Change is the only constant reality of life and is observed not just in our personal life but also on the professional front. But do all of us know how to deal with change? No. Managing change and learning to adapt to it takes time, energy, efforts and training and this is the reason why several learned individuals around the globe have come up with properly structured and defined models to manage change. In this article, we shall go through what change management is and about the various popular change management models that have been effectively and successfully been applied to businesses and industries with the aim of dealing with transition and change.

Major Approaches & Models of Change Management

© Shutterstock.com | Sergey Nivens

In this article, we provide 1) an overview on change management and explain 2) the major approaches and models of change management.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT: AN OVERVIEW

Change Management is the term that is used to refer to the change or transitioning people, groups, companies and projects from one state to another. When this term is applied to businesses and projects, it may refer to a process of transitioning the scope of the project in such a way that it can meet changing requirements and objectives. What happens is that after a certain point in time some changes may need to be introduced as far as functioning, operations, marketing, finance or the other aspects of a business are concerned so as to improve its chances of reaching its goals. Change management involves the application of structured methods and a pre-planned framework so as to steer business from its current state to a desired state.

The main benefit or advantage of the application of change management is that it helps to increase the chances of a business staying on its or schedule that in turn leads to and realization of benefits. Amidst the high competition and fast paced world, it is important for every organization to move ahead by constantly bringing about useful and structured changes and adapting to new technology and methodologies to meet customer demand.

MAJOR APPROACHES & MODELS OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT

In order to manage change and implement change strategies, it is important to avoid implementing irrelevant or random methods and try to focus on a suitable plan of action. Change management is an ongoing process that takes time, expertise, dedication and efforts to implement and run. It requires the involvement of people or staff of the company and may also result in these people being affected by the changes too. Before adopting one of the many effective and popular change management approaches and models, an organization must first figure out why it needs the changes and how will the changes benefit it.

The following are some of the best strategies and approaches to implement change management.