Achieving readiness for organisational change
| Published date | 01 August 2005 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120510623764 |
| Pages | 408-412 |
| Date | 01 August 2005 |
| Author | Ian Smith |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Achieving readiness for
organisational change
Ian Smith
La Trobe University Library, Boondura, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – Seeks to ontinue discussion of the critical role of people in organisational change.
Design/methodology/approach – Focuses on the importance of achieving change readiness, ways
in which this may be achieved and means to assess organisational readiness for change.
Findings – Achieving and sustaining effective organisational change and renewal are an imperative.
The people in organisations can be either the key to achieving effective change, or the biggest
obstacles to success.
Originality/value – Highlights how managers attempting to achieve organisational change will be
well served by paying attention to the need to create readiness for change – this at both the individual
employee and whole-of-organisation level – and the ways in which this may be achieved.
Keywords Organizational chan ge, Change management
Paper type Viewpoint
Change, the process of moving to a new and different state of things is a constant for
organisations. Managing organisational change is, in very large part, about
managing the “people” aspects of that process. The first in this series of five short
articles on this topic (Smith, 2005) considered the inherent conundrum of
organisational change: that people, the human resources of organisations, are both
an essential factor in organisational change and, at times, the biggest obstacles to
achieving change. In this second article in the series the focus is on change readiness
– why it is important, ways in which it may be achieved and how to assess
organisational readiness for change.
Change readiness – why is it important?
It is people who make up organisations and it is they who are the real source of, and
vehicle for, change. They are the ones who will either embrace or resist change. If
organisational change is to take hold and succeed then organisations and the people
who work in them must be readied for such transformation. Change readiness is not
automatic and it cannot be assumed. A failure to assess organisational and individual
change readiness may result in managers spending significant time and energy dealing
with resistance to change. By creating change readiness before attempts at
organisational renewal begin the need for later action to cope with resistance may
be largely avoided. An investment in developing change readiness – at both an
individual and whole-of-organisation level – can achieve a double benefit. Positive
energy goes into creating preparedness for the changes and, in turn, there can be a
significant reduction in the need for management of resistance once organisational
revival is underway.
If change readiness is important, how then might this best be accomplished?
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
LM
26,6/7
408
Library Management
Vol. 26 No. 6/7, 2005
pp. 408-412
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120510623764
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