Coping with Change, Managing Uncertainty
Introduction
'Thirty years ago most people thought that change would mean more of the same, only better. That was incremental change and to be welcomed. Today we know that in many areas of life we cannot guarantee more of the same...[we] cannot even predict with confidence what will be happening in our own lives.' (Handy, 1991)
He differentiates between incremental and 'discontinuous' change, suggesting that the combination of economics and technology form a potent blend in this. We can see that Higher Education (HE) Library and Information Services (LIS), are part of an environment which is subject to both incremental and discontinuous change:
Political - increased control from central
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For LIS, uncertainty tends to centre particularly on:
Strategic direction for HE itself and how far it can and should become technology-dependent
Role changes, particularly in relation to user support
Organisational restructuring and altered work patterns
Technology itself - feelings of inadequacy and inability to keep up
Corrall (1995 a) suggests that:
'Current thinking, informed by chaos theory, prefers a 'radical/dynamic' view, as opposed to the 'mechanistic model previously espoused. This interpretation rejects the notion of managing change as an incremental, evolutionary, linear and orderly process, and instead sees the process as one of creating change, viewing it as inherently transformational, revolutionary, circular/spiral, and essentially chaotic - but ultimately productive and beneficial.'
This approach will also assist in coping with the sense of loss of control induced by increased end use, the complexity of electronic systems, the rate at which they change and in acknowledging that some aspects of the new electronic environment are paradoxical:
Promise of extended access yet problems of reliability, copyright, cost and complexity
Promise of new ways of learning yet staff and user
What if our life becomes fully dependent on the electronic devices in the future? “In Into the Electronic Millennium”, Birkerts discusses his concerns with the oncoming electronic world. Birkerts provides lots of cons about the electronic devices that can affect people's lives. The author’s intention for writing this essay is to make the audience aware of the significant changes that have started to occur as electronic technologies have developed. He uses various rhetorical devices to convey his arguments to the readers. Through this essay, he is trying to inform the academic community that the culture of printed words has ended in the society, while electronic technologies are starting to dominate. Birkerts uses anecdotes, juxtaposition,
People generally like to stay in their comfort zone, they do not like changes. However, change is a necessary part of life, we see change in nature every day. Change can be positive or negative. We can choose to embrace the change or reject it, we also can choose to allow the change to have a negative or positive impact on our lives. Helmstetter lists six steps when dealing with change. First to recognize the change, then to decide if you are going to accept or reject the change. The next step is to choose your attitude toward the change, then choose how you are going to deal with it and what actions you are going to take. The last step is to evaluate your progress of accepting the change (Lamberton and Minor, 2012)
Things that happened years ago have all changed to nowadays; either by a few changes but still very similar or dramatically changed in a positive way.
Technology has changed remarkably over the last one hundred years. First, the way that we use books has changed. Another way is the way we play games. The way we communicate with each other has changed drastically over the last century as well. At this rate, with technology growing every day, we can see the “new” technology that we have right now is already being replaced with something else that is “new.”
Change is a process that affects individuals and their environments. Some people choose to embrace change, while others resist it. “Macbeth”; the song “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and the episode of the Twilight Zone, “A Stop at Willoughby” all successfully convey the notion of change and demonstrate how individuals and societies can embrace or resist change.
Change should be seen as a challenge and embraced with enthusiasm (Marquis & Huston, 2012). In my professional and personal life, I view and respond to change as a way to make improvements to existing regulations and circumstances. I embark upon the quest with determination to succeed at whatever task is presented to me. Life without change can become unchallenging and stagnant (Marquis & Huston, 2012). As society and technology advance, you must incorporate the necessary transformations that arise with it.
Organizations do not change, people do (Sullivan and Decker, 2009). A manager’s responsibility is to manage people. Change is difficult for most people and managing through the change process is not an easy task. Many theories on managing change exist, but they basically have four elements: assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation (Sullivan & Decker, 2009). A manager’s role is to examine each of these elements and apply them to the people that he or she leads.
The change models discussed in class provide a pattern for change and presents a picture of what will occur
The purpose of this paper is to discuss organizational change and the management of that change. I will talk about the different drivers of change, the factors a leader needs to weigh to implement change effectively, the various resistances a leader may encounter while trying to implement change, and how various leadership styles will effect the realization of change. I will also discuss the knowledge I have gained through the completion of this assignment and how I think it might affect the way I manage change in my workplace.
Change also brings hope and a sense of renewal. It reinvigorates, it inspires and is emotional.
Change can often be a difficult thing for everyone to accept. No matter how big or small, sadly many of us fear it. The worry in change can be seen evidently in that friend unsure of his future after high school, or that family member who stumbles when asked what they would like to eat, only to order the same thing they have ordered the last 10 times. From moving to another city, to ordering a different meal at your favorite restaurant, everyone will have that important date with change. The difference is in how each person decides to handle it. Some like to walk her to the door and give her a kiss goodnight, some even refuse to accept it’s happening, and some don’t even show up. I am one of those people, emailing that “I just can’t make
Managers are constantly faced with critical decisions that will heavily impact on the company’s competitive ability and profitability. This report will analyse the critical decisions made in the case study The Change Story of Yellow Auto Company from a sociologic decision making perspective. The case study presents four main decisions which are: increase of market share, change in decision management style, clarify job description and invest greater time and money in human resources. The analysis of these decisions centres on the relationships between employees and managers and the
Change is a necessary way of life. It is all around people: in the seasons, in their social environment, and in their own biological processes .Beginning with the first few moments of life, a person learns to meet change by being adaptive. A person’s very first breath depends on ability to adapt from one environment to another. As indicated by the first quotation introducing this essay, each hour is different, offering people new experiences.
In looking at the numerous experiences that I have encountered where change has been more than needed and wanted, I feel that my experience working in the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center for five years and leaving to pursue change is a great example of the use of a change model. When I began working in detention in 2009, I felt empowered and validated for the work that I was doing. I also felt that the work that I was doing was making a difference in the lives of the youth I worked with. I had amazing rapport with the youth and staff alike and quickly moved up the latter. As I climbed the latter, I worked to ensure that the staff and I maintained the best interests of the youth. In maintaining a high level of integrity and fairness, we saw dramatic decreases in recidivism among the youth we served and noticed that the staff enjoyed coming to work. However, several years later the facility was sub contracted out and many of the administrative and line positions were cleared out and filled with new personnel. As the new agency filled the positions with various new staff, the change had a negative effect on the previous processes. As the changes continued so did the responses/ behavior of the youth. It seemed like the consideration for the youth and concern for their best interest were pushed aside to fulfill quotas. With the high level of stress this brought on staff, I as well as many others attempted to “Walk on” to find new alternative that would allow us to maintain our efforts, but were unsuccessful. With numerous failed attempts and meetings with admin that resulted in nothing more that frustration, I chose to “Walk out.” In walking out, I continued working with youth in an area that allows me to be a bigger part of the process where I can be more effective. Through this experience, I would say that the seven step process would be very close to the ways in which I addressed the concerns within the detention center prior to leaving and then after as I sought to empower the youth in my community. In part of this change process, I have also undertaken higher education to ensure that I can better meet the needs of those within my community and to strengthen myself so that I can work in situation were those I
An early model of progress created by Lewin portrayed change as a three-stage process. The primary stage he called "unfreezing". It included overcoming dormancy and disassembling the current "personality set". It must be some piece of surviving. Barrier systems must be circumventing. In the second stage the change happens. This is ordinarily a time of perplexity and move. We are mindful that the old ways are constantly tested yet we don 't have a reasonable picture with reference to what we are supplanting them with yet. The third and last stage he called "solidifying". The new attitude is solidifying and one 's solace level is coming back to past levels