Essay on Organizational Culture & Change Mgmt: A Structured Approach to Transitions

Introduction

Change management relates to the application of various tools and processes in the management of the currents status to a new future to achieve the desired change within the organization (Barrow & Toney-Butler, 2019). As such, it is viewed as a structured approach to transitioning various individuals, teams from the current state to a new state aimed at fulfilling or implementing a desired strategy or vision for the organization. Organizational culture plays an essential role in change management within an organization (By, 2020).

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The organizational structure is referred to the underlying assumptions, beliefs, and values as well as the interaction ways within an organization that significantly contribute towards the uniqueness of the psychological and the social environment (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). This paper shall present a change management case study of the House of Fraser as well as critically analyze the reasons for change management as well as the characteristics of various successful and unsuccessful changes within an organization (Barrow & Toney-Butler, 2019). Most fundamentally, the paper shall also examine the influences that the organizational culture has on the performance and the success of the organization (Hayes, 2018).

Literature Review

Change Management

In any organization, there are imminent changes that are usually experienced; thus, the approaches for the management of such changes vary from change to change, and from one organization to the other (Barrow & Toney-Butler, 2019). For example, in the case study presented, Sports Direct takes over the department store chain and begins by firing of House of Fraser's entire senior management and merging the two organizations into a more complex and controversial organization (By, 2020). To find the best approach that suits the situation, some numerous themes and considerations must be addressed in line with the realization of success in change management.

Change is the only constant for any organization with a full lifespan. Even though specific changes may occur regularly, organizations sometimes experience wholesale transformation or sometimes evolutionary leap (By, 2020). If the staff and the management do not support such changes, they may be unsuccessfully or impossibly orchestrated (Pugh, 2016).

Gaining support from the team and the senior management lies to a great extent on the ability to effectively manage change (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). Haphazard changes do not yield confidence, but adequately managed and directional changes that follow logical progressions may carry the organization forward (Pugh, 2016).

How the drivers of change can manage such changes could significantly motivate or demoralize the rest of the organization (Barrow & Toney-Butler, 2019). Four primary foundation phases are involved in the management of transformational change. Effective change management is vital in streamlining the change process as well as reducing the eminent negative impacts it may have on the employees (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). In case there is proper change management within the organization, the employees often perceive the benefits of such changes thereby increasing their chances of accepting the change.

The Phases for Change Management

Various phrases are involved in the management of transformational change within the organization. The first phase of change management should include the definition of the urgent need for the difference (Pugh, 2016). Much successful change management is aimed at ensuring that everybody within the organization can understand the need for such significant changes (By, 2020). This fundamental principle influences the extent to which the various stakeholders within the organization would think about the change.

The more compelling the cases are presented to the various organizational stakeholders, the higher the likelihood that they would need that they would support them (Hayes, 2018). Thus, in the case study provided, there was a need to communicate the need to the merger with the entire staff from the House of Fraser as well as the Sports Direct in such a way that they would appreciate the need to merge the two organizations into a bigger and more sophisticated organization (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017).

The second phase of change management is the drafting of the implementation plan (Pugh, 2016). The plan is the base upon which the entire change management process will be built. The planning stage involves the development of a change strategy that informs the change intended within the organization (Barrow & Toney-Butler, 2019). The next phase is the implementation which involved adequate communication between the various stakeholders, staff and the other clients. Reinforcement is the final stage of the change management process which involves embracing continual change assessment within the organization (Pugh, 2016).

Communication in Change Management

Effective communication is important in lessening the impacts of changes within the organization (Pugh, 2016). Leaders ought to communicate with the employees so that they understand the essence of the changes that are taking place within the organization so as to stay on board during the implementation of such changes (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). An organization that gives the employees the opportunity to give their feedback and concerns is able to encourage the employees to accept and actively participate in the process of change management (Pugh, 2016).

Reasons for Change within Organisations

There are various reasons that could orchestrate the need for organizational change. For instance, the existence of crises within the organization may result in the need for change within the organization (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). In the case study, organizational change was caused by the crisis caused by investigations into the collapse of House of Fraser's two months ago. The performance gaps within the organization may also cause the need for change. For instance, the change could be a result of unmet organizational objectives and goals.

Most essentially, technological changes within the organization may also ignite change within the organization (Barrow & Toney-Butler, 2019). The internal and external pressures within the organization such as the changing government regulations and competitions may result in the need for change within the organization (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). A change could also be due to the planned abandonment of certain products within the market as well as the allocation of resources within the organization (By, 2020).

Resistance to Change

The change resistance within the organization is majorly caused by certain attitudes and blind spots within the staff due to the preoccupation with certain technical aspects of new ideas (By, 2020). It has been argued that the best solution for addressing resistance to change is through the inclusion of all the stakeholders during the change decision-making process (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). However, some authors argue that participation is not the best method of dealing with organizational changes because it would be troublesome to consider the views of each individual (Pugh, 2016). In the case provided, the employees of both the House of Fraser and Sports Direct may have resisted against the merger especially if their participation is not sought when making such decisions. Poor communication with employees could also result in employee resistance (Hayes, 2018).

Various stakeholders within the organizational setup have the nature of resisting to change because human is naturally aligned to keeping their customs and methods constant (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). Another important reason why people often resist change is that they feel much convenient in doing something the way they have always done it (Pugh, 2016). Moreover, the changes within the organization also come along with alteration in influence, power, and duties (Laumer, Maier, Eckhardt and Weitzel, 2016).

Thus, the people negatively affected by the change will always resist the change. For instance, in the case provided, the merger between the House of Fraser and the Sport's Direct resulted in the sacking of the entire senior management of the House of Fraser. As such, if the change is not properly communicated, the affected individuals (i.e. the top senior management) may increasingly resist. The resistance to change may take the form of psychological, logical or sociological resistance (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017).

The psychological resistance results from psychological and mental factors such as the fear of the unknown and the imminent dislike towards the management (By, 2020). The sociological resistance, on the other hand, relates to the resistance towards the common values of the group. This could be depicted in the form of peer pressure (Barrow & Toney-Butler). Logical resistance emanates when individuals make genuine attempts to adjust to the organizational changes (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). For instance, when the organization shifts to the use of computers, the stakeholders would take sometimes to entirely adjust to the new system.

Role of Consultant in Change Management

In the case study, as a consultant, I would begin by looking at the reason for change particularly the need for the merger between the House of Fraser and Sports Direct organizations. I would advise both of the organizations on the need to ensure all the employees are comfortable with such changes (Hayes, 2018, pp. 20). However, I would also be cognizant of the organizational culture since it significantly influences the decisions, practices, and beliefs of the organization. The recommended changes within the organization need not contravene the organizational culture (Pugh, 2016). I would also remind the two organizations that change can have significant impacts on all the employees across all the departments (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017).

Most importantly, the consultants can always advise on the various methods of change management and what would work best for a particular organization (Pugh, 2016). However, these change management approaches must fall within the culture of the organization.

Organisational Culture

Organizational culture relates to the values, assumptions, and beliefs which govern the behavior and interaction of people within an organization. Such believes and values within the organization dictate the dressing, action, and performance of the various members (Al-Ali, Singh, Al-Nahyan & Sohal, 2017). Each organization often develops and maintains a unique culture that guides the behaviors of the members within the organisation (By, 2020).

A company may have a positive organizational culture in which there is open communication in the organizational leadership or it can also have a negative culture in which the employees have little trust in their various leaders (Barrow & Toney-Butler, 2019). The culture of an organization dictates everything done by an enterprise. A negative organizational culture has the ability to thwart change thereby rendering any change too difficult for the employees to bear (Pugh, 2016).

In the case provided, both the House of Fraser and the Sports Direct had their own separate organizational culture before the merger (Barrow & Toney-Butler, 2019). The merger between the two organizations would be more complicated and controversial because it would b...