Communication in Change Management of SMEs in the UK - Research Proposal Example

An Investigation into the Role of Communication in Change Management of SMEs in UK Table of Contents Introduction 3 Background of the Research 3 Contribution of the Study 3 Research Objectives and Research Questions 4 Critical Literature Review 5 Research Methodology 6 Research Philosophy 6 Research Methods 7 Data Collection Method 7 Key Ethical Issues 7 Research Timescale 7 Reference List 9 Introduction Background of the Research Change has long been acknowledged as the only phenomenon which is permanent in this world. However, since the recent past, the pace of change has increased so dramatically that for a business house it has literally become impossible to survive without adapting continually to the changes (Blokdijk, 2008). In the current context, apart from complying with the changes of the external environment, there are several other external and internal drivers of change. In most of the cases, the internal drivers are derived from the external forces (Mackenzie-Robb, 2004). Thus it is imperative for the managers of the organizations to have detailed understanding of the changes taking place in the organization and adequate knowledge of change management for accommodating their organization in this rapidly changing business environment. Paton and McCalman (2008) emphasizes on the fact that for adaptation to any change in an organization, it is necessary to have a well management of the organizational change process. This includes designing, planning, implementing, sustaining and assessing the changes taking place within the organization (Lientz & Rea, 2004). Winch and McDonald (1999) emphasized on the fact that change management is somewhat different when it comes to SMEs. One of the major rationales behind such statements by Winch and McDonald (1999) was that SMEs often lack the required managerial skills and also have limited experience of managing change (Tilley and Tonge, 2003). Moreover, SMEs are less formal and as a result of that they have less structural resistance are obvious to be more agile. Nevertheless, it is important for the SMEs to make use of these changes as the means of gaining edge over the competitors. Yet, at times due to inadequate technological know-how and managerial skills, they fail to plan and execute the change. Contribution of the Study The subject of change management in SMEs is not new as a number of studies about the change management in SMEs have been carried out previously. Majority of the studies have tried to underline the hurdles faced by the SMEs in the implementation process of change management. For example, the studies carried out by Macri, Tagliaventi and Bertolotti (2002) are such studies that explain the challenges of SMEs in driving and managing change. Apart from highlighting the challenges, these studies have also offered recommendations regarding how these challenges will be tackled. Studies have been also conducted that focused on the appropriate methods and approaches of change management in SMEs (McAdam, Stevenson & Armstong, 2000; Raymond et al., 2009). In the year 2006, McKinsey carried out a survey to get deeper insights into the change management of SMEs, the result revealed that communication is one of the most vital tool and a key success factor for the organizations in successfully driving and managing change. Yet, there are hardly any studies that particularly investigated about the significance of communication in the change implementation and management process in SMEs. To further narrow down the topic, the study proposes to focus on the SMEs of UK. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate about the role of communication in change management of SMEs in UK. The study has the ability to contribute to the field of HR, where HR managers will be able to get detailed insights into the change management process within the SMEs. Moreover, the study will be appealing to a mass segment as almost all the industries will have a keen interest to know in details about how communication can successfully drive change in an organization. Research Objectives and Research Questions As mentioned previously, the aim of this research paper is to investigate about the role of communication in change management of SMEs in UK. Hence, to underpin this broader objective, following research questions will be used: - Q1. How change is managed in the SMEs of UK? Q2. What are the challenges faced by the SMEs of UK in driving change within the organization and to what extent they make use of communication as a strategy to mitigate the challenges? Q3. What role can communication play in managing change? Critical Literature Review There is no universally accepted definition of change management. Raymond et al. (2009) stated that the definitions of change management can be categorised into four different dimensions: an area of professional practise, a body of control mechanism, a knowledge body and a task to manage change. According to Mackenzie-Robb (2004) change management is seen as a process or mechanism to get control over the process of change implementation. Echoing the same, Lorenzi (2005) stated that change management is the process by the application of which an organization reaches its desired state. Mackezie-Robb (2004) believes that it is important for an organization to have a clear idea of the desired future state and he asserted that it is also important to have ‘change goals’ as this will be able to answer the questions such as what to change, when to change and why to change. On the contrary, Lorenzi (2005) emphasized that did not mentioned the nature of change management approach. Rather, they recognized change management as an approach and recommended actions that can be crucial parts of the change management process. A study carried out on change management in SMEs by Lorenzi (2005), where he introduced a five stage model of change management. The stages were assessment, feedback and option, strategy development, implementation and re-assessment. However, authors such as Mackenzie-Robb (2004) enlighten about 5 other phases and called it as ADKAR: awareness, knowledge, desire, reinforcement and ability. Hence, it is evident that the process of change management differs from one author to the other on the basis of their observation of the situation. Kitchen and Daly (2002) believes that in order to successfully implement change organizations need to anticipate the changes, but this statement is contradicted by Vinson, Pung, González-Blanch (2006) where the authors believe that even if a company fails to anticipate a change it can be easily managed with better communication. Gray (2002) emphasized that SMEs are the fastest growing sector of business and hence managing change is a vital task for them. The author also stated that with proper communication, a company will be able to manage the change in an efficient manner. Daft (2001) stated that since SMEs lack the required infrastructure and technical competency, better coordination among the employees and managers is really useful in managing change. This coordination can only be achieved with better communication. The author also emphasized that the culture of an organization is associated with people working in that particular organization and hence to change that culture and bring change, the role of communication is imperative. Lorenzi (2005) also recognised the significance of human interaction in the process of managing change in the organization. Hence, after comprehensively reviewing the literature about the role of communication in change management in the SMEs, it can be said that communication is indeed a great tool for effectively managing change. However, this study is aimed at investigating the role of communication in change management of SMEs in UK and to specifically focus on UK SMEs, the study needs to go further deep and make use of primary research. Research Methodology Research Philosophy Research philosophy states the way data is collected from the market and is organized and analyzed to address the specific topic. There are two broader research philosophies namely positivist and interpretivist philosophy. Positivists believe that reality is stable and can be articulated from objective viewpoint. The common research techniques used by researchers are cross-sectional analysis, correlation analysis and quasi-experimental analysis to name a few. On the contrary, interpretivists believe that there is more than one interpretation of a given scenario and it depends upon human behaviour. Some of the common research techniques used by interpretivists are personal interview questionnaire survey and action research among others. Hence, on the basis of the natures of the philosophies and the objective of the study, interpretivism philosophy will be adopted. There are two broad research approaches namely inductive approach and deductive approach. In deductive approach the subject is explored from a broader point of view and then it slowly focuses on the actual subject. However, in case of inductive research, the topic is addressed first and is then generalized. Therefore, considering the given topic, it will be taking a deductive approach i.e. at first change management in SMEs from a broader perspective will be evaluated and then it will slowly narrow down to the actual topic of research. Research Methods There are various research methods such as case study, secondary research searches, and archival research, survey, experiment and ethnography methods among others. Considering the objectives, this study will use survey methodology for the research. With the application o survey methodology, detailed insights about the subject can be gathered. In addition, since the topic is specific, survey methodology will be the best option. The survey will be carried out among the managers of companies belonging to the SMEs of UK. Data Collection Method The data will be collected by questionnaire survey. The questionnaire will contain both open ended and closed ended questions. This strategy will allow collecting both specific as well as detailed perception of the respondents. The questionnaire will be distributed to the managers of some of the companies belonging to the SME sector of UK. Key Ethical Issues The key ethical issues to be considered for this project are as follow: - 1. The study will make sure that the data collected and presented is same, hence accurate reporting will be ensured. 2. The participation is voluntary and respondents are free to leave at any point of time. 3. There will be no discrimination and bias. Research Timescale Month Particulars 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Designing the research Collection of relevant literature Designing questionnaire Market survey and data collection Preparing the 1st draft Data Analysis and Presentation Preparing the final dissertation Submission of the dissertation Reference List Blokdijk, G., 2008. Change management 100 success secrets. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Daft, R.L., 2001. Organizational theory and design. 7th ed. Cincinnati: South-Western. Gray, C., 2002. Entrepreneurship, resistance to change and growth in small firms. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 9, (1), pp. 61-72. Kitchen, P.F. and Daly, F., 2002. Internal communications during change management. Corporate Communication: An International Journal, 7(1), pp. 46-53. Lientz, B.P. and Rea, K.P., 2004. Breakthrough IT change management: how to get enduring change results. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. Lorenzi, N. M., 2005. Transforming Health Care Through Information. 2nd ed. New York: Springer. Mackenzie-Robb, L., 2004. E-learning and change management: the challenge. [pdf] Available at [Accessed 18 April 2014]. Macri, D.M., Tagliaventi, M.R., and Bertolotti, F., 2002. A grounded theory for resistance to change in small organizations. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 15 (3), pp. 92-310. McAdam, R., Stevenson, P. and Armstrong, G., 2000. Innovative change management in SMEs: beyond continuous improvement. Logistics Information Management, 13(3), pp. 138-149. Raymond, L., Julien, P. Carriere, J. and Lachance, R., 2009. Managing Technological change in manufacturing SMEs: a multiple case analysis. International Journal of Technology Management,11 (3-4), pp. 270-285. Tilley, F. and Tonga, J., 2003 Introduction..Competitive advantage in SM E s: organising for innovation and change. West Sussex: John Wiley and Sons Vinson, M., Pung, C., and González-Blanch, J.M., 2006. Organizing for successful change management: a McKinsey global survey. McKinsey Quarterly [online], June. Available at: [Accessed 18 April 2014] Winch, G. and McDonald, J., 1999 SMEs in an environment of change: computer-based tools to aid learning and change management. Industrial and Commercial Training, 31 (2), pp. 49-56 Read More