There can be identified four types of change in organizations, all of which have recently been affected by informational technology. The types are strategic, people-centric, structural, and remedial, each characterized by a unique set of traits, which are important to recognize for every change manager. Strategic change involves introducing transformative elements to the company’s operations that might affect its general running course, and the implementation of new technology would be the best example of such. People-centric change deals with introducing new members to the organizational processes and culture and establishing productive working relationships with newbies. Technology might factor into the training and onboarding processes for the new employees, as well as facilitate the communication with new colleagues (Dhurkari, 2017). The structural change concerns major shifts in hierarchy and chain of command, such as mergers and acquisitions or new department establishment, and can rely on technology in multiple implementation aspects. Remedial changes are reactionary and are designed in response to a problem, often utilizing technology during the design process.
I was personally impacted by the structural organizational change when a new department of digital marketing was formed in the company I work for. At first, I was reluctant to understand the necessity behind such a change in structure, and my resistance would be a good example of a structural change disadvantage. Since it affects the internal logistics of the company, it is extremely likely to be unpopular, at least at first. However, when the change increased the efficiency of the firm’s marketing campaigns it allowed me to recognize the main advantage of such change: the benefits of specialization. Information technology was the reason behind the change in the first place and was used to promote it via short explanatory digital marketing webinars.
Reference
Dhurkari, R. K. (2017). Information technology and organizational change: Review of theories and application to a case of Indian railways. Management and Labour Studies, 42(2), 135–151. Web.