Change, as defined, is a law of nature. Nothing remains constant in this world but change. To understand change in an organization, where do we start? I was thinking about the answer to this question when I remembered a recent experience I had regarding change in organization.
In the institution where I am currently working, the administration started imposing new regulations that we should follow. When I started working, I thought that those regulations were already imposed back then before I was hired. But when I had chitchats with my colleagues, I came to know that these regulations were imposed all of a sudden. There was a sudden change. It caused confusion to most of the employees. You could hear a lot of complaints and comments from different sides. They find the new regulations too strict and are OA (over acting.. :)). As for me, I did also find it too strict. Its like the institution was under Martial Law. Days passed by and we came to know that the school was applying for an Accreditation and to become a university. We understood then the reasons why those new regulations were imposed.
Now let's talk about the common reasons why there is a change in organizations. Why change? One of the reasons is the change in business conditions. Just like in our institution, since we are applying for an accreditation, we need to impose change to pass and to promote the quality education offered from the school. Another reason is the change in managerial personnel. On example I can give is the situation in government employees. Since my mother is one of them, I often hear her say that there will be a "RE-OR" whenever a new mayor or new official is elected. "RE-OR" meaning Re-Organization. There are employees who will be fired and hired. Personnel of different departments will be changed. Another reason for organizational change is the deficiency in existing organizational patterns. I think among the reasons given so far, this should be one of the major reasons why there should be a change in organization. It's like changing for the better. Technological and psychological reasons is another cause. I really did not understand how this affects the organization but I think these refer to the members of the organization. Government policies and the size of the organization are also causes of changes. Whether an organization is private or public, they are not excused to be affected with this type of changes.
When the reporters started sharing about organizational change, it was the first time I knew that there are different models considered in such natural occurrence as change. And so I tried to pay attention to the different models presented and was hoping to understand organizational change further. The first model presented had three steps called the Lewin's Change Model. This model was composed of the first step: Unfreezing. This step refers to the readiness of the organization to accept change. It is indeed important to prepare an organization in changes, whether big or small, so employees won't be surprised or have violent reactions when changes are implemented. Members should be educated and informed. Consultations, planning, organization, and appointments should be made. The second step: Changing refers to the implementation of change. This is the part where you should prepare for different scenarios that might happen. You could receive praise, encouragement, recognition and empathy. In this stage, there should be proper coaching, leading, managing, and help or guidance to monitor feedback from the members of the organization. The last step is Refreezing which sets the performance indicators. This is the stage where the changes should stick to the organization. Monitoring and evaluating performances and establishing controls should be done to determine if the change was successfully applied.
The previous model presented was not that difficult to understand since normally, this model is applied in most organizations. What surprised me is that there is a model which is composed of eight steps! This model was called John P Kotter's Eight Steps to Successful Change. As I was reading the eight steps, I was also comparing it to the previous model presented and tried to identify its differences aside from the number of steps it has. For me, there is not much difference found with the two models except that the John P Kotter's model was more detailed and very specific. Nevertheless, both models are really helpful in understanding how to apply organizational change.
As always mentioned, change is the only constant in the world. As members of an organization, we can't expect everything to stay the same. The world is turning and every now and then, changes happen. If you don't adapt to change, organization won't grow. I always believe that beyond every change there is a better plan and brighter future. Just like in the lyrics of Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror, "If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a chaaaaaannngggge!!!" ^________^
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