Effects of Organisational Change on Employee Wellbeing and Performance Outcomes
1. Please use UK English as the language of this essay.
2. at least three sources in this essay must be from the Additional reading that was listed in the doc.
3. topic can be named by the writer's choice
4.Include relevant exhibits e.g. tables, diagrams, figures etc drawn from the academic literature, where these add to the discussion.
Assignment Option 1:
Critically compare and contrast the positive and negative effects of organisational change on employee wellbeing and performance outcomes. Draw upon examples from contemporary organisations to complement your analysis.
The assignment should consider the various aspects of leading for change covered in lectures 1 to 6.
A suggested format/structure for the assignment is as follows:
• Introduction to the selected topic i.e. option 1 . This will normally be within 200 words. Provide a relevant overview and context informing the selected topic. Justify why is it important. Provide definitions of relevant concepts. Interpret the question and discuss how the assignment is structured.
• Main body of the assignment should present a critical discussion of the selected topic and integrate examples drawn from contemporary organisations. Compare and contrast different scholarly views relevant to the selected option and support and justify the analysis by using citations drawn from the academic literature. Include relevant exhibits e.g. tables, diagrams, figures etc drawn from the academic literature, where these add to the discussion.
• Conclusions: summarise key insights drawn from the main body of the assignment.
• References: Include a reference section that conforms with the Harvard style referencing guidelines.
• Appendices: If appendices are to be included, give each appendix a number and a title.
The word count for assessment 1 is 2000 words (+/-10% excluding tables, figures and references). This word limit includes in-text citations.
Presentation Guidelines
The individual assignment must be word processed. Use Calibri or Times New Roman, Font Size 12, black typeface on white paper. 1.5 spacing should be used and page numbers need to be inserted. The first page of the assignment should contain the student’s name, student number, assignment title, and word count.
IMPACT OF ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE
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Introduction
Due to a wide range of factors, change is an inevitable aspect in organisations, and it refers to an alteration in how an organisation functions. Sometimes change fails to realise the desired objectives, and scholars have variously outlined the factors that cause this aspect. For instance, Gravenhorst et al. (2003, p. 84) contend the factors include market limitations of bureaucracies and innovation, while Gill (2003, p. 308) cites poor planning, lack of resources, and poor management as the factors that influence the same. Conventionally, change revolves around several significant steps, including recognising the need to change, and identifying what requires change. Moreover, it involves planning, implementing, and sustaining change. Whether organisations change voluntarily or otherwise, they get impacted in several ways. For instance, change enhances innovation, which leads to improved business opportunities. In addition, change is pivotal in developing staff and their skills. On the flip side, it can prove counterproductive in several ways, including the loss of jobs due to restructuring and high costs. Organisational change assumes two broad categories, incremental and transformative changes (Nadler & Tushman, 1995). To enhance positive effects and minimise the negative effects of incremental and transformative change, organisational leaders must demonstrate appropriate competencies to manage the process smoothly.
Incremental Change
Incremental change refers to situations where managers initiate plans to avoid or manage future problems. The change usually entails making smaller adjustments through a gradual process. More often than not, such changes happen within an organisation and are geared towards changing structures, strategies, and culture of organisations. Incremental change comprises of two principal categories, which are adaptation and reorientation.
Adaptation centrally focuses on streamlining and fine-tuning the internal processes of organisations, the strategy, and the external environment. Fine-tuning refers to interventions undertaken to mitigate losses and risks. This is paramount as it helps businesses to take the necessary steps to adjust and enhance performance. Strategy, on the other hand, involves the paths organisations follow in pursuit of a vision and mission (Gill, 2003, p. 314). It is pivotal in that it facilitates organisations to achieve such significant outcomes as enhancing performance and having a competitive edge. As such, leaders must demonstrate the capacity to adequately prepare for unforeseen external changes that could drastically impact the running of an organisation. The external factors include changing customer preferences, political changes, the natural environment, and economic factors. In this regard, leaders must be innovative, which refers to creating and actualising new ideas (DuBrin, 2022, p. 306). This is critical as it paves the way for a breakthrough in organisational development and is the surest way of achieving a competitive edge.
Organisational leaders initiate reorientation in anticipation of new possibilities or opportunities in the future. Such changes play the central function of ensuring that businesses remain strategically aligned and effective in the future. At times, stakeholders might have a divergent perspective deeming the intended shift unnecessary. In such circumstances, leaders must demonstrate sensitivity to the environment and tolerance for contrary views (Gill, 2003, p. 310). They must also communicate effectively to convey a compelling vision that depicts a bright future for their respective organisations (Hayes, 2022, p. 212). Doing so would considerably reduce resistance, which would otherwise have far-reaching ramifications. Disney’s provided a perfect example of reorientation in 2020. The entertainment company initiated changes to position itself strategically for the future. It, for instance, put into motion concerted efforts to enhance the choice, personalisation, and comfort of its sports content globally.
Managing and Leading Incremental Change
Over time, people have interchangeably used the terms leadership and management, but a critical look brings out their distinct differences. Management involves a group of entities to accomplish desired objectives. Conversely, scholars have variously described leadership. As can be seen in the table below, leadership is considered the most important element in successful change.
Source: Gill (2003, p. 310)
According to Gill (2003, p. 308), leadership entails empowering, inspiring, and motivating, while Han et al. (2017, p. 1065) posit that leadership influences individuals toward achieving organisational success. As for Gilley et al. (2008, p. 157-160), the key leadership skills during change include the ability to coach, reward, communicate, motivate, and promote teamwork. Also, leaders must employ proper timing to ensure people are ready to embrace change (Wageman et al., 2009, p. 193). Regarding incremental change, management ensures that the process remains within the appropriate parameters. On the other hand, leadership requires leaders to embrace hazards, fears, and visions. It also requires them to cultivate a sense of urgency by effectively communicating why the impending shift is essential.
Positive Impacts of Incremental Change
One of the fundamental outcomes of incremental change is providing organisations with a competitive edge. For instance, being proactive enables organisations to have an elevated perception of external opportunities (Kreiser et al., 2010, p. 964). In addition, it allows companies to be more innovative, which enhances their marketability. For example, Nike and Adidas have been embracing the use of 3D printing to hasten their shoemaking process. This will inevitably enable them to improve the quality of their products, which will scale up their overall performance.
Secondly, incremental change plays a pivotal role in empowering employees to be more responsible and engaged by improving their competencies. For instance, initiating a more favourable employee benefits scheme would inevitably improve their satisfaction and reduce turnover considerably. Similarly, incremental change enhances the employees' value and sense of belonging since their thoughts, ideas, and perspectives are heard and considered during the entire process of change.
Negative Impacts
On the flip side, incremental change can result in undesirable outcomes, which could drastically affect an organisation's operations. Since the change happens when there is no immediate need for it, leaders could encounter a modicum of resistance from some quarters. A key reason for resistance according to El-Amin & George (2020, p. 30) is the fear of the uknown. This could inevitably create unnecessary conflicts, undermining performance in the long run. In the same light, such changes could see some employees getting assigned roles they are not accustomed to or working with relatively strange people. This could pile undue pressure on them and affect their performance. During such a crisis, leaders must adjust their approach to stave off undesirable outcomes, especially resistance to change (DuBrin 2022, p. 142). By the same token, organisations may find it difficult to allocate adequate resources to institute the desired paradigm shift.
Transformative Change
From time to time, organisations may encounter unprecedented experiences brought about by external factors. This inevitably triggers a response to remain relevant and competent in their respe...