Creating Change

Creating Change

Tammy Snyder

BUS610: Organizational Behavior

Instructor: Dr. Vanneste

January 23rd, 2012

Creating Change

Eventually, in the life of any organization there becomes a need for change. Whether it is because the company is growing and needs to increase production to meet greater demand, or the organization has become stagnant and realizes it must re-organize with some fresh, new ideas, change is inevitable. This change, however, cannot happen overnight and must be planned carefully to ensure that it is the best direction for the company and that it meets with minimal resistance from employees and customers. Many people balk at change for one reason or another, and an organization could experience greater issues trying to improve itself than if it were to try to keep the status quo and risk failure simply because it could not keep up or stay fresh. There are steps that management must follow when implementing change in order to create a smooth transition, and by looking carefully at these steps along the way, the managerial staff can ascertain if the change is in the right direction for the company and a benefit to its stakeholders.

My organization’s change

I work for my local county government under the administrative umbrella in a newly developed ‘customer service’ department. The county is called Pasco County, and its initiative is called the “LEAP into Excellence Initiative,” where LEAP stands for “Lean, Efficient, Accountable Pasco” (pascocountyfl.net, 2012). The county wants to provide excellent service for its customers, a healthy, satisfying workplace for its employees, and remain forthright and accountable in its endeavors. In order to step-up efficiency and improve customer service, the administrators and commissioners decided a major change was in order.

For many years, Pasco County Board of County Commissioners simply had a switchboard-and-operator-type of set up when...