Organizational Change

Introduction
Change in organizations is inevitable. Organizations need to adopt new
management strategies, procedures, use more modern technologies, and upgrade the
corporate culture for them to remain relevant and at par with other competing firms in
the industry. Some challenges always propel the initiative to change certain aspects that
an organization faces. For a company to remain competitive today, the change should
be constant. The business environment keeps changing daily in areas such as
technology and globalization which play critical roles in the success and profitability of
an organization.
Organizational change can either be minor or significant. Minor changes do not
affect the entire operation of the business, and this includes installing a new software
program to replace the old one. For instance, most health organizations use digital
health records system and a need may arise to change the software used to a better
one. Significant changes often affect the entire face of the company (Austin, 2013, 321).
For example, when corporate culture changes from strict adherence to company
policies to an open culture where people use common sense. This paper looks at the
case of MCC Company that uses poor technology and the need to embrace the latest
technology in the company. It further explains the role of leadership in implementing
change and how management can effectively initiate and implement change.

Changes Recommended
Missouri Can Company (MCC) is a company that produces and sells paper
products. Recently, it has been facing challenges that affect their productivity and profit
margins. One of the problems in the company is poor technology. Competing firms in
the industry have modern technology, producing high-quality papers hence high sales.
Experts reported that the forest products outlook revealed that the company uses near-
obsolete technology which does not meet the demands of customers. It also showed a
lack of enough training for the employees who did not produce the best products.
The change I would recommend to this company is the adoption of the latest
technology that produces high-quality papers that will attract customers. The change
may be costly to the organization but is the way to go. New technology allows the
production process to take place quickly and when the production rate is high, then
revenue will be high. Advancements in technology also allow more effective production
since it minimizes human error. It also helps manage the competition. When you invest
in technology that may not have been adopted by competitors, you will be on top of the
market. In case the competitors already have that technology, you need to catch up with
them. Technology is necessary for the continuous growth of the business.

Resistance to Change
All the employees of the company may not welcome this type of change. One of
the reasons that may lead to resistance is the fact that employees may require to
undergo training on how to use new technological tools. Some technical tools are so
demanding, and employees may be needed to get out of their comfort zones to work
extra hard and for long hours. New technology may also give room to remote working,
and in extreme cases, the technology may replace some laborers who will be required
to leave the organization. Employees may not be comfortable with these changes, and
this fact may cause them to resist the changes.

How to Minimize Resistance

Leaders should have the best strategies to approach change for a successful
implementation. Educating the employees about change and proper communication are
very important in minimizing adverse reaction or resistance to change. The employees
should be trained on the reasons for the change, and once they understand, it will be
easy for them to embrace the change. It is also important to inform them about the
proposed changes using the right channels and platforms before the actual change to
give room for the reaction that can be worked on before implementing the change. It is
wise to involve employees when implementing any change in the organization. It is
easier for employees to embrace a change that they were involved in during
implementation than those they were not involved in. It is also necessary to ensure that
the essential resources to implement the change are availed to the employees.
A series of steps should be followed for successful identification of
implementation of change. The first step is to assess the current state of the
organization and identify all the problems that the company has. The problems should
then be assigned different levels of importance, and the most important one should be
given the priority. Second, the company should figure out the organization in case the
implementation is successful. Last, the change should be implemented in an orderly,
procedural manner. The transitions should be managed in a transitional manner,
adhering to all the necessary steps that should be taken. It is advisable first to draw up
a plan that constitutes the allocation of resources to each step and giving someone the
authority to be in charge of the process. The company management should act as role
models by taking the change positively, sharing their joy and enthusiasm to other
employees for them to feel positive towards the change as well.
Effectiveness of change is affected by many factors, among them the leadership
style. Both transformational and transactional leadership have a positive impact on the
implementation of change (Mao, 2013, 1). Effective leadership is on which can change
the values, beliefs, and attitude of the employees (Grint, 2014, 1). It is the role of the
leaders to make the employees understand that the change is for their good and that of
the organization and it is not intended to harm them. If the leadership present is not
effective enough, no change implementation will be successful.
Good leadership is characterized by trust between the leaders and employees, a
positive corporate culture, teamwork, communication, and learning. When the
employees trust their leaders, they are likely to embrace the change that has been
initiated by the leaders, unlike in the case where there is no trust. The leaders also have
to build a positive culture where people are open minded and can adjust to changes
quickly and not a rigid culture where people have to follow tight schedules and policies.
Leaders should also embrace teamwork and be the first people to take part in the
change. For instance, introducing new technology at MCC means new machines ought
to be introduced. Leaders should act as role models by being the first to use them.
Good leaders encourage employees to learn new things and develop themselves
alongside working towards the goals of the organization. Introducing new technology at
MCC will require that the employees be ready to learn how to use them. This will be a
great opportunity for them to acquire new skills that may be required in their next
working places.

Life Cycle Theory of Organizational Change

The life cycle model theory can be best in implementing technological change.
This theory is also referred to as the developmental model's theory, and it emphasizes
the role of human beings in the change process. According to the theory, change is
progressive and rationale for organizations to grow and mature. The theory suggests
that for effective implementation of a change, training is necessary. At MCC, employees
will have to undergo training for them to apply the new technology correctly. The theory
suggests that a change can only be successfully implemented if everyone takes part in
the process. Leaders play a crucial role in allocating resources and initiating programs
that best fit the change.
Emotional intelligence is very vital in the change implementation process. It helps
the employees perceive the change positively, limiting the barriers to change and
embrace it fully. The way people implement change has been the cause of failure in
most organizations today. People who are competent in emotional intelligence can
easily influence, communicate effectively and collaborate with others during and after
the implementation of change (Rieley, 2010, 160).

Impacts of Organizational Change

Organizational changes impact all the aspects of the organization. It impacts the
people in the organization, processes, products and the general corporate culture. The
employees are drastically affected by changes which impact not only their routine but
also moral and perception. Deploying new technology at MCC may change the work
schedule of employees, and they may be more or less busy. The new technology can
also serve as a motivation to them because human beings tend to feel motivated by
new things. Changes in the workloads and schedules can also cause stress to some
employees (Decker et al., 2010, 1).
Renewing a company's direction also affects the operations and processes of the
company. Some processes will be done away with, and others will change. The way
employees perform specific tasks will change, and this will have an impact on the
quality of the products. For example, some technological tools perform different tasks
simultaneously, and this allows more work to be done with limited time (Austin et al.,
2013). Some technologies allow some employees to work from their remote areas and
by doing so; there may be no or little interaction with fellow employees and the
management.
Corporate culture and the outlook of the organization are greatly affected by
these changes. The image of the organization changes both from inside and outside.
The change affects so many aspects of an organization such as the chain of command,
communication channel, modes of operation, social relationships and managerial
strategies, and this will have an impact on the culture of the organization. For example,
technological advances allow people to communicate and even hold meetings without
physically meeting. When such a method is deployed in the company, the social
relationships between employees and managers will be interfered with due to lack of or
minimal physical interaction.

Conclusion
It is evident that changes are very crucial in organizations. It is a natural process
that does not depend on people, but the circumstances force change to take place. A
successful change is one which was initiated and implemented by all the members of an
organization. Organizations should identify gaps and come up with necessary changes
that will positively enhance the output of the organization. Leaders play a key role in the
implementation process since they are the ones who influence the perception of the
employees. Therefore, when it is embraced, change impacts people, processes,
products and the overall corporate culture.

References
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culture: Implications for introducing the evidence-based practice. Journal of
Evidence-Based Social Work, 5(1-2), pp.321-359.
Ciganke, A.P., Mao, E. and Suite, M., 2013. Organizational culture for knowledge
management systems: a study of corporate users. International Journal of
Knowledge Management (IJKM), 4(1), pp.1-16.
Decker, D., Wheeler, G.E., Johnson, J. and Parsons, R.J., 2010. Effect of organizational
change on the individual employee: the health care manager, 19(4), pp.1-12.
Grint, K., 2014. Leadership, management, and command: rethinking D-Day. Springer.
Rieley, J. and Clarkson, I., 2010. The impact of change on performance. Journal of
Change management, 2(2), pp.160-172.