Table of contentsOrganizational learning and change managementChange managementOrganizational learningEffective implementation of changes in companiesThe need and importance of organizational learning and change managementConclusionChange is inevitable in modern business because the success of every organization depends on the ability to create sustainable business practices that meet market needs. However, in the modern business world, managers adopt organizational learning to transfer information from different departments of the company. In this regard, organizational learning enables effective change management as leaders identify the most appropriate personnel within a company to make the necessary changes. Therefore, leaders publicize any impending changes to the workforce to reduce the impact of resistance. Along the same lines, leaders use effective communication skills to educate staff about the benefits of changes to individuals and the business. This way, workers understand how to apply new business practices to their daily work. On the other hand, employees understand their responsibilities and roles, thereby reducing layoffs in the company. Successful change leaders adopt a collaborative leadership style in which they listen to the opinions of all workers, regardless of their position in the company. The exchange of information creates a teamwork environment, which allows employees to view their colleagues as partners rather than rivals. Therefore, adoption of modern business practices by staff is accelerated as slow learners learn from their peers. The benefits of organizational learning include effective exchange of information to accelerate task accomplishment to achieve organizational goals in the shortest possible time. Rather, the benefits of change management include reducing resistance within the workforce, thereby speeding up the process. Therefore, companies create a competitive advantage that allows them to compete with other companies in the same industry. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayOrganizational Learning and Change ManagementChanges in organizations are inevitable due to variations in business practices, customer needs, organizational interests, and goals. In reality, businesses cannot thrive if they do not engage in continuous research and development to identify the most applicable business practices that would help them create a competitive advantage. Notably, traditional businesses depended on material resources for their sustainability; however, over the years, dwindling resources have pushed business leaders to adopt an employee-centric approach to ensure sustainability. Therefore, learning plays a vital role in the success of businesses as they adopt new and modern business practices that drive them to achieve their goals. With this in mind, business leaders must develop a succinct vision and an effective organizational culture enabling the implementation of the desired strategy. Subsequently, managers must prepare their company throughstaff to planned change and lead the transformation. However, business leaders face many changes when leading transformation, even if they recognize the need for change. Ideally, employees emulate the behaviors of their leaders, meaning that an organization can only make meaningful changes if its leaders lead the way (Bontis, Crossan, & Hulland, 2002, p. 441). Therefore, change begins with management for it to be successful. Apparently, leaders do not realize the need for change if their organization is to succeed. In practice, managers resist any change when stock prices are rising, bonuses are huge, and the company is attracting and retaining the best talent in the job market. On the contrary, when companies are underperforming, directors are desperate to make changes that would alter the fortunes of the company. Unfortunately, the chances of success in these circumstances are low. Some of the main reasons that lead to failure include inability to retain top talent as employees leave for opportunities at other companies, lack of funds to finance projects, and management's focus on short-term objectives in order to reduce the deterioration of the company. In this regard, it is evident that the chances of success in implementing change are higher when the company appears to be successful (Easterby-Smith, Crossan and Nicolini, 2000, p. 787). Although leaders tend to resist any form of change when their company's performance is optimal on all fronts, in reality, these periods offer the best chance of successfully implementing changes. Therefore, this article analyzes the qualities that managers must possess to lead the implementation of change and ensure support from all stakeholders, especially employees. Managing change Traditionally, senior executives in large companies had little to fear as they operated in underdeveloped or closed markets. . As a result, achieving their goals was easy and straightforward. However, the comfortable scenario has changed due to real-time communication channels, global capital flows, labor mobility and market transparency (Hayes, 2014, p. 116). Therefore, competent business leaders must manage changes to meet the changing needs of the market. Effective change management skills are essential to successfully implementing changes. In this regard, change management refers to the ability of business leaders to identify business practices that require changes and to use available material and human resources to bring about changes in the business environment in order to meet current market needs. In most cases, people tend to resist any form of change because they seek to remain in the status quo; therefore, business leaders should create an environment that motivates stakeholders to adopt changes in their practices (Bontis, Crossan, & Hulland, 2002, p. 446). In this way, the leader reduces resistance while encouraging all stakeholders to play their role in implementing the changes necessary to achieve success as quickly as possible. Organizational Learning Organizational learning involves the creation, retention and transfer of knowledge within an organization. In the context of change management, organizational learning isthe ability to educate stakeholders on the need to implement certain changes and the benefits these changes would bring to individuals as well as businesses (Easterby-Smith, Crossan, & Nicolini, 2000, p. .786). Organizations strive for best business practices; therefore, management must encourage all members of its staff to embrace learning as a means of learning modern business practices by benchmarking their company against top-performing competitors. Effective Implementation of Changes in Businesses As stated earlier, l Identifying the right time for the effect of organizational change is essential to the success of the process. Additionally, business leaders must find ways to overcome the natural resistance to change that occurs in most modern organizations. Importantly, managers must use the vision, values ​​and strategies that determine a company's roadmap for the future to develop a compelling case for relevant change (Hayes, 2014, p. 76). Change should be seen as the norm and all stakeholders in an organization should play their role. The most successful business leaders are conservative when implementing changes to their organization's practices. The CEO should use strategic planning to determine the best course of action to reduce instances of resistance and counterproductive measures that might deter implementation of the process (Bierly, Kessler, and Christensen, 2014, p. 601). As such, planning must be effective in identifying failures that might arise in following the identified route. At the same time, the leader should not recommend a change without listening to the opinions of other stakeholders, because such measures increase resistance to the process. Indeed, leaders must be effective communicators to ensure that they sell their ideas and philosophies to workers and other stakeholders. In this regard, collaborative leaders are the most successful because they do not adopt a know-it-all attitude that reduces the participation of other stakeholders in implementing change. In real life, it takes time to accomplish any significant change in a business. As such, collaboration ensures that the behaviors of all stakeholders change to streamline organizational strategies with the desired changes. However, the leader must be the first to accept the need for change and set an example for workers. Leaders' actions must be aligned with the expectations they have of workers to ensure change is implemented. In essence, managers need to ask themselves whether the change they want to implement in the company's strategies and vision is motivating it. The change should take the company to the next level of maturity without skipping certain levels that would have detrimental effects on success. Additionally, leaders must design the organizational behaviors necessary to support the process. At the same time, managers must ensure they have the talent, time and resources needed to succeed. The focus should be on people, regardless of the scale of the change implemented, because the process should be as painless as possible. As such, developing a learning organization is one of the best ways to prepare workers for impending change. In practice, humans have underlying behaviors when faced with change. Learning promotes understanding, which in turnturn leads to commitment (Easterby-Smith, Crossan, & Nicolini, 2000, p. 789). An enlightened workforce accepts the need for change, thereby reducing resistance and strengthening engagement. In such situations, staff recommend areas that require urgent changes to improve organizational performance and push the company towards its goals. Workforce skills determine the viability of a change process by articulating the capabilities that each employee possesses. Therefore, managers should identify the workforce skills that are needed to implement the necessary changes and encourage the workforce to engage in ongoing training to find new ways to solve the organizational problems. In reality, changes are inevitable; therefore, the workforce must develop its capabilities to adapt to the ever-changing technological processes, demands and requirements of the market. Because managers must develop unique practices that help their company stay ahead of the competition, leaders must avoid rigidity because it leads to a lack of urgency and a desire to implement changes. As stated earlier, effective communication is essential to all successful managers. The workforce must learn the changes occurring in the market to enable them to learn the best ways to meet the needs of the market segment. Additionally, managers must effectively communicate the need to adopt a habit of continuous learning to ensure worker engagement. Additionally, the executive must engage in ongoing and active training and education programs that provide staff with the skills needed to meet changing demands. Programs should enable employees to use their new skills to compete in a changing environment. Leaders must use their effective communication skills to disseminate information related to the organizational vision and establish areas of business that need improvement. Additionally, communication should be realistic and describe the current business environment that is driving change. Ideally, the message should be simple and clear. Successful managers rethink any message that cannot be conveyed in a few words (Bierly, Kessler, and Christensen, 2014, p. 598). Leaders must understand that the message spreads across different organizational levels and that the original message may change if it incorporates multiple words. Indeed, as messages spread from senior management to subordinates, their content changes, thus delivering erroneous messages that could lead to controversies. Additionally, leaders must take every opportunity to convey the company's vision to workers. In most cases, CEOs hold regular meetings with staff; therefore, in meetings; the leader should start by reading the company vision to the participants to remind them of the roadmap for the future. Such actions help create an ethical environment in which all workers respect the company's visions and strategic objectives. Successful managers take the proven path to implementing change in their organization. The established path involves successful plans, which have been tested in organizations of different sizes. The plan includes three main phases, namely leadership, development and ownership. In the leadership phase, the leader compares current processes to best-in-class applicationsused in market-performing companies (Lozano, Ceulemans and Scarff Seatter, 2015, p. 207). Therefore, the management conducts a quick survey to establish the gap between current and best practices in the business sector. At the same time, business leaders must determine the value that closing the gap would bring to the business. The executive should identify steps that stakeholders would take to close gaps in priorities. Essentially, different business practices generate varying returns on investment; accordingly, managers should identify the best sequence of events that would achieve the highest possible returns. Before embarking on the process, managers must define the resources and budget necessary for the projects. Furthermore, management should identify adequate human resources to lead the process and assign respective tasks to given individuals (Dervitsiotis, 1998, p. 77). The project should never start before completing all the steps mentioned above as this will lead to failure as some of the necessary requirements are not met during the later stages of the process. After committing to the transformation, leaders appoint a team of experts and internal agents. to supervise the process itself. The team must be made up of the best elements of the organization. These personnel must serve the best interests of the company because they understand the fundamental issues that require change in the company. The team must learn the best ways to fill relevant gaps to achieve the set goals (Lozano, Ceulemans, & Scarff Seatter, 2015, p. 207). Management must be very attentive to the integration of people into the project and to the behaviors expected by the company. Additionally, management must provide the necessary technological framework to help the team achieve its goals within the given time frame. The final or ownership phase involves implementing the changes. As a result, management must evaluate the benefits gained from the changes to determine whether the process has failed or succeeded. Management should introduce a training program to enlighten staff on the use of new business practices (Dervitsiotis, 1998, p. 77). The educational program should show how employees will use their work in the new business environment. At the same time, this should include an understanding of company practices and their application in accomplishing tasks. In most cases, changes result in changes in responsibilities. As such, management must clearly communicate the new roles and responsibilities of staff to reduce the risk of layoffs. Employees who are unable to understand the application of the new business process should hire mentors to help them improve their performance. It is important to note that management should not resort to threats to accelerate the learning process, as this creates fear among staff, thereby reducing motivation and commitment to the company. However, lack of motivation and commitment to a company has negative effects on individual performance, which in turn negatively affects organizational productivity (Goetsch and Davis, 2014, p. 116). Even in situations where an organization uses external consultants to implement change, at the end of the process, business leaders should take ownership of the process (Langley et al., 2013, p. 2). This way, management understands areas that require updates.