The organisational change of a packaged manufacturing company of Australia named Amcor - Essay Example

? Managing Change Introduction In present day’s dynamic and competitive business context, organisations need to adjust with the fluctuating environmental situations by constantly introducing changes so that they can stay competitive and cost-effective. Substantial transformations take place when an organisation carry out changes, for instance, apply new technology, develop union, make acquisition, reduce tasks, reorganise operations, or introduce new programs. Organisational changes are generally encouraged by a requirement to maintain or develop organisations’ efficiency. The efficiency relates to the organisations’ capability to utilise resources competently, to accomplish immediate objectives as well as to embrace the prerequisite to changing business condition. Thus, organisational changes help organisations to stay competent for longer period of time (Ramanathan, 2009). The paper will describe the organisational change of a packaged manufacturing company of Australia named Amcor which had pursed change for developing the business performance. Furthermore, the paper will describe the nature of change which occurred in Amcor and the procedure it had implemented for managing the change for gaining positive outcome. Nature of Organisational Change According to Ackerman, there are three kinds of organisational change which are developmental change, transitional change and transformational change (Ramanathan, 2009). Developmental change refers to the change for augmenting and developing the present situation of an organisation. It often emphasises on developing the abilities and the procedures. The transitional change denotes shifting from present condition to anticipated condition where provisional shift happens over an organised time period. The transformational change is fundamental in nature and necessitates an alteration in expectations on the part of organisation and the employees (Ramanathan, 2009). Organisational Development Organisational development is a procedure and activity which helps to bring transformations and accomplish greater efficiencies such as augmented financial performance, improved customer satisfaction and better employee participation among others. The focus of organisational development is to assess the present functioning of organisation and accomplish the objectives by increasing the ability. Organisational change is a wider conception than organisational development and can be used in managing the organisational transformation (Cummings & Worley, 2008). The nature of change in Amcor is developmental change because it had applied change across numerous locations, divisions and business units in order to develop the safety measures and improve the performance through reduction of time and cost. Amcor had used the constant improvement approach of change which empowers the employees to lead towards alteration from bottom-up stage. The strategic objective of change for Amcor is to maintain accountability in packaging experience (Manufacturing Skills, 2007). Context and Background Amcor is a manufacturing organisation based in Melbourne (Australia), which produces varieties of plastic, string, copper and glass wrapping products and delivers packaging oriented services. Its business has spread in 24 nations and almost half of the income is derived from outside of Australia. It is known as one of the most significant organisations on the basis of market capitalisation, sales and profit in the international market (Charles Sturt University, 2011). With the increased competition in the global market, Amcor had faced the challenges of high raw material price and the need for improving customer and market competences. These aspects had resulted in the requirement of organisational change in Amcor. Amcor operates in a progressively competitive business environment where only the fittest and capable organisation can survive and prosper. Thus, in order to survive in the market, Amcor had transformed the organisational culture and behaviour by implementing lean manufacturing in their business operations. Amcor had revised the business operations in order to develop the operational productivities and decrease the costs, at the same time raise sales, upgrade marketing abilities and improve overall competencies. As a part of organisational change, Amcor had divided the operational tasks and promoted technical talents of employees so that they can perform safely and within a lesser period of time (Manufacturing Skills, 2007). The outcome of organisational change in Amcor is beneficial for fulfilling the objectives of constant development with an emphasis of industrialised design, decreasing the lead time, empowering the employees, streamlining the work flow, ensuring safety in workplace and improving the communication among others. Amcor’s change management is an appropriate example of organisational change as it provides numerous aspect of change which can develop the organisational culture and behaviour. Accomplishing successful change starts with a perfect understanding of current condition of organisation, subsequently the execution of suitable and targeted strategies (The University of Adelaide, n.d.). Meanwhile, Amcor had recognised the business environment effectively and the requirements for cost reduction and effective business operation in order to achieve sustainable development. Thus, it had implemented “The Way Forward strategy” and introduced lean manufacturing philosophies as a part of achieving reasonable production (Manufacturing Skills, n.d.). Critical Aspects of Change Changes are common in organisations to achieve high competency and productivity. However, these changes necessitate employees to adjust with the organisational transformation as a way of working life. Several studies have denoted that even with numerous procedures of organisational change, there is still high rate of discontent in organisations to provide best performance after change. There are several significant aspects of change which need to be considered by organisations undertaking change (Becker, 2005). There are certain aspects which can ensure success in organisational change which include describing the purpose of change, formulating business and project strategy, handling human resources and industrial relations matters, instituting communication procedure within organisation, accompanying stakeholder examination, developing management and team skills, recognising and developing plans for dealing with the risks and creating evaluation strategies for measuring the impact of change (Stable, 1999). The change management implemented in Amcor can provide an ideal example of successful change. Amcor had described the purpose of change as an improvement in business procedure. The company had developed project team with support of high-ranking administrators. The project team recognised that in order to succeed there is need for communication and thus, they had developed working associations though face-to-face communication (Swinburne, 2011). Employees were provided with training regarding lean manufacturing as well as a program which comprise of “Safety Leadership Tour” (Commonwealth of Australia, 2010). They were provided with the teaching in instrument and manual handling functions. Conclusion The type of change pursued by Amcor is planned change with the intention of developing the process of business. It was an example of operational change where Amcor had focused on increasing the performance within its boundary so that it can effectively line up with the environmental necessities. The change of Amcor provides an idea that a change is a planned process which should be accomplished by series of activities such as recognising the requirement of change, planning the change procedure and communicating about the change to the members among others. These aspects can provide a sound foundation for successful change, offer a greater enthusiasm to take risks and help to move beyond existing limitations. On the basis of this assessment of change, the next assessment will be developed on the diverse diagnosis models and approaches which is most suitable for identifying transformation in organisation. In order to analyse the selected organisation, diagnosis models of change will be evaluated critically. Afterwards, the change strategy which has been used in Amcor will be reviewed in order to judge whether the change was successful or not. The assessment will consist of recommended interferences and approaches for recognised alteration in the organisation. References Becker, K. L. (2005). Changing culture to facilitate organisational change: A case study. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/12179/1/12179.pdf Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2008). Organization development & change. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Charles Sturt University. (2011). Amcor Australia – welcome. Retrieved from http://hsc.csu.edu.au/business_studies/resources/3117/CSUbusstf.html Commonwealth of Australia. (2010). Taking action for the future: how organisations make successful change for sustainability. Retrieved from http://www.environment.gov.au/education/publications/pubs/taking-action.pdf Manufacturing Skills. (2007). National training AMCOR Australasia. Retrieved from http://www.mskills.com.au/DownloadManager/Downloads/AMCOR%20Australasia.pdf Manufacturing Skills. (n.d.). Manufacturing case studies. Retrieved from http://www.mskills.com.au/DownloadManager/Downloads/Overview%20brochure.pdf Ramanathan, T. R. (2009). The role of organisational change management in offshore outsourcing of information technology services: qualitative case studies from a multinational pharmaceutical company. Sydney: Universal-Publishers. Stable, R. L. (1999). Managing organisational change. Retrieved from http://www.health.qld.gov.au/publications/change_management/man_org_chnge.pdf Swinburne. (2011). Case study – Amcor. Retrieved from http://www.industry.swinburne.edu.au/training-and-development/case-studies/amcor.html The University of Adelaide. (n.d.). Leading change, transition & transformation. Retrieved from http://www.adelaide.edu.au/hr/strategic/leading_change_toolit.pdf Read More