Organizational Decision Making Is A Strategic Process

The organizational decision making process involves proper and efficient implementation of strategic plans and methods to achieve desired business objective. Let's examine some key areas that affect the overall process.

Often one difficulty facing an organization is that multiple divisions are involved in the overall decision making process. Making a decision can have different implications for each respective division. Gaining agreement from all stakeholders can be a challenge. When a companies overall strategy depends on the support of all business units, organization wide support is crucial.

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Key strategic evaluation and planning is crucial. This planning needs to address the overall strategic goals of the organization but also the end effects that impact workers outside of the decision chain. Organizational dysfunction and worker resistance can result if proper thought and attention is not directed towards front line efforts. Organizational change professional deal specifically with these issues. Unifying the company at all levels is very important. A failure to calculate and anticipate the implications of key decisions can derail a companies goals and objectives.

Organizational Decision Making Is A Strategic Process

Organizational change management and planning processes seek to address the implications that a change in one input can have on the corresponding output. The evaluation and process evaluation that comprises part of the change management approach seeks to measure and anticipate the effect strategic decisions will have on company resources and labor. This permits the careful monitoring and benchmarking to adjust process as required to more closely align organizational objectives with desired outcomes.

With the businesses of today facing shortened product lifecycles, organizations are facing intense competitive pressures to build market share to stay ahead of rivals. Process changes, the introduction of new and improved disruptive technologies are forcing companies to adapt new business goals and objectives in shortened timeframes. This places corresponding stresses on all levels of the organization. As business units are forced to respond to top level management goals, flexibility has become a modern day requirement.

Organizational change management is a growing discipline to help managers become better positioned to understand how the decision making process can affect individuals at a cognitive level. Performance improvement is intimately linked to this. As companies transition into the future, change management is expected to become increasingly important.

Organizational Decision Making Is A Strategic Process

6 Management Strategies For Organizational Change Success

Human beings tend to resist anything they view as stressful, and let's face it, organizational changes are about as stressful as it can get!

For most of us, familiarity with our surroundings, our relationships and our working environment allows us to reside safely inside our comfort zone. And comfort equals security.

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But when our comfort zone is detonated by changes in management or organizational systems, we implode, seeking the shelter of our innate desire to resist, at all costs.

6 Management Strategies For Organizational Change Success

Changes that occur outside of our control force us to adapt to new rules, new systems and new policies which can, at the outset, make us feel uncomfortable and insecure.

However, a responsible and responsive management team can intercede before staff resistance spreads like the plague and threatens the smooth transition of organizational changes.

Effective team leaders acknowledge and understand that it is a basic human instinct to react to change with resistance, even though staff may fully comprehend the reasons why changes in the organization are vital to its existence and growth.

6 Management Strategies to Avert Resistance

1. A clear outline - Discomfort and insecurity arises when staff are not made aware of the policies, principles, guidelines and structure of intended changes. Every employee needs to know how his/her position will be affected and what his/her role requires.
2. Commitment -Implementation of organizational changes will not occur smoothly if everyone - from the CEO to the office clerk - is not committed to the project and its successful outcome.
3. Advocacy - Each member of an organization who may be affected by the impending changes must be given the opportunity to express his/her opinion.
4. Responsibility - It is the role of the team leader to ensure that each employee who is responsible for a component of the change strategy is held accountable for his/her actions in implementing the changes required.
5. Acknowledgement - Evaluation and acknowledgement of the success of the change strategy at regular intervals ensures its smooth implementation.
6. Flexibility - Management needs to adopt a flexible approach to each stage of development of a change strategy so that unforeseen contingencies can be implemented, if and where necessary.

It only takes one irresolute employee to destabilize an entire workforce, so periods of internal change within an organization require management to stay vigilant for any signs of rumblings or disapproval.

Long-standing employees can feel betrayed and rejected when changes are announced by management. They often experience a sense of loss, confusion, frustration and job insecurity. The plan for job advancement they have often calculated appears to be shot to pieces.

So they react with denial and resistance to the imminent changes.

Management's ability to recognize these patterns of behavior and work to overcome any resistance establishes how well they will accomplish organizational changes. Their willingness to invest in the support and training necessary is an integral factor in achieving a positive outcome.

Employees aren't the only ones who have to adapt to changes within the organization.

Top level managers generally bear the brunt of discontented staff from the ground up. Senior managers who have been instrumental in bringing about the changes within the organization often underestimate the impact those changes will have on their employees.

Unrealistic expectations of how their staff will react (or over-react!) often causes top level managers to retreat and isolate themselves from the problem when the impact of their proposed changes filter back to them.

However, they tend to lay the blame at the feet of middle management if employees resist or complain about the changes.

Middle management tend to carry the most stress during times of organizational change. They feel "trapped", unless they have exceptional leadership skills; besieged by resistant employees who look to them for guidance yet often denied direction and focus by top level management.

Those in middle management often find themselves acting as the arbiter during times of organizational upheaval.

However, organizational changes within a business often prove to be a suitable testing ground for leadership qualities; from the employees all the way through to top level management.

Those who possess the qualities that define a good leader often emerge during the stressful environment that usually accompanies change. This creates an ideal opportunity for potential leaders to display those qualities and be recognized accordingly.

6 Management Strategies For Organizational Change Success

AmericaHires360 - Dr. Woody, Organizational Psychologist & Author of The YOU Plan

AmericaHires360 - Dr. Woody, Organizational Psychologist & Author of The YOU Plan Tube. Duration : 28.55 Mins.

Michael "Dr. Woody" Woodward, PhD is a CEC certified professional coach trained in the field of organizational psychology. As a consultant and professional coach, Dr. Woody works with both private and corporate clients on career development and building management/leadership capacity. As an author and speaker, Dr. Woody focuses on the psychology of career engagement in the New Economy and how to make the transition from "player" to "coach" in the business world. Dr. Woody started DrWoody.com to address work-life issues and the notion of career entrepreneurialism in the New Economy. As part of this endeavour, Dr. Woody published his first book The YOU Plan: A 5-step Guide to Taking Charge of Your Career in the New Economy and he also writes a regular column for FoxBusiness.com.

Keywords: Dr Woody, Organizational Psychologist, The YOU Plan, America Hires Virtual Job Fair, americahires360, jobsdirectusa, Media Personality, Job Search, Careers, Business, Networking, New Economy, Work

Five Steps to Effectively Managing Organizational Change

An organization is, quite simply, any group of individuals who come together to try to achieve mutual goals by means of a division of labor. This is done by means of setting goals that will further the organization's growth and viability within the existing social and economic milieu as well as developing agreements among the people comprising the organization as to who will do what and when and under whose supervision and guidance.

When contemplating changing anything about these arrangements, it is well to be advised to start at the beginning of why and how this existing arrangement came to be and why it exists at the current time. After all, what has come to be accepted and observed as the standard operating procedures of an organization came about for good reasons and have been effective at achieving beneficial results for a period of time (perhaps a very long period of time). Altering an accepted, comfortable and heretofore useful way of doing things is challenging. The initial challenge that presents itself is fully comprehending and appreciating the foundational narrative of the organization and the collective experiences that members have shared since its inception. In other words, what of its past makes the organization tick today?

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After coming to a thorough understanding of what makes the current organization tick, there are five steps that need to be taken sequentially in order to effect effective change.

Five Steps to Effectively Managing Organizational Change

1. The first step to take in initiating change within any type of organization is to create acute awareness of how things are now and how this state of affairs falls short of accomplishing stated goals and objectives. This can be done by disseminating occasional "state of the organization" reports as well as holding brief, but frequent, "progress report" meetings within each department and/or subgroup.

2. The second step is to nurture understanding that something must be done to change the current situation. Solicitation of input from coworkers regarding what can be done to change things follows logically from the understanding that something should be done. "Input equals buy-in" and those who contribute their ideas on how their organization should change have a strong investment in making that change happen.

3. Next, although people may provide suggestions as to how to change, unless there is a sense of urgency to do so, change will be perceived merely as a concept rather than a process that needs to be started immediately. Once change is understood as needing to be accomplished, a positive perception of what it will look like, both in terms of the transition process and the "finished product," needs to be fostered and fed by constant communication about the shared vision of the future and the specific ways everyone will individually benefit in that new reality.

4. On the way to making the changed environment and operating procedures "stick" and stay feasible throughout the organization, there needs to be a well-thought-out program to ensure the actual adoption of the changes in the way things are done. Rewarding those who perform in the new ways and telling the stories of how their results better meet the current needs and accomplish the goals of the organization will go a long way to moving all members toward behaving in the "new and better" way.

5. Once adopted as "the way things are done around here" change can be seen as having been institutionalized within the organization and established as the new standard for performance and measurement of success, recognition and reward. Continue to solicit feedback on the new ways and request still other ways members can improve their respective job tasks to achieve even greater levels of efficiency. The idea is to leverage the experience and ideas of those who do the job to improve the job on a continuous basis. Institutionalizing new and improved ways of doing things in an organization is an ongoing process. In other words, managing organizational change means to continually insist on change for the better.

Knowing the roots of the organization, where and when it arose and how it's progressed over time, and then engaging in the five steps to initiating and managing organizational change, you will successfully guide your organization through its transition from where it is now to where it needs to be for greater effectiveness and better results.

Five Steps to Effectively Managing Organizational Change

Five Steps to Effectively Managing Organizational Change

An organization is, quite simply, any group of individuals who come together to try to achieve mutual goals by means of a division of labor. This is done by means of setting goals that will further the organization's growth and viability within the existing social and economic milieu as well as developing agreements among the people comprising the organization as to who will do what and when and under whose supervision and guidance.

When contemplating changing anything about these arrangements, it is well to be advised to start at the beginning of why and how this existing arrangement came to be and why it exists at the current time. After all, what has come to be accepted and observed as the standard operating procedures of an organization came about for good reasons and have been effective at achieving beneficial results for a period of time (perhaps a very long period of time). Altering an accepted, comfortable and heretofore useful way of doing things is challenging. The initial challenge that presents itself is fully comprehending and appreciating the foundational narrative of the organization and the collective experiences that members have shared since its inception. In other words, what of its past makes the organization tick today?

Transition Coaching

After coming to a thorough understanding of what makes the current organization tick, there are five steps that need to be taken sequentially in order to effect effective change.

Five Steps to Effectively Managing Organizational Change

1. The first step to take in initiating change within any type of organization is to create acute awareness of how things are now and how this state of affairs falls short of accomplishing stated goals and objectives. This can be done by disseminating occasional "state of the organization" reports as well as holding brief, but frequent, "progress report" meetings within each department and/or subgroup.

2. The second step is to nurture understanding that something must be done to change the current situation. Solicitation of input from coworkers regarding what can be done to change things follows logically from the understanding that something should be done. "Input equals buy-in" and those who contribute their ideas on how their organization should change have a strong investment in making that change happen.

3. Next, although people may provide suggestions as to how to change, unless there is a sense of urgency to do so, change will be perceived merely as a concept rather than a process that needs to be started immediately. Once change is understood as needing to be accomplished, a positive perception of what it will look like, both in terms of the transition process and the "finished product," needs to be fostered and fed by constant communication about the shared vision of the future and the specific ways everyone will individually benefit in that new reality.

4. On the way to making the changed environment and operating procedures "stick" and stay feasible throughout the organization, there needs to be a well-thought-out program to ensure the actual adoption of the changes in the way things are done. Rewarding those who perform in the new ways and telling the stories of how their results better meet the current needs and accomplish the goals of the organization will go a long way to moving all members toward behaving in the "new and better" way.

5. Once adopted as "the way things are done around here" change can be seen as having been institutionalized within the organization and established as the new standard for performance and measurement of success, recognition and reward. Continue to solicit feedback on the new ways and request still other ways members can improve their respective job tasks to achieve even greater levels of efficiency. The idea is to leverage the experience and ideas of those who do the job to improve the job on a continuous basis. Institutionalizing new and improved ways of doing things in an organization is an ongoing process. In other words, managing organizational change means to continually insist on change for the better.

Knowing the roots of the organization, where and when it arose and how it's progressed over time, and then engaging in the five steps to initiating and managing organizational change, you will successfully guide your organization through its transition from where it is now to where it needs to be for greater effectiveness and better results.

Five Steps to Effectively Managing Organizational Change

Change, Transition, and Organizational Progress: What Does It All Mean?

Contents:

1. A Basic Human Need

Transition Coaching

2. There Are Two Kinds of Change

Change, Transition, and Organizational Progress: What Does It All Mean?

3. How to Take Charge of Change

4. The Three Phases of Change

5. Transition and Organizational Progress: What is the difference between change and transition?

6. Transition and Enterprise Integration: The Three Areas and Four Components of Organizational Structure

7. The Strategic Plan and Implementation Blueprint: No Doubt Contracting
_________________________________________________

Alfred North Whitehead wrote that "the art of progress is to preserve order amidst change and to preserve change amidst order."

1. A Basic Human Need

Change is a fact of life! The only thing that doesn't change is change. Consequently, it is also a fact of life that human beings are always dealing with change in some form at every stage of their lives. Change, in fact, is a basic human need. Change is really nothing more than movement from one state of being to another. Without movement - physical, physiological, biological, mental, spiritual, emotional - human beings would simply stop functioning and human existence, as we experience it, would cease. Change is the natural means to both improvement and deterioration. To a large extent, human beings have a choice in what the results of change will be.

2. There are two kinds of change:

Natural Change: change that occurs without cognitive human intervention and that takes place in a natural way, such as weather and the changing of the seasons.

Designed Change: change that occurs as a result of cognitive human intervention and that takes place as a result of changing the environment to reflect human thought; this kind of change is governed by human intention and perceived need rather than by natural conditions.

The human experience of change is exactly the same in both natural and designed change. The reason is that all change in the environment provokes the same kinds of emotions about one's ability to adapt to and survive in the altered conditions. The initial human reaction to change is fear - fear of loss of something and the fear that what is lost will not be replaced by something of a greater value that will increase predictability and sustain life.

3. How to Take Charge of Change

Regardless of the type of change that occurs, there exists a basic human need to experience the change process as being well-ordered and safe rather than chaotic and dangerous. Without this experience of ordered and safe change before, during and after any transition the human element of the organization cannot fully participate in productive contribution to positive change. It is imperative to identify and remove existing and potential risks that can inhibit the successful execution of any strategic change initiative.

Like it or not, change happens continually in your life and in your organization. As Whitehead's comment indicates, the only way to make change work in your favor is to take charge of the change process. When you do this, you use the change process as a means to design the future you intend rather than passively allow the changing environment to present you with limited options and narrowed choices for meaningful action.

How can you "take charge of change" so as to make it happen in your favor and to make it "ordered?" There are several points to be considered in answering this question:

- Change is conceived as an event (something which happens at a particular moment in time and at a specific place or places).

- Change is experienced as a process; this process is called "transition."

- Because transition is a process, it can be managed.

How well the transition is managed will determine if change is remembered as a positive or negative experience. The remembrance of previous changes is the basis of motivation for or the resistance against future changes. Assessing the level of "change readiness" is a critical first step in determining the level of support and interest in changing from the current state of affairs. How has change been experienced in the past by those who will be responsible for and who will be affected by changes in the present? The answer to this question will help you determine if some "pre-work" on "stage-setting" is needed to prepare the organization for a successful transition. This step is a part of an overall "Transition Risk Analysis" that will help you determine what the transition facilitators and inhibitors are within your organization.

Effective change implementation management skills are necessary for all managers in any organization. These skills are essential to the strategic achievement of an organization's mission and goals. These skills can be learned and continually refined. The better these skills are learned, refined and implemented on a proactive basis, the more the process of change becomes a competitive advantage for the organization.

4. The Three Phases of Change

There are three phases of change:

- Letting Go

- Transition

- New Beginning

Change for the better always involves these three stages. If they are not gone through in succession, the resulting change will not be for the better. Focusing on helping your organization let go of the past, transition through the change and begin together to move in a new direction is the pathway for creating improvement, increased productivity and job satisfaction. This is the journey of change. In short, the process of transitioning needs to be seen as a strategic element of the organization's development and growth.

5. Transition and Organizational Progress

What Do I Mean by "Transition?"

Transition is: "The process through which an existing circumstance, condition or relationship (real or imagined) is acted on in a manner that produces a new and different circumstance, condition or relationship."

What Do I Mean by "Progress?"

Progress is achieved when the "new and different circumstance, condition and/or relationship" is better able to help the individual or organization realize their personal and/or corporate vision and mission. An individual or organization progresses by effectively managing the process of transitioning from one state of existence to a more desirable one.

An organization progresses by taking charge of the changes it undergoes by effectively managing the process of transitioning from one state of existence to a more desirable one. Progress is achieved when the "new and different circumstance, condition and/or relationship" is better able to help the organization realize it purpose and mission.

If an organization does not take charge of the changes it undergoes by effectively managing the process of transitioning, then the changes it experiences will soon sweep it into dangerous and destructive currents.

6. Transition and Enterprise Integration

The Three Areas of Organizational Structure:

- People

- Systems

- Environment

Any enterprise is composed of people, systems and the environment in which work is done. When change is initiated it often occurs in only one of these three areas of the organization. Any attempted change that doesn't involve all three areas of organizational structure will result in outcomes worse than the present.

It is true that people make or break the organizations for which they work. It is also true that people and their performance impact and are impacted by the following four components of organizational structure:

- the organization's principles and policies

- the organization's mission, strategies and planning

- the organization's arrangement, operations and administration

- workplace space, processes, procedures and arrangement of equipment

The above model demonstrates the interrelationship of the aspects of any enterprise. When there is a change in one area, all other areas are affected in some way. If one area needs change in order to be more viable and productive, the other parts must be involved in the change. If they aren't, if change occurs at all, it will not be for the better in the long run.

When planning any transition, honor the interconnectedness of your organization by actively and creatively involving all these areas and components of your enterprise. Don't segment the enterprise into separate entities and focus on only one to the exclusion of the others. Any organizational transition should be preceded by the creation of a "Strategic Plan and Implementation Blueprint" that serves as the marching orders for the entire enterprise and that keeps everything integrated, on track, within budget, on time and with minimum resistance from and disruption to the operating environment.

7. The Strategic Plan and Implementation Blueprint: No Doubt Contracting

A vital part of any "Strategic Plan and Implementation Blueprint" for the transition process is what I call "No Doubt Contracting." This is an unambiguous document that clearly describes what is involved, who is involved, responsibilities and accountabilities and what the outcomes will be for the organization, its employees, customers and the community in which it does business. If change is to be directed toward a better future for all involved, there will need to be a clear vision of the destination, how to get there and what is needed by whom to make it happen. When all parties contract with one another, then all have buy-in not just to the creation of the contract but, more importantly, to the results the contract is designed to help accomplish.

While pursuing a planned transition, it will be wise for the leaders of such an undertaking to remind themselves constantly of the words of Machiavelli: "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new."

Change, Transition, and Organizational Progress: What Does It All Mean?

Leadership Coaching: 4 Stages Of Organizational Change

Keep Your Business Alive

The business world is a highly competitive and rapidly changing domain. The way to survive is to reshape according to the needs of circumstances. In leadership, you have to accept the fact of change. Resisting change leads nowhere but a dead end. You and your organization are going to be stalled, if not completely shut down.

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Gaining and keeping customers keep a business alive. Your customers want excellent service and more. If you cannot provide these to customers, your competitors will. That´s why your organization needs to reshape itself quickly to change so it can offer what customers need. Top leadership in the organization realizes the significance of preserving their resources. They cannot just throw away money at every problem. Executive leaders also know the importance of having highly committed and flexible workers. As a leader, you need to be able to implement action that allows the organization to quickly and smoothly adapt to change.

Leadership Coaching: 4 Stages Of Organizational Change

4 Different Changes Of An Organization

Throughout its growth, an organization normally goes through 4 different changes:
Formative period. The organization is just getting started. The founding vision or purpose of the organization has no formal definitions yet. This is a stage of a lot of experimentation and innovation. Changes of creativity and discovery enable the organization to beat obstacles and achieve breakthroughs.
Rapid growth period. The organization implements direction and organization so that it can sustain its growth and solidify gains. The purpose of the organization and on the mainstream business is being clarified and defined.
Mature period. The organization develops a strong growth curve that levels off to the general velocity of the economy. Change and modifications are needed so that the organization can maintain established markets and achieve maximum gains.
Declining period. This is a rough ride for the organization. It often means reorganization and downsizing. Tough objectives are developed, although there is compassionate implementation. To survive, the organization needs to get out of the old and cross the threshold towards something new. There is starting again of the four periods, beginning a new process that determines success.

Depending on the pace, some organizations may go through with the 4-period change process rapidly, while others undergo these growth stages for decades. If there is no follow- through with the needed changes in any of the 4 growth periods, an organization would falter and eventually die.

In Japanese, there is the concept of "kaizen" which means "continual improvement". The quest to do better is never-ending. Changing is doing better. Standing still makes the competition get ahead. Congregate your resources and solidify your strength so you can revitalize, move on, catch up with the pace and get to the top.

Leadership Coaching: 4 Stages Of Organizational Change