AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT AS A RESULT OF AUTOMATION IN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT AS A RESULT OF AUTOMATION IN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

CHAPTER 1

Background of The Study

Change management consists of those processes required to facilitate the embracing and acceptance of change by stakeholders in the organization or operating environment. The process requires the application of principles, skills, and techniques for managing ‘people in the process of change management so as to achieve the expected change result of a project or initiative. The change management process is vital for the successful implementation of change in the organization. The change management process consist of; ESTABLISHING A VISION; This involve defining the Change purpose .It is expected that the leadership outline the vision of the expected outcome as a result of the change. This vision should be shared at all levels of the organization so as to get everyone committed to the vision. INVOLVE SENIOR LEADERSHIP; The senior leadership of the organization should be engaged in the process to induce the commitment of the all members of the organization. Senior leadership are expected to communicate to the staffs that the change represents a positive development for the organization, which will lend legitimacy to the initiative. DEVELOP A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN; Component of the change management plan consist of  Vision and goals, Stakeholders, Resources, Time-specific milestones ,Communications tools and strategy; ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS ;The people are the central objective of any successful change. It is therefore important to involve stakeholders early. A Booz Allen Hamilton study of governmental change efforts found that 75 percent of successful change leaders utilized a collaborative approach for developing and implementing change, compared with 33 percent of unsuccessful change leaders; COMMUNICATE AT ALL LEVELS; This will enhance openness and understanding of the vision, goals and objectives and as well induce feedback; CREATE INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT ADOPTION; This will require changing norms, culture, values and behaviours. This process takes time. Consequently   senior leadership and all members of staffs must collaborate to create an environment to actualize the change outcome. This process will require training and providing the tools necessary to promote long-run adoption. The provision of needed resources indicates to the stakeholders that the change is a priority and the organization is committed to its success.  The research therefore seek to provide An assessment of the effectiveness of change management as a result of automation in Government Agencies –

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Change management consists of those processes required to facilitate the embracing and acceptance of change by stakeholders in the organization or operating environment. The process requires the application of principles, skills, and techniques for managing ‘people in the process of change management so as to achieve the expected change result of a project or initiative. The change management process is vital for the successful implementation of change in the organization. The research conducted in the past demonstrates that 70 percent of change efforts within organizations fail. Because of the neglect of the change management process.  Therefore a major threat to successful change process implementation include the neglect of collaborative efforts which entails not focusing enough attention on the ‘people’ component of the change. According to a famous leadership and change expert Dr. John Kotter  the change process which consist of   series of steps needs a time extension to produce the desired outcome and ultimately requires the commitment of all stakeholders. Consequently the introduction of automation by government agencies can only be successful if the change process is taken into consideration.  John P. Kotter, (1995).  Consequently the problem confronting the research is to proffer An assessment of the effectiveness of change management as a result of automation in Government Agencies

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT AS A RESULT OF AUTOMATION IN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES