Organizational Model Used for the Short- Change - Term Paper Example

? Organizational Model used for the Short-Term Change (Action Research Model) Organizational Model used for the Short-Term Change (Action Research Model) The international fashion business environment has grown to be increasingly complex. The XYZ Inc. Corporation has to take a lot of factors into account as it opens branches in other nations. This issue calls for making a deep assessment of all the issues that will be involved in making a successful transition. The objective of the Action Research Model involves generating a better understanding of the processes involved in change management. While reductionist and normative approaches have their uses in managing projects, it is vital for managers in charge of implementing any type of change to learn of more responsive processes such as those involved in action research to improve their efficiency as project managers (Gustavsen, 2003). Understanding action science also helps in developing interpersonal within the organization. In larger contexts, such as that of XYZ Inc.’s expansion into Shanghai, China, action research is more political as well as complex, and tends to be coordinated across several change processes. In such a context, action research also includes a variety of stakeholders who have are invested in the organization. Kurt Lewin is believed by many to be the man who came up with the first form of an action research model (Gustavsen, 2003). The action research model is mostly used to implement organizational change in multifaceted social situations where the workers and customers whose lives or circumstances will be affected ought to participate in creating and implementing the change that will affect their lives. The action research also is being increasingly used for expansion objectives in international settings. In this case, XYZ Inc. is creating a branch in a developing nation with a thriving economy. The changes involved do not just mean relocating operations to a different geographical location, but also include taking into account new customer demographics, and cultural work values of workers from a different nation. In addition, the action research model is rooted in American notions of what change entails. For instance, the action research model actually perceives change in a different way from Eastern cultures such as that of China. Implementing this model of change will thus mean that a more deep-seated foundation is laid when the Shanghai branch is being created, as the action research model will even have to have its basic doctrines revised to fit in more with its society. In order to achieve success in such settings, the action research model is created to address different cultural assumptions when necessary. This model can also be applied to promote innovation and social change, as is evidenced by successful global social change projects. Its suggestions are also meant to rectify imbalances in resource allocations and power structures across different groups. This will be vital in traditionally bureaucratic societies such as the Chinese society as it will deal with any feelings of disgruntlement among workers. In recent times, the action research model has made adaptations such as the involvement of workers in any organization’s change process. This is referred to as ‘participatory action research’ in corporate circles. This is a big contrast from traditional approaches towards change where change practices are created and then implemented by hired consultants (Gustavsen, 2003). While XYZ Inc. is not headquartered in a nation that has bureaucratic leanings, it still has to change its structure so that it changes from being too management oriented to being more of a customer-centric institution. This can be made possible through the action research model. In addition, action research, as a method of organizational change, is likely to be accepted in the Chinese society which has a systemic understanding of the world. Nations with a large majority of Buddhist adherents, such as China, tend to be systemic; and have employees who are of the opinion that action research is a good method of learning in their workplaces. While actions, in western nations tend to be purpose driven, in Eastern nations such as China, there tends to be an emphasis on perfecting action as a basis for understanding the concept for its sake and not to achieve better organizational outcomes. The action research model will help the organization to see any challenges in an organizational context while also helping to bring to light any problems encountered in communication and coordination as the change process progresses. Organizational Model used for the Long-Term Change (Organizational Life-Cycle Model) One of the most important aspects of strategic renewal involves an organization’s life-cycle concept. Any organization’s practices change slowly over time. This means that in most cases, management principles and concerns, such as the long term-changes that will comprise of XYZ Inc.’s expansion into India, Brazil, Russia, and the rest of China, are rooted in time. The organizational life cycle (OLC) model proposes that business organizations such as XYZ Inc. move through different developmental stages through their operations over the course of time. Dr. Ichak Adizes’s model of Organization Life Cycle (OLC) stipulates that in the corporate life cycle, there are 10 stages (Burns, 2007). These include: The Courtship Stage: where someone comes up with the idea of creating a new business and even comes up with plans for it. The capitalist (s) takes the necessary risk involved in starting a new business. The Infancy Stage: where the firm’s founders focus their efforts on generating sales. Their main aim is to make a handsome profit. The Go-Go Stage: where the organization begins to expand due to repeated profits and the business is re-organized around people instead of functions. It is at this stage where decision-making becomes centralized. The Adolescence Stage: where the organization changes as its founders hire others to run it while still control of it. There may be temporary internal management conflicts. The Prime Stage: where the organization is more mature and decentralization is implemented. The organization’s customers are given prime importance and the business searches for new business opportunities. This is where the XYZ Inc. is at present. The Stability Stage: where the growth stage is winding down and there are few new ideas and fewer resources available to implement them. The organization’s accounting department imposes numerous regulations on it that may curtail expansion to new markets. The Aristocracy Stage: where the organization’s focus on central operational activities is lost. The organization’s founders cherish the past and tend to depend on past ideals to solve present problems. The Recrimination Stage: where an organization can begin to focus too much on the people making mistakes instead of seeking to correct their mistakes. People within the organization could also mismanage resources and isolate themselves from uninspired workers. The Bureaucracy Stage: where organizations become too bureaucratic, and have too many regulations that can result in customer dissatisfaction. The Death Stage: where an organization can cease operations if it does not take steps to correct previous mistakes or neglect of basic operational functions. This may also be the result of the organization’s outflow going beyond its inflow (Lester, Parnell, & Carraher, 2003). Using this model, corporate executives of the ‘XYZ’ Inc can intervene before the company experiences the death stage in order to re-arrange its priorities. As the organization moves through the different phases, there are changes in the opportunities it comes across, the requirements it has, and threats it has to handle (Chia, 2003). According to the OLC model, the XYZ Inc.'s expansion to different developing nations will take place over a lengthy period of time but the organization’s executives have to ensure that they keep monitoring the workers’ morale and performance of the firm in order to arrest any negative or unconstructive tendencies that signal the beginning of the model’s latter stages of disintegration. According to this model, the organization will experience changes in its objectives, planning strategies, staffing strategies, organizing strategies, controlling strategies, directing strategies, decision-making plans, corporate culture, and technological advancements in the course of its existence in different stages. The re-invention process involved in starting new branches in the BRIC nations may be viewed as being a return to the disorder that characterized the problem-solving and creativity phase. According to this model, an organization faces the challenge of getting to its prime through different changes, as well as the challenge of remaining there. The organizational life cycle model will help the XYZ Inc. corporation to recognize where its headed as well as the challenges it is likely to face in future in each of its branches. References Burns, D. (2007). Systemic action research: A strategy for whole systems change. Bristol, UK: Policy Press. Chia, R. (2003). From knowledge - creation to the perfecting of action: Tao, Basho and pure experience as the ultimate ground of knowing. Human Relations, 56(8), 953–981. Gustavsen, B. (2003). Action Research and the Problem of the Single Case. Concepts and Transformation, 8(1), 93-99. Lester, D. L., Parnell, J. A., & Carraher, S. (2003). Organizational life cycle: A five-stage empirical scale. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 11(4), 339-354. Read More