Free Paper Sample on Navigating Organizational Change

Introduction

Dynamic changes in the corporate world require people to keep updating themselves concerning the changes therein. Continuing education entails endeavors such as seminars, online courses, and entire academic programs. So, why is continuing education necessary for an organization? Insofar as organizational change is concerned, continuing education enables the organization to increase productivity, retain employees, decrease delays, minimized costs, and cultivates passion and purpose within an organization. Increasing productivity is the most significant reason why an organization should engage their employees in a continuing education endeavor (Turner, 2017). Continued learning increases productivity in the sense that the more a workforce becomes informed of their work, the better they perform duties within the shortest time possible. Employees are likely to stay in an organization if they realize their development is valued by the company, mostly the millennial generation. Concerning resistance to delays, continued learning equips most employees with the necessary skills rather than leaving it to one person without whom delays would be experienced. Continued education imbues one with passion and purpose as well as reducing costs related to professional blunders.

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Impact of Continued Learning

Concerning employee's behavior, the new policy may not be accepted by all. Some are bound to resist the policy, thus influencing the workplace environment negatively. Employees in an organization are likely to be resistive if they are not involved in the decision-making process. Resistive intricacies could affect the management as they would be contrived to change their usual daily activities to return the situation to normalcy (Turner, 2017). In that regard, the administration is forced to alter its models to resolve the subject matter. The organizational culture therefore changes. From a positive perspective, change brought about by continued learning is poised to impact an organization positively. Thus, an organization needs to manage the initial stages effectively as that would bring forth the attainment of an organization's vision. The involvement of employees in the inception stages could reduce negativity and encourage them to acknowledge the importance of continued learning. It is worth noting that some employees may be depressed in case the continued learning leads to alteration of their roles in the company.

Barriers to Change

In most cases, employees are likely to be satisfied with their current status. They would be deemed to be in a comfort zone. The comfort zone is one of the stumbling blocks of change in any organization. It is worth noting that employees would control their workplaces before introducing a continuous learning program. Change is also influenced by denial as employees are likely to be skeptical of the importance of the continued learning insofar as performing their duties (Turner, 2017). In case the management does not resolve denial among employees effectively, they are likely to advance their denial to anger, which might affect people around them. Barriers to change in any organization could be resolved by including employees in the early decision-making process. Employees' involvement in decision-making processes creates an assurance that they are valued, and their opinions are highly regarded.

Continued Learning

As an individual, one may amass numerous challenges concerning continued learning. One advantage of continuing education is that it provides employees with an opportunity to make a seamless transition during career transitions. Continued learning in the workplace also involves one's image and marketability (Turner, 2017). In case of a future job search, an employee becomes more marketable if they engaged in continued learning compared to those who did not. Additionally, continued education improves one's lifestyle in the sense that they can switch to other careers or move to other better-paying jobs. In that regard, continued learning increases one's personal development.

How to Implement Change

A strategy by Kurt Lewin, which involves a three-stage process, could be used to implement change in an organization. The first stage in the strategy is known as unfreezing, during which employees in the organization have their minds prepared psychologically for the change before it happens. The second stage is to be initiated once the change has occurred, and the transition is required (Turner, 2017). The intermediate stage includes activities such as employee support and vibrant consultative endeavors with the management. Lastly is the freezing stage upon which new ideals causing a change in the organization are solidified. The three phases were meant to influence one by Setting Up for success, create urgency, shape the future, implement, support, sustain momentum, and stabilize the environment.

Conclusion

Teams could be utilized by managers to implement a new activity, such as continued learning. The management of an organization could have a successful implementation if they set team goals. They could decide to perform the continued learning in groups by setting goals for various groups in the organization. The management would also achieve their change goals by providing their employees with feedback and reviews concerning the new changes (Scholtes, 1988). The management should listen to their employees concerning changes in the organization and clarify any issue. Managers should also share their employee successes concerning the change publicly to encourage them to perform better. It should be noted that even in group settings, there are barriers such as skewed influence and lack of trust. Uneven influence emanates from dominating personalities who influence the decision of the group. Concerning a lack of trust, some employees may not feel comfortable sharing their ideas with a devoid of confidence.

References

Scholtes, P. (1988). The team handbook. Madison, WI: Joiner Associates.
https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/623639

Turner K.M. (2017). Impact of Change Management on Employee Behavior in a University Administrative Office. Walden University ScholarWorks.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4650&context=dissertations.