Managing Organizational Change

Organizational change is a process that requires efficient corporate planning and affects such aspects as business process, senior management, compensation, and the number of employees. Departmental managers and leaders must work together and craft a culture that embraces change. Besides, they must maintain effective communication with workers and execute compelling training programs to reduce resistance to change and improve employee skills. Cost-cutting is the change process that impacted me and increased employee attrition in my previous organization. Kodak is one of the companies that failed to manage change because of poor leadership and technological disruptions.

Discussion One: Personal Experience

The organizational change that I experienced in my previous company is cost-cutting. The approach to reducing spending influenced the firm to decrease wages and dismiss several members of staff. Business organizations implement such strategies to increase administrative cost savings (Coyne et al., 2010). As a consequence, the change process impacted me by reducing my salary and benefits. The adoption of this tactic during the transition made employees lose their jobs and increased the rate of employee turnover.

Leaders need to employ the models of change to make the transition process more successful. For instance, using Lewin's change model increases the effectiveness of the change process by making it less challenging. The theory focuses on managing resistance to change by citing forces that decrease uncertainties and inspire people to embrace change (Calder, 2013). For example, an organization has to manage stress, communicate regularly, and train workers during change management. Implementing these approaches is of substantial value because it helps managers to make the process more compelling and successful.

Discussion Two: Failures of Change

The process of change may fail or succeed because of different forces. Factors that cause change initiatives to fail are the lack of clear vision, poor communication, ineffective leadership, insufficient resources, improper planning, short-term participation in the process, and employee resistance (Recepoğlu, 2013). Conversely, pillars that can lead to successful change in an organization are stakeholder engagement, effective allocation of resources, focusing on goals to deliver desired outcomes, innovation, and making reasonable adjustments (Shore, 2015). Kodak is an example of a corporation that was unable to manage change because it experienced technological discontinuities. The company's leaders were ineffective as they made and implemented poor strategic decisions to deal with uncertainties and challenges (Kotter, 2015). They also overlooked ideas and solutions that could have helped the company to address the issues faced. They needed to innovate continuously, accelerate change, and take strategic actions to thrive during the transition.

Conclusion

The change process impacts employees, leaders, and organizational practices. Such changes as cost-cutting and adopting new business methods can contribute to the loss of talented workers and employee resistance. Factors that cause change initiatives to fail are poor leadership, improper planning, insufficient resources, and ineffective communication. To make the transition more successful, managers should develop clear visions and implement strategic decisions.

References

Calder, A. M. (2013). Organizational change: Models for successfully implementing change. Undergraduate Capstone Projects. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1142&context=honors

Coyne, K., Coyne, S. Coyne, E. (2010). When you've got to cut costs—now. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2010/05/when-youve-got-to-cut-costs-now

Kotter, J. (2015, May 2). Barriers to change: The real reason behind the Kodak downfall. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2012/05/02/barriers-to-change-the-real-reason-behind-the-kodak-downfall/

Recepoğlu, E. (2013). The reasons of failure in organizational change process and the role of school leaders within the context of school culture. The International Journal of Social Sciences, 9 (1), 15-23. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/90ae/c665d1a24cd5a7a2cdbcefe6719c0cd1a134.pdf

Shore, D. A. (2015). Making change happen: Five keys to driving successful change initiatives. Harvard University. Retrieved from https://www.extension.harvard.edu/professional-development/blog/making-change-happen-five-keys-driving-successful-change-initiatives