Organizational Change – A Risk Every Project Manager Will Have to Take

changeThe truth is that there are quite a few things that you will have to take into account as a successful project manager. We live in an incredibly dynamic environment. Staying in touch with trends is something particularly important. This is where the concept of organizational change comes into the picture.

Organizational change is a particularly fundamental approach which ensures that your enterprise or organization is going to remain relevant; or even perform better in the ever-changing environment. The truth is: company which is able to manage the change properly is going to enhance its relevance and productivity. On the other hand, if you fail at accommodating the relevant models of organizational change, your enterprise is going to become particularly unproductive, dysfunctional and more or less irrelevant.

Of course, it’s also worth noting that if the change itself isn’t managed professionally, the company is going to suffer losses of opportunities, finances as well as performance and productivity over time. That’s why there are quite a few things that need analysis. First, there are different types of the aforementioned organizational change, so let’s take a quick look.

Common Types

The entire institute is actually a process of transitioning from established to diverse and rather new ways of working, behaving and thinking as a whole. With this in mind, there are three different types to take into account and they include:

  • Transformational –this particular type of organizational change entails fundamental alterations in mindset, culture, identity and strategy. That’s why it’s commonly called disruptive and discontinuous change.
  • Transitional –this type of change requires you to transition from an old to a new state. It suggests activities which are going to overtake the old once as a replacement. The majority of teachings focus on this particular type of organizational change.
  • Developmental –developmental change requires you to refine, enhance or improve something which already exists.

These are the main types for organizational change. It is the project manager’s duty to identify the most appropriate, beneficial and resourceful strategy. That’s not an easy task. This is always something particularly risky when it comes to it and you need to approach it with tremendous amounts of care and preparation. This step requires involvement from every team member on board.

Areas of focus

Now, when discussing organizational change and the risks that it poses as well as methods of handling those risks, it’s also important to note that there are focus areas which are particularly important. Just as the types of organizational change, there are three main areas of focus that you would need to place a strong emphasis on. Let’s take a look.

  1. Identify what needs to change within your organization. This means that you need to lay down your options in terms of process, structure, habits, way of thinking, culture, strategy or technology, for instance.
  2. The second area of focus requires you to identify the processes which you need to execute in order for the change to occur in the organization. There are different considerations such as, for instance, who is going to direct and who is going respond for the different aspects of the organizational change.
  3. This area requires the project manager to identify the way in which different dynamics between people are going to affect the process. At the same time, it’s important to identify how the change is going to impact the people as well – both are equally important.

With this in mind, companies are establishing best practices which are conceptual and are applicable in different organizations. There is most certainly no “best approach” towards this particular type of management as every enterprise is highly individual. It requires thorough analysis and understanding of different specifications. However, there are fundamental factors which are critical to properly get through a proper process of organizational change.

Factors

First:the pm needs to establish a transparent and obvious requirement for change. Two-way communication about the same should be present as well. This is essential.

Second:the management approach needs to be perfectly structured. In the best case scenario, this is done through collaboration with people involved, with the changed and the impacted by it. This entails the entire process, not only the outcome of the change.

Third:the campaign needs dedicated resources. This doesn’t only mean funds – it also entails appropriate usage of human resources, time and skills.

Fourth:thorough participation and engagement of the employees.

These are the fundamental practices that a PM will need to implement when undertaking the challenging process of organizational change. However, they are also going to guarantee that entire endeavor goes smoothly and as intended. This is going to allow the PM to properly navigate the approaches towards achieving the designated goals. It is something particularly important.

With all this, many companies realize the importance of organizational change. Once the need presents itself, the PM needs to implement the necessary transitions. The opposite would leave the latter in a stalemate which is only going to harm it in the long run.

Contributed byhttp://www.primaverareader.com/

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