Determine If Change Managers Pursue A Change Strategy That Wins Long-Term Commitment.
Intel is one company that has seen several issues in the past years. The problems can be traced back to when the CEO Paul Otellini assumed office. At that moment, the organization was struggling with issues that emanated from the Netburst microprocessor that made it lose profits from increased overhead. The management of Otellini caused Intel to miss an important opportunity for the manufacture of low-power chips and be a major producer. Despite him being able to control the financial aspects of the company, the new manager failed in putting the firm in favorable conditions that enhance its a competitive advantage against its major competitors and many ARM vendors. There were pressures from within the organization to effect change and restructure the departments.
Between 2009 and 2012, Paul Otellini was able to communicate his vision for the change at Intel with commitment. The restructuring was achieved albeit the need to reshape the company. This made the share price and revenue to increase. The CEO employed a systematic approach to successfully launch an innovative, non-traditional means of developing and effecting change at the organization. He used the environmental-adaptive change management strategy. In this strategy, there is some degree of shifting the burden from the management and the organization to the people. The change agents believe that even though people are opposed to disruptions, they are even quicker to adapt to them ( Nickols, 2016) . Intel has been attributed to such a change ever since the era of Andrew A. Grove who accepted the need for transformation to advance the brand. He recognized that times have changed and so was a requirement to remain on top of the microprocessors game. It can be seen that Otellini took this direction and made the strategy to suit Intel as there was a call for radical transformative change. It was necessary to leave the Grove era behind and enter into an uncharted course for the company.
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The new strategy for change is allowing Intel to unveil a new product which is not constricted by time. Thus, time is not a factor in the methodology for change. The change manager selected a strategy that can work both in the short- and long-term basis. Otellini selects change management that wins long-term commitment as it will require a rapid influx of people from the old culture to the new one. Tossing out the old model and bringing the new one and thus needs a long-term commitment ( Nickols, 2016) . However, there is a potential issue of managing what could be the explosive growth in the new firm, which when not well seeded with the new people, the rapid influx from the old model can infuse the new culture with the old one.
Explain how change managers may reinforce changes post-implementation
Change in an organization is known to bring opposition and needs effective management to pass the test of time and effectiveness. It is a process that requires a sequence of activities to ensure every aspect is well-captured. The steps range from preparation to reinforcement. However, most organizations fail to consider the final phase and thus miss on the important aspect of the change success. The results of transformation may not be seen initially and thus the management must strive to reinforce it post-implementation to reap the benefits. However, reinforcement is more than just checking the box that states a change was made. It also has steps to be followed. In all these phases, employee engagement is key to ensuring that there is a full buy-in ( Klarner, By, & Diefenbach, 2011) . The initial stage of reinforcement post-implementation thus takes the form of collecting and analyzing feedback from the employees.
In this case, the change managers have to listen to the employees by following them up in order to understand how the strategy is working. The change methodology such as that of Intel ensures that the people are highly affected and thus to know whether there is progress in its implementation, the agents have to listen to the employees. The feedback obtained is essential in developing corrective measures and managing the post-implementation activities. As changes within an organization begin at the individual level, the less the employees know about the progress of the change or if they are following the stipulated steps, the more they are likely to repeat the same mistakes ( Klarner, By, & Diefenbach, 2011) . The managers thus need to introduce time for the individual workers to report back in the regular weekly schedules during and after the implementation of the change. This can be achieved through monitoring of employee behavior, doing surveys, or performing interviews for a few hours each week. This is necessary to help the workers get the feedback needed for them to understand why the change is essential and how they can help in adopting a new culture.
Secondly, the managers can reinforce change by recognition and celebration of the little wins made by the employees (Van Loon, 2016). Following the implementation of the new strategies, the management is one of the most important people in recognizing the successes. Publicly acknowledging the efforts that some employers put in ensuring the change is reinforced can act as a boost for morale ( Gobble, 2013) . The managers should constantly seek evidence of major indicators of early successes no matter how small they may seem. It is essential to organize and put up ways of recognizing individuals who work to the advantage of the change and make it public. The managers should use normal meetings as the points of making recognition of successes. They should also inform the key stakeholders and champions for the change about these achievements.
Similar to the celebration of small wins, the other way of reinforcing change is through rewards (Van Loon, 2016). These can help identify the various performance goals within the organization in which the workers can obtain several incentives. Rewards can take the form of things like gift card bonuses, monetary tokens, free lunches, and many more that can make the employees feel appreciated alongside recognition from the management.
In some cases, rewards can be important from the perspective of the process and the mode of allocating such incentives does not necessarily have to be on the basis of the individual. Of importance is that the management is able to recognize the success in the adoption of the change and in turn paying compliments to the people making this possible. Rewards should also be offered as a direct result of workers successfully and continually fixing the changes in their daily working life.
The other means of reinforcing the change post-implementation is to carry out the performance management and audits. The monitoring of any new strategies is essential in making sure that the measurements of performance and objectives are as earlier hypothesized. Carrying out audits of compliance to the rate of adoption of the change can make sure that the data generated is not skewed. Despite the fact that most employees do not like heavy monitoring at work, it is a necessary process for auditing the performance data as far as change is concerned and it helps in ensuring that all the workers are conscious of the change process.
Recommend How Change Managers Should Communicate The Potential Success Of Implemented Changes Without Jumping To Conclusions Too Quickly
Communication is an essential aspect of change management. However, over-communication is highly discouraged as it can cause the employees who are affected by the change to be skeptical about the overall process. This makes communications one of the toughest issues in the change process. In this area, employees find themselves complaining often and frequently during the organizational change. Thus, managers need to have effective communication if they want to have the best out of their employees ( Hon, Bloom, & Crant, 2014) . With this in mind, it is essential to have several strategies for making sure that the employees understand the full logistics about the change, most importantly the benefits of the process.
One of the ways of communicating the potential successes of the change is by being transparent. In this case, the manager should tell the employees the exact reason why there are transformations and the effect they will have on them. This will help in gaining the trust of the employees and the hence paving way for laying out the next steps. The managers have to make it concise and go straight to the point when communicating the potential success. If this is not so, the change agents run a risk of losing the attention of the target audience. The communication should avoid industry jargon or wordiness. When writing information, bullets should be employed. The managers should give real-life examples when talking about the costs, value, and potential successes.
The managers should extend their reach and ensure that the formal avenues are employed when communicating the potential successes. This should take the form of portals, posters, PowerPoint presentations, and mailers. There are several channels at the disposal of the managers and the only one that they should stay away from is using the word of mouth.
Illustrate How Change Managers May Sufficiently Manage The Consequences Of Change
As much as the change process may have positive objectives for the company, it is imperative to note that there may arise several unwanted consequences. Thus, managers should be well-equipped to manage these potential drawbacks before they happen. One of the negative outcomes of the change process is employee resistance. It is natural for human beings to be resistant to change within the organization, especially when the process ignores the human element of the organization. If the level of employee involvement is low, it is likely that resistance will be higher, and this is marked by the fear of losing their job or being rendered useless after taking responsibilities that they are unequipped to handle ( Hon, Bloom, & Crant, 2014) . The managers thus have to ensure that they use encouraging and inspiring strategies to implement the change and that the employees are included in the process. This makes the workers feel that they are not forced into accepting the process and instead they are an integral part of the change.
The other consequence is high employee turnover. After a series of changes, the worker may feel uncomfortable and seek employment elsewhere where they feel the environment is secure. The loss of human capital may lead to loss of revenue and growth. To evade this effect, the managers should ensure that they use the deliberate process of change management that explains the implications of the change and thus guiding the employees on future prospects. Training is also important in accustoming the workers to the new environment ( Hon, Bloom, & Crant, 2014) . Orderly implementation of change is essential in effective transition.
Determine How You Would Overcome Contingencies That May Occur While Supporting Change Sustainability.
During a change process, there are uncertainties that may arise with the strategy picked. Organizational change is marked by restructuring that may result in changing reporting structures and functions of different business units. Thus, it is essential to take this into account and draw a contingency plan. Employees are the most affected by the uncertainty of job security, changes roles at the job, and promotion opportunity. By continuously providing insight and clarity on the matters surrounding the change process, the managers can make sure that the employees feel engaged. Frequent communication helps in neutralizing the contingency. They should pay close attention to the employees’ experience and talks. Reassurance is one thing that most people need and it is essential to showing the leaders are committed to the change process.
References
Gobble, M. M. (2013). Creating change. Research-technology management , 56 (5), 62-66.
Hon, A. H., Bloom, M., & Crant, J. M. (2014). Overcoming resistance to change and enhancing creative performance. Journal of Management , 40 (3), 919-941.
Klarner, P., By, R. T., & Diefenbach, T. (2011). Employee emotions during organizational change—Towards a new research agenda. Scandinavian Journal of Management , 27 (3), 332-340.
Nickols, F. (2016). Four strategies for managing change.
Van Loon, D. (2016, June 28). The 5 tactics that you can use to reinforce organizational change. Retrieved January 25, 2019 https://www.dirkvanloon.com/2016/06/28/5-tactics-can-use-reinforce-organizational-change/
