Change Management

1. Is there any one of the eight steps in the Kotter model for change that you think will be more troublesome to implement or manage?

The most troublesome part of the Kotter’s eight step model to implement is the creation of a sense of urgency (Mulder, 2014). This is the first step of initiating change. Change has never been easy to accept. Sometime the burning platform situation has to occur for a change process to start. The creation of the urgency of change involves making the employees in an organization realize the need for change. This could bring problems when the employees are made to feel less competent hence the need for change. It is important, therefore, that at this point, the employees are well informed of the reasons for change and their input accepted as well.

A good example of this issue would be changing the service delivery of a retailer. For instance; if Walmart decide to change their counter services to march that of Nordstrom, the employees will have reservations about the shift. This is because, Walmart is successful and their customer service does not have a problem. However, if Walmart decided that the competitor was Nordstrom, then aligning their service delivery would be inevitable. The employee at Walmart will have to be informed and convinced that the change does not undermine the quality of their current performance but seeks to enhance it. This is not easy to achieve.

2. Can you overlay Hiatt’s ADKAR model onto the Kotter model to improve advance planning for change? Do the two change models complement each other?

The ADKAR change model is simple and effective, so is the Kotter model. The two models work with the same basics. There is the first step of both where the need for change is communicated to the employees (Connelly, 2017). This means that these two models complement each other. There is the retaining or establishment of change that the two models talk about. They are basically arranged systematically to indicate that change takes place in one direction. Change in an organization can be effected by using either of the two methods. They have the idea of indicating the need for change and the steps to take to establish the same. This make change in an organization easy to track and monitor. 

The two change models are complementary in the quality control in an organization. The type of product or service is immaterial. The quality offered by an organization is subject to change over time because demands also change as do preferences. It means that people can easily be directed by these models in an organization that is looking to create changes in their operations.  The changes are usually introduced to improve or increase and improve the ability of the company to fulfil its goals.

3. An experience where logic and emotion have clashed.

My parents bought a furniture business. It was a failing business but they had a plan of resuscitating it and making it profitable. They worked hard and their ideas eventually paid off. However, after some years, business was deteriorating. This was because the type of furniture that was being stocked and sold was not relevant any more. I suggested to them that the shop should have a sale to dispose of the current stock in order to create space for fresh stock. At first, the idea was welcomed and I helped plan and advertise the sale. On the morning of the sale, my mother could not easily let some vases and chair be put out for the sale because she felt that they were still good enough to remain in the shop. Eventually, after explaining to her that it was logical to clean out the shop, she let them go. My mother has been an entrepreneur for a long time and her holding on to items on that day was a case of the heart versus the mind issue.

After the sale, the shop was restocked and the sales volumes went up again. This goes to show how much value the mind has over the heart in terms of business activities. In this instance, I was the initiator of the change that saved my parents’ business from making losses on a long term.

References

Connelly, M. (2017). ADKAR: Simple, Powerful, Action Oriented Model for Change. Retrieved from Change Management Coach: www.change-managemnt-coach.com/adkar.html

Mulder, P. (2014, January 8). Kotter’s 8 Step Change Model. Retrieved from Change Management: www.toolshero.com/chnage-management/8-step-change-model-kotter/