Managing Change: A Necessary Part of Life & Business - Essay Sample

Introduction

Change remains the only inevitable reality in life at a personal level and a corporate or professional level. However, in both groups, no many understand how to respond and deal with change. Pollack and Pollack(2015) argued that managing the entire concept of change takes training, effort, energy, and time and this explains why various models exist for the management of change. Change management denotes to the transitional act of a company or organization from one situation or state to another. In business, the term also indicates the transitional process of a project to meet set objectives or requirements. Change mainly assist in increasing a business change of success or utilization of resources. The paper will look into Kotter’s 8-step change model and how/why HR needs to align to an organization’s strategy.

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Question 1

Kotter's 8-Step Change Model

One of the most widely used change management theoretical approaches is the 8 step change Model by Kotter. Haaset al. (2020) stated that John Kotter's change management model entails an outstanding 8-step change model. The strategy outlines eight critical steps to the whole change process in an organization. The steps remain essential to the finalization and accomplishment of the change model that remains disregarded by any aspect of the steps. It can bring forth total failure or break-down to the whole process (Haas et al., 2020). Kotter's change model answers basic questions concerning the entire concept of the change process. They include primary and critical questions such as whom to engage and involve, where to begin, and how to see through the entire change process to the end (Lv& Zhang, 2017). Kotter's change model answers the most critical question in the change process, "how to manage and go about change" (Fourman et al., 2016) The change management process from long years of observation and leadership by John Kotter brought forth the eight change model in the famous book "Leading Change."

According to Fourman et al. (2016), Kotter's change management model aims at transforming, executing, identifying, and extracting the primary success factors. It integrates them into a unique methodology to achieve change within an organization and attain the highest level of success (Carman et al., 2019). One unique aspect of the change model entails switching attention from emphasis to impact. Kotter's first step entails creating an urgency in which everyone within the organization comes off their comfort zone. All personnel must understand the need for the change, thus creating a primary support mechanism that inspires inspiration within the organization (Fourman et al., 2016). The leader will then expound on the processes involved, systems, issues, and activities.

The second step entails forming a guiding coalition by forming a team, volunteers who understand the urgency involved in the whole change process (Carman et al., 2019). The team will take charge of the entire change project and process. The third step entails developing an inspired vision in which the leadership comes up with the project's primary objectives or change plan (Carman et al., 2019). Leadership involves all in the strategies, programs, and initiatives. The fourth step entails conveying the new vision to the team to gain the necessary support for the process's fundamental objective and image. The fifth step entails empowering others to enact the team's objective or vision by bringing together all the confidence, resources, and skills (Brock et al., 2019). A leader achieves this through mentoring, coaching, and training. The leader should also remain observant of any change resistance and take any necessary steps to avoid conflict.

The sixth step entails generating short term wins by having the change process broken down to small and manageable units (Brock et al., 2019). Through this, the leader will have a specific management process, motivate the team, and ensure success in small units. The seventh step entails sustaining the acceleration of the vision by declaring triumph over the change (Brock et al., 2019). Change remains a slow step by step process that a leader must find a way out by focusing on its objectives, values, and culture. Auguste (2013) stated that the last step entails instituting permanent change by embedding the fundamental change within its culture and core. Growth will only remain relevant if and when it finds strong support and anchor on an organization's processes, systems, and objectives (Auguste, 2013). Leaders embed the change process into the organization's primary operations and procedures to ensure success.

Institute Change

Diag 1: Kotter’s 8-Step Model

• Generate Short Term wins
• Sustain Acceleration
• Enlist Volunteer Army
• Enable Action/Remove Barriers
• Build a Team
• Form Strategic Vision and initiatives
• Create sense of urgency

Kotter’s 8-step model comes off as a four phase structure comprising of the “Need for Change,” “Change Direction,” “Change behavior,” and “Change Sustainability” as illustrated below.

Source: https://www.eurogeography.eu/SoC/guidelines/changemanagement.htmlAdvantages of the Model

Kotter's 8 step model remains one of the most practical change models that offer ease of incorporation and procedural follow-up. Through the steps, a leader can easily follow a change strategy by monitoring success, procedures, and engagements (Sato et al., 2010). For example, a leader can retrace a step in the case of failure of a significant aspect of the change process (Auguste, 2013). Through this, the model handles major drawbacks and resistance to the entire arrangement by working on itself and changing instead of playing party to the change process as a whole.

Drawbacks of the Model

According to Auguste (2013), the 8-step process must follow on all the steps without missing on any to achieve success despite the model's strong points and guidance. The step by step procedure may thus come off as tiring and cumbersome in the whole change process. Secondly, the entire 8-steps remain time-consuming, changing, and going by each step all through.

Reaction to Change

Potential Impacts of Change

Leaders tend to accept change gradually but through shock and self-denial. As the pioneers and lead heads in a change process, leaders tend to develop a gradual acceptance to the entire process of change without exposing their fears and apprehension. Instead of going through the shock, denial, and anger or blame phase, leaders tend to accept the reality of a change process early –on in the initial stages of the process (Auguste, 2013). Managers, on the other hand, follow through the shock, denial, and anger phase, as explained in the Kubler-Ross change curve. According to Kubler-Ross's change curve, individuals undergo emotional changes to accept the reality of a change process.

The changes include a transitional change process that starts from shock, denial, and anger. In most cases, they accept the reality of the situation without succumbing to depression or bargaining. On the other hand, employees face and go through the most significant challenge through the stages of shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Auguste, 2013). According to the Kubler-Ross change curve, employees go through the settings with a great deal of emotional baggage and concern (Carman et al., 2019). In most cases, at the anger stage, they exhibit the highest level of resistance but succumb gradually at the depression stage leading to eventual, reluctant acceptance.

Question 2

How and Why HRM Strategy Aligns With Organizational Strategy

According to Fareedet al. (2017), aligning human resources and business strategy plays an essential role in boosting employee performance, satisfaction, and certifies that organizational teams align with the entire business to achieve its vision, objectives, and goals. At the same time, aligning HR to business strategy plays an essential role in increasing corporate power in decision-making through the organization.

According to Caruso(2017), linking and aligning HR to organizational strategy remains one of the essential moves a business can undertake. The entire procedure provides the company with a competitive advantage by ensuring that only qualified persons occupy the most critical aspects of the business function—the move results in higher profitability and revenues. Caruso(2017) further maintained that the first and most evident way to align HR to organizational strategy entails putting HR at the center of the business strategy by placing employees' well-being at the top (Fareed et al., 2017). Putting employee's well-being at the top involves remaining committed to their role, personal being, and engagement with the organization.

The second way to align HR to organizational strategy entails ensuring that the employees occupy strategic positions to fulfill the consumers' demands and needs (Caruso, 2017). For example, in the case a company cannot allocate the best-qualified personnel in the assembly line, it may not produce the best of products to maintain a strategic position in the market (Kuipers & Giurge, 2017). By putting the best of the best in the most critical places within the organization, the management gives the HR the outright mandate to ensure that business strategies remain the most vital in meeting customer demands and needs.

Optimization of results helps align HR and business strategies by ensuring that the organization remains sensitive to the employee's conditions and overall well-being (Bahuguna et la., 2010). For example, by restructuring organizational functions, the staff stands to benefit by increasing their value of working with the organization for long (Brueller et al., 2018). Aligning HR and business strategies through this approach boosts employee commitment and overall responsibility within the organization.

Bruelleret al. (2018) argued that an organization can align its HR to its strategies through a five-step procedure. Firstly, it remains critical for the business to understand its strategic direction and goals. Specific focus and goals play an important role in supporting any outlined objectives initiated by the two business ideologies (Kuipers & Giurge, 2017). Some of the critical questions to ask while aligning the two include the best way to keep the initiative, the business KPI, and the overall role of driving the business strategies to meet the required outlined KPI. The second most crucial aspect entails setting and aligning the HR goals, such as reducing labor costs or vendor costs or automating software tools and administration work (Brueller et al., 2018). The third step entails formulating precise actions to achieve the desired goals. Kalyani and Sahoo(2011) contended that an organization of business actualizes its objectives by creating specific targets, for example, to decrease or increase employee retention;the company must improve and compensate employees appropriately. Through this, the company will have focused attention on its specific actions that will help it achieve its goals through a revamped HR (Wrigh & Ulrich, 2017). The fourth strategy of aligning human resources with organizational strategy entails getting everyone on board by involving everyone throughout the process (Brueller et al., 2018). Including all employees in the process helps align them with the overall plan of corporate strategy. The last step entails measuring the overall outcome of the process, which requires relevant data, for example, measuring employee satisfaction and strategy outcome.

Kalyani and Sahoo (2011) argued that aligning HR to organizational remains an essential aspect of every business not only for the immediate benefits...