Importance of Change Management
Discuss about the Leadership and Change Management for Relationship Quality.
Change management is one of major factors being considered in the contemporary business management. This is due to the reason that current business organizations have to face more frequent change of business environment. Thus, organizations that can initiate effective change management process in accordance to the change in the business environment and internal requirement will be able efficiently operate in the industry. However, implementation process of change management is having number of factors to be considered in order to have the maximum output (Andrews, Cameron & Harris, 2008). One of the major factors is the effectiveness of leadership in the change management process due to the reason that leadership will determine the extent to which the change management is being implemented according to the organizational requirements.
In addition, role of the leadership can also be considered as the most important element in the change management process due to the reason that it determines the effectiveness and productivity of other stakeholders involved. In the health care sector, change management is also very much relevant due to the reason that in the recent time, this sector is going through huge transformation. One of the major areas in the health care sector that is witnessing the major change is the outpatient department. This department caters to the patients coming for doctor checkup and not getting admitted. Customer service is an important aspect in this department due to the reason that volume is high and service quality determines the future preference and choice of the patients.
This report will discuss about the role of the leadership in implementing the change management in the outpatient department. In addition, this report will also discuss about the different types of leadership that will have impacts on the change management process. Various change management theories will be used in this report in order to analyze the steps to be followed in the change management process. Vision, mission and organization culture will also be considered in the analysis along with identification of the potential barriers to be faced by the leaders in implementing the change management process.
Leaders refer to the responsible one who is assigned to lead the subordinates in achieving the set goal in a sustainable manner. In the case of the change process in the organization, their main and key role is to manage the involved stakeholders in the change process effectively and implement the process without having any issues and in accordance to the requirement of the organization. However, apart from this core role, there are number of other roles also being played by the leaders. According to Cameron and Green (2015), leadership is also responsible for selecting the stakeholders in accordance to the need in the change process. The authors have also stated that leadership role should be well effective in indentifying the need and requirement in the change management and accordingly they should be able to select the stakeholders.
Role of Leadership in Change Management
As per Carter, Armenakis, Field and Mossholder (2013), leaders also play the role of enhancing the performance of the stakeholders in the change management. This is also important due to the reason that performance of the stakeholders involved in the change management determines the effectiveness and efficiency of it. The authors have also noted that especially the transformational leadership helps the involved stakeholders to be satisfied with the approach of the change process. On the other hand, ethics is also important to be considered in the implementation process of the change management due to the reason the ethical approach will determine whether change process will be viable in the long term or not. According to Sharif and Scandura (2014), it is the responsibility of the leaders to maintain the ethical standard in the change process. According to the authors, as the leaders are the top most position in the workplace, thus they should initiate ethical approach and practices, which will be further followed by the subordinates. Therefore, according to these authors, the above discussed roles and responsibilities are the major aspects of leaders in the change process.
There are number of leadership styles being initiated and practiced by the contemporary business organizations that can effect change. One of the major types of leadership styles is the transformational leadership. According to Avolio and Yammarino (2013), transformational leadership is the most effective and fruitful style of leadership. This is due to the reason that leaders following the transformational approach engages their employees more in the decision making process along with focusing more on the requirement and issues of the employees. According to this style of leadership, if the employees are given more value in the organizational affairs, then they will be more motivated in their workplace. In addition, it is also stated by the authors, transformational style of leadership helps the leader to have effective communication process with the employees. Thus, employees will be able to communicate their issues and challenges properly to the leaders. In the case of the change process, transformational leadership will help in having engaged and motivated employees in place and thus the implementation will be more seamless.
Directive style of leadership is another form or style of leadership that is extreme opposite of the transformational leadership. According to Lorinkova, Pearsall and Sims Jr (2013), directive style of leadership refers to the authoritative style of leaders. In this case, leaders take the decisions by their own and the employees are having small chance of involvement on the organizational affairs. Thus, according to the authors, in the case of change process in the outpatient department, directive style of leadership will mainly have adverse impact. This is due to the reason that in the outpatient department, environmental change is much more frequent according to the change in the requirement and expectation of the patients. Hence, in this case, change process should be initiated by consulting with the employees from the root level. This can help the leaders to initiate the change process accordingly.
Leadership Styles and their Impact on Change Management
Another major style of leadership is situational leadership. This refers to the change of the approach of the leadership according to the business environment. According to Bedford and Gehlert (2013), situational leadership can be effective in managing the change process in the outpatient department. This is due to the reason that situational leadership will help the leaders to manage their employees according to the organizational situation. For instance, if the employees in the outpatient department are more communicative in nature and they are having favorable relationship with the upper level management then leadership approach can be more participative. On the other hand, if the employees are reluctant towards the change, the authoritative style can be initiated or if the decision making process should be more swift then also authoritative style can be initiated. Therefore, it can be concluded that initiation of different styles of leadership will have different effect on the change process. In addition, it is also important for the leaders to initiate the certain style of leadership according to the organizational situation and environment. Effect of the leadership style will vary from negative to positive in accordance to the initiation of the particular style of the leadership.
In the implementation of change process in the workplace, there are number of steps to be considered. This is due to the reason that change process involves number of factors, which if not considered properly can prove fatal for the entire process. In order to discuss about the important steps in the workplace change, Lewin model change management will be used. According to this model, there are mainly three core steps that should be followed in the implementing the change process. The first step is the unfreezing. This refers to the breaking down of the existing organizational approaches, cultures and processes practiced. This is done due to the reason that breaking down of the existing processes will provide the leaders with scope to implement the new processes. In addition, according to this mode, unfreezing should also include determining the gaps and areas of improvement in the existing organizational practices. The more effective will be the determination of the gaps in the current processes, the more benefits will be gained by the leaders in designing the change process. Furthermore, in this step, it is also important for the leaders to communicate and aware the involved stakeholders in the process about the benefits of the change process. This is due to the reason that in majority of the cases of the change management, stakeholders especially the employees are having the suspicion that they will be at risk due to the change. Thus, it is the responsibility of the leaders to communicate the advantages of the change process and how they are going to be benefited from it.
Implementing Change Management: Steps to Consider
The next step is change. In this step, the change should be implemented in accordance to the gaps identified in the previous step. In this step, it is also important for the leaders to consult with all the involved stakeholders in implementing the change. Consulting with the involved stakeholders will further help the leaders to identify the issues and they can design the change process in mitigating those. On the other hand, according to Hussain, Lei, Akram, Haider, Hussain and Ali (2016), consulting with the stakeholders will also ensure that all of them are involved in the change process and they will also have the idea about the progress of the change process. Thus, according to the authors, the more effective will be the change process, the less will be the probability of emergence of issues and barriers.
The last step is the refreezing process. This process refers to the reshaping of the organizational affairs and practices after the implementation of the change. According to Shirey (2013), in this step it is important for the leaders to evaluate whether the implemented change process is proving the desired output or not. In addition, this step also refers to the gaining of feedback from the side of the stakeholders regarding the implemented change. This is also important due to the reason that that involved stakeholders will be able to convey whether the implemented change is having any benefits or not and if there is any kind of shortcomings in the process. Thus, it can be concluded that initiating the Lewin’s model of change management will help the leaders in having the effective process of the change in the workplace.
Organizational vision and mission are having importance in the change process due to the reason that change process in the organization is being implemented in accordance to the requirement identified. According to Jacobs, van Witteloostujin and Christe-Zeyse (2013), prior to the initiation of the change process, it is important to determine the objective of the organization and what they are doing currently. In the case, organizational vision will be useful. Determination of the organizational vision will help to understand to have in future. On the other hand, determination of the organizational mission will help to understand what the organization is currently doing. Thus, identifying between these aspects will help in the understanding the gap. In accordance to this gap, change process can be initiated and this will help the leaders to mitigate the exact issues of the organization with the help of the change process. In addition, it is said by Al-Haddad and Kotnour (2015), strategic goals of the organization are also important in initiating the change management process. According to the authors, evaluating the strategic goals of the organization will help to understand what the company is targeting to achieve ad what is required to meet that. In accordance to the strategic goals of the organization, change process should be designed that will help the organizations to have the favorable and effective internal management in achieving the goals and objectives.
Workplace culture or organizational culture is also important in initiating the change management process due to the reason that it is important for the leaders and the upper level management to have the understanding about the internal management and effectiveness before designing the approach of the change management process. According to De Bono, Heling and Borg (2014), leaders should have the understanding about internal efficiency of the organization and the probable impacts that may get emerged from the implementation of the change management process. In this case, workplace culture should be determined and in accordance to that change management process should be initiated and implemented.
Similar to the Lewin’s change model, McKinsey’s model of change is another effective change theory. This theory is mainly effective in designing the planning process in the change management. According to this theory, there are seven major points that should be considered by the leaders in planning the change process. The first process is strategy that refers to the plan or approach being initiated for the change process. Strategy refers to the fact that organizations should have effective strategy in such a way that it will ensure the competitive advantages for them. The next step is the structure. This refers to the organization’s internal structure. In the planning process of the change management, this is important due to the reason that changes management approach in accordance to strengths of the organizational structure and the way they will be able to accept the change. The next step is the systems that refer to the daily roles and responsibilities of the employees in the workplace. In the planning process, the change approach should be designed in accordance to their daily activities and how they operate in daily basis.
The next step is the shared value. This refers to the fact that organizational culture and ethics should also be considered in the planning of the change management process. The next step is the leadership style to be followed. This refers to the fact that proper and appropriate style of leadership should be initiated in order to have the maximum output from the change process. The next step is the staffs or the employees that are involved in the change management process. Thus is also important due to the reason that employees with proper skills and expertise should be selected for the change process. The last step is the skill sets of the employees or those who are involved in the change process. This denotes that effectiveness of the involved stakeholders in the process will determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the change process.
There are number of barriers can be emerged from the implementation of the change process. One of the major barriers will be the diversity in the workforce. According to Lee (2015), leaders will have the challenge in initiating the change management in the way of diversity among the employees. According to the author, in the current business organizations, majority of them are having employees from different backgrounds. Thus, initiating the change process with a singular approach will cause resistance from one portion of the employees. According to Kuipers, Higgs, Kickert, Tummers, Grandia and Van der Voet (2014), employee resistance is another major barrier for the leaders implementing change. This is due to the reason that of the employees are having the negative thoughts that their job security will be at stake if the change process is being initiated. On the other hand, there are number of employees who think that their interest in the organization will be hampered for the change process. These employees are more likely to resist against the initiation of the change process. The more will be the resistance from the side of the employees, the more it will be difficult for leaders to effectively implement the change process in the organization.
Another major barrier for the leaders in incorporating the change process in the organization is the rapid change in the business environment. According to Michel, Todnem and Burnes (2013), business environment especially in the health care sector is frequently evolving. Thus, it is becoming difficult for the leaders to implement a specific approach of the change management with having long term viability. Thus, these are the major barriers that may be faced by the leaders in initiating the change process.
It is the major responsibility of the leaders to mitigate the identified barriers in order to have sustainable implementation of the change process. It is recommended by Matos Marques Simous and Esposito (2014) that communication is the key for the leaders to mitigate the major risks with the employees. This is due to the reason that the more effective will be the communication, the less will be the probability of emergence of issues with the employees. They will be able to communicate their issues and challenges with the leaders. According to Yilmaz and Kilicoglu (2013), leaders can also be visionary in initiating the approach of the change management. This is due to the reason that the more visionary they will be, the more viable will be the change process in the long term.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that change management is inevitable in the current business scenario. This essay discussed about the different roles and responsibilities of the leaders in the change management process. In addition, this essay also discussed about the different types of leadership styles that can have effect on the effectiveness of the change management process. This essay used the views of different authors in regards to the change management and leadership and concluded that leadership is having huge role to play in the change management. In view to this statement, this essay analyzed different theories of change management along with determination of the barriers to be faced by them. In accordance to these barriers, this essay has given the recommended steps that should be followed in mitigating the barriers.
Reference
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