Organizational change is almost a modern buzz word because there are several conversations highlighting reasons why adapting to a changing market is the new way of life. It is amazing to see the changing face of industries over time. Consider that, for example, that the popularization of mobile phones radically disrupted the telecommunications market two decades ago. Now smart phones are again revolutionizing the market so much that today’s youth depend on them to “navigate life…. They use cell phone for social networking, playing games, listening to music, and many other purposes, even calling is less preferred purpose of using a smart phone” (Arora, Singh, & Taneja, 2016, p. 35). If these students leave their smart phone at home or its battery starts to die, they would be willing to go home to retrieve their phone or a charger, even at the expense of being late. Rapidly improving mobile phone capability is just one example of changing markets, and this single change had so much impact on several other markets as well. Companies that are unable to keep pace with changes are left behind. Blackberry was one company that was rapidly outpaced by android and OS operating systems; it went from the number one phone device in the world to one of the more obscure models, and it is only really popular in India (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014).
Modern organizations need to embrace change or they will be left behind, just like the example with Blackberry. Companies have become acquainted with products being impacted by technology, but what is still a struggle is getting company infrastructure to change. Individuals are resistant to change based on the overall circumstances the company is in. In a time of crisis, constituents are very receptive to change because their entire operation is at risk of collapse. In reactive situations, on the other hand, the company is only beginning to stagnate, which makes constituents skeptical of whether or not change is necessary. Based off of performance uncertainty within a reactive organization, agents have medium to high resistance to change. Within a proactive situation, however, there is high resistance to change. Proactive companies are still performing well, but leadership and other experts foresee that the organization has plateaued its performance. Agents that do not understand requirements of staying competitive are highly resistant to change, and leaders and other change agents should find ways to encourage constituents to instead accept motivations to change (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014).
Even if it is difficult to motivate employees to want to change, organizational change expert Edgar Schein (1993) explains that organizations can to do three tasks to diffuse resistance. The first task is identifying how new ways are better than old ways, and then requiring the new change to be effective immediately. Second, leaders should make their constituents feel guilty or have anxiety if they do not change. The message during step two should essentially be that doing business with the old model is detrimental to both the agent and the company. The third step is making the constituents who have changed feel safe. This acts as a positive reinforcement for the employees who successfully change, and it serves as an example to peers (Schein, 1993).
In fact, such peer examples are an effective teaching mechanism. Change agents are the individuals that influence the workplace environment to emulate a certain behavior, so it is clearly important for organizations to recruit change agents early on in an organizational change effort. This is because psychological behavioral theorist Albert Bandura explains that humans are effective learners through observation. Within social cognitive theory, Bandura explains that humans are able to learn vicariously through the outcomes and experiences of others performing the same task. Agents need to have motivation to learn and respect the role model being observed, which means that leaders should select agents that their constituents respect (Bandura, 2012).
References
Arora, N., Singh, N., & Taneja, P. (2016). Smart phone usage pattern: A study of college
students. International Journal of Knowledge Management and Practices, 4(2), 31-36.
Bandura, A. (2012). On the functional properties of perceived self-efficacy revisited. Journal of
Management, 38(1), 9-44.
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.).
Oxford: Routledge.
Oh the Blackberry! I loved my Blackberry so much! I mean Blackberry Messenger was the absolute BEST! It really was the beginning of the smart phone revolution, even though looking back at the capabilities of the Blackberry, it wasn’t all that smart, now was it? Today I only know one person with a Blackberry and he endures endless abuse because he just won’t give it up! I will add though that he has an iPhone as well, but he refuses to give up the Blackberry.
The information provided from change management expert Edgar Schein is slightly surprising when we look at step 2: “leaders should make their constituents feel guilty or have anxiety if they do not change”. While this step sounds counterproductive and demotivating, it is definitely important to make employees understand in no uncertain terms when change is inevitable and when the organization has no other choice but to implement change, employees simply have to be on board. Henry Ford said “We do not make changes for the sake of making them, but we never fail to make a change when once it is demonstrated that the new way is better than the old way.” I think this is a truly impactful statement about how to approach change, implement change, and motivate team members to embrace change alongside their leaders.
Moran, Abramson and Moran (2014) concludes that “global leaders should not only be sources of innovation but also be skilled in using change strategies and methods” (p. 133). It is important for leaders to be methodical about change management. Leaders have to be able to identify very specific changes to improve organizational effectiveness, create readiness for the identified change, facilitate initiation of the change process and innovation thereof, and reinforce the new normal (Moran, et.al, 2014). While change is not always easy to implement, there are definitely many tips to help bolster the confidence of the leader, and find new ways to make the team embrace new processes to drive efficiency and organizational effectiveness during a time that change is inevitable and constant.
Reference:
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (9th ed.). Oxford: Routledge.