PS&E ORGANISATIONS CHANGE MANAGEMENT

PS&E Organizations Change Management

PS&E Organizations Change Management

Introduction

The modern competitive, rapidly changing and highly complex business environment characterized by diminishing customer loyalty, the need to be market-focused and customer-centric is more critical than any other time in the past. It is highly imperative for every organization to keep and use precious data about their customers to enhance their business schemes and merchandise and service offerings. Gather information, change and innovation are most important assets of an organization. Consequently, change strategically must be a priority for any organization that wants to compete and win in the marketplace. Change begins with developing a strategic plan, implementing the strategy and assessing its effectiveness in the real world environment.

Discussion The first activity involves motivating change and includes creating a readiness for change among organizational members and helping them to overcome resistance to change. This involves creating an environment whereby people accept the need for change and commit physical and psychological energy to it. Motivation is a critical issue in starting change, and ample evidence indicates that people and organization seek to preserve the status quo and willing to change when there are compelling reasons to do so.

The second activity is concern with creating a vision for a desired future state of the organization. The vision provides a direction for change and serves as a bench mark for assessing progress. The third undertaking involves evolving political support for change. Organizations are composed of powerful individuals and groups who can either block or promote change and change agents need to gain their support in order to implement changes.

The fourth activity is concerned with managing the transition from the current state to the desire future state. In involves creating a plane for managing the change activities as well as planning special management structures for operating the organization during the transition period.

The fifth activity involves sustaining momentum for change so that it will be carried out to completion. This includes providing resources for implementing the changes, building a support system for change agents, developing new competencies and skills, and reinforcing new behaviours needed to implement the changes.

Burnes (1988, pp 112) suggested an approach to assessing the need for the type of change which attempts to make the process of establishing objectives and outcomes more rigorous and open. Openness and rigour not only make it harder to disguise political considerations, they also allow assumptions regarding the merits (or lack of them) of particular option to be tested. Burners' approach has four phases:

The trigger

The remit

The assessment team

The assessment

Organisation should only investigate change (other than minor projects which can be easily accommodated) for one of the following reasons:

The company's vision/strategy highlights the need for change or improved performance.

Current performance or operation indicates that served problems or concern exist.

Suggestions or opportunities arise (either from the area concerned or elsewhere) which potentially offer significant benefits to the organisation.

If one or more of the above arise, then this should trigger the organisation to assess the case for ...