Introduction
Change management refers to the process that assists in the facilitation of any transition that takes place in an organization. Essentially, change management plays a critical role in helping people in an organization to understand, accept, embrace and become committed to different aspects of change in their environment of operation. To that extent, it is important to explore the impotence of the concept of change management as well as a description of the role of a project manager. Additionally, it is critical to evaluate and understand the manner in which the part played by the project manager will assist in the successful implementation of the change initiatives introduced by the project manager (Promes, 2015).
Importance of Change Management
Among the importance of change management is its ability to allow those interested in change to obtain a more in-depth and broader understanding of their present environment and the aspects that need to be changed in the process of embracing change. The argument by Todnem (2014) indicates that it is critical for an organization that aspires to embrace change to assess, gauge and understands both the internal and external dynamics that are likely to influence their process of change. This consideration is useful because it helps in the formulation and establishment of an appropriate relationship among various actors and participants that are actively involved in a change process. The process of change could happen in multiple ways in a given organization namely leadership, organizational culture, technological or strategic. The concept of change management ensures that people for whom change is meant to benefit obtain a better understanding of the process involved for them to offer their active participation. Change management in an organization could be effectively used in making formal and reliable communications to workers (Promes, 2015). In this respect, an official notification regarding change management allows workers in an organization to understand the reasons why change is taking place for them to embrace and accept it. Moreover, such workers can know the manner in which the change process is going to be beneficial to them and their respective environments of operation.
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Todnem (2014) observes that the whole phenomenon of change management makes it possible and easier to keep workers informed concerning the various operations occurring during the process of change right from the beginning to the completion of the whole process. In this way, workers are highly likely to be more open and receptive to the process of change. When workers and everybody else in an organization are actively involved in the process of change and understand the benefits of that particular change, then it becomes easier and more efficient to manage the transitions within the change process. The process of change in an organization becomes relevant, timely and fast when the concept of change management is introduced in a manner that ensures that all the major stakeholders are brought onboard. According to Promes (2015), change management involves putting effective strategies and plans in place to oversee the various phases and operations involved from the beginning to the end thereby eliminating fear among people who may be afraid of change. Planning and setting standards and specifications of change through change management helps in the creation of more innovative and adaptable environment as well as leading to the maintenance of consistency in the procedures used to procure change. Change management helps in easing tension and creating a smooth process of transition this enabling an organization to save resources and time spent towards the realization of change.
Role of a Change Manager and how it will Benefit the Project
A change manager usually plays a vital role in making sure that change initiatives and projects can meet the set objectives and are completed promptly within the proposed budget without wastage of resources and time. Further, the change manager focuses on the people who usually take part in the process of change by working towards ensuring that there is an increased likelihood of employee participation and adoption of the change process. In an organization, a change manager may discharge his or her roles and responsibilities as a full-time consultant in charge of internal change management or organizational development professional. In this case, the change manager must ensure that the employees in that particular organization can understand and get motivated towards the pursuit of change. Depending on the nature of change an organization may be interested in effect, a change manager may be expected to be at the center of the formulation and development of the change objectives before facilitating their implementation (Todnem, 2014).
The explanation by Promes (2015) indicates that the responsibility of change clarification lies with the change manager where he or she is expected to define the idea of change before communicating it to other members within an organization. Additionally, a change manager is always involved in determining the needs that are associated with the successful implementation of the transitions in the process of change. Leadership enablement is another role that is usually played by a change manager, and it entails converting the management in an organization into a team of a leader with a specific mandate of leading their followers towards effecting and embracing desirable aspects of change. To that extent, changer managers have definite roles to ensure that different managers within an organization are assigned specific tasks and responsibilities to oversee during the entire process of change implementation. This is an implication that change managers are always expected to align themselves with the mission, vision, and objectives of the organization for which they happen to be working.
The observation made by Todnem (2014) indicates that it is the sole responsibility and duty of change manager to ensure that any resistance to change in an organization is mitigated as much as possible by instilling confidence among those who may be afraid of the desired change. The inclusion of a change manager to work under the guidance of a project manager would be substantially beneficial to the project and the successful implementation of the initiative introduced by the project manager. In this regard, the change manager would be expected to specify the underlying reasons for carrying out the change as well as the associated benefits to both the employees and the organization. In anticipation of potential forms of resistance from different people within the organization, the change manager would be expected to find ways of listening to the fears and concerns of those that may be opposed to change (Promes, 2015). This would be followed by a candid engagement between the change manager and those people where he or she would be expected to mitigate their resistances by giving the reasonable and reliable assurances.
Conclusion
In summing up, it is worth noting that change management plays a crucial role in the realization of successful transitions within organizations. However, various organizations have often found themselves struggling with the implementation of their desired aspects of change owing to the failure to incorporate the concept of change management into their strategies. As indicated, the inclusion of a change manager in the team headed by the project manager would be able to facilitate the implementation of the desired change initiatives for the organization.
References
Promes, M. (2015). Monitoring Change in a New Working Environment: The Importance of
Employee Satisfaction Analysis. Change Management: An International Journal ,
15 (3), 1-16. doi: 10.18848/2327-798x/cgp/v15i03/50780
Todnem By, R. (2014). Organisational change management: A critical review. Journal Of
Change Management , 5 (4), 369-380. doi: 10.1080/14697010500359250
