MODELS OF CHANGE LEADERSHIP
Top-Down Change
In the top-down change, the senior managers are responisble for implementing change with the goal of having an impact on the organization. Whether the implementation of the change is successful or not depends on the methods used by the senior managers in order to implement the change. The senior managers success is also based on the willingness of middle and low level workers to accept the change and support the managers to implement the change properly. Bringing a change to an organization can be implemented with the support and cooperation of all the members of the organization instead of only those who have to implement them. Top-down change can be viewed as a negative point because the lower level workers might feel that their needs are not being considered. This change can fail if there is no commitment to make the change happen and workers resist against it.
Disadvantages of Top-Down Change:
Bottom- Up Change
Bottom-Up change implements change with the support and cooperation of all the members of the organization. This change brings more innovation to the organization and makes it easier for all the workers to accept the change because the needs of all the levels of the organization are being considered. The change starts at the very bottom of the organization and is slowly introduced to the upper levels of the organization which ensures that the needs of each level is considered before the change reaches the top level of management.
Disadvantages of Bottom-Up change:
Integrated Change Leadership:
Integrated change leadership refers to a leadership that incorporates the advantages of top-down change and bottom-up change. Top-down change is required to break the traditional ways of operations and the bottom-up change is necessary for organizational learning and successful change.
In the top-down change, the senior managers are responisble for implementing change with the goal of having an impact on the organization. Whether the implementation of the change is successful or not depends on the methods used by the senior managers in order to implement the change. The senior managers success is also based on the willingness of middle and low level workers to accept the change and support the managers to implement the change properly. Bringing a change to an organization can be implemented with the support and cooperation of all the members of the organization instead of only those who have to implement them. Top-down change can be viewed as a negative point because the lower level workers might feel that their needs are not being considered. This change can fail if there is no commitment to make the change happen and workers resist against it.
Disadvantages of Top-Down Change:
- decision making is limited to top of the organization
- Lower level employees are not considered
- Lower level employees feel incompetent
- Lack of communication
Bottom- Up Change
Bottom-Up change implements change with the support and cooperation of all the members of the organization. This change brings more innovation to the organization and makes it easier for all the workers to accept the change because the needs of all the levels of the organization are being considered. The change starts at the very bottom of the organization and is slowly introduced to the upper levels of the organization which ensures that the needs of each level is considered before the change reaches the top level of management.
Disadvantages of Bottom-Up change:
- lower levels lack strategic perspectives
- difficult to incorporate all the knowledge into a new system
- Raises questions about the motivation of lower levels to find a solution
- Participative approaches can face resistant from managers, unions, and workers
Integrated Change Leadership:
Integrated change leadership refers to a leadership that incorporates the advantages of top-down change and bottom-up change. Top-down change is required to break the traditional ways of operations and the bottom-up change is necessary for organizational learning and successful change.