Explain how successful communication is used throughout a change process to convey vision and strategies to stakeholders. What may be occurring with the communication process if the change process begins to fail?
Discussion 5-1
Successful implementation of reforms can be quite challenging in the absence of effective communication. According to Kotter and Cohen (2002), effective communication during a change initiative helps to keep people on track and ensures that concerns that might emerge during the change process are properly addressed. The purpose of this discussion is to explore the importance of maintaining successful communication during a change process and explain what might be occurring with the communication process when a given change initiative begins to fail.
Successful communication is used throughout a change process to convey vision and strategies to stakeholders. As Kotter and Cohen (2002) point out, one of the factors that influence the success of a change initiative is to inform stakeholders about it in advance. This is usually achieved through effective communication. Stakeholders need to understand right from the beginning why a change is necessary, what an organization intends to achieve by implementing the proposed reforms, and the strategies that will be applied to meet the stated vision. Even during change implementation, successful communication is necessary to inform stakeholders about the specific activities that are being executed and their associated impacts. Most importantly, effective communication is applied to keep stakeholders informed about what went as planned and what did not go well at the final stages of the change process (Hasanaj & Manxhari, 2017; Kotter & Cohen, 2002).
Poorly managed communication results in possible resistance from stakeholders and unintended outcomes. Therefore, if a change process begins to fail, it indicates that a communication process is poorly managed. Stakeholders who are not updated properly during the change process are likely to react by failing to accomplish their roles and responsibilities. The overall impact is the occurrence of negative aspects of the change (Hasanaj & Manxhari, 2017). This explains why effective communication is vital during a change initiative.
References
Hasanaj, R. & Manxhari, M. (2017). Importance of communication during change: A case of the municipality of Vlora. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2(1), 15-19. https://revistia.com/files/articles/ejms_v2_i1_17/Rezarta.pdf
Kotter, J. P. & Cohen, D. S. (2002). The heart of change: Real-life stories of how people change their organizations. Harvard Business Press, Harvard.