Managing people through change : a new management approach

M.Comm."The world in which you do business is ever changing, and that change can make a world of difference in how you do business, but it must be managed correctly". Goldberg (1999:39). Change in today's business environment is inevitable and indeed necessary for survival. The challenge is not just managing change, but managing the increased speed, magnitude and complexity of change. The continuing challenge for executives is not technology, but the art of human-and humane management. Implementing change haphazardly could result in irreversible damage. Poor Change management could be the direct result of de-motivated, stressed employees and declining productivity. Management still belief that the best way to drive change through the organization is from top down. Inevitably this implies that command and control management prevails. Today companies compete in a global, informationalized, customized market places where change is rapid and continuous and the ability to adapt and learn is key to survival. Thus a management approach that inspires and enables people to work together to respond quickly, flexibly, creatively and efficiently to global change is needed. Command and control management have to make way for participative management to foster such an environment. For companies today the choice is not whether to change but how? Change will be brought about by people not new technology, procedures or strategies. This implies that at the core of any transformation are people. Their input and cooperation is essential, it will determine the fate of the organization during and after transformation. Successful managers will have to establish a collaborative relationship with employees. Improved credibility and trust is important. To succeed companies will have to do more than restructure, downsize and reengineer. Once an organization needs to change for any reason, people must be trained for the new challenge facing them. People need support and direction for change. Stonich (1982: 26) says that from a strategy implementation perspective emphasis needs to be on human resource management as an essential component for the successful implementation of the new strategy. It may therefore be assumed that human resource systems have a major influence on managing strategic and cultural change. Major changes in the organization's environmental context have placed renewed significance on the effective use of human resource management. From a strategic management perspective, implementing strategic change, management needs to take cognizance of the frustrations, ambitions, fears and socio-cultural behaviors of employees