Its not the strongest of the species that survive nor the most intelligent , but the one most responsive to change. (Charles Darwin)
Change management has been defined as ‘the process of continually renewing an organization’s direction, structure, and capabilities to serve the ever-changing needs of external and internal customers’ (Moran and Brightman, 2001)
.According to Burnes (2004) change is an ever-present feature of organizational life, both at an operational and strategic level. Therefore, there should be no doubt regarding the importance to any organization of its ability to identify where it needs to be in the future, and how to manage the changes required getting there. Consequently, organizational change cannot be separated from organizational strategy, or vice versa.
Change can originate from external sources through technological advances, social, political or economic pressures, or it can come from inside the organisation as a management response to a range of issues such as changing client needs, costs or a human resource or a performance issue. It can affect one small area or the entire organisation. Organization change is the movement of an organization from one state of affair to another. A change in the environment often require change within the organization operating within that environment Nevertheless, all change whether from internal or external sources, large or small, involves adopting new mindsets, processes, policies, practices and behaviour.
Irrespective of the way the change originates, change management is the process of taking a planned and structured approach to help align an organisation with the change. In its most simple and effective form, change management involves working with an organisation’s stakeholder groups to help them understand what the change means for them, helping them make and sustain the transition and working to overcome any challenges involved. From a management perspective it
References: Burnes B. (2004) managing change; A strategic approach to organizational Dynamics (4th edition) Hallow: Printice Hall. Moran, J. W. and Brightman, B. K. (2001) leading organizational change: Career Development International http://www.change-management-consultant.com w.w.w. web-book.com