Building a Culture for Sustaining Change at Crystel

Running head: CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN

Building a Culture for Sustaining Change at CrysTel

Student Name

University of Phoenix

Introduction

A reliable change management plan is often required to overcome workplace resistance when employees are presented with a new way of doing things. Change management is a strategy designed to transition from the status quo to some new ideal way of doing business. CrysTel, a growing telecommunications company, finds itself in a very dynamic industry that along with frequent advances in technology will dictate that it adapt to rapid and persistent changes. Developing a successful change management plan for CrysTel will have three distinct goals: optimize flexibility, promote innovation, and sustain change. Change management at CrysTel will involve identifying the strengths and weaknesses of departments within the company and applying behavioral techniques that will aid in supporting the change. The change management plan will also need to consider the viewpoints of the leaders who are responsible for carrying out the change and the department workers who are being affected by the change. Finally, this plan will involve deliberate planning and implementation and above all else soliciting the involvement of those being most affected by the change and rallying their support.

Overall Analysis

The Major Implications of Change at CrysTel

It is quite challenging to reap positive benefits from major organizational changes. “In fact, only about one-third of all organizational changes are worth the effort. Most die, go way over budget and time, or get implemented in a weak watered down version” (Maurer, 2002). The reason that most changes in the workplace fail is not because the change does not provide positives for the organization, but rather because employees resist it. A successful change management plan demands that employees at every level of the organizational hierarchy be committed to the new way of doing things (Maurer, 2002).

Behavioral parameters such as leadership, communication, and motivation will determine the flexibility of a department. This flexibility will indicate whether a department is prepared to cope with change or not. CrysTel’s organizational hierarchy consists of several departments each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses. The challenge lies in that none of these departments readily communicate with another. The CrysTel Marketing department is weak in communication, does not empower its teams, fails to lead by example, and does not engage in the mentoring of less experienced workers. Similarly, the Sales and Delivery department does not subscribe to a participative leadership style, rarely engages in risk-taking, rarely mentors its teams, and does not proactively resolve conflicts. These two departments are expected to put up the most resistance to change. “Resistance can be as subtle as passive resignation and as overt as deliberate sabotage. Managers need to learn to recognize the manifestations of resistance both in themselves and in others if they want to be more effective in creating and supporting