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What is Planned Change?

Planned change is constituted as an intentional and goal-oriented change in the activities of businesses to adapt to changing environments.

It is necessary to work with changing environments and to meet changing expectations of customers. Plan A is not always the best thus plan change or B takes place.

Change is natural and inevitable in organizational performance. It is an essential part of managerial functions to modify its working procedures and system on the basis of changing environment of society.

For this purpose, management needs to develop the practice of planned change in organizational performance.

Need for Planned Change

The needs (say importance) for planned change are:

Adapt to Environmental Change

It helps to improve the ability of the organization to adapt to environmental changes. Environmental change is a natural and ever-changing process.

The change in the social environment brings new concepts, ideas, knowledge, and system to the business. Management needs to develop the practice of planned change in organization performance to efficiently work with environmental change.

Change in Employees’ Behavior

Planning is essential to change employees’ behavior to make them responsive to change. Management needs to use different tools to change the attitude and behavior of employees consisting including counseling, orientation, training, and motivation.

Such change in behavior helps to overcome the resistance to change.

Meet Competition

In the open market economy, every business organization needs to face competition. On the basis of time, competitors can introduce a new strategy, policy, and technology to grab the market.

In such a situation, the manager needs to introduce planned change practices to modify the present working procedures and system. It will be supportive to meet competition in the market.

Fulfill Consumer’s Expectations

On the basis of changing environment of society needs, demands, and expectations of consumers will be changed. Similarly, new models, designs, structures, concepts, and technology may introduce in the market to draw the attention of customers.

Thus, managers need to identify the changing expectation of consumers and introduce a planned change in organizational performance. It facilitates to fulfill the demand of the consumers.

Innovation of New Knowledge

Planned change is supportive of the innovation of new knowledge, idea, concept, and technology. It is essential to develop new procedures and systems for doing work.

It helps to new output or service. The introduction of new designs, models, and structures of products on the basis of changing demands of the customers is crucial to meet business objectives.

Development of Team Work

In planned change management needs to emphasize participative management. Work should be divided among teams having complementary members.

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The manager needs to invite team members into the decision-making process. It facilitates meeting the planned objectives.

Conflict Resolution

When people work in a group conflict is natural. Because group members may have differences in skills, perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs. They work together to achieve common goals.

In the course of work, they may put inverse opinions and ideas in working procedures and systems. In planned change management needs to resolve conflict on time for smooth performance.

Reinforce Efficiency

Planned change facilitates strengthening the competency of employees. It needs training of employees, re-engineering in working procedures, change in management structure, etc.

Such activities help to develop the working efficiency of employees and to meet planned objectives.

Process of Planned Change

The process of planned change involves several essential steps to ensure successful transformation within an organization. These steps can be summarized as follows:

Acknowledging the Need for Change

This initial step involves recognizing and accepting the necessity for change. It may arise from external factors, such as market shifts, or internal factors, such as inefficiencies or outdated practices.

Establishing Clear Goals

Once the need for change is acknowledged, it is crucial to establish clear and specific goals. These goals serve as the guiding principles for the change process, outlining the desired outcomes and providing direction to the organization.

Identifying Relevant Variables

In this step, a thorough analysis of the organization’s current state is conducted. This involves identifying and understanding the key variables and factors that impact the desired change. It may include assessing internal processes, organizational culture, resources, and external influences.

Selecting Appropriate Change Methods

Based on the diagnosis of relevant variables, the next step is to select the most suitable change methods or strategies. These methods can range from incremental improvements to more radical transformations, depending on the nature and scope of the desired change.

Planning the Change Implementation

Once the change methods are chosen, a detailed plan is developed to execute the change. This includes defining roles and responsibilities, setting timelines, allocating resources, and establishing communication channels to ensure a smooth transition.

Implementing the Change

With the plan in place, the actual implementation of the change takes place. This involves putting the planned strategies into action, engaging employees, and managing any challenges or resistance that may arise during the process.

Evaluation and Follow-Up

After the change has been implemented, it is crucial to evaluate its effectiveness. This step involves assessing the outcomes, comparing them to the established goals, and gathering feedback from employees and stakeholders.

Based on this evaluation, necessary adjustments can be made, and a follow-up plan can be developed to monitor the sustainability of the change.

What is Planned Change? Definition, Need, and Process