Concept of Change free essay sample

Conceptually, the change process starts wit awareness of the need for change. An analysis of this situation and the factors that have created it leads to diagnosis of their constructive characteristics and an indication of the direction in which action needs to be taken. Possible courses of action can then be identified and evaluated and a choice made of the preferred action. It is necessary to decide how to get from here to there. Managing change during this transition state is a critical phase in the change process. It is here that the problems of introducing change emerge and have to be managed. These problems can conclude resistance to change, low stability, and high levels of stress, misdirected energy, conflict and loss of momentum. Hence the need to do everything possible to anticipate reactions and likely impediments to the introduction of change. The installation stage can also be painful. When planning change there is tendency for people to think that it will be an entirely logical and linear process of going from A to B. We will write a custom essay sample on Concept of Change or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is not like that at all. As described by Pettigrew and Whipp (1991), the implementation of changes is an ‘iterative, cumulative and reformulation in-use process’. To manage change, it is first necessary to understand the types of change and why people resist change. It is impossible to bear in mind that while those wanting change need to be constant about ends, they have to be flexible about means. This requires them to come to an understanding of the various models of change that have been developed. In the light of an understanding of these models they will be better equipped to make use of the guidelines for change set out at the end of this section. There are two main types of change; Strategic change is concerned with organisational information. It deals with broad, long-term and organisation-wide issues. It is about moving to a future state, which has been defined generally in terms of strategic vision and scope. It will cover the purpose and mission of the organisation, its corporate philosophy on such matters as growth, quality, innovation and values concerning people, the customer needs served and the technologies employed. This overall definition leads to specifications of competitive positioning and strategic goals for achieving and maintaining competitive advantage and for product-market development. These goals are supported by policies concerning marketing, sales manufacturing, product and process development, finance and human resource management. Strategic change takes place within the context of the external competitive, economic and social environment, and the organisation’s internal resources, capabilities, culture, structure and systems. Its successful implementation requires thorough analysis and understanding of these factors in the formulation and planning stages. The ultimate achievement of sustainable competitive advantage relies on the qualities defined by Pettigrew and Whipp (1991), namely ‘The capacity of the firm to identify and understand the competitive forces in play and how they change overtime, linked to the competence of the business to mobilize and manage the resources necessary for the chosen competitive response through time’. Strategic change, however, should not be treated simplistically as a linear process of getting fro A to B which can be planned and executed as a logical sequence of events. Pettigrew and Whipp (1991) issued the following warning based on their research into competitiveness and managing change in the motor, financial services, insurance and publishing industries. The process by which strategic changes are made seldom moves directly through neat, successive stages of analysis, choice and implementation. Changes in the firm’s environment persistently threaten the course and logic of strategic changes: dilemma abounds. We conclude that one of the defining features of the process, in so far as management action concerned is ambiguity; seldom is there an easily isolated logic to strategic change. Instead, that process may derive its motive force from an amalgam of economic, personal and political imperatives. Their introduction through time requires that those responsible for managing process make continual assessments, repeated choices and multiple adjustments. Operational change relates to new systems, procedures, structures or technology which have an immediate effect on working arrangements within a part of the organisation. But their impact on people can be more significant than broader strategic change and they have to be handled just as carefully. Armstrong m (2001)Human Resource management practice, Kogan Page Limited. London