Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change

Question: Discuss about the Tools and Techniques of Organizational Change. Answer: Introduction In the present epoch of globalization, the business organizations have to adapt themselves to the dynamic business environment and the market situation. Several times, when the companies need to undertake new projects or enter into different stream they have to adapt themselves or change the internal operations. This change could be in terms of job roles, business processes, organization structure or the use of technology. The companies implement change to seize new opportunity, address different issues or improve the productivity or the performance of the organization. However, in most of the changes, the employees have to modify or adapt their operations or working method. Therefore, the organization changes often meet with the employee resistance and similar challenges (Cameron and Green, 2015). If the employees cannot transition with the changes properly the change remains unsuccessful and cannot deliver the desired results. Along with it, in the unsuccessful implementation of th e change, the employees becomes stressed which results in loss of productivity. Therefore, the business enterprises develop several intervention techniques to control the negative impact of the change process in the organization. This discipline is called the change management which deals with the preparation and supporting the implementation of the new changes (Cameron and Green, 2015). The change management approaches supports the employees and the organization to embrace the change and streamline it in the current operations of the organization. Westpac, Singapore is an International Bank with headquarters in Australia which is trying to bring more than 40% of women in the senior management position. It is a significant change in the organization structure of the company and it needs appropriate change management approaches to smoothly implement the change. In this regard, the following report will provide a brief description of the organization and its external and internal environment. In the context of the external and the internal environment, an appropriate change management framework is proposed and in the subsequent section, the impact of the change on the organization and the employees is examined. Overview of the Organization and the Industry Westpac is the Australias first bank and has a long history of operating nearly 200 years in Australia. In Asia, the banking organization is active for the last forty years. In Asia, the headquarters of the company are located in Singapore and the regional offices are situated in the cities of Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing. It provides services in the field of institutional and client management, foreign exchange, debt markets, wealth management commodities and transactional banking. Over the last few years, the bank has been ranked consistently as the most sustainable banking organization across the world by the Dow and Jones sustainability ranking. It shows that the sustainability practices of the company are deep embedded in its working environment. The company practices the sustainability methods in its business processes, culture and operations. The company has the workforce of about 40,000 employees and they are all focused to deliver value to the customers besides co ntributing to the community (Westpac, 2016). External analysis of the Westpac The external environment of the Westpac Bank is examined through the PEST framework wherein the external environment is assessed by the political, economic, social and technological factors. In Singapore, the relative ratio of the women in senior leadership positions is relatively low; hence the government is encouraging the companies to recruit women in middle and low levels. Along with it, the government is also trying to increase the flexibility in the working environment so that the women trying to take a time back to focus on families are welcomed again in the corporates (Vaswani, 2015). The Singapore government also regulates the banking entities operating in Singapore. All the foreign banks are required to maintain a proportion of their assets in the local branch. They are also required to follow workplace ethics and workforce diversity norms in the country. In the 2015 budget, the Singapore government has also assisted the companies to retain the older employees and mother, fund their working arrangements and skill acquisition (Au-Yong, 2015). Economic: The economic conditions in Singapore are the most ideal for the business development and growth. It is one of the most open economies with the least corruption index. It has a high per-capita GDP and growing middle class. Therefore, the economic conditions of the country are ideal for the banking organizations. There is a highly educated workforce and the company can achieve competitive advantage by diversified workforce including both women and men. Social: In the corporate culture in Singapore, the progress of women is often hindered. The working hour in the country is high and the work-life balance is low. It prevents many women to pursue the corporate career. They are of the perception that either they can pursue family life or corporate life. The women, who have taken a temporary break from the organizations to concentrate on family life, face several problems while resuming their career. Technology: In terms of technology, Singapore is a fairly advanced country. Westpac, Singapore has adequate resources to integrate best technical infrastructure in the organization. Internal Environment Assessment The company was founded in Australia and is the first and the leading bank in the country. The company has imbibed strong sustainability principles and promoted inclusion of the diversification in the workforce. In Australia, the company has been successful in implementing diversification and around half of the workforce comprises of women. The company put great emphasis on diversification which has resulted in the success of the organization and innovation in the company. With the diversification, the company brings different perspectives, capabilities, insight and experiences in the company. Moreover, the vision of the company focuses in providing best services to the companies, customers and communities. With regard to the services, the company has developed strategy to provide excellent customer services to the customers. Along with it, the company is also focusing on the market of Asia which is a growing market in the present. By operating in the Asian region, the company also a ddresses the customer needs of the Australian customers who are trading in this region. The strategic vision of the company is high and it maintains a strict discipline to achieve its objectives. In order to provide seamless customer service to all the customers, the company adopted digitalization in all its operations (Westpac Banking Corporation, 2016). Proposed CHANGE Management framework With the constant evolution of the business objectives and changes in the marketplace, it is important to introduce change in the organization with appropriate strategies. The change management is an important discipline that ensures that the changes are thoroughly implemented and expected outcomes are realized. The change management approach encompasses the wider implications of the change and the strategies required to move the organization from the current state to the desired state (Paton and McCalman, 2008). In the present case, the strategic objective of the company is to create diversification in the workforce and increase the number of women employees in leadership roles to 40%. In this regard, the company can adopt the change management framework given by Kurt Lewis. In this model, the change process is differentiated in three stages, namely, unfreeze, change and refreeze. The three stages of the proposed change are described below: Unfreeze: In this stage, the organization is prepared for the change. The employees and all the stakeholders are notified the necessity of the change. The management and the change management team develop strategies to implement the change. In this stage, it is important to state why the current attitudes, strategies and beliefs are not adequate to meet the expected outcomes and why the changes are needed. It is expected that the employees will encounter the situation of uncertainty. In an organization, there are several forces which are striving to maintain the current status of the organization; the management can present a provocative problem so that the people recognize the need for change. In the current situation, Westpac, Singapore is required to increase the number of female employees in the organization to increase diversity in the workforce. It is important since it is one of the primary strategic objective of the organization as well as inclusion of diversification is important for fostering innovation and growth of the organization. With respect to the situation, the primary drivers of the change are the management and the human resource department. It is important that the HR department and the management communicate with the employees the desired changes, its implication for them as well as the benefits. Transition: This is the second stage of thee change management model. It is the most critical stage as in this stage, the organization transitions from its previous state to the current state. In this step, the organization takes all the necessary steps and the actions for the implementation of the change. It is the stage where the change becomes real and the employees struggle with the new system and approaches. During this time, the stress, uncertainty and fear occur among the employees that creates resistance and chaotic situation in the workplace. Moreover, in this situation, the employees begin to learn new behavior, processes and systems and adopt them. It is important in this situation, to prepare the employees for the change by communicating with them and supporting them in this transition process (Reiss, 2012). The management and the HR department of Westpac, Singapore will also take the appropriate actions to increase the number of women in the leadership position. It should initiate the recruitment procedure to enroll women in junior and middle-level leadership roles. Refreezing: It is the last stage of the change management process, in this stage the change is reinforced and stabilized in the organization. The changes start to show in the organization structure and processes. The changes are institutionalized in the everyday working of the organization and the changes processes are stabilized in the organization. In the present context, Westpac, Singapore will implement several changes in the organization. The number of women in the workforce will increase and the senior women employees will achieve the leadership positions. It will show a drastic change for the male employees as well as the junior employees as their colleagues will change. The staff has to report to the women employees and adjust to their leadership style which might raise resistance from the employees. There will be an increased pressure in the human resource department to recruit appropriate female candidates for the senior positions. In this stage, it is important for the management to a cknowledge the efforts and contributions of the people who are significant in bringing change in the organization. The female employees in leadership position should also be supported by using appropriate strategies. Discussion on the Impact of the Change on the Organization and the Employees Whenever the change is introduced in the organization, a major challenge is to combat the negative effects of the change on the organization as well as the employees. The change affects the organization in several ways. For instance, the change results in the loss of self-confidence, confusion and conflicts. During the change, several processes occur about which the employees have little knowledge due to which they have difficulty in conducting day-to-day tasks. As a result, the employees feel incompetent and powerless. The changes also results in modification in the regular routine of the employees and confusion (Cameron and Green, 2015). The most important challenge is to combat conflicts and resistance from the employees. The employees get to attached to their old working habits and norms and find it difficult to adopt new business processes. In the present situation, Westpac, Singapore will also sustain several impacts due to the changes in the organization structure. In Singapor e, the employees give little emphasis to diversity and inclusion and promote male employees in the corporate ladder. Therefore, it will be difficult to change the perception of the employees and encourage them to embrace inclusion. Along with it, in Singapore, the women prefer to concentrate on the family after a certain age. It is due to excessively long working hours and the workplace culture wherein the men are promoted over men. The women also have several family pressures and commitments outside workplace which provoke them to abandon their jobs. In regard to the leadership roles, the women are not provided adequate support from the senior management which results in them second guessing their talent (HRM Asia, 2016). Recommendations to Tackle the Issues of Employee Resistance The primary reaction of the employees in change is resistance. The introduction of the change is uncomfortable and requires learning new approaches and technology. Therefore, the employees remain uncomfortable in adopting new approaches and rather stick by the older ones. It can be stated that the change introduces a situation of uncertainty an anxiety. In this situation, the best approach to manage change is accepting the employee resistance as the normal reaction to the situation. During the scenarios of the change, the most accommodating and supportive employees show resistance to learning new methods and technology. Along with it, the management of Westpac, Singapore can create a trusting, employee-oriented and supportive environment for the change (Finch, 2011). The company must introduce the strategy of communication to manage the change. In this strategy, the management should communicate the need of change to the staff and support the employees with the change. The change is best-accepted in the environment where the perception that a change is urgently needed is established. If the management is not convinced about the rationale and the need for the change, he will not be able to convince the employees. The employees should also be asked to join in the endeavor to bring change to obtain the maximum support from the employees. Conclusion It can be concluded that the change management is a significant discipline in the present dynamic business environment. Change management refers to all the approaches and the strategies that are focused on successful implementation of the change. Westpac, Singapore is a multinational banking organization with headquarters in Australia and manly deals with Australian subcontinent and Asia. The strategic objectives of the company include the policy of enhancing diversification and inclusion in the workplace. In this regard, in the Australian branch, the 50% of the workforce is of women. The company is targeting same in the Singapore. However, there are certain external factors such as the social perception of the people who discourage women from working. The company can implement the Lewins change management framework to implement the change in the organization. The company can implement the changes in three stages, namely, unfreezing, transition and refreezing. In the change implement ation process, the companies encounter employee resistance. It can be encountered by communicating with the employees regarding the need of change and creting an inducing environment for the change. References Cameron, E. and Green, M. (2015). 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