Organisation Change in 2ergo Group PLC - Case Study Example

?Organisation Change in 2ergo Group PLC The concept of organisational behaviour has gained increasing interest in the recent years. It is considered to be an emerging idea in the business world and as a discipline related to the social sciences. Organisational behaviour is said to have originated in the mid 20th century (Miner, 2006: 3). The main area of focus in the organisation world is the relation of the nature of people involved in an organisation and their behaviour. It also deals with the nature of the organisation in relation to their environment. The study will look at the organisational behaviour of 2ergo Group PLC in relation to their management diversity, the way the organisation has coped with technological changes and innovation, motivational strategies and a critical evaluation of their leadership style. Company Profile 2ergo Group PLC is a proficient player in the mobile trade and marketing and is based in Salford Quays in England. Its areas of specialisation include, provision of software solutions, mobile entertainment, mobile website, mobile news. Their services are utilised in smart phone and mobile phone marketing, smart phone applications, mobile ticketing and coupons and secure payment solutions. It merges its inventive mobile technology together with its prowess in professional services to guide other smaller companies to improve and implement their mobile strategy. Companies that rely on their professional advice include Fox Sports, Aviva, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Fidelity and Procter and Gamble (2ergo Group PLC). They consult on how to enhance their customer relationships, boost their sales, cut down on costs and end to end mobile solutions. The company headquarters are in the UK and it has been on the forefront in facilitating innovative mobile business strategies across regions and different sectors. The company has spread its wings in Australia, Latin America, North America and India. Additionally, it is listed in the London Stock Exchange. The company has enjoyed a rise in revenue over time owing to quality customer service, diversity in its goods and services, customer loyalty and sound business policies. Through partnering with like-minded players they have cut down on costs, opened new branches and increase in sales and revenues. Its performance has been recognised in the global scene through receipt of various awards including the Salford Business Award Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Winner Mobile Star Awards – Winner, Mobile Advertising and Marketing Awards (MAMA), MMA 2009 Global Awards – Finalist and The Revolution Awards (2ergo Group PLC). This goes ahead to prove that the company’s organisational behaviour is impressive and can be adopted by other companies to improve their performance. Coping with Technological Changes and Innovation The mobile market has evolved rapidly in the recent past calling for far-reaching changes in the operations of the company (2ergo Group PLC). The company has made changes to keep up with the global standards in technology. The Group has focuses mainly on technological advancements by investing a substantial amount of resources towards the course strengthening their capabilities to offer unmatched customer service. The company has received several awards owing to their innovativeness and technological advancements. The company has devised the following ways to cope with technological changes and innovation. These include: 1) Partnerships The company has formed partnerships with leading companies in different fields so as to diversify their products and services and boost their sales. It has partnered with several global companies including NCR, Procter & Gamble and 3M (2ergo Group PLC). This association has attracted more partners including two top restaurants in the US and Australia boosting their revenue and their customer base. This has led to the creation of the PizzaExpress app which has led transformation of online retail payment which received massive response from their customers. In conclusion, partnerships have enabled the company to incorporate their customers, diversify their products, boost their sales and advance their technology (Miner, 2002: 5). 2) Product Development Customers’ needs are constantly changing due to changes in technology (Jablin and Putnam, 2001: 55). The company has made progress by developing the main elements of its technology. This has led to service improvement allowing customers to pay their bills in a faster and efficient way via their smart phones. Mobile security is an emerging issue in the current times. The company has resolved to secure all data transfers at the earliest opportunity. 2ergo Group PLC has developed its technology to enhance payment technology and mobile security to ensure customer satisfaction (2ergo Group PLC). 3) Compliance with Regulation In 2011, the company reached a strategic decision to terminate the provision of certain legacy services (2ergo Group PLC). This has paved way for a critical evaluation of the effect of changes linked with the execution of the Phonepay plus 12th Code of Practice (2ergo Group PLC). The company was able to cope with the challenges arising from the Code of Practice with respect to its legacy in the trade. The associated costs and regulatory issues negatively impacted their revenue and adversely affected their income. Following the rapid changes in the market, the company has been forced to make changes in the operations. It has undertaken strategic decisions to minimise contact with applications development. It has managed to do so by working in side by side with external development players. This has resulted to a reduction of the company’s base. 4) Recruitment and Retention Innovation and technological progress of the company’s operations are dependent on the prowess of skilled workers and the directors (2ergo Group PLC). Its policy is to attract and retain the qualified staff so as to maintain the desired level of technology. The above mentioned matters are some of the major ways in which the company copes with changes with technology and innovations. In conclusion, the mobile technology market is faced by constant advancements in technology therefore the company should invest heavily towards research and development, retain the qualified staff and explore new business opportunities. Management of Diversity in the Organisation The company boasts of having a management team rich in diversity, knowledge, expertise and experience. The management puts aside their diversity and together with their staff thus ensuring cohesion in the workplace. This ensures that they provide unrivalled customer service thus retaining unwavering customer loyalty over the years. This has also translated to quality delivery of core operational objectives and expansion of business in new regions. The management acknowledges that technology is a keys aspect for the advancement of the company therefore invests heavily in it. There have been drastic changes in the market conditions and relevant changes have been mainly on sales and marketing tactics on high margin and fast growing services. The Group has also dealt with diversity by teaming up with chief global corporations thereby enhancing revenue growth through rigorous loyalty campaigns, customer acquisition and retention (2ergo Group PLC). They provide their clientele with integrated solutions to their demands. In so doing, the company aligns itself to the needs of their customers and gains stability in profit maximisation. Diversity is a common aspect amongst people working in a given organisation. It can result to conflict and friction in the workplace. Owing to the increased globalisation, a company’s work force is likely to be composed of people from different cultural backgrounds, religions, gender and social setting. This requires the management to put in place a code of conduct to govern the behaviour of employees in an organisation to ensure proper workings relations. The company is considered to be global with qualified workers regardless of their origin, background and gender. The management ensures teamwork among the staff and encourages them to work together towards the achievement of the company’s goals and objectives. Their customer base is global and this is evidence by their operations in India, Latin America and South America (2ergo Group PLC). The company encourages the workers to bond through team building sessions that have been practiced over the years. This relieves any tension among workers and builds the spirit of teamwork. This leads to increased employee output and improved relations among the workers. Their diverse staff is able to work together hence are in a better position to handle the varying needs of their customers. The company prides itself in having top customer service and this can be attributed to the proper management of diversity in the workplace (2ergo Group PLC). The management views diversity as a strength and has continued to review its policies to ensure smooth operation in the company. In a nutshell, company has managed to harness diversity for its greater good. Motivational Strategies that are in Place to Enhance Staff Retention Motivation is viewed as being one of the intricate concerns in the concept of organisational behaviour (Debra and Quick, 2006: 40). It can be described as the development and retention of goal oriented behaviour and can affect the workers’ attitude towards work thereby affecting organisational behaviour in totality. It can be an impulse or physiological necessity (Stroh and Northcra, 2002: 63). People are known to constantly change their desires, intentions and aspirations. This poses a challenge to the management in the organisation to create a structure to establish their workers motives and how they can be used for the general improvement of the company (Stroh and Northcra, 2002: 65) The company has several ways of motivating their employees including: i) Recruitment and retention The company makes long- term contractual agreements with their employees by offering attractive payment packages, incentive schemes and competitive rewards. This ensures that the employees remain loyal to the company making it difficult for them to be ‘poached’ by rival companies. ii) A conducive working environment 2ergo Group PLC provides the best working environment in order to keep their employees motivated (2ergo Group PLC). At 2ergo Group PLC, the company gives employee discounts for any services rendered to their employees in addition to covering all their insurance policies. Also, mothers and fathers are given adequate maternity and paternity leaves but they continue receiving their salaries. Additionally, the working hours are not as stringent as other companies since they run from 8am to 4 pm. Team building events are part of the company policy to ensure a workforce that is not only motivated but also well rested. iii) Teambuilding and seminars The company invests in annual team building sessions that are aimed at creating cohesion and team work among workers. The employees are constantly motivated through seminars that improve their skills (2ergo Group PLC). The company also undertakes employee training that aims to sharpen their skills thereby increasing competition among themselves (Sims, 2002: 27). Other ways of motivation include, provision of free medical care, promotions to the best employees, end of year awards and handsome payment packages. A Critical Evaluation of the Leadership The company’s leadership is considered to be sizeable and in agreement with the code of best practice listed in “The Combined Code” and principles of appropriate corporate governance. The board is in charge of the decision making process in the company and meets regularly to assessment of the budget, personnel appointments, capital expenditure and strategies (2ergo Group PLC). The board has put in place an audit committee that is involved in internal controls and responsibilities concerning external borrowings. The board has also established a Remuneration committee whose responsibilities entail setting the terms with regards to shareholders and reviews the remuneration and performance of the executive directors among others. It has been noticed that the company has been under the same leadership since it was founded twenty five years age. This could lead to a possible downfall as business practices have changed over the years and there have been advancements in technology. It would be advisable for such changes to be followed by adjustments in leadership (Schuler, Jackson and Luo, 2003: 93). The leaders should step down and give a new breed of leaders to govern the company. In spite of its impressive track record, the company has encountered a number of challenges in their operations over time. In the previous year, the company issued a statement reporting that they had sold all their overseas companies in that way suspending all their operations abroad. This was in an effort to stabilise their operational costs. In the financial year 2011 the company made a loss of 2.8 million dollars, however, this was caused by the change in business regulation (2ergo Group PLC). In the same year, they stopped providing certain messaging services in compliance to the PhonePayplus regulations which resulted to the issuing of a profit warning (2ergo Group PLC). In 2009, the company was fined 80, 000 dollars for the circulation of spontaneous marketing messages leading to numerous complaints from their customers (2ergo Group PLC). These are the key obstacles that the company has faced since it was founded. The company has adapted to these changes and managed to remain at the top through proper management. Conclusion Conclusively, organisational change is a key element of the operations and performance of companies in the contemporary world. The paper reveals that 2ergo Group PLC has a proper organisational structure that has ensured its survival amidst changes in technology and competition. The company has strong policies that ensure the retention of skilled workers through constant motivation. 2ergo Group PLC has a proper framework that ensures problems such as diversity in the work place are handled appropriately. The company has a strong leadership that ensures smooth running of its operations. Nevertheless, the current leaders should resign and offer a chance to a new generation. The mobile sector continues to develop and 2ergo should use its leverage seize the emerging opportunities in the sector. References 2ergo Group PLC (2012) 2ergo Group PLC. retrieved from, . Debra, L. & Quick, J. (2006) Organisational behaviour: foundations, theories, and analyses, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 27- 72. Jablin, F. & Putnam, L. (2001) The new handbook of organisational communication: advances in theory research and methods, SAGE, pp. 40- 60. Miner, J. (2002) Organisational behaviour: foundations, theories, and analyses, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 2-10. Miner, J. (2006) Organisational behaviour 3: historical origins, theoretical foundations and the future, M. E. Sharpe, pp. 3-15. Schuler, R., Jackson, S. & Luo, Y. (2003) Managing human resource in cross-border alliances, Routldge, pp. 76- 98. Sims, R. (2002) Managing organisational behaviour, Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 20- 40. Stroh, L., Northcraft, G. & Neala, M.A. (2002) Organisational behaviour: a management challenge, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 63- 73. Read More