MBA 687

2

Change Implementation

Deyanira Diaz

Southern New Hampshire University

MBA 687

Dr. Rivero

October 2, 2022

Change Implementation

Organizational change is a complex process that requires detailed planning to succeed. A change management plan is, therefore, needed to ensure successful implementation. The plan helps manage the change process and controls schedule, scope, budget, resources, and communication. A change management plan also helps manage employee responses to organizational change. Employees respond differently to change. Some will be eager to use new processes and procedures, while others will resist. Bad communication, fear of the unknown, lack of support from the management, lack of understanding of the reason for the change, and fear of failure are some of the reasons why employees resist organizational change. No matter the reaction, a change management plan should provide a complete roadmap, as well as, tools to successfully implement change and support employees as they transition through change. In this report, I will analyze the pre-implementation and implementation stages of the change management plan in the U.S. branch.

Key Stakeholders and their Significance

Key stakeholders are individuals or groups with an interest in a change initiative and can either affect or be affected by the change. The president, the vice president, and business unit leaders are the key stakeholders in the change process. These individuals want to see successful change implementation to ensure company goals are met. Their main roles include creating a change vision and communicating change throughout the organization.

Each stakeholder’s role plays a significant part in gaining acceptance, buy-in, as well as, support for change across the organization and departments. As indicated above, one major role of the key stakeholders is to create a change vision. A change vision gives employees a picture of what the company will look like in the future after change implementation (Tanner, 2021). Also, a change vision tells employees why they should let go of the past and embrace the future. In other words, having a vision of change helps employees understand the reason for the change and the benefits it can bring. This, in turn, will create buy-in, support, and acceptance for the proposed change. Besides that, key stakeholders communicate the proposed change across departments and throughout the organization. Effective communication can encourage employees to embrace change and make them aware of the objectives and vision for change (Hasanaj, 2022). Additionally, effective communication can help the organization to convince employees that the existing state of affairs is no longer suitable. It can also encourage employees to support and accept the new state. It is necessary to be honest and clear when communicating change to create buy-in. It is also important to communicate how the change will affect employees to keep them engaged.

Every stakeholder can enhance the success of the change initiative. For instance, a stakeholder can play a role of a counselor. Here, the key stakeholder can help employees deal with their emotional responses to change and, in turn, make a good transition. Organizational change can be emotionally intense, igniting fear, confusion, anxiety, helplessness, and frustration among employees. According to experts, going through organizational change is the same as grieving (Wiens & Rowell, 2018). It is, therefore, necessary to have a counselor to help employees accept and embrace change. Besides that, stakeholders can play the role of opinion leaders. Opinion leaders are very influential and significant to organizational change. Whether or not a change leader will enlist them, they will either approve or disapprove of the change initiative (Galloway, 2019). And because they are connected and respected, opinion leaders will influence their peers (in either a negative or positive way) and determine whether the change will happen. Hence, it is advisable to engage key opinion leaders to get the new practices or new procedures adopted. Employees will not adopt and embrace the new practices or new ideas until opinion leaders do.

Strategic Goals

Various strategic goals align with the change management plan. Strategic goals are the objectives that an organization aims to attain over a specific period. The strategic goals of the company can be classified into four areas: growth, talent and learning, customers, and marketing. The U.S. branch will achieve its mission and vision in the next five years by directing its efforts toward these areas. Specifically, the company will achieve its mission and vision by promoting and supporting United States businesses’ efforts to expand, develop, and sustain operations. The U.S branch will also try to get the best from employees, retain top talent, and channel more resources and efforts toward employee core competencies. Besides that, the company will provide effective and efficient work systems that fulfill the various needs of employees, as well as, leaders. The U.S branch will also offer a regular flow of information to stakeholders and employees. Additionally, the company is determined to attract new customers, increase sales in the United States market, and perform market research. The U.S. branch is also determined to improve marketing and visibility efforts.

Various trends could affect employees of the U.S. branch. One major trend is remote work. Advances in technology and globalization led to growth in remote work in the past years. The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 accelerated this growth. According to reports, over 90 million American workers can work remotely and around 80 million are already doing so at least part-time (Ricker, 2022). This is a clear indication that many employees want more flexibility. The U.S. branch should, hence, give the employees the freedom and autonomy they need to meet their individual needs and get their work done. Another major trend is employee wellness. Employee wellness is more vital now than ever. Modern life is fast-paced, which contributes to a rise in depression and anxiety among workers. Calls for employee wellness and self-care have increased tremendously all over the globe as mental health awareness has grown. In the future, employees will prioritize self-care. They will also invest in initiatives that focus on health and wellness. Therefore, the U.S. branch should make employee wellness a priority to attract, hire, and retain the best talent.

Improving Organizational Systems

The U.S. branch needs to modify organizational systems to have successful behavioral change. Specifically, the organization needs to change certain policies, procedures, and processes to implement change. First, the U.S branch should enhance its problem-solving process. Based on the exit interview, the company takes a long time to address issues. Taking too long to solve issues can be detrimental to the employees and the organization at large. Besides that, the U.S. branch should improve its approach to idea implementation. Based on the exit interview, the company takes too long to implement new ideas. This can discourage employees from generating new ideas, which can eventually prevent change. The ability to generate and implement new ideas allows a company to stay relevant and implement positive change.

These improvements will influence behavioral change in the organization. By improving the company’s problem-solving process, issues will be dealt with quickly and effectively. This is very important especially when implementing change. Several issues can arise during change, including resistance, lack of communication, conflicts, and poor planning. It is important to quickly and effectively deal with these issues as they arise to ensure a successful behavioral change. And by implementing new ideas instantaneously, employees will be motivated to generate new ideas – ideas that can help them navigate through behavioral change.

Enhancement Strategies for Team Collaboration

There is poor team collaboration between team members across the U.S. branch. This could be due to poor communication. Proper communication is critical in team collaboration. When employees communicate effectively, they are more likely to work collaboratively and reduce the risk of conflict and misunderstandings. Poor communication tends to create a poor work environment where employees are not inspired to be productive and not motivated to collaborate. Poor collaboration could also be attributed to the lack of training. The main purpose of employee training is to increase their skills and knowledge in different areas. Lack of training will hinder knowledge sharing and collaboration

The U.S. branch can take different measures to turn an individual performer into a team player. First, the organization needs to build and foster a supportive environment. This is a work environment where job performance and physical, mental, and emotional well-being are respected and valued. This environment will keep employees happy, and in turn, improve collaboration. Besides that, the organization can create a reward system. Employees who feel like their effort is recognized and rewarded usually feel valued and more motivated to work as a team player.

Leadership behavior at the U.S. branch should change to build and nurture trust. First, leaders should change their decision-making approach. Based on the exit interview, the company seems to have a top-down approach to management where top managers make decisions and lower subordinates implement them. This may cause team disconnection or disengagement as employees feel their opinions and feedback are not valued (Asana, 2021). In the long run, this will erode trust between employees and managers. It is, therefore, advisable to encourage employee involvement in decision-making to build trust.

Change Management Model

The U.S. branch can use Lewin’s change management model to implement change. This model was first established by Kurt Lewin, a German-American social psychologist during the early twentieth century. The change management model comprises three stages; unfreezing, changing, and refreezing. Unfreezing is the first stage of the change process. Here, the employees need to let go of the existing situation for change to happen. In the second phase, which is the change stage, the organization begins to implement change (Deborah, 2018). This will be characterized by a change in behavior, feeling, and thoughts. The final step, refreezing, takes place immediately after change implementation to ensure that the new procedure, process, or behavior is sustained. Otherwise, the organizational change will be short-lived and employees will quickly go back to their previous behaviors.

Lewin developed the change management model to evaluate two important areas: the change process within the organization and how the existing state of affairs can be challenged to achieve effective changes. Lewin’s change management model comprises three major aspects: restraining forces, driving forces, and equilibrium. Restraining forces can be defined as elements that hinder change. Driving forces, on the other hand, are elements that enable change. Equilibrium is achieved when restraining forces equal driving forces.

Implementing the Change Management Model

As indicated above, Lewin’s change management model comprises three phases. In the first phase, the U.S. branch should help employees to let go of old behaviors or old practices. The organization can use three approaches to achieve this: increase the driving forces, reduce the restraining forces, or combine the two approaches (Deborah, 2018). In the second phase, the U.S. branch will start to implement the proposed change. It is in this stage that employees will start acting and believing in a way that supports the new path. Communication and time are necessary when implementing change. Change leaders need to communicate clearly and widely to avoid misunderstanding. On the other hand, employees need time to understand and embrace change. In the last stage, the organization will reinforce and sustain change.

Roadblocks are expected during the change management process, but they can be mitigated or even removed. The U.S. branch can mitigate and remove obstacles by communicating. According to Collazo (2020), effective communication can improve the change process and facilitates a better understanding of the change vision. The organization can also mitigate roadblocks by involving all stakeholders throughout the change process. Stakeholders are part of the change initiative. Their influence, acceptance, engagement, and input are critical to the success of the initiative.

The U.S. branch should prepare for planned and unplanned changes, as well as, any contingency to successfully implement change. This will require the change leaders to create a contingency plan. The plan will help the organization to evaluate situations and their possible impact. A contingency plan will also provide a framework for creating the actions needed to deal with a given issue or situation.

The organization will need to accomplish different milestones for change implementation to succeed. Some of these milestones include obtaining employee buy-in or acceptance, getting funding for the proposed change, and creating a change management plan.

Measuring the success of the management plan is the last step in the change management process. This process involves ascertaining whether the change management plan was effective. The U.S branch will use employee feedback to determine if the plan was effective. The organization can also assess employee engagement, participation, and buy-in to measure success.

References

Asana, (2021). Top-down approach vs. bottom-up approach: What’s the difference? Retrieved from: https://asana.com/resources/top-down-approach

Collazo, J. (2020). The Importance Of Communication When There Is Change In A Company. Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/08/03/the-importance-of-communication-when-there-is-change-in-a-company/?sh=45a18bf6739e

Deborah, O. K. (2018). Lewin’ s Theory of Change: Applicability of its Principles in a Contemporary Organization.  Journal of Strategic Management,  2(5).

Hasanaj, R. (2017). Importance of communication during change: a case of the municipality of vlora.  European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies,  2(1), 15-19.

Galloway, D. (2019). Leverage opinion leaders to make change happen. Continuous Mile. Retrieved from: https://www.continuousmile.com/leadership/leverage-opinion-leaders-to-make-change-happen/

Ricker, T. (2022). 92 million US workers now have the opportunity to work remotely: survey / 58 percent can work from home at least part-time, 35 percent full-time. The Verge. Retrieved from: https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/28/23186112/us-flexible-remote-hybrid-work-survey-mckinsey

Tanner, R. (2021). Leading Change (Step 3) – Develop a Change Vision and Strategy. Management is a Journal. Retrieved from: https://managementisajourney.com/leading-change-step-3-develop-a-change-vision-and-strategy/#:~:text=The%20change%20vision%20and%20strategy,senior%20leadership%20into%20the%20future.

Wiens, K., & Rowell, D. (2018). How to Embrace Change Using Emotional Intelligence. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2018/12/how-to-embrace-change-using-emotional-intelligence#:~:text=Changes%20at%20work%20can%20be%20emotionally%20intense%2C%20sparking%20confusion%2C%20fear,loss%20of%20a%20loved%20one.