Morgan Motor Company - Essay Example

Project Feasibility Study; Morgan Motor Company Section A - The change scenario Morgan Motor Company is the organisation chosen for this project feasibility study. It is a British-based auto car manufacturer founded by Harry Frederick Stanley Morgan in 1910. The company maintains a visitor centre and museum with intent to provide information to visitors regarding Morgan’ history from Edwardian time to the present day including automobile technology developments and automobiles displays. The company currently holds 163 people. The organisation has wide range of car designs and majority of them maintain higher market demand. In 2011, the Morgan launched the Threewheeler that has captured widespread market concentration. Company officials inform that they have received 850 Threewheeler orders since its launching announcement in 2011. Although the company still follows the traditional design, Morgan has strong roots in sports car performance. In the field of motorsport, Morgan cars can be widely found from club racing to some prominent motorsports including the Le Mans 24hr race. Morgan has been traditionally using an independent front suspension system for their automobiles and focusing on the development of this system throughout its existence. In 2007, Morgan Motor Company produced 640 cars. Even after 100 years of its foundation, Morgan cars are still built by hand and use wooden chassis (MotorwayAmerica, 2012). The building process represents six main stages including chassis assembly, sheet metal, wood, machine, and paint and Trim. The first building phase, chassis assembly, is carried out at the top workshop. This approach was practiced nearly a century ago and majority of its competitors are nowadays using ultra-modern technology in automobile manufacturing. Morgan’s management believes that this approach would assist them to ensure product quality. However, the fact is that hand-building strategy results in great delay in product delivery after an order is placed. As per reports, “the waiting list for a car is approximately one to two years” (PNG Cars, 2011). Evidently, this situation causes buyer dissatisfaction, because people may not be willing to wait long period once they decide to own a car. Furthermore, there are a large number of automobile manufacturers that deliver cars within a few days once an order is placed. Therefore, this traditional auto manufacturing approach would adversely affect the market competitiveness of the Morgan Motor Company. In addition, it is not possible to produce a considerable number of automobiles in a particular period using this handmade approach. Hence, the current manufacturing policy may negatively impact the business expansion efforts of the organisation. Likewise, when the company operates with this manufacturing approach, naturally it needs to employ more number of people to carry out its operations effectively. This condition increases the firm’s expenditure and thereby reduces profitability. In modern days, every business firm tries to trim down its expenses maximum because reduction of overhead costs is a better strategy to improve profitability and operational efficiency. Hence, it is necessary for Morgan Motor Company to change automobile manufacturing approach in order to modernise its manufacturing activities. The proposed change process represents both strategic changes and technological changes; hence, there is a need of organisational change. While dealing with this organisational change, the company may be forced to cut down the number of workers currently employed and this situation would cause high resistance to change from the part of employees. In addition, the Morgan management may need to hire highly skilled and experienced workers to handle modern technologies that are going to be installed. In addition, the firm has to change its marketing strategies, product delivery terms, inventory management strategies, and many other operational policies to adapt to the proposed change. Undoubtedly, human management would be the most difficult task to be addressed while going on with the proposed change. Therefore, it is crucial to conduct a Project Feasibility Study (PFS) to assess how the given strategic transformation can be addressed through an organisational change process. Section B - Project Feasibility Study (PFS) Organisational change management is a vital strategy to supervise and control the planned change process. As Jimmieson et al point out, “organisational change management is concerned with facilitating the process of change through modification of strategies, structures and processes” (as cited in Shah & Harris, 2010, p.339). This process may be beneficial for Morgan to prepare its whole organisational elements to adapt to a future situation. An effective organisational change management framework would assist the firm to align its existing resources and quickly respond to customer demands. Scholars opine that an effectively structured change management process may aid the organisation to evaluate the overall impact of the change. In addition, the change management framework is necessary to implement the planned change within the stipulated time and without affecting day to day business activities. It is also helpful to make employees knowledgeable about the change and thereby ensure increased employee support. Reduction of change costs, increased return on investment, and better prediction of challenges are some other significant benefits of a change management policy. In short, it reduces the probability of an unsuccessful change. The following sessions evaluate how the Morgan’s planned change can be effectively managed and executed. In order to effectively manage the planned change, 1. Determine the change scenario 2. Build support for change 3. Set a motivational vision 4. Develop precise, specific, and realistic goals and policies (source: Management Decision and Research Center, n.d). 1. Determine the change scenario In this phase, a variety of information are gathered and analysed. It is necessary to clearly define the imperative for the proposed change. In the given case scenario, the change is inevitable to reduce product delivery time, improve product quality, production volume, and market competitiveness, and trim down number of employees and thereby cost of production. A number of external as well as internal factors are involved in this change process. Employees constitute the major group inside the organisation that is involved in the change whereas the major outside groups are formed of suppliers and bankers. Like any other change, the planned change will have an impact on Morgan’s existing customer groups. The change is likely to negatively affect the Morgan’s employees because the planned modernisation process would probably terminate some of the employees. For suppliers, the change is not good because many of the existing raw materials may be replaced by technologically improved ones. Hence, suppliers may also be replaced. In contrast, bankers would consider the change positive as it is likely to generate more revenues in future. However, active co-operation from these groups, especially employees, are vital to execute the change programme successfully. To illustrate, the newly planned auto production process would not be effective unless employees acquire necessary skills to handle the transformed worksite environment. Since the planned change is most likely to affect their employment, the workers may not be prepared to support and co-operate with the change process. For the same reason, existing suppliers may not also support the change programme implementation. On the other hand, bankers and other credit lenders would offer all assistance to the organisation for successfully transforming to the new work environment. Undoubtedly, employee resistance may be the most potential impediment to the change. A good public stature is the major strength of the company and it would assist the Morgan’s management to pool various resources, including funds and human power, which are essential to achieve the planned change. The long years’ market experience may aid the firm to identify the market pulse accurately and thereby to structure the change programme in way that effectively meets market demands. 2. Build support for change “Commitment to change usually begins with a small group of ‘core believers’ or champions of the change initiative, who share a common new vision for the organisation and are willing to do what it takes to make it realty” (Management Decision and Research Center, n.d). In general organisational settings, top level managers and staff constitute the core believer group and they are able to personally influence the change initiative. In the given change context, the Morgan management represents the core believer group and it would take initiative to prepare various organisational elements to integrate with the new business environment. The management’s involvement can be viewed as a reflection of the firm’s commitment to the change. The core believer group (here Morgan’s management) must frequently manage rewards and resources within the organisation prior to the change. Referring to Lewandowski (2003), in the first phase of the change process, the Morgan’s top executive team has to encourage the involvement of initial participators who do not have a high level of commitment to the change (p.160). Such initial participators support the change out of their loyalty to the organisation and they may include sales promoters, business advisors, and other middle level employees. As the change process continues and comes in the targeted path, some other people (for instance; technical staff and clerks) who were not sure about the feasibility of change at the beginning of the project would also offer their support to the change programme. Thus, the Morgan management can increase the strength of its change supporting group. According to Adams (1988), there is a group called ‘hard core resistors’ (for instance; low level employees, upholstery workers, and assemblers), who may never support the planned change. In sum, the level of efficacy in building the support for change determines the degree of functionality of the change took place. 3. Set a motivational vision According to Kezar (2001), in this stage, a clear and concise motivational vision has to be developed to stimulate a large group of employees to co-operate with the planned organisational change (p.90). In other words, Morgan’s employees have to clearly comprehend why the planned change is inevitable, why they must support the change, and the proposed change would achieve. As discussed earlier, the change may be excruciating to some workers whom are required to develop new job skills or being terminated from the employment. The motivational vision must be concrete enough to enlighten people about what the change aims for and why it is necessary. At the same time, the Morgan’s change management team must make certain that the developed vision is not forcible. In short, the Morgan’s motivational vision must help its employees think about new possibilities for themselves and for the organisation as a whole. 4. Develop precise, specific, and realistic goals and policies Specific goals and polices are vital for the Morgan management make its vision a reality. In addition, a specific set of goals would assist the organisations to evaluate the progress of the change process at different stages of project execution. In this stage, the Morgan’s change management team must pool the resources that are necessary to run the changed business practices. Likewise, the firm has to provide special job training to its existing employees for preparing them to suit the new business environment. In addition, the organisation should hire sufficient number of skilled and experienced professionals to support its modernised business operations. While eliminating unwanted workers, the organisation has to provide them with all possible compensations and other benefits so as not to discourage the remaining employees. The Morgan’s management must frame specific training packages to its different organisational departments to make them knowledgeable about the changing situation. The organisation should pay specific focus on the development of new communication channels that are potential enough to bear the change. In addition, the Morgan management team has to set specific operational policies and procedures to support the planned change process since such practices would assist the firm to quickly respond to day to day needs. Furthermore, the firm’s change management must effectively intervene in the change process in order to keep its business unaffected of the change. It is commonly misbelieved that role of change management ends once the change is implemented. In fact, the change management responsibilities last to a fixed period after the change project execution. In the given case, the management should evaluate the company’s sales volume and profitability after the change execution and identify whether change brings targeted outcomes. If the new business practices do not bring the aimed results, the top management team should make necessary modifications to the implemented project. In total, the change management executives must closely work with each and every aspect of the project implementation. References Adams, JD., 1988. Creating critical mass to support change, OD Practitioner, pp. 7-10, [Online] Available at: [Accessed 16 April 2012]. Kezar, AJ., 2001. Understanding and Facilitating Organizational Change in the 21st Century: Recent Research and Conceptualizations, USA: John Wiley & Sons. Lewandowski, LA., 2003. Family-Centered Care: Putting it into Action : The SPN/ANA Guide to Family-Centered Care.Netherlands: Society of Pediatric Nurses. Motorway America., 2012. Cars still built by hand at Morgan, [Online] Available at: [Accessed 16 April 2012]. Management Decision and Research Center., n.d. Organizational change: Primer. [online] Available at: http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/internal/organizational_change_primer.pdf> [Accessed 16 April 2012]. PNG Cars., 2011. Only one car turns head and stops traffic in Port Moresby, [Online] Available at: [Accessed 16 April 2011]. Shah, N & Harris, PT., 2010. Using change management to support stakeholder management. In: E. Chiyio & P. Olomolaiye Eds. Construction Stakeholder Management. UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Ch. 19. Read More