Managing Organizational Change

Managing Organizational Change Name Institution Managing Organizational Change Question One Given that senior managers have no idea what the problem is in the corporation, the action research model is the most appropriate change management model to use in this situation. According to Haneberg (2005), action research involves a process of fact-finding, which is then followed by research and the cycle continues until the desired results are achieved. The senior management needs to engage in a fact-finding mission so as to discover what the problem is and then take necessary action, repeat this process until they have addressed the high-turnover and low profitability issues. To effectively conduct action research, they have to follow the following steps: * Initial Reflection This stage involves focusing on the existing problem by considering all the aspects of the problem (Center for Education Innovation, n.d.). The senior managers need to do a deep diagnostic into the issue of employee turnover and profitability. They can first reflect on when they started experiencing these problems to find out whether there is some specific trigger. Since they have already identified what the general problems are, they need to conduct research to find out the specifics of the problem. For instance, asking specific questions on the high turnover issue could reveal that work-life imbalance, toxic work environment or lack of growth opportunities are some of the reasons why employees are leaving. * Planning Once the senior managers have the necessary information, they need to come up with a plan on the appropriate course of action to solve the issues (Center for Education Innovation, n.d.). For instance, if the high staff turnover was caused by work-life imbalance, they can come up with an arrangement that will solve the issue, such as a flexible working schedule. * Action This stage involves carrying out the planned course of action (Center for Education Innovation, n.d.). Thus, the senior managers will now implement the flexible work schedule for employees, while keeping in mind that it might not be easy as it is in theory to implement the plan. * Observation The senior managers, at this stage, need to evaluate the impact of their action (Center for Education Innovation, n.d.). The impact could be in terms of employees’ response when they learned of the new program, their motivation level, and other similar metrics. * Reflection This last stage involves conducting research after change/action has been implemented (Haneberg, 2005). It will help the senior managers keep tabs on the progress of the action and start the cycle again until they achieve the desired results. Question Two Lewin’s change model is effective in this scenario because while the company has an existing software system, the management has realized that they need a new system if they are to remain competitive. The employees have gotten comfortable using this system and as revealed by Schein (2010), when people are accustomed to something, they need to unlearn it first so that they can learn new things. Lewin’s Model involves three stages as follows: * Unfreezing In this stage, the management has to force employees to cope by destabilizing the existing system (Schein, 2010). Thus, they have to point out the flaws of the existing software system by comparing it to better systems in the market. The best way to do this is to attack the software system by pinpointing to the challenges employees come across while using it and showing them that not all software systems have similar challenges. As revealed by Schein (2010), when employees are shown that a certain belief is not as true as they thought, it makes them uncomfortable. The idea here is to make these employees uncomfortable with this system that they have grown accustomed to. Consequently, they will become motivated to change and embrace a new software system. * Change This next stage involves the actual change that the management wants to implement. It is important during this stage to ensure that people are aware of the benefits of the change not only to the organization but also to them (Mind Tools Content Team, 2014). For instance, it could be that the existing software has a glitch that requires employees to restart the system every now and then. To facilitate change, the management has to communicate to the employees that changing to a new system will eliminate this glitch. Solving such an issue will not only be beneficial to the company, but also to employees who have to deal with ...