Effective Change Management Strategies

Executive summary

Change management is the practice, where the change leaders aim to introduce new technology or develop new strategic planning at the organisational workplace for enhancing the organisational performance and achieving the organisational goals sustainably. The study aims to analyse the change management models to evaluate the change strategies of leaders in managing change at the workplace. In this regard, through evacuating and applying the change management models of Lewin’s and Kotter’s, it is possible to understand the strategic tactics of leaders to manage change in the company, where the change initiative is to implement new latest IT system at the workplace within three months. The study also provides some future recommendation through which the change leader can manage change and lead the change towards achieving success. The recommended suggestions are such as convincing the people at the workplace, improving cooperation, empowering the staff, ensuring job security, enhancing communication, sharing vision and leading them towards change through providing proper support and training.

Introduction

Change management is a structured approach for successful transitioning of the individuals, teams and organisations from a current stage to the desired future state in order to fulfil or implement new strategic planning for fulfilling the organisational aims and objectives (Rajan and Ganesan, 2017). The process of implementing and managing change depends on the leadership style, where the leaders need to be cooperative and communicative at the organisation in order to lead the change towards achieving future success. The study aims to analyse the change management models in order to understand the strategies to manage change at the organisation. Though this paper, it is easy to evaluate the Lewin’s and Kotter’s change management model in order to analyse the change management strategic practice, through which the organisations can lead the change toward achieving success.

In this regard, the company plans to implement the latest updated IT framework in the organisation in upcoming three months in order to enhance the organisational communication and performance which would be effective to achieve future success. It is the responsibility of the change leaders to influence and ensure others by personal advocacy towards the success of change management. In this regard, the leaders must focus on organisational resources and capabilities as well as enhance the contribution of the employees in the change management process where managing change depends on the communication, convincing power of the leaders, interactive skill and interpersonal behaviour, where the leaders can influence and motivate the employees to manage the chance for future success.

Analysing the application of Lewin’s theories for change management

The change management model is effective where the organisational change leaders can get the overview about the tactics of managing the change in the workplace. In this regard, according to Cook (2015), Lewin’s change management practice is effective model, which provides proper understanding about the change management practice, where the leaders can evaluate the change management strategic planning and follow suitable tactics to achieve future goals by implementing the change at the workplace (Hussain et al., 2018). As per the Lewin’s change management model, there are three stages which are unfreeze, change and refreeze, and three steps are useful to manage changes at the workplace. The three stages will be evaluated further in order to implement the IT system in the organisational workplace.

Unfreeze:

Under the first step of unfreeze, it is necessary to determine the needs of the changes, ensure strong support for management and create the need of change and urgency at the workplace. It is also necessary of the leaders to manage change and understand the doubts and concerns at the workplace (Cameron and Green, 2019). In this stage of unfreeze, the leader first of all creates the need of change and share proper information about the requirement of the change process in the workplace (Cook, 2015). In the present case study, the organisation aims to implement the IT system at the workplace and this it is necessary for the leader to share proper information about the need for the change at the workplace. According to Cummings, Bridgman and Brown (2016), the leader must convey the message about the important of implementing the IT system at the workplace, where the employees can understand the necessity of the change management practice at the organisation. IT system is required at the organisational workplace to increase automation process at the workplace where the employees can work at first pace which would be beneficial to achieve future success.

In addition to this, Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans (2016) opined that, it is necessary for the company to implement the IT system for enhancing the performance and improving the efficiency of the employees where they can contribute positively with their full potential to achieve the future organisational aims and objectives. Moreover, the IT system is required to enhance the internal and external communication which are also necessary for the leader to run the organisation proficiently at the market and gain future market share by gaining high competitive advantage. Hereby, there is urgent need of implementing the IT system for enhancing the organisational performance in near future. The leader must share this information with the employees and convince them to manage the change at the workplace. In addition to this, Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans (2016) stated that, the leader needs proper support, where organisational resources and capabilities are necessary. In this regard, reallocating the organisational resources, financial investment on IT system, hiring efficient engineers in the organisation are necessary for the leader to achieve the aim of the successful implementation of the IT system at the workplace.

Change:

The second step as per the Lewin’s change management model is change, where the leaders need to increase communication and cooperation as well as dispel rumours, empower actions and involve people in the process. These are essential for the leaders to manage the changes and resolve the internal conflicts (Doppelt, 2017). In this context, as per the represent case study, there may raise the issue of internal conflicts and resistance to change, where the leader must focus on the issues and take corrective actions for mitigating such problems in the workplace (Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans, 2016). Hereby, it is the responsibility of the change leader to manage change in the workplace by convincing the employees through sharing the information about the necessity and advantages of implementing the IT system at the organisational workplace. Cameron and Green (2019) opined that, the leader must focus on enhancing communication, where proper interaction with the employees, one to one communication as well as group discussion are important through which the leader can convince the team member for accepting the change and contributing positively to lead the change strategic planning.

In addition to this, the leader is also responsible to have one to one interaction and attending group meeting in order to enhance internal communication which would be beneficial to improve trust and loyalty where the leader can convince the employee to accept the changes at the workplace (Cameron and Green, 2019). Moreover, Bradley (2016) stated that, the leader needs to cooperate with each of the team ember as well as empower them in the change management process so that they become interested in managing the change and take active part in implementing the IT system. In this regard also, Cameron and Green (20190 opined that, the leaders are responsible to manage the changes by empowering the team members where the employees can take initiative to manage change where involvement of the employees would be effective to implement the IT system at the workplace.

Refreeze:

The third or last stage in the Lewin’s theory of change management is refreeze, where the leader develop the change culture at the workplace as well as develop way to sustain the change and provide training and support to manage the changes at the workplace successfully (Bradley, 2016). In this regard, the leader of the company must focus on developing the change culture at the organisation and it is necessary for the management team to control the employees and give them proper support and influence them to manage the change sustainably (Cameron and Green, 2019; Morin et al., 2016). In addition to this, Cameron and Green (2019) opined that, sustaining the change and providing proper training and development program are necessary, where the employee’s resistance to accept the change can be a serious issue as the employees are not well knowledgeable about the latest IT system and they are concerned about job loss. Hereby, as stated by Cameron and Green (2019), the leaders need to ensure the employees and provide job security as well as the organisational change leader must develop proper training and development program in order to proving the scope of learning and professionals development which in turn influence and motivate the employees to accept the changes and work efficiently for contributing with their capabilities in the organisation to achieve future aim.

According to Hayes (2018), these are the major three stages through which the organisational change leader in the company can lead the change and implement the IT system within three months, where the leader needs to communicate with all the employees, empower them in the decisions making practice as well as develop suitable change culture at the workplace which are major contributing factors to manage the change and achieve the future aim of the organisation.

Applying Kotter’s model for evaluating the steps of change management

For successful change management practice, the Kotter’s model is also another effective model, through which it is possible for the leader to manage the changes at the workplace (Lozano, Ceulemans and Seatter, 2015). In the present case study, the organisation aims to implement the IT system in the workplace where the organisation can enhance their performance and improve innovation at the market. Hereby, according to Hayes (2018), implementing the IT system within three months is the major change strategic planning in the organisation, in which the leaders need to take active initiative to manage the changes and lead the employee towards successful implementations of the IT system in the organisation. As per the Kotter’s change management model, there are eight steps which are creating urgency, form a powerful coalition, create a vision for the change, communicate the vision, empower the actions, create quick wins, build on change and make it stick and these stages are important for creating the climate for change, engaging and enabling the organisation as well as implementing and sustaining for change.

Firstly, the leader needs to create urgency of change, where the leader needs to convey the message of necessity of the change management practice at the workplace. In this regard, as stated by Morin et al. (2016), the organisational change leader must share the information about the importance of implementing the IT system at the organisation. Implementing the latest updated IT system at the organisation is necessary to enhance the organisational performance, improve efficiency and enhance innovation and creativity where the organisational can perform proficiently in the market. In addition to this, forming a powerful coalition is necessary, where each of the employees needs to be communicative and cooperative with each other and in this regard; the organisational leader needs to develop an effective team at the workplace, so that it is possible to lead the change collaboratively. Cooperative actions and team working activities in this regard are effective for the organisation to manage the changes at the organisation (Hornstein, 2015). Thirdly, creating a vision is necessary and in this context, the organisational vision is to enhance innovation and creativity as well as improve the organisational efficiency to perform better in near future. It is necessary for the organisational leader to convey this message and communicate the vision with the employees, so that the staff can understand the necessity of the change at the organisational workplace (Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans, 2016).

Additionally, Morin et al. (2016) stated that, empowering the actions is necessary for the leader to implement the changes at the workplace and in this regard, the organisational leader needs to empower the team members and establish the actions of implementing the IT system. Hiring the engineers, merge with IT Company as well as financial investment and developing organisational infrastructure are necessary for the organisation to lead the change towards the success. After empowering the actions, it is necessary for the organisational leader to create quick wins and build the change positively by implementing the IT system. As opined by Hornstein (2015), it is beneficial or the leader to build the change with proper cooperation and communication with the employees, where providing proper training and development program to each staff are necessary so that the employee can understand the new working process and accept the changes successfully. In the change management procedure, it is also required to have proper wins, where empowering the employees at the workplace, leading the change with proper cooperation and communication as well as empowerment of the employees at the workplace is necessary, where the staff can feel valued and they can manage the resistance to change at the workplace and internal conflicts (Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans, 2016). Due to lack of knowledge in new updated system, inadequate skill among the employees and poor understanding, the employees can feel risks of job loss and in this scenario, it is the role of the change leader to convince team and ensure them by providing job security, so that they become interested and lead the changes properly with enhancing communication and cooperation at the workplace (Hornstein, 2015).

Hereby, the Kotter’s model of change management is beneficial in the present case scenario to manage the changes and convince the employees about the changes in the organisation, where the change leader tries to communicate and cooperate with each of the team member for influencing them to participate positively in the organisational change management process. According to Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans (2016), creating the climate for change is essential, where the leaders can convince the team members and organisational culture in this regard plays a crucial role, where the leader must focus on managing transparency and accountability, providing job security, creating values for the employees, improving trust and loyalty among the team members as well as respecting each other are necessary to manage changes at the workplace. Additionally, the leader needs to focus on engaging the employees successfully, where proper cooperation and communicating are beneficial to improve involvement with all the employees and lead them towards achieving success and this practice further helps to resolve the issue of resistance to change and internal conflicts in the workplace (Morin et al., 2016). Additionally, implementing the changes and sustaining the change can be possible by utilising the organisational resources, proper investment and planning, reallocating resources and providing training and development to the employees, where the employees can perform better and contribute positively to achieve future success by change management process (Morin et al., 2016). Hereby, the leadership style is necessary to manage the changes where the leaders must be cooperative, supportive and communicative to handle the change environment of the organisation and lead the employees toward achieving future success (Hornstein, 2015). As stated by Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans (2016), proper cooperation, suitable organisational culture, creating the values for the employees as well as empowering the staff and sharing the vision of the organisation are effective to manage and lead the changes sustainably.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that, the organisational leaders are responsible to manage the changes at the workplace and it is the role of the change leader to lead the employees towards the change management process where the changed strategic planning can be implemented well at the workplace. In this regard, the leader needs to focus on proper empowerment of the employees, where the issue of resistance to change and internal conflicts can be resolved well. Additionally, the leader ties to lad the changes by considering all the employees where motivating them and convincing them for future growth are effective to manage the change successfully. In the present case scenario, the leader can lead the changes at the workplace for successful implementation of the IT system at the workplace. Proper communication and cooperation are necessary through which the leader can manage the changes and achieve the future aim of implementing the latest updated IT system which is essential for enhancing the organisational performance and achieving future objective of the firm. The recommendations for managing the change in the company for successful implementation of the IT system are described further.

Recommendations

In order to implement the IT system at the workplace of the company, the leaders must focus on change management practice where suitable change process can help the leader to manage the internal conflicts and resistance to change among the employees. The suggested recommendations for implementing the IT system at the organisational workplace are developed as well.

It is necessary for the leader to provide all the necessary information to all the team members about the necessity of the change where the employees can understand the urgency of change and the benefits of the change management practice.

The leader must focus on enhancing communication with the employees and in this regard the management team needs to arrange general meeting as well as enhance face to face conversation where the employees can interact with the organisational leader directly to resolve their queries (Meyer, and Peng, 2016).

The leader also empowers the employees in the change process, so that the employees can feel valued and participate positively at the change management procedure to implement the IT system efficiently.

Providing job security and ensuring enhancement of the performance of the organisation are necessary where the elder can convince the employees about better working environment and lead them towards achieving the change success together.

In addition to this, the leader must restructure the incentive for accepting and leading the change management, where the employees can feel valued at the workplace and participate positively in managing change at the workplace (Hornstein, 2015).

Moreover, the leader must focus on arranging training and development program at the workplace, where it is necessary for the employees to get proper support from the leader for understanding the change and working with their full potential successfully. In this regard, IT training is important for the employees, where they can understand the working process and contribute positively in achieving the future success. Hereby, training and development program are necessary to be developed at the workplace through which, the leader can lead the team members successfully towards achieving future success (Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans, 2016).

Additionally, the leader must create values for the employees and mitigate the fear of job loss due to lack of understanding about the IT process among the employees, and it is necessary to lead the employees and ensure them for better performance and managing organisational culture.

Moreover, the organisational culture needs to be developed properly, where the leader must focus on managing transparency and accountability at the workplace, team building activities, clear conversation, trust and loyalty among the team members as well as managing cultural diversity, which are beneficial to develop effective team to manage the changes with proper cooperation and communication (Lozano, Nummert and Ceulemans, 2016).

Through the above mentioned strategic planning and recommendations, the leader can lead the changes in the organisation and implement the latest IT system in the workplace within three months, where proper empowerment and involvement of the employees, change incentives and cooperation and communication are contributing factors to accept and lead the changes sustainably.

Reference List

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