Change Management Company Analysis - Report Example

Your The The A brief report using change management theory to explain the reason why the check in and booking staff could be resistant to change. In today’s global horizon where the corporate world is under constant restructuring and realignment to meet the global standards set in the industry, change seems only like an expected outcome. Thereby dealing with change becomes a crucial aspect. People often tend to concentrate on the functional aspect of the business; however what is more important are the people, as business in current era is by the people and for the people. While considering this crucial element it must be borne in mind that every individual is distinct and different from the others and thereby no single action would be followed by a similar reaction from all employees. As people we are habituated to perform a certain function, with change this habit of repeating a similar task is breached. When change is enforced upon people they feel helpless about not being able to alter the happenings and thereby react in a negative manner to the change. The role of Jane and all staff at Skyfrance should be to support the employees and help them adapt to the change by accepting the change. It should be realized that the change should not be simply enforced on someone instead a feeling of motivation to decide on the changing circumstances should be instigated by the management. Using the change management models to better understand the behavioural changes at Skyfrance, we would study and analyze three models, Kubler Ross transition cycle, ADKAR model and John Kotter model. Firstly, the Kubler Ross transition cycle. It describes 5 stages of receiving catastrophic news. These 5 stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. The reaction of the staff can be better understood by this model. The staff is perhaps still in the initial stage of denial or anger, where they feel that the changes taking place are not really going to take place. They may feel that if they do not serve the customers the change will not take place. It should thereby be communicated that the change will be initiated whatever the condition may be. They could perhaps also be feeling a sense of anger as they may feel challenged by the change and their possible role in the new structure of the company. Also Jane should ensure that people are informed that such feelings are normal and acceptable during a change process. The ADKAR model for individual change management describes 5 blocks for successful change management. These are awareness (why change is required), desire (to support in change), knowledge (of how to change), ability (to implement new skills and behavior) and reinforcement (to sustain the change). Perhaps the staff is still not aware of why the change is required and thereby may feel threatened by the change. The company should thereby provide the employees with some form of training to acquire knowledge and skills. This would help them feel secure and they would find themselves evolving with the up gradation in the business model. The skill sets should also be provided through training and development programs to the staff. Only when all the elements would be combined will the employees be positive to the change. Some of the other problems may be that, other than a few employees, the others may not want to take the time and effort to learn something new to match their role in the changed organizational function. For this constant reinforcement of the change should be made to provide a sustainable growth in the movement of the change. The John Kotter model also defines 8 steps for change: establishing a sense of urgency, create the guiding coalition, develop a vision and strategy, communicate the change vision, empower the employees for broad based action, generate short term wins, consolidate gains and produce more gains and anchor new approaches in the culture. The staff needs to understand the vision that the company holds for the future, only then can be align his future ambitions to that of the company. The congruence of the individual goals with that of the companies will only lead to employee satisfaction. At present perhaps the employees have not been provided with the guidance to understand the dynamic of the change and where the company desires to be at the end of its visionary period; thereby leading to a dissonance. The company does not have a proper strategy defined which does not let the employees picture the path for future for the career and they cannot understand the need for change. Also the culture at Skyfrance needs to be changed to a more Information Technology based company for the employees to understand its relevance and adopt the technological changes. The staff at the booking and check in counters may also be stressed by the change taking place and the upper level management must take care to ensure that they feel comfortable. Lewins change process model to suggest Jane ways in which she could address this problem Kurt Lewin is credited with combining theories from psychology and sociology into the field theory in social psychology. He indicated that there are three kinds of conflict: the first conflict is when there is an individual who is provided with two positive goals and he is not able to choose one. Secondly when the individual stands between two negatives, that are the outcome of the alternatives cannot fully satisfy the person’s needs, but instead they provide him partial content. Here the choice would be to choose the alternative which has lower negatives and finally when a person is exposed to a negative and a positive. This happens between people of different departments as they have different goals and objectives. In the case of the support staff at the booking counter they are faced with their personal desire to continue in their present profile and the alternative to act according to management, which would conflict their interest. Lewin suggests a simple 3 stage model to deal with the change and the problem of dissonance which is arising out of it. Firstly the management at Skyfrance must take the initiative to create an initiative to change i.e. instigate the unfreeze process. Inspire, motivate and provide a sense of direction: the employees should be motivated enough by the vision of the organization and the path it wants to traverse. The employee at present are not motivated enough by the management to imbibe by the new moves being taken. Motivational initiatives should be taken to encourage participation which would lead to the second stage suggested by Lewin i.e. to communicate and empower people to embrace new ways of working (change). To gain support and trust of others: it is among the most important aspects as a management alone cannot run the process. The employees may feel insecure about their job profile or their job role in the future. The company should thereby inform the employees what would be their job description in the future and if any changes will take place what would be the advantage to the employee. The check in and booking staff should know that the website is not to replace them in fact it is a simple measure to manage the load. So that they can have fewer calls and can provide superior service to the customers. This is where communicating effectively becomes important i.e. the second stage suggested by Lewin It is important to communicate the reason for the change and for the process that is going to be taken. The employees should feel secure about their job and any change in the system should be communicated immediately. Many times there lies a gap of communication between the top and low management, this gap should be filled by allotting leaders in the lower level. They can act as focal point and also they can help motivate and inspire the employees. And then the final phase should be to refreeze that is to bring the organization to a stable stage. Take responsibility and provide feedback: the management should take responsibility of its actions and always provide the employees with feedbacks, to maintain their trust and deal with any form of grievance. And finally listen and work together: it is important to make the employees feel empowered and provide them with a sense of ownership. The importance of having a clear strategy and explain to Jane how strategy including mission statement, aims and objectives could benefit her business. Strategic Management can be defined as the set of decisions and actions resulting in formulation and implementation of strategies designed to achieve the objectives of an organization. This mostly involves decisions pertaining to products, location and the organization structure. It also determines the survival of the organization in the short and long term. In fact, strategy comprises of the most fundamental ends and means of an organization. The strategic ends perused by a typical business could be either more generic like the “mission” and “vision” of the organization, or more focused, like comprising of the organization’s goals and objectives. COMPONENTS OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: 1) VISION: The Company’s vision is a description of what the organization is intends to do and become. It defines the future path of the organization and the course of business activity. it is often communicated through the mission statement. Above all, vision is a powerful motivator and keeps an organization moving forward in the intended direction. 2) MISSION: his forms the most integral part of the strategic planning as in the mission statement of a company sets it apart from the other competitors in the market. It gives a shape to the company’s focused intentions. The mission identifies the scope of the company’s operations, describes the company’s product and technological areas of thrust and reflects the values and priorities of its decision makers. 3) STRATEGIC ANALYSIS ND CHOICE: strategic analysis enables the firm to identify a range of possible attractive investment opportunities .The opportunities which are compatible with the company’s mission are identified as “desired opportunities” and from these opportunities potential options are identified which are known as strategic choices. Hence, strategic analysis involves the identification of strategies that are most effective at building a sustainable competitive advantage. This advantage is based on the key value chain activities and the core competencies of the firm. IMPORTANCE OF MISSION STATEMENT: The term mission can be defined as the fundamental and enduring purpose of an organization. It refers to the philosophy of the business and serves to build the image of the company in terms of activities currently pursued by the organization and its future plans. It establishes the values, beliefs and guidelines for business plans and operations. The main elements of the corporate mission are: a) History of the organization: comprising of the events of the past that must be considered while formulating and developing a mission statement. b) Distinct competencies: this implies the distinct competencies of the organization where it offers an advantage over other organizations. c) Environment of the organization: the management should identify the opportunities provided and threats or challenges posed by the environment before formulating a mission statement. A good mission statement should differentiate a company from its competitors and should define what the company wants to be and not necessarily the one it is in. it seeks to clarify the purpose of the organization as in why ii exists. It should attempt to ensure that the organization behaves in the way that it promises it will by defining the purpose of its existence. The mission statement is based on the fundamental assumptions that the product or service can provide benefits at least equal to its price, the technology used is competitive in cost and quality and lastly the product or service can satisfy customer needs. IMPORTANCE OF COMPANY AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Just as mission statement tries to make companies vision more specific, company goals attempt to make mission statement more concrete. Goals indicate a desired future state that the company attempts to realize. For goals to be more meaningful it should be precise and measurable for if the goals are not measurable the company faces difficulties in assessing its progress. Moreover, it should specify the time limit and address the important issues. A deadline does work as a motivator so that the company aims are intact. To maintain its focus the company should operate with limited number of major goals and should facilitate both financial and non financial issues. Propose a strategy pyramid for Janes business including suggested mission statement, aims and objectives. Organizational Direction for Jane’s business: Vision and mission determined by management and founders Objectives and Plans determined by managers with consent of top management Policies determined by organizational level heads Goals determined by individual managers in conformity with unit policies Strategies determined by individual managers in conformity with unit goals Mission is to provide high quality service with a sense of warmth and friendliness, paying attention to every customer’s personal needs. Skyfrance aims at becoming the leading airline in France in the low cost segment which provides efficient and effective service and a highly interactive web interphase. If we study the Porter’s generic model, the management can opt for Skyfrance to achieve excellence and competitive advantage with the low cost focus as most airlines would be providing similar services. However it can leverage it low cost facilities further by providing differentiation in the terms providing the best service in the low cost airline segment in France. The Strength weakness opportunities threats analysis of the segment shall help Skyfrance frame its strategic policies in a more efficient manner. To our employees: We are committed to provide our employees with an amiable environment. Every employee would be provided with opportunities to prove themselves and gain strategic positions by proving their worth in the company. The creativity and innovation are nurtured and stimulated from all our employees. We aim to motivate and care for our employees as an integral part of our family. “Fly where your heart desires” is the unique selling proposition of Skyfrance. It aims to have a large network so that people can fly where they desire to at a reasonable cost. They boast of their superior workforce efficiency in reaching the same. Principles: Customized service being provided to each customer to make the booking experience more than a purchase. Friendly check in staff with a ambience to make the customer comfortable Minimize distribution cost by initiating web based booking and sending forth e tickets. Good catering service on board Skyfrance’s vision is to extend the pleasurable experience of flying beyond the business and affluent class travelers. The vision is supported by high level of technological excellence and infrastructural facilities, setting high standards of functional efficiency. References: Deutsch M, Krauss RM. Theories in Social Psychology. New York: Basic Books, 1965 Eric Kimberling, 2002, SchlumbergerSema Utilities Practice, Organizational Change Management: Theory and Practice, accessed on 2/05/09, available at http://tdworld.com/mag/power_organizational_change_management/index1.html Managing Change, Nancy M. Lorenzi and Robert T. 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