Introduction
Nowadays, the importance of change is emphasised by many business researchers. This tendency is explained by the rapid development of the world. Companies need to adapt to these changes to maintain high positions in the market and stay ahead of their competitors. However, in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to take multiple factors into account. In this essay, the most important elements of successful change management will be analysed in detail.
Motivation in Change
The improvement of the performance is an essential goal of every organisation focused on long-term results. It is impossible to deny that in the modern world, timely and effective changes are necessary. At the same time, it is vital to find motivation for development, which can sometimes be challenging. As Emery (2019) emphasises, making abrupt organisational changes may lead to disappointment. Constant communication with the staff, dividing into teams and reorganising the working process demand great a deal of motivation. The researcher claims that “false promises” and “false limitations” are not appropriate means of motivating people for change, and they are likely to lead to failure (Emery, 2019, p. 53). Instead, she suggests three conditions that would influence the attitude and behaviour of people in terms of changes. First, any situation demanding alteration is a “threat,” and it is important to “enable people to feel safe” in a change process (Emery, 2019, p. 53). Then, the attention of people participating in changes should be focused in the right way, so proper communication is needed. Third, it is necessary to give employees a convincing reason to work for the company’s benefit. Therefore, uniting people and presenting the objectives and future rewards would serve as motivation both for employees and company leaders.
Leadership as a Strategy
Another issue that plays a vital part in the development process is the role of a leader and the attitude towards leadership as a strategy. According to Couch and Citrin (2019), leadership is a skill that can be acquired and requires experience and competence. A leader is someone enabled to control and manage the overall company situation, and in the time of change, it can be a crucial role demanding a high level of responsibility. In their research, the authors state that leadership as a strategy is a way of directly influencing organizational culture and improving business performance (Couch and Citrin, 2019). The leader’s strategy is to use the strengths of a company and the capabilities of the workers properly and implement them in business development. The researchers also emphasise that company development depends on the development of its leader. Some companies report that they did not pay enough attention to improving the talents of their leaders, and therefore, faced difficulties in the market (Couch and Citrin, 2019). As a result, it is possible to conclude that developing the performance of leaders would mean that they can improve the performance of a company in general. Therefore, leadership itself can be a strategy of the general development of the company.
Strategic Approaches to Change in the Global Context
So far, the discussed issues were connected with local changes. Nevertheless, it is as essential to pay attention to global approaches. It is important to understand that different companies have various values and missions in terms of global changes; however, in the time of globalisation, it is vital to develop an appropriate strategic approach. It is possible to consider three strategies of change based on Lasserre’s (2017) companies’ classification. Global players are likely to be open to changes in a global context, as their goal is to take competitive positions in the world’s key markets. The objective of regional players is to maintain firm positions in particular regions of the world, for example, Europe and America. Such companies may also be ready for significant changes, as some of them become world leaders after being significant in a certain region. The strategic approach of global exporters is to support the high level of their sales. Finally, some companies concentrate their products in the domestic market only, where they are most successful; therefore, they would not be ready to make crucial global changes. It is important to understand that sometimes it can be appropriate to start with changes on the local level to stabilise the company’s overall position, and after that, pay attention to global development.
Organisational Development in Change
Another important factor is how organisational development can lead to effective change. The researchers define organisational development as an entire interdisciplinary field that covers psychological, social, organisational, and other aspects of companies (Anderson, 2019). In terms of change, organisational development is a planned intervention in the processes of a company, which is based on behavioral and scientific knowledge (Anderson, 2019). Therefore, it is possible to say that organisational development requires companies’ leaders to study the organisation demands. A proper analysis would allow corporations to create effective development tactics. Different approaches in organisational development may include focusing on a company’s structure, reconsidering its mission and values, developing new technologies, and making other changes that may influence the company’s performance. For example, studying the social environment and moods within the team of employees would allow deciding if any changes in their reward system or additional motivation are needed for better business effectiveness. Another example that the researcher presents is creating teams of medical personnel working in cancer centres, in order to help them develop better relationships and trust within a group (Anderson, 2019). At the same time, while implementing any changes within the company, leaders should understand that the development can be harmful to the employees, and therefore, the changes should be gradual.
The Best Type of Change? Planned or Unplanned?
Finally, every leader has to choose between two different approaches to development: planned or unplanned change. Researchers define unplanned change as a “natural” or “evolutionary” change (Scott and Lewis, 2017, p. 222). Such changes are often unpredictable; they can be connected with emergency cases and uncontrollable situations, such as fire or governmental reforms, to which an organisation needs to adapt. It is also considered that unplanned change is a constant, ongoing process. Planned change is an intentional process and is organised by the company leaders themselves. Researchers believe that planned change is something natural for the companies and that it occurs as a part of the continuous change process (Scott and Lewis, 2017). It is difficult to say what kind of change can be more effective for an organization. As unplanned changes are spontaneous by definition, they may lack profoundness and comprehensiveness. At the same time, planned changes can be more thorough and effective, as they can be made in calm circumstances and during a longer period of time. However, it is possible to suggest that it is always better to create a plan for possible urgent changes (for example, to think over reorganization measures in case of urgent production shutdown).
Conclusion
To sum up, making changes in business is a challenging task for both organisational leaders and employees. Changing the natural organisational process is a complicated action that needs proper strategic thinking and planning. Therefore, many change factors, such as motivation, the role of leadership, global approaches, organisational development, and the peculiarities of a particular change type, should be considered. In this case, changes can be effective for a company and can guarantee its success.
Reference List
Anderson, D. L. (2019) Organization development: the process of leading organizational change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Couch, M.A. and Citrin, R.S. (2019) Strategy-driven leadership: the playbook for developing your next generation of leaders. New York, NY: Routledge.
Emery, J. (2019) Leading for organisational change: building purpose, motivation and belonging. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Lasserre, P. (2017) Global strategic management. London: Macmillan International Higher Education.
Scott, C. and Lewis, L. (2017) The international encyclopedia of organizational communication. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.