QUESTION TWO [30] Read the following article and answer the questions that follow: What is Change Management and How Does it Work? Although it is sometimes called the soft side of change, managing the people side of a change is often the most challenging and critical component of an organisational transformation. Consider a merger or acquisition. The technical side of the change is certainly complex. The financial arrangements of the deal have to be worked out, business systems have to be integrated, decisions have to be made about the structure of the new organisation, and more. However, getting people on board and participating in the merger or acquisition can make the difference between success and failure. The reason for this is that individuals will need to perform their jobs differently. The degree to which they change their behaviours and adopt new processes has a significant impact on the initiative. This is why the soft side of change can be the harder side of change. Change management addresses the people side of change. Creating a new organisation, designing new work processes, and implementing new technologies may never see their full potential if people are not brought along. That's because financial success depends on how thoroughly individuals in the organisation embrace the change. Change management is the application of a structured process and set of tools for leading the people side of change to achieve a desired outcome. Ultimately, change management focuses on how to help people engage, adopt and use a change in their day-to-day work. Change management is recognised as both a process and a competency. Change Management as a Process The change management process enables practitioners within organisations to leverage and scale the change management activities that help impacted individuals and groups move through their transitions. The Prosci Methodology includes a robust, research-based process called the Prosci 3-Phase Process: Change Management as a Competency At the organisational level, change management is a leadership competency for enabling change within an organisation. It is also a strategic capability designed to increase the change capacity and responsiveness of the organisation. For senior leaders, change management competency means being able to lead change for the organisation, including being an effective sponsor of change and demonstrating commitment to the change, both individually and organisationally. For people managers working with front-line employees, competency relates to effectively coaching direct reports through their change journeys. Although competency varies according to one's relationship to change, organisations are more effective and successful when they build change management competencies throughout their ranks. Change management is not just communication and training. Nor is it simply managing resistance. Effective change management follows a structured process and employs a holistic set of tools to drive successful individual and organisational change. There are two main reasons to employ effective change management on both large- and small-scale efforts.: Organisational change happens one person at a time Ignoring the people side of change is costly Organisational change happens one person at a time It is easy to think about change only from an organisational perspective. When managers consider a merger or acquisition, they might focus on financial structuring, data and systems integration, and physical location changes. However, organisational change of any kind occurs one person at a time. That is because an organisation-wide change only occurs when Andre, Becky, Carlos and Dharma do their jobs differently. Organisations don't change, people do. It is the cumulative impact of successful individual change that brings about successful organisational change. If individuals don't make changes to their day-to-day work, an organisational transformation effort will not deliver results. Ignoring the people side of change is costly Poorly managing or ignoring the people side of change has many consequences: Productivity declines on a larger scale for a longer duration than necessary Managers are unwilling to devote time or resources needed to support the change Key stakeholders do not show up to meetings Suppliers begin to feel the impact and see the disruption caused by change Customers feel negative impacts of a change that should have been invisible to them Employee morale suffers and divisions between "us" and "them" begin to emerge Stress, confusion and fatigue increase Valued employees leave the organisation Effectively managing change requires two perspectives: an individual perspective and an organisational perspective. The individual perspective is an understanding of how people experience change. Prosci's ADKAR Model describes successful change when an individual has: The people side of change is not the soft side of change, it is the harder side of change. Investing the time and energy to manage the people side of organisational efforts pays off in the end in terms of the success of the effort and avoiding the numerous costs that plague poorly managed change. https://www.prosci.com/resources/articles/what-is-change-management-and-how-does-it-work (adapted) Questions: 2.1 Provide an explanation of why change management is so important and challenging in contemporary business environments. (10) 2.2 "change management is a leadership competency for enabling change within an organisation" With reference to this, assess the skills required to initiate and implement change in an organisation, and show whether or not they are different.