Corporate Social Responsibility: Organizational Learning and Change Management

Organizational change happens when an organization transits from its present state to some desired future condition. Change management involves planning and implementation of change in a company in such a manner as to minimize costs to the organization as well as employee resistance while at the same time, maximizing the effectiveness of change. In current business environment, organizations are required to undergo changes regularly to remain competitive. Organizational learning is an integral part of change management. Incorporating change and learning in an organization can be achieved through a systematic process. First, managers need to understand the current state of the company (Cramer, 2005). This includes identifying various problems facing the organization, assigning the level of significance to each of them and evaluating the types of changes required to address the problems. Secondly, the future state of the organization should be completely envisioned and laid out. This involves developing a picture of the ideal situation for the organization after implementing the change, clearly conveying the change to all the parties concerned in the change efforts, and devising a technique for transitioning to the new desired state. However, some stability should be marinated in the transition. For example, the overall mission and the key personnel for the organization should remain constant in the middle of turmoil to aid in reducing anxiety.

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Thirdly, employees should be involved at some level in all change efforts. Whether small or large, an organizational change should be communicated and explained, particularly, the changes that influence how employs perform their tasks. Active organization learning (education and training) is essential. Employees should be educated and trained to help them understand and adapt to a change in the company (Argote, 2012). Once a new process is introduced, it is likely that employees will be unfamiliar with it and its incorporation into their daily workflow. In such a situation, training is necessary to familiarize employees with the change and adapt to it better. Workers have some experience that can be useful in transition planning and the process of implementation. Whether finding ways to reduce costs, improving customer satisfaction or changing a work process. It is important for employees to understand the reason behind a change and take part in the process because they are typically closest to it. Communicating the desired change should be done in a systematic and structured manner. Poor communication can result to change resistance. In the process, managers should communicate the change to employees because this can help in minimizing resistance. It also makes employees feel like they own the process.

Lastly, the change should be implemented in an orderly way. This includes effective management of the transition. The administration should draw up a plan, allocate resources and appoint the person responsible for the change process. As role models, organizational leaders should generate enthusiasm for the change through sharing their vision and goals (Burke and Noumair, 2015). Besides, small victories should be tried first so as to pave the way for greater success.

Planning and managing change is sometimes challenging for managers as various factors influence how change is incorporated into an organization. The structure of the organization is one the factors. For example, some companies are bureaucratic and very stiff, emphasizing on procedures, policies, and rules while others may not be having any structure. This may affect the whole change process. The target of change is another challenge as programs for a change can vary depending on the functional area or hierarchical level which the change is focused (Daft, 2012). Another issue is the degree of learning which involves the level of members active involvement in learning and how to implement and plan change while assisting in solving the existing problem. Besides, resistance to change is also another big challenge that organizational learning and change may encounter.

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