Change Management for Bamboozle Company - Case Study Example

Change Management BAMBOOZLE RECRUITMENT AGENCY December, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS 0 Introduction 1 The Need for Change 2 Diagnosing the change-The Change Process 1.3 The Change Model 1.4 Managing the change- 1.5 Why People Resist Change 1.6 Describing the change process 2.0 Conclusion and Recommendation 1.0 Introduction The following project titled 'Develop a change Management Plan' is aimed at developing a change management project for Bamboozle. The first part will try to identify the need for change and its implications particularly on human behavior. The second part will try to develop a plan that addresses the human variables and potential resistance to this change. It will look at the respective reasons why people are resistant to change and the various methods to use in managing and motivating them to accept the change process. It will then dive into examining how this change process will be executed with particular attention to leadership style that can ensure continuous success of the process. Also, measures and ways to monitor the change process will be examined. The project will end with an examination of the challenges that the organization may face in the foreseeable future spanning from the next five to ten years and possible contingent solutions to these problems. 1.1The Need for Change We begin by talking about what organizational change is and then examining the reasons why it happens or is necessary in every organization. Organizational change or change in general can be defined from a variety of points depending on the perception of the user. An individual or employee in an organization may look at a new post or position as a change while higher management may feel it is unimportant. (Cao et al, 2000, p187). Changes viewed also by management may also not be looked upon as change by outsiders like competitors or suppliers. This has led to the categorizing of change in various ways, some of which include strategic and non-strategic change, incremental and radical change, changes of identity, co-ordination and control, planned and emergent change, change in terms of scale, human-centered change in terms of individual, group and inter-group or organizational level, quantum change and so on. (Cao et al, 2000, p187; Todnem, 2005, p372). Changes can also be structural, that is dealing with the physical alteration of an organization like its buildings and equipment or even employees. (Bennett & Durkin, 2000). On the other hand, it may be a change in process, that is, the way the related group of tasks are combined to create value for a target customer. (Cao et al, 2000, p188). A change can as well be in functions, that is, the decision system or policy and resource allocation duties of a particular element of an organization. There can also be changes in values, beliefs and human behavior in terms of social rules and relationships and so on. (Cao et al, 2000, p187). Lastly, there can be changes in the distribution of power and level of influence with an organization. These four types of change have different implications on the their total quality management as can be seen in the table below. Table 1. Change Management Classification. Change management classifications Total Quality Management Process change Focuses on process ahead of the other three types of organizational change. Function (structural) change Says little about organizational structure Values (cultural) change Relies on but cannot influence culture Changes in power Is distorted by power in the organization With all the above determinants and types of change outlined, we can then define change management as 'the process of updating on a continuous basis and organization's direction, structure and capabilities to serve the ever evolving needs of the indigenous and exogenous clients'. (Todnem, 2005, p369). It involves identifying the future organizational needs and managing the changes required within the present system to be able to meet these future needs. It is therefore, much linked to organizational strategy. (Todnem, 2005, p369). For the purpose of simplicity, we will limit our discussion to process change and the implications it has on management. Change generally occurs for a variety of reasons, be them reactive or proactive. It may occur because the present settings within a structure are not meeting the previewed objectives or simply because it is anticipated that there will be some evolution in technological, political and natural environment in which the organization in question is operating. This may bring with it a lot of implications both in the structure, boundaries, power distribution, incentives and general operations of the organization. (Weiss, 2005). It can be endogenous, particularly when management perceives a continuous low degree of performance. This is triggered by lack of consistency among activities in power, structure, control and strategy. (Choi, 1995, p 609). 1.2 The change process. The change process begins with identifying the need for a change in the foregoing state of the art. You need to identify the necessity first for a change and then have belief in yourself that you can do it. The change process involves factors such as making the employees aware of the change to come and taking away resistance to designing an efficient and effective organizational structure. (Hoogendoorn et al, p1). Only a part of the organization may be affected by the change or the entire organization. The initiator of a change in any institution may be an individual within the organization, the institution itself or the external environment and also may involve only members within the organization or other agents from outside the organization. (Hoogendoorn et al, p1). In going into the change process, there should be total clarity as to the purpose, values, mission and culture of the change required. 1.3 The change model The change model for Bamboozle will involve changing management activities from the start, involving people in the change campaign and communicating the change decisions to every affected party. It will be that of total organizational change which will be change designed to simultaneously affect multiple policies, practices, procedures and levels of the organization. (Schneider et al. 1996). It will be a change designed to sustain organizational health and vitality over time and will affect the psychology of everyone in the organization. (Schneider et al. 1996). This change management model will involve the following steps: Preplanning the change process during the design stage with all the actors involved. Training the employees of Bamboozle to be able to deliver high quality services and goods. Developing expectations of high quality in the employees through selection and reward systems and by equipping them with necessary material and informational resources that deliver quality. Encouraging them to discuss and resolve quality issues rather than hide them to create a future situation of toxic decision making. (Weiss, 2007; Mattlis and Ozcelik, 2004). Eliminating the concept of an acceptable level of service or product and instead instigate that of continuing improvement. To ensure that the above plan is in place and functioning smoothly, a leadership behavior that measures the employee performance should be put in place. There are basically three supervisory behaviors that are related to employee performance. (Combs, 2002, p4). These are: Organisational paradigm according to Johnson & Scholes (1997) are those set of assumptions, beliefs which are rarely talked about, which are not considered problematic and most often managers in an organisation are unlikely to be explicit about it. It reflects the collective experience without which members of an organisation would have to do things their own way in different situations they face (Johnson 1992, Johnson &Scholes 1997). According to Dwyer & Kemp (2000:3), "the forces at work in the environment and the organisations capabilities in coping with these, are made sense of in terms of the individual experience of managers and the collective assumptions within the paradigm". Figure one below summarises the cultural web and the organisational paradigm as construed by Jonhson and Scholes (1997 Fig. 2.10, p. 69) These assumptions are more commonly observed in conversations, discussions between the different stakeholders in an organisation (Dwyer & Kemp 2000). In some situations assumptions are deeply embedded in an organisation and its' members that it can only be manifested through peoples action (Dwyer & Kemp 2000). In all, these assumptions, ways of doing things are the backbone of the organisation (Johnson 1992, Johnson &Scholes 1997). Johnson & Scholes (1997) contend that, using the organisation paradigm a new cultural environment can be created. This is so because, by looking at the cultural web, you see what the organisation is like "now" and you mimic how you want it to be in future. The difference is the change the organisation intends to make. The same idea was supported by Dwyer & Kemp (2000) when the researchers argued that, most organisations only look at the paradigm during a change process. From the cultural web above, six major types of artifacts can be distinguished - rituals and routines, stories, symbols, power structures, organisational structures and control systems (Johnson & Scholes 1997). These artifacts are the wider aspect of an organisation that give a clue of the paradigm, reinforces the assumption behind the paradigm and represent that organisational aspect taken for granted (Johnson & Scholes 1997, Dwyer & Kemp 2000, Johnson 1992). To achieve the above objective and ensure the efficient implementation of the change management, we take a number of presuppositions which include the following. 1. People like to advance in careers and can be creative and innovative when given the opportunities. 2. Interpersonal interaction is very valuable particularly with peers and superiors within an organization. This makes for the formal and informal relationship features for the Bamboozle organizational growth. 3. Finally that for people to function effectively and efficiently, trust and cooperation and support is needed. This should be put in place to discourage the win-lose competition in Bamboozle. (Schneider et al. 1996). From the above, it is evident that by paying attention to the social and self actualizing nature of the people in Bamboozle, we will make them more committed to the change process. Implementation of this change will take the following steps: Involve those affected Listen to their Ideas Train them in the improved processes Communicate with everybody involved and explain what is going on and what is planned Identify activities, responsibilities and time scales Identify resources Identify measurements Identify critical path To successfully implement this change project at Bamboozle, is it will be wise to first pre-empt the resistance for it and put in place contingent measures for its eventual management. It is very necessary for management of Bamboozle to ask what new values are critical to the new business process, what current behaviors inhibit change and wow will these be overcome. Normally, people resist change in every organization for a variety of reasons, some of which include: Rationality: Objectively this is not good for me. Fear: Bred by uncertainty it might not be good for me. Discomfort: It doesn't feel right to me. Skepticism: Frankly I don't believe you. Drawing from the above, we develop several techniques for managing resistance to change that might be useful in the change management plan for Bamboozle. Some of these include: Incentives: This involves making the change process in the interest of all the stakeholders. It takes place in the form of appreciation (verbal or written), financial benefits, job promotion and enrichment etc. Information: The reason for the change should be well spelt and communicated to every involved party well in advance. Information dissemination in the change process is very vital as it reduces uncertainty in the actors involved. Indoctrination: People are usually resistant to change because they don't know whether they will fit in the new design. Education and training of the change participants is a good contingent measure to manage its resistance. Intervention: Also, there is the need to intervene, support and reassure the change actors that they are taking the organization to higher heights. This reassurance gives motivation as the actors or employees of Bamboozle. Involvement: Generally, the most mistake change initiators make is giving out the feeling that the change is for the organization and not for the change actors or employees. It is always very important to rope everybody as a 'changer' and not as a 'changee'. 1.4 Managing the change. The successful management of the change for Bamboozle will involve the taking of 'critically systemic' decisions with respect to the use of multiple methods in relation to the problems encountered. (Cao et al, 2000, p189). The effectiveness of process change can only be achieved if there are structure changes to support it. (Cao et al, 2000, p190). It is also relevant to know how the different elements in the change system relate or affect one another especially with regard to sequence and space. (Cao et al, 2000, p190). The management of change in every organization depends on how the organization is structured. (Hoogendoorn et al, p 15). This change process should be managed in such a way as to cause very little friction while giving out clear cut division of responsibilities and roles to the respective change actors. To effectively manage this management change, we need to recognise the importance of blending the charismatic and instrumental dimensions of the change leader. (Graetz, 2000, p553) Strong interpersonal skills are a good tool and provide a nexus between the charismatic and instrumental roles of the change leader. (Graetz, 2000, p 553). Measures to monitor and measure the change process. The change process for Bamboozle can be measured and monitored in a variety of ways, but mostly, can be classed into two broad processes, viz internal measures and output measures. Internal measures Response time: The time taken for the target group (customers, suppliers, creditors etc) to response to the change project. Cycle time: The actual time taken for a complete cycle of the change process as opposed to the anticipated time. Processing time: Time take to process to be complete. Operating cost: Reduction in cost of operation if the change was due to exaggerated costs. Throughput volumes and yields: The increase in quality and/or quantity of the product with respect to inputs used. Output measures: Accuracy Timeliness Error/defect rate Conformance to standards or specification Customer satisfaction Future leadership challenges for Bamboozle To conclude, the leadership challenges awaiting Bamboozle in the next five to ten years may include the culture of leadership style of the organization, changes in the level of technology and changes in the competitive characteristics of the market sector and that of competitors. (Taylor, 1997, p 567) Change in technology: The rate at which technology is evolving warrants leaders to constantly go back to the drawing board. With the coming of electronic conferencing and other forms or electronic management, it will be a big challenge for Bamboozle in the medium period if its leadership does not plan well ahead of time to overcome these changes. A suggestion is that the management of Bamboozle should incorporate a design structure that constantly takes care of changes in technology. Technological advancement may also lead to the loss of managerial power and some trading-off of some positions. (Weiss, 2007). The appropriateness of the business model is always altered by constant change in the environment. Hence, efficiency in leadership and management can be impaired by configurations that, while being statically optimal, lead to their inconsistencies or in appropriateness in future design. (Weiss, 2007). Hence, in adopting a leadership style for Bamboozle L, management should address the problem of how to adjust the business model continuously whenever adaptive change makes the current one inconsistent and also how to adjust the business model radically whenever disruptive change renders the foregoing one inappropriate. (Weiss, 2007). Another major leadership challenge that Bamboozle is likely to face the next 5-10 years is that of diversity. As time goes, the organisation will grow both in size and market. Focused leadership is required to make an organization able to create and sustain competitive advantage through diversity with respect to organizational change strategies whose aims are to manage diversity. (Combs, 2002, p4). This diversity challenge for Bamboozle is to facilitate a work environment that allows and encourages an appreciation of a wide range of individual characteristics. (Combs, 2002, p4). The solution to this type of challenge is to incorporate principles of self-efficacy in the diversity training. (Combs, 2002, p4). The type of leadership required to meet this challenge should be task specific while at the same time broad based and diffused. (Combs, 2002, p4). A third major leadership challenge likely to be faced by Bamboozle L in the near future will be environmental change like globalization or even change in natural conditions. Globalization is fast making the entire world to become a little village and thus, the boundaries of Bamboozle may become blurred in the future. (Weiss, 2007). As the organization grows in size and structure, there may come a time when changes in structure are necessary like outsourcing processes that are non-core to the business of Bamboozle. To conclude, the change management plan for Bamboozle only looks at the change in processes and we will like to recommend that other forms of change be explored. This organizational design change takes into account the challenges of future changes, takes cognizant of employee problems and is very proactive in its process design. In addition, change agents are caution that, the struggle for promotion may take an unorthodox method of 'win-lose' and as such, kill talents that otherwise might have been exploited. Also, there will be a lot of free riders who will suck the organizational resources and get paid for no work done. This will bring about problems of leadership since there may be diffusion and an increase in the number and power of stakeholders in the organization. (Weiss, 2007). With this, control becomes one of the most important challenges as the boundaries of the business go beyond the structure of the organization. ANOTHER BIBLIOGRAPHY Bennett, H., & Durkin M. (2000). The Effects of Organizational Change on Employee Psychological Attachments: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Managerial Psychology. Vol 15, No 2 pp 126-147. MCB University Press. Cao, G., Clarke, S., Lehaney, B. (2000) A Systemic View of Organizational Change and Total Quality Management. The TQM Magazine Vol 12 No 3 pp. 186-193 MCB University Press. Choi, T. (1995). Conceptualizing Continuous Improvement: Implications for Organizational Change. Omega, International. Journal of. Mgmt Science. Vol. 23, No. 6, pp. 607-624, 1995. Combs, G. M. 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