The Strategies Pertaining to the Management of the Operational Changes - Essay Example

The objective of the essay is to put forward the strategies and tools pertaining to the management of the operational and organizational changes to be brought about in the radiator and heat exchanger manufacturing company. The strategies proposed would help the company and its employees to cope with the abrupt changes which would in the operational and organizational structure due to the change in the process and the introduction of new technology and rearrangement of the process orders. A strategically designed change process is highly recommended as it is to happen amidst an adverse market environment currently faced by the company. Moreover the employees, both managerial and labor class workers would face immense pressure and insecurity in the event of the change program. The market performance of the company and the customer satisfaction production and the productivity are other key factors which have to be taken care of during the transition process. This becomes important because as the process basically intend to improve the output, the process and the output equally become important. To explain it further, a number of factors both direct and indirect have to be taken into account. Some of them would include the output in terms of quality and quantity, employee satisfaction, employee capacity, organizational capacity etc. Thus it can be assumed that so to formulate the strategy for the change process, it is important to take into account the theories of change management and the adaptability of the same in the working environment of the company. The basic theories of success in carrying out a change process which were taken into account while formulating the strategies were Pressure for Change, A Clear and Shared Vision, Capacity for Change and Action (Harding P, 2004.p.1). These factors play a vital role in determining the adoption of the business environment into a changed scenario. Thus it would involve a lot of efforts in terms of capital, time and effort for the company to keep an ideal balance of output and the process change management. An integration of the whole work force and the operational systems will be very crucial. The company will have to implement key tools so that this integration happens optimally. The management also will have to motivate and build the capacity of the employees so that they adapt themselves into the new processes. This essay explains the tools to be used by the radiator and heat exchanger manufacturing company so as to bring forth a change in their production and operational processes and thus resultantly the output. In general the process improvement process will involve massive changes within the company and also to the systems involved with it. These changes have been represented in the following chart The changes the processes would basically cause changes in terms of operational changes, operational changes, technology change, human resource structure, facility change and also changes in institutional linkages. This essay suggests tools to manage these changes. The tools has been represented as sub-tables under each change. Capacity Building & Motivation Capacity building in this context can be classified into two categories viz. infrastructural capacity building and the human resource capacity building. The capacity building of the staff and the organization to be involved in the new production scenario has to be ensured during the change process implementation. The capacity building of the organization or in other terms the infrastructural capacity building would involve the technical improvisation of the machineries and other infrastructure involved in order to cope with the new process .This must include consultancy with a technical expertise group. A detailed evaluation of the market demands and future consumption trends in the industry would help to select the appropriate infrastructure. The capacity building of the human resource refers to trainings and programs pertaining to the skill development of the manpower and the team leaders with reference to the requirements of the new technology being implemented. “Training implies putting skills into people, when actually we should be developing people from the inside out, beyond skills, ie., facilitating learning” (Chapman A, 2006). The training process must provide the trainee with emotional maturity, integrity and compassion which would help them posses an integrated vision. This should help to cope with the shift process for example the rumor and insecurity regarding the human resource readjustments. Nair & Oommen, (2007,p.S13-S18) has explained that the employee trainings would result in the better performance of the employees, lesser learning periods, elimination of wastage, uniformity of procedure, elimination of misfits, economy in materials handling, less supervision, high morale, reduction in labor turnover and reduces the insecurity among employees. (Nair & Oommen,2007,p.S13-S18). Many incidents like feel of insecurity, increased number of resignations, reduced integration among staff, which may happen as a result of the potentially possible disturbances due to the process change can be eliminated through scientifically effective capacity building processes. Moreover the lack of expertise among the staff in using computerized systems was quite evident especially in the production quality control department. Gray J.L & Starke FA, (1998. p.104) have defined “Motivation as the result of processes, internal or external to the individual that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a course of action”. Events pertaining to the motivation of the staff with reference to the organizational objectives must be ensured. Various contemporary theories referring to Personnel Management like Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory, Two-factor Theory, ERG Theory, Achievement Motivation Theory, Expectancy Model Theory and Equity Theory must be referred to evoke motivation among the staff (Ashwatappa K 2004, p.314-337) Improvement in work environment The work environment will serve as a decisive factor in the effectiveness of the process change. The company will have to ensure that the work environment positively promotes the employees to a part of the whole system. The factors like inclusion, employee satisfaction, work place safety etc must be given careful attention. An ideal work environment refers to an organizational setup which promotes the employees to deliver best of their efforts. Such an environment is quite important in the success of the organization and the professional excellence of its employees. Satisfied employees, increased market performance, increased employee retention rates are some of the signs for a healthy work environment. The maintenance of sound and fit work environment is vital especially in the context of modern developments in corporate world. Globalization and increased access to work opportunities equip the candidates to be choosy on the nature of the work environment. Thus to have and retain productive work force, an ideal work environment is necessary. There are a number of factors which contribute towards the constitution of an ideal work environment. Tools have to be designed taking into account these factors. The important among those factors has been explained below. Human Resource Management Human resource Management in general is the sequence of processes and management functions that help the managers to recruit, select, train and develop members for an organization (Ashwatappa K 2002, p.3). Edwin, B P 1989 (1984,p.5) has defined Human Resource Management as the “planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance and separation of human resources to the end that individual, organizational, and objectives are accomplished”. Human Resource Management is integral for any organization despite the staff strength and the depth in other resources of the organization. Human Resource Management considers manpower as an important source or asset which can be utilized in favor of the organization, employees and the society. It has a mutually benefiting approach benefiting the job provider, the worker and the society around the work environment. A proper staff management strategy is required for the maintenance of the organizations routine activities as well as is crucial in the further institutional development. Such strategy would emphasis on the management of the staff in away that they are completely satisfied with the work environment. The company will have to emphasis to use the theories of human resource management to carefully setup a creative work environment. Organizational Objectives The work environment does not persist within itself. It has to work in relation and association with the objectives and vision of the organization. Work place strategies have to aim to recognize its role in bringing about organizational effectiveness and improvisation. In totality, the work environment should work along with the lines of the vision and mission of the organization of which it is an integral department. Personal Objectives of the staff A workplace should take into consideration the personal goals of the individual employee within its jurisdiction. Adhering to and respecting the employee expectations becomes vital especially in the modern scenario with a market welcoming professionals with huge opportunities. Strategies on work environment must ensure to motivate, maintain and retain the work force by paying respect to the personal objectives. Cases in which the personal objectives are met may lead to the decline of employee performance and satisfaction, ultimately resulting in employees leaving the organization (William, B. Werther, Jr & Keith Davis, 1993, p.11). The satisfaction of the employee would much depend on the availability of adequate remuneration and a feeling of job security. The worker should be provided with appropriate facilities for proper training aiding their capacity building. Professional growth possibilities would also be integral in the assurance of staff satisfaction. Care should be taken to maintain an ideal and secure work environment aiding the personal dignity of the staff .(Nair N & Oommen P 1994,p. S13-S18). Management of Diversity Advancement in technology, travel options, communications and liberalization of international business regulations has incorporated numerous possibilities of conditions with diverse natures within the work environment. This trend was found to increase in the early nineties. The transference of a command driven economy to a market driven one, sheltered markets to competitive ones, domestic trade to international trade and the trend of monopoly to the trend of competition has extensively made possible the chances and demand of diversity in the business setup and processes involved. However these chances and demand are expected to have an upward trend in the coming years as well. For the maintenance of an ideal work environment, the proper and efficient management of these diversities are very important. If the organizational strategy successfully adapts to the diverse situations, it will add to the efficacy of the work environment. Effective leadership The role of a leader is quite contributory in the work environment. A good leader can stimulate self dependency in the professional endeavors of the employees. When they are happy with the leadership pattern and style, they tend to be contributing members of a healthy system. In the application of almost all of the workplace strategies the leader has vital role to play as well. It is the responsibility of the leader to deal as a mediator in between the staff and the policy makers. The organizational values should not be devaluated during this extension process. Evaluation and recognition of the contribution of each person and the empowerment requirement of each person is the duty of the leader. The efficacy of the employees would thus highly depend on the accuracy that the leader shows in this evaluation. This must read together with the fact the developmental needs of each person would differ heavily as per the capacity of the person. However, it is too true that every individual will have the desire to contribute in varying magnitudes. The simple role of the leader is to facilitate this desire and to create more energy for working in the right direction. Motivation Motivation has been defined as “the process that governs choices made by persons or lower organisms among alternative forms of voluntary activity” (Vroom, 1978). With relevance to the efficacy of the work environment, motivation is the factor that helps the employees to make improved decisions pertaining to their professional endeavors. Motivated employees would always look for better ways to do a job. Literally this is the betterment of workplace attitudes. When the empowered staff is exposed to decisive situations this motivation aids to them to make optimal actions. When this situation is applied to corporate strategies and other organizational decision processes, the relevance of motivation is corroborated. Thus motivation is an important tool which facilitates an ideal work environment. Communication In an ideal work environment, the relevance of communication is enormous. The communication process is however complicated in the organizations having huge staff strength and wider network of employees across the globe. The difficulty of communication in such a scenario has been explained in the research conducted by Chin Paul (2005) When proper communication is ensured among the employees and with all the systems concerning to the organizational structure, the work flow becomes very fluent. Thus in the work environment, the efficacy of communication has a vital role to play. When the employees are properly communicated on the organizational goals, financial situations and operational developments they get motivated automatically. This in turn ensures the betterment of the whole business system and its employees. Inter departmental Coordination meetings Wheelan (1999) has pointed out that the most important characteristic of a high performance team is that all its members understand the team goals properly. Tambe (1997, 83-124) has stressed the need of flexible work structure so as to build a complex, dynamic multi-functional team, with intended applications in differing arenas of the allied industry. According to Wheelan (1999), team dynamics are the invisible forces that operate in a team between different people or groups and it can strongly influence how a team reacts, behaves or performs, and the effects of team dynamics are often very complex.. From the factory floor to the corporate board room, teams are viewed as a means to motivate participants, increase productivity, and flatten the organizational hierarchy (LaFasto& Larson, 2001). Haimann defined Coordination as the orderly synchronization of efforts of the subordinates to provide the proper amount, timing and quality of execution, so that their unified efforts lead to a stated objective, namely, the common purpose of the enterprise (as cited in Oommen & Nair, 1994). Regular inter departmental meetings discussing the updates of activities, work schedule and achievements of different departments would aid the coordination of their activities ultimately improving results. This is very important in the context of change management as the routine operational procedures will undergo massive changes and thus there are possibilities of confusions among departments in larger counts. Knowledge management and technology adaptability While implementing a complex technological innovation as a part of process change, it is quite usual that the suppliers of the technology would provide the technical details and minimal levels of technical training with regard to the technology. However when applied to the organizationally relevant local scenarios, these trainings and technical knowledge would prove to be inappropriate in several scenarios. To explain it further, a lot amount of locally relevant knowledge will have be imparted in to the system while implementing an organizational change. In this context, Fleck (1994, 637-651) has remarked the process of the change implementation as the continued process of getting over the struggle to make the system work. This literally involves the application of local knowledge. Fleck (1994, 637-651) suggests the relevance of ‘learning by trying’, which would involve the refining and implementation of the local knowledge in the organizational learning process. The clear argument of Fleck (1994, 637-651) is that the successful implementation of an organizational change should be a combination of generic technological knowledge and the locally relevant knowledge. This in other terms is the combination acquirement of skills on new technology along with the knowledge built over years of experience. This also refers to the importance of experienced hands along with technologically sound elements. While implementing a process change, especially complex ones, along with the technological aspects, the organizational and financial resources will have to be aligned in the change process Fleck (1994, 637-651). This in other terms would mean that an organizational learning should happen with regard to all the organizational matters including the financial resources. This point of view had been in alignment with other literatures available in the context. Lamperes (2004, 32-37) has suggested ten strategies pertaining to organizational empowerment and learning. It included: ‘sharing information’, ,sharing decision making’, ‘practicing consensus decision making’, ‘developing consensus on budget’, ‘creating a common vision’, ‘developing shared beliefs’, ‘allowing employees to direct their professional growth’, ‘empowering stakeholders’, ‘understanding customer needs’ and ‘developing symbols of empowerment’. Fleck (1994, 637-651) also argues the need of traditional knowledge to be highly relevant while implementation of a change where an asymmetry exists in the power and economic indicators between the innovation providers and the real users. Thus the traditional knowledge implies in bridging this asymmetry making an optimal balance among all strata of the organization including the supplier and the end user of the implemented technology Impact assessment The effectiveness of the process changes will have to critically evaluated so that required amendments can be made. “Performance appraisal is the systematic evaluation of the individual or a process with respect to his or her performance on the job and its, his or her potential for development” (Beach, 2004, 290).This definition itself confirms the role of Performance appraisal in the identification of development needs and potential of different employees and organizational processes. Thus this tool comes handy as a preparatory function while streamlining the process change. Performance appraisal not only defines the lacunas in the performance, but also appreciates the efforts of the employees which further motivate them to be empowered and also identifies the strengths in the process. References Ashwatappa, K. (2004) Human Resource and Personnel Management, Tata McGraw-Hill: NewDelhi P. 314-337 Beach, Dale S, Personnel, The Management of People at Work, 4th ed, New York: Macmillan, 2004,290 Chapman A (2006), Organizational change, training and learning: Modern principles of change management, and effective employee training and development in organizations, Viewed 06 January 2010, http://www.businessballs.com/organizationalchange.htm Chin, Paul. “The evolution of corporate communications”, Intranet Journal, 2005, Jupiter media , O6 January 2010, Edwin, B P 1989, Personnel Management, Fourth Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, New York, 1984,p.5. Fleck J (1994), ‘Learning by Trying: the implementation of configurational technology’, Research Policy, Vol.23, pp:637-652 Gray J.L & Starke FA, (1998).Organizational Behavior: Concepts & applications, Columbia: Merrill p.104 Harding P (2004), Managing Change: How to manage change in an organisation, Government Office for the South West, Viewed 06 January 2010, http://www.oursouthwest.com/SusBus/mggchange.doc Lamperes, Bill , (2004),‘10 Strategies for Staff Empowerment,’ Principal Leadership,Vol 4, No.6, pp. 32-37 LaFasto, F & Larson, E, 2001 When team work best: 6000 team members and leaders tell what it takes to succeed, Sage Publication Ltd, London. Nair N & Oommen P ‘Personnel Management’ Business Management, Lions publications : Madras 1994,p. S13-S18 Tambe M, 1997, ‘Towards Flexible Teamwork’, Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, Vol 7. pp. 83-124 V, H Vroom, Work and Motivation, New Delhi: Wiley Eastern, 1978, 6 Wheelan, S ,1999, Creating Effective Teams: A guide for members and leaders, Sage Publication Ltd, London William, B. Werther, Jr & Keith Davis, Human Resource and Personnel Management , 4th ed, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003, 11 Harding P (2004), Managing Change: How to manage change in an organisation, Government Office for the South West, Viewed 06 January 2010, http://www.oursouthwest.com/SusBus/mggchange.doc Chapman A (2006), Organizational change, training and learning: Modern principles of change management, and effective employee training and development in organizations, Viewed 06 January 2010, http://www.businessballs.com/organizationalchange.htm Nair N & Oommen P ‘Personnel Management’ Business Management, Lions publications : Madras 1994,p. S13-S18 Read More