Is Management A Transformational Change? Essay

As Northouse (2015) explained, transformational leadership is a process that can change and transform the emotions, values, ethics, standard, and long term goals of the people. It also involves transforming followers to accomplish more than what is expected of them. The four factors that are closely associated with transformational leadership includes being an idealized influence or charisma leaders who act as strong role models, have a high standard of moral and ethical conduct, and deeply respected by his or her followers. A leader who can inspire and motivate their followers to be part of a shared vision of the organization. A leader who can also stimulate followers to become more creative and innovative, and provide the necessary coaches and advice to the followers (p.167).

There are many models of leadership that exist across a range of fields (e.g. social work, education, psychology, business, etc.). The ability to transform an organization successfully requires a different set of attitudes and skills. Transformational leadership is an approach where a leader utilizes inspiration, charisma, individualized attention, and intellectual stimulation with their employees (Iachini, Cross, & Freedman, 2015, p. 651). Transformational leadership helps to clarify organizational vision, inspires employees to attain objectives, empowers employees, encourages employees to take risks, and advocates the seeking of alternative solutions to challenges in the workplace (Transformational Leadership, 2015). It allows the leader to engage and motivate each follower identify with the organization’s values and goals.

A Transformational Leader is a person who assesses a country, or organization/company, and recognizes the need for a change in the entity and is able to envision what this change should be. The transformational leader not only envisions the necessary change but has the required personality and strength of character that will enable them to influence others to buy into their vision and make it their own, and hence be willing to follow the leader in the quest to bring about the vision.

Transformational leaders engage with other people and create a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and follower. A transformational leader can protect herself or himself from the temptation to rely on their own thoughts, ideas, and actions by being open minded and consider

Transformational leadership needs to be fostered at all levels in the firm. In order to succeed, the firm needs to have the flexibility to forecast and meet new demands and changes as they occur —and only transformational leadership can enable the firm to do so (Bass, 1990, p. 31).

The book The Heart of Change shows the practical side of the theories that are taught in the course textbook. It presents stories of successes and failures based in the application of concepts discussed in Organizational Behavior and Management and in class. Although we talked about several different concepts the ones that are evident in the examples in The Heart Of Change are the more progressive and individual centered approaches. The leadership characteristics that are important to successful change in an organization are those that are espoused in the transformational theory of management. It makes sense that ideals in line with the transformational management theory

Transformational leaders lead by example and provide a sense of mission/vision that is meaningful and exciting. When staff are excited about a vision, they are more likely to collaborate, share the responsibility, and move forward to assure the vision is successful (Al-Sawai, 2013).

It is common knowledge by now that change is inevitable. It is everywhere around us. Change can be fun, for example when a new version of the iPhone comes out. However, when change affects what we do everyday, there usually is a lot of skepticism and resistance to change involved. Apple employees were sure to feel enormous pressure as the sales of iPhones skyrocketed. To implement change on an organizational scale it is always a good idea to have a framework for building upon. Using change models can guide leaders through organizational changes and help pave their way to the future. This article discusses and

There are numerous opinions and methods available that detail how change should be implemented. Once commonly found method was written by a teacher at Harvard Business School John Kotter. He presents an eight-stage change transform process surrounding the most common errors that companies make. In order for a model for change to be successful, it should have a clear vision and communicate the process and objective clearly. Kotter (2007) defined his process as follows:

There are many different strategies of change for the different organizations of today. Initiating changes to an organization, whether it’s a small change or a system wide change it can make many feel uncomfortable. There are many theories about how to complete the change. Some begin with leadership and change management. In addition, you can follow eight steps for leading change that will guide the leader on how to go about delivering it. These steps are create urgency, form a powerful coalition, create a vision for change, communicate the vision, remove obstacles, create short-term wins, and build on the change (Thompson, 2012). I like the eight-step process that was introduced by John Kotter in the book Leading Change in his 1995 book.

The best way to summarize this book is to dissect it into three parts. In part one the book discusses the change problem and its solution. This part focuses on two main topics; 1) Transforming organizations and why firms fail and 2) successful change and the force that drives it. Part two discusses the eight stage process in transforming an organization. Finally, in part three the book discusses the implications for the twenty –first century. Identifying the change problem can be difficult but driving solution is even more challenging.

Transformational leaders strive for furthering the vision and mission of the organization, following the rules and values of the organization, yet still promote engagement and innovative revisions to improve the organization. Any successful changes that happen within an organization are heavily dependent on the effectiveness of the leadership of the organization. Additionally, this style fosters a growth for new and upcoming leaders in the individuals within the organization.

* What factors does a leader in this organization need to consider to implement a change strategy successfully? Describe at least two change models the leader might employ. Evaluate the communication necessary to implement change using these models.

Transformational leaders are able to inspire employees to work towards a common goal by changing their expectations, motivation and perception of why they are doing the work. Transformational leaders cultivate a commitment from their employees, which encourages them to put aside self-interest to work

Change management defined by Weiss (2001) as cited in Hughes 2006 P: 11) involves the transfer of information, status, influence, authority and power as described by some researchers. Over the years, Lewin (1952) has suggested one of the various management strategies for ensuring effective change in an organization. The management strategies are usually classified into a three staged process which is: Moving, Unfreezing and Refreezing (Senior & Swailes 2010). In the Moving stage, the opinions of the organization are heavily emphasized and implemented while on the unfreezing stage change appears to be integral and encompasses the opinions of different people in the organization involved in its daily operations. Lastly, the refreezing state is all about ensuring stability by issuing training systems and support groups to enhance the new and desired behaviors among the employees. (Burns 2004 cited in Hayes 2007)