Examples of Organizational Change

1. Missionary changes
2. Strategic changes
3. Operational changes (including Structural changes)
4. Technological changes
5. Changing the attitudes and behaviors of personnel

As a multidisciplinary practice that has evolved as a result of scholarly research, Organizational

Change Management should begin with a systematic diagnosis of the current situation in order to
determine both the need for change and the capability to change. The objectives, content, and
process of change should all be specified as part of a Change Management plan.

Change Management processes may include creative marketing to enable communication

between change audiences, but also deep social understanding about leadership’s styles and
group dynamics. As a visible track on transformation projects, Organizational Change
Management aligns groups’ expectations, communicates, integrates teams and manages people
training. It makes use of performance metrics, such as financial results, operational efficiency,
leadership commitment, communication effectiveness, and the perceived need for change to
design appropriate strategies, in order to avoid change failures or solve troubled change projects.

Successful change management is more likely to occur if the following are included:

1. Benefits management and realization to define measurable stakeholder aims, create a

business case for their achievement (which should be continuously updated), and monitor
assumptions, risks, dependencies, costs, return on investment, dis-benefits and cultural
issues affecting the progress of the associated work.
2. Effective Communications that informs various stakeholders of the reasons for the
change (why?), the benefits of successful implementation (what is in it for us, and you) as
well as the details of the change (when? where? who is involved? how much will it cost?
etc).
3. Devise an effective education, training and/or skills upgrading scheme for the
organization.
4. Counter resistance from the employees of companies and align them to overall strategic
direction of the organization.
5. Provide personal counseling (if required) to alleviate any change related fears.
6. Monitoring of the implementation and fine-tuning as required.

[edit] References
1. ^ Hiatt, Jeff. "The definition and history of change management". http://www.change-
management.com/tutorial-definition-history.htm. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
2. ^ Filicetti, John (August 20, 2007). "Project Management Dictionary". PM Hut.
http://www.pmhut.com/pmo-and-project-management-dictionary. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
Advantages
Change is necessary in all organizations. But, the way change is initiated can vary. It
can be forced upon companies by outside forces or just come from a realization that the
company may be falling behind the times. In this way, change management can be
quite beneficial to an organization.

For more information on change management, read Defining Change Management.

Change allows companies to better compete with their rivals and develop new skills or
products that will bring in a higher profit. What makes change management
methodology advantageous to most organizations is that it allows change management
teams or managers to effectively deal with any proposed new direction.

Change management also helps individuals realize why the change was necessary so
that they will embrace it and move forward. Change can be good for an employee since
it will bring them the opportunity to try something new and gain new skills.

With the open communication and discussions that change management methodology
promotes, individuals (employees, stakeholders and customers) will have a greater
stake in the outcome since they have helped implement the plan. People generally do
not put up resistance to things that they have suggested.

Disadvantages
There are, however, some disadvantages to the change management methodology that
has more to do with not properly following its processes. If resistance from employees is
not effectively dealt with through communication, it can derail any project.

Not understanding the culture of your company can allow the rumor mill leaders to
circulate incorrect or corrupting information about the change. Also, stakeholders and
customers need to be kept informed and brought in on the change. If not, they make
also resist the change, and clients may choose to go through another company.

A bad change management plan can also negatively affect an organization. Change
management is just that managing change. And, without a plan to deal with every step
of the change (before, during and after), the strategy could fail at any point in time,
possibly bringing down the entire company.

While change can be risky, the benefits far outweigh the potential pitfalls. Change
allows organizations to progress and stay on top of their industry in an uncertain market.

To learn more about change management approaches, read Approaches to Change

Management
Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-
management/articles/18477.aspx#ixzz1GKCRgX37

Three Main Components of Change Management

Change management does pretty much what the term implies. It systematically deals
with change so that you can plan for each phase of the new strategy for your company.
To be successful in the modern world, you need to learn how to successfully deal with
change and help others in your organization deal with change.

Change management can be defined by three main components: adapting to change,

handling the change and effectively putting forth that change. All of these components
must be dealt with before any change is instituted. If not, you will not be successful.

To adapt to the change, you must be flexible and act quickly when you see a problem.
This will in turn helps you control the change. Handling change involves planning
proactively for each step. You know resistance will exist. If you can figure out when this
resistance will initiate and from whom it will come, you can deal with these issues
proactively.

To effectively put forth the change, you need to create a change management plan for
each section of the change: before, during and after. To be successful, you should
continue with your change management strategy even after the change has been
instituted.

To learn more about how to deal with change management, click here:
http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/16304.aspx.

Another Definition of Change Management

An all-encompassing definition of change management should include the planning
phase of the change, the initiation of the change and the realization of that change.
These take place during the active phase of the change.

Once the change has been put in place, there are two other areas to consider. After the
change is instituted, you need to control what you have done so it does not get out of
hand and to stop things from backsliding. Finally, you need to make sure that your
environment is stable.
A key aspect of stabilizing your change management strategy is to deal with the human-
side of the new direction. Most people who go through a change view it as negative.
They or their coworkers may lose their jobs or have responsibilities added to their
current position. It is hard for them to accept change. This is why all affected employees
must participate in the intended change.

To learn how to effectively communicate with your employees, go to Communication in

Change Management.

An IT manager should anticipate when resistance from employees can be expected and
proactively deal with this resistance. Employees will go through several emotional
stages before they fully accept and embrace the plan. You should anticipate their needs
during these phases. Helping employees deal with these issues is a major part of how
you define change management.

Change is an adaptive process, especially in today's environment. External issues may

force change upon you, or they may be initiated internally so that your company can
grow and adjust to an ever-changing industry. Effectively dealing with these issues and
controlling what happens throughout the change is at the heart of change management
methodology.

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-

management/articles/17007.aspx#ixzz1GKD73wqu