Strategy to Help an Organization to Secure a Contract of 1 Million Dollars - Example

Executive Summary Businesses need to evolve their business continuously and keep on changing by keeping themselves abreast with the changing world. This has been highlighted in the case where the business had to evolve its business and change with the changing stance so that it is able to get the contract. The report thereby presents the manner in the business has to evolve to get the contract for $41 million. The various reasons which is making the business to look towards change has been highlighted. This has been substantiated by the SWOT analysis and a cost benefit analysis has been done to find out whether changing with the changing times is beneficial for the business. The report also discusses the various barriers and the manner in which the barriers will be dealt with. Finally a methodology to deal with the changing environment is provided which will help the business in being able to achieve the changes and ensure efficiency in their operations. This will thereby help the business to be able to get the contract for $1 million. Contents Introduction 3 Purpose of the report 3 Need for change 3 SWOT Analysis 4 Cost Benefit Analysis 6 Barriers to change 7 Change Management Project Plan 8 Communication Plan 10 Evaluation Plan 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction Businesses with changing times have to change so that they are able to keep abreast with the changes and improve the manner in which the business works. This increases the importance of change management as businesses that are able to change at the correct time are able to keep themselves ahead of the others. This papers looks to present the manner in which change management is effective by concentrating on the cost benefit analysis, the barriers to change, the action plan, the communication and the evaluation plan. This will help businesses to be able to evolve and develop strategies which help to consolidate the business. Purpose of the report To find out reasons which makes organizations to look towards change To have a SWOT analysis which will bring forward various reason making businesses to change To find out factors which resist change and to conduct a cost benefit analysis so that the benefits from change can be highlighted To develop a management change plan, communication plan and evaluation plan which will help to determine the objective and achieve the new project Need for Change The case study shows that the business has to change so that they are able to secure a new contract for $1 million and the change will be incorporated by having a new IT implementation solution (SAS). The following reasons have been identified for the need of change in business Firstly the effect of global recession which has dented public confidence and resulted in sales to fall by 50%. This is having an impact on performance of the business and is affecting the future earning avenues for the company Secondly, the strategies adopted by the competitors have been price war which has resulted in the price to go down heavily. This has affected the market share to fall and requires some urgent steps so that the company is able to regain some market share and improve their penetration level further. Thirdly, the clause mentioned in the contract which requires the company to upgrade their IT system. Upgrading the system will result in getting the contract for $1 million and will have a positive effect on the final outcome of the business Lastly, the present technology being used by the company is slowly becoming obsolete. Slowly with the passage of time in the coming year the company is bound to loose customers and will require to change the technology so upgrading a new technology will help to save the company from the complexities in the future. SWOT Analysis The analysis of the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats will help to understand the manner in which the organization can use their inner capabilities and strengths to consolidate their position and secure more business opportunities in the future. The SWOT analysis si as follows Strengths The organization has a sound brand name as it can be substantiated by the fact that the company had received an order for a contract for $1 million due to their growing brand name The organization has good relation with the employees as they have remained with the organization for a long period of time and associates themselves with the organization The openness of the employee to accept the changes readily will help to build a strong organization which changes with the changing environment Weakness Unable to match the competitors strategy of war price which has resulted in decreased market share The present IT implementation is old and outdated which is making it difficult for the organization to get new orders Inability of the organization to develop new products and services so that the customer remain loyal at the same time enable to find new customers Opportunities To bring about changes in the IT system being used by upgrading the system so that they are able to get the new contract for $1 million Provide the required training so that employees get the required knowledge and are able to use the technology in a better way thereby ensuring proper employee turnover rate for the organization Identify the future changing technology and prepare themselves for the changes beforehand so that the changes can be easily incorporated in the organization Threats The organization risk from new players entering the market who offer better services and product at lower cost The rapidly changing technology which makes important for organization to change so that they are able to sustain their business and don’t see forced close down of business Cost Benefit Analysis The cost benefit analysis will help to understand whether the business should look towards adopting the new technology and changing will benefit the business or not. This will help to ascertain with clarity whether improving the business will help the organization and the manner the changes should be encountered. It is seen that the cost of new SAS is $50,000. The training cost associated with using the new technology is $ 10,000. This makes the total cost to be $ 60,000. . The additional cost estimated is $ 5000. This makes the total cost to be $ 65,000. The company expects that the new contract will fetch them $ 1,000,000. Considering a profit margin of 40% we see that the profits that will accrue are $400,000. Thus even using the above figures we see that the company is able to achieve a profit of $ 335,000. Thus we see that the new contract provides a potential for some earning. Even considering a situation when the contact doesn’t yield the business any benefit then also if the business is able to generate 6.5% earning there will be no losses. The chances of downside are very limited which highlights the fact that the change will benefit the business in the long run. Barriers to change The organization which is looking to change with the changing environment faces barriers on different quarters and need to deal with the barriers to be effective in implementing changes. Some of the barriers that will be faced by the organization while looking towards changing by adopting the new technology are as follows Employees will resist the changes as it will affect the manner in which they work. This will require both on and off the job training thereby increasing pressure on the employees and would make their past learning become obsolete and make the changes in their working culture The difficulty being faced while implementing the new technology. Since, implementing the new technology will take time and understanding it fully will be a lengthy process so the organization will have to deal with the difficulties in implementing the changes The organization will face difficulty in regard to making the employees realize that the changes won’t affect their work as the employees might perceive that the change will result in them loosing their job The organization will require time to be able to implement the changes which might make the contract to be cancelled as the time frame increases the risk and might result in the contract to be passed on to the competitors The organization thereby has to deal with the changes in an effective way and design a mechanism which will ensure that the changes are easily accepted. Change Management Project Plan The organization looking towards procuring the contract for $1 million needs to draw a strategy which will ensure that the company gets the contract and the changes are felicitated without any difficulty. The company needs to do the following to be able to ensure effective changes Setting Objectives: The organization needs to identify the objectives clearly and make the employees aware of it. The need to have a time frame for it like Ensuring that the SAS starts operative in a period of 3 months Ensuring that the employees are trained both on and off the job and is done within the period of implementation of SAS to save time Ensure more profit by 10% due to better technology being used Strategy for Change: Ensuring that the change helps to simplify the business and solves multiple problems easily. Also looking towards adhering to the time frame will help the organization in ensuring the change effectively IT Provider: The organization need to enter into the contract with the service provider and should ensure that the terms of the contract and other associated problems are provided for in the agreement Allocating Resources: The resources can be allocated as Train employees, managers, technicians and others associated during the implementation process so that technology is better understood Allocate the following funds $50,000 to purchase SAS $10,000 on training and implementation of SAS $5,000 to develop new procedures Develop Communication Plan: The organization need to communicate about the changes to everyone in the organization and should be done within the first two week of the implementation of the new software Develop Education Plan: This phase will start after the communication plan and will last for 6 weeks where the employees will be provided the necessary training and knowledge associated with the new software New IT Implementation: The entire system should be in place within 3 months so that the operational efficiency increases Finally, develop an evaluation plan so that the progress can be measured at regular intervals and required changes be made Communication & Education Plan Communication and educational plan forms an important part of the organization as being able to clearly explain the objectives, assign authority and responsibility will ensure that the business is able to facilitate the changes easily. The plan is as Firstly, the management should clearly state the objectives of change to the employees and answer all their queries so that all doubts relating to the change is accepted Secondly, providing the required training both on and off the job so that the employees are able to understand the new software better and use for the betterment of self and the organization Thirdly, identifying the roles and responsibilities of each employee and having an authority and responsibility relationship so that the employees are able to deliver quality performance by implementing the new changes Time frame and tool The organization in the beginning should discuss the matter with the employees and should provide all relevant information and solve their queries within the first week Time should be given to the employees so that all the queries get sorted out and should be completed within 2 weeks Have a meeting where the final touches to the changes are provided for and this should be done with a conformity letter within 3 weeks so that the changes are easily implemented Implement the training program which provides necessary training to the employees within 7 weeks. Also ensuring that continuous feedbacks and areas to improve are provided so that the changes proves beneficial for the business Fourthly, designing a system for reward and motivation Lastly, to measure the effectiveness of the SAS process by checking the progress regularly Evaluation Plan The plan needs to be evaluated regularly so that effectiveness gauged. This can be done through Review the communication plan after 1 week Review the educational plan after 2 week Develop tools for monitoring after week 3 Evaluate the performance of the employee during the training program of 7 weeks Ensure regular checks to ensure timely implementation especially after 6 weeks Make changes to ensure effective implementation of SAS Ensure meeting with IT provider after 4 weeks to ensure effective implementation Audit the expenses after 6 weeks so that it stays within the stated limits Make changes to ensure improvement in the SAS Ensure efficiency and develop mechanism to develop better opportunities after 12 weeks Conclusion The organization by adopting the above strategy will be able to secure a contract of $1 million. This will also help the organization in the future endeavor and ensure that they are able to perform and develop new products in an effective way Read More