Change Management
Change is disruptive,dangerous, good,necessary and constant. Unfortunately many organizations never anticipate change but react to it. Further to that many executives hold the myopic view that Automation is the epitome of change in an organization.
On the contrary organization’s change manifests in different clusters :
1-Automation- Is the easiest & most common.
2-Rationalization- Organization examines its ( SOP’s) standard operating procedures, eliminating redundant ones & make organization more efficient. Many organizations use it as a guise for downsizing.
3-Reengineering- Usually causes radical disruption. The mere mention of the term strikes fear in the hearts of workers & managers at all levels. This is because as mentioned earlier, its also used by companies to downsize & laying off workers.
In real sense business reengineering causes planners to completely rethink the flow of work,how work will be accomplished & how cost can be reduced by eliminating unnecessary work & workers.
4-Paradigm shifts- This is a term synonymous with radical changes in an organization. It involves changing the very DNA of an organization,we are talking complete overhaul of products or services being replaced with ones that never existed before. The best examples we can give are ;
a). Higher education which has undergone a major paradigm shift to online delivery of education
b). The internet & IT is causing all kinds industries to alter their products , services & processes in radical ways. Look at E- commerce, M-pesa in Kenya etc.
In today’s competitive world organizations are constantly looking for competitive advantage , Change & change management could prove to be a major critical success factor.