Work-Integrated Project - China Mobile Company Limited - Case Study Example

Managing change: Work-Integrated Project-company in china Name Title Date Introduction Change management can be defined as the transition process of an organization to its preferred future state. It is in this process scope of a project are outlined and approved all in benefit of the company. The changes made to the organization are important for its growth and sustainability (Waddell, Creed, Cummings & Worley 2011, 20). In this report, we are to study organization changes in China Mobile Company Limited. What influence its changes and its subsequent growth in the telecommunication industry? The purpose of the report is to analyze the change needed, changes made, and changes that are yet to be made for the company to achieve a 100% of its goals and objectives. Description of the project China Mobile Company limited is a telecommunication company owned by the state of China and provides data, mobile voice, plus multimedia services through its network. The company has a board of directors and corporate governance who manages the company. Various changes were experienced in the mobile company that compelled the staff to reevaluate their situation (Graetz, Rimmer, Lawrence & Smith 2006, 45). Corruption and customer privacy was infringed. Subscribers started opting for other network operators and rate of subscribers started decreasing. Airtime used in calling and data usage reduced. There was inequality among the employees (Waddell, Creed, Cummings & Worley 2011, 20). The salary package was wanting. The company was at its best yet the employees who drove the company to the limit were not properly rewarded. The community was not pleased with the company management following huge profit returns and not so much appreciation to them. Stakeholders’ expectations were not met to protect their interest. Corporate governance needed to be streamlined to ensure proper leadership throughout the company. Risk management mechanisms needed to be strengthened (Graetz, Rimmer, Lawrence & Smith 2006, 46). The company was growing at a high rate and there were fears that its expansion was not properly planned. The partners in the supply chain still had not adapted to the drastic growth of the company and they needed time to grow together. Change Drivers & Change intervention Various factors led to the changes made on the company. Internal drivers of change include the corruption cases, customers’ privacy, new products creation and the market expansion made significance and abrupt changes. The external drivers include globalization that led to new, market demands, company’s constraints, technological innovations, and competition from other companies and IT advancement played a huge role in bringing change to the mobile industry (Burnes 2009). In an attempt to take control of the situation, the company made drastic changes before it was too late. Stakeholders’ needs were responded to immediately. The company strived to maintain an affordable and reliable network throughout the country (Waddell, Creed, Cummings & Worley 2011, 21). Customers’ greatest concerns were addressed and their interests were protected in several ways (Christina 2009). For example, tariffs were optimized, billings were accurate, and privacy of customers and information security was observed. For employees, several changes were done this include protection of their occupational health and safety, personal development was supported and a good working environment was created. For the community, the company was obliged to its long-term commitments towards the social welfare and various programs aimed at reducing poverty, offer care for the vulnerable individuals, champion for education development and share company’s achievement with various people within the community. The company also was keen on the environmental policies and worked to improve them. They focused on saving energy and carbon emission reduction. Change Perspectives The change perspective made took several approaches. The rational perspective was vivid where the competencies match the environment. Planning was done to effect the changes the company experienced. A strategic approach was taken to minimize corruption and customer’s security. This approach is logical, progressive, and proactive. Another approach in solving the changes was the systems perspective where changes were made in respect of others (Child 2005, 78). Though difficult to manage, employees were reevaluated, communities started benefiting from the company, and new tariffs were introduced to boost customer loyalty and create new subscribers. The changes made were in line with each other to create a balance between the company and the customer. Another change perspective includes the psychological perspective, which helped the employees overcome to the changes put in place (Robert 2005). Since new regulations were introduced to curb cases of corruption and customer privacy, the company had to make changes and offer strict measures in order to control the vices. Staff training and development with an aim of boosting their motivation were conducted. The employees were appreciated and were trained to have a sense of belonging to the company (Graetz, Rimmer, Lawrence & Smith 2006, 21). The political perspective, though not mentioned, but played a role in this company. For the success of the company, the directors and the executive had to introduce new ideas to develop innovation that finally placed the company in the limelight. There may be some conflicts arising in the earlier years and these were resolved by the power of the board of directors (Anderson & Anderson 2001, 67). Resource perspective, though not mentioned played a massive role in bringing changes that benefited the company. In this perspective, the acquiring and deploying of resources is an important activity pushing the changes. For the China Mobile Limited to succeed this far, it had to manage its resources in a pivotal way. This includes its human capital, whether tangible or intangible. Assumptions from the Interview The interviewee made several assumptions in response to the organization change. They include: All changes stated represent all changes in the company as a whole. The interviewer was not biased The interviewer described to me all the forms of changes the company went through. The interviewer did not exaggerate the information given. The interviewer was in a stable state when relaying information. The information given can be confirmed by another member of staff from the Company. It was clear from the analysis of the organization’s operations that the information given regarding the change had an effect. If such changes would not have taken place, then it would have been impossible to have smooth operations within that company. The interviewer was comfortable with describing all the forms of changes and the reseaons why the changes were important to that organization. Planned or emergent change and employees’ resistance to change Either the various changes made to the company were planned or some emerged because of others. The changes effected had several implications and some staffs were resistant to it (Graetz, Rimmer, Lawrence & Smith 2006, 21). The China Mobile Company became strict on the service delivery of its staff members. Each employee had to attain a goal put by the company, some were difficult, but they were obliged to reach their goals (Oakland and Tanner 2001, 10). The corrupted members were laid off in a move to promote transparency in the company. This made some of the employees resist since it did not suit them at that moment. At last, the employees adapted to the changes and those who did not opt to quit from the company (Oakland and Tanner 2001, 10). Effectiveness of the change intervention China mobile now boast of the largest telecommunication industry in China and owns several subsidiary groups of company. It boasts of 760 million and subscribers and its numbers are growing at a tremendous pace. The company now has stretched to markets aim Asia owing to its growth it is enlisted in the Hongkong stock exchange and New York stock exchange (Oakland and Tanner 2001, 12). It has offered employment to thousands of people in China and to the rest of the world. The company is now efficient in service delivery and customer loyalty is attained. China Mobile Company has penetrated rural China covering close to 96% of China’s population. Conclusions Change is important but must be implemented with absolute care through consultation and frequent communication to succeed while external support should be obtained where necessary (Burnes 2009, 60). The changes made in China mobile made an impact to the company’s growth and development. China Mobile Company realized the need for change at an earlier stage where the company was at its peak of success. The internal and external drivers of change affected the company’s performance and its growth. Through realizing the need for change, the company made strategic changes and implemented them(Graetz, Rimmer, Lawrence & Smith 2006, 46). The ability to organize and adapt to change in a short time have an advantage over the competitors in the business environment. This may result in a drastic profit or losses in business. Recommendations China Mobile Company limited should strive to cater for the country’s economic, environmental, and social responsibilities. The company as it grows to the outside markets should strive to ensure more affordable tariff rates for its subscribers. Organizations and companies must promote strong, flexible cultures, innovation and entrepreneurship, teamwork and individual enterprise and development, reward systems based on contribution and not position, brainpower and not muscle power, anti-hierarchical structures, small corporate and middle management staffs, tight control of a few key measures, continuous, and radical change (Oakland and Tanner 2001). References Anderson D. & Anderson L. 2001. Beyond Change Management: Advanced Strategies for Today’s Transformational Leaders.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.  Burnes B. 2009 Managing Change, 5th Edn. London: Prentice Hall. Child J. 2005. Organization: contemporary principles and practice. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. Dean, Christina. 2009. RIMER Managing Successful Change. Australia: Uniforte Pty Ltd. Graetz, F., Rimmer, M., Lawrence, A. & Smith A. 2006. Managing Organisational Change, 2nd Edn. Sydney: Wiley & Sons. Marshak, Robert. 2005. "Contemporary Challenges to the Philosophy and Practice of Organization Development,"In Bradford, David L.; Burke, W. Warner. Reinventing Organization Development: New Approaches to Change in Organizations, pp. 19–42. Oakland J. and Tanner S. 2005. A new framework for managing change. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=Published/ EmeraldFullTextArticle/Articles/1060190604.html Thorburn, L. and Langdale, J. 2005. Embracing Change, Case Studies on how Australian Firms use Incremental Innovation to Support Growth. http://www.dest.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/A364E094-D061- 431CAFF4- 88723DE0532F/1365/embracing_change.pdf Waddell, D.M., Creed, A., Cummings, T.G. & Worley, C.G 2011. Organisational change: Development and transformation, 5th Edn. New York: Cengage Learning. Appendix Interview Transcript Please tell me about a situation in your work / workplace that involved or required some form of change. Company needs to diversify since customers are expecting more in terms of services. For example, carefree services and more achievement using the company’s communication industry. Employees need more opportunities like professional development and greater career in response to their undying commitment to the company. This will increase their motivation and help them realize their value. The communities want to be enrolled in the company’s achievements by taking part in several activities and benefit from the returns of the companies through sponsoring and supporting the communities. Stakeholders want their expectations met to protect their interest. Corporate governance needs to be improved from the top executive of the company Risk management mechanisms need to be strengthened. Corruption within the company should be controlled and minimized for proper service delivery. Partners in the supply chain need to grow with the same rate as the mobile company. Why did this situation come about? (Alternatively, what caused this change?) Subscribers started opting for other network operators and rate of subscribers started decreasing. Airtime used in calling and data usage reduced. There was inequality among the employees. The salary package was wanting. The company was at its best yet the employees who drove the company to the limit were not properly rewarded. The community was not pleased with the company management following huge profit returns and not so much appreciation to them Stakeholders’ expectations were not met to protect their interest. Corporate governance needed to be streamlined to ensure proper leadership throughout the company. Risk management mechanisms needs to be strengthen. The company was growing at a high rate and there were fears that its expansion was not properly planned. The partners in the supply chain still had not adapted to the drastic growth of the company and they needed time to grow together. What was the change all about? Great attention was paid. Stakeholders’ needs were responded to immediately. The company strived to maintain an affordable and reliable network throughout the country. Customers’ greatest concerns were addressed and their interests were protected in several ways. For example, tariffs were optimized, billings were accurate, and privacy of customers and information security was observed. For employees several changes were done this include protection of their occupational health and safety, personal development was supported and a good working environment was created. For the community, the company was obliged to its long term commitments towards the social welfare and various programs aimed at reducing poverty , offer care for the vulnerable individuals, champion for education development and share company’s' achievement with various people within the community. The company also was keen on the environmental policies and worked to improve them. They focused on saving energy and reduction of carbon emission reduction. Why was it necessary to deal with the change situation? This was extremely important to improve the company’s image to the community at large and set it on the right path for attaining its long-term goals and commitments. Let us assume the company did not make any changes for example to the customers, guess what? There could be a massive pullout of our customers leading to low profits and if continued the company might slash employees and send them home. Let us assume the company did not satisfy the stakeholders’ requirements, guess what? They could pull out their investments to the company leading to bankruptcy or closure of the company leading to massive job losses. These changes were necessary to protect the company plans and targets. How did you (or others) deal with the change? What did you do? I was pleased with the changes, moreover on the staff development and value realization of the employees, I could now stay and work for the company knowing that we are appreciated and not treated as slaves to the company. To be honest, there was many job offers at the time and it was just a matter of time before we could walk out of the company. What was the outcome of your actions (in dealing with the change situation)? Alternatively, What changed because of your actions? We experienced a rise in customer subscription. We conducted a survey on the effectiveness of our action and to our surprise, it was highly rated. It was an achievement t the company and to the staff who worked tirelessly to place the company on the top. In your view, was the actions you have taken (the change intervention) successful? Why do you say this? Yes, it was successful. Initially, the company’ leadership was wanting, corruption cases were frequently reported, customer’ privacy was lacking, stakeholders’ requirements were ignored and several other cases, these were a direct catalyst to the company’s failure. Since all this was solved and customer satisfaction was maintained the mobile company was at its right path of success. However, it took time to achieve this but at last, all was returned back to normal. Read More