Change Management (Essay Sample)

Change management IN HR
(Author’s name)
(Institutional Affiliation)

Section A: Role of HR Manager
In the process of restructuring, the administration of change can present a challenge to the management of an organization. However, the engagement of all employees and minimization of resistance remains to be the continuing issue involved in the restructure of the company. In this case study, a coffee shop closed over fifteen branches in six countries, and reinvested in two countries. The elements of transformational change for this chain of shops, therefore, are the reorganization of the company into smaller working units, tackling dissatisfaction amongst the employees, creation of systems that define the values of the business and performance measurement through innovative feedback frameworks.
The restructure of many organizations focuses on the handling human resources as well management of the entire change process (Pucik, Björkman, Evans & Stahl, 2011). In the case of the coffee shop, the popular focus for many change managers will be on the strategic leadership, the landscape of competition in the two countries and organizational learning. Nonetheless, the neglect on the required implementation of change and conceptualization of the employees’ viewpoint remains to be a challenge. Therefore, for a company that aims at the elimination of global competition threats, the continuous engagement of managers and employees will be a general indicator of organizational success.
The role of the change manager is important because it shapes the attitude of the manager and the manner in which he or she behaves. Besides, this responsibility is critical in influencing the task that the employees adopt and their reaction towards the manager. As such, the change manager should lead the transformation by developing and communicating the vision of the company to the workforce. The managers have the exclusive role of explaining the advantages of the change to all the units within the organization. Apart from removing the barriers that limit the restructure of the organization, change managers should motivate the staff; hence encourage the alteration within the organization.
Restructure of the organization calls for the streamlining of working habits as well. Given that the new market ventures provide new ethical and cultural standards, the company may face the risk of uncertainty in its operations in the two nations. Given the above diversities, the organization may experience resistance to change. The management must take into concern the issue of resistance as an impediment to change before striking a strategy that will guide the implementation of the revolution. In the decision making process as well, multinational companies have the tendency to isolate certain sections of employees and individuals (Battilana & Casciaro, 2012). Such situations contribute to the non-commitment of these alienated members in the overall decision making of the business. Therefore, the above challenges in human resource management explain the need for an inclusive strategy that involves communication amongst all the members within a workforce.
Section B: strategies that the organization might use to mitigate problems and maximize the opportunities presented by the change
Creation of business values
The change management strategy should begin by creating a set of values that define the behavior of the organization. In the coffee shop, such values as organizational storytelling would be an effective manner of creating awareness on the course of the business. These values are critical in bridging the cultural and ethnic gaps available at the workplace. As such, working in new countries attracts employees from diverse cultural and wide ethnic backgrounds. This translates to the existence of diverse beliefs and behaviors amongst the employees.
The creation of business values would be my method of creating cohesion in the workplace, as an internal change manager. This would be a perfect means of making the employees realize the diversity available at the workplace, thereby creating a culture of understanding and tolerance in the office.
Besides, business values stipulate the boundaries of each employee in relation to social interaction with fellow employees. An equitable mechanism of handling workplace conflict would be a reputable mechanism for achieving this role. The business values act as campaigners of best practices, for instance, accountability and philanthropy, which form the basis of corporate social responsibility. Business values root for aggression amongst the employees (Boxall & Purcell, 2011). Aggression can be achieved through initiating reward programs for employees who perform well. With time, the coffee shop will transform from a culture of shared decisions to that of independent decision-making. In institutions that lack strong business values, the individual employees fail to recognize the roles of other employees. On the other hand, business values create room for effective and healthy internal competition, as the rules are clearly outlined in the company’s vision.
Readiness for Change
As stated, resistance to change poses a great challenge to the implementation of the change strategy. In the coffee shops, competition can create dissatisfaction and disappointment amongst the employees. Given that the company operates in new geographical locations, it may be difficult for the corporation to assemble a group of employees that will implement the restructure process.
As a change manager, I would work to ensure that the employees understand the need for change. In as much the investment provides massive obstacles in form of culture and ethnic backgrounds, the management must ensure that employees feel satisfied with the company’s operations. At the start of the restructure program, I will exploit cognitive discord effectively. This will minimize and circumvent any resistance.
Furthermore, the establishment of forums that suggest the readiness and desire for improvement in the organization limit the likelihood of any resistance. I will implement new psychological exercises and programs that boost the enthusiasm and impetus of the employees towards the restructure of the organization. In a bid to overcome the resistance, the organization should embrace the societal working norms and values as stipulated in the company’s set of business values. Engaging the employees in enthusiastic and motivational processes goes beyond taming the resistance, instead stretching to envisage the emotional feeling of attachment to the organization by the employees.
Consultations and Communication
At the heart of implementing the transformation at the restructured organization lies consultation and communication. The significance of this strategy depends on me as the change manager to consult widely instead of beginning the entire process with a preconceived plan that entails the content of my change program. Communication should begin by building initial staff meeting platforms that logically advances into a transformational program for the operational efficiency at the workplace.
Meetings are a trademark way of making employees relate to the objectives of the organizational change. In addition to that, it enables them to assess their performance in an atmosphere that is cooperative and progressive. The emphasis of the need for communication begins with the set of values enshrined in the business vision. The climate of consultations and cooperation enables me as the internal change manager to solve the difficulties related to efficiency and effectiveness of operations of the organization. This condition, furthermore, tackles the above problem without elevating it to the status of disputes and conflicts.
Indeed, the involvement of staff in communication and consultation appears to be dependable on the idea that coercive and directive management styles are basic requirements of a successful transformational change process. In this case, the idea of achieving readiness for change through a cognitive difference of opinion overpowers charismatic hypotheses. This means that engaging employees with change through communication requires the detachment from past arrangements of working for each employee.
Reorganization of the organization into smaller working units
Structural changes are important in engaging the employees. The connection of the management to the employees helps in the creation of loyalty to the business values. In each of the coffee shops in the two countries, the management should breakdown the business into smaller units and departments that have rotational team leaders. This enables each employee to know their roles within the organization and acknowledge their efforts towards the restructure of the organization. Each business unit, therefore, should have a business leader that has human resource advisors, area leaders, and maintenance support. Integration of these units does not only mastermind the participation of employees, but also encourages the empowerment of each unit to meet the required efficiency and operational effectiveness (Vazirani, 2015).
The human resource management advisors do not manage the workers; instead, they give the management a clear insight on how to manage the people. This culture enables the business to shift from management by cooperation to engagement with the organization. This will lower the accidents at work, and improve the compensation of workers for carrying out their roles exclusively. This technique will centre the process of organizational change on behavioural transformation as opposed to persuasion to influence the attitudes and opinions of employees while anticipating for future behavioural changes.
The formalization of the HR strategy is an efficient way of making ...