Tesco Change Management Strategies - Case Study Example

Tesco Change Management Strategies Change Management Strategy Tesco faces a number of challenges in its bid to carry out thechange management strategies. While some of these challenges might be solved in order to help the company achieve its economic and financial goals, others have proven to be difficult to deal with. As a result, the company has chosen to implement those that are workable and ignore the changes that have proved to be detrimental. One of the major changes that Tesco implemented was the introduction of the Self-Checkout Machine that was one of its strategic changes. With the aim of reducing the rate of labour cost associated with sales, the checkout machine helped to speed up the checkout procedures hence increasing efficiency. However, the self-checkout machine had a number of challenges that included the high costs of initiating the change and training employees to use the machine. One of the greatest challenges that a company like Tesco would face in the implementation of its change management strategies is the issue of resistance. Notably, resistance can occur both from the internal and external sectors of the organisation. It is due to this resistance that the company needs to come up with the most effective ways of initiating the change and handling the resistances. In the current local and economy, change is considered an all-pervasive element in organisations. In addition, it is continuously happening, and often at swift speed. Since change has of late become an everyday facet of company dynamics, employees and managers who are resistant to change can essentially cripple the company’s activities (Fox & Vorley, 2004). Since people respond differently to the existing changes, they might not change as fast as the organization wants. They often take time trying to adjust to new changes and the adaption process might at times be very slow due to new behavioural and job-related procedures. According to Buchanan and Badham (2008), resistance is often an inevitable reaction that occurs to any foremost change initiated in an organization. In fact, various individuals usually rush to try to defend the traditional status quo whenever they feel their safety or employment status is endangered by the changes. As Folger &Skarlicki (1999) assert that "organisational change often generates cynicism and struggles among the employees, hence making it difficult or simply impossible to carry out the implementation of the organisational improvements at hand" (Folger & Skarlicki; 1999, p. 45). Reasons for Resistance Manifestations are the particular practices that an individual display when they are impervious to change. As indicated by Tobin, (1999), it is vital to recognise the manifestations of imperviousness to change, and the reasons behind it. These practices fall into two classes -dynamic safe or aloof safe. The reasons for resistance to change could be the high costs that would be involved in the training of employees in order to make them conversant with the basics of the new ideas that the company seeks to introduce. For instance, if Tesco will be introducing a new system of operations in the next two to three years, employees who had been used to the status quo will have problems trying to adjust to the changes in the organisation (Graetz, 2000). Low resilience to change: Low resilience for change is characterised as the apprehension that one will not have the capacity to grow new abilities and practices that are needed in another work setting. As indicated by Kotter & Schlesinger (1979), if a worker has a low resistance for change, the expanded vagueness that emerges as an after-effect of needing to perform their occupation diversely would likely cause an imperviousness to the better approach for doing things. Some employees would view the changes as factors that are not necessary and just a waste of time making it hard for the organisation to control the activities involved in the changes effectively. As a result, there would be more funds that would be needed in order to help initiate the changes as expected. Representative imperviousness to change: Representatives oppose change in light of the fact that they need to gain some new useful knowledge. As a rule, there is not a conflict with the profits of the new process, but instead trepidation of the obscure future and about their capacity to adjust to it. It would take time and a lot of training that would make employees feels that their time is being wasted in trainings to help in adjusting to the changes. Worse still, if the organisation dictates that the employees use their own funds in the training, none of them would fathom the fact that they will spend in order to adjust to the firm’s conditions. The stun of the new: Individuals are suspicious of anything which they see will annoy their made schedules, routines for working or states of vocation. They would prefer not to lose the security of what is natural to them. As noted by Marshall, Ramsay, & Mitchell, (2008) employee imperviousness to change is a complex issue confronting administration in the complex and perpetually advancing association of today. The methodology of progress is pervasive, and representative safety has been distinguished as an imperative patron to the disappointment of numerous well-meant and effectively thought out endeavours to start change inside the association (Jacobs, et al., 2013). How the formal structures will change The formal structures in Tesco would have to change in a way that would make the management be able to make all the decisions and disseminate the information to the junior employees. Hierarchical structure is the formal configuration of administrative progressive systems inside an organization, putting forward both reporting connections and data streams. An organisations authoritative structure structures the base whereupon operational approaches are shaped. Structure assumes a huge part in forming hierarchical culture. Organisations may think that it is important to change the authoritative structure to stay aggressive or adjust to the changes in the organisation, business, or commercial centre. In order to carry out structural changes effectively, Tesco needs to ensure that it does the change strategies in a systematic procedure as indicated below: Step 1 Include representatives from all levels of your association in the arranging stage. Request input from key innovative chiefs and representatives to increase deeper knowledge into pragmatic operational issues. Welcome maybe a couple compelling bleeding edge workers to partake in arranging gatherings. Notwithstanding, offering novel bits of knowledge, these representatives can help to keep different workers educated of the arranging procedure while spreading fervour about the change. Step 2 Convey arranging advance over the association frequently. Send all-inclusive overhauls through email or your organization pamphlet to keep the change new in representatives personalities for quite a while before the usage stage. Abstain from making workers feel surprise flanked by the change, particularly on the off chance that they are a focus for cutting back. Step 3 Clarify completely the purposes behind the change, and the profits that the change will bear to individual offices and workers. Hold no less than two gatherings to detail the change. One with departmental administrators and the other with the whole office or association, if conceivable. Convey an email further depicting the change and how it will influence workers at all levels of the association. Use positive dialect however much as could reasonably be expected to underscore the profits of the change as opposed to the conceivable disadvantages. Step 4 Show others how it is done in the change activity and enrol your top-level administrators to do likewise. Openly demonstrate your dedication to the change through your casual discussions and the time that you spend getting ready for and imparting the points of interest of the change. Step 5 Reveal the change one office at once, if conceivable, to distinguish and location logistical issues early. Adjust your change usage plans if fundamental after the first division is redesigned. Take off consequent changes quickly to move the procedure along and minimize the changes fleeting effect on general profit. How the organisation’s informal aspects (culture) will change In order to change the organisational culture and other informal aspects, the company should begin the change process with individuals who have lopsided impact in the association. Search for approaches to get individuals to experience the cruel substances that roll out improvement essential. Search for approaches to redistribute assets toward "difficult areas" – exercises that oblige few assets however bring about vast change. The informal change process is one of the hardest to carry out since most people shall have been subscribed to the previous organisational aspects (Burnes, 2004). How to handle the psychological aspects of the change In order to ensure that changes are implemented, the management must be ready to handle any psychological aspects that come with change such as emotions, sense making, among other factors. According to Kotter & Schlesinger (1979), some employees might not be psychologically prepared to handle the changes that might have been presented to them in the organization hence leading to emotions. In order to handle the emotions, counselling sessions and trainings should be carried out in order to help ensure that the employees accept the changes despite having any divergent issues against the changes (Hayes, 2014). Issues of power and politics The issues of power and politics that are likely to arise in organisations because of changes include factors such as supremacy battles based on structural changes. In fact, some leaders would have their positions scrapped off hence create tension in the organization. Subsequently, politics would crop in, as various factions would rise supporting different members of the management team (Umphress, et al., 2013). Because of the wrangles, power and politics would act as barriers to change since most leaders would not be ready to get their powers stripped off. If not well managed, the wrangles could lead to rebellions and formation of rival groups in the organisation thereby creating an element of anarchy within the Tesco. In order to manage politics and power, the initiators of change should ensure that the change process does not interfere with the power positions that have been in the organisation for a long time. Additionally, the members in the management platforms of the organisation could be briefed of the changes before they are fully implemented (Moran & Brightman, 2001). The changes would be implemented by involving all the employees of the organisation and through effective control procedures such as meetings and pre-planning sessions. In addition, the changes would be communicated in the company websites and other methods such as the use of memos and e-mails. Finally, in order to sustain the changes, it would be important that the changes be stipulated in the company’s main documents such as memorandum and articles of association. By so doing, the Tesco would be able to keep records of all the services needed in the change procedures. References Buchanan, D. A., & Badham, R. J., 2008. Power, Politics, and Organizational Change: Winning the Turf Game 2nd edn. London: SAGE Publishers. Burnes, B., 2004. Managing Change: A Strategic Approach to Organisational Dynamics, 4th edn. 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