ORGANIZATION CHANGE AND EMPLOYEE WORK COMMITMENT AMONG STAFF OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS

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 behaviors. 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.

Employee Commitment  involves  the psychological attachment which the employee has for an organization and the resulting loyalty.Therefore when the employee are carried along in the change process it will result to employee accepting the change outcome for the attainment of organizational success.
The research therefore seeks to appraise Organization change and Employee work commitment among staff of manufacturing firms in Enugu State.
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 includes 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 consists of   series of steps needs a time extension to produce the desired outcome and ultimately requires the commitment of all stakeholders.

Employee Commitment involves the psychological attachment which the employee has for an organization and the resulting loyalty.Therefore the neglect of the employees in the change process is likely not going to bring the desired result of employee acceptance of the change and thereby leading to lack of employee lack of commitment. Consequently the problem confronting the research is to appraise Organization change and Employee work commitment among staff of manufacturing firms in Enugu State –
1.3  OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
To determine the role of Organization change on Employee work commitment among staff of manufacturing firms in Enugu State
1.4  RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What is organizational change and employee commitment?
What is the role of organization change in employee commitment?
1.5  SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study shall elucidate on the effective change process towards achieving employee commitment.
1.5  RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
Ho The roll of Organization change in Employee work commitment among staff of manufacturing firms in Enugu State is not significant
Hi The roll of Organization change in Employee work commitment among staff of manufacturing firms in Enugu State is significant
1.6  SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study focuses on the appraisal of Organization change and   Employee work commitment among staff of manufacturing firms in Enugu State is not significant
1.7  LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The study was confronted by some constraints including geographical factor and logistics.
1.8  DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
CHANGE DEFINED
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.
EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT DEFINED
This involves the psychological attachment which the employee has for an organization and the resulting loyalty.
EMPLOYEE  AFFECTIVE COMMITMENT:  This the positive feelings of identification with, involvement and  attachment to the organization.
EMPLOYEE NORMATIVE COMMITMENT: This is the feelings of obligation resulting from values and beliefs to remain with the organization
EMPLOYEE CONTINUANCE COMMITMENT This is the employee commitment resulting from the perceived cost associated with leaving.
Unfreezing: This the stage of getting people ready for change.it apparently means the people have seen the need for change and have accepted  to change.
Freezing: This is the stage of ensuring that the change is sustained and stable once it has been accepted.  A reasonable period of time is required for this so that people do not return to previous behavior.
REFERENCES
John P. Kotter, (1995) Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail, Harvard Business Review,
Suzanne Bond Hinsz, (2013) Change Management, Deloitte, USAID.
Sergio Fernandez and Hal G. Rainey (2006.), Managing Successful Organizational Change in the Public Sector, Public Administration Review,
The World Bank, (2009) Communication for Governance and Accountability Program, Change Management