Why do Organizational Change Initiatives Often Fail Research Paper

Why do Organizational Change Initiatives Often Fail - Research Paper Example How to change may differ across organizations but change is essential for progress or as Abrahamson (2004) calls it â€Å"creative destruction†. Without pain no change is possible and the justification for change is â€Å"change or perish†. Change could involve a process, technology or public process. Research indicates that almost 56-70 percent of mergers and acquisitions fail to achieve the intended objectives while 90 percent of culture change initiatives fail (Atkinson, 2005). If the change objectives are not achieved, the organization should strive to evaluate the causes of failure. Once the causes can be identified it may be possible to apply change management procedure to achieve the change objectives. Consequences of change failure can be disastrous. Change failures not only result in waste of resources but when changes fail people go cynical and lose motivation to work. Failure in managing change can lead to preconceptions and perceptions that can have a demora lizing effect on employees. The causes of failures that have emerged include shortcomings in change leadership, insufficient attention given to the complexities in the change process, or repetitive change syndrome resulting in initiative overload, change chaos and cynicism. Failures could also occur due to lack of clear compelling statement or vision, or when there is no definite plan or directives, no goals and programs, no methods or deadlines. Speeding up the change process could lead to errors that could be devastating. Management may also fail to recognize that adjustment to change could take time. Various tools have been suggested to manage change effectively the most important suggestion being that change requires effective leadership; it requires more than just managing change. This should be a visionary leadership where the vision is effectively communicated to the people concerned. Empowerment is another effective tool to obtain the intended outcome in the change process a s empowerment helps eliminate the obstacles while it also reduces the alienated feeling that employees develop. However, a practicing manager needs to ensure that the stakeholders are involved in the change process from the very beginning. No sense of urgency should be transmitted as this could end up in change chaos. Communication should be honest and be able to generate trust and confidence. Short-term wins should be created as it is an effective tool in receiving cooperation for furthering the process of change. This research was conducted to synthesize the varied perspectives on change leadership and change models that could help an organization to achieve the change objectives. The research will review the top reasons for change initiative failure and how they can be remedied. Various change models of renowned scholars such as Kotter, Lewin, Bridges and Abrahamson have been reviewed and evaluated. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Causes of failure in the change process 2.1.1 Resistance to change Manifestation of resistance Employee resistance to change can be exhibited or communicated in a number of ways, the employees could express cynicism or they may not be â€Å"open† to change or â€Å"not ready† for change (Peccei, Giangreco & Sebastiano, 2011). The resistance to change manifests itself mainly through low-engagement in pro-change behaviors. There can even be more active anti-change behaviors as when people speak out in public against the change or when they undermine its implementation. Resistance is often displayed passively and covertly, asserts Atkinson. If they were displayed in a forthright manner it would have been possible to deal with them logically. Some times staff may attend a change project and display approval but underneath this external facade they nurture

Gold Standard and The Foriegn Exchange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gold Standard and The Foriegn Exchange - Essay Example Kemmerer (1944) defines gold standard as â€Å"a monetary system where the unit of value, in terms of which prices, wages, and debts are customarily expressed and paid, consists of the value of a fixed quantity of gold in a large international market which is substantially free.† (p. 134) From mid 1870s more and more countries started to value their national currencies against gold. In the 1920s fixing a gold value for the currency ensured stable exchange rates which boosted external value of it and consequently ensured the stability of internal prices. The gold standard period is characterized by national governments policy aimed at preserving the value of the currency (Milward 1996, p.87) Very simple in its origins gold standard was declared to support national currencies serving as an equilibrating mechanism reducing foreign exchange risk and eliminating the risk of destroying governmental policies. Each country has a domestic supply of money backed by its domestic reserves of gold. If a Treasury printed banknotes not backed by the gold standard, the result would be individual requirements to exchange the excess banknotes for gold. (DeLong 1997) Countries which joined fixed exchange rate standard were enjoying long-run price level stability and predictability, stable and low long-run interest rates, stable exchange rates which contributed to massive capital inputs to the worlds developing countries. (Bordo and Schwartz 1996, p.11) As historically-specific institution the gold standard had been supported by all industrial-economy governments to maintain convertibility of their currency. Under the gold standard not only trade expanded but also international capital markets developed. It allowed considerable investments into enterprises in other industrializing, mineral-rich countries which benefited greatly the economies of these countries. The gold standard ensured the entrepreneurs engaged in international trade from foreign exchange