The frequency and pace of change continue to accelerate as organizations modernize to meet the demands of new business models, technology and global competition. Organizational change is a process that begins with the conception of an idea and moves through planning, implementation and execution. It can be adaptive or transformative, and it is a near-constant in contemporary business across industries.
To succeed as a leader in today’s environment of uncertainty, you must understand how to manage change effectively, including implementing new company infrastructures, core missions, core offerings, markets, internal processes and even business models. Northern Kentucky University (NKU) offers an online Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (B.S.B.A.) – Management program designed to equip you with the organizational leadership and change management skills to lead through that uncertainty.
How Does a B.S.B.A. – Management Program Build Change Management Leadership Skills?
NKU’s B.S.B.A. – Management program features two courses with a direct focus on building organizational leadership and change management skills. Both prepare you for the real-world demands of guiding teams and organizations through periods of transition, as follows:
- Behavior in Organizations: Understanding Organizational Life: This course explores complex organizational, group and individual processes. It provides a leadership-level foundation for understanding the workings and dynamics of contemporary business organizations. As a student, you will examine concepts, theories, processes and skills that drive effective planning, organizing, interacting and leading.
- Leadership and Change: In this course, you will learn to identify and assess competencies and values relevant to leadership. You reflect on your development during the program and implement lifelong learning plans for acquiring future competencies.
Change Management Success Factors
Throughout the B.S.B.A. – Management program, you explore best practices for sustainable success in business and change management. As an introduction to the concept, here are several components of change management you will contribute to as an organizational change leader:
- Preparation: Before consensus buy-in can occur, there must first be understanding and agreement on the reasons for change. Leaders at every level are responsible for preparing followers and raising awareness of the impetus for change, the outcomes of a potential success and the possible consequences of failure to change.
- Communication: Training professionals to be good communicators is critical. Communication must take place across a variety of channels to both reach and convince the target audience. People generally resist change, with an attitude that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” which promotes retroactive and inefficient change processes. Change can be most impactful when proactive and transformative.
- Creation of the vision and plan: Like creating a business plan, making a change management plan involves the following details: Strategic goals, expected outcomes, key performance indicators, projects, project scopes, teams, stakeholders and systems of accountability. Leaders should also develop contingency plans when unknown factors could derail projects, so visionary leaders must also possess flexibility and foresight.
- All systems go: Change management often fails at the lowest organizational levels, where front-line employees are unsure of their roles and daily contributions to the plan. They also may lack motivation or buy-in. In leadership roles, you may manage front-line personnel and will need to ensure they receive appropriate training. They must also have adequate time and resources to get to their routine work and complete change management projects on time.
- Integration and alignment of projects: Initial plans may lack the required specifics for complete organizational integration as the process evolves. Effective change management leaders at all levels work collaboratively with and across project teams, as well as with other leaders to align plans and provide higher level direction. According to Prosci, integrating project management with change management is among the most consistently cited best practices for achieving project objectives across industries and organization sizes.
Why Change Management Skills Are Worth Pursuing
According to Boston Consulting Group global analysis, only 1 in 4 transformations deliver value-creating, enduring change. This serves as a sobering reminder that well-prepared change leaders are in short supply.
Businesses cannot afford that outcome, especially when organizational reinvention is increasingly frequent. To succeed, they must source properly trained leaders who are ready to step in and implement time-tested approaches. Therefore, enrolling in a degree program that prepares you for change management leadership is just as crucial to your future employers as it is to you.
Learn more about Northern Kentucky University’s online Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Management program.
