Managing Change and Leadership - Research Paper Example

 Managing Change and Leadership Executive Summary Like every organization SACC has developed and changed over the years. Some of the changes such as a restaurant and a bar in the vicinity, book shop and music room have been positive and added to its repute and standing as a cultural museum internationally. However, with the changes in power from Bernard to Calvin, some pitfalls have been noticed. They may not concern Bernard as strongly as they affect Calvin and so he decides to take appropriate measures to make SACC a museum that is not just working for global welfare but is doing well commercially. For that Calvin thinks there needs to be a proper accounting and finance system, a marketing system with creative heads and a proper network of employees who work in coordination with one another to achieve similar goals. Introduction It is change that inculcates a feeling of rejuvenation and renewal in any individual, firm or country as a whole. Changing perspectives, evolving ideas and varying methodologies are the key features of any growing firm. Nevertheless, it needs to be kept in mind that any changes-good or bad, would be criticized and perhaps condemned. It is therefore, the responsibility of a firm’s heads to make sure that the changes that are made in the best interest of the firm are kept intact. The resistance from the employees needs to be tackled cleverly. Their objections should be heard, interpreted in an unbiased way and analyzed so that any valid objections don’t go unheard and any unsubstantiated objections are provided with subtle arguments that satisfy the employees. Their satisfaction is of utmost priority as they are pillars holding up the firm. SACC is going through a crucial time. With the power being handed to Calvin, who is a more learned and experienced person, there is a problem of managing changes. SACC lacks the elements of any commercially successful museum today. It needs to have a sense of professionalism in its employees most importantly. The employees at SACC are not doing community work and they should be made to realize that. The employees need to be dedicated yet professional. Also, a strong marketing department at SACC is needed. Recruitments of new employees is essential since existing employees either retire over time or find alternative jobs. Relying on contacts and other word of mouth decisions for hiring employees is highly unprofessional and will lead SACC to no success. With time, as the firm grows, its objectives also evolve. It is therefore important to have a Performance Management team at SACC that evaluates the performance of all the employees from time to time. The employees can be given some targets to achieve in the short run and their success can be measured by the completion of those targets and the benefits that the targets yield to the wellbeing of SACC. All results can then be analyzed using visual modes like pie charts and bar graphs making analysis clear. Also, the marketing department needs to make sure that instead of just selling its product, it sells its name, a brand! A positive Employer Brand needs to be created that would facilitate the conscription of the workforce and other maintenance activities. Also, a Leadership Development program needs to be introduced with the aim of encouraging the employees and galvanizing the concept of ‘invisible hand’. SACC needs this because it is a cultural museum, it attracts tourists from all over the world and it represents its locality. It needs to have a strong impression to give to the wider world. The employees should be confident of their endeavors and speak highly of SACC. If they are not going to, no one will. Change Program 3.1 Essence of the Change Program Before plunging in to devising ways to manage change, we should first attempt to understand what a change program is and what does a change management program entail. Change refers to evolution and variation. This is fundamental for a firm’s growth and well being. According to Todd, Jick (2002) change management is a method for reducing and managing resistance to change when implementing process, technology or organizational change. It is essential in order to evaluate business results. A change management program encompasses three major phases and a successful firm needs to traverse these phases in order to achieve the desired goal of success from the changes. (Figure taken from: http://www.change-management.com) 3.2 Managing the Change Program- Detailed analysis It is extremely important to realise that any change programs are likely to face a lot of criticisms and it is mandatory to have a smooth government that manages these changes effectively. Green,Mike (2007) feels that these changes should not be heaped up on the firm rather should mix in the company policy over time. Everyone associated with the firm should be comfortable to the changes and should be mentally prepared to accept them. Since SACC lacks communication between the employees and the administration, this ridge must be built in first before plunging on to other changes. The administrative, marketing and financial changes that SACC needs to implement can work only if the employees have a smooth communication channel with the administration and they’re able to voice their suggestions, opinions and criticisms. SACC despite being a tourist attraction and a national theatre was operating as if it was a local amateur theatre. This needs to be changed so that it can prosper. Mourier, Pierre and Smith, Martin (2002) astutely say that from every material commodity, it is desired that material gains are extracted. The theatre would thus be useless if it keeps its low profile since its maintenance seeps in a lot of financial assets. It needs to have a strong communication network first. Once that is established, the employees must be trained towards professionalism. SACC is no longer a local museum. It attracts customers from around the world and so its image needs to be a polished and strong one. Also, once the employees gain professionalism, SACC needs to build a performance estimation system or network. Short term goals such as devising a new advertising strategy for summers or renovating the décor of the museum should be assigned to the employees in groups. This way the employees will learn to coordinate and work passionately for the success of their team. After this is done, SACC needs to work on creating its marketing department. It is not a welfare center and it needs to recruit creative artists and workers that work for its promotion in a more subtle way than just relying on word of mouth services. Dealing with resistance 4.1 Likely sources of resistance (Figure from: http://www.businessperform.com) It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Indeed, it is. It can be clearly seen that all negativities are the likely sources of resistance. Mistrust amongst managers and employees, employees that have difficulty in adapting to changes quickly, staff that is not apt to handle new advancements, pushy unions, poor communication networks and lack of resources are the key factors that resist changes. Harvard business essentials give eight major reasons why people opt to resist to any changes: The goal of the change is not very clear or convincing The people positively affected by the change are not bothered by its implementation There are personal grounds for denial When some very habitual or traditional practice is ignored The change is not communicated through the right channels or in the right way When there is a risk of failing. The heads are coercing the enforcement of the change program so just for resentment it is objected upon The cost paid by the workers is significant compared to the reward gained by the firm. These sources of resistance are general but apply equally well to SACC. Most employees feel insecure if they are not very well trained or qualified and find it difficult to adapt to changing work needs. They might anticipate that changes in the working of SACC puts their job at stake or gives them lesser perks than current and so choose to resist. 4.2 Reducing the anticipated resistance Any unconstructive resistance should be tackled so that it does not hinder the change process. Collins, Jim (2001) believes that it is the foremost responsibility of the firm’s heads to ensure that the most powerful and restraining forces are dealt with first so that the most destructive elements are undertaken. The “drivers for change” should be encouraged to weaken the opposing forces. This is one of the best things to do since this would eliminate any bitterness that may arise between the administration and the workforce. In SACC, the workers are not very pleased with the emerging changes. They seem to have objections with strategically planning the organization. They are, at present, more comfortable in working as if they are serving the community. However, SACC is not a welfare center. Workers need to benefit the center in order for it to grow. Therefore, it is essential to make the workforce realize that any gains to the center are their gains. This realization of self gain will inculcate in them a spirit to work for it. Participation and involvement of all the employees in decision making should be highly encouraged. This will ensure that they have their voices heard which will lead to contentment and hence lessen disagreements. All ideas and thoughts should be negotiated and decisions need to be made on collective agreement. Calvin wants to make a marketing department, for this he can hire the senior most employees to be the managers and they can be given the ultimate authority to recruit new workers. Giving authority to the employees will ensure that they work more earnestly but there needs to be a higher body to check for any corruption or wrongdoings. Workers may even me manipulated so that if they have any unjust demands, they are just discarded keeping the work flow uninterrupted. Cameron Esther(2009) thinks that in extreme cases it is justified to explicitly and implicitly coerce the workers into a novel decision. This way they would know that being pushy is not all what counts, they need to be influential to make an impact. Introducing HR department 5.1 Aim of the HR department The HR department is the backbone of any firm. It is extremely important to have a sound HR department with the aim of maximizing the return on investment from the organization’s human capital and minimizing any financial risks. According to Rose, Ed(2008) the key function of an HR department is recruitment and selection. It needs to hire new workers from the pool of people willing to work. It does so by analysing which workers would provide the firm the greatest benefit. An HR department also helps in organizational design and development. Each firm or organization should have a goal to reach or a criterion to meet, the HR department works on achieving that goal and meeting that criterion. It also seeks to observe performance, conduct and inter personal behaviour. Workers tend to bully their juniors and overtime develop the habit of using sour language. It is the HR department that keeps such wrongs aside. It also works towards maintaining sound industrial and employee relations. Chris Brady (2007) says that an HR department provides a legal channel to demand for compensations, rewards, benefits and other perks for the existing employees and for new entrants, it provides training and development. All considered, it is one of the most important departments a firm has. SACC at present lacks this. This is a very deep pitfall for the art centre and it needs to be addressed promptly. The resistances and the objections may all be eradicated by just the installation of this department that forms the backbone of any firm. The HR department will help the employees get the right channel of communication with the administration. It will also be responsible for entertaining queries and criticisms by the visitors. 5.2 Performance Management System If there is no check on the workers, they tend to become more relaxed. Their goals begin to shrink their capacities rust. It is therefore very important to keep a constant check on the workers to ensure that they give in their best. SACC needs to introduce a performance management system. As the words suggest, this system will evaluate the performance of the workers. It’s more like a grading scale which will evaluate the progress of the workers. According to Green,Mike(2007), Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities. Performance management is a whole work system that begins when a job is defined as needed and it ends when an employee leaves the organization. In order to establish a sound performance management system at SACC, first of all the purpose of jobs needs to be clearly defined. All job duties and responsibilities need to be identified. Each worker should know what is expected of him. Some performance goals should be set forward so that everyone knows what they are stretching their hands forward to. Some employees can work towards the art center, some can work towards improving the additional savories like restaurant and bar. Interim discussions should be held and positive feedback about employee performance should be given. This should be done very frequently so that all problems are solved before it gets too late. Bennis, Warren (2009) believes that if some expectations are not met and the worker is not able to understand his job very aptly, a coaching or improvement plan should be handed to him. It should be made clear that any irresponsible attitude or laid back attitude will not be accommodated so if that person wishes to stay in the firm, he’d have to come up to the expectations instead of the firm bringing down its goals to serve the worker. This is important at SACC as workers have been relaxed by Bernard and its high time that Calvin awakes them and assigns them their duties. Marketing Department 6.1 Aim of the Marketing Department The marketing department of a firm is another major department. It is very significant because it attracts the consumers towards the product. Without a strong marketing department, the product or service will not receive the attention it deserves. The marketing department is responsible for giving in new creative ideas, advertising and branding. Catchy banners, free samples and advertisements are all it takes to promote a new good. In addition, the SACC could even give special discounts on holidays and have membership cards for frequent visitors. All these help in building repute for the commodity at hand and gains consumer loyalty. Another important way of gaining consumer loyalty is to sell a brand and not a product. The brand should be trusted upon and looked forward too. The visitors to SACC shouldn’t be coming to see just a theatre or just an art centre; they should be coming to see SACC as a whole, a package, a name, a brand! SACC’s marketing department can hold shows on the radio and can call for media coverage to gain recognition initially. Once, everyone knows of the name, catchy banners and brochures would suffice in attracting people towards the center. 6.2 Creating a positive Employer Brand Branding of any product is extremely important because it is branding that distinguishes one product from another. At SACC, the workers should know that they are working for SACC and not any art centre. This way of thought will instill in them an urge to differentiate their services and products. A pudding tastes delicious but when floating in chocolate syrup it appeals even more since it is a treat for the eyes not just the stomach. Similarly, if at SACC, all the products are displayed and services provided with a personal tinge they’d be much more pleasing to the visitors. Calvin expresses great concern over the lack of collaboration between the administrative members of the centre and the marketing department. The initiatives start but are terminated before they fully bloom because of the communication gap. This is detrimental to the art centre as new ideas should be tested fully to deduce any results. Moreover the marketing personnel will also lose interest if none of their suggestions are fully implemented and will find other jobs more alluring where they can see their perspectives put into action. It is thus very important to have a positive employer brand where everyone works for their self interest leading to the interest of the organization on the whole. Leadership Development Program Leaders are not born, they are created. Leaders don’t drive, they instill the driving force. It is therefore very important to have a strong leadership development program. The crème of the employees needs to be filtered out and polished so that they attain leadership qualities. Leaders have the capability of getting into everyone’s skin and inducing positive energy and optimism. For SACC, a leadership development program will serve in reviving its old prestige keeping contemporary standards in mind. It will help maintain togetherness in the workforce and will help in leading the theatre towards progress. Bennis, Warren(2009) is of the opinion that it is the leaders that provide an organization its fuel. They have the capability of turning the worst to better and the better to the ultimate best. Leadership however, needs to be acquired, it is not God gifted. It needs to be achieved through consistent hard work and a lot of public exposure. Having exposure to the wider world is extremely important since it is this that gives the person a savoir faire of dealing with the rest of the community. For SACC a leadership development program will ensure that the best employees are prepared to lead. They will then serve as role models to the rest of the workers. Currently the biggest issue faced by the theatre’s employees is of job security. They are not able to adjust to changing demand and changing perspectives. From a local theatre, SACC is striving towards a national repute and the employees are not certain if this is the right thing to do. They are not able to modify their skills to suit the corporate changes that are essential for growth. Hence, the leaders will serve as examples to the employees and they would grant them confidence. Chistenson, Clayton(2003) expresses that it is indeed sorrowful that any new ideas and opinions in today’s world are criticized without even being evaluated on an unbiased scale. Thus if leaders, in their true sense, are created they would assist in showing the true glory of innovation and will instigate in the rest a fervor to change and thereby grow. Slywotsky, Adrain(2002) thinks that leaders possess this magical power of compelling everyone to work like they want but the workers get to feel that they’re doing it all themselves. This feeling is very much needed in the employees of SACC so that they are driven to the path of success. Conclusion SACC has faced problems due to lack of three Cs-coherence, connectivity and communication. It is high time that these are looked upon so that the art centre can be of great value to the visitors as well as to the owners. It’s time to realize that it is not just a welfare centre and so material gains need to be sought after. It will be difficult since it requires the introduction of an HR department, a renewal of the marketing department and a leadership development program. All these will seep in a lot of resources and time but it would all be worth the effort. Bibliography Books: Jick, Todd and Peiperl, Maury (Dec 2002)Managing Change: Text and Cases. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Mourier, Pierre and Smith, Martin (2002) Conquering Organizational Change: How to succeed where most companies fail. Project Management Institute. Harvard Business Essentials (2003) Managing Change and Transition. Harvard Business School Press. Cameron, Esther and Green, Mike (2009)Making Sense of Change Management. Kogan Page. Vandeveer, Rodney and Menefee, Micheal (2009) Human Behavior in Organizations . Pearson Education Green, Mike (2007) Change Management Masterclass: A Step-by-step Guide to Successful Change Management. Kogan Page. Bennis, Warren(2003) Learning to Lead. Basic Books. Max De Pree (2004) Leadership is an art. Broadway Business Collins, Jim(2001) Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap… and others don’t. Harper Business. Rose, Ed (2008) Employment Relations. Pearson Education. Macleod, David and Brady, Chris (2007) The Extra Mile. Pearson Education. Hrebiniak, Lawrence (2005) Making Strategy Work. Wharton School Publishing. Bennis, Warren(2009) On becoming a leader. Perseus Books. Bens, Ingrid (2006) Facilitating to Lead. Josey-Bass. Christensen, Clayton(2003) The innovator’s dilemma. Harper Paperbacks. Kouzes, James and Posner, Barry (2007) The leadership challenge. Josey-Bass. Byham, William and Smith, Audrey (2002) Grow your own Leaders. Pearson Education. Slywotzky, Adrain(2002)The Art of Profitability. Warner Business Books. Buckingham, Marcus and Clifton, Donald(2001) Now Discover your strength. Free Press Read More