Change management is a comprehensive term and an ambiguous one too. As such it is difficult to find or provide a single complete definition for this term. Having said that, a basic definition for change management would be: a systematic approach to coping with the people side of change at both the individual and organizational level.
Change Management – Features
What follows are other features of this approach to make the meaning complete.
It is the execution of a structured set of tools and process to direct the people side of change to accomplish the desired business outcome.
At the organizational level, change management is about defining and executing technologies and/or procedures to handle changes in the business milieu and to gain from changing opportunities.
Change management incorporates a minimum of three aspects – effecting change, controlling change and adjusting to change. However, at the center of all three aspects is a proactive way of coping with change.
It targets the different leadership levels in an organization except senior leaders, executives, line supervisors and middle managers.
Activities include:
1) Instilling new attitudes, behaviors and values within an organization that help overcome opposition to change while supporting different ways to work.
2) Forging consensus among stakeholders and customers on particular changes made in such a way as to better cater to their requirements.
3) Planning, trial and execution of all areas of the transition from one business process or organizational structure to another.
Successful change management makes people feel involved in the change process, working together to achieve a common goal and deliver results. It gives organizations a competitive advantage, enabling them to effectively and speedily put change into practice so as to meet market requirements.
Also associated with Computers
The term “change management” also has application with respect to computer systems. In this case, it is used in the context of a systematic approach to monitoring system details such as which operating system is in use in a particular computer and the logging of system upgrades.
