Implementing Chaos and Change Theory
In my organization, a small change occurs when the managing supervisor requires members of the organization to keep a record of all the work items done every day on an online system. However, this seemingly insignificant protocol has a significant negative impact because all employees feel a lack of trust between themselves and the management team. In general, chaos theory can be understood to refer to the study of complex, nonlinear, and dynamic systems (Mehta, 2019). The chaos theory application in this respect could have helped avert the adverse events that have taken place. In particular, it is pertinent to note that one of the main ideas propounded by the chaos theory is that organizations are subject to dynamic and complex interactions between different actors. Flexibility and adaptiveness are crucial to ensure the success of an entity (Levy, 1994). When the new protocol is to be applied, the management ought to foresee that there will be opposition and adverse reactions from the employees. Knowing how to respond to such resistance adaptively is vital to prevent the new requirement, which is underpinned by good intentions, from affecting the organization’s morale.
Besides, Lewin’s Planned Change Theory can be helpful. The first step is to unfreeze and fosters problem awareness (Deborah, 2018). Currently, the organization is faced with the issue where different employees have starkly different workloads, with some having little to nothing to do in the workplace. In contrast, others are swamped with an avalanche of work. The next step is to pursue alternatives and highlights the benefits of a proposed change. The requirement of keeping a record of work done is an alternative that is worth pursuing (Burnes, 2020). The benefits, that is, employees can strike a balance between their work and life and have enough for professional development, should be communicated to employees. The last step is refreezing, where the new requirement should be implemented gradually. Handholding and a transition period should also be provided so that the changes can be embraced more successfully.
