Issues in Contemporary Business Based on Google - Literature review Example

Define organizational change and critically explain the forces driving innovation and change in today’s organizations 1 Organizational Change Organizational change can be defined as: According to McNamamra (n.d.), Organizational Change is defined as “A framework for putting new business process in affect, making changes in the structure of organization or employing any cultural change within the organization. A systematic approach to organizational change requires people to learn new sets of skills and behavior.” (McNamara, n.d.) 1.2 Organizational Change Management Organizational Change Management can be defined as: According to McNamamra (n.d.), Organizational Change Management is defined as “Organizational change management is essentially same as Organizational Change but the only difference is of implementation. The way change is implemented and managed in an organization, such practice is known as organization change management.” (McNamara, n.d.) 1.3 Explanation Turner (2011) has explained that organizational change is generally referred to as that transformation through which a company goes as result of change in management, restructure, strategic orientation, development of new goals, merger of acquisition etc. Challenges which result from the events of organizational change have a ripple effect on the whole organization. According to Turner (2011), this happens because business units are completely integrated and therefore a change in one unit has a domino effect on the other units. Effectively managing this procedure is an art upon which a lot of consideration and expertise is provided so as to make it a new area of expertise known as Change Management. The process of change management is evolving due to changes in the preferences of customers, business landscapes, improved process and technologies etc. (Organizational Changes, n.d.) 1.4 Factors driving Changes and Innovations in Organizations Some primary drivers behind the process of organizational change include: Inadequate Financial Performance According to Soosay (2005), those companies which do not get able to meet their benchmarks of financial positions are compelled to examine their business processes and objectives. This is the major driver behind the organizational change. If a new competitor enters into the same industry having advanced technology or cheaper labor, companies those were formally ruling the market and enjoying prosperity can find that their market share is cannibalizing. A failure to maintain its position as a major competitor stresses the company to rethink and reformulate the resource disposition and opportunity cost of capital. (Soosay, 2005) Product Life Cycle Mecca (2004) state that when life cycle of a product comes to an end, companies are compelled to cut down the operating cost of production or prepare in order to get exit from the market. At this stage, many companies prefer in getting merged or acquired by larger companies. This leads to structural changes in which a company can either refocus on new business opportunities or maintain its profitability. Strategic Objectives Lloyd (1998) states that if a company prefers to change its strategic objectives then it also leads to change in entire organization for instance if a company plans to shift its focus from customer oriented to product oriented, then new business procedures and processes will be required to assist this re-orientation. This type of change can result in firing redundant staff and enhancing production process. Mergers and Acquisitions According to Govindarajan (2011), significant re-engineering and cost cutting is required when firms plan to consolidate its operations or getting merged with some other company. Significant challenges are developed when the companies integrate. These challenges force to streamline the operation of both the companies. (Govindarajan, 2011) New Technology Lloyd (1998) further states that significant driver of organization change can be the adoption of new technology. Consider an example of internet with the print media. The advent of internet caused numerous companies to adopt this process on a worldwide scale due to changes in preferences of customers. Nowadays, many customers prefer reading e-newspaper then the printed one. Companies that negate the trend which is rising encounter market share and the dominant part of market share ends up in the account of those companies who better understand the need, preferences and demands of their customers. (Organizational Changes, n.d.) As the markets and businesses emerge, their business processes also evolve. The above factors represent some important drivers of organizational change. 2. Critically discuss why changes in people and culture are critical to any change process. Assess what the potential sources/reasons for resistance to change might be. 2.1 Importance of People and Culture in Change Process Organizational change has a profound impact upon the emotional, physical and psychological state of the employees of the company. Some people experience comfort zone while others create barriers in their personal and professional life. A change in policies and procedures of company can stress beliefs and values of the people. Brookins (n.d.) argues that it is essential to deal with cultural and behavioral change effectively so as to make a change successful. In most of the organizations, dealing with behavioral and cultural change is the foremost preference of company’s management and therefore it has become an important area of consideration for management experts and professionals. (Brookins, n.d.) Implementing new procedures and practices in a company require to aligning these procedures with the people by providing them training programs and education. Lloyd (1998) further explains that companies which go through extensive transition phase employ the services of management professional and highly specialized personnel which help in assisting people with the integration process. Professionals operating in this area are proficient at communicating, translating, re-educating and integrating the vision of the company to the individuals so as to align the objectives and goals of the company. This process includes in suggesting management to transform and formulate the rigid operational structures so that they become adaptive for both the company and its employees. (Lloyd, 1998) 2.2 Reasons for Resisting Change As far as resisting change is concerned, Lloyd (1998) states that change is not so easy to implement as it seems. There comes a lot of resistance from the side of employees in order to adopt the change. Job is not completed when change is implemented in the organization, but in essence that change must become the part of employee’s professional life in order to align the change with both, employees as well as organization. Some resistances that occur from the side of employees while introducing and change process include: Self Interest According to Brown (2008), employee’s ability to adapt to change is generally driven by their ego. Some employees feel reluctant to change because their feel that their own agendas will not be met after accepting the change. They prefer to maintain status quo so that their personal agendas are not hurt. Instead of thinking about greater good of organization, employee’s own self-interest resists change. (BROWN, 2008) Poor Communication Srivastava (2011) has explained the drawbacks of neglecting this element. The key decision makers of the organization usually take all the decision related to the change. It is their duty to pass on these details to their subordinates and ensure that all the complaints and queries are handled effectively before the change goes into effect. Regrettably, when the news of change is infused, it creates a lot of panic and therefore second hand and inaccurate information reach to the lower level of hierarchy. Poor communication between the top and lower management causes resistance as they message gets prevailed in an incorrect manner. (Srivastava, 2011) Lack of Trust Srivastava (2011) further explained that there must be a great level of commitment and trust during the change process. If the employees feel that they cannot trust the organization and ultimately will end up losing their jobs after this change process, then they usually get negative and angry which worsens the situation. (Srivastava, 2011) Feeling Excluded According to Brown (2008), when employees undergo the feeling of exclusion, it usually results in angry and frustrating situation. They feel that they are not a part of organization therefore their acceptance is not required. In this way, employees get demotivated for working with that organization and this situation usually ends up in high employee turnover. (BROWN, 2008) Dearth of Training/Skills Brown (2008) further argued that if the change requires some particular skills to be learnt, then employees get worried in learning those skills. Mastering those skills require new training sessions for employees and most of the employees feel reluctant in attending training programs. (BROWN, 2008) 2. Apply the concepts above to the company Google 3.1 Change and Innovation at Google Inc. Innovation has not been a small case when it comes to Google Inc. A question that comes in everyone’s mind is that how can a company as big as Google maintain its innovation strategy year after year. According to Susan Wojcicki, number 16th employee of Google Inc., what she has learnt about innovation at Google can be summed up in eight simple steps. These steps of innovation at Google are also called as Eight Pillars of Google (Wojcicki, n.d.). 3.2 Eight Pillars of Google i. Have a thoughtful objective ii. Start small but think big iii. Instead of trying for instant perfection, work for continual innovation iv. Look for ideas v. Share everything vi. Fuel with data, spark with imagination vii. Become a platform viii. Never fail to fail (Wojcicki, n.d) According to Bry (2011), Initially, Google developed its basis as a simple but fast search engine which provided exceptionally better responses than other search engines. Google then diversified its innovation portfolio by introducing more features including Gmail services, Google News, Google Map, Google Earth, Android operating system, Google Chrome and Google Images. (Bry, 2011) Bry (2011) further stated that in terms of interface, features and designs, no other search engine can compete with Google. This is primarily because of the simple interface that Google has. Navigator doesn’t have to ‘search’ for search bar on the page unlike Yahoo! MSN etc. Another driver behind the success of innovation of Google is its philosophy. “Don’t do evil” is a phrase written on Google’s walls. 3.3 The Innovation Process of Google According to BusinessWeek (2008), at very early stage of the collaboration of its design, Google quickly understand the values and demands of its users. This gave birth to the beta versions. Google offers both, resources and freedom. It means that IT users at Google are provided 20% of their entire time on working on the projects which they seem the best. This rule of 20% encourages the employees so that they can enjoy the type of work which they like to do. The reason for allowing workers to do this is because Google believe that people are more motivated, concerned and productive when they are working on the projects which they have invented or consider important. This strategy of Google promotes innovation at bottom line. (BusinessWeek, 2008) Apart from all this, Google’s management takes out time to listen to their engineers and colleagues. This helps in consulting an important project. If ideas seem realistic, interesting and innovative enough, then they receive the support of management and finance department to transform that idea into reality. Bibliography Bernhard, K., 2011. Can Google Be Entrepreneurial?. [Online] Available at: http://www.portfolio.com/companies-executives/2011/01/21/innovation-challenges-for-larry-page-at-google/ [Accessed 17 April 2012]. Brookins, M., n.d.. What Causes Resistance to Change in an Organization?. [Online] Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/causes-resistance-change-organization-347.html [Accessed 17 April 2012]. BROWN, M. A. C. C., 2008. ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE CYNICISM: THE ROLE OF EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT. [Online] Available at: http://cmapspublic.ihmc.us/rid=1227459657205_731589955_14686/Organizational%20Change%20Cynicism.pdf [Accessed 17 April 2012]. 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[Online] Available at: http://www.organizational-change-management.com/critical-success-factors-for-organizational-change.php[Accessed 17 April 2012]. Soosay, C. A. a. S. T. R., 2005. DRIVING CHANGE: INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT IN DISTRIBUTION CENTRES. Journal of Asia Entrepreneurship and Sustainability, pp. 1-21. Srivastava, M., 2011. Why the Role of Employee Important in an Organizational Change Process. [Online] Available at: http://www.businessihub.com/why-the-role-of-employees-important-in-an-organizational-change-process/[Accessed 17 April 2012]. Turner, D.-M., 2011. Creating an Organizational Change Tool Kit. [Online] Available at: http://www.thinktransition.com/organizational-change-articles/159-creating-an-organizational-change-tool-kit.html[Accessed 12 April 2012]. Kotter's 8-Step Change Model, n.d.. Mind Tool. [Online] Available at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm [Accessed 12 April 2012]. Travis, Eryn. n.d. Employee reactions to Organizational Change. [Online] Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/employee-reactions-organizational-change-17732.html [Accessed 12 April 2012]. Wojcicki, S., n.d., The Eight Pillars of Innovation. [Online] Available at: http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/quarterly/innovation/8-pillars-of-innovation.html [Accessed 17 April 2012] Read More