Page 71 - CMA Journal (Nov-Dec 2024)

Articles Section
Articles Section

Science of Managing Change

Change is considered instrumental for progress. This is better if we take a rational
true because redefining the product of an equation view vis-à-vis change.
requires changing its variables. “Indeed, Allah will not
Let us first examine the
change the condition of a nation until they change what process of spontaneous
is in themselves (hearts).” [Sura Ar R’ad Ayat 11]. As much change decisions. For
as improvement is critical, so is change. Change is a
example, our quest for
continuous process, for there is always room for Sohailuddin Alavi

more and more gains or
improvement. Change that improves is desired, while more precisely being Practicing Human
change that does not warrant improvement is a mere discontent with what we Resources and Organizational
waste of time and resources. Here the key word is Development Professional
have encourages us to
improvement.
change. In doing so, we often fall prey to our stereotype
In common usage the words ‘evolution’ and ‘change’ are perception and act in haste. To elaborate, it would mean
used interchangeably. However, in fact both are distinct. rethinking our purpose and redefining the way we live
Evolution refers to an organic process of attaining and work. Consequently, we change our lifestyle, culture,
maturity. A seedling becomes a tree, a value becomes a and business under the pretense of keeping pace with the
belief, a dialect becomes a language, a process becomes changing world as it is necessary if we were to progress.
standard. On the other hand, change is aimed at In this journey, we revisit our purpose and beliefs in life
addressing problems or unleashing opportunities. It
and begin to pursue a whole new set of norms. Such as,
implies revisiting theories and altering man-made
extravagant lifestyle, entertainment, more and
processes or products. Change is also revisiting decisions increasing wealth, and power. Ironically, all these
and rethinking solutions. A separate category consists of changes are internal to individuals, which effectively
facts and natural phenomena. These neither evolve nor
make our environment altogether different.
change. “[This is] the established way of Allah with those
Nevertheless, often we would argue that we are
who passed on before; and you will not find in the way of changing our lifestyles because the environment has
Allah any change.” [Surah Al-Al-Ahzab, Ayat 62]. Existence changed. No, in fact it is vice versa and often destroys
of Almighty and His lone sovereignty is an undeniable
the social harmony. A similar analogy exists in our
fact; everything that has come to life will die; sun will
business. At times it is our craving for more profit that
always rise from the east; oranges will never grow on encourages us to change. So, we make products and
mango trees and vice versa; examples abound. One services more mesmerizing, introduce more attractive
needs to harness evolution, manage change, and
customer service, last but not the least develop a
conform to the facts and natural phenomena.
whole new face of the business. In doing so, we
Harnessing evolution refers to nurturing natural growth consciously or unconsciously create a whole new
within a disciplined framework. For instance, promoting environment. While it appears reasonable and sound,
morals, values, and habits for the development of a the underlying motivation for change is often greed,
disciplined person. Managing change involves which disrupts equilibrium.
responding to problems and opportunities and making On the contrary, to unleash the optimal advantage of
well-considered decisions. Conforming to the universal change decisions, it should be premised on sound
facts and natural phenomena is about living in harmony
considerations like addressing an ongoing problem or
with the natural laws to attain peace in present and
responding to the changes in the environment.
future. In this article, we shall analyze the dynamics of
change management. So let us now move on to our focus What are the sound considerations for businesses to
i.e., the science of change management. change? To begin with we need to unravel business
organization and its permeable environment. The two
It is human nature to replace old views with the new ones,
are in a complex relationship. That being said, change
redefine purpose and concepts, look at the situations could be stimulated by the emerging changes in the
from a different angle, change the outlook, change the permeable environment or it could be vice versa. In the
way we live our lives and last but not the least, our desire
first place, businesses respond to re-regulations, changes
to compete for more pushes us to change. Paradoxically,
in customers’ needs and expectations, changes in
we rationalize every change as inevitable though some competition, altered market demographics, emergence
are genuinely inevitable, and some are simply an illusion. of innovative technologies, etc.
That being said, not every change is desirable. It would be
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