Change:

“Change is constant”

Change occurs with the passage of time. Since the evolution of earth, it has changed.
Same can be said for the organization that since its creation it is changing. It is
changing in order to remain competitive within the environment.

Need for change:

For most people, any change is uncomfortable. Therefore, when managing change in
the workplace, it is top management’s job is to help people to see that whatever
they've been doing in the past can no longer take place. Light the fire of urgency to
change do so without frightening people and destroying your teams' self-confidence
and perceived ability to win. Create a belief that "We can do better!"

If an organization’s wants to bring a change at workplace, it is essential that

management share its vision with staff. If they are able to make their employees see
the bright side of change. The staff will be motivated and willing to accept the
change.

Key for Change:

To bring a change at workplace, the key are “people” at workplace. It is essential for
organization to make sure that right people are on the board. If employees share the
vision of the management they are able to see the tomorrow that organization has
aimed at. Once employees have understood the need for change, it is the duty of top
management to address the issues and reduce the fear of change that is making
employees hesitant.

Use feedback to motivate change:

As a leader you will give your employees informal feedback, this feedback will help
the employee to understand what is important, to you. If the feedback is positive it
reinforces that the employee is do the right thing.

Reinforcement can be both positive and negative; in fact there are four types of
reinforcement. These four types of reinforcement are described in the one
motivational theory that helps with managing change in the workplace.

Mehta Steel Company:

It is a company with 150 employees working at lower level. It has decided to opt for a
new technology by deciding to finish the paper work and installed computers in the
office but employees are not willing to accept this change easily. They have worked
on papers and files so this new method is not easy to get familiar with. The workers
have decided to go against this change and they have written a letter with signature
circulated by staff in support that this change is not very important.

The company took this letter in a positive way and decided to share their vision with
the employees. They brief them about the cost benefit analysis of this change, the
working efficiency and the reduction of stress due to ease of technologies.
Furthermore, company decided to give additional trainings before introducing the
change. It was observed that some of the employees were very enthusiastic about
these sessions but few were still not very satisfied with the usage of computers. This
change was necessary for the organizational success so they tried to introduce rewards
for those who are more efficient about the usage of technology.

After few days, the company observed that still few members are not actively and
willingly anticipating to this change. Now company decided to have a serious notice
by announcing that those employees will be punished for their reluctance. This was
basically the roots of reinforcement theory. Rewards for those who does well and
punishment to those who does not participate.

Due to this step, there was working efficiency but somehow employees were not self
motivated. They were driven by external forces such as rewards, incentive,
allowances, punishments, cut offs, etc.

Therefore company decided to hire the professional team of human resource

advocates. They had sessions with members and tried to improve their skills by
making them more responsible and sharing authority with them. Once these types of
individuals were given workshops to carry out a teamwork in which they were
secured as a leader, their excellence in attempt keep on improving day by day. The
gradual change in the work and working efficiency were obvious to notice. The
experts have one single quote to say to the management which made the management
to think of employees in a broader perspective.
 “They say motivation does not last long but so does bathing, that’s why we
recommend it daily”

The reinforcement motivation theory that company opted in first place was to reduce
the frequency of undesirable employee behaviours, or increase the frequency of
desirable employee behaviours

Examples of common undesirable behaviours

 Employees rushing and not quality checking their own work

 Talking to colleagues instead of responding to customers in a timely manner
 Being unpleasant, rude or argumentative to team mates
 Opposing all improvement suggestions made
 Repeatedly raising trivial issues
 Taking excessive breaks

You would like to reduce the frequency of these behaviours, this is sometimes
referred to as weakening these behaviours

Examples of some common desirable behaviours

 Helping peers without being asked, (Offering to help)

 Trialling a new process to see if it works
 Making constructive improvement suggestions
 Being attentive to customer needs
 Taking action to prevent issues from occurring

You would like to increase the frequency of these behaviours; this is sometimes
referred to as strengthening these behaviours. A leader skilled in the art of managing
change in the workplace will create an environment where employees choose to adopt
the change.

Scientific School of Management:

Fredrick Taylor, known as father of management has proposed money as a motivator

for the workforce who will make workers work with greater efficiency. He has
recommended a piece rate study that for every unit that employee produce, he should
be given a reward for it. He argued for the systematic and scientific methods should
be introduced for calculation of the work and efficiency of a labour.

Max Weber theory:

Max Weber’s theory is based on the rationality of strong structure and a centralized
process. It offers very little towards employee motivation as it does not support that
employees should be given the opportunity to be part of decision making or problem
solving. It argues that change should only come through the orders from top and
lower order should be following it.

McGregor’s x and y theory:

According to McGregor, in his book “human side of enterprise” he argued that two
types of workers in organization. In theory X, which has been proven counter-
effective in most modern practice, management assumes employees are inherently
lazy and will avoid work if they can and that they inherently dislike work. As a result
of this, management believes that workers need to be closely supervised and
comprehensive systems of controls developed. A hierarchical structure is needed with
narrow span of control at each and every level. According to this theory, employees
will show little ambition without an enticing incentive program and will avoid
responsibility whenever they can. In theory Y, management assumes employees may
be ambitious and self-motivated and exercise self-control. It is believed that
employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties. According to Papa, to them
work is as natural as play. They possess the ability for creative problem solving, but
their talents are underused in most organizations. Given the proper conditions, theory
Y managers believe that employees will learn to seek out and accept responsibility
and to exercise self-control and self-direction in accomplishing objectives to which
they are committed.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of need:

Maslow has defines the priorities of employees on the basis of their needs. One need
is followed by the other need. Starting from a basic need to fulfil the physiological
needs and reaching towards the self development by bringing a versatility and
creativity.

Physiological needs:
For the most part, physiological needs are obvious — they are the literal requirements
for human survival. If these requirements are not met, the human body simply cannot
continue to function. Air, water, and food are metabolic requirements for survival in
all animals, including humans. Clothing and shelter provide necessary protection from
the elements. These needs motivate individual to work in at workplace.
Safety needs:
With their physical needs relatively satisfied, the individual's safety needs take
precedence and dominate behaviour. In the absence of physical safety -- due
to terrorist attack, war, natural disaster, or, in cases of family violence, childhood
abuse, etc. every employee wants to be in a safe and secure environment.
Love and belonging:
After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layer of human needs is
social and involves feelings of belongingness. Humans need to feel a sense of
belonging and acceptance, whether it comes from a large social group, such as clubs,
office culture, religious groups, professional organizations, sports teams, gangs, or
small social connections (family members, intimate partners, mentors, close
colleagues, etc). Employees are driven to work at workplace so that they have comfort
and love in relations.

Self esteem:

Humans have a need to be respected and to have self-esteem and self-respect. Esteem
presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need to
engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the
person a sense of contribution, to feel self-valued, be it in a profession or hobby. This
is the same need employees wanted at Mehta Company to be respected and trusted
with responsibilities.

Self actualization:

This level of need pertains to what a person's full potential is and realizing that
potential. Maslow describes this desire as the desire to become more and more what
one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. This was exactly
missing at the workplace in Mehta Company. Employees were not realizing their
potential.

Conclusion:

Change has to be brought by preparing employees in advance, every company has x

type and y type employees so it should have a proper approach for both types of
employees. Motivation should be done on regular basis so that workforce remains
productive for the organization. People should be trusted with responsibilities and
authorities so that they are more willing and ready to take initiatives for
improvements.
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