Organizational change is defined as “Companies that are undergoing or that have undergone a transformation.”1 In order to keep on track with the world’s constant change and evolution, companies have to be competitive and adapt to all the changes that come with the market and they have to evolve at the same pace. Organizations nowadays are seen as a dynamic entity because of the constant changes they have to deal with in order to adapt, improve or evolve in a world full of changes.
There are different types of changes but the most common are the changes that the organizations have already planned and the ones that are imposed by the organizations that are mostly known as regulations. Significant organizational change occurs when an organization changes its overall strategy for success, adds or removes a major section or practice or wants to change the way they operate. Change may also occur when an organization evolves through various life cycles because each cycle comes with new things and in order to develop they must undergo significant changes at various points of the life cycle.
There are different reasons that take an organization to transform in different aspects. There are external forces such as globalization, technology, diversity, market change, etc. There are also internal forces influenced by the organizational culture which involves workers and their expectations in the organization. Individuals inside the company are also in constant change and sometimes the leader fails and a new one comes but all of these forces are the ones that make a company more flexible to evolution. Another internal force can also be the financial situation of the organization and their desire to grow and improve. Companies have to face competitive environments each and every day which takes the organization, workers and products to improve. That is why managers continually make efforts to accomplish successful and significant changes in the organization. Some managers are very good at this effort but others continually struggle and fail. That is why leaders have to be well prepared in order to be able to face, lead and handle change.
In order for an organization to have a successful change leaders or managers must have the best communication with the whole organization. It is really important to involve each and every person inside the company and ask their opinion about wht they would change in the company in order to improve. It is also important that when a change is going to take place in a company, everyone knows about it and they must be well informed because it would be easier for people to understand and adapt to the new ideas and changes. Support and motivation are key factors that leaders have to implement in order to succeed in the change. Participation in organizational change is a useful tool which demonstrates commitment with the organization.
QUESTIONS
1. Ubuntu at the workplace
• It’s Ubuntu present at the workplace, it there a link between this philosophy and organizational culture?
Ubuntu “is a traditional African philosophy that offers us an understanding of ourselves in relation with the world”2. According to this there is a common bond between every person and it is through the interaction with other human beings that we discover our own human qualities. In other words: “a person is a person through other persons”3. Ubuntu is part of the African culture and because of that it is also part of the organizations that involve people that believe in this philosophy. It is seen as philosophy and as a way of living. This philosophy is linked with the organizational culture because it helps internal integration and allows people to know how to interact and treat others in the organization. Ubuntu philosophy can be seen in many ways inside the South African organizations. Some of them are: the way they communicate, the language, managing time, decisions making, the importance of age, ideas and beliefs.
“A person with Ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm, generous, and willing to share”4. People with all of these characteristics are open and available to others, willing to help, affirming of others, they don’t feel threatened by others capabilities, they are committed and have always present in their lives that they belong to a whole group. All of these are great characteristics in order for a company or organization to succeed because the organizational culture will always be in harmony and that is really important in order for a company to keep growing and functioning. Ubuntu philosophy provides stories, symbols and structures of power inside the organization. They have a firm respect for elders because they are the ones with knowledge and wisdom which are the ones that teach and guide the organizations.
• Please select and explain 3 aspects of organizational life that evidence the presence of Ubuntu at the workplace.
1. An organizational aspect that shows the presence of Ubutnu philosophy is the way in which individuals relate within the organization and with others. Employees see their partners or co-workers as brothers and sisters, like a family that has to work together in order to grow and evolve. Their relationship are calid and respectful because they treat each other with respect in order to learn from everyone. They treat themselves between them as family members. In other words, the organization is seen as a home which involves a family that has to be united and supportive.
2. The way an organization manages time is another aspect of the Ubuntu philosophy. In other cultures time is fragmented and has a price but in this philosophy time is seen as a whole which can be used to have a progress in the community and because of that community progress everyone will also have a live improvement. They don’t have money as a priority, their community is their priority. Everyone has to be and feel good.
3. The decision making process is another aspect present in organizational philosophy. For them the collective welfare is the most important thing in the organization. They seek for profitability but as mentioned above they don’t have money as a priority. Their major priority is that everyone within the organization feels good and comfortable. When taking a decision everyone is involved and the most important thing is that it always seeks a favorable result for the community.
2. African Bank Miners Credit – Case study
This case study illustrates the main difficulties faced in a process of merging two companies and the role played by culture. It is very important that in this section, you try to build relevant links between the 2 readings and your research about change theory.
• Please identify and explain 3 strategies used by the acquiring company in order to facilitate the change process through the use of Ubuntu.
As I mentioned above, some changes in the organization are planned and other have to be done on the way. The African Bank Miners Credit is a great example of those changes that a company has to undertake. When the bank bought a controlling stake in the National Union of Mineworker's (NUM's) everything started to change. Even though the bank did this as a strategic movement and change all of this created a bigger and continuous change in the organization.
As we already know, Ubuntu “is a traditional African philosophy that offers us an understanding of ourselves in relation with the world”5 The African Bank decided to use this philosophy in order to adapt to all the changes when they decided to join together. Ubuntu is a way to help to adapt and explain the change to the individual's in the organization.
There are some strategies used by the company relying on the Ubuntu philosophy. One of the strategies was to use a kind of booklet where every person in the organization contribute with ideas and comments in order to help the company to improve. This booklet was taken from the Ubuntu philosophy because they use a booklet where everyone can express their ideas and feelings towards something they like or dislike. In that booklet they tell stories which help others in their evolution. This is a good idea to implement in the company because workers are free to express themselves and their feelings which can help managers understand the way they think and have better ideas to manage change.
In the Ubuntu philosophy they have the drum as a symbol of communication. The African Bank decided to have the presence of the drum inside the organization because of the importance it has a communication symbol. This shows how this philosophy and the organization can be linked and how having a good communication with workers and co-workers can help in order to have a successful change.
Another important strategy used by the organization in order to grow was the Ubuntu concept of working as a family. Ubuntu says that what is good for everyone is also good for the individual and that is why every person is seen as a brother or sister. This strategy was implemented by the Bank in order to grow and succeed because if all workers have the idea of the company as a family that has to work together in order to grow. If they family grows every individual will also grow.
REFERENCES
1. http://ccs.mit.edu/21c/iokey.html
2. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-22-2006-103206.asp
3. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-22-2006-103206.asp
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(philosophy)
5. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-22-2006-103206.asp
IMAGES TAKEN FROM
- http://careerchoicecoach.com/managing-change/
- http://www.mennoniteusa.org/Home/Leaders/Equipping/Augustpastors/tabid/1529/Default.aspx
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario