Reference no: EM133502099
Question: What stands out to you about the below description. Share any experiences where you have seen similar principles in action in organizational change.
"Organizations need action like people need oxygen." So does organizational change. (Cohen, H, 2019)
What stands out to me with this description of organizational change is that it requires more than simply strategy on paper designed by people behind desks. It needs to be put into action and it needs to have life breathed into it. Many times, organizations will devote significant time developing the vision for the end result without breaking down the process of how to arrive there. I've had experience in leading change in our organization by creating and moving to an automated centralized dispatch system for our 6-state regional council that operates from a staffed office in Omaha, NE. It took significant planning and management and was met with significant resistance. You need to vision cast, bring people on board, put out fires, bring people on board, solve problems, reassure people, bring people on board, again and again and again. I created a blueprint for the project that worked backwards from launch date of the new process change. It allowed us to navigate each phase of rollout. Interestingly, seven years later, everyone loves the way we dispatch and doesn't even remember why they fought so hard to hold on to the old way. We had to take daily action for over a year to implement this one element of organizational change.
"Achieving success in the area of change management requires adequate tools and methodology to measure results, combining the interests of all stakeholders." (Kirecheva, E, 2022)
Similar to the quote above, this description truly demonstrates what is required for successful change to occur in an organization. A number of years ago, I was part of a very large organization that took on a "Transformational Change" initiative from the top down in order to improve a very negative culture. This organization literally re-examined every single element of their work down to the most minute details and then implemented changes to become more uniform, more effective, and more relevant. This change was purposeful and impacted everything from dress codes to filing strategies to uniform processes, policies, and procedures. Departments were involved in writing mission & vision statements individually and collectively, every member was repeatedly reminded of their purpose on the team and within a two year time frame the organizational culture demonstrated significant positive changes. An organization that was stuck in a "good old boys club" had transformed into a much more inclusive and pleasant environment by including each person in the process on a daily basis.