Change Management in Collins Organization - Report Example

Change Management Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts Inserts Introduction Collins Organization consists of nine divisions in which one division is underperforming as compared to the others. The competition is on the rise; however this division is facing certain quality issues. Moreover it has to deal with rising costs which are resulting in decreased profitability. The following analysis shows the basic problem the division is facing and the steps needed to manage the change required. Force Field Analysis Driving Forces The major driving forces are the reason to force the division to rethink its ways, re-structure its procedures and mend its ways of conducting business in order to improve performance. The quality of the products is extremely poor. 67% of the products are being returned which is a proof of poor value. Customers are demanding improved products which the division is being unable to provide. Moreover the competition in the market is increasing. New companies are coming up with similar products or substitutes and there is a threat that the current as well as potential customers may shift to the competitor’s products. This threat will result in lost sales and thus it is a major driver for change in the division. Moreover, there is a need of an implementation of new technology which will result in the efficient systems and better communication within departments (Robbins & Judge, 2004). It will greatly enhance the output of the division and increase its market share in the market. Lastly there is an essential need to control the rising costs. Most of the costs are associated with the lack of proper systems and the use of old technology. In order to reduce the costs, the systems and as well as the attitude of the people have to change. Lastly, a force which sums up the whole need for change and the need to improve the production of this division is the fact that this division contributes 18% to the output of the whole organization and any loss within this division can affect the whole company greatly as well. Restraining Forces The restraining forces are present to resist the change and thus hinder the improvement of production in this division. The foremost resisting force is the general fear of employees to change. The employees are resistant to change since they feel there is a risk involved in it. The managers also want to avert the risks. Moreover, the management of this division is lacking the experience to bring that necessary change within the organization. The motivation levels among employees are extremely low (Daft, 2001). They have been doing the same job for many years and now are reluctant to change since they do not see any benefit or advantage in changing. Their jobs have been confined to very narrow tasks and no employee has a holistic approach to things. Apart from that, there is lack of training and expertise amongst employees which is making it difficult for them to adopt the new technology. Steps to Improve Production The steps will include removing the restraining forces as well as supporting the driving forces. This will be done by implementing a strategy to change the people’s mindsets. Also a program will be designed which will ensure that the improvement in the production of the division takes place properly. Strategy to change people The employees are reluctant to change due to the fact that they have a fear of the unknown. They have a perceived loss of an advantage. In these circumstances the involvement of employees in the change process is essential. The most optimum way to involve them is to conduct workshops at all levels to help them understand the advantages of the change being implemented. They also need to be included in the decision making which will result in improving productivity. For instance, in order to reduce costs, the workers at the manufacturing level need to include in the change management where these workers out of their experience can help the division achieve lower costs by value adding the current production processes. Thus till the time a sense of belonging within the division is not established, any strategy to prepare employees for a change will fail miserably. Program of organization change This program will consist of four essential steps which will result in the better productivity of the division in the coming future. These four steps are: Improve Compensation management Compensation management needs to be done in order to attract high quality employees, retain those high quality employees, stimulate their performance and reward them for their desired behavior. At this moment, it is essential that employees realize that compensation will be given on the basis of their performance. Therefore if employees resist changes and underperform they may not be rewarded sufficiently as compared to their peers. It is essential to implement a structured compensation management system so that all employees have a better perception of fairness and equity (Daft, 2001). Promote Team work A new structure needs to be set in place which will include the setting up of cross functional teams. Each team will consist of employees from each department of the division and they will be given specific goals. This will help curtail the inefficiency of the current organizational structure of the organization where due to lack of interaction and communication between various departments, there is lack of customer focus and increased costs. With this team structure in place, the members of different function will work together to achieve optimal output. The marketing person will bring in the consumer insights, while the finance person will manage costs. The production personnel in the team will ensure that the final product being produced is within the cost range and is built with the consumer focus in mind. Implement Training and Development This step is essential to remove the apprehensions of the implementation of the new technology. Currently majority of the employees are scared of adopting the new technology due to the lack of knowledge and expertise. They fear the loss of their jobs once the technology is put in place. Therefore it is imperative that a training and development course is started at all levels where the employees who are willing to learn, should be given training regarding the new technology. Moreover, certain courses of organizational development and change management should be designed for the staff at the management level. Implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM) Firstly the management has to make a commitment to total quality assurance where it needs to focus on key issues as to what is the division doing right and what it is doing wrong. The management needs to research upon the fact that what problems are customers facing regarding the product. Then once all the issues have been identified, solutions need to be devised to cater to those problems (Daft, 2001). However the advantage of implementing the total quality management program is that it integrates all the functional departments of the organization. This is crucial since currently there is lack of communication between departments. Moreover the focus on quality is at every level of the organization and not only on the consumer side. Also the concept of improvement in the TQM program is not at a single point of time. It is a continuous process. Thus the implementation of TQM program throughout the organization can really help the division to establish procedures and processes which will add value to the division and remove any inefficiency which can result in high costs and poor quality. Conclusion Change management within an organization is not an easy task to implement. The management itself has to prepare to change and then facilitate the process for the employees. Collins organization’s division can only change for the better if the management stays committed and manages the change in a way which involves all stakeholders. References Daft, R. (2001). Organization Theory and Design, 9th ed. Chicago: South-Western. John P.K (1996), Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press Jeffery H. & Timothy.C (2003), Change Management: The people side of change. 1st edition. Prosci Micheal B. (2006), Strategic Organizational Change, Second Edition. Practitioner Press International Richard L. (2003), Managing Change and Transition. Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2004). Organizational Behavior. New York: Pearsons. Read More