Change Management Plan of Lenovo - Coursework Example

Change Management Plan Change Management Plan Introduction Lenovo designs, develops, manufactures and sells laptops, PCs, smartphones, tablets and several home electronic devices. In 2013, Lenovo became the world largest producer of computers, and its leading brands are ThinkPad and ThinkCenter. In 2014, Lenovo acquired shares of Motorola Mobility from Google. The present report will focus on Lenovo organization in terms of its size and history. Other than this Lenovo’s human resource program, its policy, procedures used to recruit an employee and the initiative that has been proposed for change within the organization are also discussed in this report. The aim of this report is to identify the overall strategic position of Lenovo and address various aspects of Kotter’s 8-Stage Process for facilitating change in human resource, identifying and dealing with potential resistance to change, and outlining three communication strategies that could be used in this process. Furthermore, two diagnostic tools to identify changes that need to be made in the organization are discussed along with recommendations of two strategies for sustaining change. Organization Lenovo is one of the world most innovative laptop manufacturers. The year 2013 was a successful year for Lenovo as it achieved 15% market share of the global personal computer market as provided in Appendix 1 (Lenovo Group Limited 2013/14 Annual Report, 2014). The fiscal year for Lenovo group ended on March 31, 2013. According to the company’ annual report, it generated US$ 33.873 billion that was a record high, and it was only possible due to the success of Lenovo’s broad range of products like ThinkPad Helix, Z series, and Flex series which are highly popular among users in China. Lenovo is manufacturing a variety of products like mobile devices NEC, Medion, and CCE. Other than these three Thinkpad and Idea series are also popular. The Chairman and the CEO of Lenovo have clearly stated that Lenovo will transform the global scenario in the computer industry in favor of the company through its technologies into most affordable computers enabling every type of buyer to purchase Lenovo innovative technologies. Lenovo has 54,000 employees across the globe (About Lenovo, 2014) Kotter’s 8 Stage Process Create (A Sense of Urgency) According to Kotter’s 8-stage process, the first stage creates a sense of urgency, which has been implemented by new ideas that Lenovo has been pursuing since the beginning of the 21st century. The focus of these ideas is the use of environment friendly technology. The concept of environment friendly technology can be combined with the first stage of Kotter that is ‘create’ in such a way that the higher management of Lenovo could engage in a two-way communication process with the company’s employees and convince them to come up with new ideas. The management could also set a policy to add new jobs in the company for promoting new and innovative ideas. In this way, the first stage of Kotter could be accomplished. Human Resource Management A sense of urgency is all about creating more jobs in the workplace and putting the right team together. It is a difficult task because individuals working in an organization need to ensure that their work does not get compromised when dealing with their colleagues or the employer. Lenovo has to plan a strategy to hire the best employees from around the world. It has to put them in a team to serve the objectives of Lenovo and give them development projects such as development of environment friendly technology that is going to compel them to succeed. There are three ways of hiring appropriate people. The company can put job advertisements on its website, newspapers, and other online media. Moreover, the company can acquire services of job consultants to recruit individuals according to their experiences and qualifications. Furthermore, the company can participate or arrange job fair or open house allowing the company’s managers to have face-to-face meetings with potential candidates and hire most qualified employees for Lenovo (CIPD, 2013). Build (A Guiding Coalition) The second stage of Kotter’s 8-stage process is ‘building a guiding coalition’. The employees in the research and development department can show it to the company’s management and then the management can explicitly create new job opportunities for the project initiated by the research and development department. The management can explicitly give their proposal for a fully-fledged workforce through methods prescribed in the previous section and hire suitable employees. It would achieve Kotter’s second stage. Reason for Change The reason why Lenovo needs a change is because the organization is growing in terms of profit, technology, employees, market, and several other reasons. Change is necessary to retain the company’s top employees through their personal and career development. Change is also needed with the passage of time otherwise the organization will not able to deal with the market pressure. If, for instance, Lenovo does not alter its human resource management policy and keep a constant approach, then employees could become frustrated and leave the company that would affect its business and market position. It is important to know that majority of employees working for companies leave their current jobs because of the lack of trust and communication between them and their immediate supervisors or managers. Lenovo can avoid this by just keeping its employees happy by sharing information and providing specialized consultation to them to assist them in their career development and fulfillment of personal objectives. There is another reason for change that is to make ways for employees to make their opinions and views heard within the organization. The employees’ voice should not be denied by the company’ management because if it does then employees will be affected by it and they could leave the organization. Therefore, the organization will incur high costs related to hiring new people and it could affect the company’s overall business. Form (A Strategic Vision and Initiatives) Lenovo has already influenced the global market environment in its favor and is already following the third stage of Kotter’s 8-stage process, which is ‘form a strategic vision’, and initiatives that helps the company to achieve that strategic vision. For instance, Lenovo has implemented the third stage of Kotter’s 8-stage process by establishing seven research centers, which work closely and help develop technologies. These include Think Place, BU & R&D Centre, Corporate R&D Centre, Development Lab, Advance System Design Centre, Notebook/Mobile Phone Development Centre, Mobile Phone R&D Centre, Branch of Lenovo Corporate Research and Telephone and Switchboard R&D center. These centers develop and provide Lenovo and its customers with the latest technology at a very reasonable price based on Lenovo’s strategic vision, which is environmentally friendly technology. Recommendations for change The most important recommendation required for change is to hire the right people for the right job, provide competitive benefits to the employees to keep them motivated, and provide them a comfortable working environment. One of the most recommended changes that are required in Lenovo as a progressive organization is that it must involve its employee in decisions. The job satisfaction is the key ingredient that is also recommended for change. The employees appointed by the organization needs to be well informed about the company’s policies and plans that could affect their working. Lenovo has established Employment Engagement Index ((EEI) to measure the level of commitment and satisfaction of its employees. The current report indicates that more than half of the workforce of Lenovo is satisfied with jobs assigned and it is likely to continue working for Lenovo (About Lenovo, 2014). Kotter’s 8-Stage Process Enlist (A Volunteer Army) Lenovo has a work force of 54,000 employees. Lenovo remained focused on its human resource development in the last 30 years. In these years, the labor market trends affected Lenovo’s hierarchy and major changes were observed. Barriers to Change and Communication People do not accept barriers to change and communication easily. When changes took place in Lenovo, many people quit their jobs out of fear of change. Many employees lost their jobs due to change and this led to the sense of job insecurity amongst those who stayed with the company. It is also noted that the government at times responses poorly to changes taking place in companies in a particular industry. For instance, the political conditions faced by Lenovo are somewhat sound in China, which stand at the 16th position globally for its political stability. However, if the industrial policy development and implemented by the government fails to provide necessary regulations for a specific industry i.e. the IT industry then, it can create major problems for the organization. Sometimes, limited financial resources available to the company can also lead to barriers to change and communication (Kerbouche, Adouka, Belmimoun, & Guenonuni, 2012). Kotter’s 8-Stage of Process Enable (Action by Removing) One of the most significant problems that Lenovo had faced is managing conflicts amongst several hierarchies in Lenovo. Eight out of ten HR professionals stated that they spent much of their time in removing tensions and stress amongst employees to avoid conflicts. Moreover, it was reported that two-thirds of the company’s employees needed their managers to be more specific and clear in their reports to promote confidence, transparency and behavior suitable for the company. Generate (Short-Term Wins) Lenovo started several employees training programs for all jobs functions and positions. Lenovo has its research and development center where it produces some of its best ideas that are referred to as short-term wins by the company. Sustain (Acceleration) Lenovo has sustained its potential and growth by following certain steps. The board of directors has established three committees known as audit committees, compensation committees, nomination and governance committee. These committees ensure that the company is able to pursue its strategy and sustain its acceleration process. Lenovo has 54,000 employees up-to-date who are working around the global but a significant proportion is located in China. Most of Lenovo products are produced in China. They are processed, assembled, and packed in China. Some of Lenovo products are also assembled abroad in America and Europe. Institute (Change) Lenovo’s official strategic position has been changed over the years and is based on providing consumers with a diverse line of innovative laptops and excellent job opportunities for employees around the world. The top line laptops and tablets of the company have an individual strategy in order to separate from its competitors. Lenovo has maintained core competencies in five important aspects of primary activities that have a direct effect on capital, financing, human resource management, equipment, and infrastructure and firms technology. Strategic Planning In strategic planning, there are several things that occur while make a decision. For instance, potential resistance to change and the resistance would be managed, possible communication strategies, diagnostic tools to identify the change that need to be made in organization and strategies sustaining the change. There should be an open and candid environment and employees are encouraged to give suggestions, everything should be in writing in communication, and easy access to the management should be provided. Open and candid communication is one of the tools, job security and satisfaction for job. Educate the employees, use of technology should be easy and strong, the technology that should be introduced in the organization shall be affordable, robust and durable. These are the core issues in strategic planning which are being delivered by Lenovo’s strategic planning. References CIPD. (2013). Employee Outlook. CIPD Factsheet, 1-17. Kerbouche, M., Adouka, L., Belmimoun, A., & Guenonuni, H. (2012). The Country of Origin and the Consumer Behavior - How to Improve Chinese Products Brands. Mediterranean Journal of Social Science, 551-559. Lenovo. (2014, November 29). About Lenovo. Retrieved from Lenovo: http://www.lenovo.com/lenovo/us/en/our_company.html Lenovo. (2014). Lenovo Group Limited 2013/14 Annual Report. Beijing: Lenovo. Appendix 1. Lenovo World Market Share Source: (Lenovo, Lenovo Group Limited 2013/14 Annual Report, 2014) Read More