Change Management

Essay by JasUniversity, Bachelor'sC+, January 2005

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Change Management

Planning

The first step when organising a change programme is the recognition that a new approach to a given problem is required. It is then necessary to find a solution, which matches the policy to be adopted, to changed circumstances

The three key questions when planning change management are:

1. Where are we now?

2. Where do we want to be?

3. How do we get there?

A change of this kind has many implications:

§ Jobs would have to be redesigned;

§ The shop-floor layout changed;

§ Workers trained in new skills;

§ The recruitment policy adjusted to employ workers with greater potential for moving flexibly between tasks within the cell.

The process of implementing these changes will be made much easier if the people affected by them are involved in identifying the initial problem and evaluating the proposed solution.

Implementation

People implement change, but they are also the most important barriers to its success.

Resistance to change may occur in the process of putting the planned developments into action.

Individuals may resist the implementation of change:

§ To preserve existing routine.

§ To protect pay and employment.

§ To avoid threat to security and status.

§ To maintain group membership.

There are two key ways in which managers can help individuals overcome their natural resistance to change:

1. Involve those affected by change at every stage of the decision making process. So they understand why a new approach is necessary. Acting in this way develops the commitment of individuals to a decision. If they were involved in the development of the idea from an early stage they will have a personal stake in its success. This approach is known as 'ringi'. When a decision is to be made, a proposal passes between all the employees who...