Organizational Change
Today’s business environment requires organizations to undergo change almost on a daily basis in order to remain competitive. These changes are typically unplanned and gradual. The content or what to change that I identified in my personal case is the shipping method for service parts that are exported to Europe. This particular type of change is referred to as an evolutionary change which is an ongoing, evolving process. The process of changing the shipping method for export service parts is with designing a shipping unit that will maximize trailer density and reduce material, labor and logistics costs.
One theory that is present with my personal case is Lewin’s three steps. He claimed that in order to be successful, the change process needed to follow this three-step procedure: (1) unfreezing, (2) moving and (3) freezing at a new level (or refreezing). Step (1) Unfreezing occurred when I presented data to the operations group which highlighted the substandard fill rate for the exported windshield commodity. Demonstrating a need for the change and sharing details about the external environment which jeopardized the organizations success. Step (2) Moving is to move toward the new, or desired behavior. The associates must see the leader’s point of view. This is typically what I refer to as gaining buy-in from the associates to support the change. Leaders that maintain two way communication with the followers are more likely to gain support for the change. Addressing the anxieties of how the change may or may not impact them personally is always a great concern. Therefore prompt and thorough explanations are key to the potential success of the change. One method for determining the associates’ perception of management as well as other attributes within the organization is the use of survey feedback. Survey feedback, a systematic way of understanding an organization from the standpoint of employee perceptions and processing this understanding back into
One theory that is present with my personal case is Lewin’s three steps. He claimed that in order to be successful, the change process needed to follow this three-step procedure: (1) unfreezing, (2) moving and (3) freezing at a new level (or refreezing). Step (1) Unfreezing occurred when I presented data to the operations group which highlighted the substandard fill rate for the exported windshield commodity. Demonstrating a need for the change and sharing details about the external environment which jeopardized the organizations success. Step (2) Moving is to move toward the new, or desired behavior. The associates must see the leader’s point of view. This is typically what I refer to as gaining buy-in from the associates to support the change. Leaders that maintain two way communication with the followers are more likely to gain support for the change. Addressing the anxieties of how the change may or may not impact them personally is always a great concern. Therefore prompt and thorough explanations are key to the potential success of the change. One method for determining the associates’ perception of management as well as other attributes within the organization is the use of survey feedback. Survey feedback, a systematic way of understanding an organization from the standpoint of employee perceptions and processing this understanding back into
References: Burke W. W. (2013) Organization Change: Theory and Practice (4th ed). Los Angeles: Sage Publications. Project Management. Kotter’s 8 Step Change. Retrieved November 18th, 2014, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.html