Dryburgh Footwear Company State and Organizational Change - Case Study Example

INТЕGRАТIVЕ САSЕ Student’s Name: Course Code: Tutor’s Name: Date of Submission Dryburgh Footwear Company state and organizational change Introduction This is a plan to manage organizational change in Dryburgh Footwear Company. The company in Australia had recorded a tremendous improvement until in the mid-1980s when the government reduced a tariff reduction which was scaled (Deery 1995). This led to profits being eroded as well as sales. Organizational change management is the process through which effects of introduced business processes are managed (Voet & Vermeeren 2016). It is a framework of controlling businesses processes for a better output to be realized in a business enterprise. For notable positive changes to be realized in an organization, change agents play a significant role in managing the structure as well as the human resources in the organization (Stilwell, Pasmore, & Shon 2016). Change agents are people either inside or outside an organization who play the role of transforming the organization for improvement and more effectiveness in the development of the organization (Stilwell, Pasmore, & Shon 2016). This paper will present a plan to diagnose the situation in Dryburgh Footwear Company as well as managing the organizational change for the company to be better in future. Role in the company As a change agent in Dryburgh Footwear Company, there are several roles to be played for the betterment of the company as well as making the company transformed with initiation of some processes. A change agent is like a consultant in any business whose work is to implement effective changes in the organization for its development as well as development (Petrou, Demerouti & Schaufeli 2016). As a change agent in Dryburgh Footwear Company and bring the desired changes for the company to be better, one must have the following qualities and characteristics. Clear vision, knowledgeable about the company as well as have strong relationships (Stevens 2013). The change agent has to play important roles such as being a detective. Just like Bill Brown, one should be in a position to try and unearth the problems that are causing the high employee turnover. Proper digging below the surface is also required to deal with the employees with the aim of knowing the reasons for too much absenteeism (Stevens 2013). The change agent should also act as an advocate, a counselor, facilitator as well as a mediator (Ghitulescu 2012). He should apply expertise knowledge in making sure both senior and junior employees in the company work harmoniously in the process of initiating change (Ghitulescu 2012). In Dryburgh Footwear Company somebody in the capacity of Bill Brown or a consultant should set his/her goals to accomplish with the help of making other workers accountable with rewards and reprimands accompanying their roles. The high employee turnover as well as absenteeism of the workers in Dryburgh Footwear Company needs a versatile change agent for transformation to be noticed (Daft 2001). Issues and forces to be addressed along with the symptoms and options that needs to be changed Dryburgh Footwear Company has some contentious issues that are bringing the profitability of the company down and they need to be addressed for proper organizational change to take place (Deery 1995). According to research done by Bill Brown, the personnel officer in the company, the level of employee turnover as well as absenteeism is very high. An average of 4.5 per cent absenteeism is extremely high and it requires intervention by the agent of change. This is basically because of its negative impact on the output of the company as well as increasing the cost of labor. Employees’ replacement which was reflected in the employees’ turnover also would have negative consequences on the quality of labor and experience of the new workers (Deery 1995). The time that would be taken to train new workers to fit in their capacities would mean that productivity will significantly reduce. According to Deery (1995) the general manager, Greg Jackson also can be perceived as a stakeholder who showed less concern about the company. After getting the actual report from Brown he was not surprised, he was used to the situation and never minded any possible change. It’s evident that employees in this company received low wages and may be this was the major reason for the high employee turnover (Deery 1995). This can be a problem in that employees will not be settled in their job, they will be always in pursuit of greener pastures and this may reduce their productivity greatly. The company’s culture of employing low skilled employees played a significant role in making the company’s productivity low. It is evident from Brown’s report that many of the workers were women with young children (Deery 1995). This can be the major cause of the increased rate of absenteeism as the women must take time to take care of their young children. What to do as a change agent in Dryburgh Footwear Company Organizational change most of the times causes resistance as well as discomfort among most employees in an organization (Christensen & Hammond 2015). It should be acknowledged that facilitating change in Dryburgh Footwear Company will not be welcomed well by most of the senior as well as junior employees. A good strategy or a number of strategies must be put into place to bring forth the required output of the company as well as increasing its profitability. The change agent should asses the readiness of the workers to embrace change and then slowly put the strategies into function (Christensen & Hammond 2015). Effective communication and transparency is very important when it comes to transform Dryburgh Footwear Company for the better. The change agent(s) should communicate the reasons why change is need to the employees together with the process it will take to make them ready. Employees should be offered with effective training and education for them to adapt and at the same time understand the change in the work force. Some of the employees may require counseling at a personal level especially the ones who will be affected more to reduce their discomfort (Heuvel, Schalk & Van Assen 2015). Proper implementation and monitoring will follow. Monitoring change and its effects is very important for Dryburgh Footwear Company. Looking at the performance after implementation and comparing it with the performance before implementing change will show the change agent and guide him on the effectiveness of the changes that are taking place. If the change does not increase the productivity of the company, the change agent or the consultant should re define and continue (Heuvel, Schalk & Van Assen. 2015). Some of the changes to implement as per the company will include training workers and communicating with them effectively with the aim of reducing their turn over as well as absenteeism (Christensen & Hammond 2015). Planned timing (timetable) of the stages for organizational change in Dryburgh Footwear Company For change realization in Dryburgh Footwear Company, we can use the Model of Change by Kurt Lewin Kurt Lewin proposed a theory for stages to undergo for change realization in 1947 (Daft 2001). The theory is made up of a model with three very important stages which are unfreeze, change and freeze (Daft 2001). The model can be represented in a diagram as shown below. In the case of Dryburgh Footwear Company, the model will be of maximum benefit to the change agent in the process of realizing his objectives. First stage: this stage will take two to two and a half months. This is the stage where employees both senior and junior will be made ready for the following changes in the company. It is the stage where workers are readiness to change is aroused and they are made to take the initial step (Daft 2001). Workers will be prepared at this step before the actual change takes place. It will involve creating the required situation and motivate the employees towards change (Daft 2001). Second step: change, change is a process. This step will take three to four months. It will involve transforming and making the necessary changes. Employees here will be moving in the desired direction and it is likely to experience some resistance which will be dealt with as discussed in what to do (Daft 2001). Third step: freezing/ refreezing, this stage will take approximately one month. It is the stage of stabilizing and increasing the workers’ productivity. At this stage, all the changes will be working as stipulated (Daft 2001). Meaning within a span of about seven months the organizational change will be achieved in Dryburgh Footwear Company. Readiness creation Readiness will be created and assessed in the whole process of initiating change in Dryburgh Footwear Company. It will take place in the different levels and steps of the actual change process. It will happen in form different processes as discussed. Change awareness will help in creation of readiness (Parada & Homan 2011). Here the company will redefine itself in terms of workers turnover and absenteeism. The process awareness process will focused to innovation which will include looking at the external environment of the company for more opportunities in terms of market of the footwear manufactured by the company. Readiness will also involve change agility. This is where the company will engage people in the pending changes. This agility will help the company to implement the innovations that will be identified to accompany change (Parada & Homan 2011). It will increase the ability of the company to make or shift the available resources such as the work force to where they are needed most at any time required. Change reaction will also help to create readiness in the second step of the organizational change (Parada & Homan 2011). This is where the company will analyze the problems to assess the possible risks and also manage the reactions of the employees who may resist. More training and counseling will be employed at this level to achieve the set objectives. Conclusion Dryburgh Footwear Company is a company in Australia that requires good organizational change to increase its output as well as profitability. The change agent here will have some roles to play such as implementing the effective changes required. He will have the responsibility of detecting the problems, advocating for change as well as using his expertise skills. Some of the issues that need to be changed in the company include the high employee turnover associated with the high rate of absenteeism among the workers. Managers should have the responsibility of monitoring how the employees are doing their work rather than assuming. The company will take about seven months to undergo the three steps of change as provided in the Kurt Lewin model of organizational change. The change agent should develop some strategy to deal with the employees’ resistance and also enhance their readiness in the process of initiating change. References Christensen, L. J., & Hammond, S. C. (2015). Lost (But Not Missing) at Work: Organizational Lostness as an Employee Response to Change. Journal of Management Inquiry, 24(4), 405-418. doi:10.1177/1056492615578915 Daft, R. L. (2001). Organization theory and design. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing. Deery, S.J. (1995). 'Absenteeism and employee turnover: Dryburgh Footware Company', in Organizational change strategies: Case studies of human resource and industrial relations issues, eds M. Patrickson, V. Bamber, & G.J. Bamber, Longman, Melbourne, Chapter 21, pp. 240-250. Ghitulescu, B. E. (2012). Making Change Happen: The Impact of Work Context on Adaptive and Proactive Behaviors. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 49(2), 206-245. doi:10.1177/0021886312469254 Heuvel, S. V., Schalk, R., & M. A. L. M. Van Assen. (2015). Does a Well-Informed Employee Have a More Positive Attitude Toward Change? The Mediating Role of Psychological Contract Fulfillment, Trust, and Perceived Need for Change. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 51(3), 401-422. doi:10.1177/0021886315569507 Parada, H., & Homan, M. S. (2011). Promoting community change: Making it happen in the real world. Toronto: Nelson Education. Petrou, P., Demerouti, E., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2016). Crafting the Change: The Role of Employee Job Crafting Behaviors for Successful Organizational Change. Journal of Management. doi:10.1177/0149206315624961 Stevens, G. W. (2013). Toward a Process-Based Approach of Conceptualizing Change Readiness. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 49(3), 333-360. doi:10.1177/0021886313475479 Stilwell, R. A., Pasmore, W. A., & Shon, D. (2016). Change Leader Behavior Inventory: Development and Validation of an Assessment Instrument. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 52(4), 373-395. doi:10.1177/0021886316663406 Voet, J. V., & Vermeeren, B. (2016). Change Management in Hard Times: Can Change Management Mitigate the Negative Relationship Between Cutbacks and the Organizational Commitment and Work Engagement of Public Sector Employees? The American Review of Public Administration. doi:10.1177/0275074015625828 Read More