Creating Sustainable Change – How to create and sustain change?
February 12, 2025
The instructional approach to the study of public administration concerns itself with the institutions and organizations of the State. The core area of this method lies in detailed study of the structure, the functioning, rules, and regulations of the executives, legislatures and the departments of the Government. The scholars who practice this approach consider administration […]
Managing risk efficiently and effectively can be a determining factor in the overall success of any organization. Most of the companies try to develop a risk management plan on their own and some outsource this function. Outsourcing risk management function is not a new concept and is being widely used by many organizations nowadays. However, […]
The value at risk (VaR) model is a mechanism of calculating the maximum probable loss from a given data set. It needs to be understood that the method being used is a statistical method. Hence, it uses the data given to calculate the probability and extent of the loss. Just like all other statistical models, […]
Leaders are role models who influence the culture, values, thoughts and actions of the organization and its people. The leadership style practiced by managers greatly influences the performance and productivity at the work place. The situation leadership model encourages managers to flexibly use their leadership style based on the situation and thus achieve effective results. […]
Conflict arises when individuals strongly oppose each other’s opinions and views and are not willing to compromise with each other. A conflict solves no problems; it just creates tensions, anxiety and earns you a bad name. No body appreciates you, if you are constantly engaged in fights. Conflicts must be controlled at the right time […]
There are different kinds of change that an organization might undertake or be forced to undertake because of internal and external factors.
The internal factors for change include reorganization and restructuring to meet the challenges of the future and also to act proactively to initiate change as a means of staying ahead of the competition.
The external factors include change that is forced upon the organization because of falling revenues, changing market conditions and the need to adapt to the ever changing business landscape.
Change can be organic which means that it evolves slowly and is like meandering up the gentle slope of a mountain. In this case, the organization and the management have enough time to prepare for change and reorient themselves accordingly. This is the kind of change that is adaptive meaning that firms have the opportunity to adapt themselves to the change.
Change can be radical which is rapid, sudden and uncertain. This is the kind of change that is disruptive and often forces organizations to reorient themselves without adequate notice and warning. It is better for organizations to anticipate change rather than be forced into accepting change that is rapid and sudden.
We have seen how managers at different levels resist change and how this resistance manifests itself. Apart from the ideological and personality issues, there is the very real possibility of change being resisted because the “visibility” of what comes next is not clear.
For instance, many managers tend to resist change because the change initiators have not clearly spelt out the outcomes of the changes and the possible impacts that such changes have on the organization. This is the realm of the “Known Unknowns” and the “Unknown Unknowns” which arise because of ambiguity, complexity and uncertainty.
Hence, the resistance to change can come about due to the lack of coherence in the vision and mission and because the change is not clearly communicated as well.
Finally, the rapidity with which change is introduced can upset the organization structures that are usually rigid and bureaucratic with bean counters at all levels resisting and actively thwarting change.
Hence, it needs to be remembered that change initiators take into account all these factors when introducing changes. The possible approaches in dealing with these resistances would be discussed in the next section.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *