Managing Change in Organizations

Nowadays, when new technologies emerge and business trends rapidly change, companies has a difficult task to perform. They find themselves in the face of many challenges, which they should overcome in order to maintain their position on the market. Companies grow by expanding into new competitive space, attaining financial, material and knowledge assets and replicating their wins, however, this may be not enough. At present, the major challenge facing companies is the need to manage change in order to keep up their pace towards the changing technology and demands of the external and internal environment.
“To cope with a changing world, an entity must develop the capacity of shifting and changing - of developing new skills and attitudes; in short, the capability of learning” - A De Gues, The Living Company. Managing change in an organisation is not an easy task. It is not like installing a new technological system or training on a new skill or process. There are many factors resisting change such as self-interest, misunderstanding, or distrust that are difficult to reduce. The biggest and the most important step is changing organisational culture. One of its definitions is: “Any social system arising from a network of shared ideologies consisting of two components: substance-the networks of meaning associated with ideologies, norms, and values; and forms-the practices whereby the meanings are expressed, affirmed, and communicated to members” (Trice and Beyer, 1984). Edgar Schein (1985), an MIT Professor of Management, suggests that an organisation’s culture develops to help it cope with its environment, It is very powerful and has to evolve with the changing marketplace. Changing it is difficult because it exerts itself through the actions and thinking of thousand of people. To make it happen, though, it is essential to take smaller steps and making the process of managing change more approachable for every