ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE

 This research analyses the positives and negatives of organizational change and
indicates approaches managers should use with employees to get them to embrace
change.
The impact is highly contextual and if the change is initiated from the top,
employees tend to see it negatively.  However, if the change is initiated by the
employees or in consultation with the employees, it is usually perceived very
positively.  
In a rapid and complex changing business environment, changes take place from time to
time, some of the potential positive impacts of organizational change include:

1) Employees are encouraged to be innovative and creative in the organization.

2) Change can help the organization to keep up with current industry trends.
3) Change leads to discovery of new business opportunities and motivates employees to
take advantage of them.
4) Some changes within the organization may improve employee attitude and morale.
Why are these organizational change initiatives failing? Organizations often tend to neglect
the people aspect of change management.
some of the potential challenges to organizational change include:
1) Lack of Clarity - If you are unclear of the vision, the drivers of change and the
implementers will lack clarity as well. It will derail the entire initiative.
-If you come prepared with clear project scope and a compelling narrative, it will lead to a
smoother transition.
2) Ineffective Communication -Instead of announcing the changes and expecting employees
to adjust, managers should try working on an effective communication strategy .
3) Lack of Organizational Buy-In -For a successful change initiative, you need to earn buy-
in from both top management and entry-level employees. the mid-level and entry-level
employees need to be on board to implement the change at the ground level.
4) Lack of Governance-Investment in organizational change is expensive, and this barrier to
change can be costly to your organization. For any transformational change; you need to
have a clear line of sight governance to manage the change from both a micro and macro
level.
Organizations are constantly changing whether the changes are big or small, managers need
to inspire their employees to embrace what’s new. Here are some approaches managers may
use to help employees embrace change:
1) Talk about how people feel about the change because it stirs up lots of emotions (fear,
frustration and anxiety). Hold regular meetings for people to express what they’re worried
about, and encourage them to be honest.
2) Tell inspirational stories. Stories can be powerful examples of how people overcame
challenges. Think about the challenges your employees are facing, and share stories that
relate to them.
3) Ask “What if?” questions. “What if we built our workflows from scratch ,what would
they look like?” “What if we were all freelancers ,how would we solve problems
differently?” Use change as a catalyst to rethink the ways things are done.
4) Treat mistakes as learning opportunities. Everyone messes up, so encourage employees
to talk about how their mistakes have helped them grow. Build a culture that rewards
employees for taking smart risks.
 SUMMARY
Change is inevitable in life. People tend to view changes from different angles. Some view
change as a threat while others see it as a means to improvement.(Muamer Ozer 2016)
It’s important to humanize change. Organizations tend to underestimate the power dynamics
within their org, contextual considerations, and download their employee’s resistance to
change. They simply address change management with a top to bottom approach, forgetting
that change imposition is often met with a pushback. To reduce this pushback, managers
should conduct a baseline assessment to identify the barriers to change and address them for
a successful change initiative
Lastly both transparency and authenticity are vital when helping employees embrace
change. When senior management is clear and honest about the change process, employees
are inevitably more comfortable, stable and secure navigating change.
 References

Ozer, Muammer. (2016). Re: What are the positive and negative effects of
Organizational Change on Employees commitment?. Retrieved from:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What-are-the-positive-and-negative-effects-of-
Organizational-Change-on-Employees-commitment/571037bc93553ba50938fe1e/citation/
download.
Lewis, L. (2019). Organizational change. In Origins and Traditions of Organizational
Communication (pp. 406-423). Routledge.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203703625-24/organizational-
change-laurie-lewis
Fernandez, S., & Rainey, H. G. (2017). Managing successful organizational change in the
public sector. In Debating public administration (pp. 7-26). Routledge.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315095097-2/managing-
successful-organizational-change-public-sector-sergio-fernandez-hal-rainey