Unit 9 Assignment
Introduction
Individuals at all levels in organizations, right from entry-cadre employees to top management, tend to resist any change. Resistance to change in organizations can lead to adverse effects that include low motivation, reduced productivity, and lack of teamwork because of ensuing divisions (Allen, 2016). The essence of this essay is to analyze the resistance to change scenarios at PG Industries and provide the management with recommendations on the most effective ways that it can use to manage the resistance in executing the new training initiative.
Background Analysis
The transformation of an organization is painful. The implication is that management must consider the various perceptions of the employees in initiating, implementing, and managing change because changes create transformations in organizations. Employees do not accept change due to several reasons that include fear of job losses, poor engagement and communication, as well as ineffective timing, and having a fear of the unknown (Jick & Sturtevant, 2017). The implication is that the management must find effective ways to manage the implementation of novel techniques and processes in an organization for successful buy-in and acceptance from employees.
Identification of effective methods to manage change
Managing change requires cooperation and the ability of the leaders as well as managers to address and manage any resistance. Therefore, apart from understanding the change areas, they must use specific approaches that include effective communication on the need and urgency for change (Jick & Sturtevant, 2017). This means that the management should let the employees know about the changes before they take place. For instance, they should communicate the kind of training program and its benefits. Besides, effective communication requires that managers listen to the employees’ views and offer meaningful feedback. The second important aspect of the change process is the involvement of all stakeholders, especially those who will be impacted by the change (Allen, 2016). These individuals should participate in designing and implementing new ways of doing business for an organization. Participation involves all people, right from the top management to the entry-level workers.
The third aspect of managing change is the provision of resources and support to the stakeholders. The management can effect changes by supporting employees in different ways. Facilitation should involve the provision of required training and other resources that they need to execute the novel ideas and perform their duties under the new situations. The fourth approach is to provide employees with incentives to encourage them to embrace changes (Jick & Sturtevant, 2017). If necessary, the management can give strong incentives to attain cooperation and buy-in from the employees. The administration should seek incentives that will allow the employees to feel the effect of the new ways of doing things through the training program.
Analyze the Situation
The scenario and PG industries illustrate the practical impact of organizations failing to involve employees or apply the best techniques and approaches to change management. In this situation, it is clear that the employees are not aware of the new changes. The organization rolled out the program without employee involvement, and that is, they are experiencing resistance. The employees in the manufacturing department may fear that their jobs will go; they may not have attained the right communication and do not feel involved in the changes. Cooperation and collaboration are critical components of handling change (Hussain et al., 2018). The implication is that productive and successful change happens when a company selects the most effective way to motivate people and ensure that they get an acceptance. PG Industries’ top management must use the four methods above to manage resistance to change as well as follow the motivational model outlined in the next section. The most appropriate choice is to use these four techniques alongside the motivational approach, as described here.
Select the Best Option
Managing change requires top organizational management to engage employees in a collaborative and motivational way. The motivation to change needs three primary stages based on the change approach that includes unfreezing, move to start the process, and refreezing. Unfreezing entails the alteration from the old and previous ways of initiating programs and processes in an organization (Hussain et al., 2018). At this level, the management seeks changes since the existing practices are inappropriate and therefore require the company to break out or unfreeze. Moving to begin change starts by establishing a vision of the direction that the company is heading (Allen, 2016). At this stage, managers should identify the resistance forces in the implementation of the training program. Through this approach, the leaders evaluate organizational strengths and identify and choose to add or remove to implement change.
By eliminating the restraining forces, employees leave the old order and ways and enhance the driving forces to attain the motivation for change and to move forward. Refreezing entails strengthening the novel behaviors that support new changes. The implication is that changes must diffuse and incorporated fully in a company’s culture, processes, and operations (Hussain et al., 2018). The top executive must ascertain that all the employees are involved and contribute through effective communication. The managers must explain the impact of the training program to address and avert more confrontations and divisions in the organization.
Conclusion
Managing change is a complex process that demands full engagement and participation of all stakeholders. In this scenario, the management has not engaged or collaborated effectively with the employees while implementing the new training program. As a result, some consequences include division and resistance to the new program. Therefore, to manage the situation, the managers should communicate effectively, use the right change model, and incorporate all the players from the department.
References
Allen, B. (2016). Effective design, implementation, and management of change in healthcare.
Nursing Standard, 31(3).
Hussain, S. T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M. J., Hussain, S. H., & Ali, M. (2018). Kurt Lewin’s
change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3(3), 123-127.
Jick, T. D., & Sturtevant, K. D. (2017). Taking stock of 30 years of change management: Is it
time for a reboot. Research in organizational change and development, 25, 33À79.
References