Change can be seen as a threatening and traumatic process for organisational members. What are the chief means that managers have for encouraging the positive acceptance of change?
international organisations. A manager with a spirit of inquiry may have heightened logical reasoning and good systematic methods of observation, Glover (2001). The fact that a manager is able to observe situations in a logical manner would mean that the change process would be conducted in a more controlled manner, which may make the workforce feel more at ease with the organisational changes. The third quality recommended of a manager in these circumstances according to Glover (2001), is flexibility. This managerial attribute could also be important for global organisations because as Glover points out (2001), flexibility in this context is the ability to monitor the organisation’s internal and external environments, and the capability to have a variety of skills that can be adapted to many diverse situations. A manager being able to deal easily with different situations within the organisation or in the external environment during the change process could reduce resistance to change by being able to deal with problems as they arose, be they concerning individuals or the whole organisation.
The last method that I shall discuss concerning the managers’ opportunity to reduce resistance to change is the practice of selecting an organisational strategy that allows for change to occur more easily. One strategy that an organisation may wish to adopt in order to enable change to take place is to become what is known as a learning organisation. The culture of the learning organisation focuses on empowering individuals through continuous learning and building a sense of community, Hellriegel and Slocum, (99:431). It is also very keen to establish a team-based network that holds no boundaries for individuals within the company, H&S (99:432). The main strategies of the learning organisation are to remain customer focused and to have long-term perspectives, H&S (99:432). One example of a current learning organisation is Yahoo!, which today is one of the most successful Internet search engines. At Yahoo!, ‘managers and employees alike have steadily absorbed and applied lessons from an industry involved in explosive growth’, H&S (99:457). This company is constantly reinventing itself in order to remain profitable within this ever-changing industry. This has attracted workers who are extremely self-motivated and who are willing to work with change in order to meet demanding schedules, H&S (1999). By applying the strategies of the learning organisation, managers could help to encourage the process of change as employees have a clearer focus of what they were working for in terms of organisational goals and customer needs. Wider communications within a team-orientated environment would mean that the employees might feel more valued as a member of the company and more motivated to work to the best of their abilities for their organisation.
In conclusion, I have tried to show what is actually meant by the process of change, which is essentially human-orientated and therefore interactive, complex and uncertain. Change can often pose a threat to individuals and the organisational structure itself. Overcoming [next page]