Concept and Types of Organizational Change
The idea of organizational change is linked to the necessity to update the quality of the company’s services in order to meet the standards set in the market and create a competitive advantage over key rivals.
Therefore, organizational change can be described as the alterations in a company’s philosophy, values, mission, objectives, management techniques, or all of the above (Heckmann, Steger, & Dowling, 2016). Representing a very vast range of ideas, the phenomenon of organizational change typically suggests introducing alterations that will lead to improved performance and increased revenues, as well as a stronger competitive advantage (Petrou et al., 2018). Therefore, while being very complex and often contentious, the phenomenon of organizational change exists for the sole reason of moving a company forward and encouraging progress.
The taxonomies of organizational change are quite numerous, each representing a different way of looking at the subject matter and utilizing it for different goals. For example, when approaching the process of change by analyzing the level on which it occurs, one will be able to discern three types of change, namely, individual, group, and organizational ones. However, by considering the goals of the change process launched in an organization, one will find that there are more types thereof. For instance, change may take place as transformational, organization-wide, personnel, unplanned, and remedial (Heckmann et al., 2016).
Each of the outlined change types focuses on a particular aspect of a company’s performance and allows improving the firm’s competitive advantage directly. People, process, and merger/acquisition change types are also quite common in the corporate environment since they help to increase the performance efficacy and help a firm to expand either by creating new ties in the target market or by introducing new processes and human resources into its setting.
Conflict Scenario Analysis
Although the notion of organizational change is quite harmless in its nature, it is often followed by discontent and resistance among staff members. The lack of motivation to change and the rise in resistance toward it is the product of staff members’ unwillingness to develop new competencies, which, in turn, may be caused by the fear of failure or the lack of sense of belonging in the organizational environment (Petrou et al., 2018).
In the setting under analysis, the introduction of new quality standards and the opportunity to upgrade staff’s skills by enrolling them into training courses led to rapid and uncontrollable resistance. Due to the perceived difficulty of developing the skills needed to operate new equipment, nurses developed strong resistance toward organizational and quality-related changes. However, after the introduction of personal incentives and the creation of a more flexible organizational environment, most staff members conceded that gaining new skills was an important step in their professional growth.
The change mentioned above can be classified as the developmental one, as well as a process ad system change. On the one hand, the necessity to transition to a new method of manufacturing and the production of the necessary items by operating new equipment was defined by the need to evolve and adjust to the digital market requirements. Although a range of companies continues to operate in the physical market, establishing a presence in the digital economy along with the one in the physical setting has become quite common practice.
Therefore, the change toward the use of new digital tools that would allow making the quality assurance processes more effective and reduce the amount of time spent on the production is a developmental one. On the other hand, the introduction of new equipment is only a part of a larger process that suggests transitioning into the digital market and altering the processes within the company accordingly. Therefore, the change under analysis can also be called the process and systems change.
Reasons for Resistance to Change
The described scenario, while posing a serious threat to the relationships between an organization and its staff members, is very common, especially for the companies that are making their first steps in the digital market setting. Despite the fact that digital tools have become ubiquitous in most people’s everyday lives, developing the skills needed for working with actual professional equipment requires a major effort and time for covering gaps in one’s knowledge. Therefore, the stakes increase along with the feeling of risk and the perceived threat of the consequences of a possible failure (Neves & Schyns, 2018). As a result, a range of employees is likely to refuse form attempting to gain the needed skills without even trying. Therefore, the observed workplace conflict was quite expected.
Apart from the fear of failing in meeting the newly set quality standards for performance, nurses may be reluctant to accept the challenge of learning new skills due to the lack of loyalty toward the firm. In his case, the problem runs much deeper than the mere lack of initiative. Specifically, the unwillingness to make an effort to improve the performance of the company has to be managed to the interpersonal level by changing the nature of relationships between employees and the company.
For example, the organization will have to show that it acts on behalf of its staff member as well and is highly interested in helping them to develop new talents. To change the employees’ perspective, the company will have to include free training opportunities for all employees. Thus, a positive change will be guaranteed to take place in the target setting.
References
Heckmann, N., Steger, T., & Dowling, M. (2016). Organizational capacity for change, change experience and change project performance. Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 777-784. Web.
Neves, P., & Schyns, B. (2018). With the bad comes what change? The interplay between destructive leadership and organizational change. Journal of Change Management, 18(2), 91-95. Web.
Petrou, P., Demerouti, E., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2018). Crafting the change: The role of employee job crafting behaviors for successful organizational change. Journal of Management, 44(5), 1766-1792. Web.