The business landscape of the 21st century is characterized by the rapid change brought about due to technological, economic, political and social changes. It is no longer the case that the managers and employees of firms in this decade can look forward to more of the same every year. In fact, the pace of change is so rapid and the degree of obsolescence if organizations resist change is so brutal that the only way out for many firms is to change or perish.
In this context, it becomes critical that organizations develop the capabilities to adapt and steer change in their advantage.
The role of senior managers becomes crucial in driving through change and ensuring that firms are well placed with respect to their competitors. However, it is the case that in many organizations, senior managers actively resist change and in fact thwart change initiatives due to a variety of reasons which would be explored in subsequent sections.
It goes without saying that “he who rejects change is the architect of decay
and the only human institution that rejects progress is the cemetery.” With
this axiom in mind, it is critical to understand that unless the change is actively embraced, organizations in the 21st-century risk obsolescence.
To resist change is as basic as human nature and hence the change managers must adopt an inclusive approach that considers the personality clashes and the ego tussles. It is often the case that in large organizations, there tend to be power centres and fiefdoms and hence the issue of organizational change must address the group dynamics as well as the individual behavioural characteristics.
Only by an understanding of the means by which managers can be brought on board can there be a foundation for suitable approaches. The approaches include a combination of pressure tactics and coordination instead of competition and co-option as well as cooperation. Change agents must realize that wherever possible, they must deal with consensual decision making and if that is not possible, they must walk the talk and be firm in their approach.
Managers at all levels have a tendency to resist change and in the high stakes game of change management, it is the ones that can articulate and communicate the change in a clear and coherent manner who succeed.
In conclusion, change is the only constant in business and the landscape of the 21st century is littered with companies that have not adapted to the changing times. Hence, organizations must and should embrace change and the approaches discussed in this paper are part of the solution.
The Need for Change Management
In the contemporary business environment, organizations fight the battle of
competition by building their adaptive capabilities and preparedness for
coping against the pressures of change. In the present scenario, the top
management gives a lot of importance to change management process and the need for being flexible as well as adaptable for tackling the growing
environmental uncertainties or competitive threats.
Change management is a complex process and requires serious attention as
well as involvement from the management and people from all levels, in
order to achieve a meaningful or progressive transformation across various levels. For being ahead in the competitive race and gaining a winning edge,
organizations have been focusing on the expansion of business worldwide,
achieving excellence in processes and operations, implementing innovations in technology and identifying/developing the right talent.
The fast changes which have taken place and the way in which this has
affected the strategies, people, policies and processes in an organization, it has become all the more imperative that organizations clearly establish a well-defined change management framework for realizing the strategic objectives.
Change is inevitable, and it can only be managed, failing which the
organizations may cease to exist.
In the era of globalization, organizations function across the cultural
boundaries with large investments in human capital as well as physical resources, give utmost importance to technological change and innovative
practices for a leadership advantage.
Business alliances like mergers, acquisitions, diversifications, takeovers and
various other collaborative ventures have become the most preferred strategic best practices for the organizations to survive the fierce forces of competition, through the transfer of people, technology, processes and leadership. For successfully handling this transition and converting the threats of change into opportunities, organizations must be flexible and open for Change Management.
By improving the readiness for change, organizations can strengthen their
adaptability mechanisms and build their internal competencies for facing
future uncertainties or many such multiple change auguring situations.
An organization’s readiness for change management influences
organizational strategies and policy-related decisions, as it involves a
comprehensive, well-planned approach and implementation of systemic
interventions which would have an overall influence on the system, processes, people as well as the organizational structure as a whole.
Innovations in technology and research advancements have created
opportunities for working virtually across any part of the globe; changes in the organizational structure and hierarchy; changes in the human resource policies and regulations, has resulted in organizational reengineering and change in the style of working of employees.
For meeting the growing demands of ever-changing business operations, more dynamic and flexible organizations have endorsed new methods of working like flexible work hours, work from home, freelancing opportunities, virtual method of working, business operation outsourcing and project-driven operations, etc. which provide ample opportunities to the workmen to work as per their convenience and flexibility.
Organizations change for responding to the fluctuations or volatility in the
business environment. Any change in order to have successful outcomes must involve comprehensive planning, focused approach and involvement of the key stakeholders in the entire process.
For any organization, people play a very vital role in driving business
excellence as they are the most valuable assets. Hence, a change in the
method of handling a job role, implementation of facilitating interventions and training people about the new practices or techniques, can result in impressive results in terms of the return on investment (ROI).
How organizations manage change or respond to business transitions
largely depend upon the adaptability of people or readiness of the people in understanding the changes in the process and method of handling a job.
Change management process may directly affect the human resource
strategies of an organization depending upon the goals or strategies of an
organization.
A well-defined change management process can help in mitigating risks related with the people side. If this aspect is ignored, it might result in an increase in the overall costs, decline in productivity as well as employee motivation and an increase in the absenteeism level and employee attrition.
Hence, it improves the overall preparedness of the management and the decision making authorities in understanding the need for managing change, the key processes involved in it and in understanding the operational technicalities connected with it.
Planned change if effectively implemented can be beneficial in terms of
controlling costs, minimizing risks, reducing the stress and anxiety by
controlling uncertainties. It helps in setting up new milestones, establishing
objectives, defining priorities and identifying the limitations for driving
excellence in new initiatives.
Effective Change management process help organizations in understanding
the changing customer needs, meeting their demands and expectations
much better since the requirements are well defined. If implemented with
proper planning, change management does not affect the day to day
functioning of an organization, rather it functions concurrently. Instead it
creates a scope for establishing best practices, defining the operational
framework and regulations for the people, processes and system.
It engages people in the entire process and motivates them to work towards
the realization of a common goal or objective and deliver excellence in
performance through collaborative efforts and involvement in the process as a whole. Research in this direction proves the fact that organizations which have an established change management process are more likely to excel in meeting the business goals or achieve excellence in their project outcomes.
Effective change management is the key to the realization of operational
effectiveness, plays a key role in creating optimism in the organizational
environment as it has holistic outcomes and enables the achievement of outcomes by defining superior benchmarks and working towards it for the realization of the set benchmarks.
Organizational change affect the leadership thinking style and may optimize the benefits by establishing the systems and processes in place, establishing an integrated framework for achieving the developmental goals with the complete involvement of people in the end to end stages of change management cycle.
Hence, to conclude it may be appropriate to mention that change
management is a planned and an integrated approach involving the support of the key stakeholders in terms of the willingness as well as the preparedness to move from the existing state of affairs to a reformed state by accepting the transition and wholeheartedly participating in the entire process.
The success of the change management process largely depends upon effective planning, establishing objectives, communication of objectives to the people involved in it and establishing the required framework to deliver the expected goals or outcomes.
