Introduction
In
an organization, the introduction of new strategies is a norm, as the business
environment keeps on changing. However, according to Hayes (2014) introduction
of most of the changes in an organization end up failing due to the failure of
employing the right change management strategies. The aim of this assignment is
to analyze issues related to the execution of strategic change within an
organization, by looking at the essential elements that help in making this
process of change management success. The first section of the assignment
provides a detailed analysis of the field of change management, especially
current and future issues facing it. The second section provides information
concerning the research topic on ‘elements that influence the successful execution
of strategic change", such as theories related to the field of change
management, background information and impact of the research. The last section
provides information concerning the future direction of associated with the
research topic discussed in section two of the assignment.
Analysis of the Field
The
field of change management plays an instrumental role when it comes to the
success of any given organization. According to Fullan (2014), change management is concerned with
controlling and implementation of change within a company. Execution of change
is critical to the success of implementation of various strategic initiatives
that an organization may be planning to introduce within an organization. Strategic
change is critical when it comes to the success of any given organization. It is responsible for ensuring that all
the resources needed by the employees of an organization to successfully
implement change are availed. Thus, there is need of understanding the
different elements that are critical to the success of strategic change
execution in any firm.
Despite, execution of strategic
change is critical to the success of any change initiative, one of the
challenges that are being faced today is a failure of many of the strategies,
especially at the implementation stage. According to Rajasekar (2014), around
70% of strategies implementation processes within an organization end up
failing. This indicates that execution of strategic change within an
organization is a major challenge.
Rajasekar (2014) indicates that
organizational culture, leadership, structure, poor planning can play a
critical role in determining whether strategy implementation in the
organization will be a success or failure. Also, Hayes (2014) notes that
failure of strategic change execution occurs due to the resistance of
employees, whereby, the fail to support the change initiative at hand. Hayes
(2014) further argue that support of the employees during the process of
implementing strategic change is essential and dealing with employee resistance
to successfully implement a given change that has strategic implication is a
challenge.
Also, Fullan (2014) has pointed out
that strategic change execution in most cases ends up failing due to lack of
effective leadership within an organization. The leadership of an organization
is responsible for providing resources, supporting planning and implementation
process of strategic change within a firm. Nonetheless, most of the leaders who
are change agents within an organization lack comprehension of the change
process, resulting in total failure of the entire implementation process
(Fullan, 2014).
Failure of implementing strategic change has
negative implication in an organization. According to Hayes (2014) failure of
the change, execution process results in an organization losing critical
financial and human resources, and this has a negative effect on the overall
morale of employees and image of an organization.
Therefore, the failure of successful strategy
execution is a major and costly challenge facing organization and should be
properly addressed by the field change management. It is essential to
understand the elements/factors that facilitate the process of successful
strategic execution within an organization for purposes of helping deal with
the issue of failure of most of the strategic change initiatives in the field
of change management in the future. Undertaking a study on these issues would
bring a set of new knowledge concerning elements that are essential in making
change execution process a success. The knowledge will be useful in
implementing strategic change initiatives in all organization in the future.
Background Information
One
of the challenges that are faced by many organizations around the globe
currently is the execution of a strategic change in the right way. Hrebiniak (2013) some of the factors
that contribute to the failure of strategic change implementation include poor
leadership, poor strategic planning, organizational systems and others. However,
there are ways in which strategic change can be executed successfully within an
organization. Some studies have
been carried out with an objective of understanding how change can be
successfully implemented in an organization in a general way.
Most of the studies have focused on the role
that employee engagement and communication plays when it comes to enhancing the
success of implementing change within an organization. Sonenshein and Dholakia
(2012) indicates that employee engagement is achievable through communication
and strategic planning and help in avoiding resistance that might end up
impacting negatively on the execution of change.
Alternatively, studies have focused
on the impact that planning and availing of resources impacts on implementation
of change within a firm. Hrebiniak (2013) shows that proper planning and
availing of the right resources needed to implement a strategy plays a critical
role in enhancing implementation of strategic change within an organization.
The past studies have shown that
during change implementation within an organization, leadership plays a
critical role to make the process a success. Schaap (2012) shows that
leadership in a company is responsible for providing resources vital for
strategy implementation during the change process and this makes them essential
in ensuring that execution of strategic change is essential.
Also, Schaap indicates that the
senior leaders are responsible for providing direction, regarding vision and
goals to be attained by introducing a certain strategy in the firm. Portoghese
et al. (2012) show that the leadership of an organization is critical in dealing
with expectations and commitment of employees during change implementation
process. Cameron and Green (2015) points out that considering organizational
culture during execution of change is vital in making the entire process a
success.
It is evident from the past studies that there
are general elements that affect the execution of change within an
organization. Nonetheless, there is no specific study have focused on factors
that impact on strategic change execution within a firm. Therefore, this research
topic is essential in addressing the failure of execution of strategic changes
within an organization by adding new knowledge on the specific factors that
should be considered by organizations when implementing strategic change to
make the entire process a success.
Current Theories and Debate Areas
There
are various theories of change management, which tries to explain the change
management process within an organization. The theories can be useful in making
strategic change execution within a firm a success process. One of the theories
is known as Lewin’s change management model. The theory recognizes that change
occurs in three major stages. According to Hayes (2014) Unfreezing is the first
stage, whereby the majority of the
people in an organization are opposed to change, they have to be informed and
motivated to accept the change initiated by the leadership.
The
second one is transition stage and Hayes (2014) point out that after initiation
of change, a firm usually moves to the transition period, and this stage
requires sufficient leadership and assurances for the entire change process to
be a success. The last stage is Refreezing, once a change has been fully
accepted and implemented successfully, the organization becomes stable again,
and employees refreezes operating under new climate following the introduction
of change (Cameron and Green, 2015).
The second theory of change management
associated with strategic change execution is known as Mckinsey 7-S model. The
theory argues that there are seven major factors that act as collective agents of
change within an organization. First, an organization is supposed to have
shared values for any change to be a success. Second, an organization is
supposed to have a clear strategy that will guide the change process (Cameron
and Green, 2015. Third, the structure of an organization is a key agent of
change. Systems in a firm also play a major role as being key agents of change.
Furthermore, a style especially leadership influences the change process either
negatively or positively (Hayes,
2014). Moreover, staff plays a very important role in ensuring that
change process is a success. At last, workers should have the proper skills to
work in a new environment after the introduction of a certain change
initiative.
The
last important theory of change management associated with execution of change
is known as Kotter’s 8-step change model. The theory argues that employees
agree to change after being convinced by their leaders about the urgent need of
change taking in a firm (Brisson-Banks,
2010). The theory indicates that change takes place in 8 major steps. The
first step is concerned with the leadership of a firm increasing the urgency
for change. The second step is concerned with the management building a team of
employees who will be dedicated to ensuring the change initiative is
successfully implemented.
The
third step is concerned with the creation of the vision for change so as to
inspire employees to support the change process fully. The step that follows is
concerned with communicating with the stakeholders in an organization about the
need for change (Hayes, 2014). The next step involves the change team putting
in place measures to employer organization staffs with capabilities to change. The
next step is concerned with the creation of short-term goals that are supposed
to be attained during the change process (Fullan, 2014). The second last step
according to this theory is that of ensuring there is persistent when
implementing change in a firm. The final step is concerned with making change
permanent by making sure that it becomes parts of an organization’s culture
(Hayes, 2014).
The
current debate concerning change execution from a strategic point of view is on
the critical elements that are essential in making this process effective
within an organization. The debate tries to find out how an organization can
make strategic change execution a success by considering numerous factors that
affect positively critical issues that determine the process of change
implementation, such as employees, leadership, organization culture and
structure.
Impact of the Research
The findings of this study are going to
affects numerous industries. The major industries that will be affected by the
findings include healthcare, information technology, service, manufacturing,
food, retailing and communication. The findings of the study will provide
information concerning elements that should be taken into account when
implementing strategic change in an organization operating in these industries
so as to make the process a success. The benefits can be maximized by ensuring
the findings of the study are reliable and accurate to be used by the players
in these industries to guide their strategic change executions initiatives in
the future.
Future Directions
One of the areas that need further research in
the future is the role that leadership plays in making strategic change
execution success. Having a detailed research on this area would aid in making
sure that specific ways of which leadership affects strategic change
implementation are understood. It is also crucial to understand further
research on the impact of organizational culture on the effectiveness of
strategic change implementation. The findings that focus on this specific area
will be central in helping to understand how an organizational culture can be
prepared to make the process of change management a success within an
organization.
The findings of the study on elements of that
influence successful execution of strategic change will be important in
different ways. The findings will first help in understanding some of the major
issues that impact negatively on strategic change execution, helping to avoid
them when it comes to future implementation of strategic change. The second
area that the study’s findings will be useful is in helping to determine the
right strategies that can be employed by an organization in making the process
of strategic change implementation an effective one.
One
of the strategies that can be used to effectively deal with the execution of
strategic change within a firm is effective communication. Hayes (2014)
indicates that effective communication makes it possible for the leadership to
influence the employees to support change, as they understand the benefits
associated with implementing a certain strategic change, helping to avoid
resistance. It is also recommendable to actively engage employees during the
change implementation process. Hrebiniak
(2013) point out that engagement of employees during the change process help in
overcoming the resistance challenge which impacts negatively on the execution
of change. Finally, it would be recommendable to ensure that effective
leadership is in place, especially employment of the right leadership approach
to make the change process a success.
Conclusion
In summary, strategic change execution
research is essential in reducing the failure rate of many change initiatives
associated with the implementation of strategies in an organization. Then this
report indicates that communication, organization culture, leadership and
employee engagement are some of the essential elements that can enhance the
success of strategic change execution within a firm. Hence, it is evident that
the findings of this research will play a central role in helping the field of
change management to effectively deal with the issue of failure of strategic
change execution in the future.
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