In today's column we will talk about security management as a catalyst for change in an organization. Although many think little of Corporate Security as a managerial function or belittle its contributions, it is an inescapable fact that it disrupts all aspects of an organization.
by Héctor R. Torres, PhD, MBA, CPP, CFE, CHS
A fraternal greeting from Puerto Rico to all colleagues and readers of this column. It is a pleasure to share again with you.
Background
As we have previously highlighted in other columns, at the beginning of the 21st Century, the effects of globalization and advances in technology have created a volatile, changing, and highly competitive business environment. This has created the need for organizations to be agile in order to adapt to this business environment. Therefore, Corporate Security as a managerial function must become an agent of change that promotes and contributes effectively to organizational change.
We can define being a change agent as a person or a managerial function that acts as a catalytic and assumes responsibility for managing change activities in an organization. Organizational changes are not necessarily made when there is a need to make them but you have to be proactive and make the changes before they are necessary.
Peter F. Drucker, one of the world's most recognized experts on management, stresses that the most effective way to manage change is to create it. As a managerial function, Corporate Security has a responsibility to anticipate potential threats and risks associated with these threats in our organization. This puts us in a privileged position to anticipate, understand and create the necessary changes for our organization.
Organizational Change Categories
Stephen Robbins, another management expert argues that people or managerial functions as agents of change influence four different categories in an organization: structure, technology, physical framework and people. In terms of structure, Robbins defines the structure of an organization as "the way tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated."
Change in this category means modifying the structural variables of the organization that influence authority relations. Making changes in the structure of an organization is based on the purpose of redefining it to make the organization more agile and adaptable to its environment. Corporate Security programs can help create more agile structures through their established policies and procedures.
In terms of technology, change is created in the organization with the introduction of technology to achieve cost-effective and agile production of an organization's goods and services. Corporate Security programs can use technology as a powerful ally that simplifies the most complex tasks to create more organizational efficiency.
As for the framework or physical environment of the organization, the distribution of spaces in facilities and in buildings can improve or worsen the efficiency and communication of an organization. Many studies certify that an environment of overcrowding or precarious physical conditions influence the mood of employees while the optimal distribution of spaces contributes to hygiene, comfort and overall satisfaction.
Corporate Security programs must contribute to the optimal distribution of space to ensure the health and safety of employees. When we talk about changing people, we talk about changing to the most important resource of the organization and we face the biggest challenge in terms of changes. Just as there is organizational resistance to change, there is individual resistance. Nothing is more difficult than dealing with changes within an organization that affect us directly.
Individual resistance is created by the unfounded means of uncertainty of how these changes will affect our lives within the organization. Changing people within this context means changing attitudes and behaviors through communication processes and solutions to employee problems to create greater efficiency and agility in the organization. Many of the Corporate Security programs fail because they do not have the broad support for them. This is due to the little or poor communication about them both from management and the employees of an organization themselves.
Organizational change and the future
Organizational change is no longer something that is considered in the business world as an option to be executed only when necessary. In the 21st Century, it is already an essential mandate for any organization that wants to compete, survive and win. Management functions and those who lead them have a responsibility to become agents and experts of change in order to ensure the total success of their organizations.
Corporate Security as a managerial function is in an advantageous position to not only be an agent of change but also to become a strategic ally of senior management. But that depends on the quality of their practitioners and their skills as leaders and managers. I invite you to continue to share your ideas and concerns from the world and security management.
A hug and see you next time!
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