ABSTRACT
The issue of change has always been a recurring one in organization. Management has always had problems in initiating change in organizations because employees prefer to stick to the old method of doing things. This project took a look at five firms to examine how change can be managed in these organizations while also getting the employee involved in the change process. In achieving this objective, a number of research tools were employed such as the questionnaire, oral interviews etc. In the course of this study, the researcher discovered that though employees would most times resist change, that there were processes to be taken in order to reduce this resistance to change, one of which was to ensure employee involvement in the change process. It was conclusively deduced that managing change is a dynamic process which requires being constantly tuned in to what is happening around and monitoring the process carefully. This study recommended that for effective change process in organizations, top management must be committed to the change process; and most importantly the parties that would be affected by the change must be involved in the change process thus resistance to change will be reduced. It is the belief of the researcher that this study will become a reference tool for managing change in organizations.
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Change is pervasive in our society and a fact of life in organisations. The impetus to change comes from the environment. Change is about survival and it is especially necessary in organisations that wish to prosper in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment. Powerful forces in the environment are pressuring public and private organisations to alter permanently existing structures, policies and practices (Ezigbo, 2011:177).
Organisational change is about making alterations to the organisation’s purpose, culture, structure and processes in response to seen or anticipated changes in the environment. Management of change is all about identifying and embedding in the organisation those changes that will ensure the long term survival of the organisation.
Change affects every aspect of life, thus taking a proactive approach to change is the only way to take charge of the future, either as an individual or as an organisation. For organisations, changes are the way to stay competitive and to grow. Managers introduce change to solve organisational problems such as low productivity, laissez-faire attitude, conflicts, etc (Heller, 1998:7).
Change and Change management are concepts that have in recent times assumed greater importance in organisations; this is because Change remains the most certain phenomenon in the life of an organisation. In this regard, organisations must consciously plan for managing Change if the benefits to be derived are to be maximized. In various organisations, there are both internal and external forces to change. Internal forces to change are those which come from within the organisation for which there is reasonable measure of control,
External forces to changes are those which come from outside the organisation for which the organisation has little or no measure of control.
Managing change is a persistent challenge which must be met in order to promote progressive organisational performance, since this is so, a strategic manager must develop sensory networks, select the type of change, create the vision, alert the organisation, communicate the vision, create a sense of the urgency, manage the planning and execution process, empower others to act on the vision, plan to overcome resistance, consolidate improvements and institutionalize change.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Since change in organisations is inevitable, coping with change in business organisations can be one of the most difficult aspects in the life of an organisation. Organisations have had to fold up or become less competitive because they refused to change with the industry trend. Managing change in organisations has proven to be difficult especially among the employees as they have the fear of being sidelined once the change process is completed. A good example is when an organisation sees the need to do away with manual operations and computerize the workings of the Organisation. This will make those involved in using the manual system of operation to resist the change to computerization for fear of being sidelined or fear of not being competent to handle computerized operations. The problem here is that, top management does not carry out adequate preparations to usher in Organisational change. Most organisations do not develop a pro-learning orientation among employees which in turn closes the communication channels between the employees and top management. Organisations do not also develop a resilient workforce or educate the work force about the fundamentals of Organisational change process. This leads to mistrust, feeling of threat to core skills and competency, fear of failure, etc among the employees.
Management levels in organisations fail to understand the process of change thus leading to poor management of the change process. Change in an organisation should follow a process such that at the end little or no resistance is shown by the employees; this will inadvertently mean involving the employees and those to be affected by the change in the formulation of the change process.
Change in an organisation indirectly means change for the people in it. It is therefore natural that some will welcome the change; some will resist the change, while others will remain indifferent. Individuals at every level of the organisation are potentially liable to feel threatened by change, and thus change must be “sold” to those affected by it. Organisational change effort has to energize people (employees) to embrace something they ordinarily will not do; hence the issue of how well change is managed in Nigeria organisations becomes an important point of consideration. This research understudies how change is managed in Stallionet Nigeria and Platonica Architects, Oak Pensions Limited, Community Pulse Newspapers and Anchor Insurance Company Limited, all firms in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study are to ascertain:
1. Why change is needed in organisations.
2. The proper process of managing Organisational change.
3. Why employees mostly resist change in organisations.
4. How resistance to change can be reduced.
5. The extent to which employee participation in Organisational change enhances effectiveness in the change programs.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
To achieve the objectives laid out for this study, the following questions need to be answered:
1. Why is change needed in organisations?
2. What are the proper methods or steps for managing organisational change?
3. Why do employees resist change in organisations?
4. What measures can be adopted to reduce or overcome resistance to change in organisations?
5. To what extent does employee participation in organisational change enhance effectiveness in the change process?
1.5 HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY
To provide tentative answers to the research questions above, the following hypotheses will be tested.
(1) Ho: Change is not needed in organisations to improve the organisation’s ability to meet and satisfy customers’ need.
H1: Change is needed in organisations to improve the organisation’s ability to meet and satisfy customers’ need.
(2) Ho: The proper method for managing Organisational change is for management not to involve employees in the change process.
H1: The proper method for managing Organisational change is for management to ensure employee involvement in the change process.
(3) Ho: Employees do not resist change due to fear, mistrust, misunderstanding, different assessment of the situation, and poor communication system.
H1: Employees resist change due to fear, mistrust, misunderstanding, different assessment of the situation, and poor communication system.
(4) Ho: Education, participation in the change process, negotiation and cooperation are not measures to be adopted by management to reduce employee resistance to change.
H1: Education, participation in the change process, negotiation and cooperation are measures to be adopted by management to reduce employee resistance to change.
(5) Ho: Employee participation in Organisational change does not enhance effectiveness in the change process.
H1: Employee participation in Organisational change enhances effectiveness in the change process.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This research work on managing change in Nigerian organisations will benefit the firms under study, researchers who intend to study further on the aspect of managing Organisational change, management and employees of various organisations as it will help them understand how Organisational change should be initiated and implemented to ensure a successful change process.This work will also outline measures to be taken to ensure that employees embrace the change to be intiated in an organisation and that resistance to change is reduced to the barest minimum in organisations.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study on managing change in Nigerian organisations focuses on the concept of change management, the processes of initiating change in organisations, how to reduce resistance to change by employees, and the actual implementation of change. This study is delimited to five firms in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State; namely: Stallionet Nigeria, Platonica Architects, Anchor Insurance Company Limited, Pulse Newspaper Corporation, and Oak Pensions Limited.The period years 2000-2010 cover the aspect dealing with our data for statistical analysis.
1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The major limitations facing this study include:
TIME: There was limited time to gather relevant information for the study.
FINANCE: Lack of adequate finances to embark on an in-depth study also posed a limitation to the study.
ATTITUDE OF RESPONDENTS: The indifference of respondents towards the questionnaire also posed a limitation to the study as some of them rejected the questionnaire, while some failed to return the questionnaire for fear of their responses being used against them in the future.
1.9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Management: This is referred to as the process of planning, organising, leading and controlling the work of the organisation members and of using all available organisational resources to reach stated organisational goals (Ezigbo, 2011:4).
2. Change: To change something implies altering it, varying or modifying it in some way (Cole, 2004:204).
3. Organisation: An organisation is a social unit, an independent entity formed to achieve specific and definite goals.
4. Resistance: This refers to refusal to comply with a new innovation. It is a negative attitude of work force against a change process.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
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