RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
5.2.1 Clear Mission and Vision
Every organizational change starts with a clear mission statement, vision, and forces for the intended change, objectives and goals. If all these elements are clearly understood and embraced by all employees, then the process can begin and progress without much hindrance. The process should then be transparent and collaborative involving continuous communication between all stakeholders at all stages of the transformation. Moreover, the management of the institute should put in place mechanisms to ensure that once the change has been effected, it should be maintained and results be beneficial to the whole organization and not only to certain individuals.
5.2.2 Forces for Change
There is a need for the management of the NUL to recognize the kind of change required and the forces of the change before they can recognize the need for change and the aspects within the organization that need to be changed. A specific timeframe should be set for the duration of the transformation form its planning phase to its implementation as well as evaluation stages. Too much time allocated for transformation gives leeway for change to take different forms that will require a lot of adaptation and alterations to the original transformation plans.
At some times, dealing with the interventions may even make the focus bleak and at the worst, the transformation goals may not even be realized. Set time frames provide for the creation of benchmarks, short-term wins and large milestones to be achieved as the change process moves through the various stages. Thus, incremental change is possible within a given timeframe.
The problems that have led to the transformation may have been clearly outlined by the forensic audit reports, but the way of trying to solve the identified problems is not really focused. The process of strategic planning should not be confused with management of change. The University management should have a common understanding and clear path of exactly what they want to achieve out of the transformation, not to do it just because consultants have recommended it. A slight confusion and misunderstanding of the process is likely to throw the whole process into shambles and destroy good intentions.
5.2.3 Integrating Changes
Organizations are complex social and technical entities in which everything is more or less connected to everything else. Ignoring this complexity and trying to effect change in only one aspect of the organization without considering the implications for other aspects of the organization, will not work. Change processes should always be integrated so that each stage builds on its predecessors. Organizational processes should be continually adapted to help keep change alive, as all setups eventually outlive their optimum efficiency. To prevent change from stagnating, people's roles within different departments should be changed.
Management should move constantly forward and build each change on the last, in this way, the gains from change will continue to benefit individuals and the organization as a whole.
There is also a need to identify other aspects within the organization that need to be developed. Currently at NUL the change is aimed at the organizational structures more than anything else. However, structural change needs to be accompanied by behavioural and technological changes so as to gain sustainable competitive advantage. Changing only one aspect of the organization without giving thought to the other parts of the organization creates a gap in the change process, especially in an academic organization like NUL where the activities of various departments are interrelated. A lack of development in one division can led to further paralysis and hindrances to the change process to produce the intended results.
5.2.4 Human Resources
Most organizations undergoing transformational change need to develop appropriate leadership structures and processes that keep them in contact with their environment and be able to recognize the need for change and how to stimulate changes identified. Change requires a systematic analysis of all parts of the organization's key operating systems.
Because change does not happen in a vacuum, the roles of people in determining the outcomes of the change are a vital issue that must not be overlooked. Without the commitment of those who produce and sell the organization's products and services, make decisions and implement strategies, the intended change will most definitely fail to achieve the initial goals. It is, therefore, the responsibility of those in charge of the change to create and instil an appropriate environment that will reduce negativity associated with the implementation of the change. The change should be presented as an opportunity for learning and as a success creating activity, and not as a threat to people's success and job security within the organization.
Change managers should learn to turn change plans into an offer that cannot be refused by stressing the positive potential of change and the negative risks if it is prevented. Management should be as straight forward as possible when addressing specific fears about the future of employees and the organization. Employees should be encouraged to communicate openly their fears and feelings openly as well as to confront their concerns about the change process.
The NUL management should start by acknowledging that human resources are assets and the success of any transformation depends on them. Therefore, more attention should be given to making sure that staff understand and appreciate the need for, and the benefits of, the change
before it can be implemented. Employees should be adequately equipped for any organizational change through training, change awareness workshops and seminars, and continuous information and communication on the direction and intentions of the transformational change being implemented. However, management should be aware of workshop resolutions that never become a reality, as this is a waste of time and resources to both the employees and the organization. There should be more input sought from employees if the process is intended to be consultative and some collaboration should be instilled so that all employees feel some sense of ownership of the process. As such, most of the employees are likely to embrace the process, give it more support, commitment and loyalty.
The change should be focused on the development of all employees. NUL's transformation process seems to be focused on the development of academic staff members more than the non-academic and administrative staff. Development of the academic section without consideration of the non-academic side is likely to cause resistance among staff members as it indicates some form of biasness and favour towards others. If staff is given a sense of belonging and ownership and that the process is for the good of everybody, then resistance is likely to be reduced. The process will be a failure if the support staff will not provide the necessary support, commitment and loyalty to their academic colleagues. As a result, the objectives and goals of the transformation will not be met. Without the acknowledgement of the value that non-academic staff bring into the organization, there will always be a need for recognition and a feeling that individual needs are not met, hence an decrease in staff morale that compromises the University's performance. Teamwork between the academic and non- academic support staff should be emphasized to highlight the importance of both to the success of all core and non-core activities of the University.