Managing and Leading Change effectively

through Understanding the Process of Change

Table of contents
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................................2
2. Role of internal and external factors in driving organizational change....................................................2
2.1 External factors..................................................................................................................................3
2.2 Internal factors...................................................................................................................................3
3. Role of senior management and line managers in facilitating and implementing the change..................4
4. Common causes of resistance to change..................................................................................................4
5. Steps require ensuring effective organizational change...........................................................................5
6. Strategies require ensuring change capable culture.................................................................................6
7. Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................8
1. Introduction
Globalization and advancement of technologies have changed the business environment
in almost all the countries of the world. Effective leadership plays an important role in sustaining
businesses as per the market environment [ CITATION Arz10 \l 1033 ]. Leaders take charge of the
operations of the organization and set optimistic goals as per the requirements of the company.
The leader also prefers to change the strategies as per the requirement of the external and internal
factors of the organization. But in management, Manager prefers to use the traditional strategies
which are being used by the organization from long past. This report is based on the process of
change in organizations and how managers and leaders play their role in implementing this
change.

2. Role of internal and external factors in driving organizational change

Change management is known as a process of transition of the existing state of
technology, environment and strategies of the organization to the desired future state [ CITATION
Kre19 \l 1033 ]. There are various external as well as internal factors which play an important role
in affecting these organizational changes. As per previous research studies, we have identified
some economic, technological, competitive and legislative factors which influence
organizational change.

2.1 External factors

Every organization thinks about change because of the effect of various external factors.
We have mentioned below some external factors which affect most of the organizations.

Economic factors: Disequilibrium of demand and supply in the economy forces the organization
to change its manufacturing pattern. Thus the higher authorities of the organization are forced to
bring change in their strategies so that there can be equilibrium in the demand and supply of
products.

Competition: Global competitors also force organizations to bring change. It makes the firms to
think about new and innovative techniques so that they can be able to provide the best in the
market as compared to the existing competitors [ CITATION Men15 \l 1033 ].
Technological factors: New technologies adopted by other companies in the market become a
threat for other companies who are working with traditional technologies. The companies which
evolve themselves in the use of these new technologies remain successful and the companies
who remain stuck to traditional technology fail in competing with the other companies [ CITATION
The12 \l 1033 ].

Legislative factors: The companies need to change according to the legislative factors. The
companies which adopt changes according to the laws and regulations of the countries remain
successful. The companies which remain stuck to the traditional technologies have to face
various issues [ CITATION Sch19 \l 1033 ]. Various industries in Brazil have shut down in past few
years because of influence of these external factors.

2.2 Internal factors

Many times, internal factors also impact the situation of the organization and force the
organizations to adopt changes. These internal factors are associated with changes in employees
as well as changes in organizational culture [ CITATION Jab19 \l 1033 ]. As per a review of the
literature, the following internal factors influence the organizational change.

Change in management: Sometimes, new members of higher authority want to run the
management according to their strategies. This change in management forces the organization to
adopt new changes.

Organizational restructuring: Sometimes, organizations need to restructure as per the existing

requirement of the market. The organizations need to restructure the hierarchies and
communications to make certain strategies effective. They also need to train employees from
time to time to make the strategies successful.

Entrepreneurship: The organizations need to explore new ideas as well to explore the ideas of
other companies to compete with the market. Thus, every time a change in the organization can
make these ideas effective [ CITATION Tel19 \l 1033 ].
3. Role of senior management and line managers in facilitating and implementing the
change
In every organization, senior management and line managers play an influential role in
bringing change in the organization. These members of the organizations lead the change process
by communicating the required information regarding the change process to all the members of
the organization. Their motivation can make the employees more dedicated to work as per the
new strategies [ CITATION Tan19 \l 1033 ]. They train the employees to work as per the new
changes. Senior management and line managers can make the change process more successful in
the organization if they work with the lower management and help them in resolving all their
issues in the changing environment. Their motivation can bring the best performers in the
organization. It is the responsibility of these members of the organizations to work to reduce the
resistance so that new changes can be adopted.

4. Common causes of resistance to change

Every company needs to manage the resistance to change to make the management strategies
more effective. There are various factors responsible for resistance to change in the organization.
We have mentioned below some common factors that we have studied in the literature.

Loss of control of employees: Some organizations feel that organizational change can affect the
performance of the employees or it may lead to loss of control of employees [ CITATION Sre14 \l
1033 ].

Economic factors: Some organizational factors lead to loss of the organizations due to less
knowledge of technology among the employees. It can lead to the financial loss of the
organizations as well as cut in the compensation of the employees.

Job security: Organizational changes can also affect the belief of employees towards higher
authorities. The employees can also feel unsafe towards their job. This factor restricts
organizations from adopting change [ CITATION Sch18 \l 1033 ].

Effect of new technology: Adoption of new technology can be a big challenge for the
organizations. It is not easy for every organization to make its employees understand new
technologies. Various times, organizations have to spend a lot of money on training of the
employees for new technology. Thus most of the companies feel it as resistance to change.

5. Steps require ensuring effective organizational change

Organizations can ensure effective change by following the below-mentioned steps of
organizational change.

Incremental change: First step is to start from small, low level and few changes instead of
higher changes. These changes should be unplanned instead of planned changes because there
can be various resistances for planned changes. For example, a company which is manufacturing
small automobile products has now planning to shift to the manufacturing of cars [ CITATION
Sch19 \l 1033 ]. This process will be known as incremental change.

Technological change: the Second step is about technological changes in the organization. This
process describes the change in the overall process of innovations and diffusion of technology in
the company [ CITATION Dur15 \l 1033 ] . This change refers to changing the technology to improve
the operational processes of the company which will further increase the overall production of
the organization as well as its revenue.

6. Strategies require ensuring change capable culture

Although different organizations are focusing on their different strategies as well as the strategies
offered by eminent researchers, yet they need to focus on the following strategies essentially.

Definable strategy: It is essential to measure the aims of the stakeholders. Leaders should
develop a separate case to consider the previous achievements of the organizations. There should
be separate strategies for managing the risks, return on capital invested and economic, social,
political and cultural issues in the organization [ CITATION Rum13 \l 1033 ].

Communicate effectively: The leaders of the organization should communicate with

stakeholders regarding the requirement of change. They should make aware about the benefits of
adopting this change. It is the responsibility of leaders to make the stakeholders aware of the
process of rolling change in the organization through effective communication.
Empowerment of employees: The organizations should conduct training programs for
employees to make them aware of the new technologies and new strategies of the organization. If
the organizations focus on empowerment of employees, then they will be able to understand the
change process easily [ CITATION Pas10 \l 1033 ].

Counter resistance: The leaders and managers should focus on the identification of the issues of
the employees and solve the issues to maintain strategic alignment in the organization. The
organization should adopt the change to reduce the discontentment of the organization [ CITATION
The12 \l 1033 ].

Support to employees: The organization should make the employees understand about the
change process so that their change-related fear can be reduced [ CITATION Cam19 \l 1033 ].

7. Conclusion
It is essential for every organization to adopt required changes in the organizations for
continuous growth and to be able to compete with the external environment. There are various
external as well as internal factors which play an important role in affecting these organizational
changes. Among external factors economic, competitive and legislative factor forces the
organizations to adopt changes and among internal factors entrepreneurship, change in
management and restructuring of the organization affect the change process. Senior management
and line managers can make the change process more successful in the organization if they work
with the lower management and help them in resolving all their issues in the changing
environment.
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