mt Albert in the year 1986. The symphony was developed to attract the players in the Auckland which was a successful initiative to bring the players in together as a group. The members of the orchestra were music teachers and students who are referred by the music teachers from their respective schools. The orchestra also had plans to provides a unique experience to the players between the age of 13 to 18. The orchestra has been performing all over New Zealand and in other international destinations like” Australia, Japan, Canada, the USA, Germany, China, Tahiti, and France” (about us, n.d.). the orchestra has also established a training programme in the year 1993 where they focussed on the primary and the middle school students who are aged between 9 years to 13 years.

Organizational ethics, culture, and values:

The Aotea youth symphony is said to be considered as a community asset where the main aim of the orchestra was to give back to the society in which it operates. It aims at helping aspiring and young people with a platform to help them gain knowledge and enrich themselves to be good instrument players and singers. The orchestra also helps the people in knowledge sharing base which helps the people of the orchestra to learn from the experiences.

Reason for change identified:

The orchestra had a low membership enrolment over the years since it has started. The primary need for change is to attract many members to the orchestra. The growth of the orchestra was significantly low and with very low awareness. The orchestra needed a change over in the approach which it adopted earlier and, the social media presence was not effective which dint have any trending objective. The website of the orchestra was having outdated information which was the other aspect that needed a change.

Management style:

The orchestra has a management with the players and singers as the primary members. Paul Harrop Is the founder of the orchestra. He manages the recruitment of the musicians and students.

Successful change initiative:

Increasing the social media awareness and creating an interactive website was the primary change initiative. The orchestra had plans to initiate a long-term relationship with the teachers and to recruit more students. For this purpose, they designed a campaign called “most worthy music teacher” on its website. The main aim is to create awareness among the public regarding the orchestra. The orchestra also planned to attract more young people to the orchestra to create a significant presence nationally and globally.

Environmental pressure:

The increasing number of bands and orchestra is one of the environmental pressures. Also, there are many young people who lack the motivation because of fewer options available to them.

Communication:

The orchestra was using a print media advertisement to communicate its features and other concert details which were having insignificant impact results. The orchestra also had a website which was not appealing to the young people’s eyes. The voting system was introduced to nominate the best music teacher in the Auckland region where it helped the orchestra to increase the traffic and increase in the number of people who viewed the website. The article was published in the newspapers regarding the campaign and the planet FM was the radio partner for the campaign. The social media presence was handled with the orchestras official Facebook page where there were many likes for the events and the concerts. YouTube was used as one of the tools for telecasting the concert which has a significant visitor’s.

Case study 2:

The Sony

A general description of the organization:

Sony is a Japanese company started in the year 1946 as Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation and later renamed as Sony. The company focussed on the technological products. the company initially manufactured telecommunication and measuring equipment’s and later in the year the 1949 the first tape recorder was introduced. Over the years the company has launched many technological products which a major hit with the high sale in the marketplace. The company emphasis on quality to its core. The company has expanded its wings to multiple domains. They initially started with the technology and later they expanded to the entertainment industry and now the company has a financial service in its category.

Organizational ethics, culture, and values:

“Mission

A company that inspires and fulfills your curiosity.

Vision

Using our unlimited passion for technology, content, and services to

deliver groundbreaking new excitement and entertainment, as only Sony can.” (vision, n.d.)

the organizational structure of the Sony emphasis on the customer satisfaction to its core. The company considers the reliability where they strive to have a consumer’s point of view and the level of expectation from the customers perspective. This internal reliability helps the company to gain the customers satisfaction. For example, the gaming system that is designed and developed completely based on the customer’s expectations which made the product unique in the market. The credibility is the second major factor of consideration where the importance is given to the abilities, the knowledge, and the skills of the employees. The employees are trained based on the valuable feedback from the customers to make the employee’s customer friendly and to make them more skillful.  The training programmes are designed are designed by the human resource team to help employees cope up with the change.

Reason for change identified:

The company launched a product called “Sony W series MP3”. This product is launched to attract more swimmers and other water sports players to listen to music while swimming or any other water sports activities. The initial product launch of this product was a failure because of multiple reasons. So, to improve the sales in the next season there needed a strategic change to make this product successful in the marketplace.

Management style:

The leadership of Sony has changed over the years where at times there are situations where Sony has faced many drawbacks because of its strategic decisions that were implemented. The company has changed its leadership positions to match the current global trends that will help sustain the company in the long term.

 

Successful change initiative:

The company has planned for objectives which will help the company to achieve the desired result which includes the demonstration of the product to the media and public to convince them that water and the electronics can mix. The vending machines were chosen in the selected places and the first selves of the vending machine were filled with the product. And the other change initiative was by advertising the product with people like famous swimmers and other powerful bloggers and online communities to create a buzz to sell the product.

Environmental pressure:

The product doesn’t create any environmental issue as this does not create any pollution or nuisance to the environment.

Communication:

The communication is one of the critical and crucial factors in the organization. Sony has a corporate culture which is proven to be effective and efficient which helps employees to be open and express what they feel about. Open communication is encouraging in the Sony workplace. Sony uses the intranet to access the company information and the internal mail systems are been used for the communication between the employees and the management. This level of communication, in turn, helps the employees to have a transparency which is considered more satisfying.

Unsuccessful change initiative:

The initial launch was unsuccessful for the product. This is due to the lack of awareness about the product. The attitudes of the people are also a major factor of consideration where the mindset of the people cannot be changed that easily.

Part 2

  1. Comparison of the two school of thoughts regarding the case study.
  1. Analysis of the school of thoughts regarding the case studies
School of thoughts Case study 1 – Sony Case study 2 – The Aotea youth symphony
The individual school of thoughts Here the change process is implemented by changing the attitude of the individual. The individuals had a mindset that the electronics and water won’t mix with each other. This strong mentality will influence the sales of the product. The AYS case study illustrated the effort the individual can put to create a successful orchestra. The primary focus of the orchestra was its members from whom the growth can be achieved. The significant effort from the team members helped to gain more people through referrals and training. The primary intention of all the members was to improve the profile of the symphony.
The open school of thoughts According to the open school system the new product had many pitfalls which is not physical rather it was the mental abilities of the consumers. The prime responsibility of the marketing team might have to be implementing a campaign that attracts many groups rather than individuals. Because most of the sport involves groups who join to form a team. There is no other aspect of the analysis which illustrated relevancy to this school of thoughts other than the above mentioned. The internal environment which included people was a success factor regarding the AYS case study. The people were the driving force behind the success of the product. The technology was the other benefit factor for the success which included online advertisements and campaigns which made many people engage in the designed activities which increased the profile of the orchestra. The structure was relaxed and redesigned to meet the current situation with more flexibility which attracted many people to join. The transformational process was considered unique and an instant success when evaluating with the open school of thoughts.
  1. Change management: a practical and realistic approach

A planned approach to change:

The organizations that plan to implement the change in the organization can follow a planned approach where it helps the organizations to be more efficient and effective. The planned approach helps the individuals to have a change in the attitude and behavior. The approach also helps the groups to have a change in both mental and structural way. The planned approach in the organizations can be implemented by a set of activities that are designed and they can be used according to the intended objectives when necessary. The results can vary depends on the external factors. The planned approach can have a team involved which can be a collaboration of various department units joined together to achieve a common objective. The only barrier to the planned approach can be from an environment which is external.

Unplanned approach:

The unplanned approach is more realistic and practical approach to change management. The growing competition in the business environment makes the organizations to take a decision instantly without many considerations. The necessity to adapt instantly to the changes has become a day to day activity. The key factors that make this approach are the constant information gathering from the internal and external environment, the process of communication transparency in the work environment and the continuous learning programs to acquire new skills when needed. This helps the individuals and the groups to adapt and cope up with the unpredictable environment.

For example, in some organizations, This approach was successfully implemented by encouraging the employees with the reward systems whenever they achieve and contribute to the organization.

  1. The analysis of the successful process and methods in the change management:

The Aotea youth symphony:

  • The Auckland’s most worthy teacher:

This was an online campaign to attract the students and the teachers. The campaign was run on the website of the orchestra. This initiative helped in increasing the profile status of the orchestra. There were many students and teachers across Auckland who participated in the campaign and nominated. The students had the privilege to vote for their best teachers. The price for this campaign was high where the results were also a thrilling factor which attracted many people to it. The place chosen for the concert and award function was the Auckland art gallery where the number of people participated has been high which made the concert a huge hit than expected.

  • The social media campaign was another factor which increased the visitors to the website. The design of the posters was clear, and they attracted many young people to actively participate and contribute.
  • The media advertisements and the online review news are the other success factors which made the change process successful.
  1. Comparing the two school of thoughts to evaluate the effectiveness of the change agent or individual.
Individual school of thoughts The open school of thoughts
The change here is only applied to the individuals in the organization or business. The change here applies to the entire group or the team which is involved. The change will be at the organizational level.
The mechanism of the change is achieved by modifying the behavior of the individual The changes here are applied to the subunits, groups and the interdependent teams who work for achieving the common goal of the organization.
The individuals are motivated by the positive reinforcement using reward systems The motivation is applied to the complete group which makes the team more effective and efficient by factors of group motivation
The effectiveness can be achieved by changing the stimuli either internally or externally. The effectiveness is achieved by the group synergy and by optimizing the performance of the organization.
  1. Strengths and limitations of the selected organizations:

The Aotea youth symphony:

Limitations:

  • The recruitment levels were stagnant.
  • Working with small budgets.
  • A limited number of schools and the private music teachers available in the Auckland region.
  • No long-term partnership with any external organizations.
  • The online presence was very low with poor digital advertisements.
  • The lack of awareness among the public.

Strengths:

  • Support from the students and the music teachers for future ventures.
  • The acquiring of the Auckland art gallery as the venue for the events.
  • Having a partnership with two major players as a sponsor for the prizes for the campaigns.
  • Increased traffic to the website.

The Sony w series mp3:

Limitations:

  • The advertisement media failed to convince the audience.
  • The product ranking was reduced and was placed in the 35th place on the company website because of the low sales.
  • The people thought and mindset towards the product where the water and electronics don’t mix well.
  • The product dint seems much innovative to the people initially as many have in mind that it’s just a water bottle with a waterproof mp3 inside it.
  • The product lacked to prove in action.

Strengths:

  • The Sony itself is a well-known brand which has more popularity in the marketplace for its unique products with high quality infused.
  • The company decided to try the product re-launch with changed marketing strategy.
  • The campaign involved a practical demonstration which attracted many people to try.
  • Introducing the summer sale concept to attract more people to buy using the innovative product advertisement strategy.
  • Using the well-known bloggers and personalities to advertise the product to their fans or the followers.
  • Having the control over the media by making sure that the channels advertise the product at regular intervals by starring famous swimming sportspersons.
  • Acquiring the vending machine to improve the product publicity and sales.
  1. Contextual factors that influence people’s response to change.

The Aotea youth symphony

  1. Organizational culture:

The students and the teachers are the primary assets of the AYS. The teachers will be recommending the students to AYS by giving them a chance to participate in the events. The orchestra now has the website which is used for providing information to many people who need to join.

  1. Organizational ethics and values:

The Aotea youth symphony is said to be considered as a community asset where the main aim of the orchestra was to give back to the society in which it operates. It aims at helping aspiring and young people with a platform to help them gain knowledge and enrich themselves to be good instrument players and singers. The orchestra also helps the people in knowledge sharing base which helps the people of the orchestra to learn from the experiences

  1. Environmental pressures:

The increasing number of bands and orchestra is one of the environmental pressures. Also, there are many young people who lack the motivation because of fewer options available to them.

  1. Management styles:

The orchestra has a management with the players and singers as the primary members. Paul Harrop Is the founder of the orchestra. He manages the recruitment of the musicians and students.

  1. Participation

The participation of the youths is the main focus of the campaign. The number of people who joined the campaign was 900 which is very high. Most of the people who enrolled are the young people who showed interest in the concerts and programs.

  1. Communication:

The orchestra was using a print media advertisement to communicate its features and other concert details which were having insignificant impact results. The orchestra also had a website which was not appealing to the young people’s eyes. The voting system was introduced to nominate the best music teacher in the Auckland region where it helped the orchestra to increase the traffic and increase in the number of people who viewed the website. The article was published in the newspapers regarding the campaign and the planet FM was the radio partner for the campaign. The social media presence was handled with the orchestras official Facebook page where there were many likes for the events and the concerts. YouTube was used as one of the tools for telecasting the concert which has a significant visitor’s

The Sony:

  1. Organizational culture:

“Sony strives to build an environment in which employees accept each person’s differences irrespective of nationality, culture, race, gender, or the presence or absence of physical limitations. Sony employees see such differences as a matter of “individual character,” and the process of interaction among individuals leads to the creation of entirely new value. This all falls under the concept of diversity and inclusion, which Sony regards as critical to its success” (employees, n.d.)

  1. Organizational ethics and values:

“Mission

A company that inspires and fulfills your curiosity.

Vision

Using our unlimited passion for technology, content, and services to

deliver groundbreaking new excitement and entertainment, as only Sony can.” (vision, n.d.)

the organizational structure of the Sony emphasis on the customer satisfaction to its core. The company considers the reliability where they strive to have a consumer’s point of view and the level of expectation from the customers perspective. This internal reliability helps the company to gain the customers satisfaction. For example, the gaming system that is designed and developed completely based on the customers’ expectations which made the product unique in the market. The credibility is the second major factor of consideration where the importance is given to the abilities, the knowledge, and the skills of the employees. The employees are trained based on the valuable feedback from the customers to make the employee’s customer friendly and to make them more skillful.  The training programmes are designed are designed by the human resource team to help employees cope up with the change.

  1. Environmental pressure:

The product doesn’t create any environmental issue as this does not create any pollution or nuisance to the environment.” At Sony, we always endeavor to reduce environmental impact in our wide range of products. These efforts are evident in a compact, lightweight, energy-efficient designs that reduce wasted resources and power consumption, and our commitment to using recycled materials.” (sustainable development, n.d.)

  1. Management style:

The leadership of Sony has changed over the years where at times there are situations where Sony has faced many drawbacks because of its strategic decisions that were implemented. The company has changed its leadership positions to match the current global trends that will help sustain the company in the long term.

  1. Participation:

Sony values their employees as the most valuable resource. “Sony understands how critical it is to leverage the unique traits of each employee, build a pleasant working environment, and provide opportunities for employees to improve and make the most of their skills and capabilities.” (employees, n.d.)

  1. Communication:

The communication is one of the critical and crucial factors in the organization. Sony has a corporate culture which is proven to be effective and efficient which helps employees to be open and express what they feel about. Open communication is encouraging in the Sony workplace. Sony uses the intranet to access the company information and the internal mail systems are been used for the communication between the employees and the management. This level of communication, in turn, helps the employees to have a transparency which is considered more satisfying.

  1. Change management tools: explain how useful the tools in initiating change with examples.
  1. Process analysis tools with examples

Process analysis tools are used for analyzing the flow of the work in the organization. the process management tools clarify the organization’s improvement and to better understand the business management practices after the change. The process analysis tools also determine the type of input and the type of output that must be given in the workflow to help manage change and to use the resources in a proper manner. The process analysis tools critically determine the way the things must be done in the organization and the tool also determines how the things should proceed in the organization. the necessity of the organization to change its process involves three main factors.

  • To help the organization to refine and improve the process.
  • To determine which process the organization must choose whether by the management of the processor by the way of the automation.
  • To help the organization to clearly determine how the processes should be in the organization.

The process analysis tools help the organization in increasing the profitability of the organization. the process analysis refines the workflow efficiency and improves the efficiency of the organizations.

Process analysis tool

Process analysis tools help the organizations to determine whether the newly implemented or the existing business process meets the desired goals of the organization. also, the process tools also help in identifying the necessary process that contributes much to the organization and the obstacle causing factors for the business. The process tools collect the information from various sources and determine the effectiveness of the performance indicators which will help the organization to reduce costs and improve the efficiency.

ICAD process analysis tool:

This tool is used for identifying issues in the organization that causes a setback in the workflow. also, this tool will help in analyzing how to carry out the intended process for the continuous process improvement.

ICAD process consists of 4 steps or plans which helps in detailed analysis

  1. The initial step in the ICAD process involves identifying the potential process and to identify the group or the individual who will be responsible for handling the process.
  2. The next step in ICAD process involves the collection of data or information to understand the pitfalls in the process, the intended scope of the process and the necessary improvement objectives to carry out the goals of the organization.
  3. The third stage of the ICAD process involves analyzing the plan by implementing it and analyzing using process improvement indicators.
  4. The final stage of the ICAD process involves developing a strategy or refined process which can effectively help in the change management.

Benefits of using the ICAD tool:

  • The tools help in better understanding of the documentation
  • The process can be effectively monitored by using the tool.
  • Helps to identify delays in the processes that cause pitfalls and inefficiencies.
  • Helps to train the employees in the needed domain and specialization for better performance.

The best example of the process analysis can be obtained from the organizations. The process management can be dynamic sometimes. The simple example is that how the employees are getting paid.

  • Initially, the employees will be completing their timesheets
  • The timesheets or the job sheets will be sent to the manager for the approval.
  • The forms are then sent to the higher officials for the rechecking
  • The job sheets are sent to the accounts department for detections and additions if any
  • The payment is then sent to the bank accounts of the employees.
  • The employees use their cards or cheques to debit their payment from the bank.

This is the way the process of employee payment in the organizations is handled in a structured manner.

  1. Team participation tools with examples.

Delegation

Delegation is one of the effective tools used in the organizations to effectively manage the teams. The manager is responsible for analyzing and assigning the primary tasks to the individual or the team to complete the set of tasks to achieve the organizational goal. As the manager, himself cannot do all the tasks at a time the work is divided as a team and it is ensured that all the team members actively participate to complete the task. To delegate a work, it is important to make sure that the purpose and the goals are understood by the team members. The skills will be identified for the specified task. The expertise in the fields will be assigned to complete the critical task.

Communication:

The other tool for the effective participation in the communication. This tool helps the managers to effectively manage the teams and helps in the participation of the team members. The effective communication involves regular meetings in between the workflow and conducting training and brainstorming sessions which will involve the team members to participate and contribute their opinions to enhance the abilities and the process. Development programmes help the employees to actively participate and relish their knowledge and the abilities. Communication helps in managing the diversity in the working environment.

  1. Summary and Evaluation of the case studies
  1. Successful change initiatives

The Aotea youth symphony planned for a change to attract more members. The change management was implemented by crucial success factors. Each step involved in the most consideration to make sure things are on the right track regarding the change identified.

  • The primary objective was to improve the profile of the symphony.
  • The ongoing relationship with the current teachers and other members should be enhanced to continue in the long-term.
  • The AYS needed more youths to join the orchestra. For this purpose, the websites were updated to attract more youths. Campaigns were planned at famous places and concert halls.
  • Online campaigns called “Auckland’s most trustworthy teacher” was one of the successful initiatives which were a success.
  • The media coverage by the radio planet FM and the other online news channels was also successful initiative.
  • The social media pages were recorded with highest visitor’s numbers who showed their interest in the orchestra and their activities.
  • The collaboration with new partners KBB music and Eady charitable trust helped to increase the prize amount which was more attractive than ever.
  1. Unsuccessful change initiatives

The Sony w series mp3 player by the Sony is said to be one of the products that didn’t reach the highest sales volume compared to the other products of the company. even though there were not many companies who offered such product in the marketplace the problem that the product didn’t sell was due to some unique factors which must deal with the marketing strategy the company implemented. Even though the initial launch was a failure the later launch was a hit according to the company reports.

  • The company failed to convince people that the electronics and water can mix. This is the unique problem was due to the inadequate marketing strategy.
  • The pre-launch advertisement was not effective, and it didn’t create any curiosity among the people to buy the product.
  • Lack of research is also one of the insignificant factors that affected the sales.
  • The company failed to demonstrate how the product will work practically which created disinterest among the people.
  • The target margin for the sales of the product initially was high.
  • The products were not placed in appropriate places to sell which lacked product differentiation.
  • The product may not suit all the people as not many are swimmers and are interested in the water sport.

These are some of the unsuccessful initiatives that company was facing regards to the change initiative.

Conclusion:

The change management is the one of the critical part of the organization where there needs a careful consideration when implementing it. The opinions of the two school of thoughts gives us a clear picture of change management which takes into consideration the individuals and the groups. The strategic change management will fail if the prior planning and other aspects are not considered. The case studies gave a understanding of both the successful and unsuccessful initiatives in an organization. so in my opinion the change management crucially determines the future of the organization. the utmost care should be taken to make sure they are implemented in a planned manner.

 

References

about us. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.aotea.org.nz: http://www.aotea.org.nz/about-us.html

Armenakis, A. A. (1993). Creating readiness for organizational change. Human relations, 6, 681–703.

change management strategy. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.prosci.com: https://www.prosci.com/change-management/thought-leadership-library/change-management-strategy

employees. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.sony.net: https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/csr_report/employees/

managing change for employees. (n.d.). Retrieved from courses.lumenlearning.com: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/managing-change-for-employees/

Moran, J. W. (2000). Leading organizational change. Journal of Workplace Learning, 12, 66–74.

ocm, o. c. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.techopedia.com: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13996/organizational-change-management-ocm

sustainable development. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.sony.com: https://www.sony.com/electronics/eco/sustainable-development

vision. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.sony.net: https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/vision/

Professor

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