The Learning Organisation

Leading and managing change require a solid theoretical foundation. This assignment will research the theoretical elements of change and change management. Addressed will be the following: Organic Evolution of Change, Formulating Strategic Development Approaches, Leadership and Management Skills and Gathering and Analyze Data. As societies continue to evolve and changing demand creates the need for new products and services, businesses often are forced to make changes to stay competitive. The businesses that continue to survive and even thrive are usually the ones that most readily adapt to change. A variety of factors can cause a business to reevaluate its methods of operation. According to literature from the past two

Organizational change is not easy, but is an integral component that often allows the company and its employees to be prosperous. There are many ways to approach organizational change. Some are scientific theories like those stated in Organizational Behavior and Management (John Ivancevich) while others like John P. Kotter in “The Heart of Change,” believe it is just getting to the heart of your employees. If an organization today wants to be successful, they must understand why change is resisted and determine how to create a process to overcome this resistance

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.

This research work was designed to examine the who, how, and what of managing change in the workplace. The information selected was not segregated according to industry classification. Nor was the change categories specifically focused defined and researched. The study was also none geographical region specific. The data collected was not specific in respect to organization size of revenue or employees

Organisational learning and learning organisations have been the focus of a great deal of evaluation within management literature since the 1990’s (Senge, 1990; Michaux, 2002). This paper aims to define and critically evaluate the concept of a learning organisation by drawing on the writings of core authors to both support and demonstrate criticisms of the ‘learning organisation’ concept.

Change can be traumatic for people and can lead to loss of prestige, power, and sometimes employment. Organizations do not change just because new processes or structures have been implemented. Organizations change because the employees within the company have adapted. It is only when the employees have made their individual transitions will a company benefit. The journey toward change needs to be as easy as possible.

When addressing the workforce, change will have to be crafted in such a manner the employees who have been with the company for many years will accept the change and feel that they are a part of it. Additionally, the change will have to be done in such a manner that the new employees feel its progressive and addresses their need and desire for change. Also, the change needs to be implemented in such a manner that it incorporates innovation along with emerging technologies, means, and methods. As the concept of change is to do thing differently than how they have been done in the last, the leader of the organization will need to focus on sustained and measurable change that new and existing employees can embrace.

Managing change is important in seeking the final component of successfully managing strategy, process, people and culture in most modern organizations. More and more, staying competitive in the face of demographic trends, technological innovations, and globalization requires organizations to change at much higher rates than ever before. Few people will argue with this statement, but fewer still will say their organization does a good job at managing those changes. Managing change well is a continuous and ongoing combination of art and science that assures alignment of an organization¡¦s strategies, structures, and processes (Worley & Vick, 2005).

Changing situations throughout the world affect all organizations in business today. Therefore, most organizations acknowledge the need to experience change and transformation in order to survive. The key challenges companies face are due to the advancements in technology, the social environment caused by globalization, the pace of competition, and the demands regarding customer expectations. It is difficult to overcome the obstacles involved with change despite all the articles, books, and publications devoted to the topic. People are naturally resistant to fundamental changes and often intimidated by the process; the old traditional patterns and methods are no longer effective.

Five successful examples of a learning-based approach to organizational change were studied in order to identify some key success factors. All five change initiatives, in major manufacturing corporations, were guided and supported through the MIT Center for Organizational Learning . Following the change there were dramatic improvements in business results . This article examines several factors that made these change initiatives successful.

Organizational change is inevitable and it is important for companies to embrace and implement change without suffering severe consequences. Change can occur for several reasons, but first let’s discuss two different categories where change comes from. Change has two drivers: external and internal. Things such as laws, demographics, competition, or the economy drives external change; while internal change is driven by internal factors such as new management systems, increase in morale or the implementation of new technology. People naturally fear change and most will resist it. In order for a company to transition smoothly, it will need to do extensive planning from beginning to end. There are several steps a company can take to make the adjustment easier, starting with managing the change appropriately.

In view of the increasing global competition, an in increased in customer sophistication and the lowering of the potential to maintain competitive advantage through technology or economics, and the need for organization to survive in a changing global environment, organizations are now conscious that the only source of competitive advantage is the ability of such organizations to learn faster and smarter than their competitors. The concept of ‘learning organisation’ fits in the context and is more apt to bring the desired change. An organization facing uncertain, changing or ambiguous market conditions need to be able to adopt learning concepts. They must continuously learn to survive and adapt in this dynamic and competing environment in which they are operating. Organizations adopting this concept will be able to adapt to the rapid and continuous change. Consequently marked improvements on the competitive performance of the organization will be visible.

For any business in the rapidly evolving world of business, planning and implementing successful organizational change is indispensable. Essentially, organizational change refers to a process whereby an organization strives to optimize performance in order to achieve its ideal state characterized by high performance and profitability (Côté & Mayhew, 2014). Any business would be more likely to lose its competitive edge, as well as fail to meet the demands of its loyal consumers if it doesn’t plan and implement change. Weiss (2012) emphasizes that all organizations ought to embrace change, and it’s imperative to note that successful organizational change doesn’t involve simple process of adjustments; instead it requires appropriate change management capabilities.

Unfortunately, how organizational change will play out is unknown. Therefore, it is uncertainty which marks the period of transition. What can be affirmed is that successful management of change lies primarily in the users of the adopted change; those who are expected to change as well in a manner that justifies the necessity of new ideas(Kale, 2005). It would not be in any organization’s interest to sacrifice quality or to succumb to avoidable losses during this period.

Organizational change is one of the things that most organizations pass through as they develop over time. At times, the process of introducing change in the organizations is not always received well by most of the employees working in the organization (Poole & Van, 2004). As such, this paper will look at some of the best entry points for organizational change, a summary of the similarities of the models used in carrying out he change process and reasons why implementing change is difficult. The paper will also address of the main reasons why people are resistant to change as well as the proper means of overcoming these obstacles.