Importance Of Change Management

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Change management and its important to organisational survival ...........................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Change management is a systematic approach to deal with transition or transformation of
an organisation goals, technologies and processes (Carnall, 2018). In the world of globalisation
and modernisation, changes are very important. The aim of change management is to implement
plan of action or strategies for managing and controlling effectual change and helping others to
adapt modifications. Majorly, there are two types of changes of organisation which are changes
imposed by circumstances and change that is planned and adopted to encourage growth and
development. This present essay includes meaning and concept of change management of an
organisation.
MAIN BODY
Change management and it’s importance to organisation survival.
Change management is the processes, techniques and tools to manage people side of
change to accomplish an expected outcome of business. Change management is a critical
decision that is applied by many organisations for overall development and growth. The goal of
change management is to implement plan of actions for controlling and managing effective
change and helping others to adapt change as soon as possible.
There are various areas which are greatly influenced as well as areas that required
changes. These areas are processes, system, structure of company, types of technologies
preferred and jobs roles. It is a disciple that guide company on how to prepare, support and equip
people to successfully adapt changes to drive organisations growth and success (Hayes, 2018).
Modifications are very necessary as it moves company forward from their current position to
upper level.
For organisation management of change, it is very important for project management as it
helps in designing, delivering as well as developing solutions of project whereas answer of task
is effectively adopted, embraced and utilized that is ensured by change management team.
Transformation is very important as without implementing change, organisation cannot able to
sustain in this competitive world.
There are two types of changes that company has to implement are-
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Planned change- This is the process that are controlled and managed by
responsible managers of organisation. Management make policies, strategies to implement
changes in the organisation. In planned changes, company also give reason for why they are
going for change. Planned changes are also very necessary for organisational survival as because
with the conditions and circumstances, company have to move forward. For example- When
company going for change in incentives like they are now giving incentives on quality basis not
on quantity. Then for introducing this change in organisation, company has to make policies and
strategies to make employees happy and for controlling resistance. This whole procedure called
planned change (Lines and et.al., 2015).
Radical Change- These are those changes that occurs very fast and modifies the essence
of the companies practices or social structures. Radical changes affects the standards, practices,
resources, norms of employees and groups. For example- when the competitor's of organisations
go through price changes than all firms have to change there price. This is the drastic change
where company face issues of decreasing profit or market share.
There are some importance of change management that proves it is very effective for
organisational survival are as follows-
 The effective change-management minimize resistance of employees within organisation.
 Effective management of change increase engagement of employees.
 It also helps in reducing cost of company.
 It also helps in enhancing innovation and creation within organisation.
There are some steps that organisation need to ensure while implementing changes and
are as follows-
Identify what is to improve- There are some areas that need to improve like products,
systems, processes or outcomes. Thus, before introducing changes, company has to first identify
what is to be done and where changes are required. If it is clear that it become easy and simple to
implement changes successfully.
Present a solid care of business to stakeholders- There are various people that have
interest with organisation such as employees, shareholders and customer. All have different
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perceptions and expectations. Thus, while introducing the change, it is very important to ensure
proper care of business to all stakeholders (Cameron and Green, 2015).
Plan for change- This is the road map that identifies beginning, the way to be taken and
final destination. Before implementing plans, all resources, cost, aim and objectives should be
indulged into the plan. In order to introduce change, there must be proper plans and steps instead
of sweeping or unplanned changes.
Provide resources and use data for valuation- Funding, process and resources are the
crucial elements as without these elements none of the plans can be implemented. Company has
to provide training to employees, infrastructure, tools and system of software's etc. these all
required proper funding.
Communication- Communication is the essence of change management. To introduce or
implement changes within organisation, communication plays vital role. There should be a two-
way communication while implementing changes as because if there is only one way
transmission than changes will be like burden and stress full. Thus, organisations should focus on
two way communication so that employees can also speak.
Manage and Monitor Resistance, budgeting and dependencies risk- In implementing
changes, resistance is very normal thing in change management but companies cannot able to
ignore it as because it hinders company in achieving to success. Thus, organisations has to plan
as well as manage all these things and make smooth change life-cycle.
Celebrate Success- This is also one of the most important parts of change management. It
is crucial to celebrate the success of people that are involved in supporting changes within
organisation. By celebrating success, employees are motivated and they will support it in coming
time.
Review, Revise and Continuously develop- Changes are never ending process as it is
ongoing with the passage of time. Even it is painfull but still companies must implement changes
as per the situation to sustain in this competitive world.
There are some challenges that occur in introducing and implementing change in any
organisation like expectation of customers are ever changing, competition in the global economy,
impact of external and internal factors, behaviour of humans and many others factors (Doppelt,
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2017). Addition to this, there are some challenges that companies face in implementing changes
such as managing and controlling multiple teams, updating suitable documents to justify with the
process of change, juggling multiple simultaneous changes and many other issues that companies
are facing. Thus, these issues can only be solved or overcome by proper and systematic planning
of introducing changes which was discussed above.
Change management is based on some principles and standards that need to be followed
before implementing change management. These principles provide guidelines to implement or
introduce the changes in organisations. These principles are very crucial as it will help in
company’s survival for long time in the competitive world.
Human side should be systematically address- According to this principle, Due to
transformation, certain issues can be arise within organisation. Thus, it is important that human
side should be addressed systematically. Changes are painful but if it is systematically addressed
then resistance will be controlled. Addition to this, this principle also stated that changes should
be implemented on leaders and after then engaging key stakeholders.
Starts at the top- As per this principle, it is also essential that changes should be
implemented on top authority. By doing this, it motivates the rest of people working in an
organisation. Moreover, company should make a single platform of top level and lower level and
introduce the changes for all as same. This is the best way to get support from all members of
organisations and present changes successfully (Kuipers, 2014).
Create Ownership- As per this principle, it is very essential to involve each and every
member in all activities of management. In change management, company should involve the
employees as well as take their reviews and ideas so that they feel that they are valued for firm.
By doing this, organisation can identify issues and difficulties as well as give solutions.
Involve Every Layer- This principle of change management stated that while introducing
changes within company's, it is important that organisation should involve each and every layer
of firm. It is because with transformation, it affects different levels of firm. Thus, to implement
the changes successful, management should involve all the levels present in company.
Effective Communication- According to this principle, communication is the essence of
change management. Before implementing changes in an organisation, it should be properly
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communicated to each and every person. In change management, there should be two-way
transmission. Information should be flow in a designed path from bottom to upper level.
Management should take feedbacks from employees about impact of change. Rumours should be
avoided.
Boost Employee's Involvement- According to this principle, employees’ involvement is
imperative. If they are not involved then it is not possible to implement the changes. Thus,
organisations has to encourage them to accept change. to control and manage resistance,
company should give reward or incentives to boost their involvement in change management
(Lozano, 2015).
There are some models that play a vital role in implementing changes. Without change
management theories, success of changes is not possible. To achieve success, these models help
organisation to implement the changes successfully. There are some theories which are discussed
below -
Kotter's Model of Change- This is one of the famous models of change management. It
was given by John Kotter in 1966. He is a professor and expert of renowned change at Harvard
Business School. He wrote a book “Leading Change” and introduced 8 steps of change
management model. He develops this model on the basis of research of 100 companies that are
going through a procedure of change. This model is very helpful for organisations as it helps to
identify the areas in which company can make improvement.
There are 8 steps in this model that are important to consider while implementing change
are as follows-
STEP 1-Create a sense of urgency- This is the first stage in this model. According to
Kotter, this is one of the most important steps as compared to all. There are some ways to
implement change. The management of company should make employee's aware of needs and
urgency for change. It requires honest, open and convincing dialogue. There are some planned
system to make employees aware the need of change and identifying and highlighting the
expected threats and effect which may crop up in the future. Addition to this, they should furnish
opportunities to employees that can be tapped by effective interventions. This step developed a
need for change instead of want for change (Van der Voet, 2014).
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STEP 2- Create a Powerful Guiding coalition- According to Kotter, it is not possible to
lead the whole change process by one person. It is very necessary to build or form a team that
handle change-management process. Team of change management help organisation to manage
all efforts and encourage employees to cooperate changes. Coalition is made up from employees
working in several positions and jobs so that workers can rely on the group and work in a team.
STEP 3- Developing Vision and Strategy for change- According to Kotter, Company
should ascertain the core values, defining vision and strategies for realizing a change within
functions and operations. Addition to this, it is significant that managers of change management
should depict the vision effectively and in an appropriate way so that people can easily
understand and locomote (Samuel, 2015).
STEP 4- Communicate the vision- This is also one of the most important steps as
communication is the essence of change management. It is not only enough to create the vision;
it needs to be communicated throughout the company. The team of change management should
link the vision with important aspects such as training and performance review. Addition to this,
team should have capability to handle issues of employees honestly.
STEP 5- Removing Obstacles- This step in Kotter model states that organisational
process and structure should be aligned in a systematic manner. It is the duty of change
management team that they should remove obstacles that are undermining the vision. They
should continuously monitor as well as control barriers or people resisting change (Kotter's
Model of Change Management, 2017).
STEP 6- Creating Short term wins- This is the sixth step in this model and is one of the
most important steps for implementing change. Company should create short term wins as soon
as possible in the process of change. Apart from this, organisation should organize reward and
incentive system. Kotter said, creating short term goal is better instead of developing long term
goals.
STEP 7- Consolidating Gains- Kotter said that there are many changes that fail only
because, success is declared too early. Company should note that changes should not be so fast,
it should be slow procedure (Ceulemans, 2015). Regular improvement is very important for long
term survival of organisation.
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STEP 8- Anchor the Change- This is last step in the model of change management process.
According to Kotter, changes become the part of corporate culture when it becomes the key part
of a company. Thus, organisation should celebrate individual who accept changes as it will help
to promote alterations.
From all above the steps of Kotter model denotes that changes are not simple and quick
process. Organisation has to put many efforts to implement the modification successfully.
According to Kotter, more than 75% plans of changes fail because it is not correctly planned
(Lines, 2015). Thus, if company wants to sustain for long time in the market, they should plan
changes in appropriate manner.
Illustration 1: Kotter's Model of Change Management
(Source: Kotter's Model of Change, 2017)
The another model that company can use for controlling resistance as well as appreciate changes
within organisation is Kurt Lewin Model.
Kurt Lewin Model is based on 3 steps that provides a high approach to change. This
model provides help and guidelines to team management leader. Changes are nothing if they do
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not able to come in process. Therefore, Kurt Lewin model will help organisations that how they
put changes in process. There are three steps in this model which are as follows-
Unfreezing (ready to change)- This is the stage people realize that something is going to
change and they are dealing with strong emotions such as impatience, uncertainty and doubt. It is
very important that organisations should disclose why company is putting change. Thus, this
stage will be helpful for company's that how they can make realize there employees for need to
change (Kurt Lewin Model, 2017).
Change (implementation)- This next crucial step as it states that changes should be
implemented in short period. If changes takes time than mind set of employees may be change so
changes should be implemented in shorter period. This stage is also known as move stage.
Employees of company become aware of significance of change rapidly.
Refreeze Stage- This stage, refreeze the change is about solidifying the change. There are
no advantages of changes if it is not permanent so the management have to put there efforts to
make changes permanent. Organisations should provide incentives and rewards so that they do
not revert changes (Cameron and Green, 2015).
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CONCLUSION
The above report concluded that change management are very important for
organisational survival. Thus, for organisation long term survival and growth changes are very
necessary. This report also makes understood two types of models that are used by companies to
implement the changes in a systematic way. There are some steps that make the entire process of
change in systematic manner. Further, this report also summarized, how companies faced
challenges in implementation of changes within companies practices and structure.
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Illustration 2: Lewin Kurt Model
(Source: Lewin Kurt Model, 2017)

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to
the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Carnall, C., 2018. Managing change. Routledge.
Ceulemans, K., Lozano, R. and Alonso-Almeida, M.D.M., 2015. Sustainability reporting in
higher education: Interconnecting the reporting process and organisational change
management for sustainability. Sustainability, 7(7), pp.8881-8903.
Doppelt, B., 2017. Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for
business, government and civil society. Routledge.
Hayes, J., 2018. The theory and practice of change management.
Kuipers, B.S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J. and Van der Voet, J., 2014. The
management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public
administration, 92(1), pp.1-20.
Lines, B.C and et.al., 2015. Overcoming resistance to change in engineering and construction:
Change management factors for owner organizations. International Journal of Project
Management, 33(5), pp.1170-1179.
Lozano, R., Ceulemans, K. and Seatter, C.S., 2015. Teaching organisational change management
for sustainability: designing and delivering a course at the University of Leeds to better
prepare future sustainability change agents. Journal of Cleaner Production, 106, pp.205-
215.
Samuel, D., Found, P. and Williams, S.J., 2015. How did the publication of the book The
Machine That Changed the World change management thinking? Exploring 25 years of
lean literature. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 35(10),
pp.1386-1407.
Van der Voet, J., 2014. The effectiveness and specificity of change management in a public
organization: Transformational leadership and a bureaucratic organizational
structure. European Management Journal, 32(3), pp.373-382.
Online
Kotter's Model of Change Management, 2017. [Online]. Accessed through:
<https://www.toolshero.com/change-management/8-step-change-model-kotter/>.
Kurt Lewin Model, 2017. [Online]. Accessed through: <https://www.toolshero.com/change-
management/lewin-change-model/>.
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