Organizations undergo intermittent changes in their organizational structures. There are drivers that make an organization realize the need to undergo a change of any kind be it managerial or work flow changes. Recent research and analyses of organizational change show that there is growing concern and tempo on organizational change. This is understood as the characteristic frequency, rhythm and pattern of work flow and activity.
The scenario presented here is for the university Library and as well as there are some other factors that as per the simulation, led to the stimulation of the organizational change.
a) Technology
Changes in technology change the way things are carried out in any organization. Without change, especially in technology, there would still be need to depend on secretaries, a concept that has been outdated by technology.
The library adopts the change since there is need to use more technological services in the operation of the library for instance in the book lending department, that needs to make clear durable and authenticated records system .
b) The Economy
The ups and downs in the economy can affect the organization either positively or negatively. Such impacts may be difficult to handle and the organization may initiate certain changes to mitigate the negative effects.
The changes in the economy that affected the University library are the prices of books and the cost of book production. As the cost of book production went up due to a set in of a strong economy, the demand for books and other print products increased. The library was therefore compelled to develop production expansion plans which had various effects. One of the results of this is the need to add more staff and new facilities in the system to cope up with the increased work load. In as much as such changes offer opportunities for staff, they present new and cumbersome challenges to the organization in general, that is what the university library is facing.
In order to implement any changes in this organization, the leader has to consider a number of factors. Firstly, the leader must pre evaluate the benefits of changing from one level to another or from one managerial strategy to another. The reason for this is that not all strategies may work well with a given organization and reconnaissance of the new changes have to be done before initiating new activities.
Secondly, the leader has to consider whether the organization has the capacity to move onto a new style of organization in terms of workforce, finance, space in case of expansion and local employee support. Without these being satisfied, it is probable that the efforts of the organization to move on may be in vain.
In a bid to lead the organization to change, the leader can experience various forces that impact negatively on the initiatives to make a change. One of the resistances is finance. When an organization has a change plan to initiate, it is necessary to have sufficient plans to initiate the new changes, without which the changes cannot be implemented. Technological changes, for instance, require acquiring of new equipments and manpower that can only be provided if finances are adequate. Secondly, there is the mismatch of employee skills. Employees can be used to a given system of work. In the case of change, many employees may not be able to adopt to the new ways of work or may not be having the necessary skills to undertake the new activities.
Another stumbling block is legal issues. If the Library wanted to expand its physical landmarks beyond the university land, it would have to acquire additional land which involves tedious legal processes.
During organizational changes, especially in a library, there is a need to digitize many things including student records. During such a change, challenges may arise due to nonconsistence of the hard data, making the migration process difficult.( Bate P, 1990)
Lessons learnt from this analysis are that for a change to occur, there are several aspects that have to be considered before initiating the changes. Before an organization can plan to change, it is necessary that a good financial capacity be achieved that is measureable or over and above the intended changes that should be made.
Part 2
The simulation in question involved quite a number of assumptions that will need to be reviewed according to my country. First of all it should be noted that different countries have different organizational cultures depending on their legalities and legal procedures. One process one country may take longer than the same in another country due to disparity in the legal and organizational structures. (Brown SL, 1997).
a) Smooth move by employees from one structure to the other.
Each structure in an organization comes in with new ways of doing things. When new ways set in each and every employee needs relevant new skills. Acquisition of new equipments and systems need training to be able to effectively make use of them. It is thus impossible to have a smooth movement of employees into the new system without prior training on the new organizational needs.
According to the organizational review by Porras & Silvers (1991) it is clear that the success of change is determined by how the organization deals with the internal factors rather than the external factors. The availability of employees and how the employees perceive the change that is to be undertaken is of great importance in ensuring the success of the change. Moreover, changes come as a result of some needs that may arise internally. Therefore, planned change is normally agitated by the failure of specific people to create continuously dependable and stable organizations (Dunphy 1996).
The idea that change is a continuous process through which an organization can undergo a transformation derived from external and internal gloss. (Czarniawska & Sevon 1996). Changes of whatever kind in an organization are carried out for the betterment of the organization and to increase the level of service to its clients and customers. Several developments arise when, for instance, an organization acquires a new equipment, business or merges with another. One of the positive results of such venture is the increased customer support. When an organization changes its communication system, there is an increase in the reliability of their customer support. Secondly the company will increase the output level. Larger workforce means larger output and the organization can be open to more revenues.
In conclusion, change is good and bad at the same time because the effect it has in an organization depends on how it is perceived and achieved.
References:
Bate P. 1990. Using the culture concept in an organization development setting. J. Appl. Behav. Sci. 26:83.106
Brown SL, Eisenhardt KM. 1997. The art of continuous change: linking complexity theory and time-paced evolution in relentlessly shifting organizations. Admin. Sci. Q. 42:1.34
Czarniawska B, Sevon G, eds. 1996. Translating Organizational Change. New York: Walter deGruyter
Dunphy D. 1996. Organizational change in corporate setting. Hum. Relat. 49(5): 541.52
Dunphy DC, Stace DA. 1988. Transformational and coercive strategies for planned organizational change: beyond the OD model. Organ. Stud. 9(3):317.34
Porras JI, Silvers RC. 1991. Organization development and transformation. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 42:51.78
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