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Change Management
Change Management
Introduction
The nurse unit manager (NUM) in our organization is not comfortable about the status quo, and as such he or she she intends to update the Pediatric Intravenous Policy in order to bring it in line with the current based practice. However, the long term nursing staff is not ready to embrace this new policy, and they resist the change. The resistance to change was caused by an internal factor as the long term nursing staff had low tolerance to the change. In general, the long term nursing staff did not like the concept of change. This staff held the view that the proposed change in the hospital would bring discomfort and uncertainty with it.
Kotters 8-Step Change Model
The nurse unit manager can successfully implement change in the ward by using the Kotters 8-Step Change Model.
The Kotters 8-Step Change Model
Obtained from danspira.com
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The first step is creation of change urgency. In organizational behavior, employees readiness for change is reliant upon creating urgency for change (Dawson, 2003). Kotter argued that creating urgency entails employees to be displeased with the existing state of affairs in the organization. According to him, dissatisfied employees are motivated to seek other new activities. Creating this urgency is a challenging task (Baack, 2012). The nurse unit manager can adopt the following strategies in order to create sufficient urgency to produce change: communicating with the long term nursing staff on the threats that the organization could face if it avoids change; identifying positive outcomes that could be achieved as a result of the proposed change, and gathering support from stakeholders, such as government and patients (Cameron & Green, 2012). Thus the NUM should put relentless pressure in order to generate the need for change. The nurse unit manager should direct efforts towards creating urgency before proceeding to the next stage.
Step two involves developing support from various stakeholders. During this stage, leaders attempt to convince stakeholders that change is beneficial unto them and organization at large. Managing organizational change is often a complex task, and therefore the leaders should bring a structured collection of people with diverse backgrounds. Thereafter, the leaders should encourage people to work together harmoniously (Demann, 2006). With regard to this, the NUM should start by identifying those nurses that have leadership capabilities in the organization. She should then demand these leaders to be fully committed to the change process. The new NUM should enhance working groups, and also assess each leaders strengths and weaknesses.
Step three is concerned with the pursuit of vision for change. Generally, this process provides people with an image of what the organization will look like. The vision plays a key role in energizing commitment. It also provides employees with a convincing rationale as far as the value of change is concerned (Cameron & Green, 2012). With regard to this, the NUM should identify the organizational values. The NUM should then create a brief summary of what the organization aspires to achieve. The manager should then proceed to develop a strategy of implementing the vision. During this stage, the NUM should ensure that the coalition support he or she created earlier can tell the vision statement in the shortest time possible, e.g. within four minutes. Thus, the nurse unit manager should keep reminding the coalition about the vision on a regular basis.
Communicating the vision is the fourth step, which involves conveying the vision frequently. The senior leadership team should incorporate the vision with all the organizations activities (Baack, 2012). Leaders should communicate the vision at all times in order for it to remain fresh in peoples minds (Cameron & Green, 2012). Thus, the NUM should communicate about the vision on a regular basis to the long term nursing staff. The nurse unit manager should discuss the peoples worries in an open manner. The NUM should encourage the nursing staff to use the vision. In order to ensure that employees apply the vision, the NUM should lead from the front.
Removing barriers is the fifth step. It involves getting rid of all the processes and structures that hinder effective management of the change process. The top management team should be observant as to the change barriers. Removing these obstacles plays a significant role in encouraging employees to move forward and achieve their goals (Baack, 2012). With regard to this, the NUM should identify the key leaders to support the change. The manager should ensure that the organizations structure is in accordance with the vision. The NUM should also reward those people who administer the desired change. He or she should also identify powerful individuals who thwart change, and in turn, convince them to support the change process. The NUM should act promptly to remove the obstacles, that is, people or structures.
Step six involves generating short-term wins. That is, providing people with motivation after they have achieved success. According to Kotter, people feel motivated when they achieve the desired results (Cameron & Green, 2012). The NUM should look for smaller targets that can be achieved within a short time. The targets should be relatively inexpensive. The manager should also explain clearly to critics the reason for choosing such target. An evaluation should be conducted in order to determine advantages and disadvantages of the target. Also, the NUM should reward people who have facilitated the attainment of the desired goals.
Building on the change is the next stage that leaders need to apply in managing the change process. According to Kotter, organizational leaders should ensure that real change is achieved before declaring victory (Cameron & Green, 2012). Thus, the NUM should analyze each victory critically in order to determine areas that need to be improved. The manager should then set targets in order to sustain momentum that he or she has achieved.
The last stage of change management, according to Kotter, is making the new change stick. According to Kotter, leaders should incorporate the change in all the organizations activities. The senior leadership team should continue supporting the change (Cummings & Worley, 2008). The NUM should do the following in order to make the change: stick to the long term nursing staff and tell the nurses about the change progress that the organization has attained. The NUM should also publicly praise the nurses contributions to the change process and put up measures to reinforce new behaviors.
Conclusively, the Kotters 8-Step Change Model is an effective tool that allows the organizational leaders to successfully manage change.
