Good Essay On What Is A Planned Change?

Question 2

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Question 2

Introduction

In recent years, according to Nauheimer (2009), both the public and private sector organizations have come under increasing pressure to change (sec. 1). Consequently, the TR Ltd from the communication above exemplifies this trend. The general increased pace of globalization, technological advancement, and economic growth has served to fuel the need for constant organizational changes. Such factors according to Sims (2010) makes change an inevitable feature of any corporate life (p. 1). Moreover, there is no reservation that in the near-term the effectiveness of organizations will depend on how well they adapt to change (Reynolds 2009; Virtual Learning Centre (VLC), n.d. sec. 1).
Globally, most organizations change to address major adjustments in demographic shifts and socio-economic trends (The Happy Manager n.d.). However, other factors according to Reynolds (2009), include all the internal and external factors that in lesser or greater ways affect their operations. Therefore, to respond to these trends, organizations will have to run differently, Jobs redefined and learned, and ongoing reform incorporated throughout the organization (Sims, 2010, p. 1). Instituting new changes is something that the TR Ltd.’s Board of Directors is keen to do. However, the primary drive for TR Ltd.’s pursuit for its proposed change stems from the management’s concern for increased output and efficiency levels. For that reason, this paper proposes a planned change model that the TR’s management could have used in implementing the desired changes. The article further runs a glimpse into the critical evaluation of the benefits, which the Kotter's 8-Step Model would bring to the TR Ltd.’s state of affairs.

According to Cummings and Worley (2005), the various changes happening in any organization can be distinguished from changes that are designed by its management (p. 23). However, to understand what proposed change is it is paramount to acknowledge that organizational changes come in different guises (The Happy Manager n.d. sec. 2). Therefore, how an organization’s management thinks about change may define how well it represents its change management, and consequently how it manages it (The Happy Manager. n.d. sec. 1). Depending on the nature of the changes, Organizational Development (OD) should be directed at bringing about planned change that increases an organization’s effectiveness and capability to change itself (Rasel 2014, sec. 2). To accomplish this, organizational changes in most circumstances come in structured and deliberate moves. However, on other occasions these changes are spontaneous.
Therefore, planned changes are organizational changes viewed as being about moving organizations from one state to another in a structured manner over a specified period (Rousell 2006 as cited in Mitchel 2013, sec. 1). For a case in point is the envisioned TR Ltd.’s rollout change. Such planned change styles rely heavily on the assumptions that the management is well familiar with the organization's operational environment. Changes can then be properly designed to efficiently expedite movement from the current organizational condition to the desired level. Consequently, various conceptions of proposed changes have inclined to emphasize on how organization's management can implement changes in the organization. Called “theories of change,” these frameworks describe the activities that must take place to initiate and carry out successful organizational change (Cummings & Worley 2005, p. 23; Huy 2001, p. 601).
Concerning TR Ltd., I recommend Kotter’s 8-step change model over other models. Such models include the Havelock’s 1975 and the Lindquist's' Adaptive Development (1978) models. Other notable change models are the Linkage, and the Eckel and Kezar’s Mobile (2003) models just to mention but a few. Although a majority of these models is descriptive and comprehensive in nature, there have been minimal applications and validations to determine their worthiness and utility in helping leaders facilitate organizational change efforts (Warrilow n.d., p. 151). For that reason, Kotter’s Change Model is my preferred model for the TR Ltd. The choice of this model is because being a practitioner-oriented framework Kotter’s model has been successfully tested in numerous organizations (Nauheimer 2009, sec. 1). Furthermore it is one of the three change management models, most companies choose to operate under beside Lewin’s and McKinsey 7-S Models (Normandin 2012, sec.1: Nauheimer 2009, sec. 1).
According to Kotter International (n.d), John Kotter devised the Kotter Eight-step change management model (sec. 1). To do this Kotter identified and extracted the success factors of different firms and combined them into a methodology - the 8-Step Process as shown in Table 1 below. In guiding his principle assumptions, Kotter believed that organizational changes typically fails because senior management commits one or more of his eight fundamental errors (Kotter 1995 as cited in Warrilow n.d., p. 151). The remedies for the mistakes, as he outlined in his Eight-step Methodological Change Model, is fully to adopt the 8-Step change framework (Webster 2014, sec. 1).

Table1. John Kotter’s eight steps for leading change

Information as retrieved from (Warrilow n.d., p. 151)
Integrating the Kotter’s Eight Step Change Model into the TR Ltd.’s change framework.
In incorporating the Kotter’s Model into its change initiatives, TR Ltd. ought to realize that unlike other models, this model is not diagnostic in nature (Knowles, n.d. p. 69). Its application, therefore, will not benefit the managers in diagnosing what needs to be changed. Rather Kotter’s model being a force-field model of change like Lewin’s, will only propose how managers ought to sequence the change process (Kreitner and Kinicki 2008 as cited in Warrilow n.d., p. 151). According to Webster (2014), Kotter’s 8-step model comprises eight overlapping steps as itemized in Table 1 above (sec. 2). These steps, however, are further categorized into three broad classes. The first three steps are totally about creating an organizational climate for change. Whereas the next three steps are designed on engaging and enabling the organization for the change. The last two steps, however, are for implementing and sustaining the change (Webster 2014).
Therefore, for TR Ltd. to enforce its desired change plan pedigree, the management need to adhere to the following. Firstly, the management need to create an organizational climate of change as earlier noted. However, this is something that the management of TR Ltd. has not accomplished yet. Thus according to the FD, other than the top management no one else in the organization is aware of the proposed changes. To assist the management accomplish this the company needs to establish a sense of urgency within the organizational workforce before forming a powerful guiding coalition. These steps should then be followed by the creation of a compelling vision to propel the organization towards its goals. According to Nauheimer (2009), instituting a sense of urgency in the TR Ltd. is necessary to kick-start the change process (sec. 2). To achieve this initial momentum the TR management need to create dissatisfaction with the status quo without however affecting negatively the early phases of the emotional journey of transformation (Warrilow n.d., p. 151).
The smooth conversion according to Nauheimer (2009) can be achieved in a number of ways. For instance providing adequate evidence from external forces that change is necessary or by discussing the current organizational crises and significant potential benefits associated with the change (sec. 2). The formation of a powerful guiding coalition is of paramount importance as it ensures that the change process will have adequate and efficient support. In this particular case, it is evidently clear that the change does not have adequate support it requires. For illustration, the FD, the HRD, and the PD are all in disagreement with the Managing Director (MD) on the move. Other than marshaling the support of his fellow MDs, the MD also needs to have support across the organizational spectrum. This support will ensure the change efforts and rationale are clear enough to enable the TR workforce accept both the need for and direction of change (Webster 2014, sec. 2).
After creating the environment for change, the TR Ltd. management then need to design desirable ways of engaging and enabling the entire organization for change. This phase is achieved by initiating the Kotter’s fourth, fifth and sixth steps. In a sequential order, the TR management needs to communicate its planned vision and empower its workforce to work on the concept. The management should then wrap up this phase by planning and creating for short-term wins. Therefore, the MD should take it upon himself to ensure that company vision is made available to every person who will be affected by the change. The effort should especially be directed to the assembly line workers who according to HRD will be affected the most. In addition, the MD should empower his colleagues to work on the vision and in designing short-term wins for the organization. As Warrilow (n.d) asserts, it is valuable for the change benefits to be seen as early as possible so that the workforce are made aware of the progress (p. 151).
Lastly, the TR management needs to implement and sustain the change. This process is realized by consolidating organizational improvements and institutionalizing the new approaches. For instance other than completely disbanding the assembly line process the management need to build on what works in the line process while modifying what does not work. Furthermore, the company need to shape the business’s new systems, which support the new processes and behaviors in the change. According to HRD, this may help to curb the dissatisfaction among the employees. Lastly, management further needs to understand and create assembly line structures that build new practices into the day-to-day work without adversely affecting the work teams.

Advantages of the Kotter’s eight-Step Change Model

The primary benefits of employing Kotter’s model is that it offers several implications of the need to recognize organizational change from multiple perspectives (Ly 2011 sec. 1). For example, other than managing the change process using applicable approaches based on the nature of the change itself, Kotter’s model sets out a clear leadership roadmap (Knowles, n.d. p. 68). Additionally, Kotter’s model is an easy stepwise process that is guided by insightful facilitation. It also recognizes the organizational constraints and contexts (Normandin 2012, sec. 6). According to Kotter and Cohen, this model addresses the emotional imperative of change momentum. The model also outlines the fundamental steps to building and sustain that momentum (Kotter & Cohen, The Heart of Change, p. 7. as cited in Kotter International, n.d. sec 3). Another major advantage of this model according to Normandin (2012), is that it offers easier transition by focusing on preparing the workforce for accepting the change (sec. 6)

Conclusion

Kotter’s model, as discussed above, provides a persuasive, commonsensical, and practical eight-step plan of action for leading organizational change. It has an edge over other models as it focuses on going beyond simply getting the change message across to truly changing people’s behaviors and perceptions. Kotter’s Model operates on the premise of three fundamental principles. Firstly, every organization must go through these eight steps in order to achieve its goals. Secondly, the change process usually requires a considerable length of time and lastly, skipping some of the model's steps creates only the illusion of speed and never produces a satisfying result. The major plus to this model is that it can be applied to all the top-down change managerial processes.

References

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