Article by: Andre Peters of Gulf Bank in Kuwait
As per the first article in the January 2009 edition of the PMI Kuwait Region eFlash, change can and should be managed. Change is a process, starting off from where the company is today, to where it wants to be in the future. Change has three distinct stages as reflected in Figure 2. How an organization manages change could be the difference between it being successful or not over the long term. Employees at all levels within the organization need to be aware of the forces driving change, and need to be motivated to undertake the change that will impact on their personal and working environment. If people in an organization don’t feel the urgency for change, the change process will not have enough momentum and could fail. The way to make change initiatives successful is to reduce complacency levels within the organization. During the change process planning is very important. If planning is not done properly, the whole process will be negatively affected, and senior management, with the assistance of employees, only have one shot at planning the transformation effectively.
Kotter (1999) refers to examining the market and competitive realities and discussing potential crises and opportunities. Customer and competitive related information must be fed to all staff regularly. Staff need to be sensitive to customer needs and trends and what the competition is doing. This should create a sense of discomfort within them that things always change. The absence of a visible crisis should not create comfort in the minds of employees. The driving forces for change, by creating a sense of urgency, will boost the organization out of complacency and into the future, in order to achieve its vision and goals