Introduction:
The concept of change management in an organization is perceived as a structured approach to the introduction of transitioning among the teams, organizations and individuals from existing states in the organization towards a specific desired state in the future. The requirements of change management in the present business environment could be identified in the external as well as internal factors that have been identified in the majority of research study literature (Palmer et al, 2000). It is also essential to consider the significance of employees in the majority of problems encountered during organizational changes such as communication gaps, employee resistance, inappropriate training and concerns about staff turnover during the change. These issues can be addressed effectively only by the involvement of a leader that could be validated on the grounds of the role of leaders in obtaining feedback regarding the change and providing relevant responses (Boddy, 2012).
Leaders have to communicate relevant information alongside complying with the contextual requirements to accomplish effective change management objectives. The following essay aims at describing the particular types of change such as planned and emergent change alongside the significance of different leadership traits that are required for effective change management. Other necessary highlights of the essay would include comprehensive references to the leadership theories as well as examples of two promising leaders Steve Jobs and Jack Ma alongside an illustration of their successful attempts at accomplishing change (Ee & Yazdanifard, 2015). The essay would leverage appropriate theoretical models to accomplish the desired objective of identifying the role of a leader and the required characteristics for the implementation of effective change (Mullins, 2017).
Change and leadership:
Before understanding the characteristics of a good leader it is imperative to anticipate the generic meaning and nature of change and leadership. The necessity of change in the existing world is perceived on the grounds of the requirement for sustainable competitive advantage as well as the inability to address the demands of loyal customers. Organizational transformation through restructuring, creation of new departments in the organization and development of novel job functions could be considered a generic description of organizational change.
As per Levasseur (2001), the theoretical basis for apprehending change has been discussed from various perspectives among which Lewin’s change model can be considered a viable model for depicting change as a process (Levasseur, 2001). The description of organizational change according to the Lewin’s Change Model involves indications towards three distinct steps such as unfreezing, moving and freezing and is reflective of a major rationale indicating that the application of change should be emphasized on the phases of implementation rather than focusing on the conceptual tasks required for the change (Levasseur, 2001).
The first step in the process model is identified in the form of unfreezing wherein the organization has to introduce flexibility for the adoption of change and relevant new behaviour. The second step is concerned with the transition state wherein the organizational framework is switched from the present state to the desired state. The following step in the change process is associated with the mitigation of resisting forces and effective change implementation through the utilization of driving forces. Johnson & Scholes (2012) said that the final stage in the change process is known as refreezing which is associated with accepting the new state of the organization (Johnson & Scholes, 2002).
As per Hughes (2010), Leadership is considered a change agent in the organization which implies their involvement in the change management process (Hughes, 2010). The distinct elements of change leadership could be apprehended from the various types of leadership styles implemented in the organization such as situational leadership, transformational leadership and conductive leadership (Palmer, Dunford & Buchanan, 2017).
The characteristics of a leader required for effective change management could be identified in the form of transformational leadership style and situational leadership styles. The trait theory could be assumed as the most valid explanation for the required characteristics of a good leader in the form of physical, intellectual, personality and social traits. Apart from these specific traits, leaders are required to excel in particular aspects such as ambition, motivation, business knowledge, cognitive ability and energy to ensure effective change management (Johnson, 1999).
Steve Jobs and Apple:
The transformation of Apple and its existing brand image today is attributed solely to its founder, Steve Jobs and his transformational leadership characteristics. The primary characteristics of Steve Jobs were identified as “creative”, “passionate” and “visionary” which could be compared to the definitions of transformational leadership. As per Xue (2016), transformational leadership is directed toward communicating the need for change to subordinates, developing and adopting a wider perspective as well as assisting subordinates to accomplish their fulfilment (Xue, 2016).
The practical examples of Steve Jobs’ initiatives and consistent motivation to invent innovative and better devices can be observed in the introduction of the iPod in 2001 that reformed conventional perceptions regarding music. The effectiveness of Steve in adapting to change can be identified in the integration of the iPod music players with iTunes, the online music software that was intended to leverage the increasing commerce for music for gaining brand equity (Xue, 2016). Examples of technological innovations such as Digital Rights Management (DRM) for encryption of music files can be considered as an indicator of transformational leadership from Steve Jobs. The characteristic traits of Steve have been incorporated deeply into the organizational culture of Apple thereby facilitating impetus for effective change management (Xue, 2016).
Jack Ma and the case of Alibaba:
The global online business to the business retail giant, Alibaba, was established by Jack Ma along with 17 co-founders (Ee & Yazdanifard, 2015). The case of its founder Jack Ma has to be considered an inseparable aspect of the history of the organization and its development over many years. As per Ee & Yazdanifard (2015), the type of leadership that has been exhibited by Jack Ma in coping with the varying change management objectives is identified to be entrepreneurial leadership. Jack Ma depicted a firm sense of perceiving the organization as a start-up irrespective of the level of progress of the organization (Ee & Yazdanifard, 2015).
The emphasis of the leader on maintaining an entrepreneurial culture alongside maintaining autocratic management for effective scheduling of the tasks and responsibilities of the members could be considered a benchmark in the domain of entrepreneurship. The autocratic management style could be identified as a precedent followed by Jack for communicating the need for a change i.e. feasibility of a non-conventional business. The highly collectivist orientation of the organization could also be accounted as a foremost indicator of the requirements for the leadership to engage comprehensively in the training and development of staff for change management (Ee & Yazdanifard, 2015).
Conclusion:
The essay reflected on the theoretical concepts about change management such as Lewin’s change model and trait theory as well as examples of the effectiveness of leaders such as Jack Ma and Steve Jobs in introducing effective change in their organizations. The competencies which are required from a good leader could be ascertained effectively in scenarios of change and be largely associated with the behavioural characteristics of individual leaders.
References
Boddy, D. 2012. Essentials of Management: A Concise Introduction. England: Pearson Education.
Ee, C.T.J. and Yazdanifard, R., 2015. The Review of Alibaba’ s Operation Management Details That Have Navigated Them to Success. Global Journal of Management And Business Research.
Hughes, M. 2010. Managing Change: A Critical Perspective, 2nd Edition. CIPD: London. Chapter 6&7.
Johnson, S. 1999. Who Moved My Cheese? Vermilion: London
Johnson, D., and Scholes, K. 2002. Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases. Prentice-Hall.
Levasseur, R.E., 2001. People skills: Change management tools—Lewin’s change model. Interfaces, 31(4), pp.71-73.
Mullins. J. 2017. Management & Organisational Behaviour, 10th Edition. Pearson: UK [Chapter 9: Working in Groups and Teams]
Palmer, I., Dunford, R., Rura-Polley, T. and Baker, E. 2000. Changing forms of organizing: dualities in using remote collaboration technologies in film production. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 14, 190–212.
Palmer, I., Dunford, R., and Buchanan, D.A. 2017. Managing Organizational Change: A Multiple Perspective Approach, 3rd Edition. McGraw hill Education: New York.
Xue, C.T.S., 2016. Role of Leadership in Achieving Sustainable Organizational Change: Steve Jobs. Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 2(8).
