Arguably, professional change is essential for every organization. However, the process of change can be frustrating, thus affecting its managers, if not well managed. Consequently, creativity is crucial in a change process to ensure that the change solves the intended problem and others created along the way. The paper will reflect on a professional change at Suburban Propane, a publicly owned, nationwide fuel oil and propane company, where there was a new software implementation. The changes experienced at Suburban Propane will be compared with those experienced in The Story of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The paper's objective is to demonstrate tensions associated with the professional change in an organization, consider how they can be managed and addressed, recognizing the constraints they can impose.
Changes Comparison between Suburban Propane Company and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
In the recent past, the Suburban Propane Company started using new software for its operations. The Company upgraded to a tablet-based paperless system, which made everything be automated. All the processes done remotely by the workers will be done through handheld tablets and then transmitted back to the home office immediately. Consequently, the change in question has helped in improving the Company's efficiency and productivity. As a result, this has improved its reputation. Unlike before, documents are now being processed immediately, thus saving on time and money. There is a better utilization of the employees' time since they don't need to commute more often, allowing them to concentrate on the most significant tasks. This utilization has helped in improving the quality of services offered by the Suburban Company. Additionally, the new system has increased the organization's competitiveness. However, putting this process in place was relatively challenging. The employees were not conversant with the new software, thus demanding a lot of training.
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The Story of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center demonstrates a corporate turnaround that ensured the firm offers quality services and safety of care to its customers, improved employees' morale, and enhanced the relationship between the management and clinical staff. Similar to changes at Suburban Propane Company, the turnaround strategy helped improve the employees' efficiency and productivity. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center also gained a significant competitive advantage, making it one of the best academic health centers in the United States. Another similarity between the two changes in the enhanced organizational reputation. Unlike the Suburban Company changes, no training was required for a turnaround strategy at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Palmer et al., 2009). Also, Suburban Company changes were software-oriented, while those at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center focused more on strategy and management.
Common Issues and Lessons Present in Both Stories
Time loss during the change is one of the common issues in both stories. At the Suburban Company, a lot of time was spent on training the employees. However, it was necessary to ensure the transition is a success. Similarly, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's turnaround strategy took a relatively long period before it became a success. The process began in 2002, and the Company became among the top leading in 2010 (Palmer et al., 2009). Patience in the organizational process is one of the lessons learned from this issue.
Likewise, poor service and product quality, efficiency, and productivity issues are typical in both stories. The suburban Company was seeking to use new software to enhance its quality, productivity, and efficiency. Consequently, the new software facilitated for immediate processing of documents, thus increasing productivity and efficiency. The change in question improved the quality of services offered since the Company transformed to entirely paperless, thus having better document storage and processing. The Company has gained a significant competitive advantage as a result. Similarly, the change at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center helped improve the quality of services offered since it addressed the medical errors issue. The introduction of an initiative to cut "central line infection" was essential in reducing harm to patients and motivated the medical staff to improve (Palmer et al., 2009). Consequently, the services at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center improved, hence attracting more patients. Therefore, excellent quality, efficiency, and productivity are some of the primary features for organizational success.
The Embedded Lesson Found in the Four Change Stories
There are a lot of lessons to be learned in the four change stories. Although the right change strategies are widely known and accepted, details concerning the strategy or intervention design for a specific organization are crucial. For instance, despite the changes put in place at J. C. Penny and Sears being right, they decreased profitability due to their implementation techniques. Therefore, it is crucial to consider the organizational context before implementing change. The person spearheading the change should always create a method that is consistent with the circumstances at hand. For example, the strategy used at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center was creative and tactical, thus generating significant performance improvement at a relatively low cost. The manager ensured that all the workers were involved in the change process, thus creating goodwill for change implementation. Secondly, a reputation for getting things done was established through training. Likewise, the same strategy was used at Suburban Propane Company (Palmer et al., 2009). Training boosts employees' confidence, which results in quality improvement.
Additionally, creating a conducive environment for change is vital in enhancing the strategy success. Levy first ensured that other employees were happy and motivated working at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, hence willing to back up the changes. He ensured transparency in the organization, which motivated the staff members to continue with the improvements. Besides, he ensured that the employees are consistent with change purposes by ensuring they focus on patient care safety and quality. To successfully implement change, the manager needs to have a road map. Levy had a clear understanding of the changes he wanted to make, enabling him to diagnose and manage them. Moreover, he clearly understood the excellent technique of implementing the change (Palmer et al., 2009). As a result, he managed resistance, developed various approaches, and created communication strategies to assist him to succeed. One of Ron Johnson's mistakes was the lack of a clear roadmap in his change strategy (Palmer et al., 2009). Consequently, he was unable to develop customers' buying habits understanding.
Using the Lessons as a Solutions Template for Future Change Strategies
Change is an integral part of the organizational development journey. However, how a person undertakes a project, plans for it, and how employees are engaged is as essential as the change outcome. Therefore, while designing a change strategy, it is essential to begin with, the objective. The intended changes should align with the Company's mission, vision, and culture. Also, ensure that the management is in support of the ideas to be implemented. Subsequently, the vision to be achieved should be formulated with the change management process. Regular communication of the vision and transparency is vital for establishing the support required for organizational adoption and shift. An excellent change strategy is critical in identifying possible obstacles and eliminating them in good time. Lastly, implementing the change strategy should be monitored to ensure the entire process is a success. Change implementation monitoring helps in keeping morale and momentum up.
Arguably, most employees fear a change in their workplace, thus making them quick to reject it. However, creating a conducive environment for change helps minimize the fear in question, hence making the process more acceptable. Therefore, as a manager, it is essential to provide the employees with a healthy support system. It makes the process easier for them, hence promoting wellness. Additionally, giving employees adequate space to do their work is essential in preventing conflict between coworkers. As a result, it keeps them focused on implementing the change. Also, giving incentives is an essential way of boosting the workforce morale to implement the change. However, only performance-related incentives should be offered.
References
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Jamieson, D. W. (2019). Exploring the dynamics of organizational culture and change: Developing skills and strategies to navigate change in a complex world. Preparing for High Impact Organizational Change , 156-178. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788116954.00023
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