The business landscape of the 21st century is characterized by rapid change brought about due to technological, economic, political and social changes. It is no longer the case that the managers and employees of firms in this decade can look forward to more of the same every year. In fact, the pace of change is so rapid and the degree of obsolescence if organizations resist change is so brutal that the only way out for many firms is to change or perish. In this context, it becomes critical that organizations develop the capabilities to adapt and steer change in their advantage.
The role of senior managers becomes crucial in driving through change and ensuring that firms are well placed with respect to their competitors. However, it is the case that in many organizations, senior managers actively resist change and in fact thwart change initiatives due to a variety of reasons which would be explored in subsequent sections. This essay examines the barriers to change by senior managers and discusses approaches to mitigate such resistance. The essay begins with a discussion n the role of senior managers as barriers to change and then outlines some approaches on how to get the senior managers on board for change.
It goes without saying that “he who rejects change is the architect of decay and the only human institution that rejects progress is the cemetery.” With this axiom in mind, it is critical to understand that unless change is actively embraced, organizations in the 21st century risk obsolescence.
To resist change is as basic as human nature and hence the change managers must adopt an inclusive approach that considers the personality clashes and the ego tussles. It is often the case that in large organizations, there tend to be power centres and fiefdoms and hence the issue of organizational change must address the group dynamics as well as the individual behavioural characteristics.
Only by an understanding of the means by which managers can be brought on board can there be a foundation for suitable approaches. The approaches include a combination of pressure tactics and coordination instead of competition and cooption as well as cooperation. Change agents must realize that wherever possible, they must deal with consensual decision making and if that is not possible, they must walk the talk and be firm in their approach. Managers at all levels have a tendency to resist change and in the high stakes game of change management, it is the ones that can articulate and communicate the change in a clear and coherent manner who succeed.
In conclusion, change is the only constant in business and the landscape of the 21st century is littered with companies that have not adapted to the changing times. Hence, organizations must and should embrace change and the approaches discussed in this paper are part of the solution.
Kinds of Change and the Barriers to Change
There are different kinds of change that an organization might undertake or be forced to undertake because of internal and external factors.
The internal factors for change include reorganization and restructuring to meet the challenges of the future and also to act proactively to initiate change as a means of staying ahead of the competition.
The external factors include change that is forced upon the organization because of falling revenues, changing market conditions and the need to adapt to the ever changing business landscape.
Change can be organic which means that it evolves slowly and is like meandering up the gentle slope of a mountain. In this case, the organization and the management have enough time to prepare for change and reorient themselves accordingly. This is the kind of change that is adaptive meaning that firms have the opportunity to adapt themselves to the change.
Change can be radical which is rapid, sudden and uncertain. This is the kind of change that is disruptive and often forces organizations to reorient themselves without adequate notice and warning. It is better for organizations to anticipate change rather than be forced into accepting change that is rapid and sudden.
We have seen how managers at different levels resist change and how this resistance manifests itself. Apart from the ideological and personality issues, there is the very real possibility of change being resisted because the “visibility” of what comes next is not clear. For instance, many managers tend to resist change because the change initiators have not clearly spelt out the outcomes of the changes and the possible impacts that such changes have on the organization. This is the realm of the “known unknowns” and the “unknown unknowns” which arise because of ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty. Hence, the resistance to change can come about due to the lack of coherence in the vision and mission and because the change is not clearly communicated as well.
Finally, the rapidity with which change is introduced can upset the organization structures that are usually rigid and bureaucratic with bean counters at all levels resisting and actively thwarting change. Hence, it needs to be remembered that change initiators take into account all these factors when introducing changes.
Role of Innovation in Change Management
Innovation can take many forms and some of them are discontinuous innovation, continuous innovation and dynamically continuous innovation. We shall discuss what each mean in the next paragraph. Suffice to say that unless companies innovate they cannot move up the value chain and unless they move up the value chain, they cannot remain competitive. So, to make changes to the organizational processes and its strategy, companies need to innovate constantly.
Innovation can produce sudden and dramatic changes to the way business is done and the way consumers experience changes to the products and services made by the companies.
This is the discontinuous innovation which is sudden and has a huge impact on the way the company goes about its business. On the other hand, innovation can be gradual and incremental which is the continuous innovation way which means that the company introduces refinements to its products so that consumers adjust and adapt in steps. Finally, there is the dynamically continuous innovation which affects the way in which the company adapts to changing market conditions and changes in consumer behavior trends to make a positive impact on the consumer psyche.
The point here is that no matter what kind of innovation the company adopts, the prerequisite for change management is innovation and without innovation, a company cannot expect its internal and external environment to be to its advantage. For instance, if Apple comes out with its new iPhone and disrupts the way in which consumers perceive a phone, it is discontinuous innovation. If Apple modifies its iPhone in a dynamic manner according to the changing customer preferences, it is dynamically continuous innovation. If it releases its iPhone after minor tweaks, then it is continuous innovation. For Apple to make a mark in the customer experience, it has to keep changing continuously and hence has to innovate constantly to keep abreast of the consumer trends and the competition.
An example of a company that constantly strives to be the best when it concerns change and innovation is 3M Corporation. This company is known for its world class innovation teams which drive change throughout the company and keep its consumers happy and its competitors on their toes.
The way in which 3M drives innovation to produce change is indeed exemplary and worthy of emulation. Hence, innovation should be the mantra for companies wishing to change their internal environments and in the process change the way they project themselves in the external marketplace.
In conclusion, we are living in times where the rapid turnover of ideas and products in the marketplace has reached a stage where it is no longer enough to be best in the class. Instead, the pursuit of excellence and the search for excellence are the hallmarks of a truly successful and world class company and hence all companies must undertake efforts to drive innovation and change within and without.
The role of senior managers becomes crucial in driving through change and ensuring that firms are well placed with respect to their competitors. However, it is the case that in many organizations, senior managers actively resist change and in fact thwart change initiatives due to a variety of reasons which would be explored in subsequent sections. This essay examines the barriers to change by senior managers and discusses approaches to mitigate such resistance. The essay begins with a discussion n the role of senior managers as barriers to change and then outlines some approaches on how to get the senior managers on board for change.
It goes without saying that “he who rejects change is the architect of decay and the only human institution that rejects progress is the cemetery.” With this axiom in mind, it is critical to understand that unless change is actively embraced, organizations in the 21st century risk obsolescence.
To resist change is as basic as human nature and hence the change managers must adopt an inclusive approach that considers the personality clashes and the ego tussles. It is often the case that in large organizations, there tend to be power centres and fiefdoms and hence the issue of organizational change must address the group dynamics as well as the individual behavioural characteristics.
Only by an understanding of the means by which managers can be brought on board can there be a foundation for suitable approaches. The approaches include a combination of pressure tactics and coordination instead of competition and cooption as well as cooperation. Change agents must realize that wherever possible, they must deal with consensual decision making and if that is not possible, they must walk the talk and be firm in their approach. Managers at all levels have a tendency to resist change and in the high stakes game of change management, it is the ones that can articulate and communicate the change in a clear and coherent manner who succeed.
In conclusion, change is the only constant in business and the landscape of the 21st century is littered with companies that have not adapted to the changing times. Hence, organizations must and should embrace change and the approaches discussed in this paper are part of the solution.
Kinds of Change and the Barriers to Change
There are different kinds of change that an organization might undertake or be forced to undertake because of internal and external factors.
The internal factors for change include reorganization and restructuring to meet the challenges of the future and also to act proactively to initiate change as a means of staying ahead of the competition.
The external factors include change that is forced upon the organization because of falling revenues, changing market conditions and the need to adapt to the ever changing business landscape.
Change can be organic which means that it evolves slowly and is like meandering up the gentle slope of a mountain. In this case, the organization and the management have enough time to prepare for change and reorient themselves accordingly. This is the kind of change that is adaptive meaning that firms have the opportunity to adapt themselves to the change.
Change can be radical which is rapid, sudden and uncertain. This is the kind of change that is disruptive and often forces organizations to reorient themselves without adequate notice and warning. It is better for organizations to anticipate change rather than be forced into accepting change that is rapid and sudden.
We have seen how managers at different levels resist change and how this resistance manifests itself. Apart from the ideological and personality issues, there is the very real possibility of change being resisted because the “visibility” of what comes next is not clear. For instance, many managers tend to resist change because the change initiators have not clearly spelt out the outcomes of the changes and the possible impacts that such changes have on the organization. This is the realm of the “known unknowns” and the “unknown unknowns” which arise because of ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty. Hence, the resistance to change can come about due to the lack of coherence in the vision and mission and because the change is not clearly communicated as well.
Finally, the rapidity with which change is introduced can upset the organization structures that are usually rigid and bureaucratic with bean counters at all levels resisting and actively thwarting change. Hence, it needs to be remembered that change initiators take into account all these factors when introducing changes.
Role of Innovation in Change Management
Innovation can take many forms and some of them are discontinuous innovation, continuous innovation and dynamically continuous innovation. We shall discuss what each mean in the next paragraph. Suffice to say that unless companies innovate they cannot move up the value chain and unless they move up the value chain, they cannot remain competitive. So, to make changes to the organizational processes and its strategy, companies need to innovate constantly.
Innovation can produce sudden and dramatic changes to the way business is done and the way consumers experience changes to the products and services made by the companies.
This is the discontinuous innovation which is sudden and has a huge impact on the way the company goes about its business. On the other hand, innovation can be gradual and incremental which is the continuous innovation way which means that the company introduces refinements to its products so that consumers adjust and adapt in steps. Finally, there is the dynamically continuous innovation which affects the way in which the company adapts to changing market conditions and changes in consumer behavior trends to make a positive impact on the consumer psyche.
The point here is that no matter what kind of innovation the company adopts, the prerequisite for change management is innovation and without innovation, a company cannot expect its internal and external environment to be to its advantage. For instance, if Apple comes out with its new iPhone and disrupts the way in which consumers perceive a phone, it is discontinuous innovation. If Apple modifies its iPhone in a dynamic manner according to the changing customer preferences, it is dynamically continuous innovation. If it releases its iPhone after minor tweaks, then it is continuous innovation. For Apple to make a mark in the customer experience, it has to keep changing continuously and hence has to innovate constantly to keep abreast of the consumer trends and the competition.
An example of a company that constantly strives to be the best when it concerns change and innovation is 3M Corporation. This company is known for its world class innovation teams which drive change throughout the company and keep its consumers happy and its competitors on their toes.
The way in which 3M drives innovation to produce change is indeed exemplary and worthy of emulation. Hence, innovation should be the mantra for companies wishing to change their internal environments and in the process change the way they project themselves in the external marketplace.
In conclusion, we are living in times where the rapid turnover of ideas and products in the marketplace has reached a stage where it is no longer enough to be best in the class. Instead, the pursuit of excellence and the search for excellence are the hallmarks of a truly successful and world class company and hence all companies must undertake efforts to drive innovation and change within and without.
Great post. You have written a valuable content in a interesting way. Kindly share more updates.
ReplyDeleteTop Ranking Recruiting Agency of Pakistan for Gulf