The Process of Organizational Change

Every business organisation is faced with obstacles on how to ensure they maintain their reputation and profitability in the long run. The advent of new technology has pushed business competition to very high levels that strategic planning alone cannot yield the desired results. They are external factors that are increasingly influencing the way businesses operate and how companies adapt to these influences. However, most companies are still struggling to find the best way to facilitate change at organisational level due to lack of capacity and the requisite tools needed for implementing successful change. This report summarises the processes of managing change and highlights how organisational change can be facilitated and improved. Additionally, the report is structured to include an introduction that basically provides the background information of the current subject, an analysis of the existing literature, conclusions and recommendations for best practices. The fundamental tenets upon which this report is founded focuses on identifying the best results from love companies that have impressed change which has been critical to the success within the wider corporate culture. The current report is also based on proposals for reduction derived from actual practices that organisations have been using as tools to drive the change process. Among other recommendations, this report suggests systems thinking and organisational culture as the biggest drivers that can ensure change is institutionalized. Long-term change management can only be more effective if top management focuses on communications training sensitisation and motivating the employees. A corporate learning framework founded on best practices step for proposed as the way forward for organisations intending to take a holistic approach in implementing organisational learning.

1.0 Introduction

Organizational learning is one aspect of business establishment that is described as a continuous process necessary for harnessing the group dynamics and getting the best possible from team members through training, sensitization and empowering the employees to do things differently. Imperatively, organizational learning brings with it organizational change as employees start thinking and doing things differently to accommodate change. Additionally, organizational learning is one of the fundamental principles that predict the sustainability of an organization’s projected returns on investment by influencing the overhaul of conventional practices to the adoption of modern methods of thinking business and enhancing commercial growth for a company (Coetzee and Stoltz 2015, p.84). Organizational change is therefore defined as the radical approach that an organization takes to implement change in the midst of strong opposition in order to help in turning around the organization’s fortunes. Organizational change can take the form of technology, innovation, or employment of highly skilled personnel to replace those that by now does not fit the rigorous demands of the market environment (Andersson, Laurin, and Rosenqvist 2018, p.242).

Since organizations need to constantly adjust to the ever-changing market dynamics characterized by highly competitive rivals, the business enterprise contemplating change must endeavour to make the drastic decision to fulfil customer’s needs even if the employees oppose the move. Most employees in the current business environment are used to doing things the traditional way. Inherently, in some economies, they contribute the highest number of workers making up the bloated wage bill (Coetzee and Stoltz 2015, p.84). Though, a company cannot necessarily ignore customers’ concerns hence the need to constantly adjust to fulfil their task of providing the intended goods and services. Most importantly, when the organization’s management wing decide to institute, they do so to keep abreast with the evolving market dynamics. When customers demand innovative products and services, a company must move forward to acquire the technologies that will ensure its competitiveness with other similar market players already employing the use of technology (Malik and Kanwal 2018, p.4). The probability of customer requirements changing implies that it is proper to understanding that change remains an inevitable process. However, it is imperative to note that an organization cannot realize the intended change if the employees are not brought on board (Alcover, Rico, Turnley, and Bolino 2017, p.21).

In as much as change is crucial to achieving organizational objectives, it should be noted that the employees already in existence could play a much bigger role if the organizational learning is instituted. If there are underlying structural issues within the organization then the best way to solve them is through an organizational design that will provide a grand plan that incorporates employees in the quest of identifying what works best or not to remedy the situation at hand (Andersson, Laurin, and Rosenqvist 2018, p.242). Imperatively, a flexible leader is needed to spearhead organizational design and development. Such a leader must be ready to integrate the interplay between design and development and must get involved from the onset to deal with inevitable hurdles along the way.

Achieving organizational learning is also intrinsically linked to the corporate social responsibility which implies that the leadership will focus on the goal and hand to realize to the cumulative good by taking into consideration the customers, the personnel, local community, and governmental organizations (Knight et al. 2018, p.5). Plans to mitigate against risk must also be put in place to safeguard institutional reputation. Corporate social responsibility, a significant aspect of the organizational design is not only seen as a moral and ethical issue but also as a strategic one of managing reputational risks if and when they occur to create commitment among the employers and the management. The current report highlights a live project for Fitch Architecture & Community Design– a Small and Medium-sized company located in that has focused on effective management leadership to accommodate the organizational changes that have often threatened to destabilize the group of banks.

2.0 Analysis

2.0 Leadership Style

Fitch Architecture & Community Design is a reputable financial institution in the US that has been very consistent towards its pursuit of organizational ambitions despite the inherent turbulent times that have often rocked the organization. Astute leadership is therefore created for the company to have been able to achieve the significant milestones it has achieved so far. The company has a hierarchical management model, headed by the president assisted by the company’s chief executive officer (Van Den Hoven and Litz 2016, p.47). The leadership model provided by Fitch Architecture & Community Design puts the interests of its clients first based on their experience that if the clients are served well, more success is almost guaranteed.

The company has been known to provide its clients with new products routinely and the employees have grasped the business model that focuses on a customer-centred approach which not only views the customers as the organization’s capital but also as its cornerstone of reputation. Fitch Architecture & Community Design have discovered that their leadership mandate must retain customer confidence to ensure customer loyalty. It is an organizational ethical mandate for all employees to fully comply with laws, rules and ethical principles that govern their interactions with their customers on the daily basis (Coetzee and Stoltz 2015, p.85). The continued success of the organization has been based primarily on the unwavering adherence that the staff of the company have committed since the leadership makes it the more possible. During the 2009 financial crisis when the economy was going down due to the recession, Fitch Architecture & Community Design held to its tenets of the sound governorship to see the organization weather the turbulence occasioned by the crisis. The leadership management style embraced communication, teamwork and fostering the sense of partnership which made sure everybody became cumulatively responsible to shoulder the burden the organization at its most critical moment (Aaron et al. 2017, p.29). Though the company has come under intense scrutiny in the recent past because of its financial and investment decisions, the leadership that the business model is adhered to by all departments.

Fitch Architecture & Community Design philosophy is further driven by the need to be accountable to its shareholders who are more concerned with the company’s profit-making. The envisioned profitability that the company has enjoyed is critical for sustainable financial growth and enables employees to align their productivity mentality to match those of the investors. Strong leadership intimates that even under the most tumultuous times (Chai, Hwang, and Joo, 2017, p.139). Invariably, the leadership takes seriously its professional mandate to the employees by providing an uncompromising determination to achieve excellence even in competitive markets or when facing the threat of new entrants.

Additionally, the management promotes employee creativity and innovativeness to bring out the best in them (Lord, Dinh and Hoffman 2015, p.263). Fitch Architecture & Community Design is however very conscious of the disruptive nature brought about by technological advancements in the banking sector and the opportunities it heralds for the bank hence as much as it hopes to embrace change, the company constantly strive to find the best way to ensure that their customers’ problems are well sorted.

2.1 Operations

Fitch Architecture & Community Design is highly conscious of the competitive markets that have been associated with architecture and interior design in the most recent past. At Fitch Architecture & Community Design, customer relations is the key mandate for this company as it helps it to transact business, design and come up with new products to meet the demands of the consumers in the market the department of operations enables this business to strategize its sales trading and portfolio management for its clients (Knight et al. 2018, p.8). The operations department enables the company works to ensure that all its transactional activities are well-channelled and properly documented. The operations department is very critical in ensuring that there is efficient business flow hence the company’s operational teamwork to protect the accuracy and efficiency at every step of trade. For instance, if a family intends to enlist the services of the company for interior design, it is the mandate of the operations officer to ensure that all the required materials are availed on time and that the most competent personnel is tasked to fulfil the business obligations of the trade (Hornstein 2015, p.292).

To ensure that the company retains its loyal customers the company focus on timely completion of projects at the most affordable rates while guaranteeing the quality of service finally operations functions to confirm that every transaction is reported accurately to the buyer and the business including the regulators (Rafique, Hameed and Agha 2018, p.46). Operations also function to ensure that accompanies esteemed clients are not exposed to financial losses, penalties or other risks that may, in turn, them from the company. Most importantly, operations aid in designing the appropriate technology that will ensure information flows and all the processes that function in tandem to ensure that every business transaction is a success. The operations component is divided into four functional areas which include capital markets operations, data science and engineering, financial analytics and reporting, and operations design (Coetzee and Stoltz 2015, p.87). Capital market operations function as the organization’s front line within the division to facilitate the company’s businesses activities and support the continuous lifecycle of trade by ensuring that the company partners with rat clients while collaborating with other departments to ensure that it mitigates against financial risks. Data science and engineering. Professionals within the company provide the technical aspect of business functionalities (Malik and Kanwal 2018, p.9). The engineers’ design develops and produces sophisticated and innovative products that meet the requirements of the consumer. Data science in and engineering professionals also provide expertise in working with analytical tools to provide engineering and architectural solutions that are meant to address the operational challenges facing the company.

Operational design professionals are tasked to plan and execute various customer-oriented programs and identify the viable financial operations capabilities that can drive the company’s efficiency to improve client retention quality of service and reduce any form of operational risk. Interior designers are also part of the engineering team and therefore work in synergy with the rest of the team to ensure that our clients seeking architectural and engineering services are not disappointed (Dixon, Weeks, Boland Jr, and Perelli 2017, p.496). In order to achieve organizational efficiency, sound leadership is expected to facilitate and guide all operations within the department and respond promptly to emerging issues.

2.2 Technology

Most companies currently thrive due to advancement in technology. Technology is attributed to the currently witnessed improvements in production and overall efficiency of the involved employees. Companies that use technology reduced the high returns on investment are highly innovative and creative and the products and services and always have a high demand for all products that the company produces when a company adopts technology it is seen as a sign of being competitive and ready to face whatever competition there is the market. However not every employee working within an organizational setup freely embraces technology changes scenes in such instances technology is seen as a threat to take over or replace the human resource (Hornstein 2015, p.293). When employees are aware of the introduction of a new technology into the company they might be hesitant to adopt it in totality which in turn could lead to reduced innovative products and inability to be competitive when compared to companies effectively utilizing technology. Technological change is therefore seen as part of organizational change and only a charismatic leader can influence the employees to adopt technology in discharging their services. Technological change process a significant threat to accompany that is used to conventional methods of production and as opposed to adopting new technologies (Uhl-Bien and Arena 2018, p.88). In such instances, therefore, the company had should outline the accrued benefits of the new introduction to his or her personal and make them feel confident and positive about the change.

Most companies, for instance, are aggressively investing in new technologies to improve their traditional methods of production which is viewed as a significant step towards achieving profitability. In the architecture world, traditional methods of doing business such as physical painting for interior decor is long past with time hence very few customers would want a physical approach for their architectural needs. Ultimately if a company cannot beat technological change then they have no option but to embrace it instead. Currently, architectural innovations continue to advance and remodel how architecture is perceived today. Every day a new innovative technology is invented and released into the market to enable architects to address the existing challenges (Beer 2017, p.387). A focused leader within the company will endeavour to support technological incubation for design innovation. Advances in engineering have developed the architecture profession as epitomized by modern capabilities such as 3D printing that has reinvigorated our imaginations towards the built environment. It should be noted that technical and creative developments cannot occur without the strong support of the management. Technology, therefore, enables architecture us to scare the boundaries of engineering and impact people’s interactions with the world around them

2.3 Financial Management

Fitch Architecture & Community Design Has experienced financial uncertainty before. Many businesses encounter financial issues which, in most cases are inevitable. The financial portfolio of an organisation, therefore, depends on its ability to sustain profitability in the long run. Fitch Architecture & Community Design first its worst financial position as an organisation in the way of the 2009 recession which threatened to impede its progress. As a middle-sized company, Fitch Architecture & Community Design managed to overcome its financial challenges by retaining a significant clientele that ensured Business continuity.

Imperatively, most businesses fail to overcome the finance managers because they don’t have a fall-back mechanism that cushions them in case they endure financial difficulty. Strategic business management is therefore important in ensuring that a business does not undergo insolvency. Finance pitfall often implies that businesses do not achieve their intended financial targets. To avoid financial challenges, the organization’s manager must develop a structured doing financial system that will ensure compliance with financial regulations (Andersson, Laurin, and Rosenqvist 2018, p.248). Due to modern technology, there has been an emergence of financial information systems that assist organisations to safeguard their monetary interests. These financial systems are effective in ensuring that proper use of money is maintained so as; to pay bills, buy materials, and pay employees does ensure that misappropriation of funds does not occur. A chaotic financial system has several loopholes that underline the disorganization of a business enterprise (Stouten, Rousseau, and De Cremer 2018, p.752). Invariably some businesses fail to achieve their maximum potential in the vent that they suffer legally challenges which into paying litigation fees. Such a business should be ready to encounter and respond effectively to uncertainties. Therefore the best way to mitigate these problems is by ensuring professional liability insurance that protects the company from unpredictable financial situations.

2.4 Management Tools

Essentially, businesses ought to have a management tool to help organization management to easily meet the expectations of the customers through a structured approach under a reliable strategic plan. For every envisioned organizational success teamwork and cohesion is very important in helping employees to interrupt well among themselves and even with their leaders (Knight et al. 2018, p.23). The proposed management tools for the company and a review will be Scrum. It is as a framework within which employees and organizational leaders address complex emergency issues while maintaining productivity and creativity in delivering products of great quality. As such, scrum enables teams to work together through a mutually beneficial approach where different teams find something useful to support one another beat in my customer support, marketing or business operations. Scrum enables teams to have realistic goals that are measurable achievable realistic and time-bound. Scrum enables teams to divide duties and functionalities based on specializations and awful and cottages division of labour. For scrum effectively function in an organization or set up, the projects pursued by the organization must be well defined since the management tool reliance on the concept of specificity to achieve a goal with the whole team aligned to it. For more efficacy project deliverables can be subdivided into smaller portions and different unit tasked to deliver on the subprogram objectives. More significantly scrum thrives on getting feedbacks for making improvements (Vakola 2014, p.196).

3.0 Conclusion

Becoming a learning organization is pegged on several issues for good reasons. A company can inculcate a learning culture thus making it a norm for the employers and company stakeholders to fulfil their stipulated mandates to steer the company towards newfound financial status or fail to act to bear the resulting consequences. When the culture of learning is institutionalized, it becomes easier for employees to realize their full potential based on the support they are given. Most blue-chip companies and SMEs with a history of success are mostly implementing organizational learning which empowers workers to innovate, encourages specialization in production and maximizes opportunities for the business (Grosser et al. 2016, p.1705). The theoretical model of organizational also extends to stakeholders as well so that they learn the fundamental basics of understanding market dynamics while giving the freedom to try new things. However, most companies are still constrained due to their tight operating budgets and limited resources. A learning organization encompasses various variables as well as recognizing that it requires an aggressive mentality to enjoy its success (Neves, and Schyns 2018, p.132).

Organisational learning empowers staff to perform to the best of their ability as it promotes a sense of purpose and the desire to achieve cumulative knowing very well that every individual effort contributes to the envisaged success. Organizational learning also fosters unity and promote cohesion and group dynamics as it provides the opportunity for employees and their leaders to learn from one another. It is a top-bottom approach means that everyone is viewed at the same level and thus accountability for individual actions is promoted. Lastly, for success to become a reality, different mindsets must learn to be accommodative of change and remain tolerant as they go through the change system. Organizational change on the other hand often comes with its inherent challenges and it is something that most employees frown upon given the fact that when change comes, the status quo is destabilized and the old system of thinking and doing things can no longer cope. For instance, the introduction of new technology to enhance efficiency in a company may be viewed negatively by the older staff who will not see the good it brings to be efficient and more productive but the threat comes with the change itself.

4.0 Recommendations

Change management is a primary concern for organizational entities and ensures that the stipulated goals are achieved with the required timeframe. Change management, be it managerial, technological or human resource acquisition puts the organization at a better chance to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business strategic plan. Though organizations fail 70% of the time, the high failure rates are attributed to non-compliance to the initiated reforms, hence the need for organizations to actively show support for the proposed changes with the top management taking lead in steering the rest of the workforce to realize organizational mandates (Rafique, Hameed and Agha 2018, p.54). The leader is therefore expected to mobilize support for the change process while seeking further support from relevant stakeholders both internal and external. Additionally, the change champion must take the sole responsibility of introducing and incorporating change focused on planning, organizing, implementing, assessing and evaluating business activities and providing timely interventions as appropriate. The persons responsible for introducing and incorporating change are expected to select change process processes that will best address the existing concerns of the organization and acting as the appropriate change agent regardless of the size of the company the top management must ensure that change practice falls within the following categories. These categories include; modifications of the established process, introducing new technologies, procedures, standards or guidelines. In some instances, change may occur in form of substantial equipment replacement or modification of a detrimental or unacceptable behaviour to an acceptable one (Sharif and Scandura 2014, p.189). When addressing change, the dealership must ensure that they bring everybody on board and should not institute change without consulting with the employees on the ground. Failure to involve the employees in the change process from the onset highlights the probability of failure, and in such instances, the proposed change does not succeed. The following communications are expected to help any company going through organizational change and will ensure that the organization successfully implement the change process:

Promoting organizational learning to support business strategies and objectives: Top management is tasked with ensuring that they support learning as a key driver of business. The alignment of business change practices requires that need assessment is conducted to make the proposed change focus on business needs (Uhl-Bien and Arena 2018, p.93). A manager, therefore, must understand the cool capability gaps that exist in case they’re not solved and the existing barriers to change strategies. The manager needs to also identify the required skills but we’ll cover skill gaps impacting the business and contributing to its underperformance.

Provision of learning to employees in an innovative way: The manager should move beyond traditional learning methods and think about improving learning by incorporating modern technologies that will reduce costs of training and ensure that the rest of the employees are empowered, trained, and sensitized on how they can use and adapt to new technological changes. The manager, for instance, can purpose to make it a company policy by implementing a one-minute daily learning bite videos with calls for action, sending automated weekly emails to all the employees with information on management best practices, and holding regular forums for employees such as workshops and training where they get land from one another. In essence, this kind of strategy standard to embed learning as a daily practice and will ultimately require minimal administrative support once it becomes the company norm (Alcover, Rico, Turnley, and Bolino 2017, p.36).

Promoting organizational culture will enable leaders to customize learning activities that best suit the company learning needs: Promoting a culture of organizational learning cool also means that the company, uses what is available to foster inject symptoms. Alternatively, the top management can tailor their organizational needs to the adopted strategies that have been proven to produce results in successful case studies. Tailoring the system strategies that are meant to address local problems will eventually give learners a higher level of ownership and make them more willing to accept change (Al-Haddad and Kotnour 2015, p.249).

Creating a reward system to recognize their fault of the employees towards learning we motivate them father to accept organizational changes when they occur: The reward system is, therefore, an ultimate low-cost high return approach that the company will use to acquire new competencies through learning from past failures and recognizing the need to do things differently which will eventually re-enforce the learning culture. The primary objective of creating a reward system is to ensure that the organization retains its high performing individuals and promote the development of new capabilities through the learning culture. The primary objective of creating a reward system is to ensure that the organization retains its high performing individuals and promote the development of new capabilities through systematic learning.

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