This unit provides the learner with the understanding and skills to support active engagement in the process of strategic change management.
Alvin Toffler’s famous comment ‘There is only one constant today and that is
change’ was made some decades ago, but now change itself is changing at a fast rate. The phenomenal pace of change in countries such as China and India is impacting on older, established economies in the western world. With such change comes uncertainty and insecurity. Organisations, even those in the public sector where ‘steady state’ was ever the watchword, can no longer sit back. All organisations are being increasingly challenged by change. Consequently, they need to understand the issues that drive the need for change in their own organisations. This means that organisations need to have a proactive approach to strategic change management.
Strategic change management is most effective when an organisation actively seeks the participation of all relevant stakeholders. A change management strategy will be effective only if it has the support of all stakeholders. If they are to have a sense of ownership, stakeholders need to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of the change strategy.
Strategic change impacts on the human resources structure of the organisation and this often means a restructuring of the workforce or changes in working practices. Almost inevitably, change will generate resistance from some, particularly those who feel that the change will have no positive benefits for them. Other people may resist change simply because they prefer the status quo. Organisations need to ensure that they have strategies in place to manage resistance to change and this should be part of the overall model that they adopt for managing the change. Once in place, progress towards change will need to be monitored.
Learners will develop an understanding of the models of strategic change and the role that stakeholders play in this process. They will then examine the need for change in a selected organisation and plan the implementation of a model for change.
