Organizational and Educational Change: Black and Decker - Case Study Example

Executive Summary The purpose of the report is to attempt to compile a strategic plan for Black and Decker in a bid to establish the areas where there is need to implement changes especially with regards to human resources management from a global perspective. The report will try to evaluate the current competitive strategies that can be implemented in the lock industry. The paper starts by highlighting the core business of the firm, Black and Decker followed by industry analysis following its acquisition of Emhart Corporation which has led it to transform its operations to incorporate global markets. The report also attempts to suggest the best possible way of fully utilizing the services of the old employees of Black and Decker in taking a leading role in this change initiative without compromising the integrity of the organisation. Evaluation of various strategies will also be covered in this section through the utilisation of particularly the human resources strategies and how they can be adopted to fully give an impetus to the change plan. Finally, an assessment of the organisational implications of Black & Decker’s change strategy will be discussed particularly on the kind of structure, culture, and systems that are necessary to make it work as well as the recommended action plan for implementation. Introduction In view of the change plan being proposed at Black and Decker, this report attempts to suggest and establish the best way Mr. Grunewald can utilize the employees at Black & Decker as well as recommending a suitable human resource development (HRD) strategy that can be used to manage and empower the human resources at the organisation. Founded in 1917, Black & Decker manufactured and sold a wide range of electric and battery-powered power tools (and accessories), household products, outdoor products, locks and hardware, plumbing products and mechanical fastening systems. Following a decline in business that characterized the company for a certain period, Black & Decker underscored to transform into a global marketing power that has rewritten nearly every performance record in its history. The acquisition of the Emhart Corporation which brought with it an architectural hardware comprising of locks and locksets business presented a perfect opportunity for strategic changes especially on how the various parts of the businesses could be integrated on a global scale. This report will particularly focus on strategies that can be adopted especially with regards to human resources development strategies that can be implemented in order to equip the employees with qualities that would ensure their competence in view of change plans. In this case, the most appropriate tools to analyse the proposed change plans include the systematic approach of how the employees can be upgraded to remain useful to the company from a global perspective. Thus, in view of the above mentioned issues in respect of change plans as well as decision making about the firm, the major aim of this report is to suggest strategies that can be adopted and give a critical analysis of the best structure, culture, and systems that are necessary to make it work. A reflection about the action plan for implementation would be given at the end of the analysis. Change is often necessitated by inevitable factors such as competition as well as globalisation factors among others. 1. Planning Planning is considered to be the starting point of any management process (Bates et al 2006). In other words, before you can do anything in business, you need to determine in advance what you want to achieve and this will help you to visualise the end result and set objectives accordingly. Therefore, we can say that planning is the process in which objectives are decided upon and the plans on how to reach them are put together. This report would outline the factors that are necessary in implementing strategic changes that are meant to improve the performance of Black and Decker in its initiative to go global. Planning is very important because it gives the people in the organisation an idea of the direction in which the business is going hence the above mentioned organisation ought to carefully plan its intended change strategy. Employee reorientation Apparently, the workers at Black and Decker have been for quite a long time since the company’s inception accustomed to operate and serve particularly local markets. However, the globalization initiative requires the company to address all the probable impediments that may scuttle the efforts to operate in global markets which are characterized by people from diverse cultural backgrounds. It may not be much of a very big problem for the employees to streamline their operations while at the same time trying to accommodate the values of other people in the areas in which they would be penetrating. Mr. Grunewald might achieve the best use of employees through offering programmes that are meant to reorientate the employees to meet the new demands of the change plan to take place. He may try to acquaint the workers with relevant skills that would enable them to gain knowledge about other cultures while at the same time upholding the principles of competency. Given that the original employees are accustomed to the operations of the organisation, it would likely to be much easier and cheaper to retain them and give them the relevant knowledge and skills of dealing with global markets than head hunting which may be costly to the organisation which of late has been struggling to operate profitably. Basically, penetrating a new market is not as difficult as establishing new business in a new environment as long as there is adequate knowledge about those markets. By virtue of providing proper skills on tackling challenges that may be encountered in a global market such as cultural factors, Mr. Grunewald would be better positioned to fully exploit the talent and knowledge of the employees who can drive the operations of the organisation to greater heights. Following the acquisition of Emhart Corporation which operated in different countries such as USA, Europe and Australia, it ostensibly means that the operations in these companies that have been acquired have to match the standards as well as expected operations of Black and Decker which apparently becomes the umbrella body of all the merged companies. Adapting to change is often regarded as a long winding route which ought to be carefully planned (Langley Ann 2003). It would be easier for Mr. Grunewald to identify the workers with talent to undergo some form of training to take up new strategic positions in the companies acquired in a bid to maintain the organisational culture of operation while at the same time promoting a system that would selflessly incorporate the values of diverse cultures dotted around the globe where the organisation is targeting to penetrate. Having identified talent for such challenging strategic positions, these people would in turn impart their knowledge and skills to the majority of workers retained or even new recruits for other positions in acquired companies to blend them in such a way that would build a force to reckon with globally that would be accommodative to diverse cultural values. Recommended Suitable Human Resource Development (HRD) Strategy Human resources development (HRD) refers to all the methods an organisation uses to help its employees to improve the way they work Kleynhans R. et al (2007). On the other hand, a strategy involves the interpretation of the environment and the development of consistent patterns in streams of organisational decisions (Mintzberg (1979) cited in Robinson W (1997). From this assertion, it is highly recommended that Black and Decker should underscore to take HRD which is primarily concerned with identifying the skills needed by the employees, designing and putting into place training and development programmes that are meant to equip them with the knowledge to cope with often challenging scenarios as a result of changes that would take place in the operations of the organisation. Change is not usually an overnight event hence the need to carefully consider all the requirements of the workers that can make them confidently take up the challenging tasks that would have been brought about by change. The Journal on organisational change and development change posits to the effect that HRD is vital for any organisation embarking on programmes meant to bring about strategic change as a way of improving its competitiveness against other rival competitors. “There is little argument that organizational change is increasingly important. Turbulent organizational environments and related organizational activities demand that organizations manage change effectively,” ( Ilinitch, DAveni, and Lewin, 1996 cited in Passmore and Woodman 1999). Thus, organizations must perceive and respond to changes in their environments and learn from their experiences to come up with effective strategies that can ensure compliance with change. Usually change is not often regarded as synonymous with complete overhaul of the company where all the structures would require rebuilding from the grassroots level but it is a transitional process. In fact, the original workers can be upgraded to meet the challenges of the tasks brought about by strategic changes in the operations of an organisation. One advantage of offering training and development skills to the employees is that they would have hands on experience with the operations of the organisation which would not technically halt progress especially in cases where the company would need to outsource manpower. If experienced workers are in control of strategic positions, it would be easier to create a situation where other local employees in different global markets would be assimilated to perform the same functions. 2. Organisational implications Black and Decker’s change strategy Whether for the betterment of the company or otherwise, change is one aspect which is often treated with suspicion by the employees. Whilst the change strategy advocated by Black and Decker is a noble idea, it may be problematic to convince the employees about the benefits that would be brought about by that particular change. Most of them would be skeptical about it for fear of various reasons. The old employees in the company may have been used to the traditional way of conducting business which can be a bit challenging for them to adapt to the new changes with regards to the new system of operation within a short space of time. This is one of the major obstacles likely to be encountered in the change strategy by Black and Decker. There would also be need to properly re-orientate the workers to meet the new requirements of the new system which can be time consuming and might require training which would also lead to the company loosing in terms of money through loss of production. This may also require outsourcing which would lead to more expenses when the company embarks on hunting for qualified and competent workers who can quickly adopt the change strategy. This would mean more in terms of remuneration since the outsourced worker would have higher qualifications. Another constraint likely to be encountered in this case is resistance to change that may result in sabotage in the event that there is lack of understanding among the employees. If the employees are not happy with the new initiative, it can be difficult for them to support it. A strategy that does not have the support of the people who are intended to play major roles is likely to face challenges in its implementation which can result in poor performance contrary to what would be anticipated in the first place. Organisational structure A decentralized structure is likely to be more effective in such a case where an organisation is embarking on a change strategy. In a decentralized organisation, action can be taken more quickly to solve problems and more people would provide input to decision making and the employees are likely to feel less alienated from those who make decisions that affect their daily operations at work. The system to be employed ought to be accommodative to a diverse range of cultures. Globalization entails that an organisation is going to operate in different parts of the globe and it must always be noted that there are diverse cultures with different values. It is imperative for any organisation seeking to establish business in a foreign land to take into consideration the value system of the local people. Failure to realize that would negatively impact on the operations of the organisation as the local people would end up shunning the products or services offered by such an organisation. Action plan The action plan for implementation begins by reorientation of the workers. The employees are the ones who can determine the success or failure of the change plan since they are the ones who are directly affected by the operations of the organisation. First and foremost, it is imperative to provide basic training to the employees so that they can be equipped with the required knowledge to undertake the challenging tasks that can be brought about by change in the operations of the organisation. Training can be in the form of coaching and mentoring which are all very important in motivating the employees to have a positive feeling towards change. Mentoring is an important support tool that an organisation can use to help young inexperienced employees to develop a better understanding of the work through the guidance of an older, more experienced employee or mentor (Jackson and Schuler 2000). On the other hand, coaching is a planned one on one instruction method where a coach working with only one learner at a time sets a good example of what is to be done (Kleynhans 2006). A one on one coaching situation is suitable for this case since there would be likely chances that the employee would quickly understand the dictates of the new system since it would be hands on experience. Mentoring can also play a critical role in which an established employee in this particular case can take a leading role in guiding the development of a less-experienced worker in a bid to increase his competencies, achievement and understanding of the new system. This would remove unnecessary fears among the employees as they would immensely benefit from the knowledge of senior and experienced workers in a cordial fashion which encourages growth of interpersonal relationship. Where there is a cordial relationship among the workers, there would be very high chances of successfully achieving the goals of the organisation. In the same vein, coaches also encourage their trainees to discuss difficult situations as they arise and work through alternative scenarios to deal with those difficult situations as a way of attempting to achieve the positive results anticipated from using a new system. In house training is very effective for ensuring the retention of workers. Black and Decker for instance has got its old employees who now have experience about the operations of the whole organisation and it would be cheaper and even better to educate the experienced staff about a single element about the change plan than hiring other skilled workers from outside who would be lacking the basic knowledge about the operations of the organisation as a whole. Implementation can take place after ensuring that the employees have gained the basic knowledge required to make the change strategy a success. This would also involve close monitoring of progress and constantly revisiting the areas which would require some form of attention. Basically, implementation forms part of the last stages of a strategic change plan. Conclusion Over and above, it can be noted that implementing a strategic change plan such as that one for Black and Decker is not a one day off event but requires concerted efforts especially by the human resources involved in the organization’s operations. Implementing a new program is concerned with change of the current operational system and in most cases change is met with resistance by many employees as a result of many factors. For the initiative to be successful, there is need to re-orientate the workers through provision of basic training and development which would be closely monitored upon implementation. 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