Images of Managing Change
Change is inevitable at all levels from a personal to professional and community or organizational levels. Usually change is determined by need, changing level of knowledge or maturity, as well as change of environment. In the week’s lecture, what is of importance are the various variables that define the image of a change manager. The first variable is the images of managing that entail controlling and shaping. The second variable is the images of change outcomes comprising of intended, partially intended, and unintended change. Shaping and partially intended change are evaluated and the roles they play within the change process are compared and contrasted.
Shaping as an image of managing tends to illustrate a style of management that can be referred to as participative. Through shaping, the manager’s focus is on the players forming part of the organizational team. The manager then makes attempts to involve the members of the organization in the various stages of change (Palmer & Dunford, 2002). Partially intended change refers to the gray area believed to be between intended and unintended change (Palmer & Dunford, 2002). As, an image of change outcomes, partially intended change focuses on intended change outcomes that need modification to some extent during the process of implementing change.
The major role of shaping as an image of managing is that it helps in the improvement of the capabilities of the members of the organization (Palmer & Dunford, 2002). Improved capabilities then result in improved organizational efficiency and performance. The role of partially intended change within the change process is to ensure that meaning is created for organizational members (Alvesson & Sveningsson, 2015). The modification of intended outcomes during the change process helps organizational members to clearly understand and make sense of various actions or events taking place.
References
Alvesson, M., & Sveningsson, S. (2015). Changing Organizational Culture: Cultural Change Work in Progress. Routledge. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=hVkRTXoMDlEC&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=Partially+intended+change&source=bl&ots=eN7b_uJJzU&sig=ACfU3U1dHVI-erHrtEE8sLzg78C5PJXsEA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi0s8bNr-7jAhVR5uAKHeWWChQQ6AEwGXoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=Partially%20intended%20change&f=false
Palmer, I., & Dunford, R. (2002). Who Says Change Can Be Managed? Positions, Perspectives and Problematics. Strategic Change, 11(5), 243-251. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jsc.600