discussion board responses 1
Constructively respond to the following 3 THREE Discussion board posts.There is not a word limit so keep response as brief or extensive as you like. The original question is: Organizational Change impacts all organizations. Discuss the various theories of managing organizational change and provide insight into how using one of them might have lighted the burden within an organization with which you have experience.
Post 1
The theory of change management that I have had experience with is the Elizabeth Kubler-Ross model. I feel that this model does an excellent job of defining the stages of change. Generally we say people fear change but it is not always fear. This model takes into account other emotions that arise from change.This theory starts off as uncertainty then progresses through bargaining trying to make sense of it and eventually it ends with acceptance. This theory does not have a time table and I would imagine it happens in its own time. My current job has just transitioned to an electronic timekeeping system so we are experiencing the change theory now. People were extremely upset and there was anxiety around how to use it. Now people are coming around and starting to like it because their pay checks are more accurate and have less errors,
Post 2
When a company changes at an organizational level, there are changes at every level of the company. Managing organizational change is important to the success of a company. There are several different theories behind the management of these organizational changes.
One theory of managing organizational change is Lewin’s three-stage model. Developed by Kurt Lewin in the 1940’s, this theory models the company as if it were an ice cube. The first stage of the change process is unfreezing this ice cube. This means breaking down the existing status quo for the company as a way of preparing the organization for the coming change. The next step is to enact the change itself. This is imagined like taking the water from the ice cube, the resources and personnel of the company, and pouring them into a new mold, which represents the new organization. The final stage is called “refreezing” in which the new organization and methods are frozen in place.
Another theory for the management of organizational change is Kotter’s 8-step Change Model. John Kotter introduced this in 1995, and as the name suggests, he breaks down the process of change into 8 steps:
1. Create Urgency – Kotter felt that the change had to be accepted from within by driving along a sense of urgency for the change.
2. Form a Guiding Coalition – The idea with this step is to create a strong group of people within all levels of leadership of the company that will act to drive change along. This insures that the change is lead by a strong force and ensures its accepted well.
3. Create a Vision for Change – Early in the process, there are likely to be several different and competing ideas for how to enact change. Creating a clear vision for what change needs to be enacted and how it should be done makes it easier down the line to ensure that change is being done correctly and for the betterment of the organization.
4. Communicate the Vision – Making sure individuals at all levels of the organization understand and accept the vision for change is key to making sure that the change is committed to and done correctly.
5. Remove Obstacles – At this stage in the process, the idea is to remove any possible obstacles for the change that is being enacted. This could include ensuring that the individuals resisting the change are able to see why change is necessary as well as hiring new people to help the change move forward.
6. Create Short-term Wins – The point of this stage is to set easy to achieve milestones along the path towards completing the change. This allows for easy wins, since successfully completing these milestones can be a great motivator. These early, easy successes can help build momentum that will carry the change process forward.
7. Build on Change – As mentioned with the previous step, the small wins need to be used as momentum to keep the change moving. The early victories are important for getting the change up to speed, but it is also important not to declare the change complete too early based on them.
8. Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture – The final stage of the model, this is similar to the Refreezing stage that Lewin’s model contained. This stage is concerned with making sure that the change sticsk for the company. Making sure to discuss the changes that were made in a positive light can help people maintain the new status quo. Demonstrating the success that has come from this change is also important.
In my experience, a company that I worked for went through major organizational change when it was bought by another company. I feel that this major change was mostly successful, but still could have been managed better by incorporating Kotter’s ideas into the change process. I feel that the company did not do a good job of ensuring that the individuals affected by the changes believed that the change was a good thing that would lead to success for both the company and the individuals working there. I feel that the lack of building urgency for the change and managing it through that process lead to some resentment amoung the individuals affected by change. This made the transition of working for the new company more difficult than it needed to be.
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_94….
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82….
Post 3
Hello,
The organizational changes that occurs impacts all organizations. It is a very essential factor, the change helps companies keep up with the advances in technology and changes in the market, in order to remain relevant.
One of many theories of managing organizational change includes the Kurt Lewins. He has written this theory in the 1940s and it still holds absolutely true even today. His model is known as the unfreeze-change-refreeze, which refers to three stage process of change that he describes. He explained the organizational change using the analogy of changing the shape of a block of ice. If you have a large cube If you have a large cube of ice but realize that what you want is a cone of ice, what do you do? First you must melt the ice to make it amenable to change (unfreeze). Then you must mold the iced water into the shape you want (change). Finally, you must solidify the new shape (refreeze).
Another organizational theory was by Kotter’s 8 step change model. The 8 step change model includes the steps of (1) create urgency, (2) form a strong coalition, (3) create a vision for the change, (4) communicate the vision, (5) remove the obstacles, (6) create short term wins, (7) build on the change, and (8) anchor the change in the corporate world. You have to work hard to change an organization successfully. When you plan carefully and build the proper foundation, implementing change can be much easier, and you’ll improve the chances of success. If you’re too impatient, and if you expect too many results too soon, your plans for change are more likely to fail. Using this theory we should have lighted the burden within my organization that I work while creating the LIMs system. When the company made the transaction from one system to another in the company, they should have followed the Kotter’s 8 steps change model to simplify the process. Couple steps were missing, for example miscommunication of the project to the management kept delaying the deadlines, which could have improved the project!
Resources:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_94….
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82….