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Introduction
As corporate organizations advance and come to be viewed as vibrant, coping systems, the concept of how they undergo change and the methods by which they manage change processes have continued to be refined (Ashraf, 2010; Newman, 2012). Managing a change process in a corporate organization can be a highly intricate task and is usually necessary for efficient organizational development (Newman, 2012). This paper will focus on management issues regarding Clayton County Library System (CCLS).
CCLS and the Impacts of Change at Individual and Group Levels
Clayton County Library System is one of the most preferred libraries in Craighead Count. Established in 1941 through the efforts of the Jonesboro Women’s Club, the library has grown from a room rented above a department store into an organization with more than five branches spread across the region (Kemp, 2009; Clayton County Library System, n.d). This represents a gradual change that has been going on since the library was first established. Clayton County Library System provides a range of services that are organized according to the needs of its various clients: adults, children and youths.
The most recent major change that took place in the library is a physical expansion evidenced by the construction of a new branch in Forest Park in 2012 (Clayton County Library System, n.d). The new branch meant that the library would have expanded operations and hence the need to adjust the task of existing employees and recruiting new personnel. This kind of change also implied that all the personnel was to be relocated to the new branch, the consequence of which was extra responsibilities for the employees. The new change had substantial effects on CCLS, both at the group and organizational levels. The effects are discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.
At the individual level, the change resulted in more responsibilities for each of the library’s employees (Burke, 2010). Besides, there was a change in the work environment and the employees were expected to adjust to it (Machin, Forarty, Bannon, 2009). The most affected were the team leaders who had to assist their followers through the transition process; team leaders are always expected to lead change processes in organizations to ensure successful change processes (Finn, 2012; Nkomo & Kriek, 2011). Of the challenges faced by the leaders, the most prominent ones included the way the employees reacted to the change and the manner in which some of them claimed they were not psychologically prepared to change their work environment (Feldman, 2013). In addition, some employees were not comfortable with the increased responsibilities that were due to the library’s expanded service operations (Manning & Silva, 2012). Some employees were also not happy with the fact that it would take them a lot of time to familiarize themselves with different sections of the new branch (Welch, 2003).
At the group level, the change had substantial effects on the library’s different departments (Burke, 2010). With the expanded operations, some of the departments had increased responsibilities (Burke, 2010). This meant that every department had to revise its mode and scope of operations in order to efficiently achieve the goals of the library (Burke, 2010). Unfortunately, when a change affects individuals within an organization, the impacts are also felt at the group level. In relation to this, some individuals were moved to other departments. This subsequently increased the workload in the affected department (Byng, 2013). Due to this, some departmental leaders tried to oppose the redeployment of their personnel to other departments (Byng, 2013).
Change Process and Models
Clayton County Library System is a public library that provides specifically tailored reading and research services to adults, children and youths. The library has gradually expanded to accommodate the increasing number of clients since it was first opened in 1941. Recently, in 2012, the library opened its new Forest Park branch. The new branch brought a major change in which its personnel was required to relocate to the new building from the old one. The new branch has a bigger capacity than the old one, and the personnel now have increased responsibilities due to the increased capacity (Clayton County Library System, n.d). There are a number of change process theories that can be used in explaining this type of change. These theories are the focus of the section.
The Change Process Theories
One of the prominent change process theories is the teleological theory, which is also known as the rational or planned change model; it has other theories within it, the discussion of which is beyond the scope of this paper. Its underlying principle is that organizations are always deliberate and adaptive (Burke, 2010). This implies that changes take place when the management of an organization realizes the need for transformation; changes are inspired by conscious and rational decisions (Burke, 2010). This principle can be used to explain the change that took place in CCLS. In this regard, the need to have a new building with an increased capacity was realized by the library management and other stakeholders. Therefore, the building of the new library was a change that was rationally planned and implemented.
The next one is Kurt Lewin’s three-phase change theory. This theory has been hailed as one of the most important change theories used to explain organizational changes in the 21st century (Burke, 2010). According to Lewin, an organizational change goes through unfreeze, transition and freeze phases (Burke, 2010). In relation to CCLS, the unfreezing phase was represented by the realization that a bigger building was needed so as to expand the capacity of the library; this inspired the construction of a new structure. After the new library was built, the next step was to relocate from the old library building to the new one. This is what Lewin referred to as the transition phase. The last stage is the freeze phase. After completely relocating to the new library building, CCLS reverted back to its normal operations. At this stage, the planned change became complete.
The last is the dialectical theory. The proponents of this theory believe that organizations exist in the context of plurality (Burke, 2010). This means that there are always two contradicting aspects of an organization. Thus, there is always the need to balance power between two opposing aspects within an organization so as to ensure smooth operations (Burke, 2010). The opposing aspects in CCLS were the limited library resources and the need to provide services to all clients seeking information from the library. This resulted in the construction of a new building with an enhanced capacity to accommodate all the clients.
Conclusion
Managing Organizational change processes is a complex and challenging task that can be explained by various organizational change theories. The construction of a new CCLS Forest Park branch represented an organizational change that could be explained by the teleological, dialectical, and Lewin’s theory of change.
References
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Byng, E. S. (2013). Some Human Aspects of Office Organization. Human Factors, 10(4), 130-138.
Clayton County Library System. (n.d). Clayton County Library System History. Web.
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Kemp, K. (2009). Historic Clayton County: The Sesquicentennial History. San Antonio, Texas: HPN Books.
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Welch, R. (2003). Discovering Conditions for Staff Acceptance of Organizational Change. Journal of Park & Recreation Administration, 21(2), 19-50.
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