M8.3: Sustaining Change

Change must become an integral part of the organization. Eventually, it should not be seen as a change but as the regular way in which the business operates. This discussion question debates the manner in which change can be sustained throughout the organization.

Respond to the following:

It has been stated that change enacted must become the way we do things around here. Propose two actions or strategies that an organization should consider to ensure that change within the organization becomes part of the new culture, along with one strategy the organization should consider if the change begins to fail to become part of that culture.

M8.3: Sustaining Change

Resistance to change is a problem that most organizations undergoing change experience. After overcoming resistance within an organization, it is important that the change introduced becomes part of the organizational culture, for the change to be regarded as successful. This can be a huge challenge, especially when most employees were resistant to change. There are a number of strategies that may help with such a challenge. The use of clear and effective communication is an important strategy to ensure change acceptance and its integration into organizational culture (Lewis, 2019). Change is only accepted by people when they understand it, its necessity, and the benefits that will be accrued from its implementation.

By ensuring effective and clear communication, people are made aware of a change, what the organization expects from them, and the importance of change. In addition, it ensures a good relationship between an organization and its people. When people accept and understand change, it becomes easy for introduced changes to become part of an organization’s culture (Lewis, 2019). Proper monitoring of change implementation is another strategy that can be useful for an organization undergoing change. By monitoring the change process, the management of an organization is able to ensure that everyone within an organization remains on the right track towards the implementation and acceptance of the change (Moran & Brightman, 2000).

Monitoring ensures that management identifies areas of weakness and comes up with measures to ensure implementation success. If change begins failing to become part of the culture, management should use training to redirect employees and inform them of their role in the change process. Retraining may be necessary, focusing on areas where employees may be failing. The provision of training would provide employees with direction and ensure that change implementation and integration into the culture of the organization are successful.

References

Lewis, L. (2019). Organizational change: Creating change through strategic communication. John Wiley & Sons.

Moran, J. W., & Brightman, B. K. (2000). Leading organizational change. Journal of workplace learning, 12(2), 66-74.