Transformational Change Management Planning - Essay Example

Transformational Change Management Plan Transformational Change Management plan Offshoring can be defined as a process through whicha firm relocates a business practice from one state/nation to another-normally an operational practice like manufacturing or supporting practice like accounting. Offshoring can also be said to be a kind of outsourcing and typically implies having all the outsourced business tasks conducted in a different country. Most of the times, offshoring is done so as decrease labor expenses. In other times offshoring is done for strategic reasons such as entering new markets, tapping talent that is not available domestically in addition to overcoming regulations that hinder specific business processes domestically (Vagadia, 2012). Apple is an American tech giant and a multinational corporation whose headquarters is in Cupertino in California, USA. Apple is in the business of designing, developing and selling computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers and online services. So as to save time and cut costs, Apple normally outsources thousands of its manufacturing jobs to such countries as China, Mongolia, Taiwan and Korea. Thus the manufacturing of high-tech products such as iPhone has steadily moved to Asia from the US over the past decades. Thus, Apple, considered, a market leader in the smartphone industry in regard to manufacturing, is totally dependent on outsourcing/offshoring manufacturing, especially in China-a relatively low cost nation (Moyer, 2012). Apple’s stakeholders welcomed the move since the company tremendously reduced its manufacturing time and cost, two very critical elements in the lifeline of any company. Thus, in 2007, when Apple’s founder Steve Jobs needed a glass screen for the iPhone barely a few weeks before its launch, suppliers in America claimed it was not possible. Nevertheless, a factory in China, built a dormitory even before any contract was signed so that its workers could start a 12-hour shift. After the sealing of the deal, 8,000 employees were woken from sleep, provided with tea and biscuit and began fixing glass screens into the iPhone so as to produce ten thousand iPhones on a daily basis. That is how a Chinese factory helped save the situation by revamping manufacturing of the iPhone barely weeks before it appeared on shelves. Eventually, Apple had redesigned the screen of the iPhone at the last minute, resulting in an overhaul of the assembly line. New Screens started arriving at the factory near midnight. Apple executives were impressed by the flexibility and speed which no American factory could match. Thus, cheap as well as willing labor were in fact the factors that informed Apple’s offshoring decision; though flexibility, production speed and management of the supply chain were bigger incentives (Moyer, 2012). In the current ever-changing business world, technologies have turned out to be inextricably connected with business strategies and issues-essential to remaining responsive, competitive and flexible. CFOs, CIOs, CEOs, as well as middle level executives alike must therefore share the load of making sure that the most profitable and reasonable utilization of their resources are fully employed. Currently, companies are now approaching their business processes just the way they would do an investment portfolio; overhauling and appropriating specific portions to assist in lowering costs ,launching other business initiatives as well as bringing enterprises close to partners, customers and suppliers. Thus, several businesses are opting to delegate their business processes-turning to offshoring/outsourcing providers so as to take over the task of overseeing the designing, implementation as well as management of these crucial business processes (Vagadia, 2012). Once seen as a commodity issue, outsourcing/offshoring today has evolved and continues to evolve to include strategically centered, comprehensive management of essential business processes, encompassing the transformation of legacy applications and systems to aid newly formed business processes. This up-and-coming model is known as transformational change-a wide but extremely refined cluster of competencies that merges expert services and skills, proven technologies together with industry and business acumen, thought leadership in addition to process knowledge (Vagadia, 2012). A firm cannot go on to do what it has been doing because it will be left behind in technological and current businesses processes and therefore lose its competitive edge. In addition, transformational change provides an avenue for growth in addition to taking into account both for current as well as future requirements. Senior executives must also be willing to share common, new agendas –both technology and business-wise and clearly stipulate what they want to achieve in their organizations. Other possible alternatives of accomplishing the goal of remaining competitive include; closing skills together with knowledge gaps, automating processes, setting up innovative web-based initiatives as well as integrating processes and systems, comprising those emanating from partners, vendors and customers. Businesses should also facilitate real-time collaboration, content and knowledge management (Vagadia, 2012). Change can be described as a common thread which runs through every business irrespective of its size, industry or age. The business world is changing fast, and so is the environment in which various businesses operate. Institutions too must change and adopt accordingly. One of the theories of change is Unfreeze-change-Refreeze model which was developed in the 1950s by Kurt Lewin. The 3 stages represent the 3-stage process of change, Lewin describes. This theory still holds true to date. Thus, if one has a large cube but notices that s/he wants a cone, first s/he should melt the ice so as to make it to change(unfreeze). Afterwards/he should mold the now iced water into whichever shape one wants(change).Eventually, s/he should solidify the latest shape(refreeze).Thus, by viewing change as a process having separate phases, a business can organize itself for what may be coming in addition to making a plan for managing the transition. This theory is an easy and simple to understand model for change management. It also creates motivation for change (unfreeze) (Hayes, 2014).The second theory about change was developed by John Kotler and is known as the 8-step change process. The following are the stages Kotler enumerated; creating urgency, forming a powerful coalition, creating a vision for change, communicating the vision, removing obstacles, creating short-term wins, building on the change and anchoring the changes in corporate culture. Some of the benefits of this model include the fact it is a simple step-to-step theory, transition is usually easy with this model, and focuses on preparation and acceptance of change and not necessarily actual change (Hayes, 2014). The third and final theory is McKinsey 7-S model which provides a holistic to an institution. This theory was developed by Richard Pascale, Anthony Athos, Tom Peters, and Robert Waterman in 1978.The following 7 factors operate as combined agents for change; strategy, shared values, structure, style, systems, skills and staff. This model provides the following benefits; provides an efficient approach to diagnosing and understanding an organization, offers regulation in organizational change, combines emotional and rational components and finally all portions are essential and should be tackled in a manner that is unified. Change can effectively be implemented by first and foremost communicating the justification behind the requirement for change. After this has been explained to the employees, the implementation of change in stages should begin. A stakeholder is a person or group having a legitimate interest in a given company. The following stakeholders will be affected by the communication; internal stake holders such as groups within a company or individuals working directly within the company for instance investors, owners and employees. External stakeholders on the other hand comprise groups outside a company or individuals not working directly within the company but nevertheless, impacted in one way or another by some decisions of the company such as creditors, suppliers, government and trade unions community. Stakeholders should be made to know that the company is undergoing a transformational change due to changes in the business environment. They should be made to understand that it is for the good of the company. Senior executives of the company should communicate the intended changes to the stakeholders. Communication to stakeholders can be done through meetings, conference calls or even by use of email, newsletters or posters (McPhail, 2011). The major implementation steps comprise of planning and preparing for the project, setting up and customizing, driving adoption of the project by various stakeholders and finally continuously improving on weaknesses that may occur when the project is being implemented. For the transformational plan to be successful the team must be organized, and there should also be an executive sponsor. The company must also set reasonable goals and the whole team must be made to understand the importance of what the company is doing (Hayes, 2014). In conclusion, the ability to compel transformational management change in a firm such as transforming from a good to a great performance ,minimizing costs or even turning a crisis around –is a major source of competitiveness for any organization. Thus as the firm endeavors to transform, it should consult widely by engaging experts and involving everyone in the organization. All the stakeholders must be kept in the know and managers must particularly be vigilant in expecting as well as preparing for powerful future competition, more so from up-and-coming firms. References Hayes,J. The Theory and Parctice of Change Management. New York,NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. McPhail,T. Global Communication:Theories,Stakeholders,and Trends. New York: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2011. Moyer,E. "A tale of Apple,the iPhone,and the Overseas Manufacturing." CNET (2012): np. Vagadia,B. Strategic Outsourcing:The Alchemy to Business Transformation in a GloballyConverged World. New York,NY: Springer Shop, 2012. Read More