CHANGE

Meaning
• Organisational change refers to any alteration that occurs in total work
environment. Organisational change is an important characteristic of most
organizations. An organization must develop adaptability to change
otherwise it will either be left behind or be swept away by the forces of
change. Organisational change is inevitable in a progressive culture. Modern
organizations are highly dynamic, versatile and adaptive to the multiplicity of
changes.
• Organisational change refers to the alteration of structural relationships and
roles of people in the organization. It is largely structural in nature. An
enterprise can be changed in several ways. Its technology can be changed,
its structure, its people and other elements can be changed. Organisational
change calls for a change in the individual behaviour of the employees.
• Organizations survive, grow or decay depending upon the changing
behaviour of the employees. Most changes disturb the equilibrium of
situation and environment in which the individuals or groups exist. If a
change is detrimental to the interests of individuals or groups, they
will resist the change.
• An organizational change occurs due to two major factors namely −
• External factor − External factors are those factors that are present
outside the firm but force the firm to change or implement a new law,
rule etc. For example, all banks are bound to follow the rules laid
down by the RBI.
• Internal factor − Internal factors are those factors that are caused or
introduced inside an organization that forces a change. For example,
no smoking in the workplace.
Process of Organisational
Change:
• Unless the behavioral patterns of the employees change, the change will
have a little impact on the effectiveness of the organisation.
• A commonly accepted model for bringing change in people was
suggested by Kurt Lewin in terms of three phase process:-
(1) Unfreezing:
• The essence of unfreezing phase is that the individual is made to realize that his
beliefs, feelings and behavior are no longer appropriate or relevant to the
current situation in the organisation. Once convinced, people may change their
behaviour. Reward for those willing to change and punishment for others may
help in this matter. In this stage, the organization studies if the change is
required or not, what and why is the change necessary. Considering the entire
situation, the organization decides for appropriate change. Thus a plan and
strategy is formulated as required.
(2) Changing:
• Once convinced and ready to change, an individual, under this phase, learns to
behave in new ways. He is first provided with the model in which he is to
identify himself. Gradually he will accept that model and behave in the manner
suggested by the model. In another process (known as internalization), the
individual is placed in a situation where new behaviour is demanded of him if he
is to operate successfully.
(3) Refreezing:
• During this phase, a person has to practice and experiment with the
new method of behaviour and see that it effectively blends with his
other behavioral attitudes. Reinforcement, for creating a permanent
set in the individual, is provided through either continuous or
intermittent schedules.
Importance of Change
• Change is the need of the hour for every individual, every organization.
Engaging in the same old methodology which is turning to be obsolete
can lead to failure. This need to change is of highest priority. The failure
in recognizing the very urgent requirement to change heads to many
serious, critical problems. Change refers to bringing a shift in the way
the activities are performed, work is done, problems are solved.
Basically, a new approach to deal with everything which would give a
positive and successful outcome. This process of change is not easy and
is time- consuming but at the end of it, we realize that it was worth it.
• How would change benefit organizations and employees? Here are few
pointers indicating the benefits of a change culture in your organization:
Build up Competition:
• Change can be big or small, easy or complex in an organization.
Change does not necessarily indicate a major transformation every
time. But it can seriously help to build competition, which can help
organizations progress and develop themselves. Without change,
organizations would struggle to lift up themselves to face the
competition put forward by their competitors. Example- When a
particular organization changes its way of working and if it attracts
more customers, the neighboring competitor will definitely observe
the same and would try to bring a change in his usual form of
working. Thus, here change plays a very positive role in building up
competition which leads to a desire among organizations to develop
themselves more than their competitors.
Bring Technological Advancement:
• Technology plays a vital role in development of an organization.
Change that results from the adoption of new technology is common
in most organizations and while it can be disruptive at first, ultimately
the change tends to increase productivity and service. To beat the
competition, organizations can make use of new technologies. The
same, old, obsolete ways of doing things would not work out when
the competitors would be moving fast forward with new
technologies. It also enables employees to adopt the new technology
and indirectly helps in growth of organization. For Example Toyota –
the company to emulate in the automobile industry, it has emerged to
become one of the most successful organizations in terms of
establishing change management.
Develop Satisfied Customers:
• Adopting change in organizations can create a certain extent of
dissatisfaction among employees and also among customers. But, once
change brings in a favorable effect, customers and employees start
accepting it. Eventually this change brings satisfied customers which inturn
acts positively for customers. As always said, satisfied customer is a boon
for every organization. Just a mere tweak in the strategy can do wonders
for you. The most famous example being Google – The Google experience
is a classic example of a company committed to wowing its customers
based on consistent quality and constant innovation over the years.
• Eventually, change plays a very positive role in building up competition
which leads to a desire among organizations to develop themselves more
than their competitors. Also change is an evitable, unavoidable part of any
organization.
Crisis Management
• Change becomes a necessity when an organization finds itself in a crisis. It helps
it rectify some of its processes or activities that may have become ineffective.
Initiating changes to discard these processes assists the organization to
withstand the turbulent times. Furthermore, the changes spare the firm from
extra expenses of sustaining the ineffectual processes.
External Factors
• Change helps the organization cope with globalization, which can be a threat or
opportunity. Globalization has made it possible for companies to produce goods
and services at lower costs in some areas than in others. In coping with
globalization, businesses need to understand the cultural and regional
differences in various markets. Such an understanding equips them with the
knowledge to develop strategies for these markets. Other external factors that
warrant the need for change include decreased or increased market
opportunities, legislation and competition.
Proactive v/s Reactive Change
• Reactive and Proactive are two terms between which a number of
differences can be identified. If you look closely, both words reactive and
proactive have the root word ‘active’ common in them.
• It is their prefixes that make all the difference. In a class, there are 30
students and the teacher explains the concepts to all of them. While all try
to grasp them, there are very few who try to verify and learn by
experimenting. These are proactive students who do not accept anything in
their life without being actively involved. They are in the thick of the things
because the rest of the students who are passive and learn without any
curiosity are those who produce mediocre results all through their lives.
There are many more aspects of being proactive and reactive that will be
dealt with in this article.
What is Reactive?
Reactive changes occur when forces compel organization to implement change
without delay. In other words, when demands made by the forces are complied in a
passive manner, such a change is called reactive change.
What is Proactive?
Proactive changes occur when some factors make realize organization think over
and finally decide that implementation of a particular change is necessary. Then,
the change is introduced in a planned manner.
As an example of the difference, assume that a hotel executive learns about the
increase in the number of Americans who want to travel with their pets. The hotel
executive creates a plan to reserve certain rooms in many hotel locations for
travelers with pets and to advertise this new amenity, even before travelers begin
asking about such accommodations. This would be a proactive response to change
because it was made in anticipation of customer demand. However, a reactive
approach to change would occur if hotel executives had waited to enact such a
change until many hotel managers had received repeated requests from guests to
accommodate their pets and were denied rooms.
Differences
• 1. Reactive change involves a reflexive behaviour whereas proactive
change involves purposive behaviour.
• 2. Reactive change covers a limited part of the system but proactive
change co-ordinates the various parts of the system.
• 3. While reactive changes respond to immediate symptoms, proactive
changes address to underlying forces creating symptoms.
How to manage Change?
• In order to implement new procedures, products, or any other change
in your company, you need to understand change management.
• Change management is the process that assures your organizational
structure, including employees, can handle changes. When
employees are properly prepared, they know the process and are
comfortable with it. Learning to manage change is important in
maintaining continuity within your business.
1. Analyze your business and determine areas where change is needed.
2. Collect data and information on the proposed changes and arrange the
list in order of priority. Changes that need to be made together should be
grouped together. Analyze how the modifications affect your business
and create a presentation explaining why the transformation is good and
how it positively impacts the business.
3. Present your information to managers and executives. Encourage input
about the proposed changes, including how managers feel it will impact
their specific departments. Make adjustments to the plan based on
manager and executive input.
4. Introduce the change plan to employees through an introductory
memo released at least 60 days prior to the projected date that the
change takes place. Encourage workers to give input on the plan by
creating employee groups to analyze and contribute ideas on the plan.
5. Begin training to implement the change in phases for all employees.
Start training at least 30 days prior to the projected change date. Make
training interactive and encourage employees to ask questions that will
help them understand the change better.
6. Roll out an offline version or model of the change at least two weeks
prior to the change date to allow employees to experience the change
and experiment with it. For example, if a new computer program is
being introduced, a sample version of the program can be made
accessible to employees so they can see how the software works. As
the sample program is not connected to the company's database and
not used for live activity, it can show employees how the new software
works without affecting business.