Table of Contents
Introduction
Project management employs varied strategies that relate to change management to facilitate achievement of the laid down goals of an organisation (Kerzner, 2013). The concept of project management came into existence in the 1950s as an extension of the early works of Henry Gantt. Apparently, change management and project management constitute a complex alternative to management known as change control. Essentially, a given project in an organisation is approved through the formal channels that an organisation has established (Raineri, 2011). Thus, a successful change management requires intensive pre-planning approaches through proper scoping, budgeting, and developing an appropriate schedule for initiating and completing a given project. In this regard, having an experienced project manager is an inevitable factor for successful completion of a project (Whelan & Somerville, 2010).The research paper strives to decipher change management process, the process drivers and how the process impacts the overall operations of an organisation.
Project Management Principles and Skills
Budget Management
Apparently, it is worth noting that change is expensive. Therefore, developing a budget requires not only basic accounting knowledge but also seasoned experience on budget planning and execution as far as project and change management are concerned (Müller &Turner, 2010). Thus, a project manager has to uphold a lively budgetary awareness regarding expenditure to avoid monetary disputes in the course of carrying out a project. In essence, creating constant awareness on the spending enables the prompt realisation of discrepancies that may arise in the earlier steps of a project. In this regard, the changes that arise in the course of executing a project are addressed in the appropriate manner/
Scope Management
The concept is closely related to budget management since it aids in foreseeing the preliminary requirements before developing the budget. The scope management strategy is inevitable when executing change since it gives an insight of the projected business scenario in the future. Essentially, any changes in the initial setting or framework should be documented by creating a visible budgetary audit, communicating the audit and assessing how a given problem will affect the time and other valuable resources used to complete the project (Müller &Turner, 2010). Moreover, issues relating to change should be addressed to the stakeholders in time to evade unnecessary delays.
Time Management
In the business world, time is a crucial aspect in the realisation of a firm’s goals and objectives (Hammer, 2015). Thus, a project manager should develop a schedule that accommodates change and enhances maximum utilisation of resources. Essentially, a proper schedule highlights when a given activity is to take place, therefore, giving the project initiators enough time to work on the necessary project foundation needs (Whelan & Somerville, 2010). Thus, a good schedule should allow for adjustments to the allocation of resources and sharing of responsibilities among the workers. In addition, timely communication should be encouraged to speed up the processes involved in accomplishing tasks.
Technology
The past twenty years have witnessed a rapid growth in technology and adjustment of business models to fit in the changes experienced in technology. Thus, it is imperative for a project manager to sufficient skills that are needed in the modern technologies to facilitate effective change management (Müller &Turner, 2010). Apparently, data management and reporting are some of the important aspects of project delivery. However, the frequent changes in technology influence the data management and reporting approaches. Therefore, it is essential to adopt the latest technological tools when communicating the progress of a project to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. The managers can use advanced systems such as the project management software to manage change.
Theoretical Concepts in Organization Change
Employees determine short term and long-term successes of the establishment, and therefore they should be involved in stepwise change management processes. Controlling such outcomes requires strategic approaches and concepts. Different scholars have developed theories to aid in understanding the aspect organization change. A good example is the nudge theory of heuristics.
Nudge theory of heuristics
According to theory, people should be left to operate independently as far as change is concerned. In this regard, people’s emotions and instincts should be their guide to judgment and thinking rather than rational means (Kosters & Heijden, 2015). The theory applies fours steps in elaborating organizations change management process.
Step 1: Define the change. Defining the change requires that employees and high-level management team be involved in order to comprehend the objectives of the change, the importance and how to cope with the given change. The step stipulates that change must involve the people and not be imposed on them.
Step 2: Assess the impact of the change. The change affects different people variedly, and therefore the step involves preparing employees psychologically on what to expect (Whelan & Somerville, 2010). Developing a proper review outlines the gliding nature of the change within the organisation structure. Such an assessment will draw a clear blueprint of the areas which require support to be successful.
Step 3: Developing a communication strategy. Prospected change must be communicated to the employee through clear channels (Crawford & Nahmias, 2010). Communication can be done in groups or individuals as per the simplicity or complexity of the change. In this case, the given feedback must be managed and acted upon to ensure that all concerns are streamlined for efficient and effective operation.
Step 4: Measure the change process. It is important to determine the prosperity of the change in shaping the organization’s objectives as per the change management process (Crawford & Nahmias, 2010). Thus, reinforcing existing opportunities helps in building a proficient change management process,
Relationship between Strategic and Operational change strategies and Decisions
Strategic change outlines the long-term objectives in an organisation (David, 2011). The objectives tend to be elaborate and extensive as compared to the operational change that is short, precise and designed to fit into the day to day operations of an enterprise (Slack, 2015). In order to achieve a strategic objective effectively, the operational objective must be workable and achievable. In other words, operational objectives provide an enough threshold on which strategic change ought to be achieved. In addition, if the operational objectives fail to enact the short term change, then the likelihood of an establishment reaching the strategic objective proves void. Operational objectives are designed to serve the strategic objective (David, 2011).Consequently, the ability to measure the impact and the likelihood of achieving both the operational and the strategic change objectives provides the benchmarks upon which a decision can be made in an organisation (Hrebiniak, 2013).
Reasons for Success in Change or failure to deliver its Mandate in the Change Management Process
Freeman (2010) argues that inspiring the right people with the mix of skill and commitment to foster clear, achievable objective is the initial step to realising a success in the organisation change. In addition, the project leader ought to develop short-term goals in order to motivate the process drivers into committing to achieve long-term goals. Another reason involves spearheading a drive by encouraging the contribution of as many people as possible (Whelan & Somerville, 2010). Striking the interested party with an adorable level of organisation and commitment will attract on-lookers. The goal can be achieved through the deployment of the right technological tool to allow quick and precise results which will eventually cut on cost and time.
Developing a mechanism that will promptly overhaul challenges as they arise is another crucial reason for success in change. The team feels empowered right after overcoming a milestone (Whelan & Somerville, 2010). Rewarding or recognising progress as a leader further motivates the team into generating resilience and gaining closure that such future changes will be successful. Rewarding or recognising a progress as a leader further motivate the team into generating resilience. (Crawford & Nahmias, 2010).
Some of the Failures in the Change Management Process are:
The most outstanding reason for the failure of change management process is that it is viewed as an outside process rather than an inside process (Whelan & Somerville, 2010).Therefore, it is important to first transform individual thinking before modeling one into accepting the change. The change should be in the people as much as it is in the organisation. More so, lack of a consensus is another challenge. Failure to engage the employees in step wise development tends to cause employee resistance which is detrimental to the change process (Hammer, 2015).
Challenges to Change and Project Management
Change is instrumental to the growth of a company. However, it is not a walk in the park; there are several roadblocks to be engaged before realising the actual change (Crawford & Nahmias, 2010). The challenges are healthy for individual and enterprise growth. Some of the notable barriers into achieving change management process are;
Lack of or improper planning
Planning is the initial and the most important facet of the change process (Hammer, 2015). The new system should be compatible with the old system to some extent to allow for swift transition. Change is gradual. Therefore it is not advisable to change in completeness as this might affect the employees hence declining the performance in the new set up (Whelan & Somerville, 2010). Change should be given time to stick.
Employee Resistance
Over time, employees get complacent not only with the way work is conducted but also by their locations and departments (Whelan & Somerville, 2010). Change comes with reshuffling and relearning of new concepts which might take the time to practice. Therefore, it becomes challenging to them compelling resistance or fails to cooperate with the management process.
Human Resource Change Project
The human resource manager has an integral role to play in representing people’s side in a change programme (Issar and Navon, 2016). The human resources department is however derailed in representing the people’s view when not included in the initial planning step or introduced towards the final end of the change management process (Daley, 2012). During the change process, the human resources department remains active to ensure the smooth running of the organization. Therefore, it becomes challenging to manage the change process effectively (Hashim, 2010).
Western culture attaches value to humans in an organization and renders them useful for achieving the fundamental success plans of the given entity (Issar and Navon, 2016). On the other hand, non-western cultures majorly Muslims segregate the role of low-level employees. The top level management is mandated to channel change (Hashim, 2010).
We can do it today.
The Change Management Theories and Models
Change process can be chaotic thus requires change management models to achieve non-disruptive outcomes. Kurt Lewin’s unfreeze-change-refreeze model presents an analogy of melting a block of ice and refreezing it into the desired shape (Kent, 2011). The analogy elaborates how a company should maneuver the change process in order to emerge successful. Organization change requires thawing or unfreezing, that is, communicating the necessity of change to the change drivers. Addressing concerns and doubts ensures that those bound to be affected by the change are on board from the start.
Thus the inclusion of people in change management is inevitable. The management needs to communicate the benefits of the change to employees as they transition from the old establishments to the new one.
People should be given plenty of time and be motivated in order to adjust and to continue supporting the change respectively (Kent, 2011). The last stage of the model is referred to as refreeze. The stage highlights that change is made to stick. As highlighted earlier, people must be trained and supported in order to stay focused on implementing change. Regularly, check if the implemented processes are being used properly. For instance, Mums clinic intends to adopt electronic patient records system to replace manual register. First, the management has to unfreeze the employees from the old practice of manual-patient recording by communicating and demonstrating how electronic system benefits outweigh the manual system. Secondly, involve the employees in the transition process. Encourage them to support the change by shining light on how this will speed customer service delivery and cut on time spent on subsequent writing as opposed to an electronic system which has retrieval capabilities and is safer than paper work. Finally, solidify the change by monitoring employee progress in implementing the process.
Conclusion
Organisation change is a risky and multifaceted practice which demands an elaborate and meticulous planning to avoid time and resource wastage. All the key stakeholders should work in unison and harmony to aid in realising the required threshold for the expected organisational change. Change management ensures that change drivers are well prepared, equipped and supported throughout the change odyssey. Special focus must be vested on the employees and how they will adapt to the impacts of the change. Importantly, key stakeholders should not be isolotaed but rathershould be involved in the step-wise execution of strategic and operational strategies which entails decision-making for both the long-term and the short-term prospects in enacting the organization change.
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