Current Trends in Management Assignment Help Today, organizations face rapid change due to globalization or changes in the market conditions. Organizational change is one of the latest and major trends of the management, because it deals with a wide range of functions as well as activities of a company. Simply, organizational change is an approach to shifting/transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. The main goal of organizational change is to maximize an organization’s benefits and minimize the change impacts on workers and avoid distractions (Lewis, 2011). In this business assignment help paper, latest/current trends in the organizational change would be addressed effectively in order to achieve overall objectives.
Latest Trends in Organizational Change In today’s corporate business environment, there are several current/latest trends in the organizational change. Simply, the current trends in the organizational change are: globalization, diversity, flexibility, flat and networks.
Globalization: It is the major and current trend in the organizational change. Globalization can be defined as a process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture (Scholte, 2005). In today’s global environment, organizations are operating in an international economy that is characterized by the greater and stronger competition, greater economic interdependence and collaboration. For instance, most of products and services produced by the organizations are being consumed outside the nation (Saji, 2004). At the same time, due to the globalization, business organizations are using corporate business strategies, marketing plans and production efforts to local domestic markets. Along with this, in order to stay competitive and to increase the level of profits, most of business organizations are using offshore outsourcing. It means, companies are adopting and implementing outsourcing strategies in order to take core competitive opportunities. In this way, business organizations are also reducing the costs and increasing profitability (Lewis, 2011). As per the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), companies such as Ford, General Motors, and Nestle are recruiting and selecting more employees/people outside of their headquarters countries than within those countries. Hence, globalization is changing organization’s HRM and operational strategies. On the other hand, it is founded that manufacturing and services organizations are conducting some part of their business outside of their domestic area. It means these organizations are performing their business activities through outsourcing in the developing countries like: India, the Philippines and Malaysia (U.S. Census Bureau. 2012). In addition, global competition and global cooperation is coexisting in the new world economy. For instance, it is also founded that the important consequence of globalization is greater mobility in international capital and labor markets. This is creating an international economic environment for the business organizations, where companies are getting more business opportunities because of potential customers (Lewis, 2011). Additionally, it is also interpreted that the process related to the global integration of markets for goods, services and capital are creating tensions for the organizations. For example, globalization is creating conflicts within and between nations over domestic norms and the social institutions (Mcshane, 2006). Heightened security concerns are changing expectations of people in organizations and the role of organizations. The threat of terrorism is being an ongoing concern worldwide. It is creating a renewed focus on workplace security, as employees experience at the workplace. Employee monitoring and screening are occurring more frequently (Nissen, 2002). Concern over travel for business purposes is resulting in the increased use of alternate forms of communication such as teleconferencing and videoconferencing (Keskitalo, 2012). Companies that compete fiercely in some markets form strategic alliances in others; government guidance and regulation are required to make markets work effectively and think globally. Act locally has been adopted as business strategy by the organizations to deal with the challenges of doing business in the globalized economy. So, the overall picture as a consequence of globalization is providing a wide range of opportunities and threats to the business organizations that are challenging the established ways of doing business and working in organizations (Mcshane, 2006). Along with this, it is also interpreted that globalization as a trend of organizational change is improving global sales, manufacturing, research, management and global market due to reduced cost and improved quality of international transportation, communication and expertise differences (Nissen, 2002).
Diversity: It is another imperative and latest trend in the organizational change. Diversity may be defined in terms of similarities and differences among employees in terms of age, cultural background, physical abilities and disabilities, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation (Graham, 2006). Globalization is also influencing that how companies compete with each other. In combination with changing demographics, globalization is causing a rapid increase in diversity in organizations. In this way, diversity in the business organizations is continuously increasing (Anderson, 2011). The population of the world is growing at a high rate in developing countries, while remaining stable or decreasing in the developed world. It means income inequities and economic opportunity leading to increased immigration and migration within and between nations. More temporary employees and workers are also performing task (U.S. Census Bureau. 2012). At the same time, people of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds possess different attitudes, values, and norms. Increasing cultural diversity in both public and private sector organizations focuses attention on the distinctions between ethnic and cultural groups in their attitudes and performance at work. This greater focus can result in tension between finding similarities and accentuating differences in the face of greater diversity in organizations (Anderson, 2011). Apart from this, there is also an on-going debate between the heterogenists and the homogenists concerning the impact of greater diversity in organizations. For instance, as per the heterogenists, business firms are attracting and retaining the best available human talent with greater diversity (Mills, 2008). So, companies are utilizing the people from diverse cultural backgrounds and gaining the competitive advantage effectively. In this way, business organizations are sustaining the highest quality of human resources through a diverse workforce (U.S. Census Bureau. 2012). At the same time, it is also interpreted that with greater diversity, business firms are understanding and penetrating wider markets. Apart from this, organizations with greater diversity also display higher creativity and innovation. For example, in the research-oriented and high technology organizations, heterogeneous or diverse groups are displaying better problem solving ability. It means diverse groups are more capable of avoiding the consequences of groupthink ascompared to highly cohesive and homogeneous groups (Anderson, 2011). On the other hand, greater organizational diversity has its drawbacks. Too much diversity can lead to dysfunctional outcomes. For instance, diversity is increasing ambiguity, complexity and confusion in the organizations (Mills, 2008). Additionally, it is also founded that in most of companies, diversity is producing negative dynamics like ethnocentrism, stereotyping and cultural clashes. Workplace diversity is also creating serious communication problems for the employees and for the organizations. In addition, diversity is creating different costs for the organizations that are directly associated with the training and development (Anderson, 2011). For instance, most of business firms are conducting the cross cultural training program in order to manage cultural diversity. Hence, from the diversity trend, it is founded that due to changing demographics and globalization of the labor market, workforce are getting more heterogeneous sexually, racially, culturally, individually, etc
Flexibility: Diversity as well as globalization trends of organizational change are also forcing the business organizations to become more flexible and adaptable (Pour, 2006). For example, to be able to function globally and to embrace diversity, leaders and employees in organizations are developing wider range of skills and strategies to work with diverse groups of people in the workplace as well as in the marketplace (Saji, 2004). On the other hand, some of businesses organizations allow workers to have very different work arrangements and payment schedules. Some organizations are treating some workers as independent consultants rather than employees. For example, in certain occupations, advances in communication and information technologies have enabled telecommutingworking at home via computer. One consequence of this is the blurring of boundaries between work and home and where and when work occurs. The benefits of greater flexibility may be countered by the negative consequences of working 24/7 including higher stress and burnout. In order to stay competitive, organizations are constantly changing and restructuring the organization. This is increasing flexibility and decreasing costs for the companies. Business process reengineering, business process out-sourcing, job redesign, and other approaches to optimize business processes have been implemented by the organizations in order to increase operational and process efficiency, while reducing the costs of doing business. Changes in business and operational processes need time to stabilize for employees to learn the new processes, become familiar with them, and be able to operate effectively and efficiently. At the same time, organizational systems, processes and people are responding differently to different situations due to differentiated customer needs, increasing diversity in workplace and change in technology and markets (Buono & Jamieson, 2010).
Flat structure: In today’s changing commercial era, speed or response time is critical. Business organizations are developing new technologies to the changes in order to survive in the competitive environment. In this way, in order to maximize response time, organizations are flattening their hierarchies and structures (Pour, 2006). On the other hand, flat organizations are making effective decisions more quickly, because each person is closer to the ultimate decision-makers. At the same time, there are fewer levels of management and workers are empowered to make decisions (Wart, 2008). However, flat organizations are creating a new tension between decentralization and centralization. Among the drivers of decentralization, communications technologies are allowing companies to push decision-making away from the core. People who are working within decentralized organizations feel empowered and energized. They do not focus on the chain of command and they do not feel constrained by it (Rainey, 2009). Organizations are caught between the opposing forces of centralization and decentralization (Mills, 2008). They want to leverage the opportunities offered by decentralization and create more nimble and forceful organizations, but they cannot always do so, because the forces of centralization come into play. There are obvious benefits to centralization as control is comparatively tighter and accountability is clearer compared to a flatter, more decentralized organizational structure (Anderson, 2011). By taking the examples of IT operations, the key to a centralized organization’s success is its responsiveness. If the centralized operation can be responsive to the needs of the business, that approach can make sense (Mcshane, 2006). Several companies, such as DaimlerChrysler and PepsiCo have migrated back to centralizing IT operations after attempts at decentralization. Vacillation between centralization and decentralization is both non-productive and unnecessary. Organizations, as they desire to become flatter, will need to be clear about how they need to respond to the tension between centralization and decentralization (Mcshane, 2006). Hence, as per the flat trends, business organizations are developing fewer levels of management and workers are empowered to make effective decisions due to changes in information technology and globalization. Additionally, there are fewer differences in responsibility across the organizational levels (Buono & Jamieson, 2010).
Networks: As per this trend, organizations are encouraging horizontal communication among workers rather than working through the organizational hierarchy. It is often faster for workers who need to coordinate with each other simply to communicate directly. Such organizations are highly networked. Networked organizations refer to their relations to other organizations (Ingols, Cawsey, & Deszca, 2011). Due to the stronger network, organizations have greater flexibility. They are also more competitive in the global marketplace. On the other hand, organizations do not require that many resources such as employee benefits, office space, and financing for new business ventures (Rainey, 2009). Networked organizations are particularly important in industries with complex products where technologies and customer needs change rapidly such as in high technology industries. Close ties among a set of companies enables them to work with each other in ways that are faster than arms-length. The trend towards networked organizations and structures create a new tension between interdependence and independence (Harigopal, 2006). For example, the use of independent contractors, joint ventures, strategic partnerships and alliances even with competitors. On the other hand, networks have distinct disadvantages. Organizations may find it more difficult to control quality of goods or services as they now have to depend on their partners in the networks to deliver the quality that is desired (Rainey, 2009). Legal and contracting expertise as well as negotiation expertise is also important for networks. Alternative forms of control may need to be developed to control quality. Alternative mechanisms for coordination may also need to be developed to manage the growing constellation. In many industries, such as the garment industry in Italy, strong relationships have developed between manufacturers and suppliers, so that considerable work is done without a contract and without even working out a firm price. For these networked organizations to work, high trust and social capital between organizations are key elements (Harigopal, 2006).
Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be concluded that all the five trends of organizational change produce result in greater organizational or system complexity for both leaders and employees in organizations. The tensions produced by these trends cannot be solved. They have to be managed. Effective approaches in organizational change will involve not one strategy, but many alternatives will require leaders and employees to develop greater resilience in confronting these tensions. References Anderson, D.L. (2011). Organization Development: The Process of Leading Organizational Change. USA: SAGE. Buono, A.F. & Jamieson, D. (2010). Consultation for Organizational Change. USA: IAP. Graham, S. (2006). Diversity: Leaders Not Labels: A New Plan for a the 21st Century. UK: Simon and Schuster. Gul, H. & Alican, A. (2008). Leadership and organizational culture in challenging environment: A general approach. Journal of global strategic management 3(n.d), 1-15. Harigopal, K. (2006). Management of Organizational Change: Leveraging Transformation. USA: SAGE. Ingols, C., Cawsey, T.F. & Deszca, G. (2011). Organizational Change: An Action-Oriented Toolkit. USA: SAGE. Keskitalo, C. (2012). Climate Change and Globalization in the Arctic: An Integrated Approach to Vulnerability Assessment. USA: Earthscan. Lewis, L.K. (2011). Organizational Change: Creating Change Through Strategic Communication. USA: John Wiley & Sons. Mcshane, (2006). Organizational Behavior: Essentials. USA: Tata McGraw-Hill Education, Mills, J.H. (2008). Understanding Organizational Change. USA: Taylor & Francis. Nissen, B. (2002). Unions in a Globalized Environment: Changing Borders, Organizational Boundaries, and Social Roles. USA: M.E. Sharpe. Pour, (2006). Emerging Trends and Challenges in Information Technology Management. USA: Idea Group Inc (IGI). Rainey, H.G. (2009). Understanding and Managing Public Organizations. USA: John Wiley & Sons. Saji, K.B. (2004). Recent Trends in Globalization of R&D. Delhi Business Review 10(5), 111-116. Scholte, J.A. (2005). Globalization: A Critical Introduction. UK: Palgrave Macmillan. U.S. Census Bureau (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.census.gov Wart, M.V. (2008). Leadership in Public Organizations: An Introduction. USA: M.E. Sharpe. Get Best and Original assignment help services from our experts. We assure you that you will get excellent assignment help services on time. You can contact us for assignment help.