Continuing Education: Essential for Organizational Change - Essay Sample

Introduction

Dynamic changes in the corporate world require people to keep updating themselves concerning the changes therein. Continuing education entails endeavors such as seminars, online courses, and entire academic programs. So, why is continuing education necessary for an organization? Insofar as organizational change is concerned, continuing education enables the organization to increase productivity, retain employees, decrease delays, minimized costs, and cultivates passion and purpose within an organization. Increasing productivity is the most significant reason why an organization should engage their employees in a continuing education endeavor (Strobel, 2013). Continued learning increases productivity in the sense that the more a workforce becomes informed of their work, the better they perform duties within the shortest time possible. Employees are likely to stay in an organization if they realize their development is valued by the company, mostly the millennial generation. Concerning resistance to delays, continued learning equips most employees with the necessary skills rather than leaving it to one person without whom delays would be experienced. Continued education imbues one with passion and minimized professional blunders.

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Impact This Policy Change May Have on The Organizational Behavior and Organizational Culture of The Company

Concerning employee's behavior, the new policy may not be accepted by all. Some are bound to resist the policy, thus influencing the workplace environment negatively. Employees in an organization are likely to be resistive if they are not involved in the decision-making process. Some may, therefore, resist continued learning as long as they are not involved during the introduction of the program. In that regard, the administration is forced to alter its models to resolve the subject matter. The organizational culture therefore changes. From a positive perspective, change brought about by continued learning is poised to impact an organization positively (Strobel, 2013). Thus, an organization needs to manage the initial stages effectively as that would bring forth the attainment of an organization's vision. The involvement of employees in the inception stages could reduce negativity and encourage them to acknowledge the importance of continued learning. It is worth noting that some employees may be depressed in case the continued learning leads to alteration of their roles in the company.

Barriers to Change and How to Address the Barriers

In most cases, employees are likely to be satisfied with their current status. They would be deemed to be in a comfort zone. The comfort zone is one of the stumbling blocks of change in any organization. It is worth noting that employees would control their workplaces before introducing a continuous learning program. Change is also influenced by denial, as employees are likely to be skeptical of the importance of continued learning insofar as performing their duties (Oluwakemi, 2017). In case the management does not resolve denial among employees effectively, they are likely to advance their denial to anger, which might affect people around them. Barriers to change in any organization could be resolved by including employees in the early decision-making process. Employees' involvement in decision-making processes creates an assurance that they are valued, and their opinions are highly regarded.

How This Change May Affect Individual Job Performance and Job Satisfaction

As an individual, one may amass numerous challenges concerning continued learning. One advantage of continuing education is that it provides employees with an opportunity to make a seamless transition during career transitions. Continued learning in the workplace also involves one's image and marketability (Oluwakemi, 2017). In case of a future job search, an employee becomes more marketable if they engaged in continued learning compared to those who did not. Additionally, continued education improves one's lifestyle in the sense that they can switch to other careers or move to other better-paying jobs. In that regard, continued learning increases one's personal development.

Motivational Strategy That Might Be Used for Implementation

A strategy by Kurt Lewin, which involves a three-stage process, could be used to implement change in an organization. The first stage in the strategy is known as unfreezing, during which employees in the organization have their minds prepared psychologically for the change before it happens. The second stage is to be initiated once the change has occurred, and the transition is required (Oluwakemi, 2017). The intermediate stage includes activities such as employee support and vibrant consultative endeavors with the management. Lastly is the freezing stage upon which new ideals causing a change in the organization are solidified. The three phases were meant to influence one by Setting Up for success, create urgency, shape the future, implement, support, sustain momentum, and stabilize the environment.

How Teams in the Implementation of Change

Teams could be utilized by managers to implement a new activity, such as continued learning. The management of an organization could have a successful implementation if they set team goals. They could decide to perform the continued learning in groups by setting goals for various groups in the organization. The management would also achieve their change goals by providing their employees with feedback and reviews concerning the new changes (Oluwakemi, 2017). The management should listen to their employees concerning changes in the organization and clarify any issue. Managers should also share their employee successes concerning the change publicly to encourage them to perform better. It should be noted that even in group settings, there are barriers such as skewed influence and lack of trust. Uneven influence emanates from dominating personalities who influence the decision of the group. Concerning a lack of trust, some employees may not feel comfortable sharing their ideas with a devoid of confidence.

Communication Methods to Be Used to Support This Policy Change Implementation

The most probable communication methods applicable in a continued learning scenario would include verbal, written, and visual. Verbal communication would be appropriate in joint meetings (Strobel, 2013). Written and graphical methods of communication would be used when communicating through emails and during presentations. Verbal communication would be the most frequently applied communication method, especially if continued education is to be conducted in teams.

References

Oluwakemi, A. (2017). Organizational Change and How It Affects Healthcare Employees: A Study on Employee Resistance to Change in Electronic Medical Record Implementation. ERICK, Dissertation, Colorado Technical University. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED577811

Strobel, M., Tumasjan, A., Spörrle, M., & Welpe, I. M. (2013). The future starts today, not tomorrow: How future focus promotes organizational citizenship behaviors. Human Relations, 66(6), 829-856. DOI:10.1177/0018726712470709