Factors Involved in the Change Process within an Organization

Factors Involved in the Change Process within an Organization

            In today’s business world, change has become increasingly inevitable for the success of any organization.  Typically, times of organizational change process should always serve to empower and reward individuals in organization rather than make them defensive and insecure (Susan M. Heathfield). In this regard, many field studies have been carried out to identify the four core factors involved in the change process, namely;

Proactive Change- proactive changes involves having certain forces in the organization attempt to make alterations in form of implementation to the work before introducing the change in a planned manner.  Organizations that use proactive approach to change tend to capitalize on a potential future opportunity or are avoiding a possible future risk.

 External Influences –organizations tend to react to some of external influences that cause change in different ways. For instance, stiff competitions from close competitors in certain line of production or commodity may subject the company to reorganize itself in terms of production. Likewise, technological advances as an external factor may cause the business to adopt the new revolution changes in technology.

Timing Factor – the aspect of timing is critical when initiating change process in organization. An organization that engages in too many changes at one time tends to bring about a state of fatigue, which may in turn lead to failure to implement some of those changes within an organization.

Stakeholder Involvement – stakeholder involvement may largely influence the change process in a number of ways. In terms of initiating consultations in deliberating on certain decisions to be made, stakeholders tend to influence the decisions to initiate change in the organization.

Section 2 (AC 3.1)

Behavioral Responses Individuals Make when an Organization is Experiencing Change

Employee’s behaviors in times of change vary depending on the effect that the change will bring to the organization. Even though some individuals may feel insecure and defensive, the sudden fear of loss and failure in adapting to the change being introduced is the difficult part. However, among some of the behavioral responses individuals make when an organization is experiencing change include;

What effect the change will have on the job security – most employees see change from a personal point of view in regard to their job security and may be heard asking what effect the change will have on their job security.

Gossip – most employees who feel as loss of power and control may often respond with vicious gossip that may even escalate to anger thereby leading to a negative perception of change.

Panic – other employees tend to enter into panic mode whenever change is initiated because hey worry too much to proceed with their daily routine.

Section 3 (AC 3.2)

Role that HR Play in Supporting Individuals during Organizational Change

HR plays very critical role in supporting individuals during organizational change. For instance, HR manager’s helps to bring to the attention of the employee the awareness that the organization is going through certain changes in which the employees will be expected to participate. In addition, the HR manager helps in training the individuals on the way to facilitate certain organizational changes. In this regard, organizations should always strive to manage change because change helps organization to grow and achieve their goals and objectives.

Work Cited

Susan M. Heathfield. “Build Support for Effective Change Management: Use Preparation and Planning to Build Support for Change.” Human Resources Article (2017): 2-12.