Internal and external factors driving organizational change

The literature review will focus on the importance of the internal and external factors which plays a driving role in bringing the organisational change, the detailed roles and responsibilities of the line managers and the senior management employees and their involvement in the implementation of the effective strategies in bring an organisational change. The literature review also highlights the reasons for resistance of the changes within an organisation and the ways by which the issue can be resolved in a structured way. An effective strategy to ensure a change-capable culture is discussed in the later stages of the paper.

According to Eason, (2014), there is a need of proper knowledge about the changes among the employees of an organisation so that they can be aware of the change; this is one of the most important factors of the organisational change management. He also stated that the employees should be aware of the benefits and drawbacks of the proposed organisational change so that they can also present their opinion in front of the management who are making the changes. His theories should be addressed by every organisation to have a positive impact while the organisational change is underway. The other writers agreeing with Eason is Stone & Stone, (2013), in their journal named as Managing human resources.

As suggested by Kuipers et al., (2014) the other types of factors influencing the organisational change is the role of the management teams of the organisations, they should be developing effective management strategies in such a way so that the proposed changes are easily accepted by the employees and they also feel the same way like the management teams regarding the need for the changes within the organisation. He also stated about the different kinds of factors which have a direct impact regarding the changes in any organisation are recession and inflation. Based on his statement it can be understood that the hostile market conditions actively influence the sale and productivity of any organisation plays an active role in the organisational change management. The other writers like Brown & Harvey, (2011) agreed with the facts shared by Kuipers et al., (2014) in their book known as An experiential approach to organization development.

According to Cameron & Green, (2015), the roles and responsibilities of the manager and management who are planning to bring the necessary changes should also be scrutinised by a team so that the effectiveness of the change can be measured. He focussed on the technological changes are the vital factors in bringing an organisational change. He suggested about the need of proper training so that they are capable to understand the latest changes and developments which are required to be incorporated in the organisation. He specified that the ineffective strategies regarding the technological changes are one of the prime factors affecting an organisational change and it has be focussed to bring better productivity to the organisation. Jones & Jones 2013 also supported the view of Cameron & Green, (2015), in their book named Organizational theory, design, and change where they also focussed on the importance of needs and aspirations of the employees.

Roles and responsibilities of line managers and senior management

As suggested by Goetsch, & Davis, (2014), during the implementation of the change in any organisation the roles and responsibilities of the senior management and line managers should be regularly analysed. He said that the senior management and the line managers are a chief reason for facilitating and implementing any organisational change. It is realised that the managers are closest to the employee who adopts the unique methods associated with an initiative. Famous writer Conway & Monks, (2011), also supported Goetsch, & Davis regarding the roles responsibilities of the line manager and senior management in an organisation.

According to Doherty, Horne & Wootton, (2014), the most significant responsibilities of a manager for bringing any organisational change is to motivate the employees and make them understand the values and manage any resistance if any. He specified that every senior management of the organisation should be having a vision regarding the organisational change among the employees so they appoint a competent manager who can successfully implement and facilitate his strategies and maintains the follow up process. The other writer agreeing with is Doherty, Horne & Wootton is Jones, & Jones, (2013) in their book called Organizational theory, design, and change.

As suggested by Salas & Rosen, (2013) senior management leaders play a huge role in training their staff and desired their behaviour. They also need to evaluate the changes in the business organisations and its acceptability among the employees. They stated that the duty of senior management is to effectively contribute during the training of the members regarding the changes.  The other writers agreeing with Salas & Rosen is Kotter, (2012), in his book called Leading change.

According to Doppelt, (2017) the importance of the roles and responsibilities of the line manager and senior management of any organisation is crucial for the entire organisation as it is difficult to get support from every section of the employees. Other writers such as Conway & Monks, (2011), also supported Dopplet regarding the roles responsibilities of the line manager and senior management in an organisation.

According to Matos & Esposito, (2014), the changes in an organisation may be affected by many factors such as job security of the employees as it may have an impact on their personal and professional life. He also stated that the poorly ranged reward schemes for successfully implementing the changes needs to be revised frequently. He stated that every organisation should be working to minimize the insecurities of their employees. Many other writers such as Pieterse, Caniël & Homan, (2012), also agreed with the sayings of Matos & Esposito about the various causes of resistance in an organisation.

Resistance to change and ways to resolve the issue

As suggested by Lozano, (2013), the climate of suspicion among the employees, organizational politics between the levels of management and the fear of failure are the other critical and significant reasons behind the resistance to change. Writers like Huczynski,, Buchanan & Huczynski, (2013), also stated about the different reasons behind the uprisings with an organisation. 

According to McKay, Kuntz, & Näswall (2013), fear of employees regarding the salary issues maintaining their image and reputation makes them in secured and accept all the proposed changes. Organizational change may hamper other plans of the employees then they hesitate to accept the changes as instructed by the administration. Famous journalists from Australia Georgalis et al., (2015), agreed with McKay, Kuntz, & Näswall (2013) regarding the financial security of the employees which is directly associated with the organisational change.

As suggested by Huczynski, Buchanan, & Huczynski, (2013) all the unrelated assessment and awareness can affect the administrative modifications if there are employees who reflect the proposed changes as an immoral awareness. He debated that shortage of time for facilitating and implementing the changes is also an essential factor of resistance to change. Whenever the employees do not recognise their new roles in the changes they offer resistance as they fear that their roles and responsibilities may change as well, it creates a sense of anxiety among those employees. Writers Atilgan & McCullen, (2011) supported Huczynski, Buchanan, & Huczynski on their book about the need of administrative modifications.

According to Kunze, Boehm & Bruch, (2013), successful corporations accomplish their success in large part because employees perceptibly appreciate how they fit in the big representation. Writers Goetsch & Davis (2014) also in support of the same issue on their journal name as Journal of Managerial Psychology

Craig, Nevin & Odum, (2014) suggested about that modification of the set of rules and regulations interrupts their confidence and safety; it causes resistance and uncertainty among them.

According to Benn, Edwards, & Williams, (2014), an effective change management strategy can support a smooth transition and safeguard the employees through the change journey as it requires working diligently with employees at all levels of the organisation, addressing foremost challenges and concentrating on the prosperities that the fresh resolutions will bring. They discussed about the vital steps that every organisation implements to ensure effective change process such as clearly defining the purpose of the change. They also focussed on the plan needed to provide the transition in the right direction strategically and ethically. They said that the impact of the strategy needs to be understood by the employees of organisation and also an effective communication strategy needs to be developed so that it can bring all the employees on board. Writers Goetsch & Davis, (2014), also highlighted on the same issue in their book called Quality management for organizational excellence.

Building a change-capable culture

According to Y?lmaz & K?l?ço?lu, (2013) the communication proposal should contain a timeline for how the modification will be incrementally communicated using effective communication mediums. Then they highlighted about the structured training part of the employees for gaining the skills and knowledge to operate professionally as the change is rolled out. Famous writer Piercy, (2016) agreed with Y?lmaz & K?l?ço?lu on the issue reading the implementation of the communicating mediums between the employees and the managements of an organisation.

McKay, Kuntz & Näswall, (2013), acknowledged that the entire process should be maintaining a support structure to support employees to get passionately and practically involved to the change and to build proficiency of activities and methodological skills to achieve the desired outcome. The other writers agreeing with the McKay, Kuntz & Näswall are Benn, Edwards & Williams, (2014) on their book known as Organizational change for corporate sustainability

As suggested by Burke, (2017), the employees needs to adjust themselves to the new changes with the help of an open-door communication platform with management curb the job insecurities. He also stressed on the importance of a measuring structure which should be incorporated to measure the trade impact of the changes and to ensure that continued support is necessary to build the desired outcome. Several other writers like Brown & Harvey, (2011) agreed with the facts shared by Burke, (2017) in their book know as An experiential approach to organization development.

1: The sense of urgency should be there among the employees of the organisation in bringing the particular with the help of honest initiatives from the managements.

1. The capabilities of managers having greater leadership qualities and vision is an added advantage for any organisation to bring the proposed change. The higher authorities should be having an influential role in bringing the change in the organisation.
2. The line managers and management should be proposing models to all the stakeholders of the organisation and provide them a proper blue print of the changes so that the employees are aware of the changes.
3. Effective bidirectional communication platform should be there in the organisation so that employees can also provide their point of view to the higher authorities.
4. The causes of the resistance in the form of obstacles should be identified prior to the implementation of the new changes,
5. Short term goals should be set by the organisations so that the concerned authorities can analyse whether the change is properly working or not and they can further update the changes if required.
6.  The short-term goals should not be providing the idea about the outcome of the overall changes, the short time achievements should not be celebrated instantly, instead of that organisations should be a planning effective strategy in case of a failure.
7. The authorities of the organisation should be making continuous efforts so that the changes are observed in all the sections of the organisation so that the entire purpose for which the changes are being implemented are met.

What strategies could organisations implement to ensure a change capable culture?

As suggested by Cummings & Worley, (2014), there are many types of effective strategies implemented by organisation to ensure a change capable culture. The organisational culture should be involving all the internal end external stakeholders of the company. (Stone 2013) supported the view of Cummings & Worley in his writing Managing human resources.

The values and behaviours of the employees should be given much importance rather than just making a change by imposing the new set of rules in the notice (Muls et al., 2015).

Stensaker & Vabø, (2013), argued that management of an organisation should be looking forward to the needs and aspirations of the employees so that the employees feel motivated and work with great enthusiasm which will help the organisation in many ways. Jones & Jones 2013 also supported the view of Stensaker & Vabø in their book named Organizational theory, design, and change where they also focussed on the importance of needs and aspirations of the employees.

The communication and demonstrating the change during the entire adjustment time by using different descriptions to create an impressive image that would help to work for a long-term basis. Managing the response of the employees affected by the change is the other significant strategies to ensure a capable culture change after the implementation of the policy (Hardy & Thomas, 2015).

Apart from the above reviews Alvesson & Sveningsson, (2015) focussed on the social side of this issue by saying that every employee of any organisation should be engaged in perspective-taking to higher authorities regarding the changes and let them know if any further modifications are needed or not. Managing the emotional feelings of the employees affected by the change helps to increase the effectiveness of the change in the organisation.

Organisational Learning: The process of organisational change implemented and incorporated by the senior management and line managers in an organisation goes through a process of creation, retention and application of knowledge over a period of time for the purpose of ensuring a good working environment. According to Argote & Miron-Spektor (2011), the knowledge gather in an organisation can be used to improve the productivity of the organisation itself. The knowledge developed in the organisation also helps to understand the vision and mission of the company for all the persons working in the organisation. This type of knowledge has not limit as stated by Easterby-Smith, Thorpe, & Jackson, (2012), in their book called Management research. This type of learning will be helping the organisation in many ways such as maintaining good relationship with the clients as well as attract investors from the market.

Conclusion

From the above literature review, it can be concluded that every organisation should involve every stakeholder in the process of making and implementing the changes so that there no problems in understand the roles and responsibilities for of them. The mission and vision of the changes should be realized and accepted by every employee so that the resistance is minimised and the expected outcome is reached. The strategy of developing the change capable culture should be completed keeping in mind with essential parameters like acceptability and effective bidirectional communication medium between the stakeholders for the best outcome.

Reference

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