Change Scenario Project
Abstract
Change is an essential part of any organization. It allows the incorporation of growth prospects, better working, and more returns for all concerned stakeholders. Any organization needs to be flexible enough to adopt changes into its different departments and areas of work. These can include the financial sector or even customer relations aspects. As technological advances progress, different businesses also need to adapt to changing times. One of the past companies that I worked with used a physical filing system. There were many cases of file misplacement, destruction, or loss. Such a company needs to incorporate a digital filing system. The workforce may be reluctant to the same. However, using Kotter’s model, the company can ensure the transition is smooth, and all the employees engage and get involved in the whole process. These include such instances as adequate communication, rolling out the process bit by bit and encouraging, and applauding small milestones. In the end, the employees will feel comfortable enough with the new way of doing business and allow it to marry into their corporate culture.
Introduction
Organizational change denotes the facilitation of activities and ways of doing things that move the company from one state to another. It may be transitional, transformational, or developmental. Stouten, Rousseau & De Cremer (2018) state that an organization must plan its change processes and deliberate on it and the success prospects. It must be a team effort to ensure its success and the achievement of the desired results. Proverbs 11:14 (NIV) hails the use of teams and the need to work together. This paper shall analyze the change prospects of a past company that maintained a physical filing system. All departments used documents and files to store all their crucial and even confidential information. The challenges with such a system were diverse, ranging from losses, theft, and displacement. The proposed change covers the administration area and how they maintain their record management and filing system. It proposes the introduction of a digital filing system through the use of a file management database. The work shall use Kotter’s change model to bring about the change process into the organization. It shall include biblical references to support the need for change and how the workforce can incorporate the same in their strive for growth and development.
Section 1: Identification of industry and area in need of change
The company worked in the field of offering legal advice and advocacy support to various members of the society, especially the ones that could not access such services. There was a lot of paperwork involved in all the activities of the firm. These ranged from registration processes and establishing the use of the company by particular clients, the contractual agreements between clients, other parties, and the organization, and also other legal documents. The company would always open a new file for each client that came to their door. They would, after that, continue updating the filing system with each transaction that transpired in the course of interacting with the client. These could be meetings with the parties that they had business or issues with or even an appearance before a court of law. It could also be mere meetings and conversations with any member of the organization. The filing system was articulate and an excellent representation of all the interactions with the various clients. However, being an organization that aimed at offering services to the general public, there were many clients. These meant a lot of writing and typing and keeping files up to date. In case one forgot to update a file, it would become hard to prove that a meeting occurred or the parties reached a particular agreement. Apart from this, the filing system also had other challenges.
One of the challenges of such a records management and physical filing system is that such files may pile up due to all the paperwork. They must keep the papers in specific folders and names or marks according to their detailed information and the clients to which they relate. However, this is a tedious job and needs one to be careful as they fill in and add information to the records. It also requires a lot of space for their keeping. The company has to set aside adequate space just for the files. This case presents a challenge for an organization that handles many clients each day. They have to maintain a record of each client, their information, and where the files are. The area where the company keeps the data would also need a lot of oversight and maintenance to ensure that another party can retrieve the documentation that they need. In the case of the organization at hand, only one staff knew everything about the registry. As a result, if one required a specific file, they had to look for this precise person to help them get the data. The work required presenting all the necessary details of the folders and waiting as the colleague looked for the data. In an instance where several people need files, the process would take more time as the register would look for the files one after another. This instance became a challenge when one needed a file urgently and had to wait in line for the colleague to find other files.
Another challenge that arose with such a system was that files were prone to misplacement, damage, or loss. In the day when the demand for files increased and the records officer had to handle all the requests, they could end up misplacing some files in the course of the work. This case is because as people asked for certain files that the employee had to look for, others were returning files at the same time. In the course of all the demands that the employee faced, misplacements occurred. Despite their articulate and organizational skills, keeping up with such demands would take a toll on them. In one instance, a colleague had to step in and offer some help because of the many orders. The bible supports the idea of helping out colleagues while also taking significant charge of what we have a duty over in Ephesians 2:10. While the employee was one of the most hardworking persons ever with excellent ethical standards, the result was a lot of time wasted in searches. Besides, there were instances where security breaches occurred, and vital or confidential information fell into the wrong hands. Mutalib & Dahari (2017) highlight a similar situation through the example of the government of Malaysia’s loss to Singapore. The country had a weak record management system that led to the loss of the Batu Puteh island to Singapore in 2008. As a result of the above challenges, it is vital to consider a change in the records department. There are a lot of technological advances that the company can make use of to facilitate its filing system and expedite the process of retreating and storing the same.
Section 2: Plan for implementing the change
While the whole workforce would be in agreement that they need to do something about the records keeping department, applying the same can mean some challenges and difficulties. The department and officer would have to understand that the new process would be ideal and also be for their good. Kotter (2012) came up with an eight-step model to facilitate the change process. This step-by-step course is suitable in such an instance because it acknowledges change as a gradual process. It, therefore, puts forward strategies that ensure that as the organization implements the change, all the concerned stakeholders are on board and in the know of what the company needs and what is happening.
The first step includes establishing a sense of urgency. This case means that the organization should inform the employees about what they intend to change. However, people should be able to identify what needs change and agree to the transformation of the status quo. In the case at hand, the records-keeping department and others in the company would decide that the current system is not complacent, and they need to change it. This step also includes letting the employees know that they need the change as soon as possible, and it would be hard to move forward in the same state. The employees would also learn that acting on the challenge is imperative to them getting their job done more promptly. The second stage is forming a powerful coalition. This step includes identifying the team players and members that will facilitate the process. The chosen persons should have the required skill-set and expertise needed. In this case, it could include sourcing for people who are technology-savvy such as information technology experts. It could also require the incorporation of trainers for the whole workforce so that they become well-versed with the introduction of the database and system.
Kotter also puts forward the third step as creating a vision for change. The concerned employees must know the goal and feel part and parcel of it. The idea to upgrade the record system in the company would work best when all the players know what they would want to change. As a result, informing them about the vision towards a faster movement, retrieval, and storage of documents is crucial. This step marries with the fourth one that encourages communicating the vision understandably. According to Schulz, Koch & Beckert (2019), the success or failure of any change prospects depends significantly on how the employees interact with the process, their predispositions, and the communication experiences. Communication does not only mean instructing the employees and ordering them around but engaging their take and opinions on the same. It includes transparency and openness while addressing and informing the workers of the change process. Ephesians 4:29 encourages managers to carefully instruct their people using words that lend understanding and encouragement.
The fifth step is removing obstacles that the people may face while implementing the changes. These may include physical aspects or even cultural and traditional beliefs. Weston (2018), elaborates that certain cultural practices that an organization has may become a barrier to accepting and enforcing change. The culture may be so ingrained within the workforce that they view it as an identity. In this instance, communicating would come in handy as the organization enables the employees to see the bigger picture. Romans 12:2 encourages flexibility and having an open mind as Christians work towards ensuring they do not conform to one instance or ideas. The sixth step is creating short-term wins. Nothing encourages and motivates a workforce more than the recognition and applaud for every success. Such gains also show the employees that they are moving in the right direction and working towards attaining the set vision. They would, therefore, become inspired to work even harder.
Kotter establishes the need to build more changes and not to give up in the seventh step. While the change process may have its array of challenges in certain instances, it is critical to maintain the pace and not let the failures take a toll on one. In the case at hand, a challenge such as difficulties in understanding a part of the database may arise. An employee may have a hard time understanding a particular concept, thereby slowing down the process. In all these instances, the organization would need to understand what the bible says about facing such challenges. In James 1:12, the text applauds the ones who stand the face of trials and call them blessed. It also commends trusting in the Lord as Mathew 19:26 points out that whatever may seem impossible for man is all achievable with the help of God. The last step is to anchor the change in the organizational culture of the business. A company’s corporate culture informs the activities, beliefs, actions, values, and even assumptions of the members (Kava et al. 2018). As a result, incorporating the changes into them will ensure better acceptance and enforcement.
Conclusion
Changes within an organization are imperative for advancement, growth, and competitive purposes. However, implementing the same is not an easy task. In the case of the organization that the above analysis uses, the record-keeping department was in dire need of change. The organization faced challenges when it came to the storage and retrieval of documents due to the physical nature of the system. Using Kotter’s model, it would be easy for the workforce to acknowledge the area in need of change and accept the proposed changes. The model offers eight step by step moves that roles out the process gradually. This case enables the employees to appreciate the change and incorporate it into their daily schedule. The model also ensures such instances as communication, transparency, celebrating wins, and the eventual adoption of the changes into the organizational culture. Such a process also brings about commitment and adherence to the goals and achievement of the outcomes.
References
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Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading Change. Harvard Business Review Press.
Mutalib, S. K. S. A., & Dahari, S. N. S. (2017). The transition of the registry system in developed countries. International E-Journal of Advances in Social Sciences, 3(8), 598-601.
Schulz-Knappe, C., Koch, T., & Beckert, J. (2019). The importance of communicating change. Corporate Communications: An International Journal.
Stouten, J., Rousseau, D., & De Cremer, D. (2018). Successful organizational change. Academy of Management Annals, 12-2.
Weston, J. W. (2018). Individual perceptions of culture and change: a unifying perspective on change-oriented organizational cultures (Doctoral dissertation, Colorado State University. Libraries).