Introduction
In an organizational context, managers face many challenges concerned with leading employees in a direction that aligns with corporate goals and objectives. Organizational change is a particularly burdensome managerial phenomenon because employees tend to be resistant to it and handle change in the workplace differently. For example, a company may be looking to embed big data into the Human Resource Management context, there may be opposition from employees who are unfamiliar with the technology (Shah et al., 2017). Finding an approach that would help all workers adhere to change that will enhance business practices is a challenge many managers endure. Thus, the goal of this project is to explore the phenomenon of organizational change to determine the most appropriate strategy that a manager can use within a company context to facilitate any transitions effectively without sacrificing the quality of personnel’s performance. The target is to create the programs that would allow managers to use certain strategies for processing organizational changes in the most effective for a specific situation way. The scope of the project covers all enterprises with a developed system of departments. Even though organizational change is hard to manage, especially among managers who have never encountered it, the most appropriate strategy combines such aspects as planning, honesty and transparency, effective communication, and employee participation.
Background of the Issue
While organizational change could bring positive aspects to an organization, it is often something that many managers and their subordinates fear. The idea of coming changes entails is often linked to adverse outcomes, ranging from job loss to the restructuring of teams (Abilgaard et al., 2018). It is the responsibility of a manager to set the tone for the team and prepare everyone, including themselves, for managing organizational change as effectively as possible, helping to understand and navigate relevant processes as effectively as possible.
The proposed strategy for change management does not emphasize one specific process over the other and rather recommends a systematic approach that managers can implement. The strategy entails starting with a careful plan, which entails making sure that a manager has a clear plan in place that covers issues such as when, how, and why change is taking place. This includes documentation of the steps and responsibilities managers will carry out, including a carefully developed timeline and responses for addressing potential concerns. Transparency is the second component of the recommended strategy, which is focused on being as open and honest with employees as possible, especially regarding the specific impact that change will have on workers. Stemming from transparency, the strategy entails telling the truth, with managers presenting information as it is, without sugar-coating or being overly optimistic.
Effective interactions concerning the change process are fundamental for managers who need to keep the communication lines between them and their employees. It is necessary to take time to explain why change is taking place and how it will impact every process at an organization (Robertsson, 2019). For instance, managers should make themselves open to answering any questions, hold regular meetings with the team, and invite reports about workers’ concerns and thoughts within a neutral atmosphere. Drawing from such interactions with their subordinates, managers are expected to monitor and measure change to ensure that it occurs smoothly and that, ultimately, it will lead to organizational success.
Proposition to Be Tested
The proposition to be tested as related to the organizational change process entails measuring the effectiveness of the strategy that the manager has implemented within their specific context. Since change management is not universal and requires fine-tuning to the needs and demands of a unique workplace setting, the change management approach that a manager takes can either facilitate or limit productivity in the long run. For instance, if a manager has decided to take on the role of a mentor and a leader within change manager appears to communicate frequently and openly with workers, the impact of such a strategy on employees should be measured. If such an approach fits the context, employees’ attitudes will improve over time, and they will not be as change-resistant as in the beginning. Therefore, the effectiveness of the proposed change process for managers should be measured regarding the appropriateness of a manager’s action and the impact of their leadership role when an organization is undergoing some shifts. The leadership qualities of a manager are to be measured through the feedback given by their employees, who are the individuals most affected by the change and the ones to show high levels of performance.
Proposed Quantitative Research Tool
An appropriate quantitative research tool for measuring a manager’s effectiveness is an anonymous survey disseminated across employees. Survey research represents a quantitative methodology in which a researcher poses a set of pre-determined questions to a group of individuals whose feedback will help provide commentary on the issue at hand (Blackstone, 2019). The method is useful in the organizational setting because it can be used as a way of quickly gathering general details that interest the researcher, with the possibility of being repeated if needed to compare outcomes.
An important reason to use a survey tool for measuring the effectiveness of a manager during organizational change is the method’s reliability as a method of inquiry. Reliability is strong in surveys because they are standardized in that the same questions and phrasing are used. Besides, surveys that are well-structured are versatile and can be adapted to the specific setting and even a specific profession of individuals being questioned (Blackstone, 2019). Finally, a quantitative survey is highly cost-effective and does not require much time to be implemented, which means that it could be used frequently by managers as a method of measuring their effectiveness in the eyes of employees during the process of change. If the feedback of workers improves with time, illustrating their adjustment and acceptance of change, it could be concluded that the strategy that the manager has chosen for leading through change turned out to be effective. Negative feedback without improvement will show the manager that they will have to implement steps to reconsider the strategy and make adjustments to cater to the specific organizational context.
Conclusion
To conclude, organizational change is a managerial phenomenon that presents several challenges for leaders in the workplace. However, change is inevitable and is bound to occur if an organization wants to stay up-to-date with current trends and compete within the ever-evolving business environment. It is the responsibility of a manager to find the strategy that will fit the organizational change context at hand and ensure that it occurs smoothly and with minimum resistance from workers. To measure the impact of the selected strategy, it is recommended to use the quantitative survey methodology, which will help identify the effectiveness of the chosen strategy. The proposed measurement tool is reliable and easy to implement, which means that it can be conducted several times to compare outcomes over time.
References
Abilgaard, J. S., Nielsen, K., & Sverke, M. (2018). Can job insecurity be managed? Evaluating an organizational-level intervention addressing the negative effects of restructuring. An International Journal of Work, Health & Organisations, 32(2), 105-123. Web.
Blackstone, A. (2019). Social research: Qualitative and quantitative methods. Flatworld.
Robertsson, A. (2019). The importance of communication during organizational transformation: A case study at AstraZeneca about communication barriers [PDF document]. Web.
Shah, N., Irani, Z., & Sharif, A. M. (2017). Big data in an HR context: Exploring organizational change readiness, employee attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Business Research, 70, 366-378. Web.
