Running Head: MGT 601 WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENT 1
MGT 601 Week 3 Assignments
Student’s Name:
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MGT 601 Week 3 Assignment 2
Organizational Processes and Change
In today’s business world, it is important for employees to work in close collaboration
with each other in addition to trying their level best to fulfill the organization’s mission, vision
and goals. Generally, organizational processes include planning where the future course of action
is decided upon, organizing which is the utilization of company resources to achieve the best out
of the staff, staffing which involves recruiting the right kind of talent for the organization and
leading where managers set clear targets for their team members (Denison, Cho & Young, 2000).
These processes also incorporate control, motivation, as well as time management, all of which
enables employees to do the right thing at the right time in addition to making them feel more
appreciated for their efforts. It is important to manage workers in the most effective of ways so
as to make them feel indispensable for the organization; this is where organizational
management comes in.
Organization management is simply the art of getting individuals together on a common
ground to make them work towards a particularly predefined goal (Kotter, 2000). Organizational
management has grown to become one of the most preferred management styles for
contemporary small businesses where the method allows managers to break down a department’s
whole operation into numerous stages. Managers can also respond quickly to factors affecting
external or internal expectations of a given organization. More and more companies are coming
into the realization that there is great need for organizational management as it not only provides
a sense of security and oneness to the workers but also enables workers to stay loyal towards
their job and not look at it as being a burden (Hofstede, 2001).
The concept of authority is important in organizational management as it also tends to
influence and bring about transformations in organizations. This concept is designed to benefit
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both the organization, as well as the workers. Authority is usually put in place as it is a technique
of maintaining managerial integrity where the company grows with the strength of a capable
managerial staff while workers look to management for the provision of career development
(Quinn & Cameron, 1983). At one point or the other and in the course of its operation, the
organization is faced with organizational change where it needs to reform some of its operations
for the future success of its business. As it has already been stated, authority tends to influence as
well as foster organizational change in any given organization. A good example can be observed
where there is some resistance to the change. Here, those in authority are charged with the
responsibility of assuring the employees of their job security and convincing them of the
numerous benefits that are to come following the organizational change (Denison, et al., 2000).
The authority is also important in guiding the employees on the development of extra
skills that may be required after the implementation of the change. In the course of
organizational change, it is important for the management to maintain open communication
channels between employees, departments as well as divisions of the organization to avoid any
misunderstandings or potential conflicts. Managers, who are also part of the authority within the
organization, should effectively communicate what is expected from the workers during and
after the change.
Why People Resist Change and What Managers can do to Overcome Resistance to Change
Organizational change is inevitable and has to occur at some point in the process a
company's business operation. Change is considered to be good as well as effective because it,
usually, leads to the achievement of an organization's goals and the improvement of employees'
skills. With organizational change often comes resistance from all or some of the employees
within a given company. There are a number of reasons why people resist change, for instance,
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the fact that they are no longer sure or rather no longer feel secure regarding their future
employment in the organization (Kotter, 2000). People also resist change because they are not
sure what is expected or the kind of changes that will come about as a result; it is true that a
majority of individuals, especially those who have been in a company for many years, grow
comfortable in their respective positions and are therefore scared of change. Companies that are
most likely to experience change are the international ones as they tend to make an effort of
improving their business operations to suit their current business environments. Such
organizations also tend to hire or rather recruit employees who are rather diverse in terms of
culture, ethnicity, gender, age, as well as nationality (Quinn & Cameron, 1983).
Technological advancements have made it necessary for organizations to undergo
changes once in a while as they adopt these new techniques. It is, therefore, not surprising to
learn that there are a few employees, particularly the older ones, who would resist such
transformations. Managers need to realize that they have a major task to play in make sure that
their workers do not oppose change in the organization but rather embrace it. There are a various
things that directors can do in order to overcome resistance to change, for instance, keeping the
communication channels open prior to the change. This means that managers should ensure that
they communicate effectively of the kind of change expected, what is expected from or required
of the employees in the course of the change and how this change will be beneficial in the long
run (Parish, et al., 2008). Managers can also assure employees of their job security and
encourage those who are to be laid off, not to be discouraged in addition to offering positive
recommendations for future employment opportunities. With regards to motivation, managers
should encourage their employees to welcome the change as it will not only improve their
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business skills but will also bring in more profits for the organization, which will in turn reflect
on their salaries.
An Example of an Organization that went through a Significant Change
As I have indicated earlier on, organizational change is an inevitable activity that is
experienced by any company or organization in the course of their business ventures. A good
illustration of an organization that has already experienced a significant change in the recent past
is the California State University. This particular institution needed to make a few changes in its
IT department since any transformation that takes place has to go through every satellite campus
(Quinn & Cameron, 1983). What the majority of individuals have not yet realized is that dealing
with change in smaller organizations is somehow less hectic as compared to larger organizations
like this university. In the course of its change, the IT department instituted an automated
transformation management system by making use of Cisco's Pace functionality (Kotter, 2000).
Their change management plan took into consideration the human factor and also defined roles
of transformation in order to minimize the confusion as well as issues regarding the institution of
the change.
How the Change impacted the Organizational Culture
Organizational culture is considered to be an essential part of any given organization as it
tends to concentrate on organizational norms, beliefs, family friendly culture as well as shared
values (Hofstede, 2001). Organizational culture also has an important role to play in
organizational change and for the case scenario presented above resistance came from the older
employees who were not quite familiar with this new form of technological advancement. The
California State University employs a diverse population of staff and particularly in the IT
department. Therefore, this particular change had both negative and positive impact on
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organization culture as some of the employees were required to adjust to these new changes. The
university boasts of 23 campuses as well as thousands of employees and despite the confusion
that had been there prior to the change, all the individuals within the institution were able to
adjust soon after being educated on the benefits of the change.
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References
Denison, D., Cho, H.J., & Young, J. (2000). Diagnosing Organizational Cultures: A Model and
Method. Working Paper, International Institute of Management Development.
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related
Values. London: Sage Publications.
Kotter, J. (2000). The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their
Organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Parish, J., Cadwallader, S., & Busch, P. (2008). Want to, Need to, Ought to: Employee
Commitment to Organizational Change. Journal of Organizational Change Management,
21, no.1.
Quinn, R.E., & Cameron, K. (1983). Organizational life cycles and shifting criteria of
effectiveness: Some preliminary evidence.EManagement Science, 29(1), 33-51.E
Retrieved from the ProQuest database.
