A4 -Change Implementation Process

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helping you to reflect on some of the changes you have faced in your life.

On to the next assignment.

Regards, Keith Whitmore , M.Sc., MBA, CPA, CGA, P.Eng.

Faculty – Thompson Rivers University – Open Learning

 

 

Section	Mark out of /
Q1 Challenges in gaining commitment	14/15
Q2 Feedback mechanisms to determine commitment	18/20
Q3 Five Indicators that illustrate commitment	18/20
Q4 Five ways to sustain change momentum	23/25
Q5 Five interventions to help regain momentum	18/20
Format – Length 1500- 2000 words, font Times New Roman size 12, line spacing 1.5 to 2 Deduct 2 marks each for lack of compliance Failure to use Report Format	Good
Intro, Summary, References	Good

 

1,982 words – good you are within the specified range.

Brevity is an art that needs to be practiced. Business writing needs to be concise and to the point. Flowery narratives should be avoided. However, good descriptive examples are encouraged.

 

 

“Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies.” –Robert Kennedy

 

Introduction

My purpose for this assignment is to increase my understanding of the commitment to change and sustaining momentum for the change. I will discuss some of the challenges faced when gaining commitment to change during the change implementation process. A feedback mechanism is an important aspect of determining employee commitment; it has various mechanisms that can be deployed in the determination of commitment (Buchanan 192). I will discuss indicators that illustrate employee commitment. I  will expound on how the momentum for change can be sustained and outline different ways of sustaining the momentum. Lastly, I will describe different interventions in cases where as an agent of change is unable to sustain momentum.Good

 

 

 

Q1. What are the challenges in gaining commitment during a change implementation process? (15 marks)

For a change implementation process to be successful, those involved must accept it. However, in some instances, gaining the required level of commitment from employees is difficult. Various reasons explain stakeholders’ failure to welcome a change process in an organization. The first one is poor communication (Jick, 1990). If a significant change is about to affect an enterprise, and the extent and nature of that change are not properly communicated, then people may have a difficult time in committing to it. Good communication may help avoid many issues (Cummings & Worley, 2005). First, employees must be informed on the alterations promptly. Secondly, they must be given options if their positions, duties, and responsibilities change or are eliminated (Hayes, 2002a; Cummings & Worley, 2005; Kubr, 1996). Such an act gives them time to think through their options and plan their future accordingly before alterations begin (Senge et al., 1999). Change agents should not only communicate what needs to be done this is not complete. The more important item to inform stakeholders is the reason for a change. When such information is provided, employees can visualize their actions in a broader perspective. Thus, they will likely to accept a change (Cummings & Worley, 2005; Hayes, 2002). Moreover, by providing an information early enough, their perception may be altered into a more beneficial state. It is important to ensure that they recognize that a change will occur and that the sooner they accept it, the smoother the transition will be, both in their professional lives and their personal lives.

Some of the challenges in gaining commitment during the change implementation process may be:

• the change itself is not understood. This could be helped through communication including better documentation of the change plan.
• the reason for the change is not understood. Perhaps the reason for the change needs to be better explained
• adequate resources to support the change are not in place

 

Q2. Describe the feedback mechanisms you would use to determine employee commitment. In this description, outline how you would obtain input from the employees and how you would verify the commitment from the employees. (20 marks)

Feedback mechanisms are important in determining employee commitment.  You do not need an intro for each question

 

Feedback from employees may be collected using many methods. However, the most commonly used one is an employee survey (Jick, 1990; Cummings & Worley, 2005). Such reports take only a few minutes to make, while the information they present is invaluable to management. Through it, supervisors and executives can understand the state of their workforce better (Jick, 1990). However, it is important to note that commitment rests in three key aspects from an employee’s point of view. The first significant factor is vision (Senge et al., 1999). When employees have a vision of their future, then they are more likely to be engaged and committed to their enterprise (Hayes, 2002b). Secondly, employees are likely to have high levels of commitment if they feel that the work they perform has a purpose in a larger perspective (Cummings & Worley, 2005). Lastly, employees value their work relationships and are more likely to be committed if they form a positive correlation between their colleagues and an organization (Kubr, 1996). With these three factors in mind, a survey to determine employee commitment should have questions that are relevant to the three factors. In addition to this, other questions should determine how people feel about the rate of their career progression and whether senior management has talked to them about their progress or if someone constantly encourages their development (Cummings & Worley, 2005). To understand if an employee feels a sense of purpose in his work, survey questions may revolve around whether they have a clear understanding of what is expected of them or whether they feel their opinions and ideas are valued. Lastly, questions should revolve around relationships with colleagues and supervisors. The survey may ask employees how they perceive their relationships with others (Kubr, 1996). Additionally, the questions on the inquiry should try as much as possible to be open-ended.

 

Feedback mechanisms that I would use to determine employee commitment include:

• observations, unobtrusive measures, interviews, surveys, and questionnaires would be the basic feedback mechanisms. Often the act of observation is an excellent way of verifying as action is often more evident of a person’s belief

 

 

Q3. Explain five indicators that would illustrate that the employees are committed and enthusiastic about the change. (20 marks)

As mentioned in your prior work

 

Where  you are asked for a specific number it is appropriate to use a numbered list (e.g number the items)

Eg.

Five indicators that would illustrate employees are committed and enthusiastic about the change include:

 

 

1. Increase in employee performance– if employees used to only be able to make 5 widgets an hour but now following the new methods they can make 7 an hour
2. Employee feedback – employees indicate that the change is an improvement. This might be observation, casual conversations, discussions in meeting or results from surveys.
3. Increase in learning– employees are attending training sessions and asking for more.

Use bolding to highlight the factor. Provide a sentence or two to expand on each idea.

Note how when presented this way it is very easy to read.

 

Sense of urgency and purpose is the necessary element of the process of implementing a change. Without it, the momentum to carry out the change to completion may fizzle out and die, which may lead to wastage of resources (Senge et al., 1999). One indicator of employee commitment and enthusiasm toward the upcoming change is seeing the same urgency and a sense of purpose in them (Hayes, 2002). If employees willingly come in earlier than mandated and voluntarily stay after hours, it shows that they understand the change and are working purposefully towards making it a success.

When employees have that sense of urgency about them, they are more likely to be more proactive. In the middle of a transition, dynamic employees are easily identifiable (Jick, 1990). Such people will actively seek a role to play in initiating and maintaining change in an organization (Kubr, 1996).

The urgency and purpose combined with an employee’s proactive nature illustrate their positive attitude towards a change. It is impossible to be committed to change without having a positive attitude (Senge et al., 1999). The meaning of this is that employees will firmly believe in the reasons and purpose for the transition (Hayes, 2002a; Kubr, 1996). Even if they know that their positions may not be safe, such employees will show a positive attitude and actively work to make the change smooth and fruitful.

Employees who are committed to bringing change will willingly acquire new skills and abilities. Depending on the nature and extent of the change coming to an organization, almost all employees may have to develop new skills (Jick, 1990). The reason for this is that during the transition, they may end up with additional duties for which they have not been trained. Therefore, acquiring new skills will help them in executing their new responsibilities.

The result of the above indicators is an overall improvement in the performance of employees. The latter is one of the more reliable indicators since it is a culmination of all the signs mentioned above (Jick, 1990; Senge et al., 1999). One may argue that an employee’s performance may improve during a transitional period since they may not want to be seen as redundant and let go. In response to this, Hayes (2002b) argues that the fact that they are willing to put in the effort and work within the system shows that they support the change and have a positive attitude about it.

Use of a numbered list would make the five indicators much clearer

 

Q4. Once commitment is evident, explain how you, as the change agent, would sustain the momentum of the change. In this explanation, outline at least five different ways of sustaining this momentum. (25 marks)

One of the most important ways to maintain change momentum is by making available resources for change. An organization in the middle of a transition will often require additional resources (Cummings & Worley, 2005). For instance, hiring consultants may cost the company extra.

While a lot of attention is given to change participants, such as employees, sometimes, little is offered to change agents. Such a situation happens despite the fact that they undergo a lot of stress and tension (Cummings & Worley, 2005). It is important to provide change agents with emotional support since they are the leaders of the modification (Cummings & Worley, 2005). Without such support, the agents may lose focus, and the process may fail to make any significant impact.

Change in organizations will often require an adjustment in the duties and responsibilities of the employees. For instance, if a company is restructuring, some positions will be created, while others will be eliminated. Tasks and obligations will be rearranged and recombined in unfamiliar patterns that employees will take time to get used to (Cummings & Worley, 2005). In such cases, employees have to learn new skills and competencies to properly immerse themselves in their new roles (Cummings & Worley, 2005).

Employees most often react to rewards. If an activity leads to more benefits, then they will do it more. Similarly, if a change agent wants to maintain momentum, they should reinforce new behaviours (Cummings & Worley, 2005). Rewards should be offered for actions that support the change taking place. Conversely, actions that promote the old way of doing things should not be rewarded.

In many cases, managers often do not realize the extent to which change will affect their companies. Such leaders tend to underestimate the amount of time it will take, the financial resources required, as well as the reduction in productivity experienced during the transition (Cummings & Worley, 2005).

 

Once commitment is evident, five ways to sustain momentum might include:

1. Ensure that employees have the resources necessary. During a change …
2. A support system to reassure employees when challenges arise. It is important that …
3. Verify that employees have gained enough confidence and skills required to sustain the change
4. Provide rewards to reinforce new positive behaviors.

 

Q5. If you, as a change agent, are unable to sustain momentum, describe at least five different interventions to sustain momentum. (20 marks)

As a change agent, it is important to ensure that the momentum of change is not lost. However, if it is, various interventions can be made. First, if it is due to the lack of employee motivation, one may consider increasing the rewards offered for desired actions and behaviour (Cummings & Worley, 2005). Secondly, the change agent may be the one who is incapable of leading the transition. Thus, this person should observe this and ask for a replacement if they are ineffective (Senge et al., 1999). Third, it may be due to managerial underestimation. In this case, the change agent should make sure that they continually remind an organization’s executives the reasons why they needed to change and the benefits they will gain from the change (Jick, 1990). Fourth, if momentum lost due to the lack of resources, the change agent should ask the management to get more. Lastly, if there are insufficient learning opportunities, the change agent may have to create more of these.

 

As the change agent if I were unable to sustain momentum, five interventions that I might use include:

 

1. Meetings – special team meetings focused on the change
2. Team building – I might employ various team building exercises
3. Feedback – I would review and alter feedback mechanisms …
4. Coaching and counseling – I might provide one on one counselling ….
5. Confrontation – it might be necessary to confront certain individuals….

 

Summary

This assignment helped to expand my knowledge regarding commitments to change and sustaining momentum for the change by allowing me to become aware of how employee commitment occurs and how the commitments can be sustained.

Keep your sentences short and to the point

 

Commitment to change plays a key role in increasing employee’s input. A change agent is mandated to determine an effective feedback mechanism for commitment and use it to determine whether a commitment change is legitimate and real. The will to embrace the commitment and sustain is not easy, hence most change agents, when formulating ways of sustaining the momentum for change, should also establish different interventions of inability to sustain momentum.

References

Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2005). Organization, development, and change sustaining momentum. 8^th ed. Mason, OH: South-Western.

Hayes, J. (2002a). Managing the implementation stage of the change process and monitoring the implementation of the change plan. In, The theory and practice of change management. New York, NY: Palgrave.

Hayes, J. (2002b). Sustaining change. In, The theory and practice of change management. New York, NY: Palgrave.

Jick, T. D. (1990). Implementing change. In Managing change: Cases & concept. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: McGraw- Hill/Irwin.

Kubr, M. (1996). Structural arrangements. In, Management consulting: A guide to the profession. 3rd ed. Geneva: International Labour Office.

Senge, P. M., Kleiner, A., Roberts, C., Ross, R., Roth, G. & Smith, B. (1999). The growth processes of profound change. In, The dance of change: The challenges of sustaining momentum in learning organizations New York, NY: Currency/Doubleday.

 

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