Final Paper for OB.Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). Management Essay

Final Paper
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The majority of organizations and businesses worldwide are established with the primary motive making substantial returns from their investment. There are however also not for profit organizations that are established to offer vital services particularly the vulnerable and disadvantaged in society. As such, the leaders and owners in organizations regardless of whether they are for or not for profit usually incline and align their resources in ensuring that their objectives are achieved. One vital resource that is employed across all organizations that are keen on ensuring success for the foreseeable future is human resource. Organizations have to employ people to serve in various capacities and in so doing, contribute to the realization of stipulated organizational goals and objectives. With globalization and lenient immigration policies in the US, organizations in the region constitute of employees from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. Similarly, it is common for organizations to comprise of people from different religions, gender and age groups. These differences have established the concept of organizational behavior as vital for businesses to operate effectively. Organizational behavior is built on the logic that it is essential to understand employee behaviors to improve job performance, encourage leadership, promote innovation and increase job satisfaction. Organizations tend to employ various ways to understand their employees and consequently establish strong and trusting relationships with them. Amnesty International USA is a not for profit organization that is recognized globally for its efforts in fighting abuses of human rights. The research paper will examine ways in which Amnesty International USA handles organizational behavior aspects of organizational change and communication.
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA)
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is part of Amnesty International that is a non-governmental organization with over 7 million supporters spread across more than 150 countries globally (Amnesty International USA, 2020). AIUSA was founded in 1966 and has its headquarters in New York City. Since it was established, AIUSA has amassed over 300000 members around the country and who have been instrumental in spearheading the organization’s mission and vision (Amnesty International USA, 2020). The primary mission of AIUSA is to promote human rights in the region using lobbying and education of the masses. The vision of AIUSA is similar to that of the parent organization which is a world where people’s human rights are not abused because of their race, color, religion, age or gender. Over the years, members of AIUSA have been phenomenal and have assisted to free prisoners of conscience and fight human right violations not only in the US but globally. AIUSA has been very vocal in its criticism of the inhumane treatment being perpetrated by the US government in its War on Terror. AIUSA is fondly remembered for the campaign and its strong objection of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp that saw people detained without being given the due process (Amnesty International USA, 2020). Over the recent past, the organization has been vocal and highlighted various acts of police-related violence and which have facilitated reforms not only from the state but also federal level.
I had the privilege of interning and volunteering at AIUSA recently in its HR department at its headquarters in New York. As an intern, I wasn’t heavily involved in the core duties but was lucky to be under the guidance of a supervisor who was keen on training and teaching me on how the department succeeds in the management of the over 300000 volunteers and supporters. I must admit that the HR department was adequately resourced with people handling various tasks. As such, there was a lot of specialization and decentralization. AIUSA has embraced technology through the digitization of its records. The initiative assists in the storage of volunteer information and its easy retrieval.
Organizational Change at AIUSA
Change is inevitable in any organization, and many businesses around the world have been forced to reinvent not only their structures, strategies and operational methods but also their technologies and organizational culture. Change in an organization is also instigated to improve operations and make the business more efficient and effective (Brand et al., 2016). Despite the benefits promised from various organizational changes, many stakeholders are usually adamant on embracing them because they often challenge their normal ways of doing things. Similarly, some people are usually opposed to change because they fear that the new transformations would render them redundant or jobless. As such, they either become unsupportive towards the proposed changes or find ways to sabotage the initiatives. Based on the above facts, it is evident that handling of change in an organization is a complex process that required strategic and tactful planning and implementation.
Over the years and since it was founded, AIUSA has witnessed several changes that have been keen on improving its operations and consequently allowing the organization to realize its mission and purpose. With the technological advancements that continue to characterize the 21st century, AIUSA recently embarked on an extensive initiative to digitize its records and particularly those relating to its human resource in the form of volunteers and supporters. AIUSA has since it was established thrived on support it receives from volunteers and human rights enthusiasts considering it is a not for profit organization without any profits or dividends to share out. Despite the help received from volunteers and supporters, it had long been a challenge ascertaining their exact number and their basic information such as full names, date of birth, and gender among others. AIUSA depended on keeping physical and hard copies that were unintentionally destroyed regularly or misplaced. For instance, there was a point in time when it was impossible to deduce the exact number of women volunteering at the organization. However, digitization of its human resource documents would allow the organization to keep its affairs in order and build a strong team of volunteers and supporters that were on fighting against abuses of human rights in America.
Factors that Contributed Resistance to the Change Initiative at AIUSA
The proposed change that would see the digitization of human resource records wasn’t fully supported in all quarters. There were members who resisted the change because of various factors. To begin with, there are those who resisted because the leadership had not clearly expounded on the reasons behind the change (Brand et al., 2016). As such, long-standing members thought that it was a waste of money because the conventional record keeping system was still the best. Secondly, some of the members resisted the change because they feared that they would lose their jobs. With digitization, the manual recording of information is eliminated and in the process, few employees will be required to complete the task. Thirdly, some individuals were opposed to the change because they felt that they weren’t competent enough to participate in the transition since they were not exposed to computers. Fourthly, there were other members who resisted the change because they were not consulted (Brand et al., 2016). They felt that the management at AIUSA failed to effectively provide the pros and cons of the proposed digitization exercise.
John Kotter’s Organizational Change Model at AIUSA
As it has been highlighted in the previous section, change is inevitable but it is also a concept that usually receives a lot of resistant from employees because of various reasons. It is essential to note that for change to be successfully implemented and embraced, it needs to receive the support of all employees and stakeholders. As such, it is recommended for organizations to find effective ways of implementing the proposed changes and in a manner that will guarantee their chances of success. Upon establishing that the digitization exercise was faced with some resistance, the management at AIUSA Kotter’s 8 step change model and as shown in the figure 1 below.
Figure 1: -glennhole.org/how-we-used-kotters-eight-step-model-for-change-and-succeed-within-a-turnaround-case-of-a-nordic-bpo-suppliers/
The 8 steps shown above are divided into three phases. The first three steps revolve around the creation of the climate for change. The next three steps entail enabling and engaging the organization for the proposed change. The last two steps of the model are about the implementation and sustenance of the proposed change.
Create Urgency: It entails motivating the entire organization towards the change initiative and developing a sense of urgency. It has been shared that for change to be successful it has to be supported by ¾ of people in the organization and it all begins by starting open and honest dialogues about the proposed transformations (Kotter, 2007). At AIUSA, members of the management frequently shared through the intranet and the occasional staff meetings on the benefits of digitizing the organization’s records and how other facilities in the region had already embraced the idea, and it had revolutionized their services. The management also brought in members versed with automation skills to talk to us and enlighten us further about the proposed change in our health care record system. The initiatives sparked internal discussions, and members would continuously engage in conversations about the proposed change.
Form a Powerful Coalition: The management instituted teams that included members from the different departments in leading the discussions about the proposed change in the recording system (Potter & Lee, 2013). The members of the coalition were taken through extensive training and enlightened on both the benefits and disadvantages of the change initiative. The team comprised of employees from all levels in the organization but who were influential and others looked up to them for guidance. The diversified pool of team members were instrumental in carrying out one on one conversation with other members and offered in-depth information about the proposed system and the impact it would have.
Create a Vision: AIUSA had for a long period been looking for a way to connect and increase the coordination between its wide pool of volunteers and supporters. The conventional method of record keeping was too cumbersome and brought about a lot of confusion. As such, through the digitization of its human resource, AIUSA would have a clear picture of all its volunteers and manage to get them to work together to fight against abuses of human rights. Automation of records would significantly reduce the time it took to retrieve volunteer information. It would also enable the fast sharing of the data among volunteers and supporters.
Communicate the Vision: The management and members of the coalition talked about electronic records every chance they got and in so doing, kept the idea on the propose change fresh in every person’s mind. They shared materials on the same on the intranet daily and plastered more information on the noticeboard. They went from one department to the next speaking to volunteers and supporters and tried to seek suggestions about the proposed change. They conducted open and honest forums where volunteers could share their concerns and anxieties and responded as truthfully as possible. Overall, they tied all their discussions and communications to the vision of always putting patients first.
Remove Obstacles: The members of the coalition were instrumental in comforting the volunteers that the proposed amendment would not result in any job losses. They also advised the team that all members would be taken through extensive training on the new system and that there would be a permanent resource center at AIUSA headquarters for all those with questions, suggestions, and recommendations (Kotter, 2007). The team promoted an open door policy where no employee was victimized for having different opinions about the proposed change, and they welcomed both positive and negative criticisms. Additionally, the team also did an extensive report on the anticipated costs of installing and implementing the system and proposed suggestions on how the funds...