LITERATURE REVIEW ON ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE PROJECTS

He adds that innovation is the generation, acceptance and the implementation of new ideas, products, services and processes. Organizational change projects mostly happen in due to of external and internal influences. A survey of executives from around the world by McKinsey & Company (2008) found that only by changing constantly could organizations hope to survive Organizational change projects include, mergers and acquisitions, business restructure, entering new markets, changes to business model, (Schiavoni, 2017). Or change of leadership (Gill, R. Organizational change is in most incidences confused with transformation or continuous improvements, but these are completely different phenomenon. Various categories of change projects exist, influenced by or as a result of external and internal factors, these factors are known as change drivers or triggers (Bielinska-Kwapisz, A.

Change drivers vary in terms of their effect and they influence the steps in the change process, (Whelan-Berry, Somerville, 2010). According to Market Business News (2017), there are five key change drivers, these are; Economic climate – changes in the economic environment, such as competition, inflation and recession forces organizations to change to cope with the economic environment. Consumer demand and behavior – people’s lifestyles are forever changing, therefore organizations have to adapt to these needs and behavior, and attitudes. Technology – technology influence organizational processes, market interaction, communication, and production, therefore, technological changes have to be adopted by organizations to sustain competition and customer satisfaction. , 2006) This classifications results in categories of organization change projects such as changes in policies and legal agreements, organizational structure, processes, personnel, mission and strategy, organizational culture, products, technology, and knowledge.

Changes to organizational structure involves changing structural factors within an org, which defines each job, this could be due changes in management or business plan. Changing organizational culture can have profound impact on every aspect of the organization, as it involves changing the pervasive beliefs, values, and attitudes, and ethics and morals that characterize an organization (Market Business News, 2017). Organizational culture in most case informs the identity of an organization, and therefore, it is most difficult change project, with most profound effects. Organizational change projects also involves product changes or diversification of products or services, as well as mission and strategy changes, which involves changing organizational objectives and goals and how the new set goals are to be achieved. Individual resistance is caused by fear of the unknown, economic factors, high need for security, and selective information processing (Oreg, S.

Organizational resistance on the other hand, is as a result of group inertia, threat to established power relationships, and structural inertia (Van Dijk, R. , & van Dick, R. This resistance can be active, involves sabotaging the change effort, or passive, and involves being disturbed by changes without necessarily voicing these opinions. Structural interventions, such as minimizing structure, shifting roles and combining paradoxical requirements help diffuse resistance to change and recreate the nature of change in organizations (Cunha, M. , Toursh, D. , & DiFonzo, N. The feeling that the future is unclear is enough to create stress for people because it leads to a sense of lost control (Ashford, J. , Lee, L. , & Bobko, P. , Fedor, B. , & Caldwell, S. Destructive leadership and destructive leaders often appear during change, and can influence change and followers.

Measures need to be taken for followers to better understand the behavior of their leaders in the context of change. These steps are warranted in order to guarantee that bad apples do not contaminate the barrel and undermine the future of changing organizations (Neves, P. Managing people is an important requirement of change leaders, people management practices influence the outcome of organizational change (Shaw, D. Managing people require socially intelligent leaders, who are able to understand social influence, and motivate employees, at the same time managing expectations. This requires great people skills (Miller, D. To overcome the challenges of organizational change, some scholars suggest that resilience is more important in change management, resilient employees are more ready to accept and apply change, as opposed to change-related skills which seem to predict only task performance and not acceptance of change (Gouras, A.

, Vakola, M. This will promote a positive reaction to change, and help minimize resistance to change. Participation, also promote a sense of organizational citizenship and commitment, which translates to commitment to change efforts (Baraldi, S. , Kalyal, J. , Berntson, E. , Naswall, K. & Kauffeld S. Communication aides another key success factor, that is clearly outlining the goals of change. For change initiative to be successful, the goals and objectives to be accomplished have to be clear, precise and achievable (Oakland, J. , & Tanner, S. These goals and objectives can be successfully promoted by communication. By proper planning the organization is able to undertake change proactively by being able to forecast every possible scenario and make plans for it, rather than having to adopt a reactive approach in the process of change (Mento, A.

, Jones, R. , & Dirdorfer, W. , 2002; Beck, N. , Bruderl, J. According to 46% of senior managers interviewed for a Robert Half Management Resource survey, change management efforts falter at the execution stage. The survey suggests that clear and frequent communication can be the remedy for what ails change management efforts, alongside managing expectations, outlining goals, and delegating effectively. According to the survey, the Do’s of organizational change that will ensure success, include; communicating early, considering the volume of communication, managing expectations, communicating the benefits of the change project for your team, recognizing implementation is only the start; the new process is the beginning of your company’s future and requires ongoing communication and training for employees. The field of management continues to attract research, and especially in organizational change projects, it is a hot topic, especially because organizational change is inevitable, at some point in their existence, organizations have to undergo change whether willingly or unwillingly especially influenced by external factors, such as technology, globalization, changing market conditions, and growth.

Therefore it is appropriate for organizations and its management to understand organizational change. , Reichard, R. Another crucial aspect on organizational change project addressed by management research is the adoption of clinical psychology in organizational change projects, especially for motivation, to minimize stress and resistance, and for communication. This includes adopting coding instruments, such as Motivational Interviewing Skill Code, from clinical psychology (Klonek, F. , Lehmann-Willenbrock, N. , & Kauffeld, S. Neves, P. , Schyns, B. With the bad comes what change? The interplay between destructive leadership and organizational change. Journal of change management, vol. 18 issue: 2. Stop blaming resistance to change and start using it. Organizational dynamics, vol. 39 pp. Danisman, A. Good intentions and failed implementations: understanding culture based resistance to organizational change. Whelan-Berry, K. , Somerville, K.

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