IndexOrganizational learning and change managementChange managementOrganizational learningEffective implementation of changes in companiesThe need and importance of organizational learning and change managementConclusionChanges are inevitable in modern companies 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 because leaders identify the most suitable personnel within a company to make the necessary changes. As a result, leaders disseminate any upcoming changes to the workforce to reduce the impact of resistance. Likewise, leaders use effective communication skills to educate the workforce about the benefits of the changes to individuals and the company. This way, workers understand how to apply new company practices to their daily work. On the other hand, employees understand their responsibilities and roles, thus reducing redundancy 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 see their colleagues as partners and not as rivals. Therefore, workforce adoption of modern business practices is accelerated as slower learners learn from their peers. The benefits of organizational learning include efficient exchange of information to accelerate the completion of tasks to achieve organizational goals in the shortest time possible. In contrast, the benefits of change management include reducing workforce resistance, which speeds up the process. As a result, companies create a competitive advantage, which allows them to compete with other companies in the same business sector. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayOrganizational Learning and Change ManagementChanges in organizations are inevitable due to variations in business practices, customer needs, interests, and organizational goals. In reality, companies cannot thrive if they do not engage in continuous research and development to identify the most applicable business practices that could help them create a competitive advantage. In particular, traditional businesses depended on material resources for their sustainability; however, over the years, dwindling resources have pushed business leaders to adopt an employee-first approach to ensuring sustainability. Therefore, learning plays a vital role in the success of businesses as they adopt new and modern business practices that push the company towards its goals. On this note, company managers should develop a concise vision and effective organizational culture that enables the implementation of the desired strategy. Next, leaders should prepare their companies across the workforce for the planned change and direct the transformation. However, business leaders are faced with numerous changes in driving transformation, while noting the need for change. Ideally, employees emulate thebehaviors of their leaders, meaning that an organization cannot make significant changes unless its leaders lead the way (Bontis, Crossan, & Hulland, 2002, p. 441). Consequently, for change to be successful, it starts with management. Apparently, executives don't realize the need for change if their organizations are to succeed. In practice, managers resist any change when stock prices rise, bonuses are huge, and the company attracts and retains top talent on the job market. On the contrary, when companies underperform, directors desperately try to make changes that could change the company's fortunes. Unfortunately, the chances of success in these circumstances are slim. Some of the main reasons leading to failure include inability to retain top talent as employees leave for opportunities in other companies, unavailability of funds to fund projects, and managers' emphasis on short-term goals to reduce the further deterioration of the business. In this regard, it is evident that the chances of success in implementing change are higher when the company appears to be more successful (Easterby-Smith, Crossan and Nicolini, 2000, p. 787). Although managers tend to resist any form of change when their companies are performing optimally on all fronts, in reality these moments offer the best chance of implementing changes successfully. Therefore, this article analyzes the characteristics that managers should possess to lead the implementation of change and ensure the support of all stakeholders, especially employees. Managing Change Traditionally, senior executives at large companies didn't have much to worry about as they operated in undeveloped 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 flow, 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 implementing changes successfully. 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 effect changes in the business environment to meet current market needs. In most cases, people tend to resist any form of change while trying to stay in the status quo; therefore, business managers 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 do their part in implementing the changes necessary to succeed in the shortest time possible. Organizational Learning Organizational learning involves the creation, maintenance, and transfer of knowledge within an organization. In the context of change management, organizational learning is the ability to educate stakeholders about the need to implement certain changes and the benefits that such changes would bring to both individuals and companies (Easterby-Smith, Crossan, & Nicolini, 2000, p . 786). Organizations strive to have best business practices; therefore, leadership mustencourage all staff members to embrace learning as a way to learn modern business practices by comparing their company to more successful competitors. Effectively Implementing Changes in Businesses As noted above, identifying the right time to effect organizational change is critical to the success of the process. Additionally, business leaders must find ways to overcome the natural resistance to change that manifests itself in most modern organizations. Importantly, managers should use vision, values, and strategies that determine a company's roadmap into the future to develop compelling arguments for relevant change (Hayes, 2014, p. 76). Change should be seen as the norm and all stakeholders in an organization should do their part. The most successful business leaders are conservative when implementing changes in practices in their organizations. The CEO should use strategic planning to determine the best course of action to reduce instances of resistance and counterproductive measures that may deter implementation of the process (Bierly, Kessler, & Christensen, 2014, p. 601). Therefore, planning should be effective to outline any errors that may arise from taking the identified path. At the same time, the leader should not recommend change without listening to the opinions of other stakeholders because such moves increase resistance to the process. Indeed, leaders should be effective communicators to ensure that they sell their ideas and philosophy 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 make any significant change in a company. As such, collaboration ensures that the behaviors of all stakeholders change to optimize organizational strategies with the desired changes. However, the leader should be the first to accept the need for change and set an example for workers. Leaders' actions should be in line with the expectations they have of workers to ensure change is implemented. In essence, managers should ask themselves whether the change they wish to implement is driven by the company's strategies and vision. 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 should devise the organizational behaviors necessary to support the process. At the same time, managers should ensure they have the talent, time and resources needed to succeed. The focus should be on people, regardless of the extent of the change to be implemented, as the process must be as painless as possible. Therefore, developing a learning organization is one of the best ways to prepare workers for an upcoming change. In practice, humans have underlying behaviors regarding change. Learning promotes understanding, which in turn leads to engagement (Easterby-Smith, Crossan, & Nicolini, 2000, p. 789). An enlightened workforce accepts the need for change thereby reducing resistance and strengthening commitment. In such situations, the workforce recommends areas that require urgent changes to improve organizational performance and push the company towards its goals. The skills of the workforce determine thefeasibility of a change process by articulating the capabilities possessed by each employee. Therefore, managers should identify the workforce skills needed to implement the necessary changes and encourage the workforce to engage in continuous learning to find new ways of solving organizational problems. In reality, changes are inevitable; therefore, the workforce should develop their capabilities to adapt to the ever-changing technological processes, demands and requirements of the market. To the extent that managers must develop unique practices that help their companies stay ahead of the competition, leaders should avoid rigidity because it leads to a lack of urgency and desire to implement changes. As noted previously, effective communication is essential for all successful managers. The workforce should learn about changes in the market to enable them to learn the best ways to meet the needs of the market segment. Additionally, managers should be effective in communicating the need to adopt a habit of continuous learning to ensure worker commitment. Additionally, the Executive should engage in ongoing and active training and education programs that equip staff with the skills needed to address changing demands. Programs should enable employees to use their new skills to compete in a changing environment. Leaders should use their effective communication skills to disseminate information related to the organizational vision and determine business areas that require improvement. Furthermore, communication should be realistic and describe the prevailing business environment driving the change. Ideally, the message should be simple and clear. Successful managers rethink any message that cannot be conveyed in just a few words (Bierly, Kessler, & Christensen, 2014, p. 598). Managers should realize that the message spreads through different organizational levels and that the original message may change if it incorporates more words. In fact, as messages spread from top management to subordinates, their contents change, transmitting incorrect messages that could lead to disputes. Additionally, leaders must take advantage of 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 strategic visions and objectives. Successful managers take the proven path to implementing changes in their organizations. The established path includes success plans, which have been tested in organizations of different sizes. The plan includes three main phases: leadership, development and ownership. In the leadership phase, the leader compares current processes with the best applications used in successful companies in the market (Lozano, Ceulemans, & Scarff Seatter, 2015, p. 207). As a result, management conducts a quick survey to determine the gap between current and best practices in the business sector. At the same time, business leaders should determine the value that closing the gaps would add to the company. The executive should identify steps stakeholders could take to address priority gaps. In essence, different business practices produce different returns for businesses; consequently, leaders should identify thebest sequence of events that would allow for the highest possible returns. Before embarking on the process, managers should define the resources and budget needed for the projects. Furthermore, management should identify adequate human resources to guide the process and assign respective tasks to certain people (Dervitsiotis, 1998, p. 77). The project should never start before completing all the above-mentioned stages because it would lead to failure as some of the necessary requirements are missing during the later stages of the process. After committing to the transformation, executives appoint a team of internal experts and agents to oversee the actual process. The team should be made up of the organization's top performers. Such personnel should best serve the company's interests as they understand the key issues that require change in the company. The team should learn the best ways to fill relevant gaps to achieve the set goals (Lozano, Ceulemans, & Scarff Seatter, 2015, p. 207). Management should pay close attention to the integration of people into the project and the behaviors expected from the company. Additionally, leadership should provide the technological framework needed to help the team achieve its goals within the specified timeframe. The final or ownership phase involves implementing the changes. Accordingly, management should evaluate the benefits gained from the changes to determine whether the process has failed or succeeded. Management must introduce an educational program to educate the workforce on the use of new business practices (Dervitsiotis, 1998, p. 77). The educational program should show how employees would use the job in the new company environment. At the same time, it should include understanding company practices and their application in carrying out tasks. In most cases, changes lead to alterations in responsibilities. Therefore, leadership should clearly communicate new staff roles and responsibilities to reduce the possibility of employee termination. Employees who are unable to grasp the application of the new business process should avail themselves of mentors to help them improve their performance. Importantly, management should not adopt threats to accelerate the learning process because it would instill fear in the workforce thus reducing motivation and commitment to the company. However, a 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 (Langley et al., 2013, p. 2). This way, management understands the areas that require continuous updates to stay ahead of the competition and ensure sustainability. The need and importance of organizational learning and change management According to van de Kerkhof and Wieczorek (2005), a company cannot survive in the modern market world without implementing change. The changes give a company the opportunity to modify its business practices and adopt the latest ones to close the gap with rivals. Organizational competition is widespread in most industrial sectors; as a result, the business leader uses change management to reduce resistance from workers and other stakeholders. In fact, humans resist any alteration that.