Resistant or Conflict in Change Process

Question: Evaluate change management theories and models and select one to apply to the change occurring in the organization. Support why you selected this theory or model. Explain the role that communication will play in your plan. Analyze how communication could be used to handle concerns and doubts of stakeholders. Answer: Specific organization The change is scheduled to take place in Kansas Health Care Association (KHSA) in the US. It is headquartered in Topeka, Kansas. It is a state affiliate of American Health Care Association and partner with National Association of Health Care Assistants. It is a non-profit organization with about 200 long-term care providers. It has for-profit and non-profit facilities including nursing facility, facilities for mental health, intermediate care for the disabled person and hospital-based long-term care facility. It members provide health care to more than 20,000 chronically ill citizens of Kansas. KHSA is also involved in the survey process, administrator licensing and looked after legislative issues for supporting the improved health care of patients. They have spent a lot of money on programs for improving health services. Now they are planning to undergo changes for a more targeted approach so that each project and ideas becomes successful on their own. They are planning for entertai ning funding request through programs so that money goes to the particular area of interest. They are planning for a revamped funding structure and working on oral and behavioral health (Institute, 2016). Driving force for change The low-income group living in Kansas is the driving force for the modification. KHSA focus is on providing health care to patients, and so they want to improve the lives of the community through their philanthropic activities. They seek to improve health services by innovative approaches such as helping clinics connect electronic medical record to computer networks and promoting safe and secure sharing of patient information. They are planning to invest more money in hospitals to extend patient hours (Long-Term Care Providers, 2016). Resistant or conflict in change process The organization undergoing change in routine or program faces various challenges during the change process. KHSA is planning to introduce new technology in clinics for managing health care data. There might be barriers in this process such as medical staffs getting confused about the new technique or new program implemented in hospitals. They might face problems in adapting to the new technology, and this will bring chaos initially. The organization is looking for health care reforms such as entertaining fund request, reimbursement. A small thing is compromised in this process. But the major focus should be on practice of small things. Another biggest barrier in effective change management is miscommunication. Effective communication between health care staff and health leaders will remove any confuse and lead to smooth transitions of the change process in the hospital (Battilana Casciaro, 2013). Change management theories or models Different change management theories or models are useful tools for managing variations in the organization. The three conventional models that companies choose to operate are as follows: 1. Lewins Change Management Model: This model was created by Kurt Lewin. According to him, there are three stages of change. The first stage is unfreezing when there is an effort to resist change. This trend can be eliminated through motivating everyone for the modification. Next stage is the transition period in which change has started, and organization is the transition period. The role of a leader is significant at this time for the success of change. The third stage is refreezing stage when a change has been implemented and accepted by all. In this phase stability is gained as members adapt to operate under new programs (Cummings Worley, 2014). 2. Mc Kinsey 7-S Model: This model was created in 1978 to offer holistic change approach to organizations. In this case, seven factors work together to implement the change. These are shared values, strategy, structure, system, style, staff and skills. Management of all these factors will be beneficial for diagnosing and understanding an organization. The model gives guidance to the organization for the change process, and it has focused both on rational and emotional components. All the factors are crucial in the change process, and each should be addressed effectively. The disadvantage of this model is that since all components are interrelated, change in one part means a change in everything. This model is complex and has a high rate of failure (Mitchell et al., 2015). 3. Kotters 8 step change model: This model was developed by John Kotter, which suggested that effective change can take place only when leaders convince employees about the need for change to take place. The eight steps in this model are as follows- Establishing energy for change Creating a team that is dedicated to change process Developing a vision for the change to make directed efforts. Communicating the vision and strategy for change. Empower staff and system to effectively respond to change. Creating short term goals and rewarding employees for achievement. Remaining persistent throughout the change process. Making the change permanent by incorporating it into organization culture. This model laid more stress on communication, employee empowerment and focus. Even after the change process, things need to be monitored for some time. Kotter's change model will be effective for the selected organization undergoing change process. This is because this model will help Kansas Healthcare to communicate the change process effectively to employees, so they get prepared to adapt to changes. Employee empowerment is also a focus of the model, so the hospital can look into this aspect to effectively bring changes (Appelbaum et al., 2012). Impact of change System thinking involves careful reasoning of consequences of policies and actions in a particular organization, analyzing scenarios through group discussion and taking opinions regarding the change from other workers and understanding the interaction of the change within the health systems. Before going into the change process, Kansas health care could take into account their organizational dynamics such as structure, the pattern of events or programs. All this analysis will help health leaders at Kansas to anticipate the success of change process. It will assist in bringing innovation into the system so that improved health care is given to the patient. The proposed change process in the hospital will help in providing improved health care to people of Kansas and getting the desired fund for health care awareness programs (Benn et al., 2014). Strategies and innovations that could be implemented to effect the organizational change Any change creates discomfort among employees due to a sudden change in organization system. The strategies for effective change management include communicating the reasons for the change to all persons in the organization. Managers can also use quantitative tools to assess the effectiveness of different change programs. Proactive strategies can be taken which help in the transition of organization or team to desired future state before being incited by any events or driving force. Transparency and effective communication are crucial in change management. If employees understand the reason for the change, they will readily agree to the change process. The second strategy is to give essential training to staff so that they quickly adapt to change in the organization system. Some workers feel uncomfortable for the change, and their performance may suffer. To address this problem, personal counseling can be given. The most important step is to check constantly how change is proceeding in the organization. They should check that whether change process has served the purpose of the action or not. It is recommended that leaders with effective interpersonal skill are selected for change process so that they can avoid miscommunication at all levels (Coghlan et al., 2015). Role of communication Communication is a key element in organizational change management strategy. Planned communication strategies help in developing priorities and making staff understand the proposed changes. The different work in the organization is divided among different staff. So it is important for leaders to a different strategy for each group. Such approach will increase employee engagement and motivation to carry out joint organization goal. The leaders need to review and evolve communication strategy from time to time. Stakeholders need to know the progress of change process during its execution. To address the doubt of stakeholders, the effective communication plan should be made by managers to determine how frequently and what information they will communicate to them. Information has to be provided in the right format and impact so that it convinces the stakeholders (Cornelissen, 2014). Strategies to motivate stakeholders Different stakeholders are involved in the success of an organization. There are different ways to motivate each stakeholder. The first step is to identify what are the motivating factors for particular stakeholders. For example, employees are motivated when they get flexibility in the workplace. Patients are driven by quality health care service to the clinic. The focus should be on how stakeholders will benefit from motivational activities. Managers could explain to the stakeholders what they would gain if they are linked to their company. For example, shareholder gets increased stock price if the company has a good reputation. Regular informational meetings should be held with important stakeholders. Leaders can also ask for feedback from them. This will help them analyze how far they have influenced their stakeholders. Key groups which will require targeted motivation in Kansas Health Care includes health care professionals, investors, patients and hospital owner (Rodrigue et al. , 2013). Training for the successful implementation of the organizational change Any change process becomes successful only with adequate support and training for its implementation. A leader needs to give adequate training and support to each staff to make them comfortable with new organization system. Successful implementation of organization change is achieved by following five steps. The first step is creating motivation for change. It involves strategies to overcome resistance to change and creating an atmosphere for change in the organization. The second step is setting vision accurately describing briefly what leaders are trying to achieve through the change. Next phase is to align power with change effort to develop a network of useful players who interact and give each other support to guide the change process. The next actions are managing a transition like individual objectives needs to be achieved within the set deadline. The most difficult phase is to maintain the momentum of the change program. Strong support from leaders is crucial to show credibil ity in the reform effort (Goetsch Davis, 2014). Recommend strategies for sustaining an organizational change Any organization faces various obstacles like high resistance from members and many others. Therefore successful organization change can be sustained by the effort of top leaders in the organization. Leaders should ensure that they would continue to provide support for achieving objectivity and providing a resource for change. Other strategies for sustenance include reviewing employee performance regularly, sharing feedback about accomplishments, rewarding staffs for good effort and addressing any issue immediately (Proctor et al., 2013). Role of stakeholders in organization change Stakeholders are the influential group of people responsible for the success of change programs. If the stakeholder is involved in the planning process, the chance of distrust in the process reduce, commitment and credibility to the process are increased. Internal stakeholders are responsible for planning goals, and they are consulted in various activities. They estimate the scope and success of the project, manage budgets, allocate resources and identify risk in projects. External stakeholders act only as a consultant; they don't take part in the process (Schaltegger et al., 2012). Ways to measure the success of the organizational change There are several tools to analyze the success of success of change process. It can be measured by tracking what objectives have been achieved and is the change fruitful or not. They can measure KPIs (Key performance index) to analyze its benefit over a certain time period. One can check the significance of investment by checking whether benefits gained are justified for the cost incurred to achieve them. Leaders can measure individual employee and team effectiveness. They can analyze whether a team member is affected positively or negatively by the change. The most efficient method is to compare pre-change and post-change data. This is the most effective tool for determining the success of change program. Charts, graphs or core message can be used to display and share information about the success of change project. 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