Unplanned (forces for a change) and planned changes are the major causes of transformations in organizations. In most instances, the change process in an organization creates resistance, which threatens to cause organizational failure if not well addressed (Georgalis, Samaratunge, Kimberley, & Lu, 2015). Effective leadership and communication are some of the best means of overcoming resistance to change through the enlightenment and engagement of all stakeholders.
What is the Difference between the Forces for Change and Planned Change?
Forces for change denote external aspects such as technological advancement, social inclinations, political influence, and competition, which compel organizations to make transformations. For instance, increased competition may necessitate adopting sophisticated technology for organizations to boost their success. In this aspect, organizations will be forced to improve their investment in educating and training workers (Georgalis et al., 2015). On the contrary, planned changes characteristically have an anticipated outcome that improves business practices. In the planned change, the management prepares all the stakeholders, or some of them, in advance for new objectives and directions.
How Can Organizations Overcome Resistance To Change?
Organizations need to overcome resistance to change for enhanced success. Effectively overcoming resistance to change calls for the collection of reliable details and their conveyance to employees and all stakeholders, if need be, as the foundation for dealing with facts and preparing everyone for transformations. If most change plans concentrate on the situation and involve just executives with the resultant decision not effectively communicated to employees, it leads to rumors, a negative culture, and a general atmosphere of distrust.
With successful leadership and effective communication, organizations can successfully triumph over the challenges of resistance to change (Lines, Sullivan, Smithwick, & Mischung, 2015). The executives should engage employees and assist them to grasp the truth since it makes it simpler to marshal workers in the course of the change process.
Communication should be deemed vital from the commencement of the change process. It should at no point appear confounding, seem to conceal anything, and ought to portray a realistic depiction always, even in cases of sad events. Furthermore, information is supposed to be shared once it is known. The management should not compel employees to accept the change or carry out things in a different way without giving them a proper explanation (Lines et al., 2015). In the change process, organizations ought to notify employees of what they are required to do, assign duties appropriately, and inform the stakeholders of the necessary actions.
How Can Managers Create a Culture for Change?
Managers can create a culture for change either by arousing a practice of innovation or generating a continued desire to learn. The stimulation of innovation makes employees actively promote the initiative and build unwavering support (Van der Voet, Kuipers, & Groeneveld, 2016). With the desire to learn, employees develop the unremitting capability to adapt to transformations when the need arises hence making the change process unchallenging.
Conclusion
Forces for change signify the external aspects such as technology that oblige organizations to make transformations while planned changes are strategies made by organizational management and have an expected outcome that boosts business practices. Effective leadership and communication assist organizations to overcome resistance to change. Communication is imperative in the process of change as there is a need to convey suitable information to all the stakeholders effectively.
References
Georgalis, J., Samaratunge, R., Kimberley, N., & Lu, Y. (2015). Change process characteristics and resistance to organizational change: The role of employee perceptions of justice. Australian Journal of Management, 40(1), 89-113.
Lines, B. C., Sullivan, K. T., Smithwick, J. B., & Mischung, J. (2015). Overcoming resistance to change in engineering and construction: Change management factors for owner organizations. International Journal of Project Management, 33(5), 1170-1179.
Van der Voet, J., Kuipers, B. S., & Groeneveld, S. (2016). Implementing change in public organizations: The relationship between leadership and affective commitment to change in a public sector context. Public Management Review, 18(6), 842-865.