Organizational Change
Definition and Discussion of Organizational Change
Organizational change denotes any alteration that occurs in the work environment, for example, relationships and roles of workers in an organization. The change is meant to create adaptability of the multicity of changes and counter competition that may occur in the future. Organizational change can take different modes, including modification in institutional structure, policies, technology, procedures, or culture. This modification can be gradual or abrupt, depending on a firm’s situation. Regardless of the speed or type, the objective of this change is to eliminate the ancient modes in which work was executed and adapt to current and conventional ways. Organizational change necessitates superior human resource management.
Identification of the Organization and its Problems
Amazon is a global online shopping business owned by the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos. A few months ago, the company faced some criticism: its business practices, such as price control, delayed deliveries, exploitation of workers, poor working conditions, and sale of faulty merchandise, were termed as unethical. Amazon has also faced numerous instances of monopolistic behaviors. In 2015, the company announced that products from Apple and Google Chrome cast are banned from sale on amazon.com and its merchants (Briken & Taylor, 2018; Soper. 2015). Amazon argued that this measure was a means of reducing client confusion as the named devices did not support the prime video system. Nevertheless, this strategy was criticized as it was deemed to suppress products from brands and companies that pose as competitors to Amazon.
Amazon has been criticized for its treatment of its labor force and the quality of its working environs. According to CNBC reports, some employees are frustrated over how their employer handles them (Palmer, 2020). Morever, many Amazon workers have stated that they are terrified to go to work during this time of the pandemic (Adams, 2019; Palmer, 2020). Truck drivers and warehouse workers told the CNBC that they are compelled to choose between work and their wellbeing. Currently, at some facilities, there is a scarcity of essential health propinquities, such as hand sanitizers and disinfectants. Therefore, workers are exposed to the risk of coronavirus.
Amazon has also been questioned over its strategy of differential pricing and unethical price control. Surveys show that when Amazon users delete cookies that identified them as regular Amazon customers, they are likely to get products at discounted prices. Moreover, in 2017, Amazon blocked the pre-order of Disney films just before the movies Rogue One and Mohana were released to gain full price control for Disney films. Amazon has also been sued by authors in various instances for discounting books too much that the writers cannot not benefit from their efforts. As such , the enterprise needs to reforms its policies, working culture, and practices trough organization change.
Lewin’s Organizational Change Model
Lewin’s organizational change model, which argues that change involves three processes, can be applied to this case. The first process is ‘unfreeze,’ whereby the motive of change is explained to the origination staff (Habersang, KüberlingJost, Reihlen, & Seckler, 2018). Every stakeholder should be aware that a change is to be initiated and understand what it would entail. The second stage is changes, in which the institution accepts the change and transition to new ways of operation. The last step is ‘refreeze,’ and it is characterized by the maintinence of consistency so that changes are internalized by staff, supervised for reinforcement, and adjustments made if necessary.
Lewin’s model of organizational change would work well in the context of improvements that Amazon needs. This theory accounts for both uncertainty and resistance to change, which can be witnessed at all levels of the organization. A general distrust of the unproven process and luck of corporation between employees is a common barrier that influences change (Adams, 2019). This theory offers distinct privileges when it comes to applying the procedural change in large organizations such as amazon.com. Therefore, Lewin’s model and its process can be applied to actualize change in Amazon.
Lewin argued that people or organizations resist change and opt to maintain their normal ways of operation to remain in their comfort zones. This approach encourages that organizations should unfreeze their current processes, cultures, or rules (Habersang et al., 2018). Amazon should apply this strategy by establishing an effective way of communicating with its employees. As mentioned, at its warehouse, employees are forced to choose between work and their health (Briken & Taylor, 2018). Amazon should unfreeze its policy of customer satisfaction as this rule leads the organization to focus on providing quality and efficient merchandize and services without considering the welfare of the workers that provide these services (Jung, Sunghun & Kim Hyunsu, 2017) . When this policy is removed, workers will enhance their productivity as the working environment is improved. Amazon should also unfreeze the ban on the sale of competitors’ merchandise on its site this will ensure ethical competition in the market. As Lewin’s model opinions, organizations should lessen their past behaviors, traditions, and practices so that they achieve or uphold an ethical edge in an evolving world. This theory emphasizes that institutions should satisfy customers and thus gain trust, which, in turn, will help them outstand the competition
The change stage is the when the actual process of change is implemented and communication across the organization is critical at this stage. The firm adopts new policies and behaviors, and the structure can be altered (Hussain et al., 2018) changes in policing, such us ensuring that all customers get the same prices regardless of the demographic regions they are situated. Amazon should prefer having more employees and shorter work shifts than the current situation whereby the personell works in strenuous shifts. This transformation has to involve behavioral change where past comportments are omitted. There are incidents where Amazon delivers alternative products to customers (Ovide, 2020). The corporation should be ethical enough to supply what had been ordered and not the best available alternative. This step would be critical to the management as it would have to adjust the number of its human resources.
Refreeze is a strategy used by Lewin’s theory to ensure that changes are implemented and workable solutions are ascertained. For instance, an organization such as Amazon has to maintain the number of employees if the demand rate is flat and hire more workers when the demand for products rises (Habersang et al., 2018). If Amazon accepts the sale of competitor products on its site to foster ethical competition, it should come up with a policy to sell products for profit rather than to counter competitors(Jung, Sunghun & Kim Hyunsu, 2017). This rule should be effected without considering who are the possible competitors in the market. If amazon agrees to remove its price control measure on films, it should ensure that the pre-order feature is available for all films that are likely to be released. Therefore, this strategy of change aims to ensure that the organization changes the status quo and never returns to its old ways.
A change management plan should be created to monitor the effectiveness of modifications. For instance, in the first process of unfreezing, the organization should ensure to gather all the criticisms and lessen all the procedures that may create an unhealthy relationship between society, the management, and employees in the organization (Stouten, Rousseau, & De Cremer, 2018). This plan will help to identify the anticipated areas that triggered issues and certify that Amazon is ready to change its policies and treat its employees well.
The management plan should ensure that change is enacted in ethical ways. For instance, if Amazon is to tackle the problem of unhealthy treatment of workers, the work burden of the current employees should be reduced or other workers be hired to reduce the workload (Stouten et al., 2018). This change control plan would ensure that changes are long-term and consistent and that they focus on feedback collection. The plan should also ensure that clients, employees, and stakeholders provide positive feedback.
Conclusion
Organizational change helps an institution to gain a competitive edge in the market. When change is effectively enacted, firms can adapt to transformations that may arise in the context of technological, environmental, and competitiveness and maintain a constant rate of evolution. The organizational change reduces any potential fallout on general structural alterations. Like the case of Amazon, improvement of the working environment and adding more workers to the organization would have reduced the wrangles between the organisation and its employers. The process demands planning, setting objective goals, communicating steadily, and paying attention to feedback. Furthermore, actualized change increases productivity as workers can adopt new ways of doing work, and processes are improved, meaning the best quality of a product or service is attained.