Synertic_Solutions

Synergetic Solutions Inc. is a $6 million company in the business of systems integration.  They specialize in assembling and reselling leading computer brands. The organization has five locations in the East Coast that has 300 employees mostly working in the sales and service departments. Most of the employees in the organization have only basic computer skills in assembling and troubleshooting. There are only a few higher-skilled individuals who operate as specialists.  Change transforms and modifies an organization.  When there is change within the organization it implies a shift in the status quo or the existing state of affairs.  Change is often incremental rather than drastic; most employees are usually afraid of change and see it as being threatening.  If there are power struggles within the organization change may be more drastic in both speed and size. No one likes change, but it is the change that makes the organization stronger and more versatile. There is always resistance to change. Organizations need to plan on some form of change management to help people adjust to the change. When change is occurring within an organization, if management does not communicate with the employees then of course they will fear the worst and resist the change. I think that the best way to approach change is to communicate why the change is being implemented, what it will do for the organization, and explain what is going to happen to the organization with its employees and training processes. If the employees know what is going to happen then they will be more accepting of the change. There are both internal forces as well as external forces of change. Within Synergetic Solutions that internal forces of change are technology, nature of the workforce, economic shocks. Technology is an internal factor which depends on the technology of the organization and how well the employees can use the technology. The training to keep things up to date with the latest software and to train the employees on how to best use the equipment to benefit them in their day to day tasks. The nature of the workforce, there is a significant amount of workers in the sales and service department which only have basic computer skills in assembling and troubleshooting. In order to help these employees there should be something set up to train them. Training these individuals by offering a program to take a class at a local center, or in building, training can refocus and reassure these employees that the change is mutually beneficial to the organization as well as its employees. External forces of change are social trends, world politics. Social trends change all the time. They range from having internet at home, to having the internet at your fingertips on a blackberry. It is constantly changing based on the trends of the society. All organizations have to and should be on top of this especially if it is a technological organization. World politics is also a changing force. This is something that cannot be changed by an organization but an organization should find ways to use these to their advantage. There is always going to be something going on in the world, good or bad it affects everyone. Last week we saw how the miners in Chile all come out of the mine. This should be a world event that companies use to their advantage not to belittle the work of the miners or their families. Whether it is to donate something to the miners and their families or to be a sponsor and give support. These are things that people associate with when they think about an organization. Competition is a force in change that can be both an internal and also an external force. Competition which is internal is the competition among the individual employees of a certain group or department as well as competition with one group and another this is healthy for the employees to have a base line to compete with each other. For example, setting sales goals and competing to see who in the team can sell the most and then competing with other sales teams in the organization. This keeps the employees interested and also keeps the motivation within the groups going. Competition as an external factor is competition between organizations. Competing for customers, and who gains the trust and loyalty of the customers. This is also very healthy for organizations as it should help to assure that both organizations are trying their best to do their best for the customers. In order to implement a change strategy successfully the leader within the organization has to consider factors. One change model that a leader may employ is the Lewin’s Three-Step Change Model. This model, as the name suggests has 3 steps; unfreezing, movement, refreezing. Unfreezing the status quo, movement to a desired end state, and refreezing the new change to make it permanent. Three easy steps in order to implement change, or is it' No one likes change in fact most people hate change they feel threatened and unsure. Changes brought on by a result of strategic initiatives within a company affect work design and organizational culture. The change or changes have to be clearly stated for everyone to understand. Communication is key when changes are imminent. Communication for any organization is based on leadership.  The leader or leadership team usually sets the standards for the communication of the organization.  Then the individual leaders of their respective teams set the communication.  There needs to be a strong leader and communicator for the team to be motivated and productive.  A leader first must lead; this person is usually a strong individual with great communication skills. In communication there is the person who give communicates and the listener, this has to be a two way street.  A good leader cannot just deliver the information he/she needs to also be able to listen to the “followers” of the group, to listen the feedback, to see in what direction the team is headed and the thoughts of everyone are included.  The leader must also make sure that there isn’t misunderstanding in the communication. The information whether it is directly for a project and work due, a task, or a new policy needs to be clear and concise so that everyone is on the same page.   The leader can then help to motivate individuals in the team.   The Kotter’s Eight-Step Plan for Implementing Change. In this model there are eight steps. 1. Establish a sense of urgency by creating a compelling reason for why change is needed. 2. Form a coalition with enough power to lead the change. 3. Create a new vision to direct the change and strategies for achieving the vision. 4. Communicate the vision throughout the organization. 5. Empower others to act on the vision by removing barriers to change and encouraging risk taking and creative problem solving. 6. Plan for, create, and reward short-term “wins” that move the organization toward the new vision. 7. Consolidate improvements, reassess changes, and make necessary adjustments in the new programs. 8. Reinforce the changes by demonstrating the relationship between new behaviors and organizational success. I believe that Kotter’s eight step plan for implementing change is the way to go but we should add to it the organizational development. I really believe that these two theories together would work great. Sometimes just one way isn’t the way to go. I believe that adopting methods for each specific organization is the way to go. Organizational culture is the personality of an organization.  Typically, you can feel the culture upon walking into a building; from what a receptionist is wearing and how quite it is inside, to the furniture and even the wall art.  It’s felt like the first impression you get when meeting someone new.  This feeling is a manifestation of the organization values that a company uses to govern itself and its employees. Employees want to know what is happening within the organization. They want to feel like they are a part of the organization so when there are decisions that happen that can will change their work whether it is day to day tasks or a restructure that could change their immediate supervisor, or even a merger or acquisition. These are important things that should be made absolutely clear. People depend on going to work and having a job so that they can have all the other thing life requires it’s a security blanket. The employees need to have a trust in their organization, communicating to the employees what is going on and the plan and action steps is the best way to have open and clear communication. There also needs to be something in place for when there is conflict, this is going to happen, there will always be questions and conflict when change takes place. There should be a way for employees to be able to talk to their supervisors and to give their opinions and to give feedback about what is going on, their participation in this is very important for the organization to know if the changes that are implanted are working and what they can do adjust changes in the right direction. Resistance to change doesn’t necessarily surface in standardized ways. Resistance can be overt, implicit, immediate, or deferred. (Robbins, SP., & Judge, TA. (2007). Organizational behaviour. Prentice Hall) there are many kinds of resistance that the organization’s leader(s) will have to deal with when change is imminent. Expecting and knowing that there will be resistance to change and being prepared to tackle the resistance effectively is the key to having a smooth transition. Most of us fall into a routine or habit during the work week. We rely on habits and what we know. Once there is a known threat to the habits and the pre-programmed response is when resistance takes its role. Security is also a form of resistance. Once there is a threat to the security or safety of ones job, whether it is to re-organize the organization, leaning new programs or just a simple change. Although change is never simple even something like a relocation of the office can threaten the security and safety that is usually felt. Economic factors are also a resistance. When there is change especially in the routine or the tasks of the employees. Some fears are not being able to perform or not having the tools to get through. This is especially the case when there is a correlation between productivity and pay. Fear of the unknown is very scary and intimidating for most individuals the fear of not knowing what will happen and what to do. This can also be caused by selective information processing. When there is a miscommunication. This is usually caused when the individual doesn’t want to hear all the information. Items of change that may be difficult to process or ones that are not pleasant to hear a change that threatens them immediately. References Robbins, SP., & Judge, TA. (2007). Organizational behaviour. Prentice Hall https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/vendors/tata/sims/hrob/hrob_simulation3.html