How the Management Has Been Able to Manage the Changes - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal: Managing Change Contents Introduction 3 ment of Problem 3 Literature Review 3 Research Methodology 4 Collection of Data: Secondary Sources 4 Research Approach 5 Research Technique 5 Research Paradigm 5 Conclusion 6 Reference List 7 Introduction Change is inevitable in this contemporary business world. As the global business environment is transforming at a rapid speed, keeping pace with the changing consumer need, technological progression and many other similar factors, companies operating in global platform has to change their business process complying with the transformation in the business environment. Therefore, managing change becomes critical for the management of such companies. Change management may be defined as a systematic approach that deals with managing of both organizational changes as well as changes in the individuals associated with the organization. A successful management of change process leads to implement the procedural changes in a sustainable manner so that the organization can enjoy the long enduring benefits arising out of such changes (Hernes, Hendrup and Schäffnerc, 2015). In this paper, research will be done on change management of a renowned global fast food restaurant, Burger King. Theories of cultural changes and adaptation versus standardization will be analysed in order to establish the research agenda. Statement of Problem Since its inception, the company has gone through several transformations in terms of management changes and changes in the production and operational process, as a result of external environmental changes. The Florida based company has gone through substantial changes since it has decided to expand its business in the Gulf Region. The research paper will concentrate on how the management has been able to manage the changes exclusively in Gulf region over a period of time. Literature Review Organizational change is a critical aspect for every organization operating in global business framework. According to Hoenen and Kostova (2014), as the Gulf region is still in a state of pursuing its socio-economic and political reforms and accordingly changing the rules and legislations from time to time, it has become necessary for all the multinational companies operating in this region to change their business process and align their operations with the transforming regulations in this region. Schmid and Kotulla (2011) are on the opinion that when a multinational company decides to expand business in a new region on the globe, the management has to decide for every aspects of business starting from source of raw material, production and distribution process to supply chain and marketing strategies. Therefore, depending on the availability of resources and other facilities they should decide whether the company will standardize their existing production process in the newly expanded region or they will adapt the prevalent systems in the region. Considering the case of Burger King, when the US based company decided to expand their business in Gulf region, the management had to evaluate the amenities available in this region and then decide whether they should implement their standard production and operational process that they practice in US or they should adapt the process prevailing the Gulf region. According to Ansari, Reinecke and Spaan (2015), management experiences difficulties in implementing organizational change because of the cultural differences in the regions. Hence, Weber and Dacin (2011) has shown that organizational change can be carefully implemented if relevant the change process is thoroughly communicated and training and development programs can be imparted to the employees of the organization. Based on these theories, the research will be conducted to evaluate how Burger King has applied such theories and models in managing its organizational change process and to what extent it has become successful in managing changes in Gulf Region. Research Methodology Research methodology signifies the technique for collecting data and relevant information regarding operations of Burger King in the Gulf Region so that extensive research can be carried out to arrive at a realistic solution to the agenda of conducting the research (Jin, 2015). Collection of Data: Secondary Sources In order to examine the ability of Burger King to manage changes in the Gulf Region, it is required to collect pertinent information for carrying out the research smoothly. Therefore, secondary research must be conducted where information will be collected from the data gathered in primary research (Kelle and Buchholtz, 2014). As it is nearly impossible to conduct primary research regarding organizational changes, the most consistent way is to rely on information available on various primary sources such as the company’s annual report, information published in newspaper articles or magazines, accessible market research reports, fast-food industry reports and statistics in Gulf region etc. Research Approach Once required information is obtained, it is important to understand most suitable research approach in order to pursue further research. Initially, qualitative research approach should be obtained for explaining the intrinsic connotation of the research problem. Such research approach aims to analyse the contradictory arguments proposed by different researchers and consequently arrive at the researcher’s own conscience (Kelle and Buchholtz, 2014). In fact, qualitative research influences the researcher to pursue an in-depth study of all available materials, information and evidences regarding change management and Burger King’s pattern of managing such changes. After the initial qualitative research has been done, quantitative research should also be conducted for strengthening the inference, derived through qualitative research (Zhang, 2014). For instance, comparative analysis of sales and revenue of Burger King, before and after the implementation of changes will provide a clear picture of success of change management. Research Technique Research technique is a systematic approach for pursuing the research, depending on the collected data and selected research approach. In order to evaluate change management procedure of a company such as Burger King, it is required to examine various organizational behavioural theories and models proposed by behavioural scientists from different ages. As the primary research approach is qualitative, it is appropriate to critically analyse the historical data as well as evidences from recent past. Therefore, historical research technique should be adopted (Tahat and Whelan, 2015). Research Paradigm A research paradigm tends to establish the research objective depending on a structured pattern of action, set of practises or beliefs. For the purpose of conducting research on managing change in an organization, both positivism and critical theory type of research paradigm should be augmented. Under positivism research paradigm, the positivity of the organizational changes of Burger King in Gulf Region should be established, based on the reviews and market research surveys conducted from time to time and from the changes in various financial ratios and other parameters examined from annual report of the company (Adam, 2014). Under critical theory research paradigm, the theories and models suggested by eminent researchers will be critically analysed and such theories will be aligned with Burger King’s history of managing changes in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the organization in this regard. Conclusion Success of a company highly depends on its ability to change the business process complying with the changing business dynamics. Burger King has been operating successfully in various parts of the world since 1953 because of its capability to adapt changes while required. As the operation in the Gulf region is comparatively new to the company, research will be done on the company’s style of managing changes in this segment. If the research is conducted on the basis of secondary data available in this regard, adopting mainly a qualitative approach, it is expected to generate comprehensive inference, showing success or failure of the organization in managing changes while operating in Gulf Region. Reference List Adam, B., 2014. Paradigm of Unity as a Prospect for Research and Treatment in Psychology. Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integration, 19(2), pp. 21-22. Ansari, S., Reinecke, J. and Spaan, A., 2015. How are Practices Made to Vary? Managing Practice Adaptation in a Multinational Corporation. Organizational Studies, 35(9), pp. 1313-1341. Hernes, T., Hendrup, E. and Schäffnerc, B., 2015. Sensing the Momentum: A Process View of Change in a Multinational Corporation. Journal of Change Management, 21(1), pp. 134-153. Hoenen, A. K. and Kostova, T., 2014. Utilizing the broader agency perspective for studying headquarters–subsidiary relations in multinational companies. Journal of International Business Studies, 46(2), pp. 104–113. Jin, Q., 2015. A Research Proposal: The Effects of Restaurant Environment on Consumer Behavior. Johnsons and Wales University, 1(1), pp. 36-38. Kelle, U. and Buchholtz, N., 2014. The Combination of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods in Mathematics Education: A “Mixed Methods” Study on the Development of the Professional Knowledge of Teachers. Approaches to Qualitative Research in Mathematics Education: Advances in Mathematics Education, 5(2), pp. 321-361. Schmid, S. and Kotulla, T., 2011. 50 years of research on international standardization and adaptation—From a systematic literature analysis to a theoretical framework. International Business Review, 20(5), pp. 491–507. Tahat, K. and Whelan, S., 2015. A research proposal for investigating the effect of foreign direct investments on technology transfer in the Arabian Gulf (GCC). International Conference On Integrated Information, 2(1), pp. 203-225. Weber, K. and Dacin, M. T., 2011. The Cultural Construction of Organizational Life: Introduction to the Special Issue. Organizational Science, 22(2), pp. 287 – 298. Zhang, L., 2014. A Meta-analysis Method to Advance Design of Technology-Based Learning Tool: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Research to Understand Learning in Relation to Different Technology Features. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23(1), pp. 145-159. Read More