Managment Change Issues - Case Study Example

REPORT TO THE DIRECTORS OF POLYFLOW PLASTICS & PACKAGING LIMITED ON MANAGEMENT CHANGE ISSUES BY: NO. ------------------------------------------------ INTRODUCTION Right from the early eighties until now, every organisation is either planning, executing or just conducting and evaluating one change programme or the other. It is either the good old TQM, Business process re-engineering, restructuring, right sizing, rationalization, downsizing, technological realignment, empowerment, team building, culture change, mergers, acquisition, divestitures, diversification; all sorts of cost contentment measures and other esoteric types. Most organisations have experienced and/or are experiencing substantial changes in what they do, how they do it and the relationships between people, groups and organisational units as they do it. The changes generally affect the purpose, technology, structure, process, tasks, people, culture, market and strategy. There are generally two types of changes; change may be planned - when an organisation deliberately takes steps to improve some or all aspects of its operations so as to be better able to do whatever it does; in this case, it is proactive. It is an intentional and goal oriented programme. Change can also be unplanned. This is when an organisation is forced by circumstances to change some or all of its processes, strategies, systems or any aspect of its operations in order to remain in operation or perform better. In this case change is reactive. Apart from whether change is planned or unplanned, there are also different perspectives on the nature of change process. The planned approach assumes that the change process is linear and carefully crafted with several identifiable steps, which follow, in a sequential order. Another perspective, however believes that this linear, orderly fashion does not suit the complex and rapidly changing environment in which businesses operate. This led to the Emergent Approach to change. This perspective argues that change is a continuous and open-ended process of aligning and re-aligning an organisation to its changing environment. There is the issue of the locus of emphasis in initiating and implementing change programmes. Three schools of though have also emerged in this regard. There is the Individual Perspective School which believes that the locus of change should be the individual. The Group Dynamics School believes that organisational change should best be achieved through groups and that behaviour of individuals should be changed by influencing group norms, roles, and values. Then the Open System School sees organisations as consisting of several systems and also being parts of the larger system. Thus the internal subsystems interact among themselves while the organisation as a whole interact with the external environment. Changes in any parts of the system affect the other subsystems and also the general performance. TERMS OF REFERENCE: Report how to manage change for a case company Type of assessment - Individual Draft a job description advertising for a change agent suitable for this case organisation. From the points raised by the General Manager, Steve Humphries, it would be good to look at the following areas, which will form a yardstick on which basis decision as to whether or not change is necessary can be taken, what type of change, when and how. Let us look at the strengths of Polyflow Plastics & Packaging Limited: [1] Good contract from established customers [2] Sub-contracts from fellow competitors in the industry [3] Contacts all over London and South East [4] Customer satisfaction due to personal attention by the MD [5] Experienced workers [6] Big market in the packaging products line From the above, it can be noticed that presently there are good contracts both from organisations [established customers] as well as from competitors. From all indications, this has boosted the earnings of the organization and makes them look strong financially, at least by their current size and scope of operation. There are contacts from all over London up to the South East. These are possible areas through which contracts and sales could come in to Polyflow. Customers are satisfied at the moment with the personal attention they receive from Maurice King, the Managing Director, which keeps them coming and coming. There is big market in the packaging products industry which can be exploited through diversification strategies. The company has as good reputation, honesty and reliability. Finally, the arrival of Steve Humphries, the General Manager is a plus for the company experience wise, having worked in a bigger company before and known how the industry operates. His foresightedness in noticing the lapses in various parts of the organization as it is run, and the change plan he has drawn up is a good strength that can move Polyflow from a one man show situation to a better run, decentralised organisation. These are strengths which Polyflow is capable to exploit to advantage if they want to remain relevant in their industry. Weaknesses: The main weakness is the old models of machinery they have in their fold now. The poor state of the machines affect their production and make them to miss deadlines, in spite of the number of the workers manning each machine. Poorly trained semi-skilled factory workers who are used to the old system of doing things. Too young and too old staff in the system. Poor production schedule which is hardly followed, as it can be changed without notice to favour some customers by the Managing Director. The organisation's culture with which the workers seem satisfied and the behaviour of the Managing Director. The workers feel that scheduling production as being suggested by the General Manager was a big haphazard. Loss of man-hour and productive time, which occurs while resetting all the machines, waiting for materials to be cut to size and 'so on'. Poor vision. The company seems satisfied with how things are done and does not seem to look into the future in anticipation of better innovations, technologies and new skills and knowledge. Does not seem to bother about what the competitors are putting in place to capture more market in the industry. Poor accounting method. A method which could make it difficult to assess the financial status of the organisation as compared to others in the same industry. A qualified professional could do better and provide a good and clear picture of the company's annual performance. Payroll management is non-existent. The method in place is poor and lacks speed and effectiveness. A qualified professional should be saddled with such a key responsibility to bring sanity into the system and deal with the "mess" and motivate the employees. Opportunities include: Lucrative market in the packaging product line. This could turn out a gold mine for Polyflow if the right strategy could be put in place to exploit it ahead of a seeming more proactive competition. If done, this could boost their market share, increase their sales and profit. Able hand in the person of Steve Humphries who has great vision and ideas on how to bring Polyflow to limelight if given the free hand. Pooled together with Maurice' 25 years experience in the industry, will be a great advantage for Polyflow. Threats include: Reliance on such-letting contracts from competitors could prove counter productive in future. This is because the competitors could withdraw such co-operation as soon as they improve their facilities leading to increased production capacity and can meet deadlines without outside intervention. Continued reliance on out-dated machinery is a big threat. A case in point is the breakdown experienced with one of the old welding machines due to overheating. This breakdown, for instance led to the following negative outcome: [1] Scrapping of over 200 plastic wallets [2] Inability to meet the customer's deadline [3] Financial losses from the damaged products [4] Penalty to be enforced by customer [5] Possibility of losing customer's loyalty and patronage Unwillingness to change the organisation's culture of "This is how we do it here" is a clog on the wheel of Polyflow's progress and future. Polyflow also risks losing the services of, not only some of their experienced supervisors, but also their key management personnel, Mr Steve Humphries, and that could spell doom for their continued existence. The non-existence of sales team is not good for a company aspiring for growth. The sales team is the strength of any company; they get the customers that keep the business flowing smoothly Tense relationship and atmosphere among the key personnel of Polyflow could destroy the little progress the company has made so far in its years of operation The one-man show in the area of contract negotiation with customers by the Managing Director is not healthy. A better option could have been to allow professionally competent personnel do that aspect of job, while the Managing Director concentrate on general overseeing and coordinating of the entire business. The same goes for sales and marketing, purchasing and supply, and stock control areas of the business. The calibre of staff in the company now is either too young or too old. They need a combination of skills, knowledge, professionalism and youthfulness in the day to day running of the organisation. Teenagers belong to the four walls of the colleges and universities and definitely should not be bothered with the issue of money making yet. On the other hand, at forty and fifty, a person's career is still at its peak, particularly in terms of skills and experience. Retention of such staff will therefore depend on knowledge, skills and experience, etc. Rumours and gossiping in an organization through "grape vine" information is not healthy for the organization. It could lead to breakdown of law and order in a system, turnover among the workforce, untrue picture of events in the organisation and so on. All of these are life threatening for any organisation. SWOT ANALYSIS OF POLYFLOW PLASTICS & PACKAGING LTD. STRENGTHS: The current strength needs to be enhanced. I score it 6 out of a possible 10 points. WEAKNESSES: There are so many weaknesses in the organization, if nothing is done to reduce them, the company will remain vulnerable. Score: A minus 9 OPPORTUNITIES: If the few opportunities noticed could be exploited, Polyflow will flourish in the industry. Score: 8 out of 10 points. THREATS: Several things pose as threats to the existence of the company. They need to be tackled with every sense of urgency if they want to continue to be relevant. Score: A minus 9, CONCLUSION As mentioned in the introduction, change is a continuous thing. Organisations engage in it one way or the other regularly. It is doubtful if any organization can survive the ever changing and technologically advancing world without embracing some form of change. When the need for change in any area, however, all stakeholders in the organization must be adequately communicated to and be carried along. According to The Consortium Benchmarking Study conducted by the American Productivity and Quality Center 1997, organisation change requires extensive communication with all stakeholders and commitment from top management. The employees must be empowered and educated so they can exploit their new power. Culture is another thing to look into when planning a change in any organization. According to Thomas Cummings and Christopher Worley, culture is the pattern of basic assumptions, values, norms and artifacts shared by organisational members. These shared meanings help members to make sense out of the organization. It includes how work is to be done and evaluated, and how employees are to relate to each other and to constituencies such as customers, suppliers and government agencies. Culture change efforts begin with diagnoses. Key work behaviours that can be observed, how specific relationships are managed and tasks performed. Most changes bring with them disaffection among the human resource and there is the issue of motivation. Most people have the tendency to resist change because of culture problem, having become used to how things are done over time. In this case, the change manager/leadership should pay particular attention to selection and socialization of newcomers as well as termination of deviants. This is particularly important for key leadership roles. For Polyflow Plastics & Packaging Limited, continuing on the current path will not get them anywhere For instance, according to Edgar Schein, MIT, there is no such thing as the "right" culture and culture cannot be fostered or installed. Success of the company creates organizational culture. "If the founders had a wrong set of assumptions about how things are, they would have failed" continued Edgar Schein. He said that the right set of assumptions is relative to the business environment. The longer the company is successful the more stable the culture becomes. For this organization, if the present culture is dysfunctional, or out of line with current environmental realities, Steve and his MD should not take culture change head on, but should start with the business is. The issue is not about culture, but about the mission of the organization and whether it is being fulfilled. Figure out what needs to be done strategically and tactically to solve the business problem. For instance, what does the organ need to do concretely to solve its survival or growth problems When there is clear consensus on what needs to be done, examine the existing culture to find out how present tacit assumptions would aid or hinder that. Some parts of the culture may be fine, or certain subcultures within the organization may be fine. Then focus on those cultural elements that will help you get to where you need to go. It is easier to build up the strengths of a culture than to change dysfunctional elements. ADVERTISEMENT CHANGE AGENT Opportunity to join Polyflow as a Change Agent responsible for implementing strategic changes to help the organization forge ahead in the plastic and packaging industry. Candidate will identify possible areas for change in the following key departments of the organization: Human Resource, Accounting, [payroll management, health insurance/pension schemes, staff incentives/reward system, book-keeping and financial records. Sales & Marketing. Stock control and Raw Material management. Production, Quality Control, etc. Machinery - maintenance/overhaul/scrapping/acquisitions, etc. Candidate will define change scope, requirements, change plan/schedule and resource needs. Require excellent written and verbal communication skills, change management skills and experience, as well as problem solving skills. Independently coordinate and execute change. Leads cross-functional issues. Reports to the Managing Director, Polyflow Plastics & Packaging Limited. Change management experience in deployment of complex projects. Has demonstrated clear change skills and experience working with cross-functional project teams and able to deal with individuals at all levels within a manufacturing company. Excellent team work skills and is able to work with divers group of individuals and be successful in gaining consensus. Has a good knowledge of the change process and tools, including risk assessment and scope. Has demonstrated negotiation and collective bargaining skills. Professional change management training credentials desirable. Polyflow system is one of the most efficient and reputable in the Plastics and Packaging industry. Are you seeking a rewarding career at a company that influences the way people work, live, play and learn Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of people at work and at play A BA/BS in relevant profession is necessary but not required 10 years experience References from last two organizations worked for. Apply through the address above. This is an equal opportunity organization. REFERENCE: American Productivity & Quality Center [1997] Thomas Cummings & Christopher Worley; Organisational Development and Change [Pages 483 - 485] Organisational Development: the management of change; Roberts H Rouda & Mitchell E. Kusy Jr Breaking the Code of Change, Michael Beer and Nittin Nohria The Challenge of Change: How CEOs and Their Companies Are Mastering the Skills of Change Radical Change, David A Nadler, & Mark B. Nadler Change Management Handbook: A Road Map to Corporate Transformation by Lance A. Berger, Martin J. Sikora, Dorothy R. Berger Change Management Pocket Guide Tools for Management Change by Kate Nelson & Stacy Aaron Financial Standard BusinessDay Yahoo! Hotjobs Read More