TABLE OF CONTENT
CERTIFICATION
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.3
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.4
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1.5
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.6
STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS
1.7
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.8
DEFINITION OF TERMS
ABSTRACT
The research
provides an evaluation of organizational change and its impact
On staff
productivity. It elucidates the concept of organizational change as an
inevitable organizational process that is required to modify operations and
organizational process. The research proffers an analysis of the concept of
productivity and seeks to determine the impact of organizational change on
staff productivity. The research provides a case appraisal of the impact of
organizational change on staff productivity in First Bank plc.
INTRODUCTION
Today’s business environment produces change
in the workplace more suddenly and frequently than ever before. Mergers,
acquisitions, new technology, restructuring downsizing and economic meltdown
are all factors that contribute to a growing climate; of uncertainty.
The ability to adapt to changing work
conditions is key for individual and organizational survival. Change will be
ever present and learning to manage and lead change includes not only
understanding human factors, but also skill to manage and lead change
effectively (Pettigrew and Whipp, 1991).
Change is the inevitable. It is the only
element of human phenomenal that is constant. Organizational change occurs when
a company makes a transition from its current state to some desired future
state. Managing organizational change is the process of planning and
implementing change in organizations in such a way as to minimize employee
resistance and cost to the organization, while also maximizing the
effectiveness of the change effort. Change is both inevitable and desirable for
any progressive organization (Fajana, 2002).
Today’s business environment requires
companies to undergo changes almost constantly if they are to remain
competitive. Factors such as globalization of markets and rapidly evolving
technology force businesses to respond in order to survive. Such changes may be
relatively minor as in the case of installing a new software programme or quite
major as in the case of refocusing an overall marketing strategy.
Organizations must change because their
environments change, according to Thomas S. Bateman and Carl P. Zeithaml in
their book management: function and strategy. Today businesses are bombarded by
incredibly high rates of change from a frustrating large number of sources.
Inside pressures come from top managers and lower-level employees who push for
change. Outside pressures come from changes in the legal, competitive,
technological and economic environments
By acceptance of organizational change, we
mean the employees readiness and willingness, support and commitment to the
organizational ideals during the periods of significant internal and external
shifts in the organization’s structure. Managers must not rush in introducing a
change. The process must be slow, steady and thorough (Fajana, 2002).
Acceptance of change signifies the
willingness of the affected parties to embrace and function in a newly
established order and their commitment to effect and implement the changes. As
underlined by scholars such as Pettigrew and Whipp (1991), Fajana (2002) and
Armstrong (2004), for planned change to bear its desired outcomes, it must be
introduced, implemented and managed in such a way that attracts and gains the
commitment from the affected parties to drive the changes to achieve the
desired goals and the existence of a common vision that change for the
organization is necessary and inevitable.
Conceptually, the change process starts with
an awareness of the need for change. An analysis of this situation and the
factors that have created it leads to a diagnosis of their distinctive
characteristics and an indication in which action needs to be taken.
Change signifies the willingness of the
affected parties to embrace and function in a newly established order and their
commitment to effect and implement the changes (Armstrong, 2004).
Effecting change can also be painful. When
planning change, there is a tendency for people to think that it will be an
entirely logical and linear process of growing from point A to B, it is not
like that at all. As described by Pettigrew and Whipp (1991), the
implementation of change is an interactive, cumulative and reformulation in-use
process. In order to manage change, it is first necessary to understand the
types of change and why people resist change. It is important to bear in mind
that while those wanting change need to be constant about ends, they have to be
flexible about means