M7.3: Communication Skills

Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspectives Approach (3rd ed.) Chapter 7, by Palmer, Dunford, and Buchanan

Most know that communication is important to organizational. Some, if not many, do not necessarily know how to communicate, especially during changing and turbulent times. For instance, the communication channels may be inadequate, the individuals communicating the message may not be properly trained, or there may be language barriers that cannot be overcome, such as speaking different languages or not understanding the local culture. The following discussion will elaborate and reinforce the need for managers to develop a specific set of skills to be utilized in the change process.

Respond to the following:

Briefly describe the four skills involved in engaging others in the change process.
Then, using any of the two skills in the change process – along with other skills learned during the preceding weeks – write a 1-paragraph email to indicate that employee salaries will need to be reduced by 10 percent in order to properly fund the organization’s investment in research and development.
Be sure to use the right tone, persuasive language, and approach to “sell” this dramatic change in employment conditions to employees while still maintaining their enthusiasm and motivation to fully participate in the organization’s future.

M7.3: Communication Skills

Engaging Others in Change

Organizational change is inevitable and important, regardless of the type of change or the industry. The main challenge to organizational change is resistance from people – employees, stakeholders, and managers (Ybema, Thomas, & Hardy, 2016). To minimize resistance to change, managers need to have and utilize four main skills to engage employees in the change process. The ability to communicate effectively is an important skill for managers as it enabled them to communicate change with employees and inform them of what is expected of them, the importance of the change, and the reasons for change. It is important that employees are informed of the future advantages or benefits of change implementation and the present problems that will be eliminated (Orridge, 2017). Involving employees in change is an important skill since it ensures that employees do not feel left out, threatened or neglected during change implementation. It is also important to have the ability to communicate the future benefits to employees with the implementation of change. Motivating employees is also important since it encourages them to implement change and support it.

Email

Subject: REDUCTION OF EMPLOYEE SALARIES

Dear Members,

As most of you are aware, our country has been undergoing difficult economic times over the last two years. Consequently, the performance of our company has been negatively affected, with a reduction in annual sales being persistent in the last two years. For this reason, the company’s management held a meeting to deliberate on the way forward for the company. A decision to increase investment in research and development was arrived at. With an increase in investment in R&D, the company will devise new ways of product development and come up with unique product designs that will ensure a recapture of our market share and an improvement in sales. To generate enough finances for the execution of the plan, the management has decided that a deduction of 3 percent will be made to the salaries of every employee. The finances pooled will be directed towards product research and the development of unique product models. With new products and improved customer satisfaction, our performance in the market will improve, after which your salaries will be reinstated to the present amounts and salary increments be awarded. It is only through your support and the contributions of every member that we can ensure a good future for our company.

Yours Faithfully,

Managing Director.

References

Orridge, M. (2017). Change leadership: developing a change-adept organization. Routledge.

Ybema, S., Thomas, R., & Hardy, C. (2016). Organizational change and resistance: An identity   perspective. The SAGE handbook of resistance, 386-404.