Handling change

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 05/10/2006 12:07 PM

Recently, I spoke at a seminar for senior executives of a company and one of the participants asked me intriguing questions on how to ensure that proposed change in an organization runs smoothly and is supported by the majority, from lower to higher echelons, so it would not rock the boat. The following are answers to the questions:

Q: What steps need to be taken to ensure that a process of change taking place in a business organization will run as expected?

A: Organizational changes may affect practices in all aspects and functions, including organizational structure, organizational culture, internal control system, quality of interaction between individuals and groups and the management of human resources in general. Therefore, there are four stages involved in the process of change: (1) an evaluation of the need to change by means of identifying the sources, magnitude and scope of the problems; (2) the formulation of alternative measures by gearing the existing resources toward the ideal goals to be reached; (3) the commencement of change that is introduced on the basis of a top-down or bottom-up pattern in accordance with the priorities and levels of change acceleration desired; and (4) a post-transformation evaluation to be made as early as possible to detect the magnitude of deviations and the performance expected.

How can a manager control the desires of the parties expecting to quickly gain from the fruits of change?

Managing change in a business basically tends to rely on art, rather than science; therefore, special skills are needed to reach the results that many parties hope to get from change. A future reaction can be anticipated by means of opening up a channel of communication among parties so that differences in expectations related to change can be avoided. Another recommendation is to use a simulation so that a picture of the expected situation can be obtained before the desired change actually takes place.

Change, for example in the system and procedures of a business, frequently leads to a pressing condition or even to stress for individuals or business players. Therefore, is there a way or a technique that can be employed to control stress brought about by organizational change?

Basically there are many ways to control stress resulting from change. The four approaches that are frequently adopted to control stress are: (1) Muscle relaxation. First take a deep breath and slowly relax each muscle in the body. Repeat this often; (2) Biofeedback. You can do this with the help of instruments to detect muscle tension, followed by muscle relaxation to reduce symptoms of stress; (3) Meditation. Do this through relaxation to activate your mind so that it can be brought to a stress-free condition; and (4) Cognitive restructuring. Condition yourself to react logically and rationally to rid yourself of irrational thoughts.

-- Hargo Utomo

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