Good Example Of Essay On Leadership

Every organization has to undergo changes, some continuously and some of them between certain intervals. Whatever be the pattern, it is important that changes do happen in an organization (Andrews, Cameron, & Harris, 2008). It is because the external business environment is constantly changing and if organizations cannot adapt themselves according to this change, it might result in functions becoming obsolete, ultimately leading to the extinction of the organization (Allen, Jimmieson, Bordia, & Irmer, 2007).

Situation:

The situation of change and the stress related to me hit me when I was doing my internship at the third bank. I had always been dealing with customers manually, taking manual data and notes and noting down their feedbacks with a dot. I was a receptionist, so I was expected to receive people well and note down and answer their frequently asked questions. At the expiration of the week, I had to submit a manual report so that my superior could then record the queries and make it available on the website or to me in the days to come.
The situation of change came when the Company decided that there would be a computerized system of Customer management. This meant that I was supposed to record queries and feedbacks automatically, prepare a report on computers and also have the entire database maintained and shared through computer. It was a situation for stress for me because I had never typed as much that I could record customer feedbacks instantaneously. Also, I had to submit a hand written report every other week with the notes of customer queries that I had collected at the reception. I did not know if I could do the same with a computer. I was not that technology friendly.
Reasons for the Change: The change of going from manual to automated customer relation management was a decision to be applied throughout the Company. There may have been greater reasons for the implementation. However the need for change in my position that was communicated to me are as follows:
Having an automated system, I cannot just collect customer queries more efficiently but can also solve them in seconds by looking at the database, which otherwise would have been maintained only in the office above.
The report making would be much easier as I could also analyze the most frequently asked questions and questions that are not relevant. This would be a good opportunity for saving time upwards as well as downwards.
I could prepare a report not just on a weekly basis, but also on a daily basis. Various newer tools would equip me to make up charts and analyze the trend. It would also be easier to update the queries as soon as they occur so that customers would not have to wait one week to have their queries listed on the Company website.

Manipulation, involvement in, and/or effect by this change on the Players:

There was no manipulation as such by the players. Our superiors made a genuine attempt to communicate the necessity of the change at the monthly meeting. There were people who were against the complete automation of the CRM systems, but then the management persuaded them by applying the technique of rewards. The people, who would be able to adapt well to the organizational change and perform better, would be awarded whereas if they were unable to go with the flow, they would be laid off.

Leadership strategies/theories used to assist with the change:

A participative approach was followed throughout the process. The management was open to any kind of suggestion from the bottom level, throughout the period of pilot execution (Judge & Bono, 2000). Also, people were constantly monitoring and training us, till we had a full-fledged knowledge on how to use the newer systems and computers. For many older employees, using computers was a major issue. They were provided with trainings, not any external hires but by the younger employees in the organization who are already good at computers.

Complete transition phase:

The complete transition phase for the process took about 6 months to a year. People at the organization are still learning how to utilize the system so as to increase organizational efficiency further.

Positive and negative results of this change:

The positive change was that all the individuals were more prompt and productive as compared to the previous system. The use of paper was highly reduced, and the greatest achievement was time-saving. The employees were also motivated because now, they had obtained the automation skills that can help them sustain in any industry with such complex operation systems (Nelissen & Selm, 2008). The negative results were that some of the people were laid off; who were not able to adapt to the changes. Also, I heard that the initial costs for the Company were quite high, because of all the installations and trainings.

Three basic mistakes made:

Though the change brought about many reforms in the organization, there were certain mistakes made in the transition phase that could and should have been avoided (McInnes, Beech, Caestecker, MacIntosh, & Ross, 2006). They were:
During the phase of transition, the Company avoided any of the contracts or newer assignments, even though, relevant and important to the Company. The revenues for the Company were thus down in this phase, whereas the costs were high, because of the installations and training costs.
Some of the people in the organization assumed that the organization is caring and will take care of them. But when they were not able to adapt to the changes happening in the organization, may be because of their disinterest or disability, the organization did not have any excuse for laying them off. They should have predicted their future and become more receptive to the change.
I, as an employee was afraid of the future. I was apprehensive whether I would be capable to keep up my performance with the massive change that the Company is expecting from us. I was more afraid of the new system than I was confident about my abilities to cope with change and change with time.

Suggestions for more Smooth Change:

The change from manual to automate proved to be a boon reform for the organization. However, there could have been certain areas where the leadership and the Company could have worked on.
The first is that the change was radical. It could have been more planned, and the change gradually communicated to us, so that all employees could understand how and why the change needs to occur and be prepared to change accordingly.
The management should have followed Lewin’s change management approach. It was important to detach the employees from the manual systems, move them to the automatic system and freeze them there at that stage.
Along with communicating the need for change, the organization should also communicate that the change does not mean that the employees are obsolete.

References

Allen, J., Jimmieson, N. L., Bordia, P., & Irmer, B. E. (2007). Uncertainty during Organizational Change: Managing Perceptions through Communication. Journal of Change Management, 7(2), 187-210. doi:10.1080/14697010701563379
Andrews, J., Cameron, H., & Harris, M. (2008). All change? Managers' experience of organizational change in theory and practice. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 21(3), 300-14. doi:10.1108/09534810810874796
Judge, T. A., & Bono, J. E. (2000). Five-factor model of personality and transformational leadership. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 751-65. doi:10.1037//0021-9010.85.5.751
McInnes, P., Beech, N., Caestecker, L. D., MacIntosh, R., & Ross, M. (2006). Identity Dynamics as a Barrier to Organizational Change. International Journal of Public Administration, 29(12), 1109-1124. doi:10.1080/01900690600854779
Nelissen, P., & Selm, M. V. (2008). Surviving organizational change: how management communication helps balance mixed feelings. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 13(3), 306-18. doi:10.1108/13563280810893670