Managing the change process
The term Brexit is commonly used to refer to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (martins, 2017). Brexit literally means British Exit. The UK has been affiliated to European Union since 1973. Throughout the years, it has been paying contributions into the European Union and received some membership benefits in return. Some of the benefits for being a member of the European Union are: privileges for having an access to the European single market, freedom of trade between member countries, freedom of movement between member countries. In the year 2016, the United Kingdom held a public referendum to decide whether to leave the European Union or not. The results of the referendum depicted that more than half the voters wanted Britain to exit. The British government did a campaign to convince the people to stay in European Union due to many benefits more so the economic benefit but it was all in vain (Chalmers, 2017). The people wanted to have a centralized decision making system where the decisions they make on various aspects affecting their life in UK should be based on their representatives in UK but not outside Europe. Public safety was another issue where lack of restrictions on migration from some of the Eastern European countries and Middle East countries would jeopardize the national peace and the well-being of the United Kingdom citizens. The campaign succeeded and led to the resignation of the David Cameron who was the prime minister who never wanted to lead his nation throughout the exit process from the EU (Dallago, 2016). Theresa May succeeded David Cameron as the new prime minister and started the negotiation process.
Following the Brexit incidence, there is a small degree of certainty about the future of the United Kingdom (de Witte, 2017). As a result the financial institutions have built their operational goals so as to overcome the economic crisis expected as a result of the Brexit move. The Brexit move is not yet enforced as negotiations are still in progress till 16th march 2019. Throughout this period, negotiations are in progress between the UK government and the European Union to foster the relationship that existed before to enhance the continuous support from the EU even though not maximum benefits. The prime minister is also doing a series of activities so as to prepare the nation for the new change that is coming next year on 16th march after the implementation of the Brexit move. Some of the activities are as outlined below:
The prime minister has been holding various meetings with her key members of the cabinet on the effective ways of operations after the implementation of the Brexit move so as to prepare psychologically for the worst that might occur (Seo, 2011). Contingency planning is basically the process involved in building a procedure so as to be prepared for the worst event that might occur as a result of a given action.
According to Madanipour (2010) some of the steps that can followed during the contingency planning process are:
Contingency planning
The prime minister with her cabinet are having several meetings to determine on how the nation shall survive especially after the economic down fall that shall be experienced as a result of the implementation of the Brexit move. Some of the anticipated outcomes as a result of the exit are:
- Lack of financial support from the EU
- Lack of security backups in case of worst occurrences such as terror attacks
- Movement between U.K and Europe would be difficult and the extra administration costs will lead to increased costs.
- The hospitality industry will be negatively be affected. This is because of interdependence of the travel industry and hospitality industry.
The prime minister together with her team should determine the measures to be taken so as to deal with some of the major impacts as a result of implementation of Brexit.
The prime minister and her team should try to assess the extent of the impact of the Brexit on various sectors of the economy and look on the precautionary measures to take.
The prime minister has to involve all his team in the decision regarding the future of the nation after the Brexit. This is very effective because it enhances the brainstorming of ideas which enhances effective results.
Some of the challenges faced by the prime minister in the process of change management in the UK are as outlined below:
Lack of maximum support from the stake holders
The prime minister might lack the support of some of the stake holders in the government during the transition process. This include some of the members of parliament from the north who really supported the idea.
Fear of the unknown
Some of the people might fear the change that shall be implemented due to the uncertainty of the future. The change might be fruitful and marvelous but the fear among the people might make it appear bad.
The Brexit scenario came as a shock for a few individuals in the United Kingdom, Theresa May has to use the following procedure to ensure that some of the changes adopted thereafter follow the following procedure:
Creation of urgency for need for change
The prime minister should convince the citizens why they need to accept the new status and leave everything under the control of her government which is very able to tackle the situation accordingly.
Defining the vision
The government should define its vision for the action so as to give the people the new direction after the Brexit so as to enhance confidence among the citizens.
Seeking the support of key stake holders
The prime minister and her cabinet should strive to obtain the maximum support of key stake holders in the process of change. This is crucial because the key stake holders shall play a crucial role in convincing a few individuals who are trying to resist the change process.
Theresa may is facing a lot of challenges as a result of her Brexit deal as outlined below:
Lack of support from the majority of the Members of parliament who casted a vote of no confidence against her with the intention of uprooting her from power but luckily she survived.
She has been criticized by her party over her negotiations in Brexit plan.
She on toes in the negotiation process with the Brussels over the Brexit plan that was initiated in 2016 as she wants come March 29th 2019, UK, should remain as the member of EU but she is facing much opposition.
Leading and managing change in the organization is not an easy task. It requires perseverance and commitment. It requires a strong heart especially when facing opposition among people. An individual needs to standout and focus on his or her target and go for it. The people in the United Kingdom were no longer interested to be part of the EU, this was a critical change in UK which was not accepted by all. The Prime Minister Theresa May is proceeding with some negotiations to see whether the decision can be reverse due to the benefits of being a member but people need change which has even almost cost her job.
Conclusion
Managing change in the organization is very important especially if the change is critical. Leaders should not try to use their own means to prevent the people from achieving what they want. They should give an idea a trial before coming up with conclusions in relation to the change that the people want. Theresa May should stop the negotiations and wait for the implementation of Brexit on March 29th in 2019, this might come with some advantages for the people and the nation at large with cannot be seen at the moment.
References
Chalmers, D. (2017). LSE Law Brexit Special #4: Trade after Brexit. SSRN Electronic Journal, pp.56-58.
Dallago, B. (2016). The future of European integration and Brexit: Is Brexit only Brexit? Acta Oeconomica, 66(s1), pp.111-136.
De Witte, F. (2017). LSE Law Brexit Special #1: Negotiating Brexit. SSRN Electronic Journal, pp.65-80.
Madanipour, A. (2010). Connectivity and contingency in planning. Planning Theory, 9(4), pp.351-368.
Martins, H. (2017). Brexit Means Brexit – But What Does Brexit Mean? Political Insight, 8(1), pp.3-3.
Seo, M. (2011). Comparative cultural research Interaction usage by following task based on Fiedler’s contingency theory of leadership. Journal of the HCI Society of Korea, 6(1), p.17.