Leading and Managing Organizational Change: A Comprehensive Report

This report provides a comprehensive overview of leading and managing organizational change, covering various models, strategies, and potential barriers. It begins by defining change management and exploring two prominent models: Lewin's Change Management Model and John Kotter's 8-Step Change Model. The report then delves into strategies for embedding change, emphasizing the importance of employee participation and communication. It further examines the change management process, outlining key phases and communication strategies. The influence of organizational behavior and external forces on change initiatives is also discussed. The report then details the components of a change management plan, including readiness assessments, communication planning, and resistance management. Potential barriers to change, such as lack of engagement and ineffective communication, are analyzed, along with solutions to overcome them. Finally, the report considers methods for evaluating a change management project plan, offering a holistic view of the change management process.

Running Head: LEADING AND MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE 1
Leading and Managing Organizational Change
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Leading and Managing Organizational Change
Question one
Change Management refers to the transition of groups, companies and people from one
condition to another (Wikoff, 2013). When applied to projects, this term refers to the practice of
the conversion of a project’s scope so as to meet changing goals and requirements. Two change
management models include:- Lewin's change management model and John Kotter – 8 Change
Phases Model (Wikoff, 2013).
Lewin's Change Management Model is a renowned and effective model which allows us
to comprehend organizational change. Designed in the 1950s by Kurt Lewin, the model is still
widely used today (Anastacia, 2018). Lewin forged a career in physics and social science and
likened organizational change to the changing states associated with a block of ice. His model
followed three main stages that include unfreeze, change and refreeze.
 Unfreeze - This is the first stage of changed according to Lewin and it centers on preparing
for change. This implies that during this stage, the organization must prepare for change
especially when it’s crucial and needed. At this stage, people in the organization may try to
oppose transition and its upon the organization to explain why the change should be effected
and the benefits of it (Anastacia, 2018).
 Change - At this stage is where the real change takes effect. It may take a while for the
people involved to embrace the new change and developments. At this juncture, good
leadership is essential if the process of change for those involved is to be made easier. Thus,
communication and time need to be embraced to steer through this stage successfully
(Anastacia, 2018).
 Refreeze - According to Lewin, once the change by been accepted and implemented by the

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parties concerned, the organization regains its stability. Just like ice, the staff and the
processes concerned begin to refreeze and the usual routine and pace is resumed (Anastacia,
2018). It upon the people to ensure that the change continues to be used all times despite the
goal having been reached.
Question two
The four strategies for embedding change in organizations include:
1. Telling employees what needs to change and how the change can be effected.
2. Enforcing change through reward and punishment.
3. Consulting the parties involved and allowing them to participate before the change is
introduced.
4. Changing yourself, your beliefs, words, actions and responses.
A great number of organizations have resorted to using strategy 3, and it has brought
about fruitful returns (Bremer, 2018). Inviting people to participate allows negotiations to take
place and a decision agreed in unison can be subsequently effective. However, participation can
sometimes lead to poor solutions if the process is mismanaged. Also, if the change is urgent, it
can be time consuming to involve others (Bremer, 2018).
Question three
The change management process is defined as the series of activities which a change
management leader or team follows during the application of change management so as to propel
single transitions (Mulholland, 2017). The pivotal elements required for an effective change
management process are incorporated into three phases.
 Phase one - Preparation for change

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 Phase two - Managing change
 Phase three - Reinforcing change
There are several strategies that can be used to communicate change. However, countless
studies have shown that when communicating change, the most effective strategy involves the
CEO communicating to other members of the executive who then pass on the information to the
res (Mulhollandt, 2017). The other strategy that is popular in organizations is use of media which
will solicit feedback from the people concerned. The media should reach up to 70 percent of the
audience and should also be credible (Mulhollandt, 2017).
Question four
Organizational behaviour refers to the conduct and perspective of workers and the entire
organization. Organizations have several groups structures such as work groups or work teams
which can effect change strategies (Bianca, 2018). Every group has employed different rules
with regard to membership, the expected conduct and internal procedures. An organization can
be forced to derail its change strategy if several groups are competing internally. Each group
might have its own tight management culture with each trying to outdo the other in pursuit for
control of policy-making (Bianca, 2018).
Organizations have to work in the presence of external forces and the interaction between
an organization and external forces is often continuous. Environment scanning plays a crucial
role in the implementation of a change strategy in that organization can monitor external
environments for signs that change is required (Bhasin et al., 2017). The scan may focus on
competition or improvements in technology which will enable the company to take action to
address its weaknesses (Bhasin et al., 2017).
Question five

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A change management plan has several components ranging from readiness assessments
to resistant management.
 Readiness Assessments - Assessments enables a change management project team to
determine the organization’s preparedness for change. Readiness assessments may
incorporate culture assessments, sponsor assessments, history assessments and change
assessments (Wikoff, 2013).
 Communication Planning - This involves undertaking an analysis of the audience, vital
messages and the time the messages will be disseminated (Wikoff, 2013).
 Sponsor Roadmaps and Activities - The board of executives play a vital role when
implementing change. The management team should come up with a plan detailing all
sponsor activities and assist key business stakeholders to implement them. According to
research, many businesses under sponsorship tend to succeed (Wikoff, 2013).
 Change Management Training - The change management team must come up with a
strategy that will equip managers and supervisors with guidance and training who can then
successfully coach their employees (Wikoff, 2013).
 Resistant Management - Resistance to change from employees and managers is quite
normal and can be addressed in a proactive manner. The change management team should
go out of their way to identify and assist leaders to manage resistance within the
organization (Wikoff, 2013).
Question six
Potential barriers to change management include:
1. Lack of worker engagement.

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2. An ineffective communication strategy.
3. Organization complexity
4. An unknown current situation
To address the lack of employee engagement, the change management team needs to
listen to feedback from employees (Smith, 2015). Also, the team should give assurances that the
change is for the benefit of the organization which they are also part of. Lacking an effective
communication plan may prove to be a barrier for change. Consequently, there should be
strategies in place which notify employees about the change, when it will occur and how it will
affect them (Smith, 2015). Organizations normally have some complex processes, systems and
products. An organization can tackle this hurdle by putting in place an industrious and highly
effective change management approach (Smith, 2015). Lastly, with regard to a current situation
that is unknown, an organization can make it easier for employees to fully comprehend the
blueprint currently employed by the organization before any change plans are enforced (Smith,
2015).
Question seven
The two ways I can evaluate my change management project plan include:
1. Checking whether the change will alter or add to the already existing business requirements.
2. Determining whether extra funding will be required for the overall success of the change
management plan.
References

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Anastacia. (2018, February 19). Major Approaches & Models of Change Management. Retrieved
from https://www.cleverism.com/major-approaches-models-of-change-management/
Bhasin, H., Ali, H., Ishola, O., & S. (2017, December 25). What is the Impact of Environment on
an organization and its working? Retrieved from https://www.marketing91.com/impact-
of-environment/
Bianca, A. (2018, April 05). The Importance of Organizational Behavior and Its Effect on a
Company. Retrieved from https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/importance-organizational-
behavior-its-effect-company-25410.html
Bremer, M. (2016, October 3). Organizational Change: What are 4 Strategies to Change?
Retrieved from https://www.ocai-online.com/blog/2016/10/Organizational-Change-what-
are-4-Strategies-to-Change
Mulholland, B. (2017, July 24). 8 Critical Change Management Models to Evolve and Survive.
Retrieved from https://www.process.st/change-management-models/
Smith, C. (2015, June 16). 5 Barriers to Change Management and How to Easily Overcome
Them. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-barriers-change-management-
how-easily-overcome-them-smith
Wikoff, D. (2013, March 19). How to communicate effectively within the change process.
Retrieved from http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/23535/communicate-effectively-
change-process