Managing Change in Global Organizations - Research Paper Example

Review of Literature on Managing Change in Global Organizations Review of Literature on Managing Change in Global Organizations Introduction Essentially, a global or international organization is one whose membership, scope or presence is international (Amis & Silk, 2010). "Global" is a better and more appropriate term for this paper as an organization operating in several countries within a continent is international but not necessarily global. The phenomenon of globalization has opened up national borders to global organizations, both business and otherwise. Non-commercial global organizations fall into either of two categories: nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations. Regardless of their type, every global organization experiences change from time to time, which needs to be managed effectively if the organization was to achieve their goals. Managing organizational change within national borders is difficult enough. Seventy percent of change initiatives fail. The biggest hurdle in bringing about change successfully is people. Usually, most people will tend to be comfortable with the status quo, even if it is not the best scenario; at least it is familiar. Thus, all the ingredients for a successful change program may be in place, but unless the employees of the organization buy into it, it is bound to fail. If managing organizational change locally is hard, doing so in a global organization is even harder (Mudacumura, 2000). Besides people, there are cultural, political, legal and other barriers to be overcome. This paper analyzes eight scholarly articles on the subject of change management within the context of global organizations, with the view of deriving a common theme cutting across them, if any. An Overview of the Articles Article 1: Transnational organization and symbolic production: Creating and managing a global brand In recent years, a lot of debate has centred on how global business organizations should define, enter and operate in markets. The study on which this article by John Amis and Michael Silk is based examined the thought processes and processes of senior managers at Guinness. Their findings revealed that effective management of a global brand called for strategic marketing initiatives that would enable the brand to be in sync with local realities and brands while maintaining its global status (Amis & Silk, 2010). Article 2: The co-ordination of strategic initiatives within global organizations: the role of global teams This paper by Michael Harvey and Milorad Novicevic explores the role of global teams in the strategic initiatives of global organizations. Strategic initiatives refer to those major decisions and actions reached and taken by a global organization with a view to achieving far-reaching results (Harvey & Novicevic, 2002). An example of a strategic initiative is rebranding. Article 3: Participative management in global transformational change This article by Gedeon Mudacumura examines empirical studies on the participative approach to management in public and private sectors. Given the phenomenon of globalization, the author identifies the concepts of interrelationships and complexity as major challenges to management (Mudacumura, 2000). The concept of interrelationships implies that many changes that global organizations are highly intertwined such that they cannot be addressed in isolation. Consequently, management scholars must look an approach to change management that is more suitable for global organizations. Article 4: Managing Change of Hotel Brand Name: Managerial Roles and Employees Concerns This article by Leong Choon Chiang reports the findings of a study that examined the role of management and the concerns of employees when a hotel rebrands. The study used the cases of two Westin hotels at the centre of Raffle City that were rebranded STS and RTP (Chiang, 2007). Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide runs Westin Hotels & Resorts, an upmarket hotel chain. Chiang concluded that in a rebranding process, the management needs to work closely with employees in order to make the transition smooth not only to them, but also other stakeholders. Article 5: Special issue: managing and adapting to global change in tourism places The focus of this article by Alan Lew is how tourist facilities around the globe are coping with global change. Globalization is arguably the single most important factor that has shaped global tourism since the nineteenth century (Lew, 2014). Besides globalization, climate change is another factor that has impacted global tourism in the last several decades and continues to do so. Article 6: Managing Technology in a Changing Global Marketplace Technology continues to revolutionize the way businesses conduct their business. Technological advancements create both opportunities and challenges for organizations (Ali & Zahra, 1994). Managing technological changes is a difficult task given that most technologies, especially those in the areas of information and communication, are highly dynamic. As a result, an organization could spend many resources deploying an expensive technology only for it to be rendered outdated in a few years by a better one. Article 7: Managing organizations for sustainable development in emerging countries: an introduction This article by Angappa Gunasekaran and colleagues is the introduction to a special issue whose focus is managing organizations in a way that fosters sustainable development. Sustainable development calls for shifts in the mindsets of organizations charged with managing the environment(Gunasekaran, 2014). For instance, people may need to move from seeing the environment merely as something to be exploited to a natural resource that has to be preserved even as it furnishes their needs. Article 8: The changing role of the corporate HR function in global organizations of the twenty-first century This paper by Novicevic Milorad and Michael Harvey examines how increased demand for consistency and flexibility in strategic corporate decisions and actions by global organizations redefines the role of the HR function in those organizations (Novicevic & Harvey, 2001). These changes have necessitated change in the HR function of the concerned organizations. Comparison and Analysis Articles 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 are similar in the sense that they are concerned with managing change in global business organizations, otherwise known as multinational corporations. Given the competitive environment within which these organizations, change management is particularly important to them(Berry Frances, 2007). One could even say that how they manage change could determine whether they remain in business or are forced out. Globalization has opened up markets such that any MNC can enter and carry on business in any country or territory. Thus, there is increased competition among MNCs. In addition, they have to compete with local companies, although, these constitute less threat relative to the MNCs. Given the competitive nature of business today, the corporation that ultimately flourishes is the one that manages change effectively. However, the effective management of change is rendered difficult by the fact that most changes are triggered by factors that are way beyond the control of the corporation(Berry Frances, 2007). An example is government legislation. While MNCs may mobilize industry players in a given country to influence a given legislation, the authority to enact laws ultimately resides with the legislature of the country; corporate influence can only go so far. Hence, the most certain way the corporation can thrive in a constantly changing regulatory environment is by reorganizing their internal operations to be in line with the new environment. This fact explains why a corporation needs a functional legal department. The main function of the department in managing change is to be on the lookout for new laws that impact the organization and advise top management on the measures that need to be taken to comply. Article 1 The localized marketing campaign need to consistent and sustained for some time, especially if the company or brand being promoted is new. The new product or company should pass through the three stages of Lewin’s model of change (Santos & Garcia, 2006). During the “unfreeze” stage, the campaign should create compelling messages about the firm or product. Even then, room should be provided for uncertainty. At the "change" stage, the product or company begins to take root. Outward symbols will include people walking into the shop, calling, or visiting the website to make inquiries. Finally, at the “unfreeze” stage, the new product or organization begins to establish itself in the market. Article 4 Even though the two Westin hotels in Raffle City that were the cases of Chiangs study are parts of a global chain of hotels and resorts, the researcher seems to be oblivious to this fact. Consequently, no mention is made of the effect of the two rebranding efforts on the wider Westin brand (Allen, et al., 2007). Further research to this end would shed more light on the matter. For instance, it would be interesting why the Group found it necessary to rename the two hotels thereby departing from the fairly recognized Westin brand. Also, the rebranding exercise was likely to affect customers who use the Westin hotels in many cities. Article 5 Different players in the tourism and hospitality industry have responded to global change in different ways. The example of multinational hotels will suffice. Traditionally, multinational hotels have served the needs the affluent in the countries in which they are situated and those visiting from abroad. However, as globalization has opened up markets for greater competition and global warming altered vacation patterns, these hotels have been forced to diversify their product offerings and make them more affordable to the less affluent consumers (Lew, 2014). These consumers help keep the hotels open while international tourism is off-season. Even when the season peaks, the revenues earned from them compensate the revenue lost to competition. Article 6 For global organizations, the dilemma is bigger than that of deciding which technology to go for. Different technologies require different supporting infrastructure and personnel. These requirements are not always available in all countries. Consequently, the organization has to select the technology that is most appropriate to a given setting bearing in mind the prevailing conditions there. Sometimes the organization may have to modify a given technology for it to fit the prevailing conditions. It is under these circumstances that planning for change comes in handy. Besides identifying the most suitable technology, planning for change will increase the chances of the change program succeeding. Planning is the second most important success factor in managing change, second to executive support for the change program (Graetz & Smith, 2010). Article 8 According to the authors of this article, change in the HR function of a global organization is geared toward making it play more influential roles than it has in the past. However, the authors offer no suggestion on how the HR function should go about transforming. Change is extremely difficult to bring about. Given the uncertainty that comes with it, people with rather maintain the status quo with which they are familiar. Hence, they will frustrate any efforts to bring about change. It is even more difficult to introduce change in a global organization. Besides employee resistance, there are many different cultures to be dealt with (Morgan & Zeffane, 2003). Thus, good as Harvey’s and Novicevic’s proposal sounds, implementing it is a tall order. Articles 2, 3 and 7, on the other hand are similar as they talk about change management in both commercial and non-commercial organizations. Given that non-commercial global organizations are not driven by the motive of making profits, for them change is rarely driven by competition (Graetz & Smith, 2010). Nevertheless, for them to continue to provide their services in an efficient manner and be accountable to their financiers, they too must embrace change. Technology is an example of a driver of change that cuts across business organizations and non-business one alike. For instance, the United Nations needs the best technology if the organization is to effectively manage their vast network of affiliate organizations spread across the globe. Article 2 Global teams are consistent with Lewin’s concept of change leaders (Nasim & Sushil, 2011). The idea behind change leadership is that change is easier to bring about if the employees can own it. One way of getting them to own the change is getting people from among them who are enthusiastic about the change and assigning them strategic roles in the change program. Change leaders are more effective if they hold the same positions in the pecking order the organization as the employees they seek to influence. Otherwise, using someone at a higher level in the hierarchy would intimidate, rather than influence some employees. In the context of a global organization, every member of the global team is the change leader in their respective subsidiary. They then replicate leadership teams throughout the branches of their subsidiary. Article 3 A quick look at four of the major theories of change management, namely the open systems theory, the AKDAR model, Kotters eight-step model and Lewins three-stage model, adds validity to Mudacumuras challenge to scholars of change management. Of the four, only the open systems model comes close to offering a solution to managing change in organizations with a global footprint (Gibson & Barsade, 2003). Under the theory, the external environment of the organization could be expanded to include those factors present in other countries but which have implications for managing change in a particular country. The spirit of the other three models is that change is being managed in a national organization. Nonetheless, it instructive to not that a change need not affect the whole of the organization. Thus, where the change involved concerns only one country, the three models may be adequate to manage it. Article 7 For communities, organizations and governments to use the sustainably, there has to be a shift in the way people perceive the environment. To this end, Prosci’s ADKAR model comes in handy (Berry Frances, 2007). First, people must become aware of the need to conserve the environment. Next, they must get to the point where they desire take part in using the environment sustainably. In the case of a community, they may need help with the technical knowledge of how to conserve the environment. The technical support they receive should enable them to undertake all the necessary conservation measures. Finally, there has to be a follow-up if the efforts at sustainable development are to be sustained. Conclusion One theme cuts across the eight articles: global organizations rarely undertake change of their volition. Usually, they are forced by external factors, most of which are beyond their control. In the eight articles, the predominant force that necessitates change in these organizations is globalization. Globalization has transformed the globe into a small, highly interconnected village in which a development in one part has implications in several other parts (Lew, 2014). The author of this paper argues that global organizations should take on a more proactive approach to change management where they anticipate and even initiate change of their volition without being prompted by external forces. Besides globalization as a theme, one lesson emerges from the review of the eight articles: the existing models for managing organizational change are inadequate for global organizations (Chiang, 2007). Factors that bring about change that impacts these organizations are more complex and intertwined. Hence, managing change within them is more sophisticated than it is in national organizations. This reality poses a challenge to change management scholars to explore approaches to change management that are better suited to the demands of global organizations. Until then, global organizations need to embrace change rather than wait for external forces to impose it on them. References Ali, A. & Zahra, S., 1994. Managing Technology in a Changing Global Marketplace. Journal of Euromarketing, 3(3-4), pp. 5-13. Allen, J., Jimmieson, N., Bordia, P. & Irmer, B., 2007. Uncertainty during Organizational Change: Managing Perceptions through Communication. Journal of Change Management, 7(2), pp. 187-210. Amis, J. & Silk, M., 2010. Transnational organization and symbolic production: Creating and managing a global brand. Consumption Markets & Culture, 13(2), pp. 159-179. Berry Frances, 2007. Strategic Planning as a Tool for Managing Organizational Change. International Journal of Public Administration, 30(3), pp. 331-346. Chiang, L. C., 2007. Managing Change of Hotel Brand Name: Managerial Roles and Employees Concerns. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 12(1), pp. 19-32. Gibson, D. & Barsade, S., 2003. Managing Organizational Culture Change. Journal of Social Work in Long-Term Care, 2(1-2), pp. 11-34. Graetz, F. & Smith, A., 2010. Managing Organizational Change: A Philosophies of Change Approach. Journal of Change Management, 10(2), pp. 135-154. Gunasekaran, A., 2014. Special Issue: Managing Organizations for Sustainable Development in Emerging Countries. 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Novicevic, M. & Harvey, M., 2001. The changing role of the corporate HR function in global organizations of the twenty-first century. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(8), pp. 1251-1268. Santos, M. V. & Garcia, M. T., 2006. Organizational change: The role of managers mental models. Journal of Change Management, 6(3), pp. 305-320. Read More